~~~(Brooks)~~~

Flame has been silent the entire trip back to our village. The journey is seven days through the pass, with no way around that. That’s coming or going.

Seven days, and not one word out of his mouth. He’s been clutching the jar Gale’s ashes are in the entire time, while I have carried Cliff’s. He’s cried a lot, too, but only when he thinks I’m sleeping.

Now, we’re approaching the gate to our village, and I can see our parents waiting for us, among other villagers. Instinctively, I step a little ahead of Flame as we walk. Cliff, Gale, and I could return at any time, but Flame… wasn’t ever supposed to enter the pass again.

Ever.

“Welcome home, Frost,” Mom smiles at me, her rainbow hair shimmering in the dawn’s gentle lights. “What’s the long face for?”

They don’t even acknowledge Flame’s presence, and, as usual, use my real name instead of preferred.

“Cliff and Gale,” I explain. “Were slain by monsters a little more than a week ago. We’ve come to bury their ashes and honor their memories.”

“We never wanted you three to join the GSDF,” Mom states. “We told you that you’d get yourselves killed, and look – it’s not even been a year and a half, and two of you are dead. You’re all that’s left, Frost-”

“Then call him by his preferred name,” Flame growls, and Mom gives him a disapproving stare.

“No one gave the outsider permission to speak,” Mom flexes her aura.

Wrong move.

The moment Flame senses her aura beginning to radiate out, he flexes his own, the area around us suddenly filled with a blazing aura, the air tinged crimson, my own aura barely enough to keep me from showing any influence from his.

The villagers, on the other hand, have all been forced to their knees by the sheer might of Flame’s aura, and the vibrant grass and flowers surrounding the path have been incinerated, and the walls that surround our village are scorched for more than fifty yards in either direction.

“Never,” Flame growls. “Ever attempt to bend me to your will, woman. Brooks and I will be burying our brothers. Attempt to stop me, and Blaze will be set loose.”

“Calm, Flame,” I force my voice calm, not allowing my fear of Blaze coming out to show. “You can bury our brothers.”

Flame closes his eyes, letting out a breath, and a moment later, his aura vanishes, and the damage dealt to the environment fades, the grass and flowers regrowing instantly with a small burst of magic from him.

He’s become so talented with magic since joining the GMDF and beginning to focus on it… how much of that comes from wanting to impress Tucker?

I tense up when I think about Tucker, and Flame looks at me, then grabs the vase.

“I’m going to the graves,” Flame states, then walks into the village, our people parting to allow him to pass.

Mom frowns as he retreats, looking at me once he’s a fair distance down the path.

“He can hear every word we say,” I remind her. “His senses have only grown sharper with training.”

“Why did you allow Tobias to return with you?”

“Flame returned with me,” I state. “And he has as much a right to bury our brothers as I do.”

“We do not allow his kind in here,” Mom states. “You know that.”

“So Flame likes other boys,” I say. “Why does that matter? He’s family. That is why we stuck by him. Had you not been so hateful, he wouldn’t have run off, and we wouldn’t have followed him. Had we not followed him and joined the GSDF, Cliff and Gale never would have been on that training mission, and the monsters wouldn’t have killed them.”

Though they’d probably have eventually gained access to the liquid magic, and become powerful beyond normal handling.

Tucker wouldn’t be in a coma…

I barely managed to block that attack as well as I did, and Tucker still got hit, and he was in a coma when we left. The only reason Flame left his side was to return here to bury our brothers. We attempted to check on him with our combined magic when we left the pass, and from what we could tell, he was still in a coma.

“Perhaps,” Mom says. “He should instead-”

“Perhaps,” I interrupt her. “You should realize that Flame isn’t going to be changing. He is who he is, and his boyfriend is in a coma right now, two of his brothers died, and his third brother barely survived the attack. The only reason Flame wasn’t nearby when it happened was because he was elsewhere, as Blaze, investigating something. The only reason he and I are even alive right now isn’t even from our own power, but from our team leader’s – he expended immense amounts of magic and power, no doubt, to reach us, put us in the Reality Marble he put us in, and kill the monsters that killed our brothers. I would give my life for Flame, and I will not take anyone – not even you – talking bad about him or trying to change him. He’s perfectly exactly how he is. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go meet him at the graves, to help him bury our brothers. Come or not, it’s your choice.”

I walk past them, and once I’m clear, I use my bursting steps to reach the graves as quickly as I can. It takes me a few minutes to find where Flame is among the ebony markers.

He’s sitting on the ground, his back against one, eyes closed. The jars are nowhere to be seen, and I’m about to ask what happened when he points forward, not opening his eyes a crack.

I look to where he indicated, and discover a pair of ebony markers surrounded by flowers – one of brown flowers, the other, of the purest white I have ever seen, even from here.

Clifford Elijah Hansen

Galen Richard Hansen

Did he make those of his magic? He got here fast, and worked fast. He must have used his magic to bury them, then regrow the grass of the graves.

As I stare at the graves, Flame stands up and walks off, making his way toward the woods. I don’t try to stop him, knowing he’ll find me by nightfall.

I hope, anyway.

I sit down and wait for our parents to arrive, and they stare at the graves.

“You already put markers here,” Mom says.

“Flame did,” I correct her. “He buried them, regrew the grass, placed the markers, and planted the flowers. He did all of that with magic, by the way. Our team leader is the most powerful magician and Su-” no, not Superhuman. “He’s the most powerful magician and Gifted in the world. With a thought, Caleb can destroy anything he wants to. He would die before allowing one of his team to die.”

“Cliff and Gale are dead,” Mom states.

“They weren’t a part of our team,” I stand up. “And he was thousands of miles away. The four of us were on a training mission, Caleb wasn’t. We don’t determine what missions they send us on, nor pick who we go with. We’re only cadets. Had Caleb been anywhere near us, the monsters never would have had a chance to kill them. Caleb would have known what was off, what was wrong, immediately, and he would have killed the monsters and secured the fort we were in. He flew from thousands of miles away, and barely missed protecting our brothers. He ensured there were no other casualties on our side.”

He did a lot more than that.

“He saved Flame’s life,” I sigh. “The Council of Dreams knows that Flame is Blaze, and sent their most powerful force of warriors and magicians to arrest him. Caleb put an end to that, because Flame wants to do good and protect people, now. He wants to fight criminals, not good people. Why should who he loves matter? Flame is Flame, and that’s enough for me, that’s enough for Caleb, that’s enough for Kieran, that’s enough for Jared, and that’s enough for Tucker. We’re who matters, to him. If he were to pretend to be something he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be Flame, or Blaze, or even Tobias. We’ve had a long journey, and I’m tired and hungry. I’m going home.”

I stand up again and walk off, walking through the village and to our house, a bright green, two-story building with a cellar. Mom and Dad slept on the first floor, while the four of us shared the three bedrooms upstairs.

Flame and I shared one room with a pair of twin beds, and it’s exactly as we left it. The crimson sheets, blanket, and pillow on the top bunk, the navy blue on the bottom. Two dozen stuffed animals are scattered across the top bunk as well, along with a couple of books that he couldn’t fit into his bag.

Picking up a stuffed rabbit off the floor, I sit on my bed and think back to when we were leaving.

