My name is Waldo Summerton. It's short for Waldorf, in case you didn't know. Yeah, pretty old fashioned name, but when you're the son of rich people, you don't really get a choice in that matter. I'm fourteen years old, and the heir to the Summerton family fortune. I live in the town of Johannesburg, one of many places in the kingdom of Sylvania. Sylvania is one of the seven kingdoms that make up the country of Varia, which is part of a bigger world called Erion.

Locations aside, you should probably know that Erion is a world of monsters, magic and mayhem, plain and simple. It shouldn't be a surprise, since every fabled creature you could possibly think of exists here. Add in conflicts between species, as well as people obsessed with conquest, and you couldn't count on your fingers the number of world wars, campaigns and skirmishes we've had.

Is there anything else you need to know? Oh, right. You know how I said that I was the heir to a family fortune? Well, there's more to my life to that. By day, I'm the slightly spoiled (emphasis on slightly) , courteous and resourceful rich boy. But at night, I'm an Energist: a vigilante with magical powers who's paid to destroy Chaos Monsters. I'm the youngest of the Energists, and the most powerful. I have to admit that sometimes I can be a bit too eager to fight against monsters; a trait that I inherited from my father, who is a retired Energist well-known for his aggressive attacks.

That eagerness nearly cost me my life one night, and I had an experience that changed how I saw myself and the people around me. And it was because of this experience that I slowly started to change.

But nobody said that change would be easy. In a span of a month and a half, I ended up learning all sorts of shattering reveals that would make any normal person check into the nearest asylum. During this time, I met two people who were different from me in all sense of the word, but despite our differences, we became friends. During this trial, I nearly lost everything that was important to me: my family, my home, and even the two people I called my friends. But through this all, I learned a lot about the world, and even regained some of my humanity-as well as a new purpose in life.

"Be prepared to go on a journey that will change your life," is what my butler told me before I left. Well, I'd have to say I wasn't exactly prepared, but I'm glad I went anyway. I'm a better person because of it.

So, this is my story. Well, to be more honest, the story of me, my two friends, and a world that's not at all what it seems.

Let's get started, shall we?

2: PART 1

~PART 1: THE WORLD SHIFTS

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

-Ephesians 6: 12

3: Chapter 1: Deadly Encounter

Chapter 1: Deadly Encounter

It all started when, after I woke up from dozing in my father's chair, I happened to look at the grandfather clock sitting in his study. It was already 11:30. Had it been that late?

I suppose so, I muse to myself, stretching out in the chair. I had spent two hours curled up in here with a book that I had been unable to put down for the last few days: The Chrono Phantasma. It was about a boy who hunted down people with a rare source of energy in order to save his sister, who was about to have her soul taken out by their maniacal father. The boy had made a deal with his father: in exchange for his sister, he would gather the rare energy source from everyone in the world, and give up his own soul as well.

Needless to say, the story had me hooked from the start. I had been about two chapters away from the ending when I dozed off.

The premise reminded me of my job as an Energist, only that I wasn't doing it to save anyone. I was just taking up the torch, since my older brother, Greg, had been an Energist when he was still alive. I was barely a year old when Greg had disappeared after a Chaos Monster attack. Most people who disappeared after a Chaos Monster attack never showed up again. I barely knew anything about Greg, although my parents had told me that he was really smart and powerful.

Thinking of Chaos Monsters was starting to make my arms tingle. Not out of fear, but out of anticipation. For me, fighting Chaos Monsters was more than just a job; it made me feel alive, and satisfied my thirst for danger and fights.

That's something that you never expected to hear from a fourteen year old, but you can blame my father for that. Before my brother and I came along, he used to be a member of the Blood Oath, a very famous group of Energists in his day. Nicknamed the 'King of Monster Slayers', he was more bloodthirsty than I am. He gave it up when he married my mother on her family's insistence. When I asked why, he said that being an Energist back then wasn't enough to put food on the table, and it was a very dangerous profession to have back then. That didn't stop him from passing on his legacy to the two of us. Before he disappeared, Greg was a powerful Energist, but I soon surpassed him as being more powerful than even Father.

In case you're wondering, an Energist is kind of like a vigilante, but with magical powers. Unlike those guys, who are paid to put criminals behind bars, we're paid to destroy the Chaos Monsters that we capture. The reason for this is because Chaos Monsters are very dangerous creatures, especially if they're in captivity. That's why we have to destroy them, as they can kill the people we're protecting.

Chaos Monsters, as we collectively call them, come in four different classes: Lessers, Juveniles, Greaters, and Alicante. The Lessers are the weakest, and the Alicante are the strongest. Depending on what class it is, you can get paid either really well or...not really well.

And if the Chaos Monster was a notorious offender, like last month's Grim Reaper, you had pretty much hit the jackpot.

Most Energists worked together in teams to take down Chaos Monsters, but Father became a legend for working solo and surviving his encounters. Back when he was younger, it was considered insane to work by yourself as it was easier to get killed. Father always told me that he did it to settle an old bet with one of his business rivals, but I also get the hint that having ten thousand drachmas all to himself had brought on his decision.

But who am I to talk? The reason I started my career as an Energist in the first place was so I didn't have to mooch off of my parents all the time. That, and having my own share of money was something every boy dreamed about having. What's better than having over thirty thousand drachmas to yourself, and you didn't have to share it with anybody?

I looked up at the clock again. It was now 11: 32. It wouldn't take too long to go out monster hunting, since it was winter and Chaos Monsters usually hated the cold. It had been a couple of months since my last monster hunt. Perhaps I might be able to find something worth my time now. The last few times I'd gone out fighting, I'd fought a few Lessers. Lessers are the weakest of the bunch, but these were so weak, it was ridiculous. 

I gathered my book and empty cocoa mug and walked out of my father's study, heading downstairs into the kitchen. On my way down, I heard loud humming coming from the kitchen. When I walked in, I saw my ever faithful butler, Chadwick, making the last few decorations on a red velvet cake. He was tunelessly humming to himself, something he did when he was concentrating.

With cloud-white hair, deep blue eyes, and a rod-like body, he looked like an angel. In fact, I asked him if he was one on my second birthday, and he amusedly replied that he wasn't. On the other hand, he'd been with my family for over 40 years, so that should give a hint as to how old he is. 

"Making cakes as usual, Chadwick?" I teased. The relationship between us was more like father and son than master and servant, as he basically raised me like I was his own when I was little. My favorite subject to tease him about was his sweet tooth, as he was always making cakes and other desserts.

Chadwick turned to me, a playful glint in his eye. "This is the first time I've made a cake in a few months," he replied.

I applied a look of mock horror on my face. "Who are you and what have you done with the real Chadwick?" I asked.

"Your father wanted to make sure that you were eating well, so he asked me to tone down on the desserts," he said. "But with both of your parents gone for the week, I couldn't resist."

"I can tell," I replied, placing my empty mug in the sink. "I've come to let you know that I'll be heading out for the evening."

"Are you getting ready to go on another monster hunt, sir?"

"Yes. I'm dreadfully bored to death, Chadwick. I've done all of my usual activities, but none can match the thrill of monster hunting," he said.

"Ah, yes. The position of an Energist is always filled with thrills, am I right?"

"Yeah. It's better than being cooped up in my house," I said. I walked towards the front door, where my Energist gloves were hanging on the coat hanger. The bright blue sapphires, surrounded by a gold crown, glistened in the moonlight. I slipped them on, and put on my cloak and winter cloak. Behind me, I heard Chadwick sigh.

"What's the matter, Chadwick?" I asked. "Are you objecting my going out again?"

"You may think I'm being overbearing, but I'm only worried about your safety, Master Waldo. I would hate for you to go missing like Master Gregory before you," he said.

I turned to him and smiled. "Don't forget who you're talking to, Chadwick. I am the most powerful Energist alive, remember? It'll take a lot to stop me."

"I can only hope that you are correct, Master Waldo." Chadwick's voice was low with concern. The smile vanished from my face.

"Chadwick...the last thing I want to do is to make my parents think there's some curse hanging over my family. I've been out on these monster hunts for the last three years, and one monster has yet to overpower me. I'm not going to be like my brother, where a Chaos Monster took him by surprise," I assured him. "I'm just going out to see if there are any monsters out tonight. If there are, I'll see if I can harvest enough energy to let you go on that vacation you always wanted."

The mention of the vacation seemed to make Chadwick feel better. "That would be lovely, Master Waldo, although I doubt I'd find the time…"

"You've told me all about your plans, Chadwick. I know you'll find the time somehow," I replied, my hand on the door. The metal was freezing when I touched it.

"Very well, sir. Happy hunting," he said.

"Thanks, and happy baking," I replied, and opened the door.

The wind that blew in was overwhelming, and my legs were burning from the cold. But when I got a good whiff of the air, I knew I had made the right choice in coming out tonight. The air was alive with the scent of Chaos Monsters. And judging by the electric hum I felt in my nose, it had to be either a strong monster, or a group of them.

I was so lost in the moment that I didn't hear Chadwick yelling to close the door. After I did that, I ran down the dirt path that led to the heart of the village from the family manor. The closer I got, the stronger the scent became. My heart was pounding with anticipation, as I hadn't been on the hunt for so long.

By the time I got to town square, my nostrils were on fire. I started looking around for the monster. It had to be close since the scent was very strong where I was standing.

"Powers of the Holy One, come into my hands. Give me the power to destroy all demonic entities," I recited, using the standard phrase to summon my powers. The sapphires glowed in the white wind, making my hands appear as beacons to any bystander watching.

There was still no sign of the Chaos Monster, even though my nostrils were burning with the scent. I decided that I had to call out to it in order to get it to come after me. I couldn't stand this cold anymore, and I wanted to get this over and done with.

"Come at me, you stupid creature! I am the great Waldo Summerton!" I shouted. "I am the one Energist who has yet to be defeated in battle! I'm not afraid of anything-not even you!"

Immediately, I regretted shooting my mouth off.

The creature that came leaping at me, forelegs outstretched and claws drawn, was taller than five Chadwicks, weighed more than ten full wheelbarrows, and had huge canines like a saber tooth. Its skin was black as the night, with waves of purple chaos energy going through its skin. Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed as it pinned me to the ground, its weight nearly crushing me while its claws dug into my shoulders. It took all it had in me to not scream in pain.

With its mouth open like a vise, it came snapping down at me, aiming at my head. I tried to move, but its teeth managed to sink into my left cheek. This time, I did scream, with enough volume to shatter windows in ten towns. I had to think of something fast, or else I would be dead in a matter of seconds.

I slowly held up my pinned right arm and gathered what energy I had left. A blue orb of energy appeared in my hands, and the creature yanked its teeth from my face-eliciting another scream-to bite my hand off.

"OBLITERATE!" I shouted hoarsely. 

The sphere exploded, blinding me. The monster yelped in pain, wrenching its claws out of my shoulders. The sudden release of pressure, combined with the explosion, sent me flying halfway across the street. I slammed into the side of a house, hitting the wall with the back of my head. Everything around me swirled and I struggled to regain balance as the monster returned. The attack had had no effect on the creature at all.

I swallowed heavily, the blood running hot down my throat, and pushed myself to a standing position. I nearly collapsed again, but I grabbed onto the side of the trash can. I picked up my glasses, which had slid off my face, and put them on. Looking at the monster more closely, I know remembered why this monster was so vicious.

It was an Alicante- the strongest of the Chaos Monsters known to man. They were incredibly dangerous, and more often than not killed most of the Energists attempting to destroy it or harvest its power. Very few had succeeded in either endeavor.

Tonight, that was going to change. No matter what it took, I was going to keep my word: I was not going to end up like my brother. No Chaos Monster was going to claim Waldo Summerton.

Not even an Alicante.

My Energist gloves reacted to the adrenaline pumping through me, as they started glowing with power. I got into a battle stance, the pain in my shoulders numbing out. Likewise, the Alicante was prepared to strike as well. Despite the odds stacked against me, and how painful it was to do so, a smile came across my face.

"Come now. Let's see how much energy you'll give me."

The Alicante let out an unearthly scream before it lunged at me. I dodged quickly to the side, avoiding its sharp claws by inches. It plowed straight through the brick wall, sending bricks and broken furniture flying. Screams emerged from the house as the owners ran out in terror. Within seconds, lights went on in every house, and doors started opening.

"Great," I breathed, realizing that all the racket we'd made was attracting attention. But I had no time to move as the Alicante was on top of me again. Its claw hit my again, this time slashing across my stomach. The scream that echoed throughout the street didn't come from anyone but me, as I was in unbearable pain. I slammed into the ground again, and the monster snarled as it started to follow as it chased me. Through my blurry vision, I looked down to see my hand painted with blood, and that a small stream of it was leaking in the snow.

At that moment, I thought I was going to die. I thought that everything was going to end right here, right now. Weakly, I began to pray. I had been saved at a young age, but I never really took heed to the pastor's lessons. I always did whatever I wanted to, and never took my spiritual life seriously. 

Right now, though, it seemed like a good time to say my last prayers.

"God, if you can hear me, help," I said, closing my eyes and waiting for the monster to attack me.

But it never happened.

"By the powers of the Holy One, I banish you from this place. You who desecrate this plain...leave at once! Purification!"

I heard that aria, and then a loud hum as though something were being charged. Then there was an explosive sonic boom and then a slam. When I opened my eyes, I saw a river of green light envelop the Alicante. The scream that came from its mouth was enough to level entire houses. It made an effort to reach out to me, but in matter of seconds, its body was reduced to ashes.

Another being, this one more human-looking, remained inside the beam-and was in screaming pain. In seconds the attack disappeared, and I stared in shock at what was in front of me.

As it turned out, it was a human. A man who looked to be no older than Father stood before me, stark naked, and looking like he'd been strung with barbed wire. Scars, both old and fresh, were visible on every part of him. His hair was black in the darkness, although the moonlight that shone down allowed me to see that his hair was dark brown. His blue eyes leaked with tears as he looked all around, completely ignoring my baffled look.

"I...I'm free...I'm finally free..." he murmured. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he promptly fell like a rock, exhausted. Within seconds, the townspeople were surrounding him, trying to see if he was alright. I continued to stare, unresponsive. Alicante were simply demons, not men disguised as them.

That soon became the least of my problems as my body began to feel cold. Immediately, I remembered the wound in my stomach. I fought to stay awake as long as I could. I prayed to God that I wouldn't die. I still had so many things to do...so many people to meet...so many monsters to fight...

And then, footsteps crunched the snow in front of me as someone ran into view. It was a beautiful girl with long blond hair spun into a braid. She was tall, much taller than me, and her bright green eyes were filled with worry. Her hands were glowing with green energy, so I knew she had to be the one who had just saved my life. Kneeling down next to me, she tried to pick me up by the shoulders, but I cried out in pain, and she let go. 

"Where does it hurt the worst?" she asked.

"Everything hurts like crazy," I replied. I'm pretty sure I slurred that last part, as my eyes were dropping.

She was over me in an instant, picking me up by the shoulders and cradling me in her arms again. She looked panicked. "S-Stay with me okay?" she said breathlessly. "I-I need to get you home, or else you're going to..."

I reached up weakly, my bloody hand grabbing her sleeve. She looked down at my hand, and then at me in shock.

"Please...hurry..."

That was the last thing I remember doing before the world went black.

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When I opened my eyes again, I found myself standing in front of a large court. On either side of me, there were two large angels with books. One book was so thick that it couldn't possibly be carried by a normal person, while another was so thin it could have been a sheet of paper. We were all standing in front of a large judge's desk, which towered into the sky. The judge's face was so bright I couldn't make out his features.

"Tell me-why should I let this boy live?" the judge asked, his voice booming across the plain.

The angel on my right said, "Father, he has done many, many bad things. He claims to be Your child, but he has done nothing to prove this. In addition, he has developed a love for fighting and killing, as well as arrogance and pride in his skills."

"But Father," the angel on my left said, "You haven't heard of the good things he's done. He's cast out demons from people, and he's given to the poor."

"The evil things that he's done outweigh the good things he's done," the judge replied. "For this reason, he cannot enter My Domain."

My mouth dropped open. Were they really saying what I thought they were saying?

All of a sudden, another angel appeared. He was about eight feet tall, and dressed in white and purple. He held out a huge book for the judge to read.

"Father, I have come from the boy's butler. He has prayed that the boy will live," he said.

"Do you have the accounts? What has he done that deserves this?" the judge asked.

"Here are the works that he has done for You, Lord." The angel held out the huge book. "As for the works of evil…" Then, he pulled out a book that was thinner than mine about the good things I've done. I stared in astonishment, and then looked up at the judge.

"The man's good deeds outweigh the bad ones. For that, his prayers will be answered. The boy will live," the judge said.

Before I could stammer out a response, the heavens below opened up, and I dropped from the sky.

----------------------------------------------------------

I awoke gasping for air, horrified by what had just happened to me. My heart pounded in my chest and my skin was slick with sweat. When I had found enough self control to compose myself, I realized that I was back inside my room, and that I was wearing clean, fresh clothes. I slowly reached over to my shoulder, and winced as I felt my bandage. My wounds had also been dressed as well.

I was confused. How in the world did I get back home? I barely had any strength in me to walk.

"Master Waldo! You're awake!"

I turned, startled, to see Chadwick sitting next to me. Before I could even comprehend what was going on, I found myself wrapped up in his tight embrace. He was apparently unaware of the pain in my shoulders, but I didn't care at the moment either. I returned it, and then he released me, tears running down his face.

"For a moment, I feared the worst, Master Waldo. You could have died tonight, but God answered my prayers," he said.

"I know," I replied. I couldn't get the image of the court out of my head, about how I had nearly ended up somewhere I didn't want to go. "Who…who brought me home, anyway?"

"I did, with the help of a young woman named Evangeline Hartsfield. She's about your age, sir, and saw you getting attacked by the Alicante," Chadwick explained. "She destroyed it.

"How did you come out there?"

"I heard the commotion from the house, Master Waldo. You scream quite loud," he replied. "I found you unconscious in her arms. She brought you here, and I patched you up. I've been waiting for you to awake for the last hour."

"Wow, that's a long time," I muttered. "Any longer, and I might have been in trouble."

"I agree," Chadwick said.

"When will the doctor be here?" I asked.

"In the morning, I believe. Right now, he's in the middle of investigating the man who appeared in the square moments after you were defeated," he said. "They say that it's the mayor."

"Mayor Jones?" I blinked, confused.

"No. It's Mayor Downey, otherwise known as the Long-Lost Mayor. You've heard about the Long-Lost Mayor, right?"

"Yeah, he's the mayor who disappeared for about four or five years," I replied.

"They haven't said anything yet, but news is spreading around like wildfire," Chadwick said. "If it turns out this is true, I expect a lot of theories to start popping up about Alicante." He soon stood up to leave. "You get some rest, Master Waldo. If Miss Evangeline returns, I will give her your thanks."

I was surprised. "She's not here?"

"She left after we brought the water and ointments to treat your wounds. She said that she couldn't let her family worry about her," he replied. "I will be sure to tell her that you said thanks, or you can wait until later."

"I think the first option might be good," I replied. "I like to thank people in person."

"Very well, sir. Good night, Master Waldo," he said. Then he left my room and closed the door.

As I lay back against the pillows, I thought about Evangeline, the mysterious girl who had saved my life, and Chadwick, my faithful butler who had spared me an eternal life of suffering and pain. On top of that, the Long-Lost Mayor had possibly been found.

I sighed. Tonight, I did find something worth my time.

And it had almost cost me my life.

4: Chapter 2: Looking for Answers

Chapter 2: Looking for Answers

"Curse the sun," I muttered as I tried to bury myself under the covers. Chadwick had opened them around eight earlier this morning, and sunlight was pouring in through the window. Having been left in a dark room for over eight days, I was having more than a little trouble adjusting to the sunlight.

If only I hadn't said I would like the windows open for a change…

"Master Waldo!" Chadwick yelled from downstairs, "I have letters for you!"

"I'll be there in a minute!" I shouted back, and threw back my covers. Very carefully, I slid off the bed, and put on my boots. Reaching over to the nightstand, I picked up my crutches, slid them under my armpits, and stumbled halfway to the door. With some effort, I got it open.

I had gotten these crutches only three days ago, when the doctor came to visit me. He told me that I wouldn't be able to walk for at least six weeks. At most, eight. Until then, the crutches were going to be my new best friend.

Carefully, I managed to make my way down the steps without falling on the ground. The first time I'd come downstairs with these, I fell all the way down and ended up breaking my glasses. Thankfully, I didn't break anything else in my body, but the black eye wasn't going to help matters.

Chadwick was standing by the door with a stack of letters in his hands. He looked surprised to see me.

"Well, it appears you've made progress by using those crutches," he noted, and handed me the letters.

"Thanks, although it's not easy," I replied, leaning on one crutch to look through them. Many were from people that I hadn't talked to since grade school, before I left to attend St. Hilde's Academy.

As I hopped into the kitchen, Chadwick asked, "May I ask why you're writing to all of your classmates all of a sudden, Master Waldo?"

I was halfway to the table when he asked that. I felt my heart begin to race as I recalled once more the court and the judge in the sky. I pushed that thought away, and turned to Chadwick with my best paste-on smile.

"My mind was just….running on them for some reason," I said. This was a half-truth, as I remembered all of the things that I'd done to them back then.

Chadwick still didn't seem convinced. "You told me before that you didn't think highly of your classmates from school," he answered, walking into the kitchen. "So, my question is what exactly caused you to suddenly write letters to them?"

I knew there was no point in trying to lie to Chadwick. The old man was smarter than I'd credited him for. I stared into my hands for a moment, and sighed.

"Well, there was something that happened last week. You know the night where you said that God had answered your prayers?" I said. "Well…I nearly died, Chadwick, and I nearly ended up in a place that I didn't want to be in."

Chadwick leaned forward, his chin resting in his hands. "Why don't you tell me about it, Master Waldo?"

So I did. I told him everything, about the heavenly court and the two books of good and evil. I told him how an angel had flew in with Chadwick's book of good works, and because his outweighed mine, his prayer was answered. I told him about how terrified I was about never being able to get into heaven, and I started thinking of all the bad things I've done. After I was finished, Chadwick seemed to look down at the table in thought.

"So, you're trying to atone for the bad things you've done?" he asked.

"Yeah. Looking back at all of the things I've done up until now, I realize that I really am a jerk," I replied.

"Indeed, you are your father's son," Chadwick chuckled. "He wasn't exactly the nicest person either, Master Waldo."

"Oh, great. Another comparison to my father," I groaned. "I don't ever want to be like him…"

"But here you are, being greedy, ignorant, and in general doing things you know you're not supposed to," Chadwick added, "all of which are traits that your father has."

I sighed. "Did he have problems getting people to forgive him for what he did?" I asked.

"Oh yes. He'd get so mad that he'd never talk to them again," Chadwick answered. "It took some time, but he eventually managed to open up towards those people. It was really thanks to your mother that he was able to do so."

"I see…" I replied, scratching my chin. "Chadwick, do you think I'm too much like my dad?"

"Well…you do have the same craving for battle as he does," he replied. "I'd like to say that you're like him in almost every way….except for one thing."

"And what's that?"

"You know how to control yourself before things get too heated or disastrous, and you're much more kindhearted than he is," Chadwick said. "Don't ever lose that, Master Waldo. It's the one thing that separates you from your parents."

"Isn't that something that I got from you?" I asked.

"Er, more or less," Chadwick replied. "I just want to make sure that you keep some of your humanity, sir. The same couldn't be said for your brother…"

My eyes lit up. "What does that mean, Chadwick?"

"Your brother was more like your father than you are, Waldo, and worse. It got to the point where he didn't care about whom he hurt or what he did," Chadwick said. "It was one of the reasons why your mother took great precautions not to leave you and him in the same room."

"She didn't trust him that much?" I asked. "She never told me that!"

Chadwick shook his head. "That's because she didn't want to tell you, Master Waldo. I believe that she did this just so she could protect you from the monster that he really was."

I stared at him in shock. The idealized vision I had of my brother was now completely and utterly changed. Then again, nobody's perfect.

But…if it were true that he had been a cruel, heartless person, then it was probably a good thing that I wasn't around him growing up. Still…

"I want to know the truth. I want to know where my brother is, and why he hasn't come back from the monster attack that took out a whole bunch of people," I demanded.

"But sir, don't you think that's a bit of an impossibl-"

"He's been gone for the last ten years, Chadwick. If my dad were here, he would tell me that Greg would've made it back by now," I argued. I stood up, carrying my crutches. "I'm going to go out there and find out where my brother is. The only way I'm going to know what you're saying is true is if I find him myself."

"That's a very noble quest, sir," Chadwick replied, "however; I do believe that you're forgetting something."

"And what's that?"

"You haven't eaten your breakfast yet," he said.

I resisted the urge to face palm. "Of course. Right after I eat breakfast."

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Chadwick insisted on accompanying me to town that morning. I thought that he was being a bit over protective, but he had a good reason to come: I was still having some trouble with the crutches, and nobody would be there to catch me if I fell. Although I wouldn't admit out loud, I was secretly glad that he was coming with me. It's much better than having no one to talk to.

As we walked into town square, we were surprised to see a mass of people gathering about the other side of town. It seemed like they were looking for something….or someone.

"I say, isn't that him over there?" one person piped up.

"I can barely tell," said another. "Too many people about."

"Hey, look over there! I can see the blue of the Mayor's Suit!" a boy shouted. An uproar went up in the crowd and they moved in closer to get a better look at the mayor.

"What's so special about the mayor that everyone's crowding around for?" I muttered. I had made it very clear to Chadwick many times that I wasn't fond of Mayor Jones, the current head of the office.

Chadwick did his best to look above the heads of the crowd. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his jaw drop.

"Chadwick, what's wrong?" I asked urgently.

"There's a reason everyone's gathered about, sir. It's the Long-Lost Mayor, Jackson Downey. He's back!" he explained.

I stared at him and then turned to see people make way for the man, who was on his way to Town Hall. In his left hand, there was a scroll with a green ribbon hanging from it. From where I was standing, he seemed to be gripping it tightly. He was in quite the hurry as well, not stopping to acknowledge anyone as he walked down the road that led to Town Hall.

Chadwick was the first of us to wake up from shock. "Well, I suppose we'll have to hear about an explanation from him later," he replied. "I'd like for that Vincent chap to get the-"

"No, we're going to get an explanation from him now," I declared.

Chadwick stared at me like I was some deformed creature. "Sir, have you gone mad? They don't let civilians into Town Hall. And even though we are the most powerful family in Johannesburg, do you think they'll just let us in?"

"He disappeared during that monster attack four years ago. Perhaps he knows about how people are getting taken. And if we can figure that out, we'll be one step closer to finding out what's happened to my brother," I replied.

Without waiting for Chadwick to answer back, I started making my way down the road that led to Town Hall. Behind him, I heard him sigh.

"Another thing that you've inherited from your father is stubbornness," he said.

"Hey, I'd like to know where Greg is. Wouldn't you like to as well?" I replied.

"I guess…." Chadwick still sounded apprehensive. "Well, let's go ahead and get this over with. I'd like to get in and get out without causing any problems."

5: Chapter 3: The Long-Lost Mayor

Chapter 3: The Long-Lost Mayor

When Chadwick and I walked inside town hall, it was like we'd never left town. People were bustling about, not even stopping to acknowledge us. Several of the secretaries were busy keeping pesky reporters from going up to the mayor's office to ask questions. I couldn't help but whistle at the commotion.

"I guess we won't have too much problems after all, Chadwick," I said.

Chadwick sighed. "With everyone this busy, I think you're right for once, Master Waldo."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, turning towards him with an indignant look.

"Nothing, Master Waldo," Chadwick replied, although there was a mischievous smile in his eyes that told me he was only teasing.

"I'll lead the way to the Mayor's office. Father's taken me here a couple of times on business," I said. "He said it'd be good for me to get used to coming here, as I'll be doing negotiations in the future."

"Have you decided that you'll take up your father's job in the oil business, Master Waldo?" Chadwick asked as we walked past the bustling crowd.

I almost froze mid-walk. "To be honest...I never really thought about what I would do when I become an adult. I always figured I would inherit Father's money, but...I don't want to be another 'spoiled rich kid who doesn't do squat for a living'," I said.

"Well, since you'll be transitioning to young adulthood soon," Chadwick said, "it would be a good time to figure out what you'll do later on in life. Your grandfather used to make furniture. Before that, your great-grandfather was a jeweler."

"I remember Grandfather telling me about that once," I replied. "I wish Great-Grands didn't die around the same time Greg disappeared..."

"You would've loved him, Master Waldo," Chadwick said. "Chances are, he would've spoiled you more than your mother did."

"I can't imagine anyone being more doting than Mother," I answered, and that's when we came upon the stairway to get up to the mayor's office. Three sets of stairs spiraled upwards, looking almost endless as they towered into the sky. I groaned.

"I hope to become an inventor someday," I said.

"And why is that, Master Waldo?" Chadwick asked.

"I want to invent something where we don't have to climb up many flights of stairs," I replied. 

"Until then, we'll just have to make do with what we have, Master Waldo," Chadwick chuckled.

With some effort, I made it up the steps with my crutches. Chadwick was always a few steps behind me, making sure that I didn't topple backwards or fall forward. That was very Chadwick-like; watching out for people who were injured or hurt.

Three flights of stairs later, we made it to where the mayor's office was. Compared to the main lobby, it was eerily quiet up here. The only person up here was another secretary, but this one appeared to be the same age as Chadwick. Her face didn't have many age lines, and she appeared to have a touch of makeup on her face. Her lips were colored a cherry red, and her hair was gold with several gray lines streaking through. Blue orbs as bright as the ocean looked up at us, and brightened even more when she looked over at Chadwick.

"Chadwick!" she cried, and leaped out of the chair, running over to him in her high heels. Chadwick made to stop her, but she soon crashed into him, nearly toppling him down the stairs. Giving me an embarrassed smile, he then patted the woman lightly on the back before she let go.

"Chadwick, I haven't seen you in months! I guess working for the Summertons must be busy work, huh?" she said.

"Indeed, Lucretia. I'm still hoping Carl will give me that vacation I've always wanted," he chuckled.

I held up a hand, stopping the two to ask a question. "You two know each other?" 

"Master Waldo, this is Ms. Mackelroy, the mayor's secretary. She's been an old friend of mine," he explained.

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Ms. Mackelroy," I said, extending a hand.

"By all means, kiddo, call me Lucretia. 'Ms. Mackleroy' makes me feel so old," she said, shaking my hand, and then noticed how I looked. Immediately, her face contorted downwards into a frown. She reminded me of Mother when she was upset.

"What happened to you to get beat up like this? Is it because you're working as one of those vigilantes, right?" she asked. 

I chuckled nervously. "You guessed it."

"Master Waldo's the most powerful Energist in the town. Last night, however, he encountered a monster that managed to overpower him," Chadwick explained.

I groaned. I didn't like it when people pointed out my mistakes. "It was just a minor setback, Chadwick," I said.

"I wouldn't call almost bleeding to death a 'minor' setback, sir," Chadwick said. "If that's your idea of minor, I'd hate to see your idea of major."

"Okay, that was pretty inconsiderate on my part..." I replied, scratching my head.

"Oh, don't be so embarrassed. Chadwick's idea of minor is about the same as yours," Lucretia said, ruffling my hair. "I should know; the two of us have known each other for quite some time."

I felt my mouth twitch into a smirk. "And how long was 'quite some time', Chadwick?" I asked.

Chadwick's face went the color of his necktie. "M-Master Waldo! I cannot believe you would ask me such a thing!" he blurted.

"Don't be so flustered, Chaddy," Lucretia teased, playfully nudging his nose with her finger. "The boy deserves to know that we've known each other for over thirty years."

"Oh, really?" I asked, doing my best not to laugh.

"W-Why are you putting it that way, Lucretia? You're filling the boy's head with ideas!" Chadwick protested.

Lucretia, as she was called, chuckled and playfully hit Chadwick on the shoulder before turning to me. I had to admit that her teasing had managed to break the ice.

"Oh, before I forget, Lucretia," I said, trying to steer the conversation back, "if you don't mind, I'd like to meet the mayor. I saw Jackson Downey earlier today, and I'd like for him to help me on a mystery that I'm trying to solve."

"Are you trying to be a detective now, sir?" Chadwick asked.

"I'll be asking the questions around here, Chadwick," I huffed, and turned back to Lucretia. "So, is he still here?"

"Oh, I don't think now's a good time to go in there," Lucretia said. "Right now, Downey and Mayor Jones are talking….and at the moment, things aren't sounding too good."

"How bad is it?" I asked.

As if to answer my question, the door down the hall slammed open, making us jolt. The current head of the town, Vincent Jones, walked out. He had black hair that came down to the nape of his neck and had navy blue eyes that looked like cold pieces of ice. He wore a baby blue suit, a yellow necktie, and brown shoes. His face was redder than a strawberry as he turned to the other occupant in the room.

"How DARE you speak to me that way! I am the only one who deserves to be in office, not some undead freak!" he roared.

Jackson Downey stuck his head out the door. He had been cleaned up since the last time I saw him; the scars on his face had been mostly covered up, and his face reminded me of the men in the newspapers that Mother admired. His hazel eyes were bright with authority as he replied to the enraged mayor.

"This 'undead freak' is still able to run office, unlike you. For the last four years, your supposed 'leadership' has worsened things. I'm going to restore order, and give back what you unrightfully stole from them. Things are going to change around here," he said, "and the first thing that's going is you!"

I was shocked at what Downey was saying, but compared to Jones, I was an emotionless creep. Jones shuddered like a pressure cooker, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out of it. After twenty seconds of just standing there looking like an idiot, he stomped his foot indignantly, like a child.

"I'll be back, Downey. And next time, I'm going to bring help with me!" Jones yelled back. He then turned around and stormed towards us. Pushing Chadwick aside and knocking me to the ground, he charged down the stairs. I got up, and glared at his disappearing back.

Well, I thought, this guy's attitude makes mine look normal.

"Master Waldo, are you alright?" Chadwick asked, helping me up. He seemed more than a little angry about the mayor's rude behavior.

"Yeah, more or less. I knew that guy was a jerk the whole time," I answered. "I'm amazed he got elected."

"Ms. Mackleroy, who are these two?" Downey walked towards us, his face riddled with questions.

Lucretia turned towards Downey to answer. "Sir, this is Waldo Summerton, and his butler, Chadwick. They were coming up to see you."

"Oh really? The son of the biggest oil owner in Sylvania is here," Downey said. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Summerton."

​"Waldo's fine, Mr. Downey. 'Mr. Summerton' makes me feel old," I said. Behind me, Lucretia chuckled.

"Ah, of course. Well, what brings you here, Waldo?"

"I have some questions about the monster attack that happened four years ago," I stated. "The one where you went missing."

The mayor's face went very white, and he started working with his hands nervously. "You want to know about that? I-I'm sorry, but I'm not...obligated to tell anyone abo-"

"Please!" I knew I sounded pathetic, but at this point, I was pretty urgent. "I need your help. My older brother, Greg, disappeared after a Chaos Monster attack about thirteen years ago. I have a theory about how he could've disappeared. Since you've come back, I was hoping you could help me develop it further."

Downey looked at me and then looked at Chadwick. "Did he tell you about this theory as well, Mr. Canterbury?" he asked.

"I tried to discourage him, but once he's set on something, he won't give up on it," Chadwick said.

Downey sighed. "I can see you didn't try hard enough." He then turned around, walking back to his office. "Come inside. I was just about to explain this to the townspeople in an hour."

"Looks like we got here just in time," I said, smirking as I made my way inside. "You can stay out here with Lucretia if you want, Chadwick."

Chadwick's face went red. "For heaven's sake, Sir Waldo, please!" he murmured.

"Aw, why not? I am the one asking questions," I replied. "Besides, I don't know how long you and Lucretia have been away from each other."

"Indeed," Lucretia replied. "It's been a long time since we've gotten together, Chaddy."

If Chadwick went any redder, he would resemble a tomato. He turned to me with an accusing glance, and waved a hand towards the office while he went outside with Lucretia. Trying to hide my wide smirk, I walked into the office.

It was like a tornado had dropped in the middle of the room. Papers and books were all over the floor. Downey was hurriedly clearing off a chair that had a huge stack of papers in it. When he caught my stare, he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. Jones had pretty much decided he was going to take everything that was his before he stormed out," he replied. "Also, the council decided to have an emergency election once it was confirmed I was alive. Most of these were election papers."

"Judging by how well Jones took the news," I replied, "you won the election, right?"

Downey laughed. "More or less. Today's my first day actually being back in office," he said. After I made my way to the chair, he brought over a white box with red ribbons on it.

"What's in the box?" I asked.

"Ah. Doughnuts from the local bakery." He opened the box to reveal a dozen creme filled pastries. "Would you like one?"

As it turned out, I really did want one. In fact, I devoured two: one Corsica creme and a Chocolate Creme delight. Halfway through the second one, I happened to notice the mayor staring at me. I realized how I had been eating, and blushed at the thought of how I must have looked to him.

"Sorry," I said, "I just haven't eaten doughnuts in the last few years. Especially the ones from the local bakery."

"That's alright. I did remember hearing something about fights breaking out for doughnuts," he replied.

I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off my fingers, which were coated in vanilla and chocolate creme. He soon pulled out a glass, reached into the icebox, and poured in some milk for me. I thanked him for the drink, and downed the milk in one go, as I was incredibly thirsty. Hunger satiated for now, I turned to the mayor.

"Well, now that I've finished eating, I do believe that you have a story to tell," I said, pausing to wipe my mouth on the napkin.

Mayor Downey nodded. "I suppose it is time for me to explain," he said. He cleared his throat. "It all started four years ago, on a blistery night in October. I was heading home after a long day in the office, since I had been preparing for the next election, and I was halfway towards my street when I saw a poor, homeless beggar. He was sitting at the corner of Turner Avenue, and was reaching out with a cup for someone to give him some change. Being the generous person that I was, I pulled out some money and gave it to him. He thanked me and I was soon on my way."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Not long afterwards, horrifying screams filled the street. At first I thought they were people, but when I heard a high-pitched shriek, I knew what it was. When I turned around, four Chaos Monsters ran up to me, blood smeared on their faces. I turned around to run, but my legs wouldn't move. The homeless man in front of me was using a powerful bind that had managed to stiffen me. When I tried to call out to him, I noticed that his eyes were glowing yellow, just like all of the other Chaos Monsters. And then...he just transformed in front of me. It was horrific, and I don't think you want to know all the details." The mayor swallowed heavily, as though he were trying to keep himself from puking, and started speaking again. 

