Scarlet lagged behind as the other three girls went deeper into the store, looking over the various dresses in awe and amusement. “What’s wrong?” Emily asked, having suddenly returned to Scarlet’s side without the other girl noticing.

“Nothing. Let’s go catch up to the others.” Scarlet grabbed the other girl’s hand and tried to ignore the glares of the other patrons and the staff.

“You’re lying.”

“It’s really nothing.” Nothing I’m not used to already.

“Hey you two, look at this really cute dress I found! Don’t you think it’ll blow Max’s mind away?” Maria did a quick spin in the blue dress so the others could get a look at it and Beth smirked.

“It sure will. You look like a blueberry.” Maria puffed up her cheeks and the two engaged in a playful glaring contest before Maria went to take the dress off.

“That wasn’t very nice.” Emily reprimanded and Beth pouted.

“It’s true though.”

“It certainly wasn’t the most flattering shade of blue.” Scarlet stated, much to Maria’s and Emily’s annoyance. Both girls lightly slapped her arms and Scarlet chuckled. “It wasn’t. Maybe a darker shade would be better, one that matches your streaks or at least compliments them.”

“You’re right.” Maria chirped, beginning to look for a new dress. The others helped out, eventually helping her decide on a date dress and a new pair of heels. Once that was done, the teens left the store and continued walking through the mall. Emily slowed her pace and Scarlet matched her, allowing them to fall behind the other two girls for some privacy.

“Were they watching you in the store?”

“It’s nothing to worry about. It happens from time to time when I go into some stores.”

“I’m sorry. We should have just gone to a different store.”

“It’s fine. You all were having fun so that’s all that matters to me. Besides, it’s not like this is something new. I’m used to it already.” Emily kissed Scarlet on the cheek and sighed.

“Next time, we’ll leave and take our business elsewhere.” Scarlet smiled softly.

“Whatever you say.”

“Hey lovebirds, hurry it up! I found a map.” The couple quickly caught up to their friends and stared at the map. Scarlet shuddered and turned around. Someone is watching me. She couldn’t see anyone, although the feeling had not faded away. The teen turned her attention back to the map, trying to decide where she thought they should go next, but she couldn’t fully focus with the feeling of eyes on her back. Still, she pretended not to notice and began to argue with Beth over whether they should go to the food court or the boutique. In the end, Maria’s stomach made the call and the girls headed for the food court. After eating, they spent a few more hours going from store to store until they were ready to go home. The group piled into Scarlet’s car and she dropped Beth and Maria off at their homes.

“I thought we were going to your house.” Emily remarked as she realized that Scarlet was also taking her home.

“I originally planned to, but something came up and I won’t be able to. Can we reschedule our movie night?”

“You promise that we’ll have one?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we can.” Emily kissed Scarlet goodbye and went into her house. Scarlet watched her go with a sad smile before going home. Once inside her house, she checked to see if she was all alone. Not a soul was in her house, yet she could feel her movements being watched.

“Show yourself!” Scarlet yelled and the sound of a chair scraping against the floor alerted her to a presence in her kitchen. The teen dashed to the kitchen, pulling her switchblade out for protection and throwing the door open. She froze in shock, unprepared for what she was seeing. In truth, Scarlet had been expecting some kind of creeper, but not a fox woman in some kind of military uniform. “Um…”

“You must be surprised to see me.” The fox woman spoke, not at all surprised to see the knife in Scarlet’s hand. She gestured to the seat across from her. “Please, have seat. I’ll explain everything to you.” Scarlet regained her composure and sat in the chair, never taking her eyes off of the fox woman. “I am Captain Miia Avaria of the Intergalactic Special Forces and it is my task to gather the wielders of Abyss magic. A few months ago, it was discovered that Oblivion’s chains had begun to deteriorate. Oblivion is a creature of pure Dark magic that devours worlds. It can only be chained using Abyss magic, but Abyss magic has few wielders. I was given the task of gathering them all so that they can repair the chains and prevent Oblivion from breaking from its pocket dimension to destroy our worlds. Human, you are one of these Abyss wielders. I would like you to come with me.”

“And if I choose not to?”

“You won’t have a choice. There are groups that wish to use your magic to harness Oblivion’s and bring the universe to its knees. One of these groups is already on Earth. They are looking for you as we speak.” A knock came from the front door and Scarlet tightened her grip on her knife. She took a deep breath and answered the door, surprised to find a man in a mailcarrier’s uniform standing there. Almost immediately, she could sense that he wasn’t human.

“Hello, Abyss wielder. I suggest you come with me, or else your lover will pay the price.” Scarlet’s eyes flashed gold and she pressed the knife against the man’s throat.

“What did you do to Emily?”

“Nothing yet. We have her in one of our ships. We would like to trade her for your cooperation. Do we have a deal?”

“Tch, yeah.”

“Then drop the knife and come with me.”

“Or not.” Miia pointed a strange gun at the man’s head and he froze. “Where did you take the human?”

“She’s in one of our ships, just like I said, little Vyrian. Admit defeat already. With her in our grasps, the Abyss wielder will surrender.” Miia looked at Scarlet, who had dropped the knife and cracked her knuckles.

“I have to get her back. I can’t let them harm Emily, especially since she has nothing to do with this. Take me to your ship.”

“I’m coming too. Part of my job is preventing civilian casualties. Lead the way, Uorian scum.” Miia pressed her gun against the man’s back and he transformed into a humanoid rock creature. Scarlet’s mind would not stop buzzing with worry for Emily, though she kept her face schooled in an emotionless mask. The Uorian led them to a warehouse not even an hour’s walk from Scarlet’s house. Inside was a large spaceship and a bound Emily sat in front of it. Scarlet glanced at Miia and realized that she was completely obscured behind the rock creature’s form. Several more rock creatures appeared from the spaceship, two grabbing Emily and dragging her to her feet.

“A trade is a trade. Walk human.” Emily stumbled as they pushed her forward, but managed to stay on her feet and began to run towards Scarlet. Scarlet caught the girl as she threw herself into her arms, crying from fear. Scarlet gently wiped her tears away and kissed her before pulling out of her grasps and walking towards the ship. Emily yelled for her to stop and Scarlet smirked, a golden barrier appearing around the bound brunette.

“As if I’d ever give in without a fight.” Golden ribbons of light poured out of Scarlet and began to tear through the Uorian squadron in front of them. Miia shot the guard she’d been hiding behind and began to open fire on the squadron as well. She quickly turned her attention to fighting off the reinforcements, but there proved to be too many of them. If Scarlet had been alone, she’d have been able to kill them all, but with Emily there her movements were restricted.

“We need to get out of here.” Scarlet nodded in agreement and expanded her golden shield around the trio as they made a run for it. A ribbon sliced through Emily’s ropes and the girl was slightly relieved as they ran, although she was utterly terrified of being captured again. “My ship is not far from here. It’s hidden at the harbor. Hurry!”

2: Chapter 2

Miia unbuckled her seatbelt as the diagnostic tests began. “How bad is the damage?” A holographic screen popped up in front of the captain’s chair and a blue haired girl appeared.