~~~(Frost)(Past)~~~

“Stupid fucking parents,” Flame complained. “Stupid fucking parents. Stupid fucking parents.”

I watched as Flame stuffed clothes and books into a backpack, confused. Why was he packing a bag so hastily?

“Where are you going?” I asked him.

“Leaving this stupid fucking town,” Flame responded. “Mom and Dad found out about the kiss. I’m being banished. I’ve got until dusk to get the fuck out of here. I’m leaving.”

“What are you going to do?” Cliff asked from our doorway, and Flame looked at him.

“Joining the GSDF.”

“You know there’s a bounty on you, right?” I asked.

“I know,” Flame responded. “But I’d like to help people. I’m tired of being just an assassin. That’s all our people care about – killing people for resources we can’t supply on our own. That, or just taking out people they think is a problem. So I’m going to go to the GSDF, and when I’m strong enough, I’m going to return here – with my team – and take out all of these fucking jackasses.”

“Then I’m going with you,” Cliff and I said at the same time.

“You’ll get into a lot of trouble,” Flame stated. “Frost, Cliff – you two need to stay behind and watch Gale.”

“If they’re watching me,” our youngest brother state from behind Cliff and me. “Then they’re coming, too.”

We turned and face Gale, who had on a backpack and a determined look in his eyes.

“I heard the argument,” he said. “I’m going with you, Flame. You’re the only fun person around here. Plus, I don’t feel safe without you.”

“Guys,” Flame stared at each of us for a moment, then sat down on my bed, picking up my stuffed rabbit, a chubby brown thing. “You don’t have to go with me.”

“We are,” I stated. “We’re brothers, and we’re sticking together.”

“If you’re going with us,” Flame looked at me. “Then you need to learn how to harness water properly. Ice Manipulators aren’t common.”