"All you really need to know was that it wasn't like any Chaos Monster you've ever seen. It looked utterly demonic. Before I could scream, it lunged at me. I remember feeling searing pain, and then I blacked out. When I awoke, my body was on fire. It was overwhelmingly dark, but I could hear voices all around me. They sounded like gremlins, with their high-pitched voices and laughs. That is nothing, however, when you ask me have they treated me. They did...horrible, horrible things to me every chance they got. Right when I thought they were going to stop, they started it up again, and it was always worse than the first time. They beat me and tortured me all day, every day. I screamed for them to stop, but they just kept attacking me," he said. "I screamed for help, but they only laughed and said, 'Nobody can save you now. Nobody can save now', and continued to beat me."

"My goodness," I muttered. "That sounds awful."

"Awful doesn't even begin to describe the things they did." The Mayor visibly shivered. "I almost gave up all hope, but I knew I couldn't leave Johannesburg at the hands of anybody. I needed to get back there, and I was determined to endure the torture. It was a miracle that I'm still alive, and standing before you today, Mr. Summerton."

"It wasn't just a miracle. I think that it was your incredibly strong will that you're still alive," I said. 

The mayor nodded. "You really are as smart as they say you are, Waldo," he remarked.

"I don't think we'd be having this conversation if I weren't," I replied. "Are you trying to say that these Chaos Monsters are really demons?"

"Yes. That's what I believe they are. I was in as much doubt as you are," Mayor Downey said. "But now that I've studied that Alicante's behavior closer, the one that the girl defeated…it's closer to a demon than anything."

"But demons are the things of legend, aren't they?" I asked. "Nobody's seen demons since the Reconstruction Era."

"Have you noticed that there has been a rise in the number of Exorcists lately, sir?" Chadwick asked. Seeing him suddenly appear in the doorway made me wonder how much of our conversation he'd heard. "From what I've heard, the most recent attacks have been more vicious."

"Surely, they know that something's up," Mayor Downey replied. 

"Interesting observation, Chadwick. I would have never guessed that," I replied, scratching my chin. "Maybe we should go and ask an Exorcist about this. That could be yet another clue."

"I have one question to ask you, Waldo," Mayor Downey said. "What does your brother have to do with all this?"

"He's been gone since I was one, Mayor Downey. I need to know where he is. They might not tell me everything, but I know that my parents have been grieving for him for years, to the point where they've been ignoring me! I believe that my brother's out there somewhere, lost and in need of help!" I said. "That's why I need to know about the Chaos Monsters and what they're really like, because I think that they've kidnapped him. The more information I get, the closer I am to finding out where my brother is."

"Well, you need to go and ask an Exorcist about the Chaos Monsters. Purifiers can only purify energy, while Energists destroy it. Exorcists cast out the demonic energies from people and Chaos Monsters," Downey explained. "Of course, you know all of this, but..."

"Who's the top Exorcist in the area?" I asked.

"A young man named Alexander Gallows," Downey said. "I've known him for a while. He performed an exorcism for one of the people in town about two years ago. Well, I wasn't there to see it, of course, but I heard he did a phenomenal job."

"With a name like Gallows, I'm sure he means business," Chadwick stated.

"Thank you for your time, Mayor Downey," I said, jumping out of my chair. "And…welcome back."

"You're welcome, and thank you for the sentiment," the mayor replied. "Hopefully, the name 'Long-Lost Mayor' won't stick for long..."

I jumped out of the chair, and turned towards Chadwick in earnest. "Come along, Chadwick," I said. "We've got an Exorcist to visit."

6: Chapter 4: The House of Exorcists

Chapter 4: The House of Exorcists

"The House of Exorcists," Chadwick read the barely legible sign. The logo's red paint was chipping away rapidly, and it looked like it was about to fall apart in the breeze.

"It looks like it's been here since the beginning of time," I said. "Wouldn't be surprised if it was."

"Are we going to just stand out here and dawdle, Master Waldo, or are we going inside?" Chadwick asked.

"We're going in, Chadwick. You don't have to rush," I said. In truth, I could understand why he was rushing me. It was getting late, and since it was winter, that meant the temperature was dropping. In fact, I even heard that it was supposed to snow again tonight.

Not waiting for Chadwick to once again urge me inside, I walked towards the door and prepared to open it, but a kind man sitting by the side saw me on my crutches and opened it for me. Thanking him, I stepped inside, feeling a blast of hot air hit my legs.

Compared to the outdoors, it was much darker inside the building. The interior looked like it had been built up out of a cave, what with its rough ceiling and orange hazy glow. It even smelled like one: damp, stale and murky. It made me wrinkle my nose.

Just when I was about to head down one of the doors to see where the Exorcists were, the door in front of me opened, and someone stepped out. I couldn't help but gasp when I saw the boy in front of me.

He had smooth, chocolate colored skin and black hair. And he was tall, much taller than me, and had a lanky build. His brown eyes looked almost black in the limited light. His choice of wear was a black vest over a red tunic, black pants and small slippers. With his lazy pose, he pretty much looked like a bad boy that all girls would have a crush on.

To say I didn't expect a boy to be there would be an understatement. I thought that most Exorcists would at least be twenty. I didn't realize how many young people were out working now.

Chadwick eventually took up answering for me, as I was currently at a loss for words. "My name is Chadwick Canterbury, and this is my master, Waldo Summerton," he said politely.

"For a second, I swore that you were his grandfather," the Exorcist replied.

"Well, I'm more or less his father figure," Chadwick replied. "Am I really that old?"

"Yes," I answered. "Yes, you are."

That response got a glare from Chadwick, and a smirk from the Exorcist.

"Anyway, I already knew who you two were. The Summerton family's pretty famous," the Exorcist said. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Alexander Gallows, the top Exorcist in all of Johannesburg. I assume you've heard of me?"

I stared at him, stunned. This bad-boy wannabe was the top Exorcist in town? Mayor Downey said that he was a young man, but I didn't know he meant this young. I didn't want to believe it, but the proof was in front of me. The way he carried himself showed that he meant business.

"W-Well, uh, not until today," I replied honestly. "We were recommended to come to you."

"And you've come to the right person," Alexander said. "So, what's your problem? Demon possession, unruly spirits or ages-old curses? I've dealt with all of them."

"We didn't come for spiritual remedy, Alexander," I said. "We're here because we're on the hunt for monsters."

"Well then, why don't you talk to an Energist? Better yet, one of the senior Energists. I can't help beyond casting out demons," he replied.

"Please, you have to listen!"

"'Please'? Geez, dude, grow a spine." Alexander scoffed. "Nobody gets what they want with me by saying 'please'."

I felt myself getting very angry. This guy thought that he was so cool that he could tell people what to do. He honestly doesn't know who he's dealing with.

"Well, here's the thing…dude," I replied, "I'm asking about the attack that happened-"

"Last week? Yeah, I heard about that. In fact, I heard you were in that attack," Alexander replied. "I can see the papers weren't lying."

"That's because I got attacked by the Alicante directly," I answered. 

"Well, it's a miracle you're still alive and walking. Few ever survive an Alicante attack." Alexander began to twirl a pencil in the air. "It's amazing that it didn't finish you off, you little scrap."

"I'm not as weak as you think I am, Alexander. I'm fourteen, and perfectly able to handle myself," I snapped.

That jerk had the nerve to burst out laughing, nearly falling on the floor in the process.

"You, able to hold yourself in a fight against a Chaos Monster?" he laughed. "Oh, that's rich! I knew that there were people who liked to fancy themselves, but that's just ridiculous! You're so weak that some sowing girl had to save you; and she got more recognition than you did!"

That did it. It's one thing for people to be rude to me. It's another when they insult my skills. I was about to snap off an insult, but Chadwick held me back.

"I'll deal with him, Master Waldo," he said. He marched right over to Alexander and towered over him. The boy simply sneered back, his grin showing his dirty, yellowed teeth.

"What are you going to do, old man? Tell me, 'Leave my master alone, or else you're going to hear from my boss'?" he taunted.

I saw the back of Chadwick's neck flush red. That was never a good sign. It meant he was angry; very angry.

"Now see here, young man," Chadwick started, "I don't care if you're the top Exorcist in town, or if you're just trying to masquerade as one. You will not, under any circumstances, belittle my master like that. Persist in this manner, and you will be taking it up with his father, who is less forgiving than he and I put together."

Those words seemed to make Alexander stop and think. I felt a smirk pull on my lips as I marched up to him, ready to go on the offensive.

"Well, since we've gotten that out of the way," I said casually, "I've come to ask a very important question about the monster attack that happened last week. Do you know about the Long-Lost Mayor?"

Alexander's bright brown eyes glared at me. "What do you think I am, stupid? Of course I have," he snapped. Apparently, he was trying to recover from Chadwick's earlier threat.

"Well, I'll have you know that I talked to Mayor Downey, and he said that that Alicante possessed him." I shifted my glasses back into place, as they had nearly slid off my nose. "Do you know anything about Alicante possessing people?"

"Of course not! That's because Chaos Monsters aren't demons, you idiot!" he yelled. "I'm an Exorcist, meaning I cast out demons, not Alicante or Greater Chaos Monsters. Last time I checked, Chaos Monsters don't even have the ability to possess people!"

"So, you're basically sticking with the belief that all Chaos Monsters are demons' weaker cousins?"

"Yes! Now unless you have any other important business that's worth my time, you find your way out," Alexander answered rudely.

Chadwick was about to say something, but this time I grabbed his arm. I didn't like this guy's attitude either, but I knew when to stop before things got ugly.

"We were just leaving. Thank you for helping me in one part of my investigation," I replied. "Come on, Chadwick." With a sharp tug on his suit, I guided my enraged butler towards the door.

Just as I opened it, I heard Alexander ask, "What are you now, a detective?"

I turned to him and shrugged. "You could say that," I answered. "Just trying to find out more about these attacks."

"You're not going to find a lot that'll guide you." Alex's voice was much softer now, not full of overconfidence like when I'd walked in. "The only other source you can go to about monster attacks, other than an Energist, is the library. They have a list of all the monster attacks that occurred here, and have books on the Chaos Monsters." He looked up at me with hard eyes. "Did that help, Detective Summerton?"

I cringed inwardly at that nickname, but I forced myself to smile. "That's the one helpful thing you've said the whole time," I replied. Tipping my hat, I walked out the door, stepping out into the cold. Immediately, I wished I had brought warmer clothes. This whole shorts and suit thing is definitely not working.

"Thank goodness we're out of there," Chadwick muttered. He still looked ready to go back in and bash Alexander in the face. "Had you not pulled me away, I would've said some choice words to that boy."

I chuckled. "And what's your idea of choice words, Chadwick?"

"That is a question you don't need to know the answer to, Master Waldo."

"I see," I replied. Just as we made it towards the town square, I saw something that made me stop and do a double take. A merchant was harassing someone in a mustard yellow cloak. I couldn't see who it was, but judging by the green dress and the tiny boots underneath, I could tell that it was a girl. And judging by the posture of the man, I could tell that things were about to get ugly.

"Chadwick, stay here," I ordered, and walked right over to the scene about to erupt. Chadwick shouted behind me, but I ignored him and kept going.

The minute I got close, the man backhanded the girl in the face, sending her falling to the snow at my feet. Gasps erupted throughout the market as everyone present turned . I myself stared at her and at the man in horror as he stepped over the counter, cracking his knuckles.

"You say that your father's going to come after me if I take you? Let him try," he snarled, and reached for her. The girl screamed, as did everyone else.

I reacted purely on instinct. Using the only weapon I had available, I slammed my crutch into his face right when he was about to grab her. The force knocked him backwards into his stand. Wood splintered everywhere, some almost flying into the other bystanders. Glass milk bottles smashed onto the ground and others hit him in the head repeatedly until he remained limp on the ground, milk splashing all over him.

For a long moment, there was stunned silence, and then there were whoops and cheers as people turned to congratulate me. Before I knew what was happening, I was shaking hands with all sorts of people, who were thanking me for saving her. I was blushing profusely, telling them that it was nothing at all. But really, I was glad I had done something worthwhile. That girl could've been seriously hurt, or worse.

As the mob started to slowly move away from me, I saw Chadwick over by the girl's side. I hadn't noticed him as too many people were around me.

"Chadwick," I said, hobbling over, "is she alright?"

"I'm trying to see now, Sir Waldo," he said. When he looked down, I saw his mouth drop open. "Great Scott! I don't believe it!"

"W-What? What is it?" I asked.

"It's her!"

"Her who?"

"It's Miss Evangeline, the girl I told you about, Sir Waldo!"

My shock could only be summed up in one word: "WHAT?!"

A lot of people stopped and stared at me when I said that. Quieting myself, I made my way over to Chadwick in order to check on the girl. What I saw made me wish I'd killed that merchant.

The poor girl was trembling, possibly out of fear, and her left eye, like mine, was swollen shut. There was a massive red blister on the left side of her face. The bruise from her fall had also darkened the other side of her eye. It made her look like a bandit with half a mask.

"Are you alright?" I asked softly.

Since she was still shaking and crying, she nodded. I turned away briefly to glare at the merchant. He was slowly starting to come to, and he was facing an angry crowd of villagers who'd gathered around him. He caught my eye through the massive wave of people, and quickly turned away, looking anywhere but my face.

I heard feet crunching snow, and I turned to see Chadwick carrying Evangeline bridal-style. I had been so wrapped up in my anger that I hadn't known what was going on.

"I know where that is. I know some people who live there," Chadwick was saying. "Can you show me where your house is when we get there?"

She nodded. "Yes. Please explain to my father about what's happened. I-I seriously didn't expect-"

"That was something that we couldn't expect," I replied. I wanted to do what I could to help her feel better, despite how much pain she was in. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

The girl looked down at the ground for a moment, before she looked up at me, a small blush on her face. Whether it was from the cold or from something else, I couldn't tell.

"Don't worry, Miss Evangeline. We'll explain everything to your father when you get there," Chadwick replied. "Please make sure that you get home safely, Master Waldo. I will join you soon."

"I know, Chadwick. Go ahead and take her home!" I said. I couldn't bear to see that girl in any more pain, as it sent cold daggers through my heart.

Why was I feeling this way? I barely knew this girl; the only connection we had was that she had been the one who'd saved my life after I nearly died. And yet, I couldn't help but feel drawn to her, like our first encounter was the first of many.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even hear what she had asked me. I blinked, and asked her to repeat what she'd said.

"I said, could you come over here? There's something I want to do for you," she said.

I stared at her, but only for a moment. What could she possibly want do for me? Careful not to slip on the ice, I hobbled over to her and Chadwick and came over to her side..

"Is there something I can do for you, Miss Hartsfield?" I asked quietly.

She motioned for me to come even closer, and I did, albeit hesitantly. Before I could ask what she was doing, her hand was on my cheek, pulling me towards her and forcing me to stand on my toes.

"W-What are yo-"

Those were the only words I got out before she silenced me...with her lips.

My breath hitched in my throat, and I thought I felt my heart skip a beat. Or two. Or six. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell Chadwick wasn't expecting this either. His eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets.

When we parted, I stared at her, my jaw hanging slack. Slowly, I began to regain my bearings, and cleared my throat hurriedly to do so. My face grew extremely hot, and my heart began to race as I thought of something, anything, to say.

"W-What was that for?" I asked, and then kicked myself for how rude I sounded.

"That was to say thank you. It's, uh….the traditional Varian way to do so," Evangeline said. Her face was bright red as well, and she played with her locks as she avoided my face.

"I-I see..." I replied, looking around for any type of distraction as well. I had forgotten about traditional Varian etiquette, where if a guy saves a girl, she can give him a kiss as a thank you.

"I-Indeed. I seem to have forgotten that," Chadwick replied. He cleared his throat to regain his composure. "Shall we be off now, Miss Evangeline?"

"Yes. I'd like that very much," she said, and wordlessly, the two left. Before disappearing down the road, she turned and gave me a small smile, which only made my face hotter to the point where I thought I might burst. Carefully, I put my hand on my lips to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.

The tingly, warm feeling on them let me know I wasn't.

She had…kissed me. Not like the goodnight kisses I used to get from Mother. No, a full kiss on the lips.

Now, I've kissed girls before, but not like this. The first few times weren't anything special, since I had been experimenting with relationships. I was going through puberty, so this should be expected. Somewhere along the line, I decided to wait and save my first real kiss for the person who I wanted to spend my life with.

But this kiss….this one was different. It was as if a spark had ignited in my heart as her lips connected with mine, as if we were fated to meet each other.

As if she were the one I wanted to spend my life with.

Okay, now I'm starting to sound like a romantic. But it's true. That's really how I felt afterwards. And the mushy, warm feeling I was getting in my stomach wasn't helping matters.

The sound of wheels slushing on ice brought me back to the real world. I turned around to see a horse-drawn carriage pull up not too far from the water fountain in the middle of the square. At this point most of the people had gone about their regular business, although a couple of nosy people remained. The driver knocked on the top of the carriage roof.

"He's standing right there, he is. And he looks to be alone," he shouted.

I was confused, but then the door opened, and a woman spilled out. Her hair was dark brown short, and curly. The tops of her eyelids were a vivid blue, and she wore a mint green gown lined with white accents. The other passenger was a blonde man with a chiseled face, blond hair like my own, and had a thin beard. He was wearing a deep red suit, and seemed to give the woman an exasperated look.

It took me five seconds to recognize them. "Mother! Father!" I cried.

Mother rushed up to me, her dress sloshing snow, and scooped me up into a hug, completely ignoring my injuries as she did so.

"Oh, Wally! I was so worried about you! When Chadwick sent us that letter, we cut our business trip short in order to get back here!" she wailed. "And you're all beat up and hiking about in this weather!"

"And you had the time to go and cause some trouble," Father said, looking at the knocked out vendor and the spilled milk all over him. "What exactly happened here? And where is Chadwick?"

Buried in my mother's coat, I let out a long sigh as I went over the excitements of the day in order. The origins of Chaos Monsters, talking with the Long-Lost Mayor, meeting a jerkoff Exorcist, saving my savior, and getting "thanked" by her. Plus, Mother and Father were back in town.

After a moment, I looked up at them, a crooked smile on my face. "As the street smart kids say: this is gonna blow your mind."

7: Chapter 5: Unsettling Truths

Chapter 5: Unsettling Truths

"…and that's pretty much what's been going on since you were gone." I looked at both of my parents, trying to see if any of them understood what I was saying.

For the past hour, I had gone into detail about all that had happened to me in the span of the week they'd been gone. I wasn't going to tell them about Evangeline kissing me as meaning of thank you, but I started blushing so much that Father asked me what was wrong, and I told him. He merely shrugged it off, while Mother started making a huge fuss over me saying that I was falling in love. It took about ten minutes for me and Father to calm her down.

And then it took me a few minutes for me to cool down as well. I couldn't tell the rest of my story looking like a tomato, could I?

Father set his teacup down on the small marble coffee table in our living room. After staring at it for a few more seconds, he then looked up at me. I could tell by the hard look in his eyes that he was more than a little concerned.

"Son, I am very disappointed in you," he said at last. "You are the last hope of ever carrying on the great Energist line that I have started. And here you are, ruining not only your reputation, but mine as well. What were you thinking, going out in the middle of the night, no less, to face a Chaos Monster on your own? Now, you've become the laughing stock of the town, and everyone in my circle will think that I've gone soft on you all these years."

Every word that came out of his mouth felt like a physical blow. At once, I realized why he wanted to talk to me. It wasn't so he could do some father-son bonding time. It was because he wanted to make sure that I was going the same way he was. It was because he wanted me to turn out like my brother, who disappeared.

And apparently, he didn't give a crap about what happened to me, like what happened with Greg.

I didn't realize how tightly I was squeezing my legs until the pain became almost unbearable. I removed my hands, leaving angry red blisters on my calves.

"And what's this about atoning for everything you've done? You've stopped attending Sunday school since you were nine," Father continued. "I'm beginning to wonder if sending you to that blasted Christian academy was a bad idea."

"A bad idea? Carl, it was Chadwick's idea for doing such a thing," Mother replied, placing a hand lovingly on his shoulder.

For goodness sakes', Mother, don't bring Chadwick into this, I prayed.

"Chadwick shouldn't be interfering with the way my son's being raised. In fact, I think he's been doing too much of that already," Father said, standing up abruptly. His blue eyes were two pieces of ice that he fixed on me.

I felt my skin go clammy. I knew that look. It was the same look he gave any employee of his who did anything he didn't approve of.

"Carl, what are you saying?" Even Mother was looking at him like he'd lost it. "Chadwick is the only person available to-"

"Chadwick's done enough. I'm going to deliver the news the minute he gets in," Father said. "It's about time I took control of the roost around here."

Mother started, but I reacted first. I jumped off of the couch, my feet slapping the floor. It sent pain shooting up my legs, but I didn't care. Father stared back at me with those icy eyes.

"Father, Chadwick's the only person who's been taking care of me like I was his own child…in fact, he's more of a father to me than you've ever been!" I yelled.

Mother gasped. "Waldo! How could you say such a thing?!"

"I'm saying that because it's the truth!" I said. "You two never made time for me. Mother usually doted on me to the point where I was nearly spoiled, and Father never had time to talk to me other than yell at me for doing something wrong. And anytime you're not doing that, you're away on business trips, and I barely see you! Chadwick may have been a butler to you two, but he's been the mother and father that you were supposed to be to me!" 

"Are you trying to challenge our authority as parents, Waldo?" Father's tone was dangerous. 

After taking five seconds to calm down, I replied, "No…I'm telling you how I've really felt this entire time, Father. For years, I've done everything I can to win affection from both of you, to show you that I can carry on your legacy, to show you that I can be responsible. All I wanted was to have a great relationship with you two, like how Grandfather got along with Great-Grands. But…it feels like you're pushing me away from you. And when you started to do all that harsh training for me, it started to affect me in more ways than one." I felt tears come into my eyes, but I hurriedly blinked them away. "I've become just like you, Father, which isn't a good thing. I've been alone and friendless for years, because I've been so aloof to people."

Mother stared at me and then turned to Father, very upset. "Is this true, Carl? Is this what you put my little Wally through?" she asked, looking ready to break down right there.

"I put him through the necessary training to grow up. He'll never carry the Summerton legacy if he's not like his father," Father huffed.

"Father, I've told Chadwick this, and I'm going to tell you this: I don't want to be like you when I grow up. I don't want to be feared for my amazing feats, but hated for being a cold-hearted scion. I want to be a good, moral person who makes his money fair and square," I said. "And you need to understand that if you fire Chadwick, who's been showing me how to be what I want to be, I'll never do anything like that. I'll end up just like Greg: crazy and alone."

Again, Mother gasped. I thought it was because she was shocked, but when I saw her shuddering, I realized she was crying. I hadn't realized that what I'd said had opened a deep and dangerous wound.

Father stared hard at me, and for a long moment, I was wondering if he was going to hit me or snap at me. But he said nothing at all, instead turning towards my mother and pulling her into a half-hearted hug. She continued to sob into his shoulder.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke. "Did Chadwick tell you that?"

Cautiously, I nodded.

"That old geezer knows too much. But if you must know, it is true. Greg was the apple of my eye, and he was on the way to become a great Energist like I was. When Greg was your age, right around when you were born, I began to notice that he was becoming increasingly violent and brutal. I thought that he was beginning to grow into his true role as an Energist, as the same thing happened to me. Most go through that phase for about a month before they learn to control themselves. But Greg's behavior lasted longer than the standard month, and it wasn't just some 'phase', either. The reason I know that is because something happened to change my mind on that…" Father trailed off on the subject.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He…he started to attack people, and killed several of them. One of the people who almost died was Chadwick." Father's tone was serious. 

I thought I was going to collapse. With my knees shaking, I fell into the couch. Chadwick had told me before that he'd had a near-death experience, but hadn't gone into detail.

For some reason, I had a feeling I wasn't going to like this.

"Chadwick wasn't the goody-two shoes moral guardian that we have for a butler now. Before he used to be quite secular, even making dirty jokes at times, and he had drinking issues. But on Valentines' Day, I believe, Greg came home acting highly irregular and carrying a knife. Before Chadwick could ask what he was doing, Greg was upon him. He stabbed Chadwick...multiple times. He should have died, but by a miracle, he survived the onslaught. Afterwards, he did a complete one-eighty, got saved and did everything in his power to get help for Greg," Father explained. "But Greg, as it turned out, was so much like his father that when he discovered that Chadwick hadn't died, he planned on finishing the job."

"He…he later tried to attack him again." Mother had regained enough self-control to speak. "Chadwick didn't die in that assault, but then Greg turned to other targets. The next die, we heard that Greg had murdered five women in the same night when Chadwick was almost murdered. Thanks to a donation from the Lintons, we managed to save Greg from going to jail. Meanwhile, Chadwick had discovered that Greg's mental state was...awful to say the least. It had worsened after he started taking the same drug your father took when he was an Energist."

I was shocked, "Why? What did they do?" I asked.

"The drugs..." Father rubbed his forehead, as if it hurt to remember his past. "The drugs that I took was meant to help me retain the brutal phase of my Energist training. That way, I could crush my opponents. It had a side-effect which caused the user to retain this persona for as long as he or she kept taking it. For a time while your mother and I were married...I hurt her often because of the drugs. When your mother was pregnant with Greg, I realized that I had to get off of those drugs, or else she would leave me."

I stared at both of them in horror. "You mean to tell me that my brother was a drug addict, and you were too?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Father sighed. "I had gotten off the drugs before Greg was born, because I couldn't stand the thought of hurting my child, or my wife. But Greg...Greg was at the phase where he didn't care about the rules his parents had set for him. He took the drugs and did whatever he pleased. And he wasn't just taking them; he was selling them as well. But before then, drug dealing wasn't illegal. It used to be a legitimate business. But after what Greg did…that's when drugs became bad."

"What happened?" My voice was shaking. The more I listened, the more I began to dread the incoming details.

"Greg…brutally murdered one of our maids, Priscilla. She had threatened to expose him to the general public about his behavior, and he completely lost it. By the time we got there..." Father shook his head, disgust on his face. "It was a horrifying sight. Blood leaked through the ceilings. That was how we found her. In fact, we couldn't even recognize the body. Razor blades were all over the floor and inside-"

"Please….stop." I didn't want to hear about the details of the killing. It was enough that my brother wasn't the saint I'd imagined him to be. It was a whole different matter when he was a crazed junkie who had murdered someone.

"Greg took off after that, and coincidentally, there was a Chaos Monster attack that wintry night. It was a massacre from what I've heard. The next morning, we ran down to the town square to find Greg. Greg….was one of the many Energists who had perished," Father replied.

I thought I would faint. "T-The whole time…I was lied to…about Greg, about Father, about everything!"

"We couldn't tell you the entire truth when you were young, Waldo," Mother said. "I was the one who told you that Greg had disappeared. It was so we could protect you." She then started to sob, and Father held her tighter.

"But more importantly, it was so you wouldn't grow up hating your brother...or hating me more than you already do now," he said.

"I-I…I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. Chadwick told me Greg was crazy, but this..." I shook my head, bile rising in my throat.

"You do realize that this was painful for all of us, right? We had to bury our own child before his time-and the mayor before Downey came along refused to even let us have a proper burial. Everyone, it seemed, hated Greg afterwards. He had so much potential, and yet…" Father paused, and bowed his head. After a few minutes, his body began wracking with sobs.

I knew things were bad when Father started breaking down. As I sorted through this information, tears came into my eyes as well. The whole time I've believed a lie, they had to live with the truth the whole time.

And sometimes, the truth is more painful than the lie.

The front door opened, but neither of us paid attention when our butler came inside the house.

"Mr. and Mrs. Summerton! I hadn't realized you were…" Chadwick stopped upon seeing us all crying. He looked over at me, confused.

In order not to make the situation worse, I mouthed, "We were talking about Greg."

Immediately, Chadwick got it, and his eyes became sympathetic as he began to understand what had happened. In a couple of strides, he crossed the living room, came over to my side, and wrapped me up in a tight hug.

"Master Waldo…now you see why I didn't want you to know about your brother," he said.

"Yeah," I said, my voice cracking. "I…I just…"

"It's okay to let it out, Master Waldo. I'm as much as your father as Carl is," Chadwick replied.

And for the first time during this whole thing, I wept openly.

8: Chapter 6: The Greater

Chapter 6: The Greater

The rain that pounded against my roof managed to drag me out of sleep. I turned over, took one look at the weather raging outside, and pulled the covers over my head. I didn't want to get out of bed. If anything, what I really wanted to do was to just bury myself under the covers and never come out.

It had been a week since my parents had come home and revealed to me the horrible truth about my brother. Ever since then, I had fallen into an odd pattern where I ate sparingly and spent most of the day in my room, reading my books. My parents, especially Father, were concerned, but I didn't want to talk to either of them about it. I really needed to be alone, as I had a bad tendency to hurt others when I was moody.

Chadwick knew me well enough to stay away, but my parents didn't. In fact, I had made Mother cry yesterday when she tried to come up to comfort me. I told her to leave me alone-rather rudely if I must add. Afterwards, I got a stern lecture from Father, which only put me in a bad mood for the rest of day.

As if that weren't enough, the weather had abruptly changed from snowy days to wet and rainy ones. Sometimes, it would drizzle; other times, it would be a flat-out downpour that melted the snow and froze into thick sheets of ice. At this point, I began to wonder if these downpours were supposed to represent my situation. In any case, it was a very accurate one.

So, I just sat there in bed, my face buried in the pillow and covers over my head, when I heard something scrape against my door. Pulling the covers off, I looked at the bottom slit of the bedroom door to see that something blocked the light coming in. I pushed back my covers and climbed out of bed, hobbling over to the door. I didn't need my crutches as much when I was in my own room, since most of my things were right where I could reach them.

I opened the door to be met with breakfast on a tray. It was oatmeal, biscuits, sunny side eggs and roast beef strips, with a cup of orange juice-my favorite breakfast. On the tray, there was a card. I could immediately tell it was from Mother because of the floral designs.

I bent down to pick up my tray, and that's when I heard someone coming up stairs, the stairs giving out loud creaks under the weight. These ones were heavy, not soft like Mother's or loud like Chadwick's. That meant it had to be Father coming up, as he liked wearing really thick boots around the house.

I made to close the door, but he was there in a matter of seconds, blocking it with his hand. I heard him sigh as I struggled to close the door against his meaty hands.

"Waldo, I need to talk to you," he said.

"What's there to talk about?" I asked. "You've already told me what I needed to know."

"Son, please." Father paused for a moment, and then continued talking. "I know you're angry with me and your mother, but we need to talk about some things that have been occurring recently. Mostly with your brother."

That alone got me to stop. I could count on my fingers the number of times Father told me the reason why he wanted to talk with me, which wasn't a lot. When I peeked out the door, I saw that his eyes had dark circles under them, a signal that he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep.

At that point, I knew he was serious. Licking my lips nervously, I opened the door and moved aside so he could come in. Father stepped inside and closed the door.

"Don't you want to turn the lights on, Waldo?"

"I was, uh, just getting ready to do that when you came in." I looked over at the breakfast tray. "Did you send that up here?"

"Yes. Your mother prepared it for you," Father said. "Chadwick's out for the day, visiting one of his friends."

"I see..." I went over and turned on the small lamp on my nightstand, where my numerous books sat, looking ready to tip over. We both sat on the bed, and I looked up at Father. Seeing him like this made me feel just awful for being so rude towards him and my mother.

"Father...I'm sorry," I apologized. "I've been really insensitive to how you were both feeling after...you know...with Greg. I'm not trying to push you away. At the moment, I'm just trying to cope with it: I'm just trying to get over the fact that my brother is actually dead...and that he's not who I thought he was."

"I know how it feels, Son," Father replied. "When Greg died, it was years before I could speak his name with ease. There were so many things that I wanted to teach him, some of which I would like to teach you someday, that I never got to. But I understand how you feel. Death is something that we all have to deal with, because it happens constantly. Most people wish it didn't, but it does. And...I accept your apology, son. We all have different ways to deal with grief. But it's like your mother says: it helps to talk to someone, instead of bottling it up."

"Thank you, Father," I replied. "I could use that sometime in the future."

Father responded by placing his hand on my head and ruffling my hair, something he hadn't done since I was three. I squirmed out from under his touch, but I couldn't help but laugh. It felt good to laugh again. 

"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked, getting back to the subject.

"Ah, yes. Last week, a boy named Alexander Gallows came to our doorstep during a rainstorm no less," Father started.

I had just started to eat my oatmeal, which had nearly gone cool, and almost spit it out. I turned and stared at him with wide eyes.

"A-Alexander Gallows? He was the Exorcist who-"

"Who you met three weeks ago, I know," Father replied. "I understand that you two had a talk about the Alicante that took over Mayor Downey?"

"Yeah. And I told you that he was also a jerk," I added before stuffing my face with oatmeal. I was starving, since I had eaten so little in the last three weeks.

"Well, he is rather cocky, but I can sense a good heart underneath his harsh exterior," Father replied.

"Yeah, and I can sense that Vincent Jones sells doughnuts for charity," I retorted.

Father laughed. "I don't think comparing Alexander to that ungrateful conman isn't going to help matters."

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied. "So, what did Alexander find?"

"He went to the library and picked up a book about the Vallhaven Heroes. They are, as you know, the great heroes of Varia that destroyed the demonic manifestation in Varia," Father explained. "In the book, a mythologist named William Heinz reviewed the legend, and he explained that in the legend, the demons had declared that two hundred years, they would return in their true forms to exact revenge upon Varia."

"Wow. I had completely forgotten about the legendary heroes. But I still don't understand. Why would the Chaos Monsters be posse-"

I stopped as the realization dawned on me. My spoon slipped out of my hand and clattered to the ground, sounding unearthly loud in the silence that followed.

"Of course. It's been over two hundred years since they were destroyed. That can only mean one thing...the prophecies are actually happening! The demons are returning, doing what they've been doing since the beginning of time!" I exclaimed. "And they're using the Chaos Monsters to do it!"

"Legend states that Chaos Monsters are really the cousins of demons, son." Father was confused. "Are you trying to say that the Chaos Monsters are really demons in disguise?"

"They have to be, Father. That's the only way that Mayor Downey was taken. Chaos Monsters usually eat the people they capture, but demons drag their captives to a place where they are tortured for all eternity," I replied. My mind was overflowing with this theory. "And as you know, demons possess people. That's why there have been a lot of Exorcists lately; it's because the demons are back."

"And no one's recognized this," Father added.

"Exactly! I need to go and find Alexander, and tell him we've got a mission to work on!" I leaped out of bed, ready to get going, but Father stopped me.

"Waldo, I highly doubt that you're in the condition to go out there. Besides, I think that having you and that boy in here would be bad news," Father warned. "Are you sure about this?"

"Can't you at least send a letter to him and tell him it's important?" I begged. "Right now, I'm so close to solving this mystery that I can taste it!"

"I'm sure you're just tasting your breakfast, Master Waldo." Once again, Chadwick was inside my room without either of us noticing. He looked like he'd been taking a shower. "I've just got back from the Mayor's office, Master Carl. The Mayor would like to speak with you on urgent business."

"I'll see to it in a moment," Father said. He got up from the bed, and turned to me. "Well, Waldo, are you certain that your theory is correct?"

"Positive. I just need Alexander's help to confirm it," Waldo replied.

Father sighed, but I could tell he had a faint smile on his face. He ushered Chadwick out the door, muttering something about giving me some alone time, and he left.

After the door closed, I jumped up and went over to my closet, picking out my warmer clothes for today's adventure. I knew Mother would be all over me if I didn't dress warmly, but I was ready for just about anything. At the moment, my body was trembling with the excitement of finding out more info about these demons.

As I was putting on my shoes, my eyes lingered over to my now cold breakfast. There was still two slices of roast beef and a biscuit left on my plate. My growling stomach made up my mind for me: I needed the rest of it.

Doing something completely unexpected, I took the butterknife on my plate, sliced the biscuit open, and put both slices of meat on it. After fastening my shoes, I tore into my new creation. It actually didn't taste half as bad as I thought it would, as the rich meat and the buttery biscuit meshed well together. I devoured it in two bites, and washed it down with some orange juice.

When I turned around, I saw my mother standing in the doorway. Judging by the shocked expression on her face, I guess she had seen how I'd been eating so barbarically. I felt my face heat up, very embarrassed.

"Well...that's a very creative way of eating your food, Wally," she noted after a long moment.

I nodded, and pulled out a napkin to wipe my face. "Sorry. I'm just in a rush, that's all," I replied. "I'm in a hurry. I've got to go and meet with Alexander, the Exorcist I told you about. I've found another clue to this mystery."

"Well, as long as you don't get hurt along the way..." Mother seemed a little concerned. "Are you sure you don't want Chadwick or your father to accompany you?"

"I'll be fine, Mother. I'm not seven years old anymore!" I protested as she began wiping off something from my face with my napkin. "I can handle myself. Honestly!"

Mother gave me a small, sad smile. "My little Wally is growing up so fast...You're becoming more like your brother, you know."

The mention of my brother brought up all of the emotions I'd been feeling recently. I turned away to go and put on my cloak and hat so Mother wouldn't see the frown pulling on my face.

"That...is something I'm worried about," I replied simply.

After a few more moments of Mother doting on me, I finally managed to escape the confinements of my house. The cold bit into me, and I couldn't help but shudder as I was reminded of my last monster hunt. For some reason, I swore I smelled Chaos Monster somewhere around town. I quickly attributed it to this morning's breakfast, and headed into town square.

When I finally reached the square, mayhem greeted me. The town was in total disarray, with the villagers running around in utter confusion and terror. Screams echoed through the streets as panicked people nearly trampled each other to death. The constables positioned at the edge of town were trying to get them to calm down, but to no avail. I could tell from the frightened look on their faces that they didn't know what they were doing.

Once again, my nose caught the ever familiar smell of Chaos Monsters; it hadn't been my imagination. The thought of them once again brought back the memory of my last monster hunt, and my stomach lurched, threatening to empty my breakfast onto the snow. It then occurred to me then that I hadn't brought my Energist gloves with me on my way here. I had thought that there wasn't going to be a monster attack today-and especially not now.

Chaos Monsters only attack at night, when people are the most vulnerable. So why were they attacking here, in broad daylight?

Someone shouted my name from the crowd, and I spotted a familiar face running towards me. It was Alexander, who was pushing past the panicked townspeople to reach me. He looked like someone had dropped him in the middle of a lake. Water poured from his face, and his wet clothes stuck to his body. The cocky expression on his face was gone, replaced with unbridled fear that let me know just how terrified he was.

And I couldn't blame him, either. I was feeling rather uneasy about this matter myself.

When Alexander finally reached me, he looked ready to fall over. "Hey man, don't you have your fancy Energist powers to fight this thing?" he yelled above the crowd.

"No. My powers are in my gloves, and they're back at my house," I said.