“Ma’am, the offensive systems have taken a direct hit and the shields will be unable to operate at anything more than half of their power. Also, one of the lasers broke through our barrier and our ship, destroying most of the extra equipment in storage room B and damaging our warp system.” A beam of electricity shot out of the screen and the girl appeared in front of the fox woman.

“I’ll leave the repairs to you. I’m going out to find the Abyss wielder. Do not let the ship be discovered.”

“Yes ma’am.” Reika bowed to her captain and sighed once the Vyrian was out of earshot. I’ll need more time than we have to repair this ship. Plus I need supplies to repair the holes and guns. The electric pixie smiled mischievously and transformed her body until it appeared human. She then transformed her military uniform into an outfit that her databases had told her was a uniform from one of the local high schools. With this, I’ll be able to move freely and find some material that I can use for repairs. The electric pixie skipped out of the spaceship and, with a snap of her fingers, it vanished from sight. She giggled and set up an internal radar, searching for the materials she needed. Reika followed this radar deeper into the city, not paying much attention to her surroundings until a human man grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. She snatched free, only to find herself surrounded by large men.

“Hello little lady. We don’t want to hurt you. We just want you to help us relieve some tension. Think you can do that?” Reika glared at the speaker, feeling sparks flow into her hands. I could stun them with one touch. I wish I was allowed to kill them. Scum shouldn’t be allowed to live.

“Hey, back off.” All of their attention was drawn to the boy that spoke. He didn’t look like much, all lean muscle and cold glares, but Reika could sense that he was experienced in combat.

“Tch, why should we? It’s not like you can do anything about it.” The man was suddenly thrown across the alley by the black haired boy. His buddies pulled out knives and pointed them at the teen, whose glare had gone from cold to empty.

“People like you don’t deserve mercy.” Even the boy’s voice was void of emotion as he stalked towards the terrified men.

“H-He’s a Gravedigger!” One of them squeaked out as the teen easily knocked out the nearest man.

“Run!” The men ran for their lives and the boy turned his glare onto Reika. She tensed, prepared to fight back, and the boy’s gaze suddenly warmed, becoming one of worry instead of anger.

“Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” The black haired teen asked, holding his hand out to the electric pixie. She took it and gasped at the spark that travelled between them.

“You have electric magic too!” Reika exclaimed in shock, startling the boy.

“Is that what that spark was?” He muttered, cradling his hand to his chest and staring oddly at Reika. “I’ve never met anyone else with powers like mine.”

“That’s because magic in general is uncommon among humans. My name is Reika, by the way.”

“I’m Donovan.”

“Would you mind helping me? I really need it.” Donovan hesitated before giving her a small smile.

“Well, I guess I don’t mind. I’ve already finished my chores for the day and don’t have any plans.” Reika smiled and grabbed his hand.

“Great! I need to find some metal to repair our ship with.”

“Ship?”

“Spaceship. I am the electric pixie of the Rapscallion. My captain is out trying to find the wielder of Abyss magic.” Reika looped her arm around his and began to walk around.

“What’s that?” Donovan didn’t try to pull away, allowing the shorter girl to drag him around as she followed her radar.

“Abyss magic is a rare type of magic and the only type that can keep Oblivion, a planet eating monster, in the pocket dimension that had been created for it. The chains binding the creature to that dimension are breaking. Once they’re gone, this universe and many others will be at Oblivion’s mercy. So, to rebuild and strengthen the chains, we need the wielders of Abyss magic. Do you have any strong metal around? I need the strongest you’ve got.” Reika asked as she realized that the metal she’d been following with her radar was already in use.

“Uh, probably. We can go to my uncle’s garage and see if they have anything left over.” Reika beamed happily and Donovan gave her a soft smile in return. He couldn’t help it, her positive aura was overwhelming. He took her to the garage and they were immediately surrounded by several of the workers. Reika tensed at his side, expecting a repeat of earlier, but was thoroughly surprised when the men focused their attention on teasing and greeting Donovan. One of the men ruffled Donovan’s hair and threw his arm around the younger man’s shoulders.

“Where’d you run off to? Trying to escape dad’s cooking?”

“Nah, just went out for a walk.”

“And you brought back a girl. Who’s she?”

“This is Reika. She’s a friend of mine. We were wondering if you had any spare metal lying around. Something really strong is best.”

“Why?”

“We need it to fix my ship.” Reika piped up, causing Donovan’s uncle to chuckle and ruffle her hair.

“If we do, it’s in the back. You’re free to take whatever you find.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Donovan led the way to the back room and shut the door behind them as they examined the different sized and types of metal lying about.

“They were all really friendly. I was a little frightened at first because I thought that they were like those men from the alley, but they were very nice. Was the one that ruffled our hair your uncle?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you live with him?”

“Yeah. I live with him, his wife, and my grandfather in the apartment above this garage. Will this work?” He pulled out a heavy sheet of metal that had been hidden behind a broken mattress and Reika scanned it with her eyes, deciphering what type it was and comparing it to what was in the ship.

“It’ll be an adequate substitute. The sooner I start repairs, the better.”

“I can help you, if you want. I know a little about working with machines and wires.” Donovan hesitantly offered and Reika burst into another bright smile.

“I’d love the help! It’s honestly a lot of work to do on my own. Thank you very much. First thing’s first though, we have to get this back.” Reika rubbed her hands together and grabbed one side of the sheet, Donovan grabbing the other, and they maneuvered it out the back door. Together, they managed to carry it back to the harbor and into the ship. Donovan couldn’t help but stare in awe. It was like something out of one of his aunt’s science fiction books. Sparks flew from Reika’s fingers and the sheet of metal was absorbed into the ship’s wall, startling Donovan. Reika led him to the damaged storage room and gave him a pleading look. “Could you take a look at the wires in the panel in here? I have to repair both the offensive and defensive systems.”

“Sure, no problem.” Donovan found the panel and set to work. Almost immediately, he realized that he would have to replace sections of most of the wires he saw. He turned to tell Reika this, but she’d vanished. “Reika?” A holographic screen popped up in front of him with Reika on the screen.

“Yes?”

“Uh…Do you have any wires lying around? I need to replace most of the ones here.”

“Sure.” The screen vanished and a set of robotic arms appeared from a panel in the wall, putting a box of wires beside Donovan.

“Thanks.” He returned to his work, trying to ignore the feeling of shock over his situation. Reika, meanwhile, hummed happily as she set to work repairing the different damaged systems. She repaired the shield so it could return to full power and set about fixing the offensive system. She was almost finished when she heard the sounds of pursuit and received a call from Miia.

“Open the ship and prepare for takeoff! We need to leave immediately!”

“But our offensive system and warp system are not operational.”

“Prepare for takeoff!” Reika opened the ship and began to retract the landing gear. The sounds of lasers reached Reika’s ears and she could see Captain Miia and two human girls running for the ship, swiftly followed by a large group of Uorian soldiers. Reika focused her efforts on fixing one of their rotating guns and fired it on the approaching squadron, attempting to prevent them from catching up as the small group boarded the ship. Reika swiftly began to fly out of the atmosphere, swearing when she saw that an Uorian ship was following them. Several others appeared behind it and opened fire. Reika activated the shield and tried to repair the warping system as she simultaneously returned fire with their one working gun. “Warp us into sector 12!”