“Whatever I need to do,” I said. “We’re a quartet, Flame – nothing will separate us.”

~~~(Brooks)~~~

Shaking off the memory, I lie down on my bed, clutching the bunny to my chest.

I said that nothing would separate us, but time and again, Flame and I have gotten separated, and now, we’re permanently separated. Unless there’s an afterlife, and all four of us go to the same place, then we’ll never be together again.

Mom and Dad barely talk to me the rest of the day, and when Flame hasn’t returned by dinner, I start to grow concerned, and leave the village. It takes me a couple of hours to reach where I thought he’d be, and find him exactly where I thought he’d be: standing on the edge of the volcano, looking into it.

With the fading sunlight, his hair – as red as ever – looks ablaze, and when I step beside him, I see a dry face. Not a tear has been shed since he left, has it? No signs of crying at all.

“Flame,” I start to speak.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he says, keeping his gaze on the magma below. “There wasn’t anything we could do to stop it. Even my power, the dragon within me, wasn’t enough to rip through them fast enough.”

“You couldn’t help that,” I start to attempt to comfort him.

“I know,” he says. “I’m not powerful enough. I’m not Caleb. Imagine how he’s feeling right now, Brooks – he showed up just moments too late to save our brothers. Imagine how awful he’s got to be feeling right now, how horrible he’s got to be feeling.

“Time and again,” Flame says. “Those near Caleb dies. Despite his expressions remaining the same, he probably feels guilty, and like it’s his fault. He probably wants to die. When he was younger, all of his friends and family died. Then, he had to deal with killing Thomas himself, and taking on his legacy,” we’ve yet to figure out what that means. “Now, the brothers of two of his teammates have died. Sure, he made sure we’d live to carry on their legacy the way he carries on Thomas’s, but that probably doesn’t matter, not to him.

“Caleb,” Flame continues. “Is probably scared of who else around him is going to die. How many more people dear to him or to those near him will die? I couldn’t gather the courage to tell him that Tuck was in a coma. I didn’t want to put that burden on him. Flame left before I could tell him it wasn’t his fault, and over the phone… it wasn’t the same, Brooks.”

He’s right, in that Caleb probably does feel like it’s his fault. Where he goes, people die. I hadn’t thought about that, or that Caleb mentioned that the only reason he joined the GSDF was because Teacher and Colonel Reynolds sent him there to get him away from monsters that were hunting him. Monsters that killed people sent to exterminate them as they hunted him…

Flame’s been mourning our brothers this whole way, but he’s also been thinking about Caleb. He’s probably trying to figure out how to make Caleb feel better, how to show Caleb it isn’t his fault, and that there wasn’t anything Caleb could do.

Caleb’s fatal flaw, however, is his past itself. Everything that’s happened to us shapes us, and Caleb’s a sensitive person, just like Flame. He doesn’t let go of what happened to him.

What can we do to help him?

“He’s got to be feeling worse than we are,” Flame restates. “And I can’t think of anything to comfort him. What does he like to do? What are his favorite foods? His hobbies? We’ve spent so much time with him, and I’m only now realizing that we know almost nothing about him. I know what foods he doesn’t like, but ones he likes a lot? His pleasure foods? Not a clue. What about his hobbies? Do you actually know of anything he does for fun?”

I can’t think of anything. Caleb goes for walks with his turtles (or various other creatures) all the time, but he always says that they wanted to go for a walk (which often leads to humorous encounters). But I genuinely think that that’s less of a thing he does for fun, and more of something he does because he cares about his animals.

He takes on jobs all the time, now that I think of it. Most of his free time, if he’s not doing something with us or taking something for a walk, he’s taken on a job.

Come to think of it… I’ve never heard of him doing a recreational activity unless someone else suggested it. He’s the only member of our team who doesn’t. Flame likes to read, do martial arts, and sketch for fun. I like playing sports, particularly, soccer or volleyball, and I love swimming, too. Flame and I both love camping. Jared secretly doing art and baking, though I don’t think he’d ever admit it to anyone – even to himself.

Hell, even Kieran has hobbies. He likes watching people and shipping them, regardless of their actual sexualities, and I know he writes fanfiction of it.

I’ve found them.

“What?” Flame looks at me, and I realize that I’d snorted.

“Realizing that you’re right,” I say. “Made me think about the rest of the team’s hobbies, then me discovering Kieran’s fanfictions.”

“He writes fanfictions?” Flame looks at me in surprise.

“Yeah,” I snort.

“Am I in them?”

“Several different ones,” I nod. “For several different guys. He’s got one for you and Tucker, but then you two started dating, and he dropped it. They’re actually pretty hilarious, and I think he writes them just to amuse himself.”

“Do you think Caleb knows about them?” Flame asks.

“Who do you think showed them to me?” I ask, and he looks back to the magma.

Not even a smile…

“He’ll be fine,” I tell Flame. “Caleb’s sensitive, like you, but he’s strong, like you. Far stronger than people give him credit for.”

“Goodbye,” Flame says, then falls forward, and I watch as he plummets into the magma, hitting it hard.