Alexander sucked in air through his teeth, a panicked expression on his face. "Oh man. Oh no..."

"Don't worry, I can go and get them back right now," I said. "Do you have any weapons on you that you could use?"

"When a brotha sees something flying at them at eighty miles an hour, do you think they're gonna stop to grab weapons?" Alexander retorted.

"You could've just said no!"

"Dude, I'm freakin' out right now! I think that it's a different type of Chaos Monster," he replied.

"How different?"

"I'm going with a Greater, man. If it was an Alicante, I was sure gonna dip," Alexander replied.

"Dip?" I was taken aback by the slang he was using.

"As in get the heck out of here! Man, you've gotta work on the lingo!" he said.

"We can talk about lingo later! Right now, we need to find weapons!"

Alexander snapped his fingers. "We got weapons back at the House. It's upstairs in the store room. Are you sure you can keep up, little man?"

I was annoyed at being called 'little man', but at that moment, I didn't care. "Probably not. I can barely run with these casts on," I replied.

"I'll go get the weapons, you go get your gloves!" Alexander ordered. "We don't have much-"

WHOOSH!

A sudden gust of wind turned up suddenly, blowing us down. I recognized the sound of wings beating the air, and I opened my eyes to see what was coming towards us. Instantly, I felt my skin go cold, and not because of the weather. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alexander's eyes bulge out in horror.

The Chaos Monster was a Greater, as Alexander had predicted-but it was unlike any Greater that I had ever seen. For one thing, most Greaters were land monsters on two legs, and had sharp teeth that could break a human skull. But this thing was a four legged creature, resembling a griffon, complete with massive wings, sharp forefeet, and an eagle-like head. Its eyes were a blood red, and when it opened its mouth, a sphere of black energy appeared it.

The people's screams rose to a crescendo as they saw the attack. The constables took off running at the sight of the Greater, but that was when it shot the sphere at the crowd. All of the constables were enveloped by the attack and screamed as they were vaporized where they stood. When the light disappeared, all that was left of them were small black spots on the ground.

After that, it was every man for himself. Chaos and panic erupted quickly as the remaining crowd scrambled for the back route that led to the town exit.

I stared, utterly horrified, but I felt a cold, wet grip on my sleeve. The next thing I knew, Alexander was dragging me halfway in the air, running towards the town. He shoved aside people trying to get through, sending a few to the ground. I was going to tell him to stop, but at the moment, I was just as desperate as he was.

A massive explosion occurred behind me, followed by another wave of screams. I heard crashes all around me, and I barely got to turn around before I saw people fly into nearby houses. Wood, bricks and mortar shot out of the walls. My mouth dropped open in horror.

"Oh, my-"

"Don't look back, man! That thing's gaining on us!"

Alexander's grip on my left arm almost wrenched it off. He sprinted like a professional athlete, and pulled with the strength of a mule.

"Slow down! You're...hurting...me!" I gasped as I was being dragged halfway through downtown.

"Do you wanna die or not?!" Alexander shouted back. I didn't have an answer for that and I kept silent until we reached the House of Exorcists. When he reached the door, he finally let go of my arm, and I fell down, unprepared for the sudden release. I stood up, rubbing my arm and panting hard. He was about as skinny as I was, but he had a tight grip.

"Wait here. I'm going to see if there are any Railguns is inside," Alexander said.

"A ...Railgun?" I panted, but Alexander had already dashed inside. I stood up, scrambling over to the alleyway. My mind was racing as I was trying to figure out how I would make do without my Energist gloves.

Another wave of screams interrupted my thoughts. Upon seeing tendrils of purple energy spiraling towards the other side of town, I looked to see a multitude of people running like there was no tomorrow. I looked out to see a huge ball of black and purple energy hovering over part of town square. My mouth dropped open in horror, and I hobbled up, running back towards the House. Alexander came flying out the door a second later, bulky guns in his hands. When he saw the attack about to attack, his eyes bulged out in horror.

"RUN!" I screamed, and we both took off running, heading for the marketplace. After seeing that there was only a dead end, we ran towards a closed off alleyway where we saw some other people standing there. After taking a few seconds to regain my normal breathing, I peeked out to see if the Chaos Monster was there. It wasn't...but the attack was falling to earth. The screams that surrounded me, combined with the roar of the attack, was deafening.

It was as if a black and purple star had fallen from the sky. 

Unlike before, the attack didn't vaporize anything. Rather, it simply blew up, creating a wall of destruction that took out everything. The walls next to me and Alexander shuddered and swayed with the force of the sonic boom that resounded through the town. Debris and smoke flew in waves, and even over the din, I could hear terrified screams.

As the walls began to shudder even more, I felt my legs stiffen, and my heartbeat quicken. I couldn't move, and I couldn't put up a shield to protect us from the explosive attack. As purple energy began leaking through the walls of the buildings surrounding us, we both screamed.

All of a sudden, someone ran into the alley and jumped in front of us. I could tell from the dress that it was a girl, but I couldn't see her face. The world went green as two huge disks surrounded both walls of the alley. 

And then the walls exploded, sending energy, bricks and other debris flying overhead in massive waves. I held my hat down, and Alexander buried his face into the ground, his hands held over his head. The wind that rushed through almost swept me into the air.

When the roar and the lights died down, I opened my eyes only to be met with the Chaos Monster standing right there. It let out a scream that could've put a banshee to shame. It raised its talon, ready to tear right into us. I closed my eyes and screamed again.

"Energy Swarm!"

A sound like a swarm of a thousand bees buzzing hit the air, followed by a series of loud thuds. The monster roared again, a sound full of utter anguish and pain. In a matter of seconds, another name was shouted.

"Burst!"

There was a high pitched whine, and then a huge explosion rocked the area, the force launching us backwards, and throwing me on top of Alexander. After recovering from the impact, I opened my eyes and looked up to see the Greater flying backwards, screaming as it crashed into the remains of another building. The structure folded in on itself and collapsed on top of the monster.

"Who's the blond chick shooting that thing?" Alexander shoved me off him, and got up. I turned to see who he was referring to in such a manner, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

With her green dress and golden hair blowing elegantly in the wind, Evangeline was the last person I'd expect to see fighting a Chaos Monster. When she turned around, I saw that the black eye she'd gotten was starting to fade away, looking more like a bruise. Her hair was frazzled, a cut adorned her forehead, and her face was smeared with dust, but at that moment, I could care less.

She wasn't expecting to see me, either, as her eyes widened in shock. "Waldo? What are you doing here?" she asked.

Alexander stared at me with thinly veiled jealousy. "Ya'll know each other?" he asked.

"Yeah, why? Interested in dating her?" I retorted.

"Um, this really isn't a good time to be arguing," Evangeline interrupted, looking at both of us. "But to be honest, we have got to stop meeting like this every time, Waldo."

"It's not like I plan these things. I came out to actually see him for some information, and that's when we ran into that," I explained, motioning to Alexander, and then to the Chaos Monster. "I don't have my Energist gloves with me, so I can't fight."

"Sure you can," Alexander said. "You can fight using the Railgun. They're like the Energist gloves, but in gun form. Whenever an Exorcist has to fight against a Chaos Monster, we use these. Some Energists use these as well."

"It'll have to do for now, unless Chadwick suddenly shows up with my gloves," I replied, taking the gun from his hand. "Oh, I almost forgot. Alexander, this is Evangeline. Evangeline, Alexander."

"Nice to meet you," Evangeline replied, dropping a curtsy.

"The pleasure's all mine," he answered.

I was getting a little mad with how smooth he was acting, but then the Greater growled, and climbed to its feet. Its eyes narrowed directly at us, and it once again let out a roar.

"Can you do that fancy move you pulled off again?" Alexander asked.

"No. I may know some powerful skills, but I don't have unlimited energy," Evangeline replied. "I'm sure you or Waldo knows that feeling."

"More than you think. But how are we going to bring this thing down?"

"I'll stay back and do support; you know, as in use chains to bind this thing. It will be difficult, since it's a flying Chaos Monster," Evangeline said.

"That's good enough. We'll need all the support we can get if we're going to even weaken it," Alexander replied. He flexed his knuckles, and loaded his gun. He turned to me. "Do you know how to use a gun?"

"Yes. My father taught me how to," I replied, loading my gun with the energy bullets.

"Here it comes!" Evangeline shouted. The Greater spread out its wings, and charged for us. We all dodged to the side as it plowed through.

Evangeline was the first to leap out, just as the monster was beginning to turn around. After muttering a quick aria, green energy formed on her hands as she prepared to unleash her attack.

"Chain Bind!" A torrent of green energy chains shot of her fingers, encircled the monster, and wrapped around its wings. The bind anchored into the ground, dragging its wings down with it. The monster struggled against the chains as Alexander and I rushed out.

The Greater charged another ball of energy and shot it at us. We dodged to the side as the attack carved a large trench through the stone streets. I cocked my gun and fired like there was no tomorrow, aiming right at its head. The bullets looked like small red stars as it hit home, slamming into the thing's skull. It screamed and thrashed about as it struggled to dodge the attacks.

"Here, take this!" Alexander, in mid-leap, threw me another bullet casing. I caught it, and quickly withdrew into the shadows to reload it. As I shunted in the last bullet, I heard the chains snap, and the creature rush forward, aiming at Alexander and Evangeline.

"RUN, BOTH OF YOU!" I screamed.

They didn't need to be told twice. Alexander dipped to the right, while Evangeline darted into an alley. But the Chaos Monster seemed to have a particular grudge against Evangeline. It began to chase her in that direction, and I knew that with the limited amount of space in that area, she was trapped.

Thinking quickly, I ran to Alexander. "Can this thing charge orbs of energy?" I shouted.

"Yeah! You just have to pull the trigger on the top. It'll take the magical energy in those bullets, shoot out the shells, and make a big orb of energy. That's the strongest ability!" Alexander replied. "Here, I'll help you out!"

"Thanks!" I said, and soon we both pulled the trigger on top of the gun. Explosive cracks sounded as the magical energy began to pour out from the barrel of the gun. Empty shell casings clattered to the floor as the orbs in front of us enlarged.

The Greater turned around, curious to see what the noise was. When it saw what we were doing, it hissed angrily and began to run towards us.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Heck yeah!" Alexander responded. Smirking a little, I steadied my hand for the blow.

"OBLITERATE!" we both yelled, and pulled the trigger.

I didn't know using so much power could contain so much force. When the attacks launched forward, the force launched me backward. I hit the ground with a thud, hurting my backside as I did.

The attacks hit the Greater straight in the face, hurling it backwards. It let out another scream as it crashed into a house, taking that out and tumbling into the other side of the neighborhood. I could only hope that nobody was in that house.

Evangeline came out of the alley stumbling. She looked absolutely relieved to be out of there, and was even more relieved to see that we were alright.

"Oh thank goodness. I thought that I was going to die," she replied.

"Like we'd let that happen," Alexander replied. "I barely know who you people are, but I'm not going to let a stupid Greater hurt any of you."

I turned to stare at him in surprise. "You're really going to protect a guy who told his butler you were a jerk?" I asked.

"Hey man, I'm actually trying to help you out here. Don't make me change my mind," he snapped.

"Guys, let's argue later." Evangeline pointed in front of us, where the Greater was getting up. "We need to find a way to destroy that thing!"

"That's not going to be easy. I've used up all of my casings for this thing. It'd be too dangerous to head back into the shop and get more," Alexander replied.

"I have a few bullets left. Evangeline and I can at least distract it while you get the bullets," I said.

"Do me a favor and try not to get killed!" he shouted before he ran towards the shop.

"Like we'd let that happen!" I replied, and turned to see the Greater upon us. I grabbed Evangeline and yanked her into the same alley she'd been at earlier. The Greater found us, and reached for us with its massive claws.

Evangeline screamed, and I struggled to find more space to back into. When I felt cold brick against my back, I knew we were in trouble. No wonder Evangeline had been so relieved earlier,

If we didn't do something, the Greater was going to tear us apart. I raised my gun, and fired the last remaining bullets into its claws. That turned out to be disastrous. As it wrenched its claw into the air, screaming in pain, it slammed its claw against the walls of the houses. Bricks and other debris fell from the sky, threatening to kill us.

Evangeline threw out her hand, and a green shield appeared in her hand, covering both of us. The bricks bounced off the shield, but they all fell in our direct path, blocking the only way out. And with the Greater descending upon us, we were pretty much screwed.

Evangeline grabbed me, and I shut my eyes, bracing for impact. And then, I began to pray.

"God, if You can hear me, send help," I said.

I didn't think prayers could get answered that quickly.

"I suggest you halt!" someone shouted.

Three loud thuds and then a multitude of gunshots exploded into the chaos. The monster screamed, and staggered backwards as it was hit. Upon closer inspection, I saw that three arrows had been placed on its right wing.

And then, Alexander was there. "Come on, ya'll!" he yelled. "You don't have all day!"

Evangeline let go of me, dropped the shield and pulled me to my feet. We half ran, half stumbled out of the alley. Just before we got out, there was another shout, and Alexander jumped down as three more arrows were fired. Another howl from the Greater let me know that it had been a clean hit.

"W-Who did that?" Evangeline muttered.

I was just as surprised, but Alexander merely pointed to the left. When I turned around, I had to keep myself from nearly bursting into tears of joy.

It was Chadwick, with a crossbow ready and arrow notched, and Father, donned in his ever familiar Energist outfit. The look of absolute rage on his face was unmistakable, and Chadwick was just as angry.

"Are you three alright?" Father asked, concerned.

"Never better," Alexander replied sarcastically. "We just can't seem to get this thing to stay down."

"Your mother got worried, Master Waldo, so Master Carl told me to get my old crossbow and to help him out once things calmed down a little," Chadwick explained. "So that's why we're here."

"Your butler can use a crossbow? That's so cool!" Alexander's face brightened. "That reminds me of a butler in a story I know..."

"We can talk about stories later, Alexander," Evangeline said. "Right now, we've got a Chaos Monster to destroy!"

"Did you grab my gloves by any chance, Father?" I asked.

I was utterly relieved when he pulled them out. "Present and accounted for. Just don't destroy them like your first pair, alright?" he said.

"I won't!" I handed Alexander the Railgun, and turned towards the powerful Greater. My gloves were glowing with energy as I got into my element. With my gloves in hand, I was much more confident and ready to take on this thing.

Everyone else got into battle position: Evangeline with her arms raised looking like she was doing some sort of dance, Alexander with his guns locked and loaded, Chadwick with his bow raised, and Father with his hands glowing with energy.

"Places, everyone!" Father announced, snapping his fingers. "It's showtime!"

9: Chapter 7: Graveyard Incident

Chapter 7: Graveyard Incident

The Greater roared, and began to charge. Chadwick let an arrow fly from his bow, and it hit the monster's claw. It screamed again, and while it was up on its haunches, I took the opportunity to charge my attack.

"Powers of the Holy One, come into my hands. With you on my side, I know that nothing is impossible for me-there is nothing that I cannot destroy!" I recited. It was a new aria that I had thought up last week, when I was going over new and powerful attacks to use against Chaos Monsters.

Waving my hands in an elegant circle, I created a bright blue circle that was as tall as I was, which quickly started to fill with blue energy. I was rewarded with looks of utter disbelief from Alexander and Father, who apparently doubted my ability to fight while I was handicapped.

I couldn't help but smirk when I realized I'd prove them wrong.

Evangeline yelled, "Come on! We've got to buy him some time while that charges!"

That seemed to snap them out of it, and Alexander and Father rushed forward, weapons drawn. Father pulled out a huge flagstaff from his coat, leapt into the air, and flung it downwards. The flag slammed into the Greater's back, pinning it down onto the ground. It screamed and thrashed about, desperate to move but finding it couldn't.

Evangeline used another Motion Bind, while Chadwick kept firing arrows at it. The chains bound the creature to the ground, and the arrows only served to make it angrier. Alexander lowered his gun, seeing that I had just gathered the last bit of energy for my attack.

I shouted, "Be gone from me, foul creature of the night! EXTERMINATION!"

A river of blue light burst from the ring, thundering forwards. The attack slammed home, ripping the Greater from the chains that held it in place and sending it flying backwards. I could hear its keening scream over the roar of the attack. There was a huge explosion of dust, stone and wood as the Greater crashed into another house. After the ring emptied, I saw that the Greater was still encased in the beam as it streaked into the outskirts of town.

When the dust settled down, I got a good look at the damage done to the streets. The attack had had carved out a trench that was easily ten feet deep and that stretched for miles. Five buildings laid practically level with the ground, debris scattering the roads. In the distance I heard a faint boom that confirmed that the Greater had crashed. I let out a deep breath as I relaxed my hands, which were tingling from using that much energy. 

"Well...I guess that takes care of that," I said simply, wiping my hands off on my clothes. I had to admit, I felt a bit proud that I had managed to defeat a Chaos Monster in my state, and put Alexander to shame.

"By the Holy One," Chadwick gasped.

"You can say that again," Alexander said. "Didn't know the little man had it in him."

I turned to him, a little annoyed. "You know, I'm getting really annoyed with you calling me 'little man', Alexander."

He shrugged. "Your height is the most noticeable thing about you, man. Trust me; every town you go to, that'll be your nickname," he replied.

"What was your nickname, Mr. Tall, Dark and Snark-ow!" I was interrupted in my retort when Alexander smacked me upside the head. "Really?"

"Be happy I didn't slap ya in the face, Shorty," he said.

"Oh, so it's Shorty, now?" I asked.

"Guys, uh, maybe you should cool it down," Evangeline said, stepping into the fray before Alexander could reply.

"I'm trying to tell him why I don't like that nickname he's called me," I said angrily.

Evangeline laughed. "Why? I think it's cute!" she replied, giggling.

The retort on my tongue died instantly. She thought that it was cute? Meaning…she thought that…I was cute?

Alexander smirked. "See, even she thinks it's a fitting nickname! Two against one, little man." He playfully punched me on the shoulder.

That alone got me to function again. I turned to glare at him, which he returned with a cheesy smile. At that, I knew I had lost.

"Oh, forget it, you win," I muttered. Alexander cheered, and Evangeline gave me a bright smile. My face grew hot, and I quickly looked for anything I could focus on other than her.

"Well, now that that's finished," Father was saying, "I think that we'd better get back home. I know how much Jessie worries about this sort of thing."

"I agree, Master Carl. It wouldn't do to scare her," Chadwick replied.

Without another word, we walked through the abandoned streets, careful not to trip over anything. The walk was mostly silent as everyone was recovering from the battle. The only person who actually wanted to talk was Alexander. Surprisingly, Chadwick was the one who was holding up a conversation with him. Talk about change of mind: just three weeks ago, he'd called Alexander a jerk and a bad role model. They were talking about Chadwick's skill with a crossbow, and Chadwick launched into a story with so many names and stuff I didn't know that I kind of tuned out.

My mind was running on the power of that Greater. Normally, it would take something like a Railgun or Evangeline's attack to bring it down. It never took that long to destroy it. I wondered if it was one of the stronger Greaters, the ones where they would eventually morph into an Alicante.

I looked over at Evangeline, who appeared to be just as lost in thought as I was. Her hair fell across her face in damp, loose strings, and her friendly light green eyes had darkened. I could only imagine what was currently going through her mind at the moment. To me, she looked like a kind, pacifistic girl, so I guess she was a bit shaken up about having to fight yet another Chaos Monster.

Her eyes flickered over to mine, and she looked at me. I was a little alarmed at first, but her small, pained smile set me at ease- for a moment. I really wanted to put an arm around her, to tell her that there was no need to worry about anything. But then I remembered that Alexander was right behind me, and judging from his earlier behavior, I guessed he liked her too. I didn't need him to have another reason to annoy me, so I gave up on that idea.

"Waldo, thanks for saving me back there." To my surprise, she spoke first. "I thought I was going to die."

I felt my face grow unbearably hot despite the cool temperature in the room. "Uh, you're welcome. It was nothing, really," I replied. "I just didn't want you to get killed."

"I can tell. I saw that gung-ho look on your face and knew that you meant what you and Alexander said," she continued.

"Darn right," Alexander cut in, forcing both of us to turn to him. "I may be, as most people call me, an arrogant jerk, but I stick with the few friends I have. I never leave the people I help hangin'. Whenever I see someone in trouble, I can't help but get involved. Granted, that's gotten my butt kicked a lot, but still."

"Wow…I didn't know you had a protective side, Alexander," I answered.

"In this world, the people I end up working with are always on the fine line between life and death. I mean, after my family was murdered, and then my traveling troupe was killed, I-" Alexander stopped dead in his tracks, looking like a man who's said too much. His eyes widened in horror, and his mouth dropped open.

"Alexander? What's wro-" 

"Oh, my God," he blurted. At once my father turned to glare at him.

"Didn't your parents tell you to never use the Holy One's name in vain, especially His true name?" he scolded.

"Look right ahead of you, man," Alexander said, pointing a shaky finger in front of us. When Father did turn around, he let out stream of Varian obscenities. Included were ones that I had never heard before. Chadwick's mouth dropped open and Evangeline went as red as a tomato.

"Well, uh….that's a colorful way to express your anger, Father," I said uneasily.

"You'll see why in a minute." Father stepped aside so I could see what he and Alexander had been staring at. At once, I could see why he'd said those really bad words.

The attack I had shot at the Greater had almost no effect on it. The only thing that indicated that my attack had hit him was a gaping hole in its wing. And even that was starting to disappear as the monster started to heal itself. It was currently climbing up one of the many hills in Hollow Fields Cemetery. 

"How the heck did it survive my attack?!" I screamed. "I even said 'Extermination' in the name! Why isn't it dead?"

"I don't know. But…I'm getting the feeling that I might've been wrong when I said that this thing was a Greater," Alexander said. "I've been studying its movements and power level, and this is more powerful than a Greater."

"Indeed. I was thinking the same thing when Master Carl had hit him with the Flagstaff. Normally, it would destroy Greaters instantly, but…."Chadwick stared at the creature in utter disbelief. "What could this possibly mean?"

The next thing we knew, dirt started shooting from the hill and into the air like a geyser. The Greater was using its claws to tear into the earth, sending grass and headstones flying everywhere. We all ducked for cover as several headstones crashed into the ground.

"What in Varia?" Father said. He got up to get a closer look, and the color drained from his face. "No...it can't be!"

"What is it, Father?" I asked.

"That blasted creature is digging up your brother's grave!"

That was all I needed to hear before I charged past him and headed into the graveyard. Everyone yelled at me to stop, but I tuned them out. I was only focused on two things: destroying that Chaos Monster and recover my brother's body. 

Now, I know that may sound weird since my brother's left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. But even then, I knew that if the Chaos Monster ripped what was left of Greg to shreds, my parents would never recover from it. I had gone through Father's papers before, and saw that the papers for the burial had taken months for them to complete.

They had finally given my brother the chance to at least rest in peace…and now this demon was trying to snatch him away from them.

I won't deny that Greg was a drug-addicted psychopathic Energist who took too much after his father. But psycho or not, that's my brother, who I'll never be able to see again except on visits to his grave.

And I was not going to let even more pain and suffering hit my family. For that reason, I charged up the hill like a madman, ignoring the burning pain in my legs as I advanced uphill. 

When I was about ten feet away from the monster, it dug its talon into the huge gargantuan hole it had made, looking for something. It pulled its talon out, grasping a green and yellow box.

It was Greg's casket. Father had told me enough about it for me to recognize it.

"Waldo!" It was Evangeline, with Alexander bringing up the rear. Her eyes were wild with worry. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to destroy that thing once and for all! He's not going to steal my brother!" I yelled. She tried to grab my arms, but I wrenched away and ran towards the monster, gloves glowing.

The Greater had just turned around, noticing my presence. It hissed, and started flapping its wings for liftoff.

My powers began to go into overdrive now, charging so rapidly that my hands began to burn from the energy swelling inside them. I felt as though I was being drained, as I had used a good bit of energy for the earlier extermination attack from earlier. Despite this, I managed to keep myself from falling off the hill. 

Alexander rushed past me, firing his Railgun like there was no tomorrow. Every shot, though, did nothing to harm the Greater; in fact, it seemed to be unfazed by the swarm of bullets that slammed into it. Just when Evangeline rushed up the hill, it screamed with enough much volume and force to send them both tumbling down the hill. Chadwick and Father, who were standing at the bottom, barely caught them and almost crashed into the fence.

I turned towards the monster, my teeth ground so hard I thought they would crack. A great blue orb had formed in front of me.

"This is for my family, you monster!" I yelled. "TAKE THIS!"

By the time it attempted to take off, it was too late to run. The attack crashed into it and the hill, creating a massive explosion that shook the ground and flung me backwards. More tombstones, caskets and earth exploded into the air, nearly falling on everyone below.

I rolled and tumbled down the hill, unable to stop myself, and slammed into the metal fence. My vision swam, and I tasted iron in my mouth. Father wasted no time in running to help me, while Evangeline and Alexander were up on their feet and charging up the hill.

"Waldo! What were you thinking?" Father yelled. He was angry, but I could see the tears running down his face.

"That monster…he tried to steal Greg's body," I breathed, then grunted as Chadwick pulled me up. "I had to do something…"

"That was unbelievably reckless on your part, son. You could've been killed!" Father said.

"Father, you would've done the same thing for Greg, too! I can see it in your eyes!" I pleaded.

Father sighed. "Yes, you're right. I would have done the same thing for Greg. Even so, I think about my plans carefully before charging recklessly into battle," he replied. "Please don't make me go through the pain again."

"Father…" I was astonished. He sounded so soft, his voice barely audible over the battle. Once I'd taken the moment to calm down, I felt utterly ashamed. I'd been so gung-ho about protecting people, like Evangeline had said, but I didn't care about my own safety.

And I didn't realize what it could've cost my father.

"I…I'm sorry," I said, and instinctively, I reached over for him. He pulled me into his arms, forgetting that my back was burning.

The moment was interrupted when I heard Alexander yell, "What the heck-GUYS, LOOK AT THAT!"

We all looked up to see what he was talking about. What I saw made my mouth drop as far as it could go. Father's grip tightened on my body, and Chadwick gasped.

As it turned out, I hadn't missed the Greater. The attack had taken out a good chunk of its body, and even part of its arm. But that thing had an iron will; even with its body disintegrating, it still found a way to fly into the air.

And it still had Greg's casket.

I wanted to leap out of Father's arms. I wanted to bury that Greater a hundred feet into the ground. I wanted to make it suffer all the pain that my family had suffered.

But I couldn't do anything, since my powers were far past depleted, and I was hurt-again. Evangeline and Alexander were probably exhausted from the chase, and I couldn't possibly risk Chadwick or Father getting hurt.

I watched helplessly as the Greater clumsily made off with my brother's casket, heading north where the seaport was. There was no way in the world I could make it there without having a passport. I may be the most powerful Energist of the day, but that doesn't grant me access to the other side of the world.

As I watched the creature disappear, Father began to cry. This time, he didn't even bother trying to hide it; the tears were flowing freely from his face, splashing onto mine. Behind me, I heard hiccupped sobs from Chadwick. The events began to replay in my mind over and over, reminding me of my reckless behavior, of my failure, and of how Father nearly lost his flesh and blood; his only son.

Tears ran down my face as I buried my face into Father's shirt. He responded by pulling me closer, his chest heaving with sobs.

"I'm sorry, Father," I whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

And this time, I meant it.

--------------------------------------------------

It only got worse after that. When we broke the news to Mother, she crumbled into tears. She and Father had to be escorted to their bedroom, and afterwards, Chadwick retired to his room as well. His teary-eyed expression told me everything I needed to know: he was in a state of regret.

Chadwick hadn't been completely close to Greg, but from what I'd gotten when my parents had told me about him, Chadwick had tried to do everything in his power to help Greg after he'd gotten saved. He tried to do for Greg what he'd done for me, but he'd been rebuffed at every chance. He had probably tried to reach out to him again, but then Greg had committed murder, and later he himself was killed.

I knew that he was regretting not trying harder to get through to Greg. I knew he was wishing and praying that he could go back and change things.

And I knew it was useless, because no one can change the past.

At the same time, though, I was angry at him. Why didn't he do more to help Greg? He's already done a brilliant job helping me out, what with me regaining my humanity. So why didn't he do the same for my only brother? I can understand that he was afraid of nearly getting killed, but that didn't matter. He still could've tried.

I stared out the window, thinking of these things. Evangeline and Alexander had enough sense to leave me alone on our way back, and they had walked home. I wasn't in any mood to talk, so Chadwick sent them my thanks as they left.

The other townspeople had managed to slowly trickle back in after the threat was gone. I could hear the cries and screams from here as the people saw their beloved town destroyed. Many had their faces pressed to the stone roads in reverence.

I wasn't in any mood to pray, either. For the last few weeks, I had been renewed in my faith, but after what had happened, I was mad at the Holy One. Chadwick told me that the Holy One loved everyone, that He forgave everyone, and that He wanted the best for us. That sounded great, until all this stuff happened.

I jumped up and looked up at the ceiling. Tears were running down my face as I called out: "God, if You love me, why are You letting these things happen to me? Why did You allow me to lose my one and only brother?"

I flopped onto my bed, too angry to even wait for a response.

And then, in the recesses of my mind, I heard a still small voice come into my head.

"Was not Greg your older brother? Did he not go through hardship and problems while he lived, even though I have chosen you to be the leader in his place?"

I blinked, completely stunned by this. "Well, I'm pretty sure he did go through some tough times while he was alive. But, why me?" I replied. "Why am I going through all this?"

"As you know, your father and mother had decided to prepare Greg as the next heir to their inheritance. I saw his true nature, however: doing violence in My name. I cannot have leaders for My kingdom who will taint My name with violence. You nearly went the same way as well, Waldo, but when you visited My court, it changed you. I see that you are the one who will restore the name of the Summerton family, and therefore, that is why I have had your parents name you the heir to the inheritance."

I was stunned into silence. "I-Is that really true? You really see me as….a leader?" I asked.

"Unlike the rest of your family, you have done your best to stay away from senseless violence. The generational curse that was brought upon your family has all of the males become either drug addicts, have serious anger management issues, or make money by dishonest means. As the one who has been chosen by me and your parents, you have been given the chance to break that curse," the voice continued. "All you need to do is believe that I will do it, and I will do it."

I swallowed. At that moment, I realized what I had to do. I sat up and looked up to the sky, eyes dry of tears.

"God….I've never really prayed much. I'll admit that. I haven't been taught on how to break curses, or how to ask for forgiveness, or how to even forgive others. But I know this: I want to change for the better. I want to rid myself of all the evil my family's done. I want to break the curse that's hanging over me. And most of all…most of all, I want to be a leader for you. You have my wholehearted trust in You, God. Just show me what you want me to do, and I'll do it with everything I've got."

And then, the most amazing feeling came over me. It was like I had warm water washing me from the inside out. As this was occurring, I could feel the burdens, the negativity, my anger, my grief start to disappear.

I don't really remember much afterwards other than the fact that I began to cry, but with happiness and joy instead of grief and anger. Somewhere along the line, I had fallen asleep crying and giving praises to God.

When I woke up again, the sun shone brightly through my window. I was completely shocked by how long I had slept in, but I felt absolutely refreshed and renewed….and hungry.

Kicking off my shoes, I jumped out of bed and went over to my closet. In there, there was a present that Chadwick had given me that I'd stashed away. It was a Bible that he'd gotten me; specifically, the Bible Lucretia had given him when he'd first gotten saved. I smirked upon thinking of those two, but only for a moment. I pulled over a stool, stood on it, and picked up the Bible. It still had the red ribbon that Chadwick had used to wrap it with.

"Looks like I have some questions to ask Chadwick," I said, and I rushed off to the kitchen to go and find him.

Even as I left my room, I got the feeling that someone was smiling down on me, as if they were proud of me.

And for the first time during this whole thing, I smiled broadly.

10: Chapter 8: New Attitude

A/N: This is a super short chapter, but I hope it sheds some light on Waldo's character. 

Chapter 8: New Attitude

For the next three weeks, I was devouring everything I got about the Word of God. Chadwick became my mentor in my quest to learn more about Him and guided me on what I needed to do. Every Sunday and Wednesday night, I went with him to the church to hear the sermons that Pastor Edward Carter taught. It had been months since I'd come to church, I realized, since I had thought it was unimportant to my life as an Energist.

You'd have no idea how wrong I was about that.

As if by mere "coincidence" (since in Varian, there's actually no word for it), Pastor Carter was teaching on the keys of leadership on Wednesday nights. He was talking about how we could all be leaders for God, and use our strengths to change the world. It wasn't only about saying, as I discovered; it was more about doing for God, and honoring Him through doing whatever it is we're supposed to do.

To be very honest, I didn't know what I wanted to do in life. I still don't. Before, I used to be mostly content with being the rich man's son who would soon get a great inheritance. But along the line, something happened for me to change my ideals on that...and I'm not talking about the Chaos Monster attack.

Two years ago, I had read in the papers a very disturbing article about a wealthy family who had all died in an apparent murder-suicide. The father killed his wife and two sons by shooting them, then he hung himself in his library. When the constables got to him, they found a note that explained the reasons for his actions: he was unhappy with everything-his money, his life, and his family. He decided that the only way to get rid of the unhappiness was to get rid of the source, and that's what he did.

Most rich people were highly corrupt, snobbish, and tended to look down on others, which was why I hated being associated with them. If there's one thing my parents taught me, it was to treat everyone you meet, no matter their social standing, with respect. Then I noticed that most of the wealthy, after they've worked their butts off to get to where they wanted to be, weren't really happy. I could tell by looking at Father. It took him fourteen years before he finally struck it big in the oil business, but even with influence and power, he wasn't satisfied. It was most evident when he'd go out to drink with his old friends two or three times out of the year, and later he'd mention that he'd never felt more free in years.

Back then, I didn't really understand what he meant. But thanks to the knew things I've been learning, now I know. These people weren't satisfied because they were missing one thing: they were missing God. They were missing the chance to fulfill their destiny that He wanted them to do, and they were unhappily drowning in an immoral life, yet unwilling to change. It also explained why most rich people acted snobbish; it was to hide the pain and suffering they carried inside.

I didn't want to be another 'snobbish rich boy'. I want to stand out from the crowd, and be who I was called to be. Most of all, I want people to know who it was I was standing for. I wanted people to look at me and say, "There's someone I can trust."

But most of all, I wanted God to know that I was someone He could trust. And so, with this new attitude in mind, I continued to devour everything that I could get on His word. It was the first time in my life that I had ever taken an interest in the Bible without being scared into it.

As we left the church, I turned to Chadwick and asked, "Do you think I can make a big change in the world?"

"Well, that depends on you, Master Waldo," Chadwick said. "Do you think that you can make a mark on Varia's superrich?"

I scratched my chin. "Well, yes. I want to be super rich as well, but…I don't want to do it just for myself. I want to do it to help people around the world who are in need of help. I want use my talents for God, not just for me."

"That's a start. When you start taking that attitude towards God, that's when you'll start seeing success. Ideas will start coming to you. And whatever you'll do, it'll be successful," Chadwick replied.

"Actually, I have an idea for a book I might do," I said. "It's a boy who's traveling through a fantasy world, who's looking for his brother, who's been kidnapped. I may base this after Jacob and Esau…."

"Like how one son became a people and the other became an enemy?" Chadwick asked.

I nodded. "It kind of reminds me of me and my brother. 'The older will serve the younger'." 

"Well, that's good to know you're thinking up ideas already," Chadwick replied. "But as happy I am about you finally taking your role as a Christian seriously, there's one thing that you're forgetting."

"What's that?"

"You're not having fun. God never said, 'Thou shalt not have fun' when you're a Christian. He knows that you need to relax," Chadwick replied. "Thanksgiving will soon be upon us, and with that time, there is the upcoming Mayor's Ball."

"Oh, right! I forgot that I had asked Mother if I could attend this year," I replied. "I am finally old enough to go."

"It's really more of a very formal dance," Chadwick replied. "It's also one where you'll have to take up dance lessons."

"It's one of those parties?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Chadwick said. "I mean, it's not like you wouldn't complain. You may end up running into Miss Evangeline there."

The thought of Evangeline made my face hot. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chadwick smirking.

"I-If I see her again, Chadwick," I replied. "I wonder if Lutecia will be there."

Now it was Chadwick's turn to become flustered. "Wha-Why would you mention that, Master Waldo?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Chadwick. I've seen how you two look at each other. That's not an 'old acquaintances' look. That's an 'I want you right now' look," I replied. "You'd better make your move Chadwick, or else you're gonna have a broken heart."

"Says the same person who blushes every time he thinks of Evangeline," Chadwick replied.

"Well…I don't know if I like her in that way, yet. It's more of a…admiration," I replied, carefully choosing my words. "I think she likes me in a little brother kind of way. I wouldn't be too surprised if she ended up liking Alexander."

"He does have a certain charm about him," Chadwick replied. "But I don't think that's the case. She barely knows Alexander. She'd probably be more comfortable dancing with someone whom she's met a few times than with a random stranger."

"I guess so. Maybe I'm overthinking this. It doesn't really matter if I get to dance with her or not. If both of them show up, I'll be fine all the same," I replied.

"It's never good to go to a dance with a jilted friend," Chadwick added.

"Let's hope you don't have any jilted friends at the end of the night, Chadwick," I teased.

Chadwick's face went even redder at this, and I couldn't help but laugh at him. As professional as he is, Chadwick is an easily embarrassed person. Many times, Father mentions having teased Chadwick many times when he was little, even playing pranks on him. If there's one good thing about my father, he does know how to have fun when he wants to. 

When I opened the door, the first thing I thought of was 'Speak of the devil and he shall appear'. Father was walking from the study to the living room, carrying a large brown box with a picture of four different games. I immediately recognized this as Father's variety game set, which included checkers, a card deck, a chess board and backgammon. He turned to me, looking utterly surprised.

"Oh, you're home early," he noted. "I was just about to ask your mother if she would like to play Forty Thieves with me. It's been a while since we've played any games, and I wanted to lighten the mood in spite of all that's happened."

"I see. Well, can I play? I have yet to beat Chadwick on that game," I said.

"I keep telling you, Master Waldo," Chadwick responded, a twinkle in his eye, "it's mostly luck that gets you through the Forty Thieves."

"And you keep hogging all of the luck," I muttered.

Father looked mildly amused. "Come along, you two. I don't think we need anybody catching a cold here."

It was then that I realized the door was wide open and that I was letting a blast of cold air into the room. Sheepishly, I closed it and turned towards Father.

"If I win, you'll have to buy me an entire box of Corsica cremes from the local bakery," I said earnestly. I had been thinking about the pastries since I came home from the Mayor's house, and I really wanted some.

"Alright, but don't come crying when you lose," Father warned playfully. With that note, we all went into the living room, eager to play.

