Black Bloodstains
Chapter 11: Ramble On

“That is so stupid!” I told Kalyn as we were a few minutes away from Sam’s house. I had to rest on her shoulder for half a block. My legs trembled and barely had balance. Laurie healing methods are weird and bit painful. Being covered by several different types of leaves, and then get drowned by potions isn’t fun. “Why would I be able to get hurt, while the trespassers come out unharmed.” She had been explaining to me about the whole invasion methods of gaining energy. And how did the critical thing managed to trap me in time?

“Well, you can always have someone else to help you. You always have the chance to outnumber them, if you battle in a place with many signs all around the floor.” She told me as we waited for a car to pass. The streets were practically empty, only people returning to their houses would randomly be heard. “Because you can’t get hurt after a battle if you are a phantom. White or red you always return to normal after the battle, either you win or lose. I know it sounds a bit cheap, and it is, but if you win you get to question the guy who trespassed you.” We turned to our right, and we soon approached the house. “And how’s been… You know… Life as a girl? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve experienced so far?”

“Well…” I said blushing and looking at the ground. “I haven’t done anything extreme so far. And I don’t plan to. Whenever I take a shower, they get susceptible.” I said pointing at my nipples. “Aside from that, whenever I accidentally touch the moan maker down there. Oh! And how snuggly the panties fit…” I stopped and looked at her. “Kalyn… I forgot the shopping bags! And-And-And I don’t have another uniform, it is being washed right now. And I don’t have another set of clean underwear!” I bit my finger and looked at her nervously. “D-Do you think any store is opened nowadays. Could I be able to reach the Walmart on time?”

“Are you crazy?! After what you went through today? Elizabeth! I know!” She grabbed my hands and began jumping all around. “I can’t lend you some clothes! We are practically the same size! Maybe not down there… But anywhere else we might have a good chance! Would you like me to lend you some clothes?” I smiled of relief, I don’t know why she acts so happy, but I nodded almost immediately. “Yes! This is going to be so much fun!” She grabbed my hand and pretty much carried me all the way to her house. Fuck her grip was tight! Not extreme levels of tightness, but for a girl like her… It’s so weird.

It turns out her house wasn’t very far away. Sam and I probably pass it on our chase yesterday. The house didn’t look much different than Sam’s. More significant than mine was, but it doesn’t stand out at all with the rest of the suburban homes. She had a bigger garage than Sam. And that’s it from the outside. We didn’t have to knock on the door or anything. Kalyn took out a small keychain from her bag, and we were in. It looked modern inside, not that I’m complaining, but it doesn’t have the cozy feeling that Sam’s house gave. It’s more like a fresh feeling. It is larger than it looks. The walls are painted all in white, there are a lot of crystals and metal rims, and even the couches have this square like a design. Suddenly a black man came out of the living room, wearing a suit and carrying a soup-serving spoon. “Oh hello K.” He said noticing us. “You’re a bit late tonight, and who is that friend you brought?”

“Sorry, Dad…” Kalyn answered him. Wait a second… Dad? They don’t look anything alike. Either I’m being a little racist of not believing a black guy can have a blonde daughter, or, Kalyn is adopted. I think she is the latter. “But things got busy at the club. And I had to do many different things. And I also decided to do my homework there.” She then stopped and looked at me. “Oh! She’s my friend Elizabeth.” I waved and tried to pull off a natural smile. “She has… A little of a wardrobe problem. She recently moved in town since her previous house got destroyed by a tornado, and I heard her talking to the principal, so I decided to give her some spare clothes wouldn’t be a bad idea!” He just smiled and nodded. She once more began to pull me upstairs, and while we entered her room, she shouted. “Oh! And Shawn will be home in a couple of minutes. He just had to do something else at the club!” And then she closed the door.

I just stared at her, apparently with my mind blown out. She didn’t notice the way I looked at her, so she continued walking toward her closet. Her room was… odd. There were certain things you’d find at a stereotypical teenage girl bedroom and some of a typical adolescent boy. You have the plushies and the pink colored details on most of the furniture. But also you have some guitar posters, some movie posters, and even a lack of things all around the place. She placed some pieces of clothing on her bed, which at first looked passable, shirts, and jeans, things that I would wear with no problem. However, the dresses and even a pair of heels came up later. I don’t dislike these pieces of items, and in fact, I love when a girl wore a pretty traditional dress. But every time I’m trying to get out of the school’s skirt because I’m still not acquainted to the whole ‘bare legs’ situation. After she placed the last piece of clothing, she’d give me. She noticed the way I looked at her. “What?” She asked me as she walked over another wardrobe.

“The fact that you indicated that Shawn might be a resident of this place,” I told her as I began inspecting the pile of clothing she placed on her bed. “And also… The fact that your dad is… you know… black.” I stood up and began checking if the t-shirts would fit me. They look like if they would, the shoulders are beautiful and the length is just a little more substantial, but I can live with that. I saw Kalyn taking out some bras and their respective pantie set. I blushed and looked away as soon as she got near me, leaving them among the pile of clothing.