Anyone other than Flame, and I’d have expected that to snap their neck. He sinks into it, disappearing entirely from view, and I sigh, turning around to find our parents standing there, eyes widened in shock.

“Did he just kill himself?” Mom asks.

“Flame wouldn’t do that,” I laugh. “I guess we never told you guys, but Flame is pretty much immune to any level of heat. Magma is like a bath to him. This time, though, I don’t think he has any intention of coming out of there… he’s depressed, and doesn’t know how to help our leader, who has pretty much left us behind, anyway, because of the stupid instructors.”

Why does Caleb refuse to return? I understand wanting to train and get stronger, but they wouldn’t let us work with someone who hadn’t completed the training. As it is, our team is already pushing boundaries that really should not be pushed. Jared being gone for as long as he was, Caleb refusing to return, now Flame and me coming home to bury our brothers for longer than the allowed time…

Just how much more will they allow before they tell us we’ve failed training?

“In addition,” I continue when they don’t say anything. “We just lost our brothers, and Flame doesn’t know how to react. He’s never had to deal with the death of someone close to him before. He’s probably going to see if the phoenix will let him live there for the rest of his life.”

“The phoenix?” Mom asks.

“There’s a phoenix living somewhere in the volcano,” I nod. “Every time the volcano started seeming like it was active, Flame and the phoenix were arguing or fighting about something. They actually get along great… they just liked testing each other, but refused to admit it.”

The phoenix would probably let Flame stay with him. I sigh, then return to town, Mom and Dad following.

Two weeks pass, and as they do, I train with my Ability, magic, and the dragon’s power, and Flame still hasn’t returned. From what I could glean, he hasn’t left the volcano once, but is still alive. That means the phoenix did allow him to stay there.

Right now, I’m sitting on a tree, plucking its pink petals off the flowers and letting them drop to the ground. It’s almost time for dinner…

Another day has come and gone, and Flame doesn’t seem like he’s returning to-

A shift in magic puts me on full alert, and I prepare to unleash my dragon at any moment. This magic is powerful, and it’s only through the dragon’s senses that I can sense it. It’s on the mountain, at the volcano…

I jump off the tree and use the bursting steps to get there. As I draw near, a familiar form shows at the edge of the volcano, hands on his hips, staring down in disapproval.

“Flame!” Caleb calls out. “Get your butt up here, or I’m coming down there!” Caleb looks at me. “And what, exactly, do you think you’re still doing here?”

“Excuse me?”

“What?” He asks. “Because your brother decided to jump into a volcano and sulk, you decided to just stick around and not return to training? Do you really think your brothers would want you to give up being in the GSDF and doing good just because they’re dead? No. No, they would not. In fact, I’m pretty sure they’d want you to keep on fighting to make the world a safer place. The moment I get Flame out of here, you two are coming back with me, and I’m dropping you off in your dorms.”

“You returning to the GSDF?” I ask.

“No,” Caleb states. “Give it another month or two, and I might. Flame! GET OUT HERE, NOW!”

Caleb’s bellow was almost like a dragon’s roar, yet not a trace of draconic power emanated from him.

Caleb looks furious, and he puts a foot back, almost as if he’s going to jump, then nods, pulling it back forward. A moment later, a massive ball of fire bursts up from the magma, landing behind us, and when I turn around, Flame’s standing there, the fires fading from around him.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Caleb asks Flame, then continues without allowing him a chance to answer. “Do you really think Cliff and Gale would want you to give up just because they’re dead? No. No, they would not. They’d want you to keep fighting, to keep getting stronger, and keep working towards making this world a better place. So pack your stuff up. Once you’re ready, we’re leaving so I can drop you two off at your dorms.”

“How did you get here?” Flame asks in confusion, and I have to wonder the same thing. “This area is guarded against magical intrusions, and has been for thousands of years.”

“My water-step spell ignores something as trivial as your domain’s protections,” Caleb states in a way that suggests he thinks Flame’s an idiot for thinking it would affect him, and I kind of have to agree on that. “Now let’s get moving, unless you want me to drag you there. And get dressed, too – you’re not swimming in lava anymore.”

Fire swirls around Flame, and clothes form on him.

“Tucker’s still in the coma,” Flame looks down. “Cliff and Gale are dead, and-”

“You’re probably a bigger idiot than Jared is,” Caleb say simply, and Flame hangs his head down. “Have you really spent two weeks with a phoenix and not once considered that maybe you could ask him for some tears for your boyfriend? As for your brothers – you can’t change that. Never, ever try to bring the dead back to life. And I don’t care about whatever you were going to add on, because it’s not relevant, because you’re an idiot. You’re also my idiot, because you’re on my team, which makes you my responsibility. Let’s get going.

“Hey!” Caleb turns back to the volcano. “Flame’s boyfriend’s in a coma! Can we get some tears to heal him?”

A sound like glass being pinged rings out, and I watch as something small and crystalline flies into the air. Caleb holds out his hand, catching the object – a small vial with a clear liquid sparkling inside of it.

“Thanks!” Caleb calls out. “Wanna be my familiar?”

What’s next – a dragon?