“But the system is not operational.”

“Try!”

“Yes ma’am.” Reika attempted to activate the system, but it wouldn’t work. Donovan could hear the impact of something hitting what he presumed to be their shield, urging him to work faster. As he reconnected and repaired wires, he could hear a woman yelling at Reika to attempt to use the warp system. Several wires all sparked at once and Donovan gulped. The sounds of the lasers hitting the shield increased in frequency. Here goes nothing. Donovan grabbed both ends of the wires and clenched his teeth as the powerful electrical current traveled through his body. Reika gasped as the warp system suddenly came on line and quickly activated it, inputting the coordinates. The ship began to glow and vanished, reappearing in a different area of space. Donovan felt the current die down and released the wires, collapsing to the ground. He could just vaguely hear Reika calling his name before he blacked out.

3: Chapter 3

Scarlet paced back and forth as the ship headed towards the space station. “Calm down, everything’s going to be just fine.” Emily tried to reassure Scarlet, but it wasn’t working. She was too pumped up and on edge to be calmed down. It certainly didn’t help that they had an unconscious boy in the infirmary. If anything, it made her even more nervous. Reika was even more agitated than Scarlet, constantly checking in on the boy and repairing the ship’s systems. The ship finally landed at the station and several electric pixies, each with skin as pale blue as Reika’s, rapidly approached. The pixies set to work refueling the ship and assisting Reika in the repairs.

“Is there a doctor anywhere in this station?” Miia asked one of the pixies, who quickly saluted her and nodded.

“Yes ma’am. I’ll go get him immediately.” The pixie flew off and returned several moments later with a reptilian man. Emily moved to stand behind Scarlet and the girl shifted to better protect her. I almost forgot that she doesn’t like reptiles. Scarlet nodded to the doctor as he entered the ship, Reika leading him to Donovan. “You two can go exploring, if you want. We’ll be here a while refueling and stocking up on supplies.”

“I think we’ll take you up on your offer.” Scarlet took Emily’s hand and the couple began to walk through the enormous station. They stopped at a stall and stared at the strange food there. It seemed to be some kind of cross between a dragon fruit and a pomegranate.

“What is that?”

“An egia fruit. If you eat it, you’ll be forced to tell the truth.” Reika’s voice responded, prompting Emily to pull her phone out of her pocket. The pixie was visible on the screen, smiling up at the pair. A beam of electricity shot out of the screen and Reika appeared beside them, back in her military uniform and original form.

“So it’s like a truth serum?”

“Pretty much. We use it a lot back at the base for interviews. Personally, I don’t like the taste. It’s too bitter for me.” Reika looped her arms through Scarlet’s and Emily’s and began to give them a tour of the space station, telling them all about the different foods on sale and the different species they saw. Scarlet smirked at Reika when Emily left them to use the restroom.

“Crafty, aren’t you? Before I knew it, we were caught up in your tour. You made us forget about anything and everything else.” Reika returned the smirk and clapped her hands together.

“You’ve got me. I didn’t want the stress of your first battle to get to you, since the two of you were civilians until a couple of hours ago. It mostly seems to be getting to Emily though.”

“She doesn’t have the heart for battle.”

“I’m surprised you do.”

“It’s not like it was my first time.” Killing or fighting? Reika thought, but she refrained from asking when she heard the bathroom door opening. Emily came out and rejoined the duo.

“We should go back to the ship now. It should be done refueling, so all we’ll be waiting on is the rest of our supplies.”

“Sounds good to me.” The trio returned to the spaceship, only to find Miia talking to a creature that resembled an armadillo, except with feathers.

“Ah, there she is now. Emily, this is Captain Djer Athothis. He will be taking you and Donovan back to Earth.”

“What?” Scarlet and Emily both asked in shock.

“We can’t have any liabilities on our journey, and quite frankly, anyone that can’t fight is a liability. I can assure you that you are in excellent hands. Captain Athothis is already headed that way to meet with the Earth branch of the ISF. Once there, they will provide protection for you until we have completed our mission and the Uorians are no longer a threat.” Scarlet scowled at the news, but she didn’t try to fight Miia on the matter. As much as she hated to admit it, Emily would be safer returning to Earth than staying on their ship. Emily seemed to realize this as well, squeezing Scarlet’s hand before agreeing to go with Captain Athothis.

“I’m not going back.” Everyone turned towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice, spotting Donovan standing in the doorway of the ship, the doctor hovering uncertainly around him.

“You need to rest.” The reptilian man stated, hoping to get Donovan back into the infirmary, but the human gave him a cold glare in return.

“I feel fine now.” Donovan approached the group, seemingly ignorant of the fact that he was being watched by the electrical pixies that buzzed around the ship, stocking it with supplies. “You need me, whether you want to admit it or not.”

“And why would you think that?” Miia asked, standing directly in front of Donovan and giving him an authoritative glare. Donovan matched it with his cold glare.

“If the ship gets damaged again as badly as it did before, you’ll be sitting ducks until Reika makes her repairs. Damage like what we repaired earlier would have taken her at least a day alone to finish. Together, it took us an afternoon.”

“And how do I know that you won’t be a liability?”

“I can fight, both with and without my magic.”

“Prove it then. Spar with me, right here, right now. If you impress me, I’ll let you stay. First one to fall, loses.”

“Fine by me.” Donovan didn’t hesitate to kick out at Miia, who easily dodged his attack and attempted to deliver a blow of her own. He dodged and the two locked into combat. Captain Athothis watched with rapt attention, as did Scarlet. Both were sizing up the two combatants, but for different reasons. The fight ended with Miia skillfully causing Donovan to trip and fall. She drew her sword and pointed it at his throat while Donovan’s fingers sparked with electricity the second he hit the floor. Miia sheathed her sword and held a hand out to him.

“Not bad. I’ll allow you to stay as an assistant to Reika, but Emily has to go back.” Emily smiled sadly.

“I know.”

“Let’s go. My ship is over there.” Captain Athothis said, gesturing to a nearby spaceship that was nearly identical to theirs.

“All right then. Goodbye Scarlet. You better return safely. You owe me a movie night, remember?” Scarlet chuckled softly and kissed Emily.

“I gave you my word, so you have nothing to worry about.” Emily followed Captain Athothis’s electrical pixie to the spaceship and boarded. Scarlet stopped Captain Athothis before he could leave their group, standing on her toes to whisper in his ear. “Harm her and you will die a very painful death.” Scarlet let him go with a smile and the captain paled and quickly returned to his own ship.

“What did you tell him?”

“Nothing.” Scarlet replied to Reika, boarding their ship and finding a cabin to claim as her own. Donovan followed suit, picking a cabin in the deepest depths of the ship and collapsing into the bed from exhaustion. Reika appeared and poked him in the side.

“You look tired.”