“Well…” She giggled for a second before sitting on the bed. “That’s always a fun story that I have to tell, whenever I get someone to come over.” Her giggling stopped and looked to the ground. “Whenever I have someone…” For a bit of a second, I saw her smile disappear and a small frown expression formed on her face. She sighed, and her smile returned seconds later. “Whatever! It’s a bit of a long story… You don’t mind if I tell you the whole thing do you?” I tried to make the friendliest smile I know to do and shook my head. “Okay then… No need to stare at me like that…” The smile instantly went away, as my face naturally distorted itself into one of worry.

“I’m just messing with you. Shawn told me how you suck interacting with people.” She laughed as I blushed and looked away. “So the story.” She cleared her throat and looked at the ceiling. “I used to live on an apartment on New York. Not in those big luxurious buildings. It was one of those simple old style department buildings. And… Well, where I met Shawn. He’s one year older than me, but ever since I can remember he has always been there. We went to the same school, we played on each other’s houses, and we pretty much did everything together.” She, still smiling, turns her face and looked at me. “Everything went downhill from there. Our parents went on a double date and left us in his house while a nanny watched us. And the whole place caught on fire.”

She rested her head on her hands and looked at the wall. “It was in the middle of the night, so I have no idea what caused it. He was in first grade, and I was in my last year of kindergarten. He was a smart kid since he was small. He knew that he should keep calm and woke me up when the smoke filled the room in which we were sleeping. He guided me towards the staircase to get out of the burning building.” She sighed and continued with her story. “And it didn’t end there. Our parents never arrived, we stayed with the firemen and the police. I still remember dropping the small glass of milk when I heard the news.”

“People heard shootings and screams on the streets of a fancy restaurant. Turns out… They got murdered, all four of them. Until this day we don’t know who or why they did it. Only a gun was found in the crime scene, with the cartridge completely emptied.” She looked at me and lifted her eyebrows. “Shawn and I became orphans that day, and neither of us had a tutor which we could go to. So we were sent to this area of New York. In a small foster home that was owned by nuns, they were nice I remember.” She lay down on the bed and grabbed one of her plushies. “We refused to separate from one another. Even in the cootie stage, we remained together.”

“Both of us escaped from houses at least once. And we would refuse to be adopted unless the other was adopted too.” I saw her playing with the hands of a brown teddy bear. “And then Maxwell and Chris came to our life. Yes… We have two dads. We didn’t care about their gender at first; we were so happy that we would continue to stay together. It was a bit awkward at first, but then we got used to it and found that it doesn’t matter. Everything was normal…” She sighed and let the teddy drop to the ground. “Until Alice came.”

“Out of nowhere, Shawn came running to my room. I was doing homework I think, and he was all sweaty and excited. He told me that he was a ghost and that he now worked for a little girl.” She giggled before continuing. “I flipped the bird on him and continued with my assignment. He simply disappeared, and out of nowhere had the table cutting half of his body. I screamed and fell to the ground of the sudden surprise.” She giggled a bit more as she sat up straight. “He never told me how he died, but I asked him if I could join him. And I did! I met Alice the other day. I couldn’t see her, but I could hear her shouting at Shawn. We slowly managed to make her agree. And moments later I was on the ground not able to feel my heart pumping. That was three years ago. And now I’m here giving clothes to Elizabeth.” I awkwardly laughed after she giggled from her joke. “Let’s get this going!”

The next fifteen minutes or so, I tried every single outfit that Kalyn placed on the bed. It was awkward at the beginning. I hid in a corner as I removed the hoodie and the pants. I covered my breast when Kalyn shouted. “Sheesh, we are both girls! You don’t need to worry!” And then making me die of embarrassment as she lost it laughing. Her shirts fit me quite nicely, and they were just a little larger for my size. And I swear I tried out everything she has. From the simple ones with nothing written to tank tops, to the ones that are three times your size, and even one with a kitty on the front. It was odd looking to the mirror and see me wearing a bright pink t-shirt with a catchphrase I couldn’t understand. Then came the pants. Her skinny jeans were discarded immediately, so I ended up trying only leggings and yoga pants. I blushed seeing how they make my butt look even more significant than it is.

Oh! And turns out Kalyn and I share the same bra size. Well… Kalyn of two years ago, she now sports a C cup when I have medium size B’s. So I tried some of her underwear, which was even more embarrassing to remove, and ended up with a variety of them. However… Nothing down there could fit, except for a thong, which I refused to try on as soon as she took it out. Why does she have one? I don’t care. But thankfully she only has one. I was trying on a flowered sundress when an unexpected visitor charges the room. “Um… Kalyn, Alice said that we'd need to…” Shawn stopped talking as he saw me with the girly sundress on. My cheeks were red as I tried not to look at him. “What is she doing here?” He asked ignoring what he was about to say.

“Just lending her some clothes she desperately needs,” Kalyn told him as she looked at me trying to get out of the room. “Doesn’t she look nice?” I lift my head to see Shawn and Kalyn stare each other in the eyes. You could feel some weird tension between them, and both blushed and looked at me as a relief. “So… You were saying about Alice?”