~~~(Flame)~~~

“Tuck,” I say once I’m beside him.

He’s so pale, and looks so weak and thin. Being in a coma for three weeks probably does that to someone. He’s covered in scars and burns from the monsters’ attacks. I brush his hair off of his forehead, then give him a kiss. I almost forget about the tears, but remember, and pull them out of my pocket, removing the topper from the vial and pressing the vial to Tuck’s lips. I part his lips as I tilt the vial, and watch as the tears flow into him.

Caleb was right, I am an idiot. I was selfish, too, but he didn’t say that. He’s nice that way.

Once all of the tears have gone into Tuck’s mouth, I put the vial back in my pocket and watch as Tuck’s skin regains its color, and the scars covering his body fade away. He coughs a few times, sitting up, and the monitors he’s hooked up to go crazy.

“Flame!” He exclaims, trying to hug me, and accidentally ripping the I.V. out of his arm. “Ow!”

It heals immediately, and he stares at it.

“You’ll have that effect for a few minutes,” I wrap him in a hug. “Don’t ever go into a coma on me again!”

Doctors and nurses and stuff come into the room, and try to separate us, but I don’t let them. I stay by him as they check him out and everything, and they can’t figure out how he’s healed. When they ask me, all I say is that Caleb gave me something to give to Tuck, to heal him up.

Once I say that, they stop pressing. No one ever challenges anything Caleb gives.

After a few hours, Tuck is released from the medical wing, and we make our way to my dorm, where Brooks sitting on my bed. He points to some boxes sitting beside him, and I notice Jared and Kieran sitting on the floor, playing cards.

“Caleb apparently left you gifts,” Brooks says, then looks at Tuck. “Welcome back from the brink of death, looks like phoenix tears really do work miracles.”

“Phoenix tears?” Tuck looks at me, raising an eyebrow.

“Caleb asked for them,” I say. “And Benja just tossed them to him. Then Caleb asked if Benja wanted to be his familiar, and the phoenix accepted.”

“So let me get this straight,” Tuck asks, smiling. “So far, Caleb has gained as a familiar a Rift Wolf, a unicorn, and a phoenix?”

“Correct,” I say, and he laughs.

“What’s next?” He asks. “A dragon?”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Brooks said.

“That would be amusing,” Jared snorts. “Especially since he’s half-dragon, himself. ‘Pardon me, dragon, but would you care to be my familiar? I’m aware that I’m half-dragon, myself, and that I have a Rift Wolf as a familiar, but I’d like to have you as a familiar as well, just in case. Please? Pretty please? I’ll give you lots of belly rubs.’ I can definitely see him doing that.”

“I can, as well,” Kieran nods. “Two.”

“Stop cheating!” Jared says.

“I’m not using my Ability,” Kieran comments.

“I can’t figure out,” I sit on my bed. “Why Caleb is refusing to return to the GSDF. He actually said, when he came to get Brooks and me, that he might in a month or two. Something about it needing to warm up a bit, first. I can’t figure out what he means by that, since the attitude has definitely warmed up.”

“He meant literally,” Kieran comments. “Caleb hates the cold.”

“Speaking of Caleb,” Jared looks at Kieran. “I don’t think I told you, but Caleb got pretty flirty with this girl on the island we’re all being taken to vacation on.”

“Seriously?” Kieran asks, and Jared nods. “They go on a date?”

“No clue,” Jared shrugs. “But we pretty much never saw one without the other nearby. She had a crimson aura, apparently.”

“What’s that mean?” Kieran asks.

“No one knows,” Jared shrugs. “Five?”

“Fresh out.”

“Dammit.”

“Damn yourself,” Kieran says. “Three?”

“Seriously?” Jared hands him the card. “How are you doing that?”

“You’re showing him your cards,” Brooks snorts, and I look between my teammates and my boyfriend.

I miss this. I miss it a lot. I just wish they were here. But they’re not, and they’re not going to be ever again.

So the only thing missing is Caleb…

A Rift Wolf the size of a normal wolf suddenly appears in my room, looking a little bit amused, and he jumps up onto my bed, nuzzling the box.

“That’s mine!” I grab the box, pulling it towards me.

Relax, Flame, it sounds like Kilmar. It is, I’ve just taken on a smaller form so I fit in your room. Caleb tried convincing me into taking on human form, but I refused. I’m not a dragon. Those are solstice stones, by the way. I think he added a couple of solace stones as well, but that was more a side-gain when he was going for the solstice stones. He thought you’d like them.

Solstice stones? Those are incredibly rare stones imbued with the power of the sun or moon, depending on which type they are. I open the box, and find six of each. The powers within them…

Thank you, Caleb.

“So why are you here?” Brooks asks Kilmar. “Delivering a message?”

Caleb asked me to keep an eye on you boys, Kilmar responds. While he’s off doing who-knows-what because he wants to avoid the cold. He seems to be upset. Apparently, the girl he was into thought he was too naive or something.

Caleb? Naive?

Was she hit in the head or something? This is a kid who can command a Rift Wolf into doing what he wants. He has seen horrors no one should have see, and experienced pain no one should ever know the very existence of.

I’m wondering the same thing, Flame, trust me. Though you do have to admit that he’s a bit too innocent in some regards. Welcome back to health, Tucker. I’d recommend taking it easy for a few days. Caleb doesn’t want you overexerting yourself before you’ve recovered.

“Thanks,” Tuck says. “I think I’ll be fine, though, if I went light with my studies.”

Cliff and Gale would probably tell me to take a few days to adjust to being back here, then resume my studies. Spend time with Tuck and my team and friends.

“What, exactly, did Caleb tell you to do?” Kieran asks Kilmar.

He said to watch over Flame.

“His exact words?” Kieran asks.

‘Watch over Flame for me, Kilmar. He just lost his brothers, and nearly lost his lover. He may need you in the coming days, if I don’t make it.’

“Make it?” I ask. “What did he mean by that?”

