Mei was finally free of her brother, which couldn’t have come soon enough. It was embarrassing enough to take the train over with him, but she would have died had they done what their mother wanted and had him accompany her all day. Why couldn’t her mother see that she was old enough to hang out with friends on her own? Mother’s paranoia clearly got the better of her sometimes, it happening more and more frequently lately. Fortunately, her brother was equally reluctant to follow her around so she was able to leave him. All that mattered was that she was free, and her friends didn’t appear to notice she was with him.

“Was that your brother?” one of the girls asked as the group strode through the mall.

Mei groaned, looking at the inquirer. It was her friend Stephanie who was dressed in a fashionable pink t-shirt, blue jeans, and had her long blonde hair dyed with black streaks. Her blue eyes eagerly looked at Mei.

“Yeah,” Mei reluctantly admitted.

“See?” her friend said, pointing to another girl in their group, “told you.”

All of them were dressed in the most fashionable street attire, mostly consisting of bright colors. They were flashy, attempting to emulate the latest trends seen in fashion magazines. There were five girls in all, all being part of the same class. Besides Mei and Stephanie there was Olivia the redhead, Emma the somewhat nerdy girl with glasses, and Emily the brunette.

“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice Stephanie,” Mei told her.

“Girl you can’t get anything past me. I see all”

“Uh huh, right.”

“I’m serious! I think I’m actually psychic. It’s because I’m a sagittarius.”

“Oh no, here we go” one of their friends grumbled.

“This stuff is real, ok? It really works. I saw a fortune teller last week, and she told me that ‘good fortune comes thy way’ and I was like ‘nah you’re playing’ but then, I got a 70% on my math test” Stephanie argued.

“That’s barely passing,” another girl pointed out.

“But I passed!” Stephanie declared, pointing at her. “And usually that doesn’t happen.”

“Very nice Stephanie.” Mei sarcastically complimented.

The girls took a turn and headed into the cafe called Jennie’s. It was small given its location in a bustling mall but that's what made it popular. Decorated in a black and brown color scheme, the cafe had a few round tables with stools while booths were aligned along the walls and windows. Relaxing jazz music played throughout, giving the place an easygoing feel. The girls walked over the alternating black and brown tiles, sitting in a booth. They were right next to a window, allowing them to peer outside the cafe.

“You know, your brother looked different from what I expected,” Olivia said to Mei as they perused the menu.

“Really?”

“Yeah from what you told us, I expected him to be like 400 pounds, face full of acne, and never looked like he’d been outside in his life.”

“I’m sure that’s what he looks like on the inside.” Mei joked. “But no, he’s surprisingly fit for a hermit. He does martial arts to be like Bruce Lee.”

“Who?”

“Some old kung fu movie guy from like 100 years ago or something.”

“I-I don’t think he looks bad” Emma added.

“I mean, if he looked too bad, I’d be ugly too right?” Mei reflected.

“I think he’s kinda cute,” Stephanie declared while they finished ordering.

“Wow, and just like that, we’re no longer friends”

“Oh come on.”

“Nope, that was the last thing you should have said. Anyone who finds my brother attractive is mentally ill. My brother is too much of a loser for anyone to like him.”

“That’s kinda harsh,” Emily noted. “Sounds like you hate him.”

“I don’t hate him.” Mei corrected. “It’s just…there’s so much wrong with him. He treats me like a baby yet when it comes to his own life, he’s so juvenile. He’s obsessed with things no one cares about. He’s weird.”

Their order consisted of parfaits and small cakes which they ate as they spoke some more about their lives. Now that they were no longer talking about her brother, Mei began to relax, laughing with the girls. She indeed laughed so hard she had to close her eyes to prevent herself from crying. In the midst of the laughter, a new voice abruptly joined in which quickly became the only one heard. It was male and deep. Mei opened her eyes, seeing a boy sitting in the seat across from her which almost made her jump out of her seat. He was older than her, somewhere around her brother’s age. His borderline albino skin reflected the light, making his face sparkle beneath his spiky hair. The stranger’s red eyes seemed jovial as he took a spoonful from a parfait. Mei nervously looked around, realizing that it was only the two of them. Besides his laughter, there was no noise whatsoever. It was as if everyone in the mall had vanished into thin air.