“Oh yeah!” Shawn said remembering what he should be doing. “Alice asked us to be tomorrow at seven in the morning. She mentioned something of an investigation she has to carry, and that we could have more time to gather up jobs.” Shawn now looked directly at me. “Sam should be the one telling you this, but I would explain it to you tomorrow anyway. Every Friday, we go to Claudin to gather up bounties and jobs. They are all around the place, and some of them consist of finding something lost, escort someone or the things that you’ll take care off, assassinations.” My eyes widened as he said those words. “Don’t worry, they are all under the law, they are more like Wild West ‘wanted posters’.” He looked back at Kalyn and placed his hands on his pockets. “She wants to get a head start on everything tomorrow, and do something else with somebody… Nevertheless, we need to be tomorrow at seven on the shack, and there we will teleport.”

Still wearing the dress, I Kalyn helped me to pack up everything in a bag she lends me. And afterward, I left their house, meeting their second dad before moving. Have I told you how much I love the night? It is so different than the burning sensation I get under the sunshine. It makes me want to run and do crazy jumps and everything. I wasn’t scared of anyone attacking me, either ghost or human. Kalyn told me that no one would be able to strike me if I’m on the limits of Elizabeth’s territory. And if anyone tries to jump at me, I could slice their throats off or burn them where they stood. It wasn’t a long walk, in a couple of minutes, I was at Sam’s house ringing the bell. And he opened the door. And then I realized I was still wearing the sundress. So I blushed and ran past him to get to my room.

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The small alarm clock woke me up exactly at six in the morning. I groggily smashed the thing to shut up. I haven’t slept in a week until yesterday. And boy if it is fantastic! With all the lights of the darkness embracing me. God! It felt amazing! The energy immediately flowed directly to my body, and since I was sleeping I barely consumed anything! I stretched myself feeling my joints crack, making me feel even better. I stood up and slowly head for a shower, not before picking up a pair of jeans, one loose-fitting black t-shirt, the flannel shirt that my mother gave me, and a set of underwear. Even if I knew that everyone must be asleep by now, I still moved as quietly as possible towards the shower.

It was early in the morning, and I didn’t care enough to wait for the cold, hot water to come out. So I undressed, and let the water hit me almost immediately. It barely bothered me the coldness of the water, so I continue to do the whole washing and soaping routine. This time I barely paid attention to my charming, sensitive friends, and just stayed with my shower. It didn’t take me a lot of time to finish cleaning myself. Practically every shower feels like stepping out of the pool but still being inside. And it’s worse when I have to step out of the rain; I run for a towel and try to dry myself off as quickly as possible. I tried something new this time, instead of rubbing a hundred times the cloth on my hair, I made two little flames on my hands, so they get warm and dry faster the water.

I put on my underwear and the regular clothes I’ll wear for the day. It feels so much better than using the uniform with the frilly skirt, and the way it freezes my legs. I placed my clothes back at their place, and then head towards Sam’s room. We accorded that I will wake him up in the morning because he can’t get up if someone doesn’t do that for him. His office was pretty standard, I guess. There are a lot of things, which I have no idea they even existed, as well as posters with characters I’ve never seen in my life. His room was a mess, clothes, and plates of food scattered all around the floor, and not even his bed covers are appropriately placed, which brings me to the thing that sticks out the most in Sam’s bedroom.

Not Sam especially, something about him that usually happens in the mornings to every man who is old enough to have this, occurrence, happens to them. And I don’t want to say what it is, but it’s the thing that always sticks out in the morning. The problem was… I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t feel disgusted; I knew what it was, hell! I’ve had one a week or so ago. Neither I felt neutral about them. If I’m not wrong, a boy will ignore the fact that his friend is having a morning wood. But I didn’t feel that way! It wasn’t an attraction either; I didn’t want to see it fully… Well… Just a little… But it isn’t the way you think I’m attracted to it! It’s more of a nostalgic feeling, one of ‘hey! I had that thing dangling between my legs!’ and I think I miss it… Even if it caused multiple embarrassments in the classroom, I still would like to have that thing on me.

Not that I have a problem being a girl! No! I don’t care about the fact that I’m one. The thing that bothers me the most is that I have no clue of how to be one! I still prefer boxers than panties, and I have no idea how to ‘properly’ behave myself as a girl. Going to the boy’s toilet is engraved in my brain as a normal fucking function. I still picture myself as he, not as she. And every time I look to any mirror, I remember that Geoff is gone, and Elizabeth took her place. I wanted to feel my thing again; I wanted to be me again! But I knew I couldn’t. It turns out I was born like this, and that this is the real me. It’s like Plato’s allegory of the caverns. My reality has always been Geoff, who is inside the cavern, and Elizabeth is when I finally step out of it. Discovering a different world and things that I thought I knew what they were.

So I did what my male self would freak out of just thinking about it. Sam was sleeping side up, practically lost in a dream. He looked like a heavy sleeper, and I hope he is. His thing was almost pointing at me as if it had the mind of its own. My dainty hand slowly move towards it, looking small and petite compared to the thing he has between his legs. I was inches away from touching it when it suddenly flickered at hit my thumb. I retreat my hand to my chest, hoping that Sam didn’t wake up. But a sudden snore and sleep talk calmed my nerves. I looked away, and with the corner of my eyes, I guided my hand once more towards Sam’s friend. I didn’t care that the thing flickered on me for a second time, and I continue to feel it with the tip of my fingers gently.