“I am.”

“Maybe you should go to sleep.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

“Don’t mind me then.” Reika scanned his body and Donocan propped himself up on his elbows.

“What was that for?”

“To know your measurements. I’m securing clothing for you and Scarlet.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“No problem. I’ll come wake you when we reach the next planet or for breakfast. Whichever comes first.”

“All right.” Reika waved goodbye and Donovan laid back down and curled up into a ball underneath his covers. He was just glad she hadn’t noticed his pain. He could still feel the current’s aftereffects in his veins, making every movement painful. It even hurt to breathe. As he started to doze off, he could have sworn he felt someone’s hands slipping into his shirt. He bolted awake, bumping heads with Reika and almost making her drop the bottle of cream she was holding. “Wh-What are you doing?” Donovan had instantly scurried back to the far corner of his bed, his heart pounding away in fright.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you or wake you! I was just applying this ointment. It’ll help ease the pain from earlier.”

“You noticed?”

“Of course I did. It popped up when I scanned you. I meant to bring this earlier, but it took forever to find it. C-Can I apply it or would you rather apply it yourself?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Okay. You just put it on your chest and forehead.” Reika replied with a smile, trying to hide her worry over how terrified he was. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Donovan watched her leave, slumping back against the wall and trying to calm his breathing. She’s not like her. She’s not like that. She was only trying to help. He shakily grabbed the ointment and applied it before lying back down. He could already tell that, if he fell asleep, he would have nightmares. Still, Donovan was too tired to resist, only hoping that he wouldn’t wake up screaming and get sent back to Earth.

4: Chapter 4

“Sorry, we don’t have any coffee. Maybe the next time we restock, we can pick some up.” Reika replied, giggling when Scarlet groaned and dropped her head down onto the table. Donovan came into the kitchen and Reika beamed at him. He only gave a tired smile in return.

“You look like shit. Did you have nightmares or something?”

“Yeah.”

“Did the ointment work?”

“Yeah.” Scarlet and Reika exchanged a look and as one, they struck. Reika put a plate of food in front of Donovan and Scarlet slammed a glass of water down next to it, startling and confusing him. Both girls pinched his cheeks and Donovan swatted them off. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Nothing like a hot breakfast and a little playing to bring someone back to life.” Both girls high fived and Donovan sighed, a small smile appearing.

“What planet are we headed to next?”

“Uh, um….” Reika pulled up a screen and strange characters flew by as she rapidly read the data. “Ah! We’re headed to Denae. That’s my home planet. I’m so excited! The planet is mostly made up of different types of pixies and merfolk. It’s really peaceful. You’ll get to meet my mom and my sisters. I can’t wait!”

“The chain is indicating that there is another Abyss wielder there. In theory, Scarlet’s magic should react when she gets close to the other wielder and allow her to track them.” Scarlet stretched her arms in the air and yawned.

“We’ll see.”

“Are you even taking this seriously?” Miia asked in annoyance and Scarlet shot her a cold glare.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have left my girlfriend or my world behind.” The glare vanished and Scarlet hugged Reika. “But having such a comforting and cute girl beside me certainly makes me feel better.”

“I wonder how Emily would react if she heard that.” Donovan remarked and Scarlet pouted.

“She’d pull on my ears and ignore me for a few hours.” Scarlet began to stare at Donovan and he scowled.

“What?”

“You’re cute too. If I was straight I’d definitely flirt with you, maybe try to tap that.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?” His scowl couldn’t hide his blush though, and Reika jumped to hug him.

“You’re blushing! That’s so cute.”

“I am not!” Donovan tried to wiggle out of her hug, but it wasn’t working. If anything, his blush had gotten brighter after she’d pointed it out.

“You can’t lie to me. Your face got even redder.”

“It did not!”

“Just admit you’re embarrassed. There’s no hiding that blush. Your skin’s too pale for that.”

“Fine! I’m embarrassed, now would you please stop.” Donovan huffed out, knowing that his face had reddened even more. I hate blushing.

“But you’re so adorable, getting all flustered and embarrassed like that.” Reika released him reluctantly, returning to her seat and allowing Donovan to calm back down. He glared at both girls and they chuckled.

“On a more important note, won’t there be a communication barrier?”

“Nope. Haven’t you noticed that you’ve been understanding us just fine? It’s because we’re wearing these.” Reika pulled her sleeve up to reveal a sleek black bracelet. “As long as I’m wearing this, you’ll be able to understand me. Most of the venders back at the station were wearing them as well. I have one you two as well.” A robotic arm appeared from a panel and handed them their bracelets. “They’ll also allow you to understand anything you read as well. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah.” Scarlet smiled giddily and put her bracelet on. “So, when will we be landing?”

“Another few hours. Just waste time however you’d like.” Even though Reika said this, she knew exactly what they were all planning on doing. She wished that she could spar with them, but she hadn’t been trained to fight and didn’t know how. Her place was controlling and maintaining the ship…nothing more. Sighing, Reika merged back into the ship’s mainframe and focused on navigating the ship successfully to the port nearest her hometown. By the time they arrived, everyone had already regained their composure and changed into fresh clothes. Reika leapt out of the mainframe through a screen and landed beside Donovan, smiling giddily as she felt the port’s connectors locking onto their ship.

“Is there anything we should be worried about?”

“Uh, let’s see, my sisters can get a little touchy feely, but other than that I can’t think of anything else.”

“Wonderful.” Donovan grumbled and Scarlet slapped him on the shoulder.

“I’m sure that if you tell them to leave you alone, they’ll listen.”

“Yeah.” Reika nodded along and Donovan rolled his eyes, electricity flowing into his hand. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Let’s go!” Miia sighed and walked a little ahead of the humans as Reika left the group behind, flying directly to town instead of walking with them.

“She sure is excited.”

“She hasn’t seen her family in ten years.”

“How old is Reika anyway?” Scarlet asked, curious to know more about the electrical pixie.

“Around twenty-three, give or take a year.”

“She is?!” Both teens stated in shock. Neither could believe that the hyper small girl was older than them. She certainly didn’t look or act like it.

“Is it really so surprising?” Scarlet felt a tingle in her gut and eyes on them, causing her to freeze and look around. Instantly, Miia drew her gun. “Do you sense the Abyss wielder?”

“I think so. They’re watching us.”

“Show yourself!” Miia yelled and Scarlet felt the presence leave.

“They’re gone.”

“Let’s continue to town. We can gather information to see if we can figure out who it is.” The trio continued walking towards the village, but only Scarlet was aware of the presence’s continued monitoring of them. Just because it had left the immediate area didn’t mean she couldn’t feel their eyes on them. Whoever you are, I hope you understand that we are not your enemies. I would hate to come to blows with someone I intend to befriend.

5: Chapter 5

Reika couldn’t stop smiling. It’s good to be home. Her three little sisters were all clamoring over each other to get into her lap. “Why didn’t you come back sooner?”

“We missed you!”

“Did you bring us anything back?”