“W-where did-”

“This thing is delicious” the stranger cut in. “What’s this thing called? A parfait?”

He put some in his mouth.

“Now this is a delicacy” he said with his mouth full.

“W-who are you?”

“Oh me? I’m Charlie. I'm a friend of your brother’s. He’s a cool guy, he really is.”

“O-ok.”

Mei tried to scoot out of the booth when Charlie gave her a murderous glance, his friendly demeanor disappearing for a brief moment, making Mei stop due to fear.

“Anyway” Charlie continued, pretending nothing happened. “I’m liking this place. Do you come here often? It’s so cozy. The only place we had back home was a tavern. Not exactly the same thing wouldn’t you agree?”

Charlie could see the fear in Mei’s eyes as they flicked at the exit. She’d have to run past him to get to it. He sighed.

“I’m not making you feel comfortable am I? Sorry, I’m not too good with kids. I suppose I am only putting off the inevitable. You’ll be the youngest person I’ve ever killed so I got the jitters.”

Charlier reached into his pocket fishing for something when the cafe’s doors bursted open. Rama stood in the doorway, panting as sweat rolled down his face. It was as if he’d just ran a marathon.

“Rama?!?” Mei exclaimed in surprise.

Rama ran to them. When he got to their table, he grabbed the back of Charlie’s head with his left hand and slammed it into the table.

“Mei run!” Rama ordered.

“W-what’s happening? Who is-”

“No time to explain! Get out of here!”

“Oh come on buddy, that wasn’t very nice” Charlie said, lifting his head up despite Rama trying to push it back down. Why was he so strong?

Without understanding what was truly happening, Mei got up and sprinted out of the cafe hoping to find help.

“I don’t know why you made her run, she’s still dying” Charlie nonchalantly claimed.

Angered, Rama threw a punch with his other hand, aiming for Charlie’s face. Unfortunately, Charlie caught the fist and pushed the arm onto the table, pinning it. Rama trebled his efforts to push Charlie’s head into the table with his free hand but it was to no avail. Charlie stood up from his seat and in a quick motion, grabbed Rama’s head, banging it against the table. Rama yelped in pain as he quickly rolled away. He stood up rubbing the side of his head as Charlie got out of the booth.

“Rama, you seem tense. Is everything ok? ” Charlie asked, acting like they were having small talk.

“Besides you trying to ruin my life, I’m good,” Rama sardonically replied, getting into his fighting stance.

“Buddy you got it all wrong, this is for your own benefit. This is a noble sacrifice. You have to give up everything you know so that you can become something greater. You have a world to save.”

“And you really think I’d join you after trying to take away everything?”

“No, no I suppose not. Let’s say it’s more like reconditioning. We need to break you, in order to rebuild you. There’s a spell we can use but it only works on weak-minded individuals, those that are on the brink of madness. I can take you there but I have to be drastic. The prophecy isn’t specific but I’m sure it’s allowed. You shouldn’t be too upset, I’m gonna make you a hero. Trust me, we’re gonna be best friends once it’s all said and done.”

“I think I’m starting to get it.”

“Really? That’s a relief, I-”

“Yeah. You’re not crazy, you’re bat-shit insane!”

Charlie chortled before recomposing himself.

“Yeah, I guess I kind of am. We are doing this the hard way aren’t we? That’s fine with me. I heard you can fight, show me.”