I felt a big vein pushing against my finger. I couldn’t look at the thing since there was a boxer in the way, but I still could tell the shape of the matter. I slowly moved my fingers upwards, stopping when I felt the head thicker than the shaft. My heart was beating rapidly, and my other hand was trembling horribly. I slowly moved all of my fingers to the top of the head, which caused Sam to groan in his sleep. I took a deep breath and grabbed the whole thing with my hand. It wasn’t huge, but I would need both of my hands to cover the entire thing. I was breathing loudly, was this exciting me? I wanted to feel it more; I tried to remember the sensations of touching the stuff. I couldn’t feel satisfied, I didn’t feel the same thing as before, but it was relatively the same. I moved my hand all the way down the thing, which made Sam groan once more. The nerves tickled my skin, and the sensation of his pubic hair disgusted me. So I immediately moved my hand to the top of the thing. Sam groaned once more, and suddenly my palm felt sticky.

I immediately removed my hand from what I was doing, seeing Sam’s boxers with a transparent stain just at the tip of the tent he’s making. I look at my hand and notice a creamy like substance sticking between my fingers, and in the middle of my palm. I wanted to scream, but I knew I would wake everyone up, and make him realize what I’ve been doing. I placed my right hand behind my back, as I gently shook Sam’s shoulder. Fuck he’s a heavy sleeper. I moved from gentle shakes to running him up and down. He woke up agitated, but looked at me and probably remember what we are supposed to do. “Is it time already?” He said groggily.

“Y-Yes…” I answered him back trying to hide my embarrassment and the fact that I just gave him a handjob. I bet my cheeks looked like tomatoes, and my lips could barely form words. “I-I’ll be downstairs… I’m going to make breakfast…” I slowly walked away, without turning around so he couldn’t see the ‘slime’ on my right hand. I tried to make the most natural smile I could, as I slowly exited his room. And when I did, I ran as quiet as possible to the kitchen. Never in my life had I washed my hands so wildly. I think the soap shrank after I practically assaulted my hands with it. “I didn’t do, what I think I did right?” I told myself looking at how ‘clean’ my hand looks. “I mean…” I tried to calm myself down by laughing at what I just did, but it ends up with some cries. “What was I thinking!”

I felt my energy once more starting to lose control. “Shit!” I said to myself removing the tears off my eyes. “Get control of yourself, missy!” I slapped myself in the face trying to get my emotions in place once more. “Why couldn’t I controlled myself a few minutes ago…” I slapped myself once more, which made my eyes focus on another thing. “Frying pans…” I ran towards the fridge and took out as many ingredients as I could fit in my hands. Before running once more to the cupboard, I began heating the stoves and a single pan in the five-piece model. I ran once more to get more ingredients. I came back and started mixing up several eggs inside a small bowl, while at the same time pouring olive oil on all of the pans.

“I did not give him a handjob,” I repeated to myself as I prepare breakfast. On the bowl, I began to mix in eggs, milk, butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla, and salt. “I did not give him a handjob.” I also cut several strawberries and bananas. “I did not give him a handjob.” I began placing the bacon on one of the pans, as well as sausages and ham. “I did not give him a handjob.” I cracked open several eggs and began to make some scrambled eggs. “I did not give him a handjob.” In another bowl, I began preparing French toast, as a block of butter was being melted in one of the pans. “I did not give him a handjob.” I placed my pancake substance in one of the pans. “I did not give him a handjob.” I took out a plate and placed one pancake on top as soon as it ends up being made, and when the substance ran out, I made even more. “I did not give him a handjob.”

I do not know how much time it passed, but I was removed from my trance when Sam pulled me away from the kitchen board. “What the fuck are you doing!” He shouted at me turning my body towards his. I could see he was wearing a winter jacket and his hair was still wet from his shower. “We don’t need to eat food. And even if we did, we wouldn’t need that much.” I turned around to see the ‘mess’ that I made trying to distract myself from… myself. I ended up placing on each plate three sets of pancakes, scrambled eggs, a French toast, bacon, sausages, fruits, and I even managed to make some hash browns. All of that had a single plate, in a total of seventeen. “Are you okay?! You look very pale, and you need something?”

Without even knowing I had used my energy to create hands that helped me to make the Ihop of breakfasts. I made them return to my body, which then causes the instruments I had in them to fall into the ground as well. “Yes! Yes! Wait, I mean no! No, wait…” My head was a complete mess, so I placed my hands around it and tried to calm down for once. “I’m okay, and I just had a sudden freakout.” I looked up and saw Sam turning off the stoves, and then pointing at the plates. “And I accidentally made all of that… Sorry…” I was more embarrassed than before, which made my cheeks go all red, and I was unable to look at him in the eye.

“Don’t worry, at least you made breakfast for my family.” He said gently petting my head. “And the whole street. Whatever, we need to head out now, we have just enough time to walk over there.” I nodded and followed him as we left his house. He had picked up one of my hash browns, and he ate it along the way. This time will become the perfect time for me to leave school. The sun there, but it creates enough light for me to walk without puking. And also the fact that the sun made the surroundings look like Van Gogh’s Blendspace, made me want to go outside at this hour more. “This thing is delicious.” He said taking the final bites of his breakfast. “Where did you learn to do this?”