11: Chapter 9: The Mayor's Ball

Chapter 9: The Mayor's Ball

"Aw, my little Wally is finally going to a ball! You're going to be so cute and handsome in your little tuxedo!" Mother crooned as she attached my boutonniere to my suit.

"Mother! I can't be cute and handsome at the same time!" I complained. I loved Mother dearly...but her doting could sometimes get very annoying. Even Father is a victim of  it. No matter how many times we tell her to stop, she just keeps on going about it, and eventually we give up.

"Well, that's what you get for being short, Master Waldo," Chadwick called from down the hall.

I looked down at my newly purchased tuxedo. It was black with a crisp, white dress shirt underneath. It came with matching pants, and to complete the look, I had decided to forego the glasses, wearing instead my custom made contacts. I admit it was weird not to wear my glasses, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd worn these contacts. Mother said that I resembled my father, and Chadwick had agreed. I always did want to look good on the few occasions I went out, so that wasn't an issue.

My only issue was Mother making a big fuss over me.

"I wonder if that girl is going to be at the dance too," she said as she fixed up my hair. "What's her name again? Angelina, was it?"

"Evangeline," I replied.

"Oh yes, now I remember. I meet so many people that names slip my mind," she said. "I think Chadwick said something about you planning on asking her to dance."

I spun around in indignation, my mouth open in shock. "W-When did he tell you that?"

"It was after you two had come from Wednesday's service. He mentioned bringing Lutecia along, and then he said that you were talking about liking Evangeline," Mother recalled. "I think it's so cute how you get incredibly flustered around her."

"M-Mother!" On one hand, I was glad that Chadwick had finally decided to go out with Lutecia for the dance. On the other, I was going to find a way to get him for telling my overly doting mother about our conversation.

Speaking of the devil, Chadwick walked in, dressed in a crisp blue suit instead of his normal black one. Behind him, Father was dressed in a white suit with a yellow shirt underneath, which complimented Mother's glittery gold dress well enough.

"Well, shall we be on our way?" Father asked.

"Yes. Please make sure that you carry the keys with you, Chadwick," Mother answered.

"Yes, ma'am," Chadwick replied, and left to fetch the keys

After a few more last-minute preparations, we finally got out of the house. The walk down was a rather lively one, as Mother and I kept up the good mood by teasing Father and Chadwick. Father more or less shrugged off Mother's jokes, while Chadwick was sounding like a broken record as I teased him about Lutecia.

Ten minutes later, we had made it to the Mayor's Mansion. The size of it was larger than my own, having four floors, a large garden and a beautiful fountain out in front. The front yard was covered with glistening snow, and the water from the fountain was frozen solid. There were lots of people teeming around the front door, possibly waiting for the guards to check them off of the guest list.

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I'd been holding. I was excited and a bit nervous at the same time, as I'd never actually gone to a formal dance before.

But I managed to calm myself down. Like I had told Chadwick, as long as I find something to keep me busy, I'd be alright.

"Are you ready to have fun, Master Waldo?" Chadwick's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I turned to him, a smile on my face. "You bet."

After five minutes, we finally reached the guards standing at the door. We were waved in immediately after they found out who we were, and we stepped into the gallant, elegant mansion.

When we'd gotten into the lobby, we were met by a huge entourage of people. And there weren't just wealthy people. There were people from the middleclass, and even a few of the lower class people wearing their best clothes. I had read the invitation a couple of days ago, and I noticed that Mayor Downey had put down "anybody who's anybody" as guests.

Well, I could definitely see he wasn't lying on that promise.

"This ought to be an interesting evening." Father had also noticed the assorted number of guests. He happened to turn around, and see a huge man dressed in a brown and gold suit, talking to some other people.

I immediately recognized him as Augustus van Hillisburg, Father's competitor in the oil business. He'd come over to our house twice a year to lick Father's boots about how well his company was doing, but his could do better. Likewise, Father did the same, but more often than not shut the door on his frequent, shady business deals.

Before I could even turn around, both my parents were gone. Father and Augustus were exchanging pleasantries, while Mother was with her gossipy friends in the corner. That left me alone with Chadwick.

"So, uh, what should we do?" I asked.

Chadwick made to answer but then a cheerful yell of "Chaddy!" interrupted him. He turned, completely stunned, to see Lucretia skip up to him. For tonight's event, she had clearly gone for the "lady in red" look, with her dress embroidered with red roses and designed with gold accents clearly meant to represent fire. With pearls round her neck and a deep shade of lipstick, she did look very pretty.

And Chadwick obviously thought so, too, because he was stammering like an utter fool at the sight of her. Then again, most men wouldn't know what to say if they saw someone in that.

I coughed back a laugh, and gently nudged Chadwick in the side. "I'll leave you two alone," I muttered, and casually walked towards the refreshment table. When I turned around, the two were easily making conversation. Or, at least, Lucretia was. Chadwick's face was the color of her dress.

I chuckled, and then turned around to see what they offered for the food tonight. There were all sorts of hors d'oeuvres, but the ones that interested me were the small orange squares topped with powdered sugar. I picked on up and popped it in my mouth.

Immediately, I wished I hadn't. It turned out to be my least favorite food in the world: Varian Delight. And if that weren't bad enough, it was spicy. But I knew it'd be rude if I were to spit it out right on the floor. So, I forced myself to swallow it down, grimacing as the hot, vile stuff went down my throat.

Then, I heard laughter behind me. "You should've seen the look on your face! I was going to tell you that it wasn't a good idea to get Varian Delight, but I knew you wouldn't listen."

I instantly recognized that voice. "Alexander? What are you doing here?" I asked, turning to face him.

Indeed, Alexander was standing right there, dressed in what appeared to be his favorite colors: black and red. He was wearing a boutonniere like I was, only it was red instead of white.

"What, I can't be here? The Mayor said that anybody who's anybody is welcome. Well, I'm anybody," he replied.

"You most certainly are," I mumbled. "Are you here with any of your friends?"

"Eh, most of them ditched me to sneak up to the tower. They say there's some kind of a fifth floor up there," Alexander said. "Then again, I wouldn't call half of those people my friends."

"How come?"

Alexander made a face. "If you met any of them, you'd swear I was the normal one around the House. Rachel's an arrogant jerk, Iggy's just…weird, and Simon's so shy he won't even say hello to you," he said. "And this is coming from the guy who openly admits he's a jerkoff."

"Wow. I kind of know how you feel. When I was attending the St. Hilde's academy, most of the people I knew were too high and mighty," I replied. "I'm not like that at all, and I never liked those kinds of people anyway."

"Well, at least I have one reason for coming to this party. For the last three weeks, I've been going through every book on demons and haven't found anything good. But then I realized that I've been looking at the wrong place the whole time," he said. "I don't need to look here for information. I need to get to the records in the Mayor's Mansion."

"Are you insane?" I asked.

"Maybe," he smirked.

"Seriously, you expect security to just let you waltz up there and read the Mayor's private collection? There's no way we can get in there without getting caught," I argued. "Besides, do you even know where the personal study is?"

"I've studied the map of this place front to back. I have a knack for directions," Alexander explained. "I may not have attended St. Hilde's, but I'm not stupid."

"I never said you were. I'm just saying your idea is."

"You'll never know unless you try, man," he shrugged. "So, are you in or what?"

"I'm still not sure about this…" To be honest, I wanted to go, but I knew that my parents had the bad habit of just randomly checking on me every few minutes. And if they found out I was breaking into the Mayor's private collection of records, I was history.

"Really man, don't you want to know why those things stole your brother's casket?" he asked.

He did have a point, but I couldn't help but become a little down when I recalled the mess I'd turned into on that day. It was by the grace of the Holy One that I'm standing here and not locked in my room.

Alexander seemed to regret asking that question, as he saw the expression on my face. "Oh…sorry about that," he apologized.

"No, it's alright. I've started to move on from that," I said. "Now, before the Mayor makes his way down, can you at least show me where the room is?"

The grin on Alexander's face returned. "I thought you'd never ask."

12: Chapter 10: Unwanted Guests

Chapter 10: Unwanted Guests

"I can't believe we're actually going up here," I muttered as I followed Alexander up the stairs. "Don't you think we'll get in trouble?"

"Hey, you said you wanted to know where the room was. Now keep it down, or we'll get caught!" he hissed back.

"We will get caught if you keep talking!" I groaned. "I'm pretty sure we're in enough trouble as it is..."

We had just reached the top of the steps when we heard shouting. Two voices, one distinctly accented, could be heard from the hall. One of the voices sounded vaguely familiar to me. The next thing I knew, I heard a loud crash, a shout and then a heavy thud. Another crash as someone tossed something to the floor.

A door squeaked open, sending a sliver of light into the hall. Alexander dragged me to the other side of the hallway, where we couldn't be seen. A silhouette of a man stretched across the light.

"I could've sworn I heard someone. I must've scared them off. Oh, no matter. It's time for me to greet my fellow citizens."

At once, I realized who had that accented voice. It was Vincent Jones, the former mayor of Johannesburg. I was not expecting him to show up after that argument he and Downey had had.

"I'll show Downey who can run this town," he said, and looked at himself in the mirror that was in the hall. Seeing that he looked presentable, he made his way down the steps, his shoes clacking against the baseboards.

When the door shut behind him, Alexander let go of me, staring in the direction of the ex-mayor.

"What is that jerk doing here?" he said.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that when Mayor Downey said 'anybody who's anybody', he didn't mean him," I replied as we crept out of the hallway.

"Well, I heard that Jones used to be a spy years back. He probably knows lots of ways to get in unnoticed," Alexander remarked.

"Maybe," I said. "I sure hope the Mayor's not hurt…"

A soft moan from inside the room threw my hopes out the window. When I looked inside, I was treated to a sight I hope to never see again.

Mayor Downey was lying face down on the floor, a huge gash on the back of his head. Blood was splashed all over his suit and onto several sheets of papers in his hands. He struggled to raise his head, and his half-lidded blue eyes settled on us.

"What are…you doing here…"

Alexander was over there in a matter of seconds, looking for something to wrap his head with. I looked around frantically, trying to see if there were any bandages for him to use. That's when I saw the small handkerchief on the table. I rushed over to the table to get them.

"Do you have anything we could use to stop this, Mayor Downey?" Alexander asked.

"I have a few bandages…in the drawer on my desk," the mayor replied.

"Look in the drawer, man!" Alexander yelled at me.

"Hold on, I'm going around the desk now!" I yanked open the bottom drawer to see gauze, bandages and ointments. I gathered the stuff into my arms, and ran over to Alexander.

In about five minutes, we managed to seal Mayor Downey's wound with the bandages. I scooped up the bloody handkerchief I had earlier and threw it in the trash. By the time we were done, the mayor was going in and out of consciousness.

"I sure hope the Mayor's alright. It wouldn't be good if he suddenly passed out on us…" Upon not hearing a response, I turned around to see Alexander sitting on the floor next to the mayor, looking half-catatonic and staring at the mayor's breathing form. His brown eyes were literally pools of nothingness, as though he were reliving something horrible.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

That seemed to wake him up, and he looked up at me, a smile pasted on his face. "I'm fine, bro. Just…got a lot on my mind," he replied.

"I can see that," I said. "Let's move the mayor to the chair before somebody sees him lying here."

"Who are you and what are you doing in here? And what on Erion happened to the mayor?"

We turned, stunned, to see a short, fat old man dressed in a blue suit and a black shirt. His curly hair flew about in odd directions and his face was twisted into a disapproving scowl.

"What does it matter to you, fatty?" Alexander shot back, and the man recoiled in horror.

"My word! I have never heard such rude language!" the man declared.

"There's plenty more where that came from, buster. If I were you, I'd suggest you get out of here before I make you leave," Alexander demanded.

I knew I had to step in, or else there'd be more than words flung about. "Can we save this for a later time? The point is, Mayor Downey got knocked out by Mayor Jones," I explained quickly.

"What? That fool had the nerve to show up when Mayor Downey told him to stay away?" the man replied.

"Yes. We heard a crash, and then Mayor Jones walked out of the room," I continued as truthfully as I could. "I don't think he had any intention of coming back to get him."

"Well, of course not! That idiot only cares about himself!" the man yelled. "As his personal butler, I shall attend to Mr. Downey myself. Now, if you excuse me…."

I took that as a sign that we needed to leave. Motioning to Alexander, I made my way out as the butler walked in. Behind me, I saw that he and Alexander were sending passing glares at each other.

Once we were out of the room, he muttered, "That was some save you pulled, man. If you hadn't stepped in, I'm pretty sure we would've had a problem."

"Why are you always trying to pick a fight with someone?" I asked. "It's not like he had anything against you!"

"Hey, he's the one who asked rudely!" Alexander retorted. "Anyway, we need to get to the records room before Short and Sweaty comes back."

I couldn't help but laugh at that. "You know, you really are a mean person, Alexander," I said.

"Thanks for noticing," he replied, as though it were a compliment.

We went down yet another hallway, passing by several other bedrooms. Alexander stopped in front of one that said "Study". When he opened the door, we were greeted with the sight of a very eloquent study room, completely furbished with beautiful furniture and not as messy as Mayor Downey's office.

Alexander whistled. "Man, it'd be nice if I had furniture like this," he said.

"I don't even have this in my house," I added as I stepped into the room. The soft rustling of papers caught my attention.

I looked around for the source of the noise, and I was shocked to see a girl sitting in the middle of the floor, staring at me. Her emerald ball gown spread out on the floor. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, held with a green hairclip, and her lips were painted with pink lipstick.

"Waldo! Alexander! What are you two doing up here?"

Those words alone made me recognize her. No other girl in Johannesburg knows two boys at once.

"Evangeline?" Apparently, Alexander was just as stunned as I was.

"I-I, uh, I didn't realize that you were going to be here," I said, doing my best not to stare at her. I couldn't help it; she was very pretty. "We're up here to look through the Mayor's books and see if he has anything about demons."

"Funny. I was actually doing just that," she replied, standing up and smoothing her dress. "But I wanted to check if there was anything here before I head to the record room upstairs."

"The record room's upstairs?" I asked.

"Mm-hmm. The stairway's in here." Evangeline crossed to the other side of the room, where there was a gold and red door. When she opened it, there was another set of stairs that led up to a darkened room.

"Great. More stairs to climb up," I groaned.

"Until they can invent something where we don't have to climb up stairs, this is the only option," Evangeline replied. "Shall we go up?"

"After you," Alexander replied. Evangeline giggled, and made her way up the stairs carrying a small candle.

"You really are a smooth guy, aren't you?" I asked.

"Hey, it's all part of the Gallows family charm," he answered.

As we made our way up, I began to wish that some of that rubbed off on me. I'd really like to have a chance with one of the girls, especially the one I was currently thinking about right now.

That can wait, I thought to myself. Right now, I have a mission at hand.

"This is it," Evangeline said, and pushed open the door. A blast of cold air greeted us as she did so, and we all stepped quickly inside.

It wasn't hard to see that the room had once been an attic at one point. The air was musty and stale, and the entire layout was chaotic. Sheets of papers and random books were everywhere. The window in the back was wide open, letting cold air blast in.

"Geez, it's cold," I muttered, rubbing my arms to keep warm. We looked all around, looking around the room in the limited light for anything of interest. "I wonder if he has anything on the legends of the Vallhaven Heroes…"

"Considering that he owns several of the world's sought-after books, I wouldn't be surprised if he had an edition," Evangeline said, placing the candle on the table to look at a shelf packed with books.

"You've done your homework on the Mayor, too?"

"Yes. About a month ago, I was at the library reading about the mayors of Johannesburg. In one section of Mayor Downey's biography, they mention that he has a hobby of collecting old books," Evangeline explained. "Preferably the first editions."

"So there could be a first-edition copy of the Legend of the Vallhaven Heroes in this place?" Alexander called.

"That's what I'm thinking," she answered. "Wait, I think I found something!" She reached out to touch a huge, green book. "It's about how demons carry out their agendas."

"We should probably look at that. We need to know what that Greater wanted with my brother's casket," I said, making my way to her side. The sound of shuffling feet behind me told me Alexander was coming as well.

Evangeline pulled out the book, causing three other huge books to slam to the ground with a huge thud. We all froze, listening out for anybody downstairs. Thankfully, nobody came charging up the stairs to see what was going on.

Evangeline turned to us sheepishly. "Sorry about that," she said.

"There is that thing called being 'silent as a mouse'," Alexander retorted. "No offense, but you make a pretty loud one."

She chuckled nervously.

"Okay, let's take this downstairs before anyone can see us," I said. "I don't think we need Downey's butler to show up."

We made our way down the stairs as gingerly as possibly, mainly because of Evangeline in her dress, and Alexander was carrying the huge book. When we came back into the lit study, we headed straight to the desk, pushing back papers to make space.

"Let's open this thing up," Alexander said, putting the book on the table. The golden writing read Order of the Spiritual World, and the cover was layered in thick dust. I pulled out a small handkerchief out of my pocket, and swiped it across it. I grimaced when it came away smeared with dust.

"Looks like we'll need gloves for this," I remarked. "It's a good thing I remembered to bring two pairs."

"Your Energist gloves and a winter pair?" Alexander asked.

"Precisely." I slipped on my white winter gloves and opened the book. The cover creaked as I did so, as if it were protesting against being used again.

"Look at the age of this thing," Evangeline whispered. "If he were to sell this, it would be worth more than two hundred thousand drachmas."

"Try a little more than that," Alexander replied. "This is clearly a book that dates from the 3rd Century. It's more than a hundred years old."

"Amazing…I've always wanted to own old books one day," she sighed.

I tuned them out as I skimmed through the table of contents, trying to see if there was anything worth looking through. I couldn't really find much that I didn't know, but then my eyes wandered over to the last chapter in the book. The title was called, "Possession".

Carefully, I flipped over a huge chunk of pages to reach the last chapter. The thud that hit the air brought out startled squeaks from both Evangeline and Alexander.

"Those are some thick pages," Alexander muttered.

"I think I found something," I said. "I'm not going to read the whole chapter, since most of it is in ancient Varian."

"Plus, I don't think we'll have much time. If we don't make it back to the party, people are gonna start comin' after us," Alexander added.

"I'll just skim it," I replied, looking over the ancient, worn text. I turned a page just to see if there was anything else that I could use.

That's when my eyes wandered to the right page, where half of it was torn out. The title of the page was called "Legendary Revivals".

"What's that about?" I said to myself, looking over to the side. "'During the 1st century of the Country of God, demons and their malicious cousins ruled with an iron fist. Humans were enslaved under their tyrannical rule, and were forbidden to worship the Holy One. There were those who followed the Holy One, but there were those who took up satanic worship. Open hostilities broke out, and people on both sides died. But demons that had a particular liking towards their most faithful servants-the Corrupters, as they were known-had a tendency to revive them if they got sick or were killed.'"

"How did they do that?" Alexander asked.

"I have no idea. The page below this was torn out," I reported solemnly.

"Somebody didn't want us to know how these things were revived," Evangeline replied. "I'm thinking that it might be one of those Corrupters."

"Corrupters haven't been around since the time of the Legendary Heroes. All of them were destroyed when they came and wiped all the demons out from the face of the earth." Alexander paused a moment to sneeze. "It could've been ripped out before Mayor Downey got it."

"I can see what you're saying, but I still think somebody didn't want anyone to know how people are revived by demons. It could be part of some cult," Evangeline said.

"Okay, that's just ridiculous," Alexander replied. "Nobody does the occult anymore either. Ever since the Legendary Heroes, people have abandoned dark practices."

"But that doesn't mean there isn't an underground movement of some kind!" Evangeline was hot insistent. "It's been two generations since the Heroes. The people have changed since then."

"Yeah, you're right," Alexander replied. "But maybe you should cool off on this. Until we get more info, we can't exactly say that you're correct."

"He's right," I added, turning to face them. "It's not going to do good if we have a fight about century-old beliefs."

Evangeline looked at both of us, and let out a long sigh. Then after a moment, she nodded. "Sorry. I just have a tendency to get enthusiastic about history…"

"That's alright. It happens to everyone," I replied. "But…I've never seen you hotly insistent before."

"Well, I wouldn't be here if I weren't, right?" Evangeline said. "My parents almost didn't let me go, even when I got the invitation."

"Why's that?" Alexander asked.

She looked at each of us in turn, and blushed. "Well… they were afraid I was going to go off with some boy and do something stupid."

Now it was my turn to blush. "Uh…we weren't going to do anything stupid. I mean, other than, uh…." My voice trailed off at this.

"Other than what?"

"Well, I was going to ask someone to the dance, but no one was available other than you…"

I muttered the last part, but the reactions on both of their faces told me they'd heard. She blushed even more and flicked away a stray strand, while his mouth twitched to form a smirk.

"Well, didn't know you liked her that much, little man!" A hand squashed upon my head and roughly rubbed my hair. "You could've told me!"

I struggled to move his hand away. "No, I couldn't have! I know that you look at her the same way I do!" I said.

"What? Dude, I have to admit that she's gorgeous. But I'm not intending on going out with her."

"What?" I stopped squirming and looked up at him. His face was clear of all its usual games.

"You see, where I grew up, all boys are expected to treat a girl with respect. You may see me as a ladies' man, but it's really just me being as gentlemanly as possible," he explained.

"In a very interesting, kind of backwards way," I smirked.

"Hey, everyone's got their own personal style!" He shrugged. "But seriously, though. You don't need to worry about competition from me. Other guys, on the other hand…"

Evangeline cleared her throat. "Um, guys, I am standing right here."

"O-Oh, uh, sorry!" I stammered out. "I didn't really mean to, uh…"

Her mouth formed a cute, elegant smile. "That's alright. If you don't mind, I would like to get back to the party. Since our parents are there…"

"Oh right!" Mother and Father were going to be furious if I weren't there for the dance. "Come on. We'd better get going."

"Sure thing," Alexander replied. Quickly, we all made our way out of the room, but that's when we heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. Before we could even duck back into the room, Father came up the stairs, looking like a wild animal. His eyes focused on us, and narrowed.

"Waldo. Care to explain what you're doing up here?" he asked.

My mouth went as dry as cotton. "I was up here looking for more information, Father. I had to find out something about the demons and why they were attacking Greg," I said.

"It was my fault, Mr. Summerton," Alexander said. "I shouldn't have encouraged him, since I was the one who brought it up in the first place."

"And, uh, I led them upstairs to the record room," Evangeline added. "We're really sorry for the trouble."

"Waldo, be thankful that I won't tell your mother about this. She's too busy with her gossipy friends to even pay attention. It was because of Chadwick leading me away from that pompous fool Augustus that I noticed you weren't at the party," Father continued.

I twisted my hands, a thing I normally did when I was nervous. "Sorry, Father."

"Now I need you all to come downstairs and stay in the ballroom. The guards lock up the second floor when the Mayor comes down," he said. He pointed towards the stairs, and we unhappily marched down.

When we got downstairs, we heard a round of applause come from the crowd. We entered to see that there were several couples standing in the middle of the floor, and all of them were surrounding two people I didn't expect to be in the spotlight: Chadwick and Lucretia. Apparently, they'd made their big splash on the dance floor.

Chadwick saw me and nodded, which I responded to with two thumbs up. With a light bow to the audience, the two eventually made their way out of the crowd.

"Looks like we made it just in time," Father replied. "Around this time, Mayor Downey should be coming around."

When we made our way out to the dance floor, one woman called out, "I say, isn't that…Vincent Jones?"

"Vincent Jones?" Augustus van Hillisburg scoffed. "That's preposterous! That fool wasn't given an invitation!"

"Then can you explain why I'm here, Augustus?"

Augustus froze, his face white as paper, and turned to see Vincent Jones descending from the steps. He wore a sharp blue jacket embroidered with gold pins, along with white dress pants and black shoes. The room was silent as Jones walked to the middle, and everyone backed away as if he were contagious. He didn't seem to care, though, as he stood in front of the crowd with a scrutinizing stare.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know that you are shocked to see me here tonight. It is true that Mayor Downey didn't send me an invitation; however, he fell ill at the last minute, so I decided to be a good…friend and take his place tonight," he said.

That did it for me. I walked straight up to him, my hands balled up into fists. "That's a lie! You knocked the Mayor out!" I shouted.

A wave of gasps descended over the crowd at this. The side of Jones' face was blue with veins threatening to burst.

"What did you just say, little boy?" he growled, turning to face me.

"I came upstairs just to get away from the party for a little bit, and that's when I heard a crash from the hallway. I ducked away so you wouldn't find me, but then I went to the room where I'd heard the crash, and I saw him. I saw Mayor Downey lying in a pool of his own blood, which you spilled," I said confidently. It was as truthful as I could be at the moment.

Father stared at me, horrified. "Is he dead?" he asked.

"No, his butler's taking care of him. But there was a reason you knocked out Downey, wasn't there, Mayor Jones?" I said, turning back to the mayor. "You were just angry that you wouldn't be able to get your precious office back after everyone kicked you out of office."

"Someone take him out of here!" Vincent yelled.

"Why, because he's so close to the truth?" Father stepped in, silencing the retort I was about to say. "We all know how you've been cheating people out of their money. We all know that you only care about gaining more money for yourself. And we all know that your actions have ruined several families' lives, Vincent Jones."

"Indeed," Augustus interjected. "Nothing good's come out of my oil business ever since we made that deal. Then, I found out you were stealing my market shares!"

"Face it, Jones," Father said, "nobody wants you back in office anymore."

Jones looked like a bomb about to go off. He whirled around, trying to appeal to anyone willing to listen to him, but only got similar malicious glares from the crowd. After that, he growled and stomped his foot indignantly, like a child.

"You think Mayor Downey can do better? He's had his own share of great failures, you know! But mark my words, you incompetent fools. In about a year or so, you'll be begging for me to return!" he said. His blue eyes were blazing with anger.

"Like that's going to happen, Jones."

We spun around to find Mayor Downey walking down the steps, half supported by his butler. He hadn't bothered to change his clothes from Jones' bashing on the head, and everyone could see the blood that covered his shoulders and collar. The rage on his face was unmistakable as he glared at his unwanted guest.

"Get out of my sight, Jones, or I'll personally show you out," he ordered. His voice was somewhat unsteady, but it was clearly a command backed by a terrifying amount of anger.

Jones seemed to shrink under the man's glare, and he turned stiffly towards the door. Before he left, he glared at me.

"You'll pay for this, little boy. I can promise you that," he growled, and stormed out. He flung open the doors to the mansion, and then slammed them shut.

Everyone began to cheer the moment the doors closed, but I stood as still as a statue. I was cold, and not because of the gust of cold air that blew in the room when Jones opened the door. If that threat had come from anyone else, I would've shrugged it off and be on my way. But when Vincent Jones threatened me, I felt the same way I had three weeks ago, when the Greater made off with my brother's casket. I felt gooseflesh creep on my arms. 

Unlike the rest of Vincent Jones' empty threats, this one was serious. And it made me afraid.

A hand touched my shoulder, and I looked up to see that it was Evangeline. Worry was in her eyes as she looked down at me.

"Are you alright, Waldo? You looked…scared for a moment," she said.

"I-I'm fine," I lied, putting on my best fake smile. "There's nothing you need to worry about."

"You sure, man? Because your face went whiter than paper after Jones walked out," Alexander added.

"Seriously, guys. I'm alright. Just a feeling of déjà vu, that's all," I said.

Evangeline and Alexander still looked unconvinced, but they didn't ask me any more questions. Soon, we all went towards the refreshments table.

Surprisingly, everything was almost gone. The only foods that were there were Corsica crème doughnuts, winterberries and deviled eggs.

"Guess nobody here likes doughnuts," Alexander said, snatching a crème and stuffing it into his mouth. Yellow custard dribbled down his chin as he did. Instead of pulling out his handkerchief, he simply wiped his mouth with his sleeve, leaving a trail of yellow custard on his black suit.

"I can see why nobody ate the deviled eggs, either." Evangeline had a small egg in her hand, her face scrunched up. "They taste a bit sour."

"They've been left out for too long," I replied, taking a doughnut. "Deviled eggs are meant to be served chilled."

"The cook probably forgot that," Alexander replied, scanning the plate for another doughnut. "Ooh, they have strudels." He picked up the pastry and dug in, painting his mouth with strawberry filling.

"Alexander….please eat normally," I groaned. He glared at me while Evangeline laughed nervously.

Just when I had finally decided to put away my suspicions about Mayor Jones, a blood curdling scream hit the air. Gasps went through the crowd, and more than a few glasses hit the floor. Mayor Downey turned around to see who had let out the scream, and found out that it was my mother.

"Madam? Are you alright?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"More like a Chaos Monster," Augustus cracked, and a ripple of nervous laughter filled the room. The look on Mother's face, though, showed that this was no laughing matter.

"That's because I have seen one," she said quietly. "And it's coming right this way."

"Nonsense!" Augustus chirped, puffing himself up proudly. I then noticed that his face was strawberry red, a clear sign that he'd been drinking way too much vino. "What, is a Chaos Monster just going to suddenly burst in here and cause terror?"

"I hope not," I muttered.

"Please, you have to believe me!" It was the only time I'd ever seen Mother look so desperate. "We need to move before-"

She didn't finish her sentence, as the room began to shake violently. The three of us had to hold onto each other in order to not be sent crashing to the ground. In the background, more screams could be heard, and several people, including Mother, started running for their lives.

The next thing I knew, the walls of the dance room exploded, sending glass, debris and people flying. Alexander shoved us both down as the shower of destruction rained upon us. A series of crashes occurred as everything in the room was destroyed. I heard a scream, a sickening crunch, and then another crash. Once the building stopped shaking, I got up to see who it was.

Augustus lay in between the destroyed table, his body contorted in a way that was inconsistent with life. Blood formed in a small pool under him. My body went cold, Evangeline's hands flew to her mouth, and Alexander stared in horror.

That, however, became the least of our worries.

My keen nose picked up the smell of Chaos Monster; it was so strong, it nearly knocked me down. When I turned around, I thought I would faint.

Mother had been right about seeing the Chaos Monster. It was an Alicante, this one looking more like a Cerberus, complete with three heads. However, that wasn't what unnerved me. The Alicante had brought a partner with him, a Greater to be exact. But it just wasn't any regular one either.

It was the Greater that had stolen my brother's casket three weeks ago.

I stared in absolute shock, unaware that Chadwick and Lucretia were running towards us. Chadwick grabbed me and rushed off, Evangeline and Alexander close behind. We ran up the stairs while destruction continued to reign below.

Chadwick and Lucretia leaned against the wall, out of breath. "I…I haven't run that fast since I was Master Waldo's age!" Chadwick breathed.

"Indeed," Lucretia replied. "Adrenaline can make you do the most surprising of things."

"Okay, can someone explain to me why the heck a Greater and an Alicante are working together?" Alexander asked.

"I'm not sure. But I recognize that Greater," I said. "It's the one from three weeks ago. I don't think he's finished with us yet."

"Perhaps he wanted to put up more of a challenge," Chadwick added. "Fighting two of the strongest Chaos Monsters would be a difficult feat."

"Even so…"

Just then, heavy footsteps charged up the stairs. We turned around to see Father standing there at the top of the stairs, looking scared out of his mind.

"Where's your mother?" he asked breathlessly.

"I'm not sure, Father. We got separated. I think she left with the others, maybe with the Mayor," I answered.

"The last thing I need is for any of my family members to get hurt. I want all of you to head outside and get to the courtyard. I'll meet with you later," Father said.

"Wait, what about you?" I asked.

Father's gaze was stern. "I'm going to destroy those two monsters," he said darkly.

"…ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Evangeline screamed, startling everyone. "You'll get killed down there trying to fight two Chaos Monsters at once!"

"Yeah! It's practically a suicide mission, man!" Alexander added.

"I know that…but better me than my wife or my son," Father replied. "I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I will do my best to not get killed."

Another scream hit the air, and Father and I both froze upon hearing it. 

Mother hadn't gone outside with the Mayor and the others. She probably came back in to see if we had made it out...

Father took off down the stairs, and I made to follow him, but Chadwick grabbed me. I struggled to wrestle out of his grip, but his grip was like a vise. I stopped squirming, but I couldn't help but panic.

"They're down there, fighting for their lives, Chadwick! I could lose them!" I cried, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

"I understand how worried you are, Sir Waldo. But your father is still known as the King of Demon Slayers, and your mother is far from helpless. They will undoubtedly take care of themselves," Chadwick said.

"We just have to believe in them, Waldo." Evangeline's eyes were shining with tears, but there was a look of determination I'd never seen before. "The best thing we can do is let them handle the situation."

"Come on," Lucretia added, "let's get out of here."

I was still very uneasy about this, but I saw the logic in their words. Sighing, I nodded in agreement. Chadwick let go of me, and we started to walk down the hallway….but that's when we heard the fight downstairs.

One of the monsters roared, and then we heard what sounded like a curtain being torn in half. Something wet sloshed on the floor. Mother screamed in terror. Father yelled out various names, and explosions began rocking the building, nearly throwing us to the ground. When everything began to quiet down, I half expected for the monster to be destroyed.

But those things apparently had insane endurance.

An ear splitting shriek hit the air, followed by a whoosh of air. There was a painful cry from Father, and then a thud.

Another crash resounded through the building. There were footsteps, and then Mother yelled up the stairs, "SOMEONE, HELP US!"

Chadwick started, but I reacted first. I ran down the stairs at a speed that would make Alexander proud, throwing on my Energist gloves at the same time. When I reached the stairs, Mother was waiting for me, her evening gown torn to shreds and covered in several scrapes. Blood poured freely from them.

"W-Wally! It's your father…h-he's-" Mother couldn't finish her sentence and crumpled into a heap, bawling.

I didn't need to look far to see why. Father was lying face down on the floor, barely breathing and bleeding badly. The Alicante hovered over him, inspecting him like he was a piece of meat. Another man lay on the floor, his body practically torn in half and blood all over the place.

The Alicante got close to Father, and opened its mouth. Mother scurried over to him, putting her directly in its path. The monster roared, and drew back a claw. Before I could move, it swiped at her, sending her flying halfway across the ballroom. I heard a crash, a moan...and then nothing.

That did it for me. Power began licking against my fingers and I quickly began waving my hands around in an elegant circle, creating another energy ring that filled up with blue energy.

"Powers of the Holy One, come into my hands. With you on my side, I know that nothing is impossible for me-there is nothing that I cannot destroy!" Sparks of lightning had appeared inside, licking the outsides of the ring as it gave more strength to my attack.

The next thing I knew, I heard footsteps coming in my direction. Mother was half running, half limping over to me, her face smeared with blood and her hair at wild angles. She jumped right in the path of the Alicante, scooping up Father into her arms. She struggled to lift him and started to limp towards the exit.

One of the Alicante's heads turned towards her, and snarled. Its mouth opened, and a sphere of orange and black energy formed in it.

"Don't you dare touch my family!" I yelled. "Be gone from me, foul creature of the night! EXTERMINATION!"

Mother, holding Father tightly, barely got out of the ensuing crossfire. The moment I launched my attack, the Chaos Monster shot its attack, covering the room in a mixture of orange and blue light. I struggled to push it back, as it was on equal strength with mine. Grimacing, I poured out even more power into my attack, my fingers burning with the force.

The next thing I knew there was a bright flash, a scream, and then a massive explosion. The force of it threw me backwards. Heat washed over me, and I felt something hot on my pants as I rolled and tumbled halfway up the stairs. The sensation reached my skin, and I cried out in pain.

"MASTER WALDO!" Chadwick's voice reached my ears as he rushed down the steps, suit coat off and patting it over my leg. A burst of smoke lifted into the air as the flames that had covered my leg were extinguished. When Chadwick pulled the coat back, I saw an almost blackish patch on my skin, and grimaced.

"Are you alright, Master Waldo?" Chadwick asked.

"For the most part," I muttered. "I just didn't expect to be set on fire..." 

At that moment, I recalled that Mother and Father had been down in the balcony when the monster attacked. The bright orange flames that licked at the base of the stairs made me fear the worst. 

"M-Mother…where's my Mother, and Father?" I asked.

"I'm not sure." Lucretia helped me up, as did Chadwick. "But I only hope they didn't get caught in the inferno."

"Inferno" would be a suitable word to describe the scene in front of us. Orange and yellow flames covered the floor, leaping out the window and eating up any flammable material. I couldn't see any other forms inside them, nor could I hear any cries for help over the roar of the flames.

The Alicante was gone. And so were my parents.

That was when another crash hit the room, and a wave of fire came flying through the ballroom. Chadwick and Lucretia hauled me up the stairs so we could get away from the rising smoke. On the way up, I saw Evangeline standing at the bottom of the stairway, ripping off part of her ball gown. She threw the torn shreds down and charged up the stairs behind Alexander.

We didn't stop running until we were made it to the hallway where we had first found the study. We stood outside the door, panting and catching our breath, but the sound of cracking wood and raging fire told us that break time was over.

"What should we do, Chadwick?" Lucretia asked.

"Master Waldo, didn't you say there was an attic up here?" Chadwick turned to me.

"Yeah! I think there was a window out there as well," I said. "Come on, I'll show you the way."

Without another word, we all ran into the room, hoping to escape the inferno raging behind us with our lives.

13: Chapter 11: Courtyard Battle

Chapter 11: Courtyard Battle

When we finally reached the study, we saw Downey's butler standing in the middle of the room, looking absolutely bewildered. His clothes were singed, and we could smell the smoke on them. His eyes focused on us and narrowed.

"What on Erion is going on down there? I smell smoke!" he said. "What did you do?" He cast an accusatory glance at Alexander.

"No time to explain, Fatty!" Alexander cut in. "Unless you wanna die, you'd better come with us to the records room upstairs."

The butler had no retort for that, and he followed us upstairs into the small record attic. The blast of cold air that hit our faces was refreshing compared to the heat downstairs. I looked around frantically for something we could use to climb down the roof.

"We have a ladder outside on the side of the roof. Quickly, we must break open tha-"

The butler was cut off when Lucretia used her purse to break the rest of the glass in the window, knocking the frame out and tossing it outside. She turned towards the rest of us, and we were all looking at her with shocked expressions. 

"We've got it taken care of. Now, come on! We don't have much time left!" she said.

We needed no second bidding, and we all ran over to the window, climbed over the sill and landed on the rooftop. The moment I looked down, I knew we had a problem. The roof was covered with thick snow, and the crunch under my feet told me that it was starting to harden. One wrong move, and we would fall to our deaths below

"Okay, which way do we go from here?" Alexander asked. He looked equally wary about crossing the roof as well.

"We head to the right. It's far too dangerous to jump down from here," the butler said. "Watch your steps."

We all made our way very carefully across the snowy roof. I skidded across a few times, but thankfully, I didn't go tumbling from the roof. When we made it down, Evangeline sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness we're down from there. I was starting to get nervous," she said.