Charlie got into his own fighting stance. His left foot was placed in front of the right, his arms raised with his right fist close to his cheek while his left arm was almost fully extended. He motioned for Rama to approach. Rama obliged, stepping in and throwing a high kick, aiming for the face. Charlie blocked with his right forearm, immediately throwing a kick of his own. Rama in turn blocked his attack and quickly stepped back. Charlie pressed in, throwing a straight which Rama deflected by swatting it away then threw a jab. But almost as if he planned it, Charlie tilted his head to the side, dodging the attack. Before Rama could pull his arm back in, Charlie grabbed the arm and used it to flip Rama over him. Rama moaned in pain from colliding with the tile floor. Charlie followed up with a massive stomp but Rama grabbed his foot and used all his strength to throw the foot up, making Charlie stumble back to regain his footing. As he did so, Rama got up and hit him with a roundhouse kick.

Charlie had to continuously step back to prevent himself from falling over, eventually regaining his balance.

“Hah! Not bad, not bad at all” Charlie commended. “I can see why the priestess had trouble with you.”

“Impressed enough to give up?”

“You already know the answer.”

“It was worth a shot.”

Rama expected Charlie to barrel at him but to his surprise, he grabbed a plate from a nearby table. He threw it at Rama. By reflex, Rama put up his arms to protect his face. The plate hit his arms, it stinging more than he expected. When he put his arms down, Charlie had closed the distance between them and hit him with a flying kick. Rama was sent back, rolling over a table and hitting the ground. He quickly scrambled up and was put on the defensive as Charlie pelted him with multiple blows. His opponent wasn’t playing around anymore, hitting him with the same speed he had seen when they played games earlier. Rama blocked most of the blows, stepping around the other tables as they fought across the cafe.

Rama could barely keep up, the punches and kicks seeming to blend into one another. He was able to get a few kicks of his own in but they weren’t enough to slow Charlie down. By the front door now, Rama ducked underneath a punch which left a hole in the door behind him. He quickly sidestepped while Charlie’s hand was temporarily stuck in the door. Rama hit him with multiple kicks, two in the body and one in the head. Rama sought to hit him with one more but his leg whiffed, hitting the door instead. Charlie had disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“Well played!” Charlie shouted behind Rama.

Surprised, Rama whipped around only to get punched through the door, rejoining the mall proper.

“You made me use my magic!” Charlie said in pleasant surprise.

He stood over Rama, a wide smile on his face.

“I haven’t had a target fight back like this in awhile! This is amazing but I can’t kill you yet. The others aren’t fond of this plan of mine but I’m sure it’s going to work. Let’s see who can find your sister first. I won last time, will I win again? I summon you..Smokeblades.”

Like before smoke began to form, moving around Charlie’s body, coalescing in his hands. A crescent knife formed in each hand, each the color of obsidian rock.

“I’m letting you know, my teleportation magic gives me an edge. I can only go a few feet but it’s so much better than running.” he revealed. “Game starts now!”

He disappeared as Rama got up, panting from the recent exchange, his body bruised but the adrenaline rushing through his veins nullified most of the pain. He began to run, once more trying to find his sister.

***

“Hello?! Can someone help me!?” Mei called out, sounding distressed.

She had made it over to the mall security office, located near the mall’s entrance. She peered through the windows but like everywhere else, it was empty. Outside she could see that the sky had turned pitch black, as if the whole place had been transported into a void. What was happening? She still didn’t understand, all she knew was that a stranger meant to kill her and her brother was protecting her. Why couldn’t she find any help? How did an entire mall become empty?

“Where are you little girl?” she heard the assassin ask which made her hair stand on end.

Knowing she had to hide, she ran into a nearby clothing store. It was one she and her friends had planned on visiting, but not like this. It was one of those trendy stores that sold the latest in fashion ranging from ripped blue jeans to expensive fur coats. Instead of browsing the wares as planned, she ran to the back, stepping over the fuzzy brown carpet floor. She found a dressing room for women and hid inside, trying to catch her breath.

“Did you know fear has a unique scent?” she heard outside. “It’s how animals hunt. It’s a chemical pheromone caused by sweat. Where I’m from, it’s a scent you become familiar with whether you want to or not.”