The surroundings made me feel distracted, and maybe the sun was producing enough sunshine so that I could lose a little of my concentration. “Just at the end of this street,” I told him pointing to the end of the cross we had just passed. “I used to cook for my mother and my sister.” He produced some muffled noises because he was talking with the remaining of his breakfast inside his mouth. “What happened? Well, I died, and now I live with you.” I heard him barely saying something else, which I assumed was the day of my death. “Exactly one week ago, and at school.”

“One week ago?!” He said chuckling and coughing over what he had just eaten. “Wait is that related to… Um… What’s his name?”

“Geoff?” I told him as we approached the gates of the school, and we phase through the gates.

“Yes, exactly! Is that related to Geoff’s sudden disappearance?” We were knocking at the shack when he asked me the next question. “Wait a moment. How do you know about him? Aren’t you supposed to be the new kid in town?”

“I’m, or rather, I was Geoff,” I told him as I was greeted by a hug of Laurie opening the door. I couldn’t hear or see him afterward. Either he was still shaken by the fact that I used to be a dude, or probably was distracted by Shawn or Kalyn. We were all gathered, and we were the only ones left to be in the Shack. Alice came out of her office carrying several notes. She decided to gain more time, so we walked to a portal already written on the ground. It was big enough so all of us could fit in the central circle, and I still had no idea what it says on the corners and the symbols in the middle. ‘I should learn more about them.’ Was the last thing I thought before magically disappearing.

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“Agh…” I said to myself after I practically lay down on a restaurant chair. After we arrived in Claudin, we got divided into groups, Alice went with Laurie to God knows what she doesn’t want to tell me. Sam, still not saying a word to me, went with Shawn and Kalyn over the Job Office. And Floyd had to explain to me how the whole ‘wanted dead or alive’ job office works. We explored the city for a while, and I was amazed by every single street or park we passed through. All of them were structured unimaginably, and they seemed to connect with nature and with all of the elements. Except for darkness, because I barely found any fucking shade in this place! Yeah it’s pretty how water flows along the street, how the walls are filled with flowers, trees of all nature among the walkway, ice structures accentuating parks, a constant light and gentle breeze making everything move, even in the shady places of the city were lighted up, either by electrical currents or great epic fires. But barely any shade!

I tried to walk under the small shadows the buildings made, and every time we could I’d buy some sort of energy drink at a corner shop, so I could keep on walking for the next three blocks. It was a mess. Thankfully, the shady parts of town had more shadows than usual, and the place we were going had areas in which the light was very dim. Never had I seen such a well-structured place, that even in the dark regions of it looked amazing. Floyd warned me never to use magic towards someone unless it was indispensable. That tells me this city might have the usual problems a town would have, but hell if I want to see a shooting that instead of using guns people throw flames and lasers to each other.

We walked to a police station, which was kind of empty for such a large city. “She’s a dark one right?” The mustache looking cop told Floyd as soon as he saw me panting on the nearest wall. I never thought that a police officer looked so… knight-ish, if that makes sense. In the stereotypical cop you’ll see a flabby belly, or kind of fat but still okay physique. This guy was no joke, strong arms, big chest trapped inside a blue polo shirt, tall, short black hair, and somehow a mustache between all of that. The thing that gave the most medieval touch of them all was the huge ax in his back. “They always have trouble walking by day. What can I help you with Madam.” He told Floyd behind the counter.

“We… would like to check the archives… the red archives to be precise.” Floyd told him practically in secret, even if there wasn’t another soul in the entire building. The officer’s face changed almost immediately, from a charmy happy one to the one your teacher pulls out on the finals. He was about to say something to Floyd when she interrupted him. “Ruplant house, area ONLY, name’s Rosie Floyd function queen, and hers is Elizabeth Tenebris, who is the other queen.” I saw the cop quickly typing everything on a computer, frowning at some parts but then looking calm and reasonable.

“Never had I come across an Outworld team with more than one queen. But the system marks correct on everything.” He told Floyd now returning to his normal position. “Miss Floyd you don’t have the authorization to enter the red archives, but I know the king, and she’s probably doing something essential and doesn’t have time teaching the new one, so I’ll let it pass.” He winked at Floyd before standing up and walking towards a wall, which seconds a secret door opened up. “Now please, ladies first.” I was feeling much better, as the room was very dim lighted. It was a hallway going to a downstairs basement, it was metallic and was slightly lit up by red lights. “Miss Tenebris, you’ve been quite the scandal with the news lately. Try to keep yourself undercover, even if most of the case has been solved. You were still being looked over due to your doings at the Legatos the other day.”

We entered a room, which had a massive screen in the middle of it, and several officers working on computers just in front of it. There were two maps in the screen, one apparently of Earth with America, Oceania, Europe, you know the deal. And the other I had no fucking clue of what it was, it looked legit like a normal planet would have, but from what I read I knew that it was a map from Veö, the name of this planet. Claudin in the middle and all the eight lands surrounding it. It was bigger than earth, by quite a lot. Claudin is the size of three-quarters of America, and it’s in the center! Small screens with names of people showed faces of several men and women.

The officer guided us to one free computer and typed several codes to show only New York City, and it’s surroundings. “We’ve printed the entire list of illegal red wraiths, use of magic against humans, and several other among the lines.” He handed me quite a heavy pile of paper. “Some of them need to be found for judgment, others are strict capture, and others are… You know the deal.” He typed more things on the screen to show a total of eight screens with a shield and a name. “These are the competitors, and they already began looking for them. You guys were one of the last to come over.” It turns out those were the names of other houses in the area we reside on, Ruplant with a light blue shield and a mouse or a reindeer as the animal.