“Sorry I couldn’t come back. We’re not supposed to until we graduate, and once I did I wasn’t able to take a vacation. Work’s been very busy, but I thought about my wonderful little babies every day!” Reika grabbed the girls in a huge hug and smothered them with kisses. Her two older sisters hugged her from behind and smiled.

“We all missed you.”

“You need to take a vacation so you can stay for a while. By the way, why are you here now if you were too busy to take one?”

“I’m on a mission. Oh no! I left my captain and my friends behind!” Reika pulled free of her siblings, suddenly remembering her crew and flying out the door, only to run right into their mayor. “Ow…oh, I’m sorry sir.”

“It’s no problem.”

“So this is your home?” Donovan stated, drawing Reika’s attention to behind the mayor, where the very people she’d been about to rush out to find were standing.

“Sorry for leaving you guys. I didn’t mean to, I just got really excited about coming home.”

“It’s fine.” Miia answered, glancing coolly over Reika’s siblings. A tall, dark blue woman entered the room, meeting Miia’s gaze and folding her arms.

“Children, why don’t you go help your father with the leaves?”

“Okay!” The three little girls ran from the room and the tension became palpable. Reika frowned but didn’t speak up. Her mother was assessing her captain and anything she said would only make the situation worse. Her sisters felt it as well, jolting when their mother glanced at them.

“Kaede, Hitomi, maybe you should take your sister and her friends on a tour of the town. I’m sure that they would love to see it.”

“Yes ma’am.” Both dark blue women snapped to attention and quickly left, taking the humans and Reika out with them.

“Geez, that was rough.” Kaede breathed a sigh of relief now that they weren’t in the immediate range of their mother’s and Miia’s calculating gazes.

“Let’s just hope that mom doesn’t tear her apart.” Hitomi remarked, taking the lead for their little tour. Like ordered, they gave Reika, Donovan, and Scarlet a tour. An audience gathered and followed them, whispering and staring at the two humans as they walked the town. Scarlet tried to keep a smile on her face, but the attention and the crowd were making her uncomfortable. She cocked an eyebrow when Donovan wordlessly took her hand in his. The contact helped her calm down and she gave his hand a grateful squeeze in return. A smile spread on his face and Scarlet felt her unease melting away. Once they arrived at the town square, Reika plopped down on the edge of the fountain, patting both sides of her. Donovan rolled his eyes but sat on her right and Scarlet sat on her left.

“Your town is beautiful.” Scarlet stated, favoring the quaint feeling of the town over her own city’s steel and glass nature.

“Thank you. That’s why I love it here.” Reika’s words were drowned out, however, when the crowd that had been following them surged forward and surrounded the humans.

“Wow! Your skin is the same color as good soil!”

“It’s so pretty!”

“I’ve never seen someone this color before!” Scarlet tried not to scowl, unsure of whether they were really complimenting her or insulting her. Reika giggled and leaned to whisper in her ear.

“Relax, the compliments are genuine. Pixies hold nature in high regard, and when you’re complimented about resembling something natural, it’s a very high compliment. The highest in fact.” Scarlet thanked them courteously, though she couldn’t keep the uncomfortable feeling in her chest from welling up every time someone complimented her skin or grabbed her arms to stare at her skin more intently. She glanced over at Donovan and saw that he had managed to keep the crowd at bay with a cold glare. Reika pouted and patted him on the head. “You shouldn’t be so mean.”

“Tch.” Donovan grunted, but he stopped glaring at the crowd, instead closing his eyes and lying down on the fountain’s edge.

“C-Can we braid your hair?” Scarlet cocked an eyebrow at the little girls and ran a hand along one of her pigtails. I guess I wouldn’t mind. As long as it’s out of the way, it won’t be an annoyance in a fight. Scarlet smiled at the girls.

“Sure.” They smiled in return and flew behind Scarlet with their combs, gently taking down her pigtails and beginning to comb through her hair.

“I’m going for a walk.” Donovan sighed out after a while, rising to leave the town square.

“I’ll come with you.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay. Be careful not to get lost.”

“I will.” Donovan waved goodbye as he left the town square and Reika watched him closely until he was out of sight.

“I wonder why he wanted to go off alone. Did the crowds bother him that much?”

“That’s not it. From the moment we arrived on this planet, the other Abyss wielder has been watching us. They’ve followed Donovan now.”

“What?! We need to go with him then!” Reika flew to her feet, prepared to fly after him, but a golden ribbon wrapped around her ankle and stopped her in her tracks.

“Do you know what a Gravedigger is?”

“Someone who digs graves.”

“That’s not what I meant. The Gravediggers are a very powerful gang back in our city. They consist solely of information brokers and assassins. Donovan’s scar, do you remember what it said?”

“GD-5” Reika didn’t want to know what it meant. Rather, she was afraid of what it meant.

“Odd numbered members are assassins. The lower the number, the stronger the member.”

“No way…” Reika collapsed to her knees in shock. Why? Why would he do something like that?

“He probably has a good reason for becoming one. I merely told you this so that you would know that Donovan will be able to hold his own quite effectively in a battle.”

“Why do you know so much about the Gravediggers?” Reika asked, glancing up at Scarlet as the pixie returned to her feet. Scarlet smirked and fixed her gold eyes on Reika.

“I have my reasons.”

“Can I even trust you?”

“Of course. I have no intentions of betraying you, just as you have no intentions of betraying me. We’re friends. I would never hurt my friends.”

“All finished.” The little girls chirped and one of them handed Scarlet a handheld mirror. Scarlet smiled into the mirror as she inspected their work.

“I like it. You two did a fantastic job.” The girls high fived and smiled proudly.

“Thank you for giving us a chance.”

“It was nothing.” Scarlet smiled at them and they beamed back, happily leaving to go play. “Reika, we should prepare the ship to hold the Abyss wielder in the event that they don’t come willingly.”

“We’re going to force them.”

“Those were Miia’s instructions to you earlier, weren’t they?” Reika flinched.

“How did you know? She emailed them to me while you were training.”

“I have my ways. Well, I’ll be going ahead. I’d like to take a quick rest. Retrieve me when Donovan returns.” Scarlet rose and left without another word. Reika clinched her fist and stared after Scarlet’s back. This human, just what is she thinking?

6: Chapter 6

Donovan smiled softly as he trekked through the forest. He preferred quiet places like this. Now he could think in peace…or so he wished. Donovan caught the knife that was thrown at him and twirled it in his hand. “Nice try. Either come out peacefully or I’ll make you come out.” Another knife came flying out from the treetops and Donovan caught it as well. His eyes turned cold at the answer and he tensed. Knives began to rain down from the treetops from every angle. Donovan deflected the blades that got near him and shot out a field of electricity that made the others drop harmlessly to the ground, their momentum disabled. Donovan threw one the knives into the treetop and heard the clash of steel as it was blocked. He instantly followed up with the second knife and a blast of electricity. A pixie fell from the tree, immobilized by the shock, and Donovan quickly snatched up one of the fallen knives and held it at his throat.

“Fine, you win. Really, such a ruthless human.”