"You weren't the only one," I laughed as I jumped down.

"Alright, the ladder's this way." Downey's butler coughed as smoke began to rise from the lower part of the house. "I still can't believe this. The Mayor's Mansion is actually on fire."

"We can talk about that later. Right now, we've got to move," Alexander said. He seemed to be in a hurry to get down. After testing his weight on the ladder, he began to climb down. He eventually made it all the way down, and signaled for us to climb down.

"I'll go next," Chadwick said. "Lucretia, you can come down not too far after me."

"Alright. Just don't look up when I go down," she replied. Chadwick blushed at the thought, and hurriedly started down the ladder. Smirking, she followed his lead.

"You kids go ahead. I might cause the ladder to topple since I'm heavier than you," the butler replied.

I started to make my way down the ladder, Evangeline right on my heels. I did my best not to look up as she climbed down. When I got down, I reached out for her hand as she jumped down. The butler then started to make his way down from the roof, but that's when another explosion occurred, fire and smoke bursting out of the windows and sending glass flying everywhere.

We all ducked to avoid the fiery debris, and another scream hit the air. The ladder was currently breaking apart, and the butler was swinging around, threatening to fall off.

"Jump, man, JUMP!" Alexander yelled.

The butler wasted no time following Alexander's advice. He leaped from the ladder just as the hinges gave out, causing it to crash to the ground. He landed face first in the snow with a thud.

"Are you okay?" I asked, running over to help him.

The butler sat up, coughed out snow and then scoffed. "After nearly getting killed from jumping that high? Yes, I'm perfectly alright," he retorted.

I frowned. "You could've said-"

I wasn't able to finish my sentence as the Alicante burst from the window, carrying a limp form in its mouth. I gasped when I saw who it was.

"FATHER!" I yelled, and took off across the snow to save him. One of the Alicante's heads raised back, shooting a beam of dark energy that crashed into the ground in front of me. I had no time to react, and I was launched backwards about twenty feet, crashing head over heels into the snow.

Alexander reached into his suit jacket and pulled out the Railgun, ready to shoot. But he didn't pull the trigger.

"What are you waiting for?!" I yelled. "Shoot already!"

"I can't! I could kill your old man and the other guy!" he shouted back.

"I beg your pardon?" the butler started, which turned into a scream as the Alicante created another sphere of dark energy. He jumped away as it hit the ground, blowing up another part of the Mansion. We all jumped down as fire flew into the air.

"What are you talking about?!" Evangeline said. "I don't feel any other-"

"You don't get it! It's the same thing that's happened to Mayor Downey! Someone's been held hostage inside that Alicante!" Alexander said.

Evangeline stared at him, wide-eyed. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid I am," he said. Then he turned to me. "Are you any good at binding techniques?"

"On it!" I gathered the remaining energy in my hands, and crossed them together. Instantly, they began glowing a bright blue.

"Struggle Bind!" Blue strings of light shot from my fingers, encircling the monster from all directions. It roared as it struggled against the binds. I planted my feet firmly into position, holding the strings down as tightly as I could.

"Alright, now I've got to exorcise this thing!" Alexander ran forward, but then our other unwanted guest arrived.

The Greater announced its arrival by letting out an ear-splitting shriek as it crashed to the ground in front of the Alicante. The force of its landing caused the Struggle Bind to snap, and I fell to the ground from the sudden release. Evangeline and Alexander were thrown backwards from the waves, and Chadwick, Lucretia and Downey's butler all made a run for it. The Greater focused on me, its eyes gleaming red in the moonlight.

I jumped to my feet, and in one sweeping motion, I had created not one, not two, but five energy rings that surrounded the Greater and the Alicante from all directions. My body was in adrenaline overdrive as I poured every ounce of strength I had into each one. The two Chaos Monsters stared at the attacks in utter shock as they turned to me.

I didn't care that I could possibly die from using my powers like this. I didn't care that everyone was shouting at me to run. And I really didn't care about possibly blowing up everything in my path.

The only thing I cared about was burying these two monsters one hundred feet in the ground for daring to destroy my family.

"You already took my brother. You won't take my parents!" I screamed. "OBLITERATION!"

The world went blue as all five attacks descended onto the two monsters, the deafening roar drowning out the Greater's screams. In a matter of seconds, it disintegrated into black shreds of demonic energy before completely disappearing.

The Alicante hurled Father into the air as the attack rained down on it. Chadwick and Alexander rushed to catch him, but Alexander got there first. He leaped into the air like a professional athlete, catching Father in a flying tackle before crashing headfirst into the ground. Chadwick ran towards them, yelling the whole way.

The Alicante let out a scream that caused the roof of the Mansion to collapse, debris shooting everywhere. It crumbled to the ground as pure light seeped into its body.

"Waldo, STOP!" Evangeline said. "You'll kill him!"

"WHO?!" I shouted.

"Alexander says that there's somebody inside the Alicante! We can't rescue them if you're shooting down at it!" Evangeline said. "HOLD OFF!"

As much as I really wanted to destroy this thing, the thought of killing somebody in my own rage made me stop. I had almost done it to Mayor Downey, and I couldn't do it again. Letting out a sigh, I pulled back my powers, causing the remaining two spheres to disappear as I gathered the remaining energy into my hands.

After that, I fell to the ground, exhausted from using that much power to hit two Chaos Monsters at once. As I hit the snow, an explosive boom filled my ears, popping them open. The world around me was a blur of white, orange-yellow, green and black, and I swore that I heard Evangeline screaming my name.

I heard footsteps in the snow, and then Lucretia was over me, along with Downey's butler. She yelled for Chadwick to come over, and they both started saying things to me, but I was starting to drift at this point. I could hear the sounds of the Alicante being destroyed, and Alexander asking Father if he could hear him.

After that, everything faded away into darkness.

-----

When I opened my eyes, I found myself standing inside a throne room. Numerous gold lamps surrounded it, lit with fire that seemed to never go out. In front of me was a large, rectangular pool, filled with water so smooth it could have been glass. Everything was very bright here, but I had no problem seeing the marvelous sight in front of me.

I then became aware of a hand on my shoulder. Looking up, I saw that it was the Holy One's son standing right behind me. His face wasn't at all what I'd seen in engravings and pictures. Rather, it was shining with many, many colors-colors that I don't even know the names to. The love that was pouring from it was overwhelming. I fell to my knees in reverence.

There was a moment of silence, and then the Son said, "My Child, there is no need for you to engage in senseless acts of violence. Your faith alone could have defeated the demonic energies."

I sighed as I looked up at him. "Lord, forgive me. It's just…I've lost too many people to the Chaos Monsters raging outside. And I…I lost it. I completely lost it. I know I should have trusted in you instead of my powers."

The tenderness was evident in His voice. "My Child, you are forgiven of your sins. However, you must go back and fulfill your destiny. I have created you to be a great leader in the future, to be an example that all Energists can follow," He said. "During this time of great upheaval, there will be cries for the Energists to destroy the demonic energies. I want you to lead the charge."

I stared at him, my mouth wide open. "B-But, I don't know the first thing about being a leader!"

"That is something you'll learn over time. A true leader doesn't follow what everyone else does. Rather, a true leader is someone who serves the people," He said. "And I know that you have the potential to save the world, Waldo."

I was completely stunned at what he was telling me. Swallowing, I said, "Yes, Lord. I will do as you say."

The Lord smiled, and then said in a loud, commanding voice, "Now, go, and fulfill the mandate that I want you to do!"

Before I could say another word, everything rushed past me, and soon I found myself falling back to earth.

-------

I awoke to darkness. At first all I could see was the moon shining through the window in the room, painting the black covers on the bed a light color. I saw that my left arm had a small, plastic tube sticking inside it, and I followed my eyes to where a silver pouch was hanging from a metal pole.

"A hospital?" I muttered.

Just then I felt movement beside me. "Waldo?"

I recognized that voice, and I turned around. "Mother?"

Mother's eyes shone with tears as she grasped my hand. "Waldo, welcome back."

"How long was I unconscious? And where am I?"

"For the past two hours. And right now, we're in the medical center. The doctor thought that you had died," she explained. "I'm just relieved you're not seriously injured."

"What happened to Father? Is he alright?" I asked.

"Your father's still unconscious. The Alicante had clawed him in the back, causing him to lose a good bit of blood. Right now, he's undergoing a blood transfusion," she said. Her smile had dropped.

"He's still alive?" I asked.

"Yes. Chadwick and Downey managed to donate some of their blood to him when we first got here," she explained. "The doctor said the process was successful. We're just waiting on him to wake up."

I felt tears sting my eyes. "Thank the Holy One," I muttered, wiping my eyes hastily. "How did you escape?"

"I had to leave for the emergency exit while the Alicante made off with your father. I wanted to go back and get him, but…." She paused, her voice breaking. "The Greater attacked me not too long after."

"You're not hurt, are you, Mother?" I asked.

"No, just a few scrapes and cuts. Alexander's being treated right now as well," she said. "He took quite a leap into rescuing your father from falling to his death."

I sighed. Just then, another question came to mind. "What about the person that Alexander and Evangeline were talking about?"

Mother was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Before I shot the Obliterate attack at the two monsters, Alexander said that there was a person inside one of them; the Alicante, I believe. Did you see anybody, Mother?" I asked.

Mother scratched her chin, looking up at the ceiling-something she always did when she was trying to remember something. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long.

"Come to think of it, I did remember to see someone there. It was a woman who claimed to be with Vincent Jones' staff," Mother said. "She said that she'd been held captive by the Alicante."

"And I bet that Vincent Jones is the one responsible for that," I said. "I didn't see that slimeball outside the mansion at all."

"Well, let's not jump to conclusions, Wally. We'll see what happens with the mayor after we have more news on the incident. The Mayor's Mansion was nearly destroyed in that fire," she said.

"I hope we're not getting sued for the damages," I replied.

"No. I think we'll all be expected to help out. Now, you be a good boy and get some rest. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving you know."

"Mother…"

After a few more moments of Mother doting on me, I found myself sitting in my room, all alone in the dark. Settling into the pillows, my mind wandered to Father's condition, the mysterious secretary and the Greater and the Alicante-as well as my official mandate from God.

"Some fun I had," I said, closing my eyes.

14: Chapter 12: Evangeline's Visit

Chapter 12: Evangeline's Visit

December in Johannesburg got off to a rough start.

With two Chaos Monster attacks taking place in the span of six weeks, the town was forced to put aside its traditional holiday spirit into fixing the town. Mayor Downey asked everyone, from the poorest beggars to those dripping in diamonds, to contribute to the reconstruction effort. As we were one of those in the latter category, we were to help as well, but we found that we couldn't do much due to our injuries, a fact that Father hated.

The casualties from the Mayor's Ball were off the charts. Over 100 people, including Augustus van Hillisburg and several of the other super rich, were killed, with hundreds more injured. The Mayor's Mansion was in serious need of repair, as majority of the house had collapsed in the fire. During that time, Mayor Downey was living in Town Hall until his house was repaired.

Father awoke on Thanksgiving Day, but he could barely move since he had been clawed from the back down. I was worried about his injuries, of course, but I was just glad that he was alive. Despite his bedridden condition, we ended up having a very nice dinner at the medical center, and Lucretia and her friends were invited as well.

Saturday, I was released from the medical center with a warning to never overuse my Energist powers again. Mother came home that afternoon, and Father was released on the first of December. Seeing him walking around in crutches brought back memories of that fateful night, and I cringed.

As the doctor had ordered Father to remain in bed and rest, Mother, Chadwick and I started working around the house. Chadwick ended up taking care of all of Father's business calls, while Mother and I did the chores. She started teaching me how to cook in case she and Chadwick weren't in the house. I must admit that I wasn't exactly getting a hang of the cooking business, as I had accidentally burned the roast beef, added too much salt to the vegetables and broke more than a few of Mother's fine china plates.

Eventually, Chadwick decided to cook dinners ahead of time in order to avoid any more incidents, which was good for me. I couldn't stand the thought of giving Father food poisoning with my cooking.

A few days later, Mayor Downey had a burial service for all of the people who were killed at the Mayor's Mansion. We all attended, with Father in a wheelchair. To everyone's surprise, Jones attended the ceremony. Mayor Downey gave a very touching eulogy, apologizing to every single one of the victims for not anticipating the attack and doing something about it. He also swore that something like this would never happen again on Sylvanian soil. The entire crowd was moved, some people even falling to their knees in grief.

It even touched Jones' crusty heart, as it was the only time I had ever seen him cry. That's when I knew the situation was serious.

We went home that day feeling more than a little guilty. Father was grumbling about not using his attacks fast enough, while Mother had tears running down her face. I remained silent the whole way back, trying to keep myself from boiling over. The thought of the monsters getting an upper hand on me and my friends was just too much to bear.

I hadn't seen Evangeline or Alexander since we almost died at the Mayor's Mansion. I supposed both of them were giving my family some space in order to deal with this on our own. Then again, I suppose both of them had their own things to do.

I continued to read and study, as it was the only way I could keep myself sane. So far, the stress between helping my parents and trying to learn more about these Chaos Monsters was starting to tear away at my brain. On some days, I didn't do anything but sit and read.

Then one morning, while I was reading the fifth book of the Chrono Phantasma series, Chadwick walked into the room. A concerned look was on his face.

"Master Waldo, are you feeling alright?" he asked. "You've been stuck in your room for the last few days."

"I'm fine, Chadwick. I really just need to sit back and let this blow over. I've got too much on my mind right now," I said.

"You truly are your father's son," Chadwick noted. "When he's in a mood like this, he would rather sit back and read than talk to people."

"Is that what he's doing now?" I asked.

Chadwick nodded. "That and signing business deals."

I sat up and looked at him. "Is there another reason why you've come upstairs, Chadwick?"

"Yes. Miss Evangeline is here to see you. She said she has some things she'd like to discuss with you," he said.

"Really? Well, I'd better not keep her waiting," I said, jumping off the bed with renewed energy.

"Are you really going to greet her dressed like that, sir?" Chadwick asked.

I looked down at my "around the house" wear, which was a white long-sleeve shirt, brown pants and black slippers. I smiled sheepishly.

"I'll go down and meet her…right after I change."

I scurried down the steps to the door, where she was standing in the doorway. Like all of the townspeople, she wore all black. Her hair, normally tied in a long, flowing braid, now sat atop her head in a very elegant style and held together with a black pin. She also wore a black veil that covered part of her face, which she had to remove in order to see me better.

"Evangeline," I said. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"It's alright, thanks," she said. "Are you doing alright?"

"Mostly, thanks. Father's doing slightly better, although he's still in a sour mood. Mother's…holding up," I replied, leading her to the family room. "And what about you?"

"I'm still quite shaken after all that happened. I haven't been able to sleep well for the last few days," she said. I could see the evidence of that, as she looked half drained. "When I thought about how that man was thrown from across the room to the refreshment table…I…I just can't stop thinking about how that could have happened to me."

"I know how it is. Sometimes, the things I think up are more than a little gruesome." We sat on Mother's precious luxury chaise, which she'd gotten from Grandfather while he was still alive. Although she usually wanted no one to sit there, it was the only space in the whole room that didn't have papers everywhere.

Evangeline seemed to be in awe as she looked around my house. A twitch at the corner of her mouth formed a bright smile on her face.

"You really do have a nice house, you know," she said.

"Thanks. That's what happened when you're rich, I guess," I replied.

"My family used to have furniture like this…and then, we had to sell it to pay taxes," she said. The smile was gone from her face. "It was all because of Mayor Jones that we're in the working class and not where your family is…"

I blinked, completely unprepared for that. When I had first met her, I had figured that she was a working girl. Father had said that Mayor Jones ruined countless families, but I didn't know that hers had been among the many.

"I'm sorry to hear about that," I apologized. "I feel so insensitive…"

"It's not your fault. Part of it was our fault for ever trusting Jones in the first place," she said.

"I think we've all made that mistake," I added.

She laughed shortly. "Well, with Mayor Downey back in power, I can only hope that things can get back in shape soon."

"Indeed. Oh, um, before I forget, was there something that you wanted to tell me?" I said. "When Chadwick came up to get me, it seemed like it was pretty urgent."

"Oh, right!" Evangeline snapped her fingers. "Last week, I went to the library to see if I could find another copy of the book we found at the Mayor's Mansion. It turns out that there's a second edition that's fully intact and kept behind glass. It took a lot of convincing, but I finally managed to get my hands on it."

"Oh, really? And what did you find?" I asked, sitting forward.

"Well, you know the section about legendary revivals that was ripped out in the Mayor's office? I managed to read the entire section in the book. What it said was particularly interesting. In the old days, demons used to raise people to live with only two things: spirit powder, and blood."

"What does that have to do with my brother?" I asked.

"That I'm not sure. But I then noticed that the Alicante didn't kill your father. He only wounded him. That's when I read the next part of the section: it says that most demons prefer to raise up their trusted servants with the blood of their fathers."

I stared at her in shock. "Are you saying that the Greater and the Alicante were after Father for his blood?"

"That's my theory," she replied. "I can't be entirely sure about it, though, but it didn't go after anybody else after we left the room."

"That's impossible! Why would they do that?!" I started pacing around the room, trying to put these pieces together. "Why would they attack Father for his blood, when Greg didn't even-"

"We don't know everything about Greg. Maybe Chadwick knows more about his true ambitions," Evangeline said. "I think you said that he was trying to do everything he could for Greg before he died."

"Yeah, but that still doesn't add up why they'd steal Father's blood," I said bitterly. "Until we can find more information in this book, I think we're going to have to wait on the theory."

Evangeline sighed. "I thought you'd at least like to know about that…it could partly explain the reason why Greg's body was stolen."

She said a few more things after that, but I didn't listen as more pieces began to form in my head. I began to remember the prophecy about the Chaos Monsters returning to their true forms, the demons of old. I began to think about what she had just said about the demons reviving people….and then, I knew what we had to do.

"I think I'm starting to figure this out!" I said suddenly, cutting Evangeline off.

"W-What is it? What did you figure out?" she asked, standing.

"Come with me," I said, taking her hand. "We're going upstairs to see Chadwick. He might have a few more clues about Greg that could solve the rest of this puzzle."

Without waiting for her to reply, I pulled her towards the stairs, where Chadwick was. We went upstairs and into the hallway, then I led her to Chadwick's room at the end of the hall.

"Hopefully, he's still in there," I muttered, letting go of Evangeline's hand and knocking on the door lightly. "Chadwick!"

The door opened almost immediately. Chadwick looked like he was in the middle of changing clothes, as he had most of his suit off. He looked quite surprised to see us.

"Is there anything that you need, Master Waldo, Miss Evangeline?" he asked.

"Yes. We need you to tell us more about my brother," I said breathlessly. "It's very important."

"But sir, don't you remember the last time you heard the news about your brother? You were in shock for three weeks!" he said.

I grimaced at the memory. "I know, Chadwick. But please, just this once, tell me more about him. Even if it will change how I see him…forever."

Chadwick looked conflicted, as if he didn't want to divulge into this with Evangeline standing right there. When I snuck a small glance at her, she had her face set into a firm, straight line, her eyes dark with emotion. I could tell she wasn't planning on leaving.

After a few long seconds, Chadwick sighed, and let us inside his room. Compared to my room, his had way more furniture and memorabilia. Pictures of old friends hung one the wall, and there were more than a few pieces of new furniture in the room.

"You can sit over by the window if you like. There are some chocolate drop cookies right next to you if you want any." Chadwick said this as he went into the water closet to change. Feeling the sudden urge to just grab something, I got up and started looking around to see what my butler had changed the last time I'd been inside.

Most of the pictures were ones of him and Lucretia, which didn't surprise me as he'd said that they were old friends. In the black and white photo, he and Lucretia were obviously on Willows Beach, their clothes billowing in the breeze. Lucretia had been very pretty when she was younger, with long hair and a dazzling smile. It amazed me that Chadwick had managed to be 'just friends' with her for so long.

"Wow, these are really beautiful." Evangeline was looking at some of the antique jewelry that sat out on Chadwick's dresser. She was currently holding a gold necklace with a ruby on it.

"Oh, that's from Great-Grandfather Joseph's treasury. Father wanted me and Greg to share it, but as you can see, that didn't happen," I said.

"Your great-grandfather was a jeweler?" she asked.

"Yes, for over a century. Grandfather, though, became a furniture maker, and then Father became an oil guru. Neither of them wanted to stay tied down to one thing," I replied.

"What do you think you'll do when you're older, Waldo?"

I scratched my chin. "I'm not sure. I'm feeling a pull towards something other than the oil business, but…at the moment, I can't decide. At first, I wanted to become an accomplished Energist. But when I saw how I was acting-a callous, halfhearted jerk-I turned away from that. So, at the moment, I'm undecided." I looked up at her. "What about you?"

"Oh, I always wanted to volunteer at the church. I'm not really much of a fighter, really; I love helping others. If something happened that required me to use my powers, then yes, I would fight. But I would much rather spread the Good News around to people. That's much less violent," she said, giggling.

I smiled at that. "I hope you'll reach that goal in the future," I said.

"And I hope you do the same," she replied.

The door opened and Chadwick walked out, now dressed in a white tunic, black pants and gold and black slippers. I had seen him in this outfit many times to know that this was his casual wear. Evangeline, though, stared at him in surprise.

"What, did you think that I wear my suit to bed, Miss Evangeline?" he asked, a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Evangeline blushed. "N-No, I was just, uh, surprised to see you dressed so…casually," she replied.

Chadwick chuckled. "No need to worry, dear. I myself am surprised to be dressed in something other than my suit," he said. "Now, you both can sit on the couch and I'll tell you more about Greg."

I made space for Evangeline to sit on the chair, and we both sat down, picking up a few of the chocolate drop cookies.

"So, what is it that you need to know about him?" Chadwick asked me.

"Well, I need to know about his behavior. Father told me that you had tried so hard to save Greg when he was still acting crazy, but he didn't go into details about it. He only told me the basics," he said.

"I see…" Chadwick scratched his chin. "Well, I suppose I can tell you some of Greg's past behavior, Master Waldo. But, if I may ask, what is it about him that you want to know?"

"Well, mainly if he had any interest in…something other than Christianity. I mean, even Father is a Christian," I replied.

Chadwick sighed. "Well, to answer that…yes, yes he did. Greg had, for some time, abandoned the Christian faith, and had converted to some other cult without your parents' knowledge. I did what all I could to get him to turn, but he screamed at me to leave him." His eyes began to well with tears. "I never gave up on him, even until the end…"

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Waldo, Chadwick," Evangeline said in a hushed tone. "We didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"That's alright, dear. It's perfectly alright," Chadwick replied. "I more or less live with the guilt of what happened to Greg, as does Waldo's father."

"Chadwick, what kind of cult did Greg join?" I asked.

"He joined a cult called the Bloodseekers a long time ago, but before he died he changed to the Church of Darkness," he said. "It's where people known as the Neo-Corrupters gather."

"Neo-Corrupters…" I stared at Chadwick in shock. "That's what the people in the days of the Heroes were called! The people who lead countless souls to eternal damnation were called Corrupters, weren't they?"

"Yes, they were." Chadwick seemed very angry about this. "I can't believe how easily he fell for the lie…"

"Evangeline, I think that theory of yours isn't so crazy anymore," I said. "You could be right; the Corrupters could be returning, but nobody's bothered to notice."

"If you're really thinking what I think you're thinking, Master Waldo," Chadwick started, "you're trying to connect the Varian Prophecies with the events that's been taking place."

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing," I replied. "But there's one more piece of the prophecy that I'm trying to figure out…"

"What's that?" Evangeline asked.

"There's a part where a leader for the revived demons will rise and blanket all of Varia in darkness that will last for seventy days. The leader will be a dead servant of the Evil One, who apparently found favor with the demons and raised him back to life," I recited.

And all of a sudden, it hit me like a hammer.

"Oh, my goodness," I said. "I think I've just found out who this leader is."

Chadwick looked horrified, and Evangeline was staring at me with a shocked expression. I swallowed before continuing.

"It's my brother."

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. Evangeline went pale, and Chadwick looked positively ready to faint.

"A-Are you sure about this, Master Waldo?" he asked. "I-I mean, it could be a mistake!"

"No, Chadwick, it's not a mistake!" I shouted. "The prophecies clearly state that one more demonic revival will take place during the third century, and that is for the King of Demons! That must be why Greg's casket was stolen!"

"What should we do?" Evangeline was panicking. "We can't just walk out and get Greg back!"

"I'm not sure. But we need to tell Alexander and the rest of my family about this as soon as possible. The whole town of Johannesburg needs to be ready for this. Because if we don't warn everyone…the blood could be on our hands," I said solemnly. I was trembling with anger as I thought of my own brother being used for evil.

Gentle, warm hands pressed onto my shoulders. I looked up to see Evangeline looking into my eyes with a very determined, focused look.

"Don't worry, Waldo. We're not giving up until everyone in town believes what we have to say. Not listen, mind you, because anyone can listen and not believe. We're going to make sure everyone's prepared for this-you, me and Alexander."

"To be honest, I was hoping it would just be you and I," I said.

She looked away for a moment, but I could see the blush on her cheeks. "I think we'll need Alexander's help for something this big," she said. Turning back to me, she continued, "Besides, if we're going to save the world, we'll need all the help we can get."

I laughed a little; it felt good to laugh again, if only for a moment. "I can't deny that."

"Well, then," she said, straightening, "it looks like I'll have to leave for now, Waldo. I told my parents I wouldn't stay too long. But I'll be sure to tell Alexander about this when I run into him again."

"Sure. Thanks for coming over with the information," I said. "And…I appreciate your being here."

She blushed again, and managed to give me a warm smile. "You're very welcome, Waldo."

After thanking Chadwick, she soon walked out of the room, heading downstairs. I offered to walk her to the door, but she refused, saying that she could find her way back down.

As I heard the door downstairs close, Chadwick chuckled. "Well, it seems as though sparks are flying between you two, Master Waldo."

The heat that came rushing up my face was so sudden I thought I might faint. I turned to give him a glare, although it only managed to make him laugh even more.

"I am so going to get you," I huffed, trying to get my face to turn back to normal.

"Are you sure that you don't mean Evangeline, Master Waldo?" Chadwick's grin let me know that he was having way too much with this.

To my credit, I managed to stifle the trickle of blood from my nose before any got on the carpet. Hastily, I walked out of the room, Chadwick's laughter following me.

One of these days, I'm going to be the one who has the last laugh.

15: Chapter 13: The Revolt

Chapter 13: The Revolt

The only thing surrounding me was darkness as I continued to run throughout the town. The sounds of Evangeline's and Alexander's labored breathing filled my ears as we pounded down the streets of Johannesburg. Screams rang out in all directions.

Alexander still had enough breath in him to swear, and I couldn't blame him. These Chaos Monster attacks were beginning to get on my nerves as well, what with their frequency and their violent behavior.

We made a left at the town square, and that was when I saw something I hoped to never see again.

Vincent Jones was standing over Chadwick, a knife held tightly in his left hand and dripping with blood. I didn't have to look far to see the red splashed on Chadwick's shirt, or to see him gasping for air. Beside him, two tall, burly men carried a screaming Lucretia away, who was hysterically calling for Chadwick.

"Shut her up," Vincent growled. One of the men picked up a knife, and slashed it right across Lucretia's throat. He laughed as he tossed her limp form to the ground.

Evangeline screamed, and Chadwick's face resonated pure horror. Then he closed his eyes, breathing even more erratically.

Alexander reacted faster than me. He whipped out a Railgun and shot Jones in the face, knocking him down like a bowling pin. I ran over to Chadwick, tears stinging my eyes as I did so.

"Evangeline, help me!" I cried, pulling my injured butler to his feet. He staggered slightly, and would have fallen had she not grabbed him by the side.

"I've got him, Waldo. You need to go and find out what's going on with the Chaos Monsters," she said. "I'll take him to the doctor immediately."

"Hurry, please!" I begged as I let him go. I couldn't stand the thought of losing the one person who was closer than my father.

My thoughts were interrupted by Alexander screaming in pain, and then a loud thud. I whirled around to see that Mayor Jones was standing up, a hole in his head and his knife hand outstretched as he had slashed Alexander across the back. The boy lay on the ground beside me, motionless. There was a huge tear in the back of his shirt that revealed a deep gash.

"ALEX!" I yelled, and I turned towards Jones, seething.

But that was when I got a closer look at the man, and noticed that his eyes, normally a deep blue, were now bright yellow. His lips curled to form a cruel sneer, revealing fangs in his mouth.

Instantly, I recognized this as a sign of demonic possession. The man was so desperate to be respected that he was willing to sell his soul to the devil to earn it.

"You're a smart little boy, aren't you, Waldo?" he sneered, his body rumbling with laughter. His voice was heavily distorted, sounding like a broken record. "That's right. I did sell my soul to the Evil One in exchange for respect. But I haven't forgotten my promise to you. I told you that you were going to pay for publicly humiliating me. And this is how."

There was a massive gust of wind that nearly blew me down as another winged Greater appeared on the scene. It landed on the ground, carrying two people in its mouth. I couldn't help it; I screamed when I saw who it was.

Mother. And Father. They hung limp in the Greater's mouth, looking more like dolls than people. Their hands were firmly grasped together; even in death, one never left without the other.

The war cry that came from my throat echoed throughout the street as I rushed towards the Greater…

…but that's when I discovered that Mayor Jones was far from through with me.

Something caught my legs as I ran forward, sending me crashing to the ground. My face hit the stone streets, breaking my glasses and nearly breaking my nose. I struggled to sit up so I could breathe, but a heavy force kept me down.

Mayor Jones laughed at me from his position. "You should see your face, Waldo! You frighten so easily. But then again, that's what happens when you lose. You haven't done a thing after that monster fight which robbed me of my position! You're weak, pitiful, and most of all…you're a brat!"

There was an electric hum of energy that filled the air. I heard footsteps behind me, then a whoosh, a painful scream, and then a thud. My eyes widened when I heard it.

Evangeline.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, thrashing to get out of the bind that kept me down.

"Even you, the strongest Energist in Johannesburg, can't break out of a seven layer binding chain!" Jones laughed. "You can't save anybody. I already took the great care of killing your beloved mayor, your family and your friends. And now, you will join them in death."

The Greater in front of me roared. I barely had time to sit up before its claw was in my face and purple and black energy exploded into it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"

I awoke screaming, tangled up in my covers and gasping for air. Every part of me felt like that dream had been real. I felt moisture roll down my face, and instinctively wiped my face with my sleeve. My heartbeat slowly went back to normal, although it took me forever to stop shaking.

Out of all the nightmares I'd had, that was the scariest one, hands down. I could picture nothing crueler than Mayor Jones carrying out his promise to make me 'pay' for ruining his life by ripping my loved ones away from me-and to add insult to injury, kill me as well.

Shakily, I pulled the covers back and climbed out of bed. I had only intended on taking a nap, as I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep recently. That…nightmare, or whatever it was, had definitely perked my senses.

"If I'm not going to sleep, I'd better head downstairs and get something to eat," I muttered, looking at myself in the mirror. My hair was ruffled in all directions, some strands sticking out at odd angles. It was a good thing Mother wasn't there, because she would have fawned over me being "adorable" and all that.

Taking the comb, I managed to yank my hair back into place. It then occurred to me that I needed to comb it more often, as the knots were seriously getting on my nerves.

Just when I finished smoothing my hair back into place, the door to my room opened and Mother walked in. She looked absolutely exhausted, as if she'd been up all night.

"Waldo, Alexander and Evangeline are over here to see you," she said.

I blinked, completely unprepared to hear that. "They're both here?"

Mother nodded. "They said something about heading to the library to look up more information about the demons," she said. "I think that's something you need to take up with them."

Realizing it was pointless to keep questioning, I put my glasses back on and rushed down the stairs, my feet pounding the baseboards. When I reached the foyer, Alexander was currently inspecting the marble bust of my grandfather, Robert Summerton.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," I said.

Alexander froze, and turned to me with a scrutinizing look. "I wasn't touching it. I was just…getting a closer look at it."

"Uh-huh." I turned to Evangeline. "I thought you weren't going to come back over until tomorrow."

"I was, but then I ran into Alexander on the way back and I told him everything. He said that since he's currently off duty, he has some time to head to library to look at the books at demons," she said.

"Well, it certainly beats being stuck in my house for the last few hours," I said. "I could definitely use the fresh air."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Alexander asked. "I'm itchin' to start reading stuff about these demons again."

"I'll get my coat and we'll be on our way."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The library, as it turned out, was busier than I had originally thought. Not a single table was unoccupied, and several people were crowded onto one chair. Several of the other people were crouching on the floor next to the window.

"Geez, and I thought it was going to be quiet tonight," Alexander replied.

After we made it past the hustle and bustle of the main lobby, we made our way to the mythology section of the room. I started picking up books about the Valhaven Heroes, while Alexander began picking up books on demons. Evangeline had found a couple of books about Corrupters.

No tables were in sight, so we made our way to the back of the library, where we remained out of the eye of the persnickety head librarian, Mrs. Justice. With her thin-rimmed glasses and beady brown eyes, she would always call out people for the smallest infractions, more often than not throwing people out.

With Alexander sitting right here, I really didn't need a fight to break out.

"You picked a really good time to come to the library, Alexander," I said.

"The library's gonna close tomorrow. One more day not doing our research could cause even more problems for us in the long term," he said. "Trust me, I know from experience."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Alexander replied, and that was the last thing either of us said as we turned to our books.

The book that I'd picked up was about a prophecy written by a great historian during the First Century. Apparently, he'd been given a mandate from God to write down the names of all the rulers of the kingdoms of Varia. But he didn't stop there; he even wrote down the names of the future governors and mayors of every town in Varia. As Johannesburg is in the kingdom of Sylvania, I decided to flip there and see what I could find.

What I discovered there shocked me. All the mayors and governors that had run Johannesburg were matched perfectly. No name was out of place; not one mistake was there in the book.

If that weren't enough, I noticed that there were various titles for each of the mayors, which was normally given to them when they first got the position. There were three names on the bottom of the sheet, but one was repeated twice: Mayor Downey's. The first time his name was mentioned, it had the title 'Bringer of Reform'.

The second time his name was mentioned, it had the title 'Brightest light in the darkest hour'. For Mayor Jones, it had simply read, 'Death bringer'.

Okay, I knew Vincent Jones wasn't a nice guy, but I was somewhat unnerved by this revelation. That's not a title you'd want to get when you're elected Mayor.

"Wow, this stuff is really interesting." Alexander's eyebrows touched the tops of his forehead as he read the paragraph. "I think this would explain Evangeline's crazy theory."

"What about my crazy theory?" Evangeline asked, indignant.

"I'm reading this thing about how demons go about reviving people. According to this, a demon first goes to the place of the buried, and takes their body. They take each one to their lair, where they set them up on some table. They then return to find relatives of the dead, or to the place where their blood is frozen," Alexander said.

"Why would they hunt after relatives?"

"It's because the only way the dead can be revived is if they have the blood of their family back inside their own body. Preferably, the father's blood is taken. In the case that the father is dead, they turn to the siblings. It's considered to be very desperate if they attack the mother for her blood," Alexander said.

I felt as though someone had walked over my own grave. "Are you saying that they gathered Father's blood in order to resurrect my brother?"

"It's like you said earlier; there is supposed to be one more demonic revival during these times before the Seventy Day Blackness," Evangeline said. "I couldn't think of another explanation other than that."

My hands were shaking. "This…this is so unreal…"

"To actually think that this stuff they mentioned hundreds of years ago is actually happening…" Evangeline shuddered. "I wonder how they knew about this without all the technology we have."

"This book says that the prophets of old received visions of the future from the Holy One." Alexander scratched his chin in thought. "The only way we can really know if that's true is if we read the book of Revelation."

"The Book of Revelation scares me," I admitted.

"Dude, you fight against Chaos Monsters, and you get paid for doing it. And you're telling me that one book of the Bible scares you?" Alexander said.

"Well…there is also the fact that I can barely understand half of what it's saying…"

"The only way you can understand it is if you read the entire Bible through, no skipping. Reading the New Testament won't make sense without the Old, and vice versa. Likewise, reading the Book of Revelation is key to understand what's been going on recently," he continued.

I'm pretty sure my expression mirrored Evangeline's shocked expression as we both turned to Alexander. The boy looked at us as if we'd come from Erion's two moons.

"What? I'm not as stupid as you think I am! I know a lot of stuff, and I have a natural interest in history," he said.

"Not that we said you were stupid; we're just surprised that you know so much about the Book of Revelation," Evangeline said kindly. "Not many do."

"That's the main problem. Most people don't want to read it because they don't believe in the stuff that's being taught. Others are flat-out terrified, as Shorty admitted. And others say that the Book of Revelation happened already. But there haven't been any records that talk about Mayor Jones being there during the second century. Either someone's lying, or he's older than I thought," Alexander said.

"Plus, there hasn't been a darkness that fell over the land for seventy days," Evangeline replied, "and there haven't been any demonic revivals in a long time."

"Who would come up with a belief like that?" I asked.

"Someone who doesn't want people to know the truth," Alexander said. "The less people know, the better it is for those other forces at work."

I still couldn't wrap my head around half of the things I was learning. Father's blood was going to be used to revive my brother, who would basically bring about the end of the world. The prophecies that we were reading through were all coming true-very rapidly.

As I had said earlier, this was all so unreal.

We were all so busy absorbed into our own pursuits that we didn't hear the popping noises from outside. All of a sudden, the window on the other side of the room was blown out by orange bullets, sending three people into the bookcases face first. Everyone looked up when the bookshelf collapsed with a loud crash, blood covering the shelves.

Bullets started streaking through the window like comets, blowing holes through the shelves. People began screaming and running for their lives as the bullets started becoming more erratic in their targeting. More than a few people were caught in the crossfire.

Evangeline pushed us towards the back exit and we ran outside only to be greeted with more chaos. Already, several bodies littered the ground, while most of the townspeople were panicking. Gunshots continued to explode into the air as as the gunner continued to shoot up the town.

"What in the name of-" Alexander didn't get to finish as he had to duck to avoid a sailing bullet that crashed into the door, blowing it off its hinges.

"What kind of gun is that?!" Evangeline shrieked.

"I have no idea," I said.

"It's a Railgun," Alexander answered breathlessly. His gaze was serious. "I know for a fact that no bullets are colored that way."

"I thought most Railgun bullets were red," I said.

"There are some with orange bullets. I used to have a personal Railgun," he said.

"GET DOWN!" Evangeline screamed, and pushed me down, nearly breaking my glasses. Alexander let out a yell and he jumped down as well. A sound resembling a screaming firecracker hit the air.

BOOM!