We didn’t stay there for long, the guy gave some papers to give to Alice, and the payment for some jobs Alice made on the last month. After that, we said goodbye to the nice cop, and head outside for whatever we had to do. Floyd told me that she has to go with Shawn and Kalyn to the official board so she could start filling her job. She told me to start checking on the files I have, and that she would leave me at a restaurant near the center, so after they finish we could meet up easier. And that’s the reason I landed so tired on the chair. The place was in the middle of everything, and there were no shades whatsoever on this plaza. There were few restaurants, and I crawled to the one with an actual roof. I acted so naturally so I could get a table, and then… Well, here I am.

A waitress with her blonde hair tied up on a ponytail came up a few minutes later. “Welcome to…” She stopped talking as soon as she saw me steaming black energy. “A dark one, I know what to get you.” She left just leaving the menu on the table. I sat up straight and saw what was in the middle of this place. And I have no idea what it was the second I saw it. It was in the middle of a huge fountain, large fountain, probably as large as an entire segment of New York. And in the middle, there was this structure, massive as well, that almost resembled a complete oval, but it was just two horns that didn’t touch at the top. I’ve never seen that before, I wonder what it represents.

The waitress came by carrying in a tray a potion and a glass. She served the medicine and seconds later I was drinking whatever the thing was. “Energy Shot. Dark costumes always have problems around this area of town.” She told me as I drank in a single go the entire glass. “My name is Monica, how can I help you?” I asked her for coffee and a glass of water, enough material for keeping me here and not kicking me out for not ordering food. Time passed a bit slow afterward. I have something entertaining to read, the files of ghost serial killers in New York. It didn’t bore me looking at what they did and the reward the police will pay for their heads. Most consisted of numbers and a Ë at the end of it.

But the structure still had my curiosity. From time to time I looked up and try to guess what it is representing. In one of my looks, I crossed eyes with a person I haven’t seen in the past few days. My uncle. He was about to sit on a table on the other side of the restaurant, but when he saw me, he gestured me to come over and sit with him. I couldn’t say no, he even if I can’t believe it, is family now. So I picked up all of the files and slowly walk towards him trying not to hit anybody’s chair. “Elizabeth! Good to see you!” He told me as I sat down on a chair across him.

“Same uncle… Um… I never got your name… Sorry for that.” I said as I drank more of the energy potion the waitress gave me.

“It’s okay, and I don’t think I’ve told you before.” The same waitress came seconds later and brought him a cup of tea and a glass of water. “Thank you, Monica, just bring me the usual.” She smiled and walked away towards the kitchen. “My name’s Alfred, just call me Al or uncle, I don’t care.” He took a sip of both of his drinks and let loose the top button of his shirt. “How you been lately? I see you’ll be red wraith in Ruplant’s team. Are you getting used to your new you?”

I removed some of the hair covering my eye and finished the coffee I’ve brought over the other table. “I still can’t get used to the whole, allergic to the sunlight, scenario. But aside from that, I’m learning to use my energy, without destroying anything in the way. But to the whole other gender scenario, I still need to get over some steps.” I trembled remembering what I did this morning. He simply answered with a warm smile and a complete interested look in his face. Which brings me to another topic, he looks exhausted. Not me burning after five minutes under the sun, but overworking more than he should have. “You look sort of tired, what you been up lately?” I asked him to know more about him.

“Just the job…” He said placing his gloves on his pocket and drinking more of his water. “I mean, with the things going on right now, it might be debatable who works more, your father or me.” He chuckles but noticed the lack of reaction coming from me. “You probably have no idea of what I’m talking about right.” I shook my head without losing eye contact. “Well, we are sort of in the middle of a huge political mess. Alliances are being made, there is racism between the nations, there are hunger and economic problems everywhere.”

“I work as an ambassador for your father’s nation here in Claudin. I make sure to keep wars away from our country, and try to make as many treaties as we can.” He stopped noticing the waitress arriving with a soup. “Thanks, Monica.” He told her as she left it on the table. “Continuing. We are in a huge mess right now, and I’m trying to make it all as political as possible.” He finished his tea and began eating some of his soup. “Sorry for my manners, are you hungry? You want something?” I shook my head and tried to gesture for him to continue the story.

“Let me start from the beginning. You are acquainted with the eight nations, light, lighting, nature, fire, dark, wind, ice and water.” I nodded and continued drinking the coffee. “Good. Before you were born, there have been some political issues over territory and resources at Claudin, and pretty much everyone is involved directly or indirectly. The light ones have issues with the Water Cascade. They proclaim to have issues dealing with the way the land was originally distributed. They say they’ve found a scroll with the way each country should be shaped. Pretty much expansionism.”

“The light ones allied with the Thunder Sedentary, and the Ice Empire. Water managed to make alliances too, but only with the Fire Republic.” He stopped so he could continue drinking out of his soup. “Nature and Wind remained neutral, which leads to us. We allied a long time ago with those two. That if it comes to happen, we will defend any territory if it were attacked. Here’s where the real mess starts. The Fire Empire to attack Thunder forcefully commands to cross pass the Nature Nation, since there is no other way to move the army there. That would be the first domino piece to drop down since our alliance would activate at that moment and we would attack the Fire Republic since they crossed neutral territory.”