“You’re the Abyss wielder?”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” Donovan pocketed the knife and picked the limp pixie up. “Hey, where are you taking me?” The teen didn’t respond, instead carrying him back to the ship and throwing him into the prepared cell. Reika ran into the room, followed quickly by Miia and Scarlet.

“No way. Why are you here?” Reika froze and glared at the gray pixie, who smiled smugly in response.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the lovely Reika. I’ve missed you, you know.”

“Throw him back.”

“He’s the Abyss wielder.” Scarlet replied, locking gazes with the pixie. His smile faltered but quickly returned.

“So are you. Hey, maybe we should ditch this place together. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to mix magic with another Abyss wielder.” Scarlet scowled at the proposition and the pixie shrugged. “Or not. Doesn’t really matter to me one way or the other. I’d like to be let out of this cell though. It’s not very comfortable.”

“It’s not supposed to be.” Reika responded, clenching her trembling fists. Of all the pixies on their planet, the Abyss wielder had to be the one boy she never wanted to see again. Miia approached the bars and calmly explained their mission to their prisoner.

“I guess I’ll agree to go with you guys. Not like I have anything better to do. My name is Kaoru.”

“My name is Scarlet and this is Donovan.”

“You may call me Miia, since we are now comrades, but do not forget your place on my ship.”

“Yes ma’am.” Kaoru replied languidly, causing Miia to scowl. She had no interest in such a character and would be more than glad to get rid of him once their mission was complete.

“You’ll be staying in this cell for the time being, until we know that you won’t run away.”

“I won’t.”

“Your word isn’t enough to make me believe you.” Kaoru sighed and slumped back, locking gazes with Reika again. He smiled wolfishly and she stiffened. “For now, Scarlet will watch over our new addition while we prepare to head for the next planet.”

“Um, Captain, I was wondering if we could, maybe, stay overnight.”

“We are on a mission to save the universe. Any idling could cost us our lives.” Reika deflated and nodded.

“Yes ma’am.”

“However, rest is also essential to one’s health and I would like to see if I can acquire some more information on the Abyss wielders. Any tidbit could give us an advantage over the Uorians.” Reika brightened and barely managed to stop herself from hugging Miia.

“Thank you ma’am! You can talk to Dr. Yuko. She knows tons of stuff about legends. Maybe she’ll know about the Abyss wielders too.”

“Then I will speak with her tonight. In the meantime, you three will take turns keeping watch over Kaoru.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I’ll still take the first watch.” Scarlet remarked, allowing Miia, Reika, and Donovan to leave before she turned her full attention on the pixie.

“You’re a creep.”

“Your point?”

“Just making sure you understand that I don’t like you. I’d hate for you to believe otherwise.”

“Cute. I like girls with both bark and bite.” Scarlet’s eyes began to glow.

“I can do more than bite.”

“I’d sure hope so. Being around you wouldn’t be worth my interest otherwise, since your reactions aren’t nearly as amusing as Reika’s.”

“Leave her alone.”

“Why should I? We’re all comrades now. I have every reason to get up close and personal to her.” Alarms were going off in Scarlet’s head, and before she knew it, she had a ribbon wrapped around his throat. A black spear was being pointed at her throat, not that she was surprised for it to be there. “Not bad for a human.”

“You’re disgusting. If we didn’t need you, I’d kill you right now.”

“Then you’d die.” Kaoru reminded her and Scarlet smirked. A golden thread shimmered faintly enough to let Kaoru know that she had her neck already fully protected. “Not bad at all. We could really get along, if you weren’t so uptight.”

“No thanks.” Scarlet growled, calling her thread back as the pixie called his spear back. Both vanished and Kaoru smirked up at her.

“That other human has intrigued me as well. I wonder what kinds of reactions he’d give. He’s tough too, but has more openings than you.”

“Don’t you dare touch him.” Scarlet’s voice was cold and murderous, causing Kaoru to chuckle.

“I wouldn’t dream of it. I just want to poke at his cracks and watch him crumble. I don’t need to touch him for that.” A ribbon wrapped around his mouth, silencing him. He better not try to hurt my friends. I’ll make him pay if he does. Scarlet resolved to make sure that Donovan was prepared when he took over for her, if she couldn’t convince him to just let her take his watch too. There was absolutely no way that she would let that creep near him or Reika. He’d have to get through her first.

7: Chapter 7

Reika’s mother sighed uneasily. She was just as worried about Kaoru joining their crew as Reika was. She had almost lost one daughter to him, she didn’t want to risk losing another. “Reika, can you please promise to never be alone with that boy? He’s dangerous.”

“I wouldn’t even dream of it.” Reika replied resolutely, absentmindedly reaching out to grasp Donovan’s hand. The instant she took it, he jumped in shock and immediately began to relax.

“The same goes for you Donovan. He’ll try to get inside of your head, find your weaknesses and exploit them until you break.”

“I’ll be all right ma’am. I’ve met enough people like him to know how to deal with them.” Kaede and Hitomi flew to his side.

“You have?” Hitomi seemed shocked by the thought of Donovan having to interact with people like that often.

“What kind of work did you do back on Earth?” Reika didn’t miss the dark look that flashed through his eyes before he answered the twins with a bright smile.

“Nothing important. I just helped out with the family business.”

“We do too, but just until we’re able to open our bakery. Then it’s up to these little ones to handle it.”

“Yeah, we’re trying to get our own business going, but we haven’t found anywhere we would like to set up.”

“It’ll come to you in time.” Donovan replied, trying to ignore Reika’s questioning stare.

“Will you be able to stay for the night?”

“We have to keep an eye on Kaoru.”

“Reika will be taking the next watch and I’ll take the one tonight so that she can sleep here with you all.”

“Really?” Reika asked, both worried and excited. She didn’t want to leave Donovan alone with Kaoru. She didn’t want to be alone with him either. The only one out of them that she doubted he would be able to get to was Scarlet, due to the glimpse of her other side that Reika had seen earlier.

“It’s fine. I already told you that I can handle him.” Donovan wasn’t nearly as worried. He hadn’t been lying. There were too many people like Kaoru among those people. He wasn’t going to let Kaoru disturb him. Still, he wasn’t exactly looking forward to being alone with him. They spent the next few hours relaxing together. Normally, Donovan didn’t take so quickly to people, but Reika’s mother and younger siblings grew on him. He got a bad feeling around Kaede though, so he avoided being alone with her. She seemed nice enough, just like her twin, but he just didn’t feel like he could trust her. Reika sighed as she stood to go.

“I need to head out to take my watch.”

“And we were just going to start cooking dinner too. We’re going to have a huge feast to commemorate the start of your mission.” Reika’s mother stated excitedly, hugging her daughter tight.

“It won’t be done before I’m finished with my shift. I’ll be back just in time.”

“More than likely. Be careful dear.”

“I will.” Reika smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss her mother’s cheek before flying off for their ship. In all honesty, she’d been expecting Kaoru and Scarlet to be sitting in dead silence, watching each other carefully, but instead they were discussing flowers. Needless to say, she was very confused. He can hold a conversation about something like that? How nice.

“I would warn you, but you seem to know what to expect well enough.”