A huge explosion occurred in the middle of Town Square with enough force to level a building. A wave of heat passed over me, making me feel unbearably hot. When the wave passed, I looked up to see that half of the square was destroyed. More bodies were scattered all over the place. In the distance, screams rose to a horrifying crescendo.

"By the Holy One…" Evangeline was speechless.

"Who would do something like this?" I asked aloud.

"You really shouldn't have asked, little man," Alexander said, pointing in front of me.

"Well, well, look who we have here. If it isn't the Terrific Trio," a voice called lazily from the smoky haze. A figure stepped through the cloud, and I immediately recognized who it was.

Vincent Jones was standing before me, a sadistic grin on his face. That wasn't the only thing off about him; two of his top teeth resembled fangs and his eyes were gleaming yellow. In his hands, black and purple energy blazed to life.

It was almost as if my dream was coming to life. My knees trembled and threatened to buckle, and I grabbed onto the wall for support.

"Hello, Waldo. Fancy meeting you again. But I don't have time to chat. I have a revolt to lead against Downey," he said.

"Don't you even care that the town is still in grieving over the incident that happened not even two weeks ago?!" Evangeline was furious, her cheeks flaming red. "And now you're adding more to the chaos!"

"What can I say? I mean, after all, my description as the mayor of this town is…death bringer," he said darkly.

"So, it is true," Alexander said. "You're one of the people who brings about the Seventy Day Blackness."

"That I am." Jones seemed to be disturbingly cheerful about this fact. "But before I can fulfill my purpose on this earth, I must destroy my mortal enemy first."

"Why are you so determined to destroy Mayor Downey?" Alexander asked.

"Wow, you really are simple, boy. It's no secret that I hate him and everything he stands for. I'm the one who deserves to be loved, to be respected and feared, not that goody two shoes! But no, Downey tells me that I'm unfit to be a mayor because I cheated him out of a position years ago. Eventually, the whole town went against me because of him, including the magistrate. It's only because of his disappearance that I'm in the position of mayor in the first place," Jones replied. "But I'm not worried. They'll all see soon enough. When I expose Downey's little secrets for everyone to see, they'll have no choice but to see me as a hero! That'll be, of course, right after I kill him."

"That's how you plan on being a hero? You really don't know what the definition means!" I snapped. "A hero does things for the good of the people, not for himself! You're no hero, Jones, and even then I never looked up to you!"

"You will soon enough, especially after I've carried out my word against you," he replied. His yellow eyes bore into me.

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how I said at the Mayor's Ball that you were going to pay for publicly humiliating me?" he said. "Well, I know just how to do it. I'm going to kill everyone important to you, destroy your inheritance, and then right when you're broken and crushed, I'll kill you. It's because of you that I'm not in the office right now, exercising my rights against that tyrant you call father and that idiot mother of yours."

"Don't you dare," I hissed dangerously, "speak of my parents that way."

"I can speak of them anyway I wish. And as for you, you're an entitled, spoiled, arrogant brat who thinks the world revolves around him," Jones continued.

With my voice trembling, I managed, "You'll never get away with this, Jones. No one speaks to me like that, or gets away with threatening my family."

"With the help of my new friends I will," he smirked. His eyes then began to gleam yellow, and an energy pulse rang through my head. It took all it had in me not to scream. Evangeline and Alexander took care of that for me, though, and they both screamed before falling to their knees, hands over their ears.

"In the light, let there be darkness. In the face of the Almighty, let there be evil," Jones recited, his voice still heavily distorted. "In my hands, let there be such power as to cleave the heavens in twain!"

The sky went frighteningly black, etched with purple clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed from above. A portal of blue and black energy sprang up underneath Jones, spreading out towards us.

With a crazed smile, he issued one final command: "Army of demons, emerge! Let darkness and chaos spread throughout the land!"

There was a moment where everything was painfully silent, other than the crashing thunder above us. Then, the ground started shaking violently, and the screams returned in earnest. The ground shifted beneath us, and I turned to see the library swaying like a blade of grass in the breeze.

That's when we began to run. We tore down the steps, just about to leave Town Square, when I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around to see an Alicante jump on a defenseless old man. He screamed as the Alicante's claw slashed across his body, blood raining in all directions. The screams increased in intensity, and then suddenly silenced as the old man was reduced to nothing in seconds. The townspeople screamed in horror, and many threw up in disgust.

And then, an army of Chaos Monsters poured out of the portal. Roars, screams and claws meeting flesh filled the air as Jones' army started to tear apart the citizens. Blood splattered everywhere, and body parts flew like nobody's business. I fought down the urge to throw up, Evangeline screamed, and Alexander was motionless.

"Do you really think you can defeat me now, little boy?" Jones laughed psychotically, his voice clear as a bell over the townspeople's cries. "Even you, the most powerful Energist of all time, can't defeat an entire army of Chaos Monsters by yourself!"

I had regained enough control to speak. My voice trembled, but it still carried the anger I felt. "You...you're a sadist, Jones. A cold-hearted sadist."

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm glad you got to see who I really am...before you DIE!" He pointed a finger at me, and one of the Chaos Monsters, a Lesser to be exact, came flying at me, arms outstretched and ready to grab me.

"Jump back!" I yelled, and we all leaped away as the monster crushed the ground behind us. Another scream sounded as one man was pinned underneath it. There was a snap, and then the screaming stopped. The Lesser reached down to finish off its victim, and we took off from the disaster zone.

Alexander was spewing enough profanities to make even the most hardened sailor horrified, and I couldn't blame him. These attacks were coming one after the other, taking innocent lives and causing destruction. The fact that Vincent Jones was personally leading this attack and confirming the legends about him made things even worse.

We ran towards the downtown area, where everything was pitch black. We stopped to rest along a wall next to one of the buildings, exhausted and trying to figure out what was going on.

"Do...do you think...they might be...following us?" Evangeline asked between gasps.

"I'm not sure," I breathed, pausing to catch my breath, "but they do have expert night vision."

"That's a problem for us then," Alexander replied. "None of us has the ability to light up dark areas."

"I do," Evangeline said. "It's one of my skills as a Purifier to light up dark places. I just need a little time..."

A wild scream split the darkness, interrupting us. Before we could move, a blast blew apart a building right next to us, tossing us high into the air. A scream tore from my throat as we hurtled to the ground, and Alexander was screaming as well, though I could hardly hear him over the explosion.

All of a sudden, I heard Evangeline cry out, "Holding Field!" The world went a brilliant green and we hit a green field that hovered twenty feet above the ground. I barely had time to recover as Evangeline floated downwards, looking terrified and relieved at the same time.

"Are you two alright?" she asked, extending her glowing hands to help us both up.

"Yeah," I replied, the wind knocked out of me. "Perfect."

"Guys, we've got a problem," Alexander said, pointing at the ground. As Evangeline's field had illuminated the town below, I could see a horde of massive Chaos Monsters swamping the area. They snarled and several of them tried to jump at us from below.

"What are we going to do now?" I muttered.

"We need to get help. Hopefully there are more Energists out there that can help us," Evangeline said.

"At the moment, I don't care who's going to help us as long as we take out those things," I replied.

"Evangeline, we need you to light up the area for us. We need to see if we're going to find Mr. Summerton and Chadwick," Alexander said.

"Sure thing. Let me lower the field and we'll be on our way," she said. Pressing her hands against the disc, we soon started to levitate downwards, moving away from the Chaos Monsters below.

As soon as we were on the ground, Evangeline used her powers to give each of us beacons of light that glowed from our palms. We dashed for the square, and avoided any Chaos Monsters we found. One of them was even trying to eat Alexander, but Evangeline took him out with an attack she called a Purification Barret.

The revolt had turned into an all-out bloodbath. There were more bodies scattered all over the place, and blood painted the walls of most of the buildings. The air was thick with it. Chaos Monsters roamed around, picking off what remained of the people. I grimaced at the sight, but I was quickly drawn to attention as Vincent Jones turned around, his mouth pulled into that same unnerving smile.

"Have you finished praying for your souls yet, children? Because where you're going, nobody will be able to save you!" He turned towards us, eyes gleaming with evil. He swung a hand back. "Let there be dark-"

"Strum, memories of my mind! Rhapsody of Memories!"

The next thing I knew, five giant flagstaffs fired from the left, smashing into Jones and throwing him down. An explosion occurred then, covering part of the town square in a bright violet color. The dark portal he'd been standing on disappeared, as did the Chaos Monsters attempting to jump out.

Jones had barely gotten up when arrows flew into existence, each one notching into his back. He screamed and tried to yank them out, but that was when a gunshot exploded into the air. A huge orange bullet crashed into his head, throwing him back even farther. There was a scream, and then a crash as he slammed into a building. We all turned around to see who was responsible for the entourage, and I was relieved to see three very familiar faces walk towards us.

Father, Chadwick and Mayor Downey walked forwards, each one with his weapon of choice. The anger on their faces was unmistakable. Jones, despite having been blown halfway across the square, managed to get up. Blood poured down his face and onto his suit, and he gripped his right arm with his left hand. However, he still had that creepy smile on his face.

"Ah, the Mayor and the richest oil guru in town make a house call," he said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I believe you know the answer to this, Jones," Chadwick snapped. "You're the one who sent Chaos Monsters to our home in order to kill us."

"Destroy you? Moi?" Jones asked, feigning innocence.

"And when someone endangers my family like that, I don't take it lightly," Father added, cracking his knuckles.

Jones chuckled. "What, you actually think you'll be able to destroy me?"

"Even if we don't, we'll certainly make you wish we did." Mayor Downey's face was red with anger. "After what you've done to this town over the years, especially tonight...be happy I'm actually sparing you."

"I wish I could say the same for you, Downey!" Jones laughed, pulled his arm up, and summoned yet another portal under his feet, "because I won't be sparing you! Let there be chaos!"

Alicantes, Greaters and Lessers poured from the chasm, leaping at them. With a flick of his wrist, Mayor Downey took out several of them with his shotgun, their remains disappearing into thin air.

"Forgive us for taking so long, Master Waldo," Chadwick started as we approached, "but we had to repel the demons back at the mansion."

"I suppose you stopped to get any other weapons for us, right?" Alexander asked.

"I have a blunderbuss on my back. It's loaded with special bullets that can take out demons in one shot," the mayor said, turning around so Alex could get the weapon. "I don't know if you've used one before, but it should work nicely."

Alexander gave the weapon a small assessment, looking it up and down, holding it and even firing a shot at an incoming Chaos Monster. The beast let out a hideous yowl as it was extinguished, disappearing into shreds of chaos energy. Alexander smirked.

"Nice," he said.

When I had my Energist gloves on, I turned towards Vincent Jones, who looked like a feral animal. I silently prayed for strength and wisdom during this fight, and activated my powers. Blue filled my vision as I pointed at our foe.

"Let's see how much of a challenge you can put up, Jones," I said.

Jones's eyes brightened, his pupils now dagger-wound-like slits, and he bared his fang-like, yellowing teeth. The energy in his hand grew greater and he thrust it into the air.

"LET THERE BE EVERLASTING DARKNESS!" he screamed, and large monsters started leaping out of the portal at superhuman heights. Jones laughed like a madman as we split up into teams dealing with several of the threats at once.

The Day of the Death Bringer had begun in earnest.

16: Chapter 14: Day of the Death Bringer

Chapter 14: Day of the Death Bringer

"Cantabile!"

A massive blue and violet pole-arm whooshed past me, sticking through a Juvenile Chaos Monster. It let out a hideous scream as red light erupted over its body, and then it disappeared altogether. I turned over to find Father using another flagstaff to knock down several of the larger Alicante.

A deafening screech filled my ears, and I whirled around to see a Lesser and a Greater rush towards me, their heads bowed low as they charged. The tops of their heads had a massive horn on top of it. I slid over to the side, and began to gather energy into my gloves. My vision went blue as power began to surround me.

"Mayor Jones, if this is the best you've got, you're in big trouble," I muttered. "FIRE!"

The world went blue as my attack engulfed seven of the surrounding Chaos Monsters. Yowls hit my ears from all directions, and they suddenly silenced as they were destroyed. The light slowly disappeared, leaving a massive crater in the center.

That was when Evangeline screamed. I turned to see an Alicante on top of her, looking ready to tear her to pieces. Even from here, I could see that she was utterly terrified.

"Get away from her!" I yelled. Instantly, a blue orb of light appeared in my hands. With a war cry, I flung it at the Alicante. There was an explosive shudder as light met darkness, causing the Alicante to stand on its haunches, screaming in pain. Seeing that she was free, Evangeline leaped out of the disaster zone as Alexander moved in.

Yellow bullets streaked forward, blowing through the Alicante's defenses. It continued to let out ear-splitting shrieks as it was attacked. After a few minutes, a green sphere infused with black energy slammed into its' midsection. The Alicante let out a final shriek before it dissolved entirely.

"Master Waldo! I could use your assistance for a moment!" Chadwick called. I saw Chadwick relentlessly firing arrows at one of the Juvenile Chaos Monsters. Despite the purple blood that was oozing from its wounds, the monster continued to attack with full strength. Upon seeing the red streaks of blood on the side of Chadwick's face, I knew that the monster wouldn't stop until he was dead.

"Hang on!" I rushed over to my butler's aid, my fingers coming alive with blue energy. I thrust my hand forward, sending a tendril of energy over to Chadwick's arrows. Instantly, the energy fell onto the tips, making them glow in the darkness. With determination glowing in his eyes, Chadwick released the arrows, aiming at the creature's midsection.

It was a clean shot. The Juvenile glowed brightly, expanded like a balloon, and exploded into a shower of sparks. The arrows, apparently, went with it, as they were nowhere to be seen.

"Will you be alright, Chadwick?" I asked.

Chadwick wiped his face with his handkerchief. "I've been in rougher battles than this, Master Waldo, and I've been injured countless times. I do believe I can handle myself in battle," he replied.

"If you say so, Chadwick," I replied. "I know you wouldn't want to let Lucretia down."

"No, I can't possibly do that." Upon seeing another set of Juveniles rushed towards him, he pulled out five arrows and loaded them into his crossbow. "And I certainly can't let you or the rest of the Summerton family down as well. It is my duty to serve and protect, Master Waldo."

I unleashed another set of energy onto the arrows and Chadwick fired them. The arrows zipped through the sky and slammed into their targets. There was a moment of deafening screams before they blew up as well.

"We can't hold out forever!" Father was dropping flagstaffs left and right, several of them literally falling from the sky. The charged staffs pinned the demons to the ground, lighting them up and extinguishing them. Their screams soon became whispers in the wind.

"Father, what can we do?" I asked.

"We have to get at the source-Vincent Jones." Father scowled. "He's the only one controlling the demons. If we can figure out what's controlling them, we may be able to destroy it."

"We'd better be able to destroy it," Alexander quipped. He whipped around to shoot another Chaos Monster coming behind him. "We don't have unlimited resources, and these things are starting to get on my nerves!"

"You and me both," Chadwick replied.

A chorus of screams filled the air and we all turned to see three winged Alicante dive towards us. We braced ourselves for the incoming swarm, my hands glowing, Alexander loading his gun and Father preparing to fire more of his lances.

"NOW!" Father yelled, and we unleashed a volley of arrows, bullets, staffs and orbs at the monster. An explosion rocked the sky, and all three tumbled out of the sky, crashing to the ground in front of us.

Summoning my powers, I created a large ring that rapidly filled in with energy. Everyone stepped back as I punched the ring, unleashing a river of blue light towards the Alicante. I barely heard their screams over the deafening roar of the attack. When the light subsided, we saw a few trails of smoke rising up from the sky.

Not long after that, gunshots filled the air, and we turned to see the two mayors of the town fighting with each other. Jones was leaping with superhuman strength, purple waves shooting from his hands. These waves crashed into the ground, leaving huge craters in them.

Mayor Downey was expertly swerving out of the way, countering by firing his blunderbuss. The two interchanged dodging and firing as their fight took them across town. Right when Jones was about to shove his attack into Downey's face, the mayor spun around and hit with his blunderbuss. It was then I noticed he had two.

Completely off balance, Jones attempted to shoot another wave of darkness, but that was when the mayor started to spin around like a top, the wave flying off his arms. Jones had no time to react before Mayor Downey shoved his guns into his face.

"Berserker Barret!" he yelled, and pulled the trigger.

An explosive crunch filled the air as Downey's attack crashed into Jones' face. The force of the shots hurled him into a building. Dust and debris kicked up everywhere as he made contact with the wall.

Mayor Downey panted as he righted himself. He turned to his left and saw that even more Chaos Monsters were pouring out of the portal. He swore.

"There's no end to this!" he muttered, reloading, and then firing his gun like nobody's business. Bullets rained down on the monsters, but they didn't go down. Rather, they staggered to their feet and advanced towards him.

"Oh, crap. Hang on, Mayor!" I yelled, and dashed off to where five Greaters were surrounding him. Summoning energy on my fingertips, I drew a small ring, and an orb of energy began to form inside it.

"Light Smasher!" I yelled, and punched the sphere outwards. The beam imploded, forming a bright blue beam that enveloped the Greaters. It didn't take long for them to disappear, and when the light cleared, I saw Mayor Downey standing there looking relieved.

"Thanks, kiddo," he said.

"Don't thank me yet. We still have to get to the source of the problem," I said, pointing to where Jones was starting to stir. Despite his face being covered in nasty holes, he was still able to stand up, let alone function. An abyss smiled back at us as he pointed his finger at us.

That's when I saw it: a diamond shaped ring on his right ring finger, embedded with a red jewel. It was glowing with black energy as Jones summoned more Chaos Monsters out their portals.

"I've found what's controlling them! It's the ring he's wearing on his finger!" I shouted. "We have to destroy that before -"

"AAAAAAH!"

I froze midsentence as I recognized the source of that scream. I whirled around to see Chadwick fly through the air, his body leaking with blood. He crashed into the snow and flipped over and over a dozen times before he rolled to a stop. His blue eyes looked almost black in the dark.

I wasted no time in rushing over to my fallen butler's side, ignoring the sounds of the battle raging behind me. I held Chadwick up, my vision blurring as tears filled my eyes.

"Chadwick, answer me!" I cried. "Please, don't die on me…"

Chadwick coughed, blood splashing onto his suit. He looked up at me, tears forming in his own eyes. "Master Waldo…it has been an honor to serve you and your family for this long. I'm glad I got to see you change for the better…"

"Stop talking like that, Chadwick!" And suddenly, Father was right behind me. I didn't need to look at him to know that he was angry; his tone was enough. "You are going to survive. No matter what it takes, I'm going to make sure you stay here."

"But, sir-"

"You don't understand how important you are to our family, Chadwick. It's because of you that I haven't completely lost it after what's happened to me over the years. And it's because of you that Waldo hasn't gone down that same path," Father said darkly. "I'm going to call over Miss Hartsfield, and she's going to do what she can to help you. But don't you dare start talking about dying right now."

Chadwick looked utterly astonished, but that soon gave way to fear as a shadow loomed over us.

"Master Carl, LOOK OUT!" he screamed.

His warning came too late. There was a war cry and then a sound of claws meeting flesh. Father screamed as Vincent Jones' arm swept across his back, sending blood spraying everywhere. I barely had time to get up and catch him before he fell face fist into the snow. The next thing I knew, I was kicked aside as the insane former mayor made his way to Chadwick, who was backing up in terror.

"CHADWICK!" I screamed. I put Father down and lunged for Jones' knife hand right before he made the fatal plunge. The demonic energies that coursed through his body gave him incredible strength, and he shoved me into the ground, the knife now aimed at my throat.

He laughed as he was trying to swipe the blade across my throat. "Now that I've hurt the people most important to you, it's about time I took care of the root of the matter!" he said. His smile was borderline maniacal as he leaned into my face. "Prepare to meet your end, Waldo Summerton."

He drew back, preparing to plunge the deadly weapon into me. I closed my eyes, preparing for the strike…

"Intermezzo!"

A whoosh came from behind me, and then there were four loud thuds that could be heard over the incredible din of battle. I opened my eyes to see two huge lances and two smaller ones sticking into Jones' body. He took one look at himself and turned address the person behind me.

"Well, what an impressive display of bravery, Mr. Summerton," he said, and broke out into insane laughter.

Father didn't reply to that, but utter one word: "Strike Flame, activate."

And then the former mayor lit up like a matchstick. His laughter turned into agonizing screams as he was consumed by fire. The hand that gripped the knife meant for me clattered to the ground.

I turned to see Father behind me, staggering to his feet. Blood dripped everywhere on his body, but there was an anger in his eyes I hadn't seen since the Greater stole Greg's casket. I could do nothing but stare as Father walked right past me and up to Jones, who was wild with pain.

"How…how can this be possible?!" the former mayor screamed. "I had everything under my control! I had the greatest power known to man! I had the town in the palm of my hand!"

"There's a reason no one dances with the devil, Jones. Because when he takes the lead, you'll find that he wasn't such a good partner after all," Father said. "Someday, Jones, you're going to be stood up."

"Well, I'll have to prove you wrong, Summerton! I've enjoyed my dance so far, and I'm just getting started on the grand finale!" The maniacal smile was back on his face. "I won't stop…not until I get what's rightfully mine, and after I kill that ungrateful brat you call a son.

"So go ahead, Summerton. You call yourself the King of Demon Slayers, but yet you can't harm me! Go ahead. I dare you to do your worst on me. I can guarantee that it won't work," Jones said.

"Father, don't listen to him!" I pleaded. "He's just trying to anger you!"

Father stood perfectly still, not moving a muscle. At first, I thought it was because his body was starting to wind down, but that was proven wrong when he snapped his fingers and the fire disappeared. In one motion, he reached over and yanked all four of the pole-arms out of Jones' body. Jones' reaction to this was to laugh as though it tickled.

"Waldo. Take Chadwick, Evangeline, and Alexander and get out of here," he said. "I have some unfinished business with this man…and I do believe things will be getting quite messy."

The tone in Father's voice was deep and dangerous. I immediately realized that he was beyond furious, and that he was through playing around with Jones.

"Yes, sir," I said, and I turned around only to see Chadwick start to slowly pull himself together. I called over to Alexander and Evangeline, and rushed over to help Chadwick to his feet.

"Hey, man, what's going on?" Alexander half ran, half limped to us, Evangeline bringing up the rear. Both of them were heavily scarred from the battle; their clothes were damaged and blood shone on their faces. "We would've come over to help, but we were caught up…"

"Never mind that. We need to get out of here, and I mean now," I said. "Father's getting serious."

"Indeed," Chadwick said. "I've been around long enough to know that when he's this angry, it's best to stay out of the way."

Evangeline took one look at the man beside her and gulped. "I think that's a good idea."

"Come on, guys," I said. "We'd better leave this to him."

As we ran off, I managed to hear some of the conversation between Jones and my father. The last thing I heard came from Father, and it was still enough to send chills down my spine.

"You dared me to do my worst? You delusional psychopathic fool, you have never seen my worst."

I shuddered to think of what Father would do to the man as we made our way out of the Town Square. As we ran off, I could only imagine that what he was going to do wasn't pretty.

"Do you think Jones is going to get burned off the face of the earth?" Alexander asked. "Your old man did just light him up."

"I'm not sure. With Father, you can never tell," I replied. "Chadwick, you said we were going to Lucretia's, right?"

"Yes, Master Waldo. It's far too dangerous to make it to your house," he said. "We need to be in a place where your father can find us. If you don't mind, I'll lead the way."

As he led us through the streets of the town, it became apparent that more than majority of the populace had been wiped out. Bodies littered everywhere on the street, and blood sloshed onto my clothes.

Evangeline's breath hitched in gasps as she sobbed. Alexander unconsciously pulled her into a hug, his own brown eyes lifeless pools. His stare could've gone on forever. Chadwick muttered something about getting back at Jones for this, while I concentrated on keeping myself from throwing up.

When we reached the end of the street, there was a massive crash as something slammed into one of the houses. A scream erupted from the house, and the doors flew open. Judging by her appearance, Lucretia had been preparing to head out for a dinner date of some sort. Her eyes were wild as she ran to us.

Chadwick stared at her in utter shock. "Lucy!" he cried, and pulled her into his arms. She began hysterically sobbing, and he tried his best to console her. When her house started to vibrate again, we all jumped backwards in anticipation of the Chaos Monster about to leap out.

The creature that burst out of Lucretia's house was bigger than any Alicante I had ever seen. It had four arms, all lined with sharp talons. Its glowing yellow eyes narrowed on us and its mouth dripped black saliva, which melted the concrete it was standing on.

"I can't believe this!" Alexander groaned, pulling out his Railgun. "Can't we catch a freaking break?"

"Like we'd be that lucky," I said. "Chadwick, do you think you can get Lucretia out of here?"

"I can, Master Waldo. I know a place that's not too far from the manor, and we'll be safe there," Chadwick said. "Lucy, come with me." With a quick glance at the monster before us, he led Lucretia away from the soon to be battle arena.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Alexander said. "We've got a monster to destroy after all."

The monster lunged at us, talons outstretched and teeth bared. Alexander and I ran straight towards it, power charging in both of our respective weapons. When the monster was about to crash to the ground, we opened fire. Red and blue orbs shot through its midsection, blowing it backwards.

Evangeline gathered green energy in her hands and in an elegant sweep sent green chains towards the Alicante. The monster, however, managed to come back down before the chains could snap around its limbs. Instead, the chains flew past its head, and the monster used its teeth to snap each set in half. The destroyed chains burst into green energy sparks, which disappeared as it hit the ground.

"Hang on! I'll try again!" She started to gather more energy into her hands, the green lights looking like beacons from far away. "Try to hold them off for a little while lo-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence for at that moment, the monster shot a giant orb of black and purple energy at her. She had no time to defend herself from the attack, and was hit head on. A terrified scream tore from her throat as she was blown to the other side of the street. A huge crash occurred as she slammed into the concrete.

"Evangeline!" I yelled, and started to run over to her, but black talons wrapped around my waist. The next thing I knew, the world was spinning upside down as the monster used one of its arms to slam me into the ground behind it.

I only managed to get out a small cry as I was flung downwards with enough force to shatter a mountain. My whole body was numb with pain. I considered it a mixed blessing that I had my Energist powers, as I would be very much dead by now.

Another scream came from the other side of the arena, followed by a whoosh of air and another crunch. Alexander. As the monster turned around to face me, I realized immediately that the dream I'd had earlier that day was starting to come true. I was going to die, right here, and right now. I couldn't even keep my promise to Father that I wouldn't end up like my brother.

I swallowed heavily, black spots starting to appear in my vision. Already, a great orb of purple and black energy was starting to form in its hands. At that point, I could barely move, let alone talk, so the only thing I could do was to close my eyes.

"God…help me," I prayed.

For the second time in my life, I never thought that my prayers would be answered that fast.

There was a loud hissing noise, as though air were being released from a balloon. Then, a loud, wet crunch, and something splattering on the ground like rain hitting stone. The Chaos Monster screamed with enough volume to make anyone go deaf, and then a series of loud thuds hit the air. Something slammed into the ground beside me, shaking it with the force.

When I opened my eyes, green chains surrounded me. Several of them were sticking through the Chaos Monster. Others were anchoring its' legs to the ground. Even now, one set of chains was weaving its way through the streets of Johannesburg, surrounding the massive creature until there was no way it could possibly escape.

And suddenly, Alexander was there, limping over to me. "Come on," he groaned, obviously in pain. "We gotta get out of here…"

I didn't bother arguing with him, as I was in too much pain myself. As I slowly pulled myself together, I noticed my left arm just hanging there, blood leaking through the sleeve. I lightly touched it and knew immediately that it was broken. Getting up with my one good arm, the two of us stumbled off to the side.

"What…what's going on?" I managed.

"I don't think…you really need to ask, little guy," Alexander said. "To put it simply, Evangeline's pretty ticked off at that thing for hurting us. She told me to get you and to get out of here."

"I hope that everyone else is okay…" I muttered as we stumbled along.

All of a sudden, a bright green flash came over us, and then a huge explosion equal to that of a hundred dynamite crates shook the ground and causing both of us to fall. There was a moment of deafening screaming, and then it slowly faded away as whatever Evangeline had used was starting to do its job.

After recovering from falling on my face, I turned around to see Evangeline standing there, panting heavily as steam wafted off her clothes. Her eyes were glowing intensely with power, and her expression was quite fierce. Never in my life had I seen such a peaceful person with such an expression.

The power in her eyes faded, and her fierce look melted into worry as she saw us on the ground. She then started to run towards us, making sure to avoid the debris all over the place.

"Waldo! Alexander! Are you alright? I saw you fall!" she said breathlessly as she started to help us up.

"Other than getting a face full of asphalt, I'm good," Alexander said. "Just warn us the next time you decide to use cutting, exploding chains."

"I'm sorry about that," she said, sincerely apologetic. "It's a skill that most Purifiers never use unless under extreme stress. The Chain Bind is meant to keep opponents down, but the Arrester Chain kills." She shuddered. "I hope to never use that again..."

"To be honest," Alexander started, "that sounds like something that me or Waldo would do. Exorcists can also cast demons out by chains."

"But how do you do that?" I asked, very curious. "Most Exorcists that I've seen use the standard holy water and rites routine."

"If a Chaos Monster, or a demon, takes over a person, and they start attacking people, it's going to be a little difficult to do that. A few Exorcists I know have used chains, like Evangeline's Arrester Chain, to keep them down while they exorcize them. The only thing is, most Exorcists can only use these powers by absorbing the same energy they destroy."

I was shocked. "D-Do you have any demonic energy coursing through you, Alexander?"

Alexander shook his head. "No. Ever since I was young, I wasn't able to absorb demonic energy. Every time I tried, I more or less had an allergic reaction to it. This isn't like your regular sneezing, runny nose kind of reaction either. It's more like a…brainwashing reaction," he said.

"So, when you tried to take in these powers, they took over you?" Evangeline asked.

Alexander nodded. "And when that happened, all sorts of bad things started to occur." His face told me that it wasn't a good idea to ask what kind of bad things. "That's why I simply fight using Railguns instead. It's much better than going crazy and killing people."

We sat in silence for a long time, trying to focus on what Alexander had just said. It hadn't occurred to me that Exorcists had powers; and if they did, why Alexander never used his.

"Wow. I didn't know that…" I said.

"I usually don't tell people about this stuff, as I don't want to bore them to death about my past," he replied, and I could tell by the tone in his voice that the conversation was over. Sighing, I slowly stood up, and Evangeline offered to let me lean on her shoulder for the length of the walk.

We didn't really say much as there were far too many things to think about. What if Mayor Jones hadn't been defeated? What if there were more Chaos Monsters lurking around? What if...Father died fighting against that madman?

As we trudged along, the damage done to the town was too great to even try to repair. Houses everywhere were destroyed, and several had been wiped off the face of the town. I saw the people, most of them children and mothers, crawl out from the debris of their homes. Some of them took one look at the scene around them, and crumpled to the ground, wailing loudly.

"Why? Why is this happening to us?!" one woman cried. "I've already lost my husband and my home…oh, God, please don't make me lose my kids, too…"

Alexander choked on what must've been air. It wasn't until I looked at him that I saw that he was crying. Evangeline was shuddering with sobs, her ears red from crying so hard. Tears were coming into my eyes just from watching them cry, but I shook my head to shake them away. I couldn't cry now. I had to be the strong one. I had to be like Father, and get them going.

And even though I got them walking towards town square, I couldn't deny the fact that the woman's words had pulled at my heartstrings, too.

*~*

When we found Father, Mayor Downey was hovering over him, apparently applying healing magic to his wounds. Both men had taken quite a beating from Jones' forces. Blood poured from Downey's face, and the left side of Father's face was black. He grimaced as Downey's hand swept up and down his right arm.

"By the Holy One, Downey…" he started.

"Keep still. I can't heal you properly if you keep squirming," the mayor replied. He let out a hearty sigh. "I still can't believe that Jones got away…"

If I had turned my head any faster, my neck would have snapped off. "WHAT?!"

Both men turned around to see us, utterly shocked. "What are you three doing here? I thought you left with Chadwick!" Father said.

"We ran into some more trouble, Mr. Summerton," Evangeline said. "Another Chaos Monster attacked us, and Chadwick and Lucretia took off for safety. We were able to stop it, but…" Her eyes moistened with tears again. "The destruction those monsters caused…"

"I know," Mayor Downey growled. His jaw was set into an angry scowl as he concentrated on Father's injuries. "I should have exiled that madman at the funeral we had!"

"It's not your fault, Mr. Downey," I said. "Nobody anticipated that."

"Apparently, whoever wrote those prophecies did." Father waved Downey off as he stood up, almost falling to his feet again. "I myself have read the prophecies, and they clearly mentioned Jones being the 'death bringer'. I just…didn't expect for him to make his appearance so soon."

"Anyway, what do you mean that Mr. Psychopath escaped?" Alexander was incredulous. "I thought you two would've beaten the crap out of him!"

"We were...and then he decided that he was going to take off after Mr. Summerton used an attack that hurt him quite badly and destroyed that ring. The last thing he said to us was, 'This isn't over. This is only the beginning.'And then he left." Mayor Downey growled. "I'm going to make sure that the town is protected. And if that sociopath shows up again...I swear I'm going to kill him."

"You'll have to get in line," Father said, which soon turned into a groan of pain.

"Are…are you alright, Father?" I asked. "Those injuries look pretty bad…"

"I'll manage," he said. "I'm just glad you're alright, Son."

I nodded stiffly, then I strode over and hugged him. Tears started to spill from my eyes as Father returned the embrace, manly patting me on the back. I sniffled a little, and wiped my eyes as I let go of him.

"S-Sorry it took so long, Father," I said.

"No need to apologize," he said. "In fact, I could use some more healing. Those monsters Jones used did cause me some trouble."

Downey frowned. "You should've let me at least patch you up," he growled.

"I can help with that, Mr. Summerton." Evangeline's hands started to glow with power. "We should probably get back to join Mr. Chadwick and Ms. Mackleroy."

"Indeed. I can only hope that we can prepare everyone for what's about to happen," I muttered.

"What do you mean by that?" Father was confused.

"I'll tell you everything when we get back," I said, and that was the last thing any of us said as we walked through the nearly leveled town, cries of anguish following us the whole way.

17: Chapter 15: The Argument

Chapter 15: The Argument

The walk home was depressing. Destruction surrounded us at all angles, as did the terrified, anguished wails from many of the survivors. On our way back, we saw more than twenty people trickle into the town from the back exit. Many of them, especially the elderly, crumpled to the ground in despair.

I didn't have to look at the Mayor twice to see that this was really tearing him apart. His jaw was clenched harder than his fist, and his blue eyes were almost black in the firelight that surrounded us. Earlier on our walk, he had let out more than a few choice words for Vincent Jones- several of which I had never heard before. It was only after Chadwick told him that there were children walking with him that he stopped, but I could tell that he wanted to say more.

When we reached the hill, the doors flung open and Mother spilled out the doors. She looked like she'd been swept up by a tornado, as her hair flung about in odd directions and her eyes were stretched wide. Upon seeing us, she tore down the path and hugged me with every ounce of strength in her body, completely ignoring the injuries I had sustained.

It didn't really matter to me at the moment anyway. I was just glad that she was alive.

After Mother had collected herself, she told me that Vincent Jones had almost firebombed the entire mansion while we were fighting. That alone made Father furious, and no amount of warnings from Chadwick could stop him from cursing. While he did that, Mother led me, Evangeline and Alexander into my house.

I bit my lip as I surveyed the damage done to my home. Holes riddled every part of the room, and I could still make out the musty smell of smoke hanging in the air. Pieces of broken furniture lay in front of the entrance of the living room in plain sight for us to see. The wallpaper was burned, allowing us to see through to the foundations of the house, and water dripped from the ceiling.

To say it was a big mess was a laughable understatement. Mayor Jones was going to get it whenever we found him.

"The only places that aren't damaged, Waldo, are the spare cleaning closet, one of the maid's rooms, and, I believe, the bathroom. Everything else has been singed or destroyed," Mother said.

I stared at her in shock. "Even…my room?"

Her face contorted downwards to a disappointed frown. "I'm so sorry, Wally," she said.

I swallowed back a growing lump in my throat. A part of me was relieved that I hadn't stayed in the house for the fire, but I was also very upset that I had lost my belongings to something that Jones caused. I balled my hands into tight wads to keep myself from losing it.

"Well…I did need to renovate my room anyway," I said, trying to make light of the situation, but the laugh I had was gone from my voice. There was nothing to laugh about when you see the home you've lived in since you were little practically destroyed. It was like looking at a bad painting, and trying to call it a masterpiece.

The door behind us slammed open as Father came in. If he had been angry before, it was nothing compared to this. His blue eyes were two chips of ice as he surveyed the damage done to his house.

"Vincent Jones…you are going to pay dearly for this when I find you again," he growled, clenching his fist for emphasis. Evangeline and Alexander wisely stepped out of his way as he made his way past, his heavy boots making the floor crunch underneath him.

"I'd hate to be in Vincent Jones' position right about now," Alexander muttered.

"For God's sake, don't mention him again!" I spun towards Alexander. "I swear if I hear his name again, I'm going to seriously hurt somebody!"

Mother looked horrified, but Alexander seemed ready for a challenge. His brown eyes were almost black as he flexed his knuckles and rolled up a sleeve.

"Go ahead. I dare you," he growled. "I've always wanted to teach a spoiled brat a lesson or two."

"Come and say that to my face, you son of a-"

"No need to. I just did," Alexander sneered.

If it hadn't been for Evangeline and Mother's arms latching onto mine, I would have let him have it. To my growing anger, he simply laughed at me.

"Oh, come on! I thought you were going to seriously hurt somebody!" he taunted.

"Waldo, don't!" Mother interjected, as I struggled to get loose. "Control yourself!"

"She's right, Waldo!" Evangeline said. "There's no need for you to start fighting with each other!"

"Oh, like you completely understand how I feel at the moment!" I shot back, a nasty tone seeping into my voice. "If you lost your belongings to a psychotic madman who just escaped from your grasp, you wouldn't be in such a good mood either! And he's starting it!"

Evangeline looked taken aback, to the point where she let go. Alexander gave me a look of utter disgust.

"Why are you taking your attitude problems out on her, Waldo? She wasn't even doing anything to you!" he said.

"I'm surprised you even care, considering the fact that you were just talking trash about me not even a minute ago," I argued.

"Shut up and listen for a minute, man!" Alexander shouted. "I get it if you're mad about what's going on. But just because you're angry doesn't mean to have to go and take it out on everybody else!"

"You know what, say whatever you freaking want to say," I replied. "I won't even care, because everything that comes out of your mouth is just trash, like you!"