“This would cause the Nomads to be in war, making the ice Empire able to attack them.” He finished his soup and removed the tie he was wearing. “So you got three teams, water and ice, light, thunder and ice, and dark, nature and wind. What I’ve been trying to do is to calm the situation before the war starts. But with how the situation is, any of my efforts are futile. A war is coming, and the only thing I managed to make is to convince Nature and Wind to join forces with Fire and Water, so we could at least reduce the amount of destruction. But we aren’t in times of war! We are having a serious starving situation because the soil is not rich enough. And some countries are even on the verge of revolution.” He sighed and looked at me. “I need to clear my mind for a while. You’ve got something for me to get distracted on?”

“Actually… I do…” I told him as I unfolded the mask from the guy who attacked me yesterday. Somehow Alice and the rest of the team found nothing related to the mask, so I thought to visit a library later in the day, to research about it. “A big red wraith attacked me yesterday. I managed to beat him in his own game, but I ended up with several bruises and broken bones.” He reacted as soon as I said the last words. “Don’t worry. I’ve got them all healed pretty much immediately afterward. He, however, was wearing this mask. Do you know what it is, and what does the symbol in the back mean?”

He grabbed the mask, and I could slowly see the way his face changed from curiosity to desperation and fear. “Serious here. A guy attacked you wearing this mask? Or did you find it elsewhere?” I just nodded quickly, and I started to feel worried about the origins of the mask. “It just happened to be now.” He stood up and quickly covered himself in his coat. He dropped a big bill in the table and placed his gloves back on. “Elizabeth, remain here I need to get in contact with your father and the high council. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” He took out his umbrella and practically ran outside.

I tried to follow his steps, standing up and grabbing all of my stuff. I didn’t have money to pay the bill with, so I hoped that my uncle left enough money to pay for both of us. I got outside the restaurant, and I was already expecting a considerable sunbeam to hit me in the face. It didn’t come, it wasn’t dark or anything, but I didn’t feel the burning sensation in my skin. I looked around and tried to find any clue of where my uncle might have gone. But I couldn’t see any umbrella or some detail to show me he went that way.

I began feeling odd. My body tingled, and I felt as if I were being pulled. I turn around to find no one behind me, but the pulling sensation continued. I turned around a little and felt that the feeling was coming from the weird structure in the center of the pond. The atmosphere got intense, I couldn’t turn my body around elsewhere, as if I were locked by it. The excitement got even stronger than my body started to get pulled. “What is happening?” I told myself. I tried to stand ground, but it also began to drag me towards it. I tried to step back, but the sensation was even stronger than me, and I ended up falling in my back.

That’s when I was dragged towards the fountain, and it pulled me all the way towards the center of the structure. It stopped cold just between the two pillars, making my clothes get soaked. I tried to stand up, but the same feeling was now pushing me towards the ground. I could see how at the tip of the two pillars, two huge energy balls began to form. A considerable laser came down from the sky and separated in two beams leading towards each orb. I felt an enormous pain seconds later. I had no idea where it came from, but it was practically burning my body. It was so intense that I passed out.

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“Did she wake up?” A gentle voice came from somewhere. “I told you, you overdid it, and there wasn’t a need of creating such an intense scene!” A soft feminine voice came from somewhere else. “That’s the only way to bring one of them here! Previously we had our chance, but noooooo, you rather have her get used to it before meeting us.” A raspy tough voice came from the same place. I opened my eyes, wait, they were already opened. I know this place… this looks exactly like the nothingness from where I was after I died! I began touching myself, but I felt that I had nobody at all. “I feel her moving, begin the illusion!”

I felt my body falling to the ground, or what was supposed to be the ground. Finally, something had formed, something aside from the pure whiteness of where I used to be. It looked as if I were nowhere, but somewhere at the same time. As if I were in the middle of the space. It was black, yet there were stripes of different colors flowing around, and small dots all around the sky. My body was back, and I used my hands to help me stand up, even if they were pushing nothing at all. I looked up and once more fell to the ground, but shouting. “AAAAAAH!” I stumbled on my back as I tried to crawl away from, from…

“Did you have to make the Illusion this way?! We are trying to teach her, not scare the hell out of her!” The gigantic looking woman shouted at someone else in wherever I was. She was enormous, building size height, her foot wasn’t even as tall as I was. She was glowing in a green aura. Her hair and skin had different tones of green, but not hulk looking green. She was wearing some light dress cross armor and sitting in a throne made out of several different plants. “Hello my child, I’m Fýsi, the defender of nature.”

“And I’m Hograth, her husband!” A gigantic looking titan suddenly appeared on her shoulder. He was beefy, strong, and I could see that because he wasn’t wearing any armor or clothing on his chest area. His hair was a gigantic flame, and his arms look like he could tear anything apart, and was engulfed by some red aura. “Also a guardian, the fire guardian.”

“We do not have time for this.” A dude is practically wearing only a tunic speak to the left of Hograth. “This will be our only chance to transmit her all of this information since they’ll prohibit her access to the door.” He had straight features, and his hair practically moved to appear as if it was some lighting, and had some yellowish aura around him.