You know Caleb, Kilmar shrugs, curling up and resting his head on my pillow. He’s training. I have no idea what he’s getting ready to do, but he’s put himself near death many times. I think he’s trying to overcome his fear of dying and fighting, though on the latter case, it’s definitely gone. I watched him wipe out nearly thirty demons with ease yesterday. He summoned me to fight them, too… he didn’t even leave one for me to kill.

“Shit,” Kieran says, and we all look at him.

He’s staring at his cards, but I doubt he was responding to his hand.

“What?” Jared asks.

“Caleb,” Kieran says. “I think I know what he was preparing for, and why he’d tell Kilmar to watch Flame. If I’m right, then Caleb really might die, even with all the power he has.”

“What it is?” I ask, feeling scared.

“I’m not saying,” Kieran shakes his head. “Pray to whatever beings that be that I’m wrong. We really don’t want Caleb to go there.”

~~~(Kieran)~~~

“Pick up, dammit, Caleb,” I growl into my phone. This is the fourth time he’s ignored the call. “Come on!”

“Stop calling me,” Caleb picked up. “I didn’t answer the first time, what makes you think I’d answer the second, third, and fourth?”

“You did.”

“Maybe I was on a date, and my phone was on silent?” Caleb asks. “Maybe I forgot it somewhere?”

“Where are you?”

“Going for a walk in some woods.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not lying,” Caleb huffs. “I’m in some woods, walking. I’m going for a walk in some woods. That was the truth.”

“You better not be where I think you are.”

“I probably am,” he says. “Kilmar will tell you if I survive.”

Caleb ends the call, and when I try calling him again, it goes straight to voicemail. The brat turned off his phone. I sit down at my desk and pull up a program on my laptop, pinging his phone. Nothing. He removed the damn battery, didn’t he?

I pull up the record of where his phone’s been, since all GSDF cadets and agents have their phone tracked at all times, and find his phone… having not been anywhere since the program was added. It still shows it in his dorm room.

Caleb and his damn magic…

He really doesn’t want people to track him down, but I know where he is. He’s going to die, he goes there.

“Kieran?” Flame says after knocking on my door. They let him onto the facility? “Can I talk to you?”

“Enter,” I say, and Flame does, sitting on my bed and looking a little bit shy, not meeting my gaze. “What?”

“Know how,” Flame says. “When your brother died, Caleb accidentally put his Ability and aura into you?”

“Yeah,” I answer. “What of it?”

“I think,” Flame hesitates. “I think that’s what Caleb meant, when he says that he’s carrying on Thomas’s legacy.”

“That he took on Thomas’s Gift?” I ask, and he nods. “They’re not related.”

“He said the same thing about Brooks and me,” Flame says. “That we’re carrying on Cliff and Gale’s legacies. I didn’t understand what he meant, not originally, but…”

“He did the same thing to you two?” I ask, and Flame nods. “Cliff or Gale?”

“Gale,” Flame answers. “So Brooks probably has Cliff’s.”

Caleb… why in the hell would you do that? Stone would’ve been a better boost for Flame than air, and air would’ve been a better boost for Brooks than stone. Their current powers compliment each other, and there isn’t much they can do extra by combining the two.

Then again, air wouldn’t really have helped either of them… he probably stuck Brooks with Cliff’s because they were closest, not really thinking. He’s too simple-minded, in some ways.

Then again, two of our teammates died… I don’t think Caleb was exactly thinking when he did that.

But why would he risk doing that and possibly hurting Flame and Brooks? He didn’t know it would work…

Unless he did, and Flame is right. Can Caleb do it to unrelated people? Did he test it on himself first, when Thomas died? If that’s what he meant by carrying on Thomas’s legacy…

Then his odds of surviving that place just increased drastically.

“Kieran,” Flame hesitates, then says my name again, looking me in the eyes. “Please tell me where you think Caleb went.”

I tell Flame where I think Caleb went, and Flame faints.

~~~(Caleb)~~~

Walking through the streets, I try to ignore the ruined buildings around me, the monsters and demons roaming around, and the general stench of malice in the air.

So many powerful forces around here, and I’m doing my best not to scream and run away. I’m terrified, but I have to do this.

After walking for a couple of hours, I reach a school that’s still mostly intact, though the gate that leads onto the property, and the wall around it, are gone, obliterated years ago when it was attacked.

There are no monsters here, no demons present.

This is the second item I’m retrieving from this Ruins, the first an amulet that now hangs around my neck, on a golden chain. The amulet itself is a golden disk with a large, green crystal set into it that takes up nearly the entire oval of the disk, four black legs sticking out of each side. A violet light glows faintly from within the crystal, and it is only through Thomas’s Ability, combined with my magic, that the monsters around haven’t noticed us or it.

They wanted to make sure nothing could use this amulet. Teacher told me about it, a long time ago. Sealed deep within these Ruins, nothing could touch it.

Until now.

With Thomas’s Ability, enhanced by my magical strength, I was able to make it to the Sealed Vault it rested within. Through my magic, I was able to disassemble the barriers, retrieve the amulet, and reinstated the barriers, making it so that it would seem as if nothing changed. I had to use Thomas’s Ability to ensure nothing noticed the change in the Sealed Vault, while I was there.