An uncomfortable silence hit the air as everyone present looked at me as though I were a bomb about to explode. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Evangeline reach out for me, possibly to place a hand on my shoulder, but then she seemed to rethink it and she lowered her hand. Mother looked thoroughly disappointed, and Alexander looked ready to slap me upside the head. I balled my fists together, ready to act in case he did.

To my surprise, he didn't do anything. He sent me a really hard glare, and then turned and walked up the stairs.

"…I…you know, screw it, I'm out of here," he said finally. More than a few cracked open from the force of his footsteps, but he didn't care as he walked away. The door leading to one of the spare rooms slammed shut with enough force to shake the house.

"Good riddance," I muttered, and pushed past Mother and Evangeline to head to the cleaning closet, and swung the door open. Shelves of cleaning supplies lined the walls in the room, which was much bigger than it looked on the outside. Mother opened her mouth to speak, but I stepped inside the dark room and shut the door, allowing myself to be enclosed in darkness as I sank to the floor.

The fight played through my head like a record player on repeat. As I recalled Alexander's words, I immediately imagined that I had gone right over to him and punched him. I probably would have lost the fight had I done so, but that didn't matter. I thought up many ways to go about hurting Alexander, some more brutal than others.

I glared at the darkness in my room, wishing that I could just set everything I looked at on fire with one look. I was angry; at Mother, at Evangeline, at Father, and even at how angry I was at everyone. I was half-tempted to pick up one of Mother's potpourri jars and throw it across the room, but that would only create more problems.

And I was not looking forward to having one more thing that would make me angrier.

At that moment, though, a bolt of clarity struck me in the midst of my anger. Part of what Alexander said was true, as much as I hate to admit. I really could have kept my anger about the situation to myself, and I really didn't have to go and snap at either Alexander or Evangeline.

But it was already too late. I had started a confrontation with Alexander, and also snapped at Evangeline when she was really innocent. They were the only links to finding out what happened to my brother, and I had to admit that this whole time I had considered them to at least be my acquaintances. They still weren't yet on my 'friends' list as I didn't really know much about them, but I still enjoyed being in their company.

However, that would probably change with how everything went tonight. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could take back my last words to Alexander. I wish I managed to control myself earlier. Then, we could have spent tonight in peace, at most. But now, there was nothing I could do. I had completely lost my temper, and I was certain that Alexander and Evangeline wouldn't forgive me easily.

I took off my hat and tossed it to the side, then buried my head in my hands.

"I really screwed up this time," I muttered. On that, I'm sure they would have agreed. I groaned, and burrowed my face in some more and forced myself to get them out of my head. Somewhere along the line, I eventually fell asleep.

I awoke to three heavy knocks on the door. I rubbed my eyes, and took a look outside the crack under the door. Two pairs of shoes stood outside, and it didn't take me long to recognize who it was.

I sighed, and shifted my glasses into place. "God, please forgive me, and help me find the right words to say. I can't do this without your help," I said. Compared to when I had been shouting earlier, my voice was shaky. "Just…just show me what to do."

I felt my mind and my attitude become a lot lighter as I did. Gripping the doorknob, I slowly opened the door, unsure of what they were going to do or say. I bit my lip as I looked at each of them and then at the floor, the fight replaying in my mind over and over.

"Um…hi," I said at last.

"Hello yourself," Alexander replied. His voice was flat and neutral.

"Listen, can we talk?" I blurted finally.

"Why should we? Everything that comes out of my mouth is trash, remember?" Alexander retorted. "Or did you forget that while you were sleeping?"

I sighed. This was not going to be an easy task.

Evangeline looked sympathetic. "Waldo, if there's something that you need to say, you had better say it," she said.

"Alright," I breathed out. "I owe you an apology. Both of you, to be exact. I was way out of line earlier, and I just had too much stuff going on through my mind. This whole thing with Jones and the demons was just too much for me to handle on my own….and that's something that I don't like to admit. I thought I could handle it on my own, just like Father does, but...I…"

"Waldo, that's why you have your father here," Evangeline said. "I'm pretty sure that even he couldn't handle everything on his own. I overheard him talking to your mom about all that's going on, and how he's going to take care of everything."

"Mhm…"

"The point is, nobody can hold in their problems or their anger for too long, little man," Alexander took up. "It's like a bottle of sarsaparilla. Shake it continually, and it'll be a matter of time before that thing bursts open."

I chuckled lightly at his usage of food again, but only for a moment. "Yeah…I've been feeling like that for the last few hours. I mean, with all that's been going on with my brother, and now this…"

"You need to take a break from all that, bro," Alexander said. "Tonight, we're not even going to talk about that. We're going to have to find something else to keep you occupied."

"I'm not going to do anything else until I know that you two have accepted my apology," I replied. "Everything that I said back there, Alexander, about everything you say being trash…and then calling you trash…I shouldn't have said it. Even if I was angry, I shouldn't have said that. And Evangeline…I'm sorry for snapping at you even though you were trying to break up the fight. Will you forgive me for what happened?"

Evangeline and Alexander looked at each other. I was half worried they were going to say no, that is until Alexander ruffled my hair. I quickly squirmed to get away from him, and he and Evangeline laughed.

"Ah, sure we can. Just as long as you keep your head nice and cool, we'll be fine," he said. Beside him, Evangeline smiled and nodded her approval.

I sighed, out of relief this time. I had the feeling that I got off pretty easy this time, and I thanked God above that I didn't actually hurt either of them. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be getting immediate forgiveness if I didn't.

"Come on," I said. "I guess I wouldn't hurt to find something to do around here."

The three of us made our way out of the closet again, and as I walked past, I swore I saw Chadwick nearby giving a small smile of approval as we left.

*~*

It would take at least a couple of days before a sense of stability arrived in Johannesburg. The destruction Jones' army had created would take months to recover from, and that's not even getting into the number of deaths that had occurred in the town. So many people had died that there simply wasn't any time for proper burials. All of the bodies were gathered in a massive cart and hauled off to the Pits, where the town normally does cremations. Every few hours, columns of black smoke hauled into the air to the point where it blackened the snow.

Father had to take time off to recover from his extensive injuries, as they nearly became infected without the proper treatment. I was busy the whole three days, trying to treat his ointments and working on repairing the house. Thankfully, he wasn't as in much pain as he'd been in last month, when he'd been attacked by the Greater that had stolen Greg's casket. That didn't help lighten the load on my family, but it meant that he was on the road to a smoother recovery.

Evangeline and Alexander planned on helping me, but they each had their own problems. The House of Exorcists had been completely leveled, and Alexander's boss, who was some crotchety old man from what he'd told me, had been killed in the wreckage. Despite his said hatred for the place, I could tell that this was a very hard thing for him to deal with. He immediately left to go and find his friends, who had scattered the moment Jones had attacked.

To top off everything, Evangeline's parents were gone. She came back to me a blubbering mess and worrying about her parents, telling me that she couldn't find them no matter where she looked. I did my best to comfort her, and although I didn't know exactly how in the world we would do it, I promised that we would find them as soon as everything simmered down at home. She soon left to stay with a distant aunt of hers, an unfriendly woman who gave me a death glare as she left my house.

All in all, things were not looking good, and I wasn't in exactly the best mood after the two left my home.

"Geez, is it a rule that everything has to get worse before they can get better?" I muttered as I came inside.

Mother sighed. "Wally, you ought to rest. We don't need you to end up like your father," she said. "It's been quite a day."

"I suppose so," I said. "How's Father doing?"

"He's feeling much better. Granted, he's unhappy about all that's been going on, but he's feeling much better. I expect that he'll make a full recovery by the end of January," she said.

"Ah, I see. I guess I have nothing to worry about that, then." I walked into the living room and threw off my shoes, tossing them to other side of the room. Normally, I would get scolded for doing such a thing, but the house was already messy. Misplaced shoes really didn't matter much at the moment. "I am, in fact, worried about Evangeline and Alexander. The two of them...they're the only people who can help me on this case, and if things like this keep cropping up...gosh, I must be going crazy, or at least I'm getting way too soft."

Mother knelt before me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "Waldo, you're not getting too soft. You're acting just how any normal person would react when something of this magnitude happens. You're worried, angry, confused and hurt, and you don't know how to let it out," she said gently. "And it's natural to worry about your friends, especially when they're going through their own situations in addition to the one at hand."

I stared at Mother, not really believing what she was saying. Normally, Mother always seemed to be the clueless type, as Father would bluntly point out, but I could see now that this wasn't true. It was moments like these that convinced me that she actually wasn't as dingy as everyone thought.

"Mother...I still don't know if I would call Evangeline or Alexander my friends. I mean, I still don't know everything that there is to know about them. But, you are right. I think I'm becoming a little too much like Father when I say things like 'I'm getting too soft'."

"I can't blame you for that, Waldo," she said. "But I don't think things are going to get better right off the bat. If anything, I believe it's going to get a whole lot worse, what with Vincent Jones and your brother to worry about. But there was something that your grandmother taught me a long time ago. She told me that after every storm, there's always a beautiful day right around the corner...and sometimes, even a rainbow to follow it up."

"...So, basically, what you're saying is-"

"Even though we're going through some chaotic times, don't declare everything's hopeless. Soon, everything will clear up, and better days will come ahead," she replied.

"I'm still not sure about that..."

Mother gently pulled me into a hug, which I returned slightly. "You will see better days ahead, Waldo. I can promise that."

18: PART 2

~PART 2: THE JOURNEY BEGINS

They said to him, "Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether our way on which we are going will be prosperous."

Judges 18:5

19: Chapter 16: The Exorcist's Predicament

Chapter 16: The Exorcist's Predicament

A few days after my talk with Mother about my situation, I was given an answer for Alexander's mysterious disappearance. He showed up to my doorstep looking like he'd been thrown into a mud cart headfirst. A large scar was running down the left side of his face, and closer inspection showed that it was practically turning green, a sign that he hadn't been taking care of himself recently.

"A-Alexander?" I blurted, completely overcome by shock. "What are yo-"

"Sorry, little man…but you're the only other person I know 'round here…" Those were the only words he got out of his mouth before his eyes rolled into his head, his face twisted up into a painful grimace and he crumpled to the floor, slamming into it with his face. Behind him, I became aware of another person standing right behind him: a girl with fiery red hair, a slight figure, and piercing green eyes.

She looked at me as though I were out of my mind. "Well, don't just stand there. Get him some help!"

I woke up from my daze and I immediately ran off to find Chadwick. Thankfully for me, he was in the garden tending to the plants. The door slamming behind me caught his attention, and he turned to me with a look of utter disapproval.

"Master Waldo, do you wish to wake the whole house with your slamming the doors?" he asked. His expression went from anger to concern when he saw my face. "My dear boy, what's the matter?"

"It's Alexander. He's fainted in the foyer. You've got to come quickly, Chadwick," I answered breathlessly.

That was all Chadwick needed to hear before pushing past me and swinging open the door to the house. I quickly followed, not wanting to stand there looking like an utter fool. When we arrived, the same mysterious girl was half dragging him across the carpet, rather loudly if I must add. I heard some grumbles from the other side of the house, and then footsteps.

"Waldo! What in the name of Varia is that noise?" Mother shouted as she emerged from the dining room. She stopped short of walking into the foyer, and the look of flaming rage melted in seconds.

"Oh my Lord," she muttered. "Chadwick, quickly! Bring him into the living room. I'll have Maggie get the medicine down right away."

"Yes, madam," Chadwick muttered. He slipped an arm under Alexander and with the girl's help carried him into the room. I turned to Mother, anxious.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" I asked.

"Yes, you can. Get some blankets from the spare closet, and some pillows. Alexander will need them."

Without a word, I rushed up the stairs to fetch the things that my friend needed.

It would be less than half an hour before things simmered down at the house. Alexander was laying down on the couch, up to his neck in white linens and his head resting on a luxury pillow. His skin was slightly darker than normal, and it was sweaty as though he were feverish. The five of us stood around him, looking at each other for further prompting.

"I do believe that's all we can do for now, Waldo. You and Miss Rachel head to the kitchen. I bet you two must be hungry," Mother said gently.

I didn't feel like eating at the moment, but I could tell that Mother didn't want us in the room, so I decided to play along. I led the redhead out of the living room and walked to the kitchen. As soon as she walked in, I quietly closed the doors behind us.

"Can you explain why in the world he's like that?" I asked, turning to her with my best 'you have some explaining to do' look.

Rachel gave me an accusatory glare. "What, you think that the whole thing was my fault?"

"Well, you're the only person who bothered to accompany Alexander here, right? You know something about what happened to him, and I want to get to the bottom of it," I replied, sitting in the chair and looking up at her.

She leaned against the countertop and crossed her left leg over her right, folded her arms, and gave me yet another one of those glares. Despite my anger welling up, I kept my face as flat and emotionless as possible.

"So, you really wanna know about what happened to Alex back there, huh?" she asked.

"Yes, especially the part where he looks half-starved and ready to die on my doorstep," I asked.

"Well, here's your answer, Blondie," Rachel replied, leaning forward. "Alex's been in a fight recently with a couple of guys from his hometown."

I blinked. "Really? What, did they insult him? I know for certain that insulting him gets him riled up."

"They did that, and worse." The sad look on Rachel's face made me stop before I could say any other harsh remarks. "One of the guys from there called his mother a really disrespectful name in the Old Tongue. I was there to see it. It…wasn't pretty."

"…Oh." I had a good idea of what word they said, too. That word alone gets anybody, male or female, riled up nowadays.

"Also…ever since he found out about what happened to the House, he's been trying to find work to get by. But nobody would hire him. Everyone's too busy working on getting their lives back on track, and they don't care about other people. So for the last few days, he's been homeless, hungry and recently, he got sick. We're all going through the same thing, but Alexander's been hit hard."

I couldn't think of anything else to say. My situation was sunshine and rainbows compared to his, since he was basically without basic necessities and he was on the verge of death.

"…How long have you two been living on the streets?" I asked, regaining my voice.

"Oh, for years. Don't act so horrified. I know for certain that a spoiled brat like you wouldn't give a crap about hood rats like us," she spat.

I snapped to attention at spoiled brat. "You know, I'm not a spoiled brat."

"Oh, really? Alexander told me of the spat you and him had. You certainly flew off the handle back then," she said, her lips curled into a malicious smirk. "He even said that he was going to teach a spoiled brat a lesson or two."

"First of all, that spat was because of how much tension there was after Jones revealed his true self to the public. Things were said that didn't need to be said, and everyone was really angry with each other at first, but then, we calmed down, and made up for it. Second, I'm not what you'd call a spoiled brat. My mother may dote on me to the point of being spoiled, but I'm determined to not be another spoiled, lazy heir to the family fortune like everyone else," I replied. "I really hate it when people assume I'm one, like you just did."

"Well, pardon me, milord," she responded mockingly. "But you look the part."

"I've been told that a lot. But that doesn't mean I have to be one. Right now, I'm in the process of changing my life. A lot of things have happened and I realized I can't keep doing things the way I used to. In order to adapt to the changes, I need to change," I replied. "And I've already made it my life mission to not end up like my father." I looked up at her. "I hope that makes sense."

For the first time since she came here, Rachel didn't snap back at me. Her green eyes were bright with a flurry of emotions, and her mouth quivered as though to say something, but nothing came out. Finally, she leaned back against the counter, looking at the floor. "What do you think I am, stupid? Of course it makes sense to me. I've been telling Alex that for years."

"It seems he hasn't really taken the advice," I muttered. "But, I do want you to understand that-"

"You're going through a change and you want everyone to know about it, blah, blah. Where have I heard that before?" Rachel interrupted. Her tone was thick with sarcasm. "People say that all the time, but the moment they're tempted, they gladly do it, and they never change. I should know. I've been down that road myself.

"I used to be a hard drinking, smoking party girl. I did drugs to the point where I was a heartless soul who swiped money from people to get some crack. Of course, when I got a job, I decided to ditch that stuff, but I found that I couldn't give up parties, or drinking. No matter how hard I believed, I could never change. So, I just gave up trying."

"If you take that kind of attitude towards life, you never will change," I replied. "I used to think that I was the most amazing person to ever walk the face of Johannesburg, just because I was the youngest, most powerful Energist alive. But then…everything changed when I bit off more than I could chew. I almost died, and I had an out of body experience, you could say. I almost got sent to-"

"Ugh, don't bring religion into this," she groaned. Reaching into the icebox, she pulled out a bottle of sarsaparilla and started downing it. Halfway through, she stopped to get a bit of air. "I should let you know that I'm an atheist, and I don't believe in that stuff."

I was shocked; here in Johannesburg, you would hardly find anybody who didn't believe in the Holy One. "Why?"

"When you've lived in a crappy kingdom like Miridian for most of your life, and you've had everything taken away from you in the blink of an eye, you come to think that not even God can save you," she replied. "Oh, I'm sorry, I mean the Holy One. I forgot that you're not supposed to say his real name."

"I'm…sorry to hear that," I replied, choosing my words carefully. "I can't say this for myself, but I know a few people from Miridian who have told me that it's the worst place imaginable."

Rachel blinked, and then started laughing. I stared at her in utter shock, completely shocked by this abrupt change in her behavior. It got the point where she fell to the floor holding her sides in laughter.

A few moments later, after grabbing a bottle of sarsaparilla of my own, I went over to her side and helped her up. "Are you alright?" I asked, wary of her reaction.

She wiped a tear of mirth out of her eye and then she looked at me. In her eyes was mock sincerity and scorn.

"Oh, boy...you have to see it to believe it. Better yet, you've got to ask Alexander about it."

"Why should I ask him?"

"Duh, he's from Miridian. We grew up in the same neighborhood, and I got to know him before his family went to travel all of Varia," she replied. "Most people who live there though…they end up being trapped."

"Sort of like being in Valentine, I suppose," I replied, pausing to take a sip of my sarsaparilla.

"Yeah, except in Miridian, you don't fall under magical curses or go completely insane," Rachel replied. "Although that has happened a lot over the years as well."

Miridian, the 'leader' kingdom of the seven, was known throughout the land for its powerful army-and for it's incredibly violent people. It started wars more often than it called for peace, trying to assert its dominance over every kingdom in Varia. If left unchecked by Sylvania and Cerenia, Miridian might as well have taken over all of Erion.

As for Valentine, it's a kingdom that'll have to show up later in a later tale. The only things that you need to know about it is that it's called the Cursed Kingdom for a reason, and that anybody who enters it never returns. If they do somehow return, they're more or less cursed with magic, or driven completely mad by the horrors of that place.

"And they have the audacity to name a holiday after that mad king," I muttered, "and call him a saint, to top it off."

"People do make strange holidays out of anything, don't they?" Rachel replied. "But anyway, enough about that talk. You seem to be quite worried about Alexander. The last I heard, you two didn't exactly get to a nice start."

"No. In fact, if Evangeline weren't there, I'm sure we would've killed each other," I replied.

Rachel perked up at the mention of Evangeline's name. "Wait a second, who did you just mention?"

"Evangeline. A girl named Evangeline Hartsfield is helping me out on this case," I answered.

"Oh my goodness," she gasped. "She's one of my friends, too! Actually rescued from the brink, too."

I had to keep myself from spitting out my drink in utter bafflement. I choked back a cough, and looked at her like she was crazy. "You…know each other?"

'Oh yeah. I met her not long after coming to this town," she said. "I kind of met her the same way you did, by helping her out. She happened to notice that I looked awful, and I explained that it was the drugs I was taking at the time. Her response, though not really in her own words, was pretty much, 'Are you stupid? Come on, let's sit down and figure out a real answer'. Her parents fixed me up, she took me in as a friend..." Her voice actually softened. "Well, they all did, you know. And we've been friends ever since."

"…Wow." That was all I could really say upon hearing that. I would figure that if she and Evangeline ever met, they would be at each other's throats. But to hear her explain that they had been friends for a long time…that in itself was something extraordinary.

"So…have you ever had that one friend who's your opposite in all senses of the word, yet you find you can't get rid of them?" she asked.

I chuckled slightly. "Yeah. Evangeline and Alexander are my opposites in all meaning of the word, but I haven't been friends with anybody else since this incident sprang up. So…I guess I can call them my friends now."

"What about me? You know the saying: 'If your friends are my friends, then my friends are your friends'," she replied.

I stood up and put my empty bottle near the compost. "Well, to be honest, I wouldn't call you a friend just yet, Rachel. But if it helps you feel any better, this is more or less a start," I responded.

For a moment, I thought she would walk up to me and slap me in the face, but she seemed to be unperturbed by what I'd said. She merely shrugged as though she'd heard this kind of thing before.

"Fair enough."

*~*

It would be a couple of hours before Alexander awoke. It was mostly because of his fever, as he muttered all sorts of rubbish when we asked him if he was alright, but we were relieved all the same. Another day of heavy sleep would have signaled something was off, according to Rachel. The boy only slept a few hours anytime he was sick.

Dinner was a mostly quiet affair, as Mother and Chadwick went to eat with Father, who was in the study and Rachel and I sat a little far off from each other in the grand dining room. We didn't really say much, and I focused on nibbling on my turnips. If you asked why we weren't talking, I would say that we had talked earlier in the kitchen, back when we were trying to figure out what was wrong with Alexander.

As I was about to head off to put the plates in the kitchen and wash them, Rachel asked quietly, "You're wondering about Alex's past history, aren't you?"

I froze, and the jerky movement caused the fork to slip from my plate to the floor. It was as though I had dropped Mother's expensive china on the floor. One look at my face would have told you that I was highly uncomfortable with this.

"Figures. Everyone I know reacts the same way," she replied. "To be honest, hearing the whole story would make anybody cringe. That's why Alexander never tells it himself. He tends to embellish it with some really gruesome details."

"I hope you won't do the same," I said, placing the plates back.

"Oh, no. I have much more restraint than Alex. 'Sides, we just ate dinner," she replied.

"Well, now that you've got my attention, care to tell me what in the world you're talking about?" I said, sitting down. "From what I've heard, he lost his family and he said something about a traveling troupe being murdered-"

"Wait, he actually mentioned that to you?" Rachel's eyes were wide with shock.

"Well, no. He just happened to mention it after the first battle we had with that Greater. I didn't ask him about it, though, because then…things got worse," I said.

"Ah…I see. But even so…I think you'd better hear about this from me instead of Alex," she replied. "It's a real uncomfortable subject for him, and he doesn't like people prying on his personal life."

I sat still in my chair, the hairs on my arms standing on end. Every part of me felt like I was sitting on pins and needles, like the night my parents revealed that Greg wasn't at all who I thought he was. I bit my lip, and I waited for her to start.

She leaned forward, her hands on her chin. "Alexander is what you might call a survivor. He's survived Miridian, the home of everything that's dangerous and deadly. He's survived near slaughter at the hands of various men, and he's gone this far without going insane. When I start telling you part of his story, you'll see why."

She took a swig of her water and turned back to me. "You know how Alex is an Exorcist, right? He told you about the fact that he can't absorb demon energies correctly?"

I nodded tersely.

"Well…there's a reason for that. When he was four, his father, who was an Exorcist from Valentine, tried to make Alexander a powerful Exorcist by placing a magic spell on him. This spell was supposed to allow him to absorb demon energies, so that he would be able to destroy the Chaos Monsters by firing back their own energy. But then…the spell backfired, big time. Instead of absorbing the energy, the energy took ahold of Alexander's mind. It caused him to go on a rampage, and he ended up killing his entire family in the process."

I fought the urge to throw up. "What…what kind of father would do that?! He of all people should know that magic from Valentine has all sorts of adverse effects!"

"Either he knew and he was being a total sadist, or he didn't and was acting completely stupid," Rachel replied. "After the incident, Alexander had to run away from home, as many priests and Exorcists tried to kill him for what he'd done. The hate intensified after they learned that he'd had Valentinian magic on him. Alexander would've died were it not for a man named Cyprus O'Hara."

"Cyprus O'Hara? As in, the Cyprus O'Hara who runs that traveling troupe where they perform magic tricks?"

"That's the one. After hearing of his predicament, Cyprus offered to take in Alex, and told him that he could travel with him for a little while before he had to leave. He did some odd jobs for him at first, but soon he mastered the art of trick performing, and he got a major spotlight in the show. He stayed with that troupe for most of his life."

"What happened after that? I thought he would enjoy life like that," I asked.

Rachel's face darkened slightly. "Exactly four years ago today, that's when those preachers caught up to him. They came over to Cyprus and demanded to take Alexander. When he refused, that was when they used force-lethal force. Thankfully, Alexander wasn't there to witness the whole thing, but…he…"

"He what?" I asked quietly.

""He…watched the girl he loved die in front of him. It was horrible, kid…I mean, she looked like a knife rack when they were done with her…"

"Good God." I stared at Rachel in utter horror, shaking uncontrollably in the chair and my stomach roiling. This was even worse than the details of Greg's murdering of Priscilla, especially considering the fact that the victim was someone close to Alexander. "He…he didn't go crazy on them, did he?"

"No. In fact, he took off running from the troupe afterwards. They…they took care of the rest of them. They didn't bother coming after him as he took off without bringing anything with him," she continued. The words were pouring out of her mouth as though she wouldn't be able to start again if she stopped. "They figured, 'He'll be dead in a week, so why follow him?' But they didn't know that he wasn't dead. He made it all the way to Valentine, where he almost succumbed to the magic's effects. Thank goodness he didn't."

"What happened after that?" My voice was practically a whisper due to how close I was to snapping at that moment.

"He moved to Cerenia for a few months, but it didn't really work out. That's all he was willing to tell me about it, so don't bother asking him," she replied. "After that, he came to Sylvania, working in a few more towns before he came to Johannesburg. It was in Mithegard that he learned to perform old-fashioned Exorcisms. He spent four years under tutoring, and then he left and came here."

"And?"

"And that's it, really. Sorry I don't have any more information on him for you," she replied. "But that's all he was willing to say about his past. Can't blame him. After dealing with all that crap, who'd want to be forthcoming about it?"

"…I know." I swallowed down the growing amount of bile that rose in my throat. It took all it had in me to not heave out my dinner right then and there. I must admit that I regretted asking Rachel to tell me the whole story after dinner. Then again, I didn't expect the story to be that gruesome.

The whole experience changed my whole perspective on Alexander. His arrogant, sarcastic mask was really a front to all the pain he was feeling inside. I had figured that he would be the last person to understand pain, and the worst person to help you through it, but that was where I was proven to be wholly ignorant and wrong.

It then occurred to me that I didn't really know much about either Alexander or Evangeline. I could only hope that her life wasn't as screwed up as Alexander's or mine at the moment.

"Do you have anything else to say, kiddo?" Rachel asked. "I don't have all night. I have a party to go to."

I looked up at her as though she were out of her mind. "What do you mean you have a party to go to? The town's been practically burned to the ground!"

Rachel rolled her eyes as though I should know this stuff already. "I'm going to Mithegard tonight. I need to do something to take my mind off this doom and gloom," she replied. She then stood up and started to head out of the room. "Thanks for dinner, and for letting me crash her for a while. It means a lot to me. Especially since most of the people we know are missing."

"No problem. Are you sure we can't give you anything else? We have plenty of rooms," I offered.

She laughed. "No thanks. You mentioned that your house needed repairs. Plus, I don't think your mom's too fond of me. So, I'm going to hightail out of here. No need to wear out my welcome."

"I'll let you know the second Alexander gets better, alright?" I replied, getting up and following her as she started to walk out the door. Mother had always taught me that all gentlemen walk a lady to the door and see her off, as it would be considered horribly rude.

"Sure. And don't worry about me. I'm not going to get myself killed or anything," she replied.

"After all that's happened, I hope not," I answered. "And by the way, it's not 'kiddo'. It's Waldo."

She seemed to study me for a moment, and then nonchalantly shrugged. "Eh, I kinda like 'kiddo' better," she replied. "Has more charm to it. Besides, nobody names their kid Waldo anymore."

"My full name was going to be Waldorf Ignatius Summerton, but Mother said that would be too boring of a name. So she named me Waldo after my great uncle," I replied. "It's not much an improvement in my book, but when you're the rich man's son, who are you to choose?"

She laughed. "Yeah, that's true. At least your folks weren't like mine when I came along. They just chose Rachel because an hour or two before I was born, they met some random girl who happens to share my name. Weird, right?"

"Very." I was about to say more when a chorus of voices sounded outside my house. We looked out the door to see a bunch of people standing on my lawn, looking like they'd had a little too much drink. I could hear Chadwick yelling at them from the second floor, and they just laughed and stumbled around like utter fools.

"Hey, Rach', aren't you coming?" one of the groupies, a boy who looked to be no older than seventeen, called out. He took a big swig out of his beer bottle, and almost fell to the floor. "The carriage s'about to leave in a lil' while!"

"Alright, Ben, I'll be there in a moment!" she yelled back. She then turned to me. "Sorry, Waldo, but I've got to go. I'm holding you to your promise, alright?"

"I'm a man of my word," I replied. "You just promise me that you won't do anything stupid."

"Hey, I know when to stop drinking," she replied, although I highly doubted it. "I'll be back…eh, whenever the wind changes. That's just the way I roll. See you later!"

Before I could give out another warning, she bounded down the steps and joined the crowd, who cheered her own drunkenly. After getting themselves together, they all moved off my lawn and made their way to the darkened Town Square.

Closing the door, I couldn't help but wonder how in the world I got involved with these people. I'm not the kind of person who looks down on the lesser class, but I also wasn't fond of the idea of being a weirdness magnet.

As I walked up the stairs, I sighed. Today's events had only left me with more questions, and more fears. After all that had happened, I couldn't be too cautious when it came to dealing with people.

My mind wandered onto Evangeline as I climbed into bed. For the last few days, I had been thinking of her, but not in the way most people would expect. I was concerned for her as though she were a sister or a friend, and I was worried about how she was getting along with her aunt. I could tell that she really wasn't that nice to people, if her reaction to when I walked Evangeline to her house was of any indication.

"Maybe I'll go and see how she's doing tomorrow," I said to myself. "Her aunt wouldn't mind if I did."

As I found out the next morning, she did mind...and the secret I discovered would change my whole view on Evangeline's family forever.

20: Chapter 17: Untold Horrors

Chapter 17: Untold Horrors

The next morning, having been spurned to action by Rachel’s story of Alexander, I decided to head out and see how Evangeline was doing. Chadwick offered to come along with me, as I was still recovering from my injuries and I didn’t know where she lived at the moment.

From what Chadwick had told me, her whole house was destroyed when Vincent Jones’ forces had invaded the neighborhoods, forcing her to stay with her aunt. Now normally, I didn’t get involved in family affairs, but I could tell from the way Evangeline looked at her aunt that their relations were thin, at best; distant at worst.

And no matter how many times I told myself that she was safe, I still got the feeling that tensions were hanging thick at their house. I told Alexander where I was going, as he had finally woken up to form a coherent conversation with me, and I told him what had happened. He was upset that I had learned about his past, but he shrugged and said, “Well, better late than never.” Afterwards, he urged me to find Evangeline.

I guess he was just as worried about her, too, because he didn’t bother teasing me about my so-called puppy dog crush on her as I left.

Evangeline’s aunt lived in a neighborhood called Whitechapel Hill, which, despite its pleasant name, is the most dangerous neighborhood in all of Johannesburg. Its other nickname was Heroin Hill, as heroin, crack and other drugs were sold here. It also had a great many brothels and bars, and to complete the mixture, the sector was filled with filthy, poor and violent people. Murders occurred so frequently there that its other nickname was Bloodbath, and for a good reason.

The fact that Evangeline was living here only served to make this even more unpleasant.

Chadwick and I took the carriage into the neighborhood, which looked even worse due to the Death Bringer attack that had occurred. Dozens of people were crowded out on the street, up to their knees in dirty, smelly snow. They held out cups to collect spare change as many people walked by, their lips blue. I did my best not to stare at the destruction and turned to face the front, my eyes burning with tears.

“Are you alright, Master Waldo?” Chadwick asked.

“Not really, Chadwick,” I replied. “I suddenly feel so…so…”

“Ignorant?” he suggested.

I nodded. “I knew that Whitechapel was full of poverty, but now, just seeing this after Vincent Jones attacks the town…” I sighed. “It makes me want to weep.”

“I know, Master Waldo. I have many friends from Whitechapel, most of whom have left for the other kingdoms. Can you blame them?” Chadwick asked.

I shook my head. “I guess not. After spending your whole life in a horrible place, you want nothing more than to get out of it,” I answered. “Did you happen to live in Whitechapel?”

“Only for a few years. I stayed here a long, long time ago to help a friend of mine get out of debt. The conditions I saw reminded me of how much I hated the mayor back then,” Chadwick explained.

I blinked turning towards him. “Wait, who was the mayor back in your day, Chadwick?” I asked.

“It was none other than Augustus van Hillisburg’s grandfather, Leopold. He was more of a greedy, obstinate pig than Augustus and Vincent Jones put together. It was because  of him that Whitechapel is the way it is,” he said.

“Wow. I did not know that,” I answered.

“It’s a secret practically buried in the archives, and everyone in Johannesburg more or less forgets about him. But Whitechapel hasn’t. It’s best not to mention Leopold’s name around the people of Whitechapel, especially to the senior citizens. You’ll soon find yourself in the middle of a riot,” Chadwick said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I muttered.

Just then, the cabby knocked on the top of the roof, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Ah’ve reached  Cornwallis Street, jus’ like ya asked, sir,” he drawled out in his thick Cockney accent.

“Ah, thank you,” I replied, and I opened up the door to get out. Chadwick got out on the other side. As he reached down to grab the basket that Mother had prepared for Evangeline, I pulled out my wallet and dug out a few Sylvanian coins.

“How much do I owe you?” I asked.

“About ten quid, tops,” he said.

I paid the money, and decided to give him a tip as well. The cabby looked utterly surprised at what I was doing. “Oi, lad. You don’t need ta do that,” he said.

“I want to,” I insisted, offering the gold. “Please, take it, sir. You might need it.”

The cabby sighed, as though he had no choice in the matter. “Oh, alright. But next time, don’t be all huffy if I refuse it.”

With that, he was off, snow sloshing up from the wheels. I turned then to look around at my new surroundings. It smelled even worse here than it did in the main entrance. Lots of people were milling about, watching us as we walked down the street. I looked down at the sheet of paper in my hand and tried not to stare back at the hollow, starved faces looking at me.

“Are you having second thoughts about this visit, Master Waldo?” Chadwick asked.

I sighed. “I don’t know how you manage to read my mind, Chadwick.”

About halfway down the street, we started leaving the more populated areas and towards houses. Most of the houses had huge holes in them, probably from the Chaos Monster attacks that had taken place. Even without the holes, though, they looked ready to fall apart anyway, as they were poorly put together with the wrong materials. One house in particular, made out of metal sheets and plywood, had the exterior of the house scrunched together, as though someone attempted to crush it like a can.

I could only hope nobody was in that house when the Chaos Monsters attacked.

“Master Waldo, which house does Miss Evangeline and her aunt live in?” Chadwick asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I looked down at the paper. “The paper says 493 Cornwallis Street,” I replied. “The guy I asked said it was definitely in this part of the neighborhood.”

“I hope so. It wouldn’t do if they were living in the most dangerous part of this wretched hive,” Chadwick  said.

“Heroin Alley, right?” I asked.

Chadwick nodded. “That’s also where prostitutes roam as well,” he said.

I barely took a step forward before I found the house. It was probably the most normal looking one on the whole block, made out of bricks. It hadn’t been immune to the damage done by the Chaos Monsters, though, as there was a large hole in the roof.  A large block of snow fell through the hole and hit the ground with a loud thump.

I needed no bidding from Chadwick. I practically ran all the way to the house, not bothering to make sure that he was following me. When I reached the front door, it took all my self-control to not bang on it. Instead, I gave three hard, staccato knocks, hoping that someone was home.

“Who’s there?” a throaty female voice answered.

“This is Waldo Summerton. I’m looking for a girl named Evangeline Hartsfield,” I answered breathlessly.

There was a pause, and then the woman barked,  “Angie, get your lazy butt up and answer the door. There’s some boy named Waldo looking for you!”

There was shuffling and heavy footsteps coming towards the door, followed by the unlocking of several locks and bolts. When the door opened, I was sure I nearly fell to my knees in shock.

Evangeline looked even worse than when I’d last seen her. Her left eye was swollen and colored a nasty purple, and there was a large cut on her cheek that had been hastily covered with a bandage. There was a similar cut on her lip as well, and her eyes were red and puffy as though she’d been crying. She offered up a small, pain filled smile.

“Hi, Waldo,” she said finally, trying to put up an optimistic attitude.

“Evangeline,” I started, “what in the world happened to you?”

“It comes with the territory, I guess,” she replied. “I, uh, haven’t been able to leave the house in the last few days. It’s too dangerous.”

“Do you have any idea of how worried I’ve been about you and Alexander?” I asked, not caring that I was shouting. “Alexander showed up at my house looking ready to die, and now…you look like somebody’s punching bag!”

Evangeline looked down at the ground, refusing to meet my eyes. “Waldo…it’s really nothing to worry about,” she said.

“Like heck it is! You and Alexander are my friends, and friends help out when they need it!” I was starting to get very angry, as my hands were balled up into tight fists. “You need to start explaining to me what’s going on, right now.”

Evangeline’s eyes finally met mine, and I saw a flash of fear in them. “I can’t do that, Waldo. Not here in front of my aunt and uncle,” she said.

“Why?” At once, it clicked into place. I leaned in closer to her, trying to keep my voice low. “Did they do this to you?”

Evangeline looked behind her, as though to make sure that her aunt wasn’t listening to her. Seeing as she wasn’t there, she turned back around to face me. Sighing, she nodded.

“Why?” I snapped, not caring how angry or rude I sounded.

“T-They wanted to toughen me up, they said. It was my punishment, they said. I deserve it all, they said! But what they said doesn’t make a difference!” Evangeline shouted. “They…they’ve been doing this ever since I was a girl.”

“Why didn’t you tell anybody? Someone could have helped you!” I stated, utterly flabbergasted.

With that, Evangeline crumpled to the ground with a loud thud, collapsing into a quivering, sobbing mass. I gently walked over to her and hugged her, and her sobs only increased. Behind me, I heard footsteps rapidly approach. Chadwick started to say something, but he let out a yell and something heavy crashed into the snow.

The footsteps stopped right behind me. Evangeline went stiff, and hastily shoved me away as a large, broad shouldered man looked down at her. He had dark brown hair, a large mustache that covered his upper lip, and a pointed beard. His green eyes were narrow slits as he looked at me and then back to her.

“Evangeline,” he started, his deep voice resonating with authority, “who is this boy?”

Evangeline swallowed. “H-He’s a friend of mine, Uncle Lawrence. He was just coming by to check on me, that’s all,” she stammered out.