The voice was getting closer. She tried her best to calm herself but it was proving unsurprisingly difficult. She could sense that her pursuer was close, very close. She heard one of the doors get kicked open.

“Gotcha!” he yelled, only to see that the dressing room was empty. “Dang. I know you’re in one of these! I hoped I would’ve been right the first time.”

He began kicking door after door which made Mei’s heart figuratively stop each time it happened. She had to move now. She looked underneath the dressing room door and saw that he was looking on the wrong side. The dressing rooms were in a hallway, with a set of the rooms on each side. She had to escape before he started searching the other side. She crawled underneath the dressing rooms while her pursuer continued to kick doors open. She fortunately made it to the front, about to crawl out when a hand grabbed her. She almost screamed but stopped once she saw it was her brother. He appeared beat up, his clothes dirty and hair disheveled. He motioned for her to crawl which she promptly did. Without saying a word, they ran to the store’s entrance.

“So there you are!” she heard behind them.

They whipped around, seeing the stranger barrel towards them and somehow, it looked like he teleported so that he was only a few feet away. Did her eyes play a trick on her, was he just that fast, or was it something else?

“Mei keep going!” her brother ordered as the stranger tackled Rama through the store’s display windows, crashing through the display mannequins.

Outside they began to tussle on the ground, the stranger trying to impale Rama with one of his massive curved knives. She wanted to run like her brother told her but seeing her brother fight for his life made her hesitate. She had to do something. She picked up one of the arms that broke off from one of the display mannequins. As Rama tried to prevent a knife from being plunged into his stomach, she hit their assailant over the head. It did nothing.

“S-stay away from my brother” she said, attempting to sound threatening but the fear was too prevalent.

“Mei I told you to run!” Rama said angrily.

“I-I couldn’t!”

Meanwhile the stranger laughed.

“Good kid”

While he was distracted. Rama punched him off, scrambling to his feet. Together the siblings ran, having no destination in mind, only wanting to escape.

***

They couldn’t shake their pursuer. He kept appearing alongside them, unleashing broad swings with his knives which the siblings barely dodged, mostly thanks to Rama moving them away in the nick of time. Rama’s priority was to get his sister to a safe place but it was proving impossible. The magical ability of Charlie’s was too much. He was already faster than Rama without the teleportation magic, but with the magic the opportunities to escape were nonexistent. That left only one option, he’d have to fight and protect his sister at the same time. After running and dodging for what felt like an eternity, the siblings were chased to the mall’s indoor water park. It didn’t consist of much, at least when compared with true water parks. There were only a few slides that led to a pool but they were impressive in size. About 35 feet high and all multi-colored, the slides were modest, serving as a nice distraction, not the main attraction for the mall’s attendees. The pool wasn’t standard in layout, looking more like a lake than a standard pool. Instead of allowing people to drop into it, people waded into it. It was meant to replicate the beach, the ground being made of a white rough material instead of tiles. The siblings stopped with the water crashing over their feet. Across from them were the slides. They couldn’t swim across, knowing they’d be slowed down too much. It was time to stop running.

“Mei, stay behind me.” Rama instructed. “I’ll handle this.”

“How?” his sister asked. “T-this guy is insane. How is he moving so fast? Or teleporting or whatever he’s doing!?”

“Teleportation magic.” their pursuer said, stopping about six feet behind them, brandishing his weapons. “It works wonders. If you think what I do is impressive, you should see what our mages and magicians can do. Now they can do some wacky stuff. You’ll see.”

Rama stood in front of his sister, resuming his fighting stance. He slightly bounced as he lifted his arms. Charlie got into his own stance but it was different than before. His arms were spread out, his feet wide apart. His body leaned forward like he was ready to pounce.

“Good thing you stopped running, I was starting to get winded” he joked, knowing full well that he wasn’t even sweating after everything that’s happened.