“I do.”

“Then I’ll be seeing you later tonight.” Scarlet shot Kaoru a glare before she left, startling Reika.

“You didn’t really think that we’d become friends, did you? She hates me just as much as you do, though for a different reason.”

“What did you do to her?”

“Tell her that I have every intention of toying with you and Donovan, but you already knew that, now didn’t you?” Reika glared at him and sat down in the seat opposite his cell.

“You really are a horrible person, aren’t you?”

“I’m not called a monster for nothing.” Reika’s glare deepened and Kaoru chuckled. “You still don’t know huh? Can’t say I’m surprised, given how easy you are to fool.”

“What are you talking about?”

“She’s got everyone in that town fooled.” Reika tensed and Kaoru finally looked her straight in the eyes. “Now you know who I’m talking about.”

“Kaede’s not like that.”

“Oh really? So you can honestly say that you’ve never, not once, felt that something was off about her?” When she didn’t reply, Kaoru leaned his head back against the wall. “So even you can notice things once in a while. How about I tell you what really happened between us?”

“Why would I even believe you? Everyone in town knows that you’re a sadistic, insane bastard!”

“And they are right, but I wouldn’t waste the energy or time trying to kill someone if they didn’t give me a good reason to. Until that night, I had never even spoken to your sister, nor had I even bothered to learn more about her than her name. I got the feeling that she was similar to me, so I left her alone. I’m not really into mixing with my own kind, if you catch my drift. Too much of a nuisance. She followed me into the forest and tried to attack me. Kaede was planning on killing me; that much was obvious the moment she laid her eyes on me that night. When she witnessed the difference in our strength, she fled and I thought things were over between us. I had no intentions of telling anyone. After all, she wasn’t the first and certainly not the last person to try to kill me, but she thought otherwise and told everyone that I had tried to kill her. She even used the wounds I left on her as proof. You know what happens after that.”

“There’s no way that’s true! Kaede would never harm anyone!” Kaoru only shrugged.

“Whatever you say. I’m not the one sleeping in the same house as her tonight. Though if I had the chance, I would certainly kill her now. I don’t like it when people think that they’ve gotten the best of me.”

“Why haven’t you done it already then? It’s been five years.”

“I had more pressing matters to attend to, like getting my life back together after being exiled from our town and blacklisted in every other community. Believe me when I tell you that revenge was never too far from my mind.” Kaoru growled. Is it possible that maybe he’s not lying after all? He does seem serious…No! He’s not to be trusted. He’s just playing mind games.

“You’re lying.”

“You don’t sound so sure anymore.”

“I-I know well enough not to trust you. Everyone does!”

“And whose doing do you think that is?”

“You’re a murderer!” Kaoru cocked an eyebrow at her and actually burst out into laughter.

“That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! While I am fully capable of it, I haven’t had the desire to kill someone until Kaede. Did I not just tell you that I don’t normally bother with killing? Do you know how annoying it is to get rid of a dead body, especially when everyone has magic? You have to erase their magical trace, as well as dispose of their corpse and anything that belongs to them or touched them during the murder. That’s a lot to do, in addition to having to clean every trace of them from the scene and your person. I’m not going to bother with all of that over something trivial.”

“I guess you’re right.” Reika reluctantly agreed and slumped her shoulders. I don’t even know what to think anymore. He is definitely capable of murder, but it’s also true that Kaede never even spoke to him or vice versa before he tried to kill her. He’s seems like he’s too lazy to try to kill anyone for the fun of it…does this mean I think that Kaede’s a killer? It can’t! Yet…things don’t add up in her favor. Now that I’m thinking about it, she has gone on camping trips alone and lost some clothes. She loses clothes every time she goes camping and she’s never let anyone see what she takes with her. Is she hiding something? “I’m not going to believe that my sister is a murderer!” Reika blushed as she realized that she’d shouted her frustrated thought aloud, much to Kaoru’s amusement.

“Still in denial? Then ask her tonight. If I’m lying, what’s the worst that could happen?”

“Not another word from you.” The electric pixie growled, her fingers sparking, and the two pixies fell silent until Reika’s shift was over. She flew out of the ship so fast that Donovan barely even got to say goodbye, the seeds of doubt now firmly planted in her mind.

“What did you do to her?” Donovan growled, enraged, before quickly regaining his composure, but not losing any of the fury in his glare.

“I merely told her something she didn’t want to hear. You must have something like that…for instance, the fact that you’re not as put together as you pretend to be. All I’d have to do is press the right button and you’d crumble beautifully, now wouldn’t you?” Donovan didn’t reply, instead keeping his cold glare on Kaoru. “You can relax. Though I’d love to break you, it’d get in the way of my revenge. As long as we’re on this mission, I won’t do anything more than prod you. Just a word of advice: try not to be so easy to read. Your eyes are an open book. I knew you were afraid of me figuring you out the minute you walked into this room.” Donovan tensed and averted his gaze for a moment, before locking back onto Kaoru’s bored eyes with resolution.

“I’ll still kill you if you try to hurt any of my friends.”

“Even though you’re afraid of killing now? Not that I doubt you. There isn’t much even I could do if you used your powers in a manner more fitting of them. Still, would you really be able to handle taking another life? You’re already trembling at the thought.” Donovan’s grip on his pants tightened.

“I could if it was yours.” He replied with as much conviction as possible. There were no doubts in his mind that he would if the pixie hurt his friends.

“Nicely done. Maybe you’ll exceed my expectations after all. So far, the others have. Well, everyone but your little captain. I don’t really care about her. She’s of no consequence to me.”

“And we are?”

“You’re the ones I’ll be working the closest to on this ship. I’m pleased to be working with you. Let’s be friends, shall we?” Donovan grimaced and Kaoru chuckled. “That’s what I thought. I can’t wait to see how tomorrow goes. I’ve certainly got something to look forward to.” Donovan’s mind immediately flashed to Reika and he began to gnaw at his lip. What did he say to her and what is he expecting to happen tonight? Is Reika in trouble? I know that Scarlet will be enough backup, what with her Abyss magic in all, but I still want to go help her. The teen shook those thoughts from his head and forced himself to focus on the task at hand. He had a prisoner to guard, and a dangerous one at that.

8: Chapter 8

Scarlet glanced from Reika to Kaede and sighed internally. Nobody else seemed to notice, but Reika was now tense around her sister…that is, nobody but the three involved. Reika tried to play it off as leftover tension from watching Kaoru, but Scarlet knew the truth. Something he had said had made her uneasy about her sister. Silently, Scarlet sipped her tea and smiled at Hitomi’s joke. Reika, on the other hand, let out a soft, tense giggle and politely excused herself. Reika’s family looked after her worriedly, but Scarlet was no stranger to the suspicion in Kaede’s eyes that was lurking under her worry. “I wonder what happened while she was guarding Kaoru. He must have really upset her.” Hitomi mumbled, frowning at the thought.

“I’m sure she just needs some time to recollect herself.” Scarlet replied, though she didn’t take her eyes off of the doorway. “I think I’ll go check on Donovan.”