“That’s not the only thing he’s done.” And just then, Evangeline’s aunt came marching out the door. Her ginger hair resembled a bird’s nest, and her eyes were set into a disapproving scowl. “He’s been demanding answers out of her to tell him what’s going on.”

“Is this true?” Lawrence asked.

“NO!” I shouted. “That’s far from it. I am a friend of Evangeline’s, and I just wanted to know what happened for her to come to the door looking like this….”

“What happened to her is none of your business,” Lawrence said bitterly. “If I were you, I would go home right now, and not even consider coming back here. You’re lucky you didn’t get beaten to death.”

Chadwick came up then, his clothes covered with dirty snow and smelling like garbage. His face was twisted into an angry expression that told me he wasn’t leaving until we got some answers.

“Now see here,” he started, “my master just wants to know what happened to his friend. Is that really so hard to ask?”

“Yes, yes it is. As you probably might have figured out by now, people around here don’t exactly keep quiet,” Evangeline’s aunt said.

“Aunt Patience, please, let Waldo explain!” Evangeline replied.

“Silence, girl! You will soon learn your place,” Lawrence roared, making the girl jump in fright. Tears formed in her eyes, but she looked down at the ground dejectedly to hide them.

“Y-Yes, sir,” she replied.

“What was that?” he questioned, and grabbed her by the shirt, jerking her upwards with force. Evangeline let out a small squawk of fear as she was forced to look into her uncle’s hardened eyes. Tears cascaded down her face like a water fall.

“I-I s-said, ‘Yes sir,’” she replied weakly.

“You know very well what I like to be called,” he growled. “Say it.”

Evangeline swallowed. “Y-Yes,  my master,” she replied.

Her uncle’s lips turned upwards to form a cruel sneer. “Very good. However, it seems that further instruction is required, though. I have something...special in mind for you,” he said carefully.

Evangeline’s eyes widened in horror, and Chadwick let out a gasp. Instantly, he flew forwards, putting his hand directly on Lawrence’s shoulder.

“That’s gone too far,” he said. “Let her go.”

Lawrence chuckled darkly, something that caused us to freeze in fear. He looked directly at Chadwick, his mouth pulled into an unnaturally evil smile. It was here that I noticed something very off about Lawrence.

His eyes were glowing yellow, just like Vincent Jones’ had when he’d been holding the control over the demons.

Chadwick’s face was full of dawning comprehension and horror. “By the Holy One,” he gasped.

With superhuman strength, Lawrence picked up Chadwick with his free arm and hurled him off the porch. Chadwick barely stopped himself from colliding with the barbed wire fence as he flipped to a stop mere inches from it. I turned towards Patience, whose eyes were also glowing yellow.

“You want to know something interesting, Evangeline?” she started. “We never liked you from the beginning. You’re just a nuisance to us. You’re nothing more than a crybaby with low self-esteem who likes to think that her ideas are the best. I feel ashamed to even become your aunt.”

“The only thing you’re good for is getting into trouble. I wouldn’t be surprised if your parents died because of you,” her uncle continued. “Another thing that’s annoying about you is your faith in a so-called god that doesn’t exist.”

“He does exist!” Evangeline cried.

“Really? If he did, then why did he die?” Lawrence laughed. “He was crucified for the sake of the world? That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. Nobody cares about anybody anymore. What kind of person would do that?”

“A person who’s completely selfless, that’s who!” I shouted. I was also getting angry at this man’s tirade. “He died so we could live! He did it for us.”

Lawrence scoffed. “I’d believe that if it wasn’t such an obvious illusion,” he said. “But enough about your faith. There’s something that I need from you, little boy, and something from Evangeline.”

I stared at him in utter horror. “What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Unfortunately for you, Waldo, we’re not on your side. I’m afraid I can’t guarantee that you won’t be in pain when I do this…”

Before I could even start saying anything, the air was whooshed away from my lungs, and I swore that my heart stopped beating. I let out a strangled gasp as something went through my body, its grip hard.

In front of me, Evangeline was on the floor as though frozen, her pupils the size of thumbtacks. Her aunt was standing behind her, smirking as she watched me struggle for air. Chadwick was running towards me, shouting something, thought I could barely hear what he was saying.

I looked downwards to see a large meaty hand sticking through my chest, a large blue and white ball of light sitting in the palm. My only response was another strangled cry as I heard Lawrence laugh in my ears.

“I really hate to do this to you, kiddo. Really, I do. But there’s another part of the prophecy that wasn’t explained to you right away. I need the powers of the family’s next of kin if we are to revive our leader,” he said.

The leader. Meaning my brother.

Before I could even protest, the light in front of me began to dissolve in motes of energy. A pain unlike anything I have every felt before ripped through my body, pulling a scream from my throat. Through the pain, I could hear a mixture of voices, and hear a series of movements in front of me. I struggled to calm myself, but the pain was too great to ignore. I saw the ball of energy begin to shrink in front of me, which only served to make me scream in agony.

“LET HIM GO!” Evangeline screamed.

My vision refocused the moment Evangeline, her hands glowing with power, lashed out towards her uncle. A green sphere of energy shot out towards him, hitting him with a thud. Lawrence screamed, leaping backwards. This action caused his hand to get yanked right out of my chest, and I let out a desperate gasp for air.

I fell to my knees, watching with dimming vision as the ball of light disappeared into my chest. I could hear commotion and shouts, but I could barely focus. In fact, I could barely breathe. In a matter of seconds, I fell to the floor.

Chadwick’s shout was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

---

I awoke in the middle of a large, black cavern. Surrounding me at all angles were sharp, jagged rocks, allowing no chance of escape. Above, the sky roiled with black clouds and red sunlight. A deafening thunderclap sounded right over my head, forcing me to clap my hands over my ears.

A dark chuckle arose from the shadows. “It looks like you failed, Mr. Summerton. There was nothing you could do to stop the Seventy Day Blackness.”

I felt my blood turn to ice as I recognized that voice. “Vincent Jones!” I gasped.

The former mayor of Johannesburg walked out of the cavern, the cruel smirk on his face. He still had the glowing yellow eyes and the fangs for teeth, and his clothes were still tattered and bloodstained from the battle he’d brought to Johannesburg.

“That’s right, Waldo. This time, I am the victor, while you sit there cowering like a whimpering dog,” Jones declared. “With your father’s blood, a Purifier’s heart, an Exorcist’s brain and an Energist’s power, the leader of all Chaos Monsters will be revived once more!”

I looked past Vincent to see Greg’s casket sitting on the stone table in front of me, looking like it had been ripped to shreds. I could faintly make out Greg’s form in the box before my view was blocked by several Chaos Monsters, who were adding in the necessary components to revive him. I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the dull ache in my chest as I watched the Chaos Monsters complete their work.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My brother was being revived for the purpose of destroying the entire world. I felt tears running down my face, and my knees were shaking so much that I thought I would collapse from the shock.

Vincent laughed. “Now you know how it feels, Waldo, to have everything you love ripped away from you in an instant. Your friends are no more, your parents are dead, and your dear brother is going to kill you. I’d hate to be you.”

“M-My friends aren’t dead!” I screamed, turning towards him. “How could you say such a thing?!”

“I’m saying it because it’s true. Why else wouldn’t your precious friends be right here next to you?” Jones said. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Waldo. You’ll be joining them soon enough.”

I had no strength left in me to protest as a loud, resonating heartbeat sounded throughout the cavern. We all turned to the source of the sound: the casket. An eerily familiar glow came from it.

Vincent Jones’ wicked grin returned tenfold. “He awakes,” he declared, before he and the rest of the Chaos Monsters got down on their knees to bow before Greg.

And then, as though he were being peeled off a sheet of paper, Greg arose from the casket, looking as though he’d never been attacked by Chaos Monsters. All the affected areas were gone, with scars to tell where they had once been. His hair, which had nearly been ripped from his scalp, was fully grown and fell across his eyes. He was currently wearing a white jacket with black designs decorating the cufflinks, and underneath that was nothing but bandages.

He took in a deep breath, and let it out in a pleased sigh. “It’s so nice to be in my body again,” he noted. “True, it came at the expense of others, but…that’s just a small price to pay.”

He turned in my direction, and an abyss locked eyes with me. His eyes were black as night, and the pupils were gold with red highlights surrounding them. His lips curled upwards in a crooked grin, revealing two rows of silver, razor sharp teeth. My horrified expression reflected off of them, and I stepped backwards in horror.

“Why so scared, little Wally?” he taunted, slowly crawling out of the casket. When he crawled out, I saw that he was wearing black pants with chainmail dangling off of them. “I thought you wanted to meet your big brother.”

“N-Not like this. I never wanted to meet you like this!” I cried. I scrambled to get away from him, but I only found myself pressed against the back of a wall. I looked all around and saw the Chaos Monsters start to surround me, most of them bigger than anything I’ve ever fought. There was no way I could get out of this.

And then, the air was whooshed from my throat as Greg’s hand encircled it. I struggled to remove his arm, but he had the strength of ten bulls in his arms, and I couldn’t move. Eventually, my hands fell to my sides, giving up on prying his hands off.

“You know, I always wanted to see you, Waldo, but Mom wouldn’t let me. She was afraid that I would try to kill you if I were five inches away from you. And you know, she’s right!” Greg’s eyes hardened. “You’re the one who’s sent to stop me, huh? You’re the hero of Varia who’s going to save everyone from the Seventy Day Blackness, and bring about peace for everyone, is that right?

“Well, let me give you a reality check, little brother: you may be the most powerful Energist of all time, but you’re nothing more than a selfish, overconfident, uptight brat. Who would choose you of all people to be a hero? Nobody, that’s who. I’m surprised that you didn’t refuse. Did your love for battle bring you here? Or are your glory-hounding tendencies getting in the way?” Greg laughed. “Ah, what does it matter? I’ll enjoy killing you like I did to your friends anyway.”

He raised his hand into the air, sharp fingernails aimed at my forehead.

“Trust me, this is going to be completely painless,” he said softly in a reassuring tone. The tone in his voice and the expression on his face did not match with the sentence.

“G-G-Gre…Greg…” I whispered hoarsely, reaching upwards with my hand to remove his from my throat.

Greg’s mouth twitched into something that was not a smile. “Sweet dreams, little bro,” he said.

Before I could even protest, Greg’s hand shot out, filling my vision with an angry red…

----

“WALDO!”

“Come on, man, WAKE UP!”

I shrieked in fright at the voices that were shouting at me. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the middle of my living room, surrounded by Alexander, Evangeline and Mother. All of them were looking at me as though I had lost my mind, and for a moment, I wondered if I really had lost it.

“Wally, thank the Holy One that you’re alive!” Mother cried, rushing over to scoop me into a hug. I gently returned it as best as I could, the fragments of my dream starting to fade away. 

“Are you alright? I mean, your Energist powers were partially removed,” Evangeline said.

I swore my blood went cold, and I whipped around so fast, my neck nearly snapped off. “W-What?!” I gasped.

“You…you were nearly drained of your Energist powers, Waldo,” Evangeline replied. “My uncle…h-he stuck his hand through your chest, and…and started to remove your energy…”

Alexander nearly did a spit take, but stopped when he saw that the water he was drinking would have splashed all over my face. He swallowed uneasily, and turned towards Evangeline with wide eyes.

“What did you just say?”

“He had his energy removed!” she nearly shrieked. I could tell this upset her because she looked ready to burst into tears. “My uncle and aunt, they nearly killed him…a-a-and then, they tried to kill me…”

You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. Alexander’s shocked expression curled downwards into a frown.

“Why?” he demanded. “Why would they do that?”

“T-They….they had the same thing going as Vincent Jones. They had glowing yellow eyes and, and powers that I’ve never seen before,” she explained hurriedly.

“Have they ever had powers of the Purifiers before?” I asked, pulling away from Mother for only a moment.

Evangeline shook her head. “They were the only members of my family that were completely normal. Everyone else is either a Purifier, or an Exorcist,” she explained.

Alexander threw his hands up in the air out of frustration. “This doesn’t make any sense! Why would your aunt and uncle just suddenly have powers that aren’t known to Energists, Purifiers, or Exorcists?”

“Perhaps…they weren’t Energists at all.”

I looked up at Mother, who appeared to be in deep thought. She looked down at me with the most serious expression I’d ever seen on her face…and for her, that’s a rarity.

“Waldo, have I ever told you about the Corrupters?” she said suddenly out of nowhere.

I shook my head. “N-No, I can’t say that you have,” I answered. I was still confused as to why she would just say that, but when I saw Evangeline’s and Alexander’s expressions, I had the feeling she knew more than she was letting in on.

“What would Corrupters have to do with-” At once, a bolt of clarity struck me, making me gasp as I berated myself for missing the one crucial clue. “Oh, my goodness.”

Alexander nodded. “I was just coming to the same conclusion.”

“What conclusion?” At this, Father walked into the room, looking mildly irritated and confused. “What are you all talking about?”

The four of us looked at each other before Mother, Evangeline and Alexander looked at me. I sighed, realizing that they weren’t going to say it out loud. I turned towards my father, who was currently looking at us like we were crazy.

“Father, some Neo-Corrupters just tried to kill me.”

21: Chapter 18: History Lesson

Chapter 18: History Lesson

Father’s eyes were wide, as though he didn’t believe what he’d just heard. “What did you just say?”

I swallowed again, trying even harder to speak. “I just explained that some Neo-Corrupters tried to kill me.”

Father stood as still as a statue, but I could tell from the vein bulging on his temple and his reddening face that he was very angry with what I’d just said. For a moment, I swore that he was going to blow up at me for even mentioning it.

But he didn’t. Instead, he turned towards my mother, whose face was clear of her usual timid and fearful behavior. He let out a long breath through his nose, and then said, “I believe you have something to do with this, Jessie.”

Mother nodded. “I was about to explain the Corrupters when you came in,” she explained. “I can’t believe that Evangeline’s aunt and uncle turned out to be one of them…”

“Mrs. Summerton, I wish not to be rude, but please don’t bring them up,” Evangeline said. It was meant to be polite, but she had a fearful edge to her voice. “I…I don’t want to relive the memories.”

Mother sighed. “Oh dear. I am very sorry about that, Evangeline. I didn’t mean to bring that up,” she said. “But unfortunately, I must, for it’s very important that you all know these Neo-Corrupters were here before.”

“What do you mean, they were here before?” I asked. “Is there something else that you’re not telling me?”

“I didn’t want to tell you until you were older, and perhaps, more mature,” Mother said. “But since everything stated in the prophecies has been happening-”

“Mother, I am mature,” I said, feeling anger seep into my voice. “You and Father always treat me like I’m a little kid.”

“You may like to think you’re mature, Waldo, but in all actuality you’re still a young boy.” Father’s tone left no room for argument. “Besides, all parents keep things away from their children until they’re of age. There are some things that children can’t know about until they’re older.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that the both of you are acting like I can’t handle bad news on my own!” I snapped.

“News flash, Waldo: when you found out your dead brother was really a psychopath, not to mention Vince Jones is the bringer of death to the whole world, you almost completely shut down,” Alexander said. His brown eyes were dark with anger. “So that completely proves you can’t handle bad news on your own.”

I started to say something, but I stopped when I realized that he was right. I sighed, a growl somewhere in that sigh. “Yeah…I almost did,” I said.

“Now, can we all sit back and listen to what Mrs. Summerton has to say about these Neo-Corrupters?” Alexander said.

I nodded, and stalked over to the other side of the couch, ready to stew in my own stubbornness for a while.

Alexander tsked. “Typical,” he muttered.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Father warned. “I’m not in the mood for an explosive argument.”

“Sorry about that, Mr. Summerton,” Alexander said. “Just trying to point out your son’s obvious flaws.”

“Thanks for putting me on notice,” I muttered.

“Anyway, if we can get on with the subject,” stated Mother, who was straining to keep calm, “I have a history that I need to explain.”

“And what would that be?” Evangeline asked.

“It details some things that happened to me and Carl. Mr. Summerton, if you will,” Mother said. “This was before we were married…and afterwards.”

“Jessie and I almost weren’t married due to her family refusing to accept the fact that I was an Energist. Since I had quite the reputation back then, it was somewhat justified. But right when I was about to give up on her for good, I made a horrific discovery about them which changed my whole opinion,” Father explained.

“My family had been in the occult for some time, going back to the days when my grandfather was still alive,” Mother sighed. She swallowed heavily and started talking again. “They have a hatred for the Holy One that borders on lethal. When I revealed that I had converted, since I hated all of the evil rituals that they were performing, I was nearly killed.”

That got my attention, and snapped me out of my bad mood. I pulled myself up from the couch and looked at her. “Mother, do the Neo-Corrupters have a…history with Energists that would explain their behavior?” I asked.

Mother nodded. “Corrupters hate every type of user in the world, but Energists especially, because the first Legendary Heroes were Energists, and thus destroyed the first wave of Corrupters,” she said. “Corrupters are rumored to be possessed by demons, Chaos Monsters or malevolent spirits, thus explaining their horrific actions and terrible rituals. They worshipped all types of false gods, many of which demanded children to be sacrificed.”

“That’s insane…” Alexander’s voice was practically a whisper.  “But how do you know all about this?”

“When you grow up in a family that has a long history of Corrupters, you tend to know a rundown of their history. Most of my family has connections to Valentine,” Mother explained.

Father turned towards Mother with a horrified look in his eye. “Jessie, for heaven’s sakes, don’t mention that name,” he said, his voice betraying fear and anger.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to mention it, Carl,” she said. “As much as I hate that place, I have no choice to mention it. The reason why Valentine is cursed is because of all the evil that took place there. The Energists, Purifiers and Exorcists destroyed that kingdom in the old years. But their king put a curse on the land as he was dying, saying that his magic would forever curse any Energist, Purifier or Exorcist that walked into the ruins.”

Alexander’s eyes went wide with horror and realization. “You mean…that’s why I’m the way I am?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Father asked.

“When I was four, my father cast a spell on me to make me a better Exorcist, a spell that was powered with Valentinian magic. It…it didn’t go over so well.” His voice dipped several octaves, and his chin trembled.

I knew why he was so upset, and I couldn’t blame him. His history still haunted me to the core, and made me want to throw up.  Evangeline gasped, as did Mother, while Father’s jaw was set.

“Oh, my goodness,” Evangeline said. “I’m so sorry to hear that, Alex.”

“It’s alright. It’s not like everybody cared about my life story beforehand,” he said.

“It’s not alright if your father was willing to use dark magic on you,” Father interrupted. “Any father who does that obviously doesn’t care for his children’s well-being.”

“I haven’t seen any parent who cared about their children’s well-being for the last few months,” Evangeline said. “There are more kids out there who are on the streets and starving, mainly because their parents didn’t care. My parents cared, but as for the rest of my extended family…”

“My extended family wanted nothing to do with me anymore, after my father’s attempt to make me a better Exorcist went wrong,” Alexander replied. “Notice how none of them came to pick me up when this town nearly burned down.”

“I haven’t really known my extended family,” I said, “but that’s mainly due to the fact that one half is gone, and the other half hates my father. The only people I got to know were Great Grandfather Joseph and Grandfather. But as for my uncles and aunts, they wanted nothing to do with me. They considered me to be demon spawn.”

Father sighed. “Don’t worry about them. Most of your mother’s siblings hated me, and they were convinced that you and Greg would take after me. Well…they were half right about that,” he explained.

“I have a question,” Evangeline started. “Since your families were partially connected by the Corrupters, as were mine and Alexander’s, does this mean that everyone in town is connected to them?”

“That I’m not sure of,” Mother answered carefully. “I would like to believe so, but there are many exceptions. There are families that have been in the evangelical business for over a hundred years, while others were following the occult. There are cases where one of the generations slips up, and their foundation is completely changed. I think you’d have to ask the Mayor if you can look at the genealogy  of every family in Johannesburg.”

“I hope I don’t sound too rude in saying this,” Alexander started, “but you don’t strike me as the type of person who would know all this stuff.”

Mother sighed. “I actually get that a lot,” she said. She actually sounded somewhat disappointed about that. “But no matter. It won’t be long until this terrible incident is put behind us.”

“I’m not terribly sure about that, Mother,” I said. “Things have progressively gotten worse since Vincent Jones showed his true self to everyone in town.”

“Don’t you think that could be a sign that the prophecies are being fulfilled rapidly?” Evangeline asked. “I’m no historian, but I know that the prophecies said that things would accelerate towards the destruction of the world.”

“The prophecies did in fact say that, Evangeline. But there are still quite a few more things that need to happen before the prophecies are fulfilled. The leader of the Chaos Monsters must be revived with four necessary components: the blood of a father, the heart of a Purifier, the brain of an Exorcist and the powers of an Energist,” Father said. “Well, at least that hasn’t happened.”

“Father, it has happened,” I said. “Remember the Chaos Monster attack at the Mayor’s Ball?”

“How can I forget?” Father muttered. “I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

“You may not like what I’m going to say,” I started carefully, “but I have reason to believe that Greg could be the leader of the Chaos Monsters.”

I was met with dead silence. Alexander stared at me as though I was crazy, and Mother looked ready to have a heart attack. Father, on the other hand, remained emotionless for about a few seconds before his face exploded into red.

“Outrageous!” he roared. The veins on his face looked ready to burst. “I refuse to believe such a thing!”

“Father, did you not notice that the Chaos Monsters didn’t kill you when they attacked? They merely scooped up your blood!” I said.

“What would Greg have to do with the prophecies? He’s not even stated to be in them!” he said.

“Father. I’m not making this up. I came to the conclusion not long after the Chaos Monster attack.”

“But how can you prove something like that, man?” Alexander asked. “I mean, without evidence, it comes off as a crazy theory.”

I sighed. “True. I will concede to that,” I replied. “It appears we’ll have to go back to the library and see if we can find more information on the Chaos Monsters.”

“Newsflash, Waldo: the library’s been reduced to a pile of rubble,” Alexander quipped. “Just how are we supposed to look up more information on this theory of yours?”

“Perhaps we could take a trip to the Mayor’s office as soon as you’re up and about,” I replied. “I’m sure he has a lot of this stuff on record.”

“It depends on whether or not they’ll allow us to come there to look at it,” Evangeline said. “Mayor Downey can’t have the records room all the time.”

“I could ask Lucretia what she knows on the subject.”

I jumped as I saw my butler standing behind me, holding a tray of sfogliatelle pastries and coffee. “Chadwick!” I said.

“Sorry if I alerted you, Master Waldo. I just happened to notice that none of you have eaten anything yet. I figured that something sweet should take everyone’s minds off of things.”

“Thank you, Chadwick,” Father said respectfully. The red on his face had virtually disappeared. As he took a pastry, he leveled a look at me. “I do hope that your theory is just that, Waldo. I would hate to have to deal with the Corrupters again.”

I sighed. “I’d rather not deal with them at all,” I replied, stuffing my face with food. “I don’t know if I can take being able to kill people.”

“I understand where your concern comes from, Waldo, but in this world, it’s kill or be killed,” Alexander said. “That was one of the few good things my father taught me.”

Evangeline and I exchanged glances. If this continued, we wouldn’t just be killing Chaos Monsters; we would also be killing people. Even if they were evil and needed to be punished, it still felt…wrong somehow. It felt like we were planning to commit murder.

The rest of the evening was mostly spent in quiet, uncomfortable silence. After we ate, we all more or less went to bed. I fluffed my beds on the floor, and snuffed out the candle, plunging the living room into darkness. Since my room was still being renovated, I had to stay in the living room with Evangeline and Alexander. I didn’t really mind, though. At least I’d have someone to talk to in the morning.

I wondered what Lucretia and Mayor Downey knew about these Corrupters. They were probably around the block many times, and maybe they knew a lot about the legends. I knew Mayor Downey would probably know, but I have no idea why Chadwick would mention Lucretia.

I sighed. I guess I’d have to find out tomorrow.

-----

The next morning, I got dressed and went into the living room to meet with Evangeline. She herself had been awake earlier than me, but Alexander was still asleep. Mother said that he felt much better than he had the other day, but that he was still exhausted. I told him I’d pick up some elixir from the shops if they were still open, and he agreed, although he made a very sour face.

“Just make sure you get the one without a whole bunch of herbs,” he said.

“You’re kind of out of options at this point, Alexander,” I said. “Every single elixir used to cure disease has herbs in it.”

“Ugh…”

“Well, are we all ready to go?” Chadwick’s voice called from upstairs. He came down wearing his white coat, wearing it with black pants and matching boots. He looked over and saw Alexander still on the couch. His face scrunched up in concern. “Alexander, are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling much better that I did yesterday, but I’m still exhausted,” he explained, shifting so he could sit up. “The last thing you need to worry about is for me to fall asleep during the meeting or what not.”

“Yes…I can see where you are coming from, Alexander. Well, I guess it can’t be helped,” Chadwick explained. “We’ll be sure to let you know what happened when we return.”

Alexander nodded, and then he smirked. “Just don’t have too much fun without me,” he said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied. “See you later, Alexander.”

With that, the three of us walked outside, bracing our minds for what was to come.

22: Chapter 19: One's Dark History

Chapter 19: One’s Dark History

Lucretia’s house, from what Chadwick had told me, was more or less buried in the ground from the Vincent Jones incident a couple of weeks back. She was currently living with another friend of hers, a lady named Mrs. Pimpernel and her husband. They lived on the outskirts of the town, which wasn’t too far from here. The only thing that dampened our trip, however, was the obvious chaos that was still evident in our town. It still made me tear up when I saw the people, their arms in slings or using sticks to act as makeshift crutches, since they couldn’t walk on their legs.

I heard some sniffling behind me, and I turned to see Evangeline crying, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. Like a true gentleman, I pulled out a handkerchief for her to use. She gratefully took it and stammered out a “thank you” before blowing her nose loudly.

If things were this bad here, I couldn’t imagine what life must be like elsewhere.

“Master Waldo, Miss Evangeline, we’re here,” Chadwick said despondently. Even he was affected by the damage of the attack. “Now, I want you to let me do most of the talking. Mrs. Pimpernel is, how shall I say, easily upset by news like the Corrupters.”

“Are you friends with her as well?”

“Hardly. We can’t stand each other,” Chadwick said. “She’s a judgmental, selfish person. I’ve tried putting up with her for Lucretia’s sake, but I think I’ve just accepted the fact that we are never going to get along.”

“Geez, I thought Christians got along with everybody,” I said.

“Not always,” Evangeline said, actually speaking for once since we’d left. “There were some people that I didn’t get along with at all, back when I was going to school. I used be relieved when they moved away, if only for the fact that I would never see them.”

“But aren’t we supposed to work together, either way?” I asked.

“We are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, but some people just make that rule impossible,” Chadwick muttered. “And Mrs. Pimpernel is one of them.”

I was going to ask more, but we were already heading to the front door, and I didn’t want to elevate tensions even more. I took the moment to look up at the house, grimacing as I noticed that their house was colored all sorts of crazy colors, such as pink and chartreuse and marigold. It looked like a rainbow had exploded on the front of the house.

“Who decorated this place?” I mumbled, which was thankfully low enough so Chadwick couldn’t hear.

There were a series of shuffling footsteps, and then the unlocking of several bolts. The door swung open with a creak, and a smell that was a mixture of cinnamon and soap hit my nose. A short, slightly plump woman answered the door. She wore a white, baggy sweater, a brown skirt that came down to just above her ankles, and a black apron with a few floral designs on them. Her sagging features curled up into a frown as she looked at Chadwick, whose face was neutral.

“Chadwick,” she said.

“Mrs. Pimpernel,” he replied, just as curt.

I looked at the two of them, who appeared to be having a glaring contest. I cleared my throat and said, “Um, Mrs. Pimpernel, we were wondering if Lucretia Mackleroy was home. It’s very urgent that we see-”

“She’s out at the moment,” she snapped. “She insisted on buying groceries for me. Not like I can’t do it myself.”

“Well, may we please come inside, Mrs. Pimpernel? It is cold outside, and we haven’t eaten breakfast,” Evangeline said.

“I wouldn’t let you in if you were beaten up and bloody and homeless! I’d rather take in a beggar than this…this scoundrel in front of me,” she said, motioning to Chadwick.

Chadwick’s face went red at that, and I could feel his muscles tensing up. For a moment I thought he was going to hit her, but he settled for just balling his fists up as hard as possible, if only to keep his anger under control.

Evangeline’s face contorted into a frown. “Mrs. Pimpernel, don’t you think you can stand to be a little nicer to Chadwick?” she said.

“I can’t stand to be around him at all, let alone be nice to him,” the older woman retorted. “Plus, it’s not my fault the weather’s cold. It’s the dead of winter, sweetie. Next time, take care to make sure you’re dressed warmly before you spend your day outside.”

Evangeline stared at her, aghast. I sighed. This wasn’t going over so well at all.

“So, what are we supposed to do, just stand out here?” Chadwick asked.

“I’d gladly let you stand outside and freeze, Chadwick, but that goes against the commandments,” she said. “I may as well take you in. Take your shoes off before you step foot into the living room. I just mopped up this floor.”

She then turned around and left without another word. The door slammed shut behind her.

“Well, that’s one way to make a first impression,” I said. Her attitude made Alexander’s much easier to handle, and that’s me putting it nicely.

Chadwick let out a breath of annoyance. “I hope Lucretia comes back soon. If I have to spend one more second with that woman this morning, I’m not going to be held responsible for what I’m going to do,” he remarked.

Just then, we heard footsteps behind us, and we turned to see a familiar gold head walk towards us. Lucretia was holding a massive basket full of food, and her smile told us she was relieved to see us.

“Chaddy! And little Wally and Angie! Oh, it’s so nice to see you all!” she cried, putting the basket down to hug us. After the coldness we had just received from Mrs. Pimpernel, it was nice to have a warm embrace. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I didn’t know you were coming, but I thought I’d go and get some groceries, as there are two of us and Mrs. Pimpernel can pack away a lot of food.” She let go of Chadwick and looked around confused. “I thought you guys would have been inside right about now.”

“She won’t let us in, simply because Chadwick’s here. She more or less insulted him,” I explained.

“Oh dear. I had forgotten that the two of you dislike each other,” she replied.

“Dislike is pretty light, Lucretia.” Mrs. Pimpernel had appeared in the doorway, dough staining her black apron. She looked mildly unhappy about having to feed us. “I made fresh breakfast pastries and eggs, which ought to quell your hunger for a little while.”

“Thank you for being hospitable,” Chadwick replied.

“Yes, thank you,” Evangeline and I said.

Mrs. Pimpernel snorted. “Well, at least the kids have class, unlike you, Chadwick,” she said.

“I most certainly have more class than you can ever hope to have, Mrs. Pimpernel,” he replied

Lucretia giggled nervously. “Ah, let’s all go into the tea room, shall we?” she said, ushering everyone in. “We wouldn’t want breakfast to go cold.”

That, however, didn’t stop the two from exchanging barbs at each other all the way to the table.

“I’ve got to hand it to you, Chadwick. It was very nice of you to keep an eye on my mannerisms.” She motioned to the bandages on his arm and eye, which he’d gotten last week from having hot oil getting splashed on both his eye and hand.

“Oh, sure, make fun of the crippled one. I could call the constables on you for that.”

“Good luck getting the charges to stick. After all, teasing with the intent to annoy is not a crime.”

“It is if the other person isn’t enjoying themselves.”

“Alright, you two,” Lucretia said, seeming to tire of their snarky discussion. “Please control yourselves.”

---

It would be a while before we ate breakfast, simply due to the fact that Mr. Pimpernel had made his entrance. He was a few inches taller than his wife, and his hair was basically one big mop of grey. He smelled as though he’d come straight from the farm, what with his clothes smeared with dirt and manure. He said he was going to go out and bathe, and that he would take his breakfast upstairs, thank you very much. He then stomped up the stairs to grab whatever he needed for his bath.

“So, your husband’s a farmer?” I asked, trying to start a polite conversation.

“What gave you the hint kid, the muddy boots or the fact that he smelled like manure and hay?” she replied, sipping her tea irritably.

“He just asked a question, Mrs. Pimpernel,” Lucretia said. “There’s no need to be so mean to him.”

“Well, sorry if I’m not being hospitable, but my legs are bothering me, I’ve got the house to repair and I have to bills to pay. Of course, I’d be grumpy,” she said.

“More like grumpier than usual,” Chadwick said, which earned him a glare from Mrs. Pimpernel.

“Chadwick!” Lucretia said, seeming to be shocked by her friend’s brutal honesty.

“I’m only stating the facts as it is. Mrs. Pimpernel has always had a grudge against the world for as long as I can remember,” he replied.

“Not like I don’t have a good reason for it,” she replied. “My life was ruined years ago, thanks to those God-forsaken Corrupters…”

At once, everything got deathly quiet. Evangeline stopped eating. Lucretia’s eyes were filled with fear. Even Chadwick stopped himself from saying yet another harsh remark. Mrs. Pimpernel seemed to realize what she’d said, and decided to stuff her face with a large pastry.

Seeing as nobody was talking, I cleared my throat to once again attempt starting a conversation. “Mrs. Pimpernel, I hope that I don’t cause you too much trouble in asking this, but I’m in the middle of an investigation and well…”

She swallowed loudly and asked, “Since when were you a detective, kiddo?”

“Since never,” I replied, annoyance seeping into my voice.

“Then you’ve got no business asking me what I know about those Corrupters,” she said. “It’s not a very family-friendly story anyway.”

“Trust me, we’ve heard our share of family-unfriendly stories,” Evangeline said, surprising me. Her face formed a slight frown as she and Mrs. Pimpernel glanced at each other. “Some of them ended up changing the way we looked at our families.”

“Well, good for you,” she said testily before eating another pastry.

“What if I told you that my family was connected to the Corrupters, and that my friend here is also just as connected to them?” Evangeline continued.

“I still wouldn’t tell you a thing,” she said. “So do yourself a favor, and save yourself a lot of time, and just drop the dumb conversation.”

Before either of us could say anything, she got up and walked out. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. I don’t want to hear another question out of your sorry little mouths.” With a slightly shaky hand, she swung open the door and stumbled out as though she were in a daze. The door once more banged shut behind her.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence after her sudden exit. Chadwick growled something incomprehensible under his breath before drinking his tea. Lucretia stirred her drink around, seeming to be bored. Evangeline toyed with a loose strand of her hair, looking like she was also bored.

I sighed. “So much for getting the answers we need,” I said.

“If I may ask, what’s so important about the Corrupters that you needed to ask her about?” Lucretia asked.

“Well, last night, I found out that part of my family is connected to the Corrupters,” I explained.  “Evangeline is also connected to them through extended family.”

Evangeline nodded. “It’s still quite a shock to learn that some of my family members are part of this new Neo-Corrupter movement,” she said.

“Oh, it’s not just a new movement,” Lucretia said, her tone very serious. “That ‘movement’ has been around for at least fifty years, though it hasn’t been any stronger than now.”

I blinked in surprise, and Evangeline and I looked at each other. “You…you knew about these movements?”

“Yes,” she replied sagely. Her face was devoid of any and all playfulness. “I should know, since my parents were involved in them.”

Setting her teaspoon down, she leaned forward, a sign that she was about to get into the story. “When I was growing up, there was a great hatred for Energists and God-fearing people. It was nearly as bad the racism against blacks, or the Fair Folk.”

“Nearly?”

“The racism back then was worse,” Chadwick replied. “I would remember that several of my friends…were tortured and beaten to death.”

I really didn’t know what else to say to that, but Lucretia quickly changed the subject. “Anyhow, this is no time to be talking of such things. My parents, years ago, were people who feared the Holy One. They lived in Whitechapel years earlier,” she answered. “Things were happier there…before Augustus’s grandfather, Leopold, came to be the mayor of that town.”

“Chadwick mentioned something about Leopold to me the other day,” I said. “He said to never mention his name around the people of Whitechapel Hill.”

“It’s because of what he did, Waldo,” Chadwick said. “He desecrated the town name. He had a serious god complex, believing that he was the divine authority around the town, and that everyone should worship him rather than the Holy One. The reason why was because he was one of the most notorious Neo-Corrupters who ever lived.”

I had just been about to pick up my tea cup when he said that. I pulled my hand back, feeling bile rise up in my throat.

“Leopold was one of the few people who helped Vincent Jones’ family come to prominence. They were part of a conspiracy that was said to form only in the prophecies: the Death Bringers. They are part of a larger whole of Neo-Corrupters that aim to bring back the Lord of the Chaos Monsters from the dead, and start the Seventy Day Darkness,” Lurcretia said.

“The problem with this was that Neo-Corrupters were hated by nearly everybody. Many of them were killed during the time of the Great Purge. You remember learning of that at St. Hilde’s, right, sir?” Chadwick said.

I nodded. “I do. There were many different Purges back then, including one where they tried to kill every single Energist…that one was pretty gruesome.”

“It was nowhere near the level of brutality that was present in the Purge of Corruption, however. People would mutilate the Neo-Corrupters and burn them, as well as their families. It was a terrible time to live in. Lucretia and I were living in Whitechapel at the time when the Purge was taking full force across Varia. At one time, we were almost killed because we were suspected to be Neo-Corrupters. When word got out about my true faith, Leopold…” Lucretia’s hand was shaking, and Chadwick reached over to place a hand comfortingly on her wrist. She looked up at him sadly and sighed, “He sent a group of men to try and kill my family. I escaped, but…my brother didn’t get out alive.”

“Miss Lucretia…I’m so sorry for your loss,” Evangeline said.

The older woman nodded, and then looked at me. Her gaze was as sharp as diamonds.“The only reason I never succumbed to the Neo-Corrupters movement was because I knew that if I did, I would suffer eternal damnation as a punishment. It is the fate that befalls all who do evil. My parents gave into the pressure and became the Church of Corruption’s most notable followers, but I never turned to their ways. I was repulsed by their actions. Chadwick shared the same view as I did, though he wasn’t saved at the time like I was.”

I sighed, trying to take in the weight of all of this. I never would have thought, just from looking at her, that Lucretia Mackleroy was once a Neo-Corrupter. Just imagining her as Mother had told me was enough to make me sick.

“Well, we learn new things every day, don’t we?” I said finally, trying to put on a brave face.

“And sometimes, those new things are quite gruesome,” Chadwick said, sipping his tea slowly.

I stared into my cup of tea, the liquid as dark as my thoughts. This whole plot had just gotten much more complicated, and I wished that I hadn’t gone on my quest for answers. This alone proved that not all people are as they appear. Some people hide dark secrets behind their nice facades.  I learned that the hard way about my older brother, who had led a life completely parallel to my own.

“You don’t need to worry, Lucretia. We’ll stop these Neo-Corrupters, no matter the cost,” I said. I thought it sounded very brave, and it should help quell her fears about any attacks.

Lucretia sighed. “You may not want to say that,” she said, “because sometimes, the cost can be more than you can afford.”

Those words, to me, signaled the end of the conversation.