“Vrontí, dear. We have more than enough time to tell her who we are and the reason we called her here.” A gentlewoman, engulfed in a blue aura spoke from the other side of the room. “Hi, there! I’m Nakawé guardian of water, and the meanie who just talked before me is my husband Vrontí guardian of lighting.” She had some indigenous armor, and a great helm on her head. “To my left is Lucerna guardian of light.” The woman was gorgeous, clear white and golden flocks of hair. She had her eyes closed and was saying something between her teeth. “To my right is Oignear guardian of ice.” A woman surrounded by a light blue aura waved to me. She was wearing some heavy knight armor, and her hair was white. “Next to her is Feng Guardian of wind.” A white light aura surrounded the guy who was wearing only a tunic and looked rather weak, rather than strong. “And…”

“I take care from now on Nak.” A friendly voice came from behind me, which cause me to stand up and look at whoever was talking. He looked a bit familiar, long black hair, no beard, but he had some dark aura covering everything but his face. “Tenebris my great-grandchild, a pleasure to meet you.” Holy fuck! He did look familiar. And he looked like a total badass. Some weird dragon scale armor covering his body, and even some black wings on his back. “Now… We need to get this thing quickly. You got any questions?”

“Where am I?” I practically shouted at him, afraid that my size wouldn’t be enough to reach their ears.

“No need to shout Tenebris Jr. We all can hear you clear and sound.” Hograth spoke up from his seat. “You are, at what you like to call it, the hall of champions, where the great ones reside. Which answers your next question, we are the guardians of the eight elements. But we are now known as the great ones.”

“And what exactly am I doing here? Shit! Don’t tell me! I heard that I took some energy directly from you guys.” I kneeled before them and covered my face with my hands. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! Please don’t kill me!”

“We are not going to kill you, honey,” Fýsi told me calming me a little. “That was Tenebris trying to do what are we going to do now beforehand.” I stopped kneeling and sat on the inexistent ground to listen to what she was about to say. “Everyone needs you right now, even if they can’t remember what happened.”

“As you might have discovered there is no information at all of the second era,” Vrontí spoke up. “The annals were completely erased of that time, and we have little information recorded of that era, which brings to the point of you being summoned here. The one who erased any recorded history of that time is coming back, in fact, he already woke up and send one of his best men against you.”

“My father, or your great great grandfather, had finally broken the chains and escaped his eternal prison.” My Great Grandfather now spoke up. “But he had already used his magic against the people of Veö. He has minions across the lines of many kingdoms, even your father’s.” The ground began to shake heavily, and Lucerna squealed in pain. “Honey, what is happening, are you okay?”

“H-He, he is breaking in. I will be able to hold him but not for too long.” She could barely speak, as he was grunting and moving all around.

“Try to hold it as much as you can. Everyone else, get ready.” He stood up and talked to the rest of the people in the room. “Elizabeth, we don’t have a lot of time. You see my father was the first and only one who was able to manipulate all eight powers. He used the power wisely at first. Creating all of the lands, and everything you can see and more. But in his search for power, he corrupted himself and started killing everyone left and right. We, the great ones joined forces to try to stop him. We couldn’t kill him, but we sealed him away in eternity. That’s all we know since he too managed to erase our memories before we locked him away.”

“And now, you are the next one in line. You have what it takes to stop him in his incoming rampage at least. He’s great with the tongue and will try to make you join his side. Remember he doesn’t keep his word.” I began to float in the middle of the room, reaching the size of my great grandfather. “Now, we’ll finish what we tried to do before. We will give you our power, so you’re able to fight against him. You’ll need to master all eight powers. Is everyone ready?”

I turned around and saw Hograth approaching holding below his arm Fýsi. Both look tired and sad. There was a smile on their faces. “We believe in you.” Both said at the same time. Hograth’s finger touches my head, and suddenly I felt an enormous source of energy coming from where he had touched me. It hurt at first, and it didn’t last long, but then, they were gone. Oignear and Feng came by later, and they say goodbye by smiling at me. I felt even more energy coming to my body, so great that all of my muscles and bones tensed up. And they too were gone. Vrontí and Nakawé were the next. Vrontí had a harsh look on his face, while Nakawé had a tear in her eye. She stopped him and gave him a huge kiss on the lips. It didn’t last long since I could hear Vrontí saying. “Don’t fail.” Before they too entered my body and were gone forever.

“Honey… You can stop.” He told Lucerna who was still struggling to keep away whoever was trying to enter. She looked tired and restless. He walked towards her and gave her a kiss in the mouth. “Sorry if we didn’t have enough time to say goodbye. But I love you.” He turned around holding her wife’s hand. “Elizabeth, you won’t be alone. Seek help from the people around you, and remember. You need a light to cast a shadow.” They vanished entering my body. This made me shout in agony as I couldn’t stand the burning sensation inside of me. It was stronger than the previous one. And took less time for me to pass out.

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“CPD! You are under arrest!” That was the first thing that woke me up. I was head down on the fountain, and when I looked up, I saw what seemed to be an entire army surrounding me. Enormous tank-like vehicles, cannons, and a vast variety of soldiers. All were pointing directly at me, each with a different kind of weapon, and their hand looking towards me. I just placed my hands over my head, and ultimately lay in the ground.

To be continued…