Making my way through the school, I reach my first destination, an office in the basement. Though electricity no longer runs through these Ruins, I can still acquire what I need from their computers. They were powered by fuuxar crystals, not electricity, and on a magical network.

The Magic Relay Tower still stands, fully functional.

I pull open the power drive on the computer’s tower, removing the dull yellow crystal, then retrieve a fully-charged one from my ring, placing it into the slot, then pushing the drive back in. I do the same to the printer, then place both duds in my ring. They’re no longer of use, but I’m sure Teacher could do something about that, even if I haven’t figured out how to recharge a fuuxar crystal yet.

A quick use of magic, and the printer is filled with paper, its ink restored.

I power on the computer, and spin around in the chair while I wait. The school is mostly untouched, somehow, even after all that happened. There were bones everywhere, and it was hard for me to make it this far, but I’m doing it for us.

Once the computer pings, letting me know it’s on, I stare at the password screen, then smile to myself, punching in the password.

After checking to make sure all of the necessary files are there, I load them all up, then print them, using my magic to ensure the printer doesn’t run out of ink or paper, placing each file into its own folder, then into my ring.

Once it’s done, I turn everything off, then remove the crystals and return them to my ring, then make my way to the dorms, stepping past the bones. There are signs of the battle, from scars on the walls to scorched stone. Broken glass, dried blood…

My stomach wants to heave, but I force it calm as I reach the room I’m seeking.

Pulling the bunk beds out of the wall, I then open up a secret panel in the floor, kneeling down and reaching deep within, pulling out a clear crystal from the depths of it. As I touch it, it reacts with my aura, turning violet in color.

This is why I’m here. The Ruins’ two greatest secrets – the Stone of Noruka, and the Aura Bomb.

I pull the two of them off, and place them into my ring, into an inventory created specifically to hold my most powerful artifacts.

With my targets acquired, I leave the Ruins, making my way past the ruined buildings and the monsters and demons that don’t perceive my presence. Once I’m out of town, I walk the extra few hours to the top of a cliff a few miles away, and look across the plains to the Ruins, a massive city that spans dozens of miles.

“Goodbye,” I kiss my fingers, then hold them out.

The spell won’t destroy the Ruins entirely, but it will deal severe damage to them, and turn it from a Ruins to just ruins. Dropping my hand to my side, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, hold it for several moments, then slowly let it out, opening my eyes and feeling my power surge, electricity crackling around me as a violet mist swirls around me.

Slowly, under the might of the spell I’m weaving, I lift a hand up to the sky.