Rama took deep breaths, trying to calm his mind. He glanced back, seeing his sister look up at him with worried eyes.

“Don’t worry, your brother’s got this.” he assured her.

For a brief moment, it felt like they were small kids again, him protecting her from bullies on the playground.

“I feel bad I have to do this Rama, I really do.” Charlie claimed, dashing towards them.

Charlie appeared in front of Rama in a crouched stance. He swung one of his knives upward which Rama narrowly dodged. Using the brief opening, Rama elbowed Charlie in the face followed by multiple punches to the stomach. Charlie jumped back, then disappeared. Suddenly Charlie was on Rama’s left. Rama threw a punch but it was dodged as Charlie drove a knife into his forearm then violently ripped it out.

Rama screamed in pain as the blood dripped into the water. He tried to fight through it, throwing a punch with his other arm but Charlie teleported once more. He reappeared behind Rama and jammed his weapon into his side, quickly tearing it out. Rama almost collapsed but miraculously regained his footing. Charlie cautiously stepped back, sensing something was off. He couldn’t tell if it was a trick of his eyes, but Rama almost appeared to faintly glow, emitting a golden aura.

“Fascinating” Charlie mumbled to himself. “I’m gonna have to end this quickly, before he realizes.”

Charlie rushed in, teleporting around Rama again and again, giving him cut after cut. However, Rama was getting better and better at reacting. He still took damage, but was able to minimize it by moving. His senses were getting sharper despite the fatigue. After one more teleportation, Rama finally got the upper hand. Rama grabbed the knife and gave Charlie a mighty punch, much more powerful than it had any right to be. Charlie flew through the air by about eight feet, crashing to the ground.

“H-How did you like that? I-I’m just getting started.” Rama said as his legs wobbled.

He tried to step forward but collapsed into the water, the damage finally being too much.

“Rama!” Mei cried, turning her brother onto his back so he could breathe.

Charlie moaned as his Mei fretted over her brother, slowly getting up. He slowly approached, his feet splashing through the water.

“T-that could’ve been bad” he reflected, wiping blood from his mouth. “He was starting to unlock it but luckily I did enough to take him out before he fully utilized it.”

Mei didn’t pay attention, she was too busy trying to pull her brother away from the scene.

“I guess when he wakes up, the first thing he’s gonna see is your corpse. Shame.” Charlie stated.

With weapons in hand, he teleported to Mei, standing before her. He thrusted his blade to her face but it stopped, inches from her head. She screamed as she realized what almost happened, landing onto her rear.

“Man, you come right out of a comic book!” a new voice said.

Charlie looked up, seeing that someone had grabbed his wrist. It was a man in a red martial arts gi.

“M-mr. Ramos?” Mei called out in disbelief.

“Impossible.” Charlie gasped.

He attempted to cut Sifu Ramos with his other blade but it was caught as well. Charlie could feel the grips tighten.

“So you’re the one who’s been chasing my student. That’s a big no no. I can’t have you making my students look bad!”

“What are you-”

Sifu Ramos headbutted Charlie, shooting his head back. Sifu Ramos let go of his wrists, hitting Charlie with a strong forward kick which sent him flying. Charlie coughed as he arose a dozen feet away.

“How’s Rama doing?” Sifu Ramos asked, keeping his eyes on Charlie.

“H-he’s glowing?” Mei answered, seeing her brother emit a faint golden glow.

“Glowing? That’s a good sign. A real good sign.”

“Who are you!?” Charlie angrily questioned. “The only people that are supposed to be here are those I allowed and those with magic.”

“Well, guess I’m the latter huh?”

“Impossible! This world has so little magic, there’s no way magicians exist here!”

“Good thing I ain’t a magician. Do you think I’m about to pull a rabbit out of a hat?”

“Seriously, who are you?”

“I’m the man who’s going to kick your ass.” Sifu Ramos answered with a confident grin.