“Here, take this. I forgot to give him a plate before he left. He deserves it, since he helped with the cooking. By the way, where did you disappear to after your shift ended?” Reika’s mother questioned and Scarlet looked away guiltily.

“Uh, well,” Scarlet rubbed the back of her neck, “cooking’s not really my thing so I just had a look around the village instead. I figured that I should just stay out of the way.” Reika’s mother sighed.

“Honestly, cooking is an important skill to learn.”

“I’m working on it. I’ll just take that plate now.” Scarlet took the plate and bolted before she could receive the full lecture.

Reika sat on the back porch and breathed in the night air, trying to calm her nerves. Kaede’s innocent, so I need to stop being so tense around her. Kaoru’s nothing but a liar. He just said all those things to mess with my head and ruin my visit. “Are you all right?” Reika jumped in fright and turned to see Kaede standing in the doorway behind her.

“I’m fine.” Reika smiled as she spoke to reassure her sister, but it didn’t work.

“Yeah right. It’s plain as day that you’re anything but fine. Do you want to talk about it?” Kaede asked, worry etched in her voice, and Reika sighed. “We could talk somewhere else, if you’d prefer the others not to hear us.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Reika allowed Kaede to lead her into the forest. Her instincts were telling her to run as they neared the river. Stop being stupid. She’s my sister. Kaede would never hurt me.

“Well, out with it. Nobody’s around to judge you.”

“Kaoru – he, uh, he accused you of trying to kill him. He said that you were the one that had tried to kill him and then you had him exiled to hide your secret. He said that you were a murderer.”

“And you believed him?” Reika missed the change in Kaede’s tone as she vigorously shook her head. A fist made of water suddenly snatched Reika up and closed around her. She stared in shock at Kaede as she began to pump electricity into the fist, but to no avail. She was trapped. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether you believed him or not, your instincts did. Now you know too much. If only you’d stayed that innocent, unrefined fool you were before you left. His words never would have found ground and I wouldn’t have to do this. I’ll kill you quickly though, since we’re family. Goodbye, Reika.” Reika struggled as the water fist plunged into the river, dragging her down into its depths. She screamed as she was suddenly yanked out of the water and held in the air by golden strings. Reika looked around wildly as she coughed and gasped for air, spotting Kaede and Scarlet. The pixie was clawing at the golden noose around her neck, water slicing at it without leaving a single scratch. Reika was gently placed on the riverbank and she ran to Scarlet, throwing her arms around her.

“Please don’t kill her!”

“And why not? She had every intention of killing you.” Reika shuddered and still shook her head. “If I don’t do it, you’ll have to turn her over to the police. Either way, her life ends tonight.” Even though her words were cold, Scarlet wrapped her arms around Reika, comforting the girl until she’d calmed down enough to make a choice. Scarlet’s noose transformed into a large spider’s web that held Kaede in place. The pixie screamed profanities at the pair, vowing vengeance against Scarlet in particular.

“I-I’ll go get the authorities.” Reika tried to fly, but her wet wings wouldn’t carry her. She took off in a run instead, heading straight for the police station and informing them of the situation. When she returned with the officers in tow, Scarlet was nowhere to be found. Reika shivered, feeling the cold through her wet clothes, and felt a coat being draped over her shoulders. She quickly looked up and caught the golden threads vanishing. I have to thank her properly later.

Scarlet whistled as she entered the dungeon, grabbing Donovan’s and Kaoru’s attention. “I brought you dinner, courtesy of Reika’s mom.”

“Ah, I forgot about grabbing something before I left.” Scarlet handed him the heated up plate and slid a different one through the meal slot for Kaoru.

“I wasn’t expecting you to feed me too,” he admitted in surprise, staring at the food as if he thought it was poisoned.

“Relax, there’s nothing suspicious in it. We’re allies now, so I can’t have you starving on us.”

“Well then, thank you. Did you cook this yourself?” Scarlet shook her head.

“I just heated up some of the food that was in the fridge already. I said I’d feed you, not that I’d cook for you.” Scarlet pulled another chair into the dungeon and sat directly beside Donovan.

“You should get some sleep.” Donovan stated as he ate. Truth be told, he was running on fumes himself. He was horrible at staying up late, though he was the one that had offered to take the late shift. I just have to last until we leave. Then I can crash.

“Says the one who can’t seem to keep his eyes open.” Scarlet teased back, causing Donovan to blush.

“Shut up.”

“You didn’t sleep well yesterday, did you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“No, but I heard you whimpering in your sleep when I got up for a drink of water. Must have been some nightmare.”

“It was.” Donovan grip on his pants tightened and Scarlet ruffled his hair.

“I’ll help you stay awake tonight.”

“I don’t need your help.” Donovan grumbled.

“If you get any sleepier, I’ll be able to just walk out of here.” Kaoru pointed out and Donovan glared at him. “It’s true.” Scarlet nodded in agreement and Donovan sighed.

“You’re both bullies.” He slouched in his chair and Scarlet began to sing softly, lulling him to sleep before he even realized it.

“Sneaky. What did you want to talk about?”

“Revenge.”

“Continue.”

“Kaede tried to kill Reika tonight. You knew it was coming.”

“And so did you.”

“Because you tipped her off to Kaede’s true nature, such an event was inevitable. That doesn’t mean that I forgive you for doing it.”

“You wanted her to stay in the dark?”

“It was preferable. Now she’s emotionally compromised.”

“Look at you, speaking like you run this mission.”

“And how much power does Miia really have around here? Over us?” Kaoru smiled mischievously.

“Not nearly enough to keep me here. Reika serves her because that’s her job, but Donovan is less inclined to obey. Obviously, neither one of us is exactly obedient.”

“I don’t mind listening to her. She’s got more experience with this kind of thing and this is her ship.”

“Plus, she knows more than we do about keeping Oblivion locked up.”

“There’s that too. I’ve been looking into it myself, but there’s not a lot of information to go on, certainly not enough on how the other dimension was created.”

“And once you do?”

“I don’t know. What about you? What are your plans for this journey?”

“I’ll help until we’ve handled Oblivion. After that, well, Kaede’s life will be mine.”

“As expected.”

“So, what did you mean when you said you wanted to talk about revenge?”

“I was just wondering if you were dead set on killing her.”

“I am.”

“She’ll be waiting on you in prison then. Instead of allowing me to kill her, Reika chose to have her arrested. She won’t be able to flee.”

“So you killed two birds with one stone.”

“Why, whatever could you mean?” Scarlet asked, feigning innocence, and Kaoru rolled his eyes.

“You ensured that Kaede would no longer be a threat to Reika and you guaranteed my revenge.”

“Maybe it all just worked out that way.” Scarlet pulled out a deck of cards and smirked. “Care to play? We have a long night ahead of us.”

“I don’t see why not. Just don’t cry when you lose.”

“As if I’d ever cry for you.” Scarlet’s strings gently wrapped a blanket around Donovan as she shuffled the cards, daring Kaoru to try his luck against her in poker. She knew he wouldn’t pick it though. A battle between them would last much longer than the time they had.