“Might of worlds, might of realms, justice of the heavens, and vengeance of hell, let this sacred retribution ring across all space and time, and rain down a most devastating punishment. Fall from the stars, and obliterate all which stand in your way.”

~~~(Jared)~~~

“So cold,” a kid comments, his teeth chattering. I’m currently looking in the windows of a fuuxar shop, debating on buying a crystal for Flame. “I’m cold.”

“I know,” another kid says. “It won’t be long before you’re warm, Caleb.”

Caleb… just where did he go? Kieran wouldn’t tell us, but whatever it is, it’s got to be bad. I saw terror in his eyes, despite his calm, stoic face.

“I want to go home,” the boy comments again, and I turn to look at the two boys.

One of them looks to be around town, with light brown hair and ocean-blue eyes. He’s wearing a pair of shorts, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and some sneakers, as if the cold didn’t bother him, making me think of Flame and Brooks.

He’s holding the hand of a boy around six, with sandy blond hair and ocean-blue eyes that remind me of Caleb. The younger boy is clutching the older boy’s hand tightly, and is half-hidden behind him.

The little boy looks scared, and is watching people.

“I want to go home,” he responds. He’s wearing white shorts and a white tee, and his feet are bare. “I’m scared. I’m cold. I want to go home.”

“I know,” the older boy says, and I realize he’s staring at me. “But your home is gone now, remember? I’m bringing you to your new home and family, Caleb.”

This is a cruel trick the universe is playing on me, but my softer side gets the better of me, and I walk over to the two boys – possibly brothers, judging by their eyes and similar features. They remind me of Caleb so much, they even have his almond-shaped eyes, unusual on someone with as fair of skin as us.

“Hi,” I crouch down in front of the younger boy, who whimpers. “My name’s Jared. You know Superhumans? I’m one of them. Want to see a cool trick I can do?”

The boy stares at me, fear in those eyes, and I just want to hold him and hug him, and let him know the world is going to be alright. What happened to his home? Why can’t he go back? And where are they going, now?

Pushing those thoughts from my mind, I hold my hand up, and one of my bracelets melts, swirling around my hand like a silver river, then swirls up into a tornado on my palm. It spins faster and faster, the boy watching, his fear growing heavier.

Then, the metal drops, and when it does, the form of a wolf is left behind.

I went to what Caleb likes…

“You like it?” I ask.

“I like wolves,” the boy nods. “C-c-can I touch it?”

“Sure,” I hold my hand out, smiling at him. “I’m a Manipulator, my specialty is any type of metal. I can also manipulate stones and crystals as well.”

“I’m a Creator,” the young Caleb declares as he pets the wolf, which then yips a little, then Caleb suddenly looks sad. “But I couldn’t save them.”

“Save who?” I ask.

“My family,” he sniffles. “Monsters attacked my home, and they killed everyone. I-I couldn’t save anyone!”

He breaks down into tears.

A cruel trick, indeed, universe. A boy named Caleb, who’s a Creator, who lost his home and family to a monster attack? And he just happens to be brought here?

“Hey,” I put a hand on his shoulder, and he flinches, screaming.

People stare at us, and I look up at his older brother, who’s looking at Caleb with deep sadness in his eyes. They’ve both seen horrors they never should have.

“It’s okay,” I tell Caleb. “It’s going to be okay. If you two aren’t in a hurry anywhere, I’d be happy to take you and brother for some warmer clothes, then for some food. I’m sure you’re hungry.”

“He’s not my brother,” Caleb sniffles. “He’s just taking me to my new family. I don’t want a new family! I want my old family!”

“Caleb,” the older boy crouches down as I notice something on Caleb’s hand, and start to become very confused – more so than a ten year-old leading a six year-old around, taking him to his new home. “Everything is going to be okay. Your new family loves you a lot. You couldn’t stop your old from dying, but you carry on their legacy in your heart, okay? Live for them, and get stronger for them. Then, when you’re older and more powerful, you can make sure others don’t lose their families, okay?’

“Okay,” Caleb sniffles, wrapping his arms around the older boy, and I see the ring in its fullest…

It’s the exact same ring Caleb wears, only smaller, fitting this boy’s hand.

What is going on here?

“Caleb,” the older boy rubs the younger one’s back. “It’s okay, you’re going to be okay.”

Caleb cries for a few moments, then falls silent, and I think he fell asleep.

“Who are you two?” I ask.

Do they have some relation to Caleb? How does the young Caleb have his ring? Caleb’s given several different origin stories for it, but was there something more to it? They’re too young to have been at the orphanage Caleb was at back then, except maybe the older boy, depending on which version of how kids end up there people believe. Caleb and Kieran change it every time.

But the younger Caleb is too young to have been there – he wouldn’t have even been alive.

Unless there’s another…

I’m so confused right now.

“Don’t be,” the older boy says, and I raise an eyebrow. “Much like Caleb, I am a Creator. I can hear the thoughts of all around me, Jared Fuller.”

He stands, picking up Caleb and holding him against him, and he sighs, sadness filling his eyes again. Sadness… and love.

“This is the second time,” he says. “That I’ve had to talk to Caleb. Hopefully, this time, things are better.”

“The second time?” I ask.

“Yes,” he says. “The first time was after his home was invaded seven years ago. I put him somewhere safe, and he retreated deep within a shell. I made a mistake back then, and put him somewhere I thought he’d be safe and happy. Instead, he only had a few people who loved him, and fewer who supported him. Everyone coddled him, and let him retreat into that shell, because of what happened.”

I’m confused.

“It’s only natural,” the boy says. “That you’re confused, Jared. This is your Caleb.”

“My Caleb is nearly fourteen.”

“I know,” he says. “Your Caleb also took a trip down memory lane earlier. One problem with the Gift of Creation is that what is perceived is what is reality. He’s… getting heavy. Would you mind carrying him home?”

I don’t have anything better to do, and I’d like to talk to this boy some more about the Caleb he’s holding, so I nod, taking the little guy from him. After making sure Caleb isn’t going to fall, I look back at the boy…

He’s gone. I reach out with my draconic senses, and can’t trace him anywhere, not even a scent of him remains. Was there a scent to begin with? Not even Caleb has a trace of his smell, and he was clinging to…

This smell. I put my nose next to Caleb and inhale with a strong focus on my draconic nose, and the familiar scent fills my nostrils.

This… isn’t coincidence.

This is Caleb.

What happened to him?

Caleb shivers, and I wrap us in a layer of warmth.

~~~(???)~~~

What the fuck was that?

I just sensed a massive flux of magic, of Caleb’s magic, but it was greater than he’s been able to access. I know he’s been increasing access lately, but this much is surprising.

He would’ve needed to incant for whatever spell he did. It’s the first time I’ve been able to get a read on his location since he hid himself. I track the spell to its location, and freeze at the thought of where he was, then turn into my true form and fly there, soaring as fast as I can to reach the Ruins.

They’re not Ruins anymore, just… ruins…

At the very center of the ruins is a crater eighteen miles in diameter, with not even rubble for the first ten miles. Several miles past the edge of the crater, the buildings and statues have all been leveled, turned to nothing more than rubble filling the once-glorious streets.

Whatever spell he used on the Ruins, it negated their power as Ruins, and turned them into just the ruins of the largest city mankind held since the Calamity. He hit it hard, and he didn’t hold back…

That spell was more powerful than one even I could muster. To do that much damage to a Ruin that it left damage in its real form is far beyond my power.

The sheer strength of mind he’d need to do that to this place…

All of his training these last couple of months…

It was so he could attack Alkran.