“Angela…” The boy whispered. Zero always recalled that moment the nine-one-one operator talked. She sounded just like his sister and it soothed him somehow, as if his sister reincarnated safely and he didn’t need to worry anymore. Jake and Zero always repeat the event in his dreams whether they want to or not, however, the dreams about it are becoming more frequent and it was irritating Zero.

Zero slowly gets out of the bed and begins to get ready for the day. Morning Jake. “Morning…that dream again huh…” Jake asks.

Zero doesn’t respond but just gets dressed and prepares breakfast. After, he starts walking to school while slightly irritated.

“Well at least it is over and in the past now.” Jake commented. While Zero was irritated, Jake was bubbly and happy about another day. Granted, he wasn’t up to the task of living his own life quite yet, but he was definitely starting to enjoy it more and more ever since Zero came along. They would talk about all kinds of things ranging from modern science to Zero’s magic and magic laws and deities. Especially since Jake and Zero have read all of their class books already and know the content.

These conversations in class helped distract Jake from the incident and allowed him to heal over time. Zero knew this and with a sigh, he resumed the previous conversation about magic and his world. With each story and conversation and slew of questions, Jake and Zero got closer and closer over the years like family.

***

Zero arrived at the white school gates and was about to walk through but…

“”Morning!”” Two voices called out.

Zero turns around. “Morning Christina, Jessica.” He replied to them in turn and continued walking towards his Chemistry class as they follow.

He arrives in the hallway that leads to his classroom to see Dan standing by the entrance. Dan notices Zero walking closer and scowls at him, but after seeing the two beauties, he immediately pales and quickly walks into the classroom.

“What was that about?” Jake asks.

“Probably nothing worth asking about. Zero responded.

He walks into the classroom and sits in his iconic seat full of Sharpie writing. Bored, he looks out the classroom window and waits until the teacher arrives.

Soon enough, everyone found their seats as a tall woman walked into the room. With every step, she exuded an erotic vibe somehow, the jeans were tightly hugging her rear while the sweater was barely covering up the shape of her large mounds that adolescent boys loved so much.

“Good morning! My name is Junko Beatrix, and I am you substitute teacher for chemistry. Just call me Ms. Beatrix alright?”

“”Hello Ms. Beatrix!”” The class eagerly greeted.

“Hello. Now let’s get started, shall we? Please turn your books to page...” She said while getting straight into the class material.

Zero kept looking outside while the class continued. Outside was always so calm and peaceful…the clouds drifted by lazily and the grass rustled with the warm, gentle breeze of summer. Then noticed an insect flying by the window hovering to land on the glass, when it stopped. His entire world turned grey as time seemed to stop completely. You could see the insect's wings being perfectly still. He looked around the classroom and saw everyone else frozen too.

Slowly, small balls of light began appearing in the classroom above everyone’s head with some strange shapes flowing around them. The small balls got bigger and bigger until it could practically fit their respective person inside them and began descending. After it touched their heads, it would quickly move down until it covered their feet and would disappear.

While looking up, Zero and Jake tried to mentally resist this strange phenomenon but to no avail. Eventually he felt a pulling sensation above his head and he fell into a seemingly infinite white space.

After adjusting their vision, Jake and Zero opened their eyes in disbelief.

“Jake?” “Zero?” They each asked out loud. For the second time since they knew each other, they were able to see each other. The two walked closer to talk about why this happened, but the closer they got, the more they began to get nervous.

Both of them were turning into light and being absorbed by the other with Zero quickly gaining a lead. Piece by piece, their souls were trying to forcefully dominate and absorb each other. Jake’s entire existence was starting to fade while Zero was getting brighter.

With the realization that he was going to die, he looked at Zero…his only friend since the incident. He walked up to Zero with a smile.

Zero saw Jake’s existence become more and more transparent as the balls of light left Jake’s soul and enter his own…yet Jake was smiling.

He hugged Jake and cried for the first time since his sister was killed. He just got used to having someone he could trust and now something was taking that away from him. Jake hugged him back gently.

“Live for us both Zero…promise me.” Jake said in a whisper and backed away.

While seeing Zero nod his head, he smiled once more, and vanished from existence while releasing millions of lights that entered Zero. The numerous lights turned into a cocoon of light that engulfed Zero completely. Zero felt something inside him start to change as pain assaulted his very being.

His eyes, his head, his chest, his arms and legs, his very soul, everything seemed to be in a sea of fire that burned is existence non-stop for some time. He cried out and howled in pain for what seemed like minutes or maybe hours. It was hard to tell time while in pain and in the middle of a white expanse that seemed to never end.

The burning feeling flared up stronger and stronger until it suddenly cut out. Unable to process the sudden change, the man fell to his knees and promptly slumped over. The only thing in his view was a woman amongst the vast expanse of white. She had a maroon dress with silver eyes. He looked at her while he laid on the white floor, trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar, until his vision faded away to black.

“Good luck child…”