Men are simple creatures.

They fight, kill and commit such unspeakable atrocities. Even though I became king, rallies enough supporters in the town of Camelot, we are not strong enough to march on London. The lords do not accept me as king, and many move to usurp the legacy of the sword.

I am still a child in their eyes, not a king.

Excalibur has power, I've witnessed it first hand. It could cut through a man's armor as though they were naked. I suffered wounds many men would die from, yet each time they heal as though they were never there.

Yet it is not enough. If I were to unite this kingdom, I require a power far greater.

Thus, I travel further from Camalot with Merlin and a handful of men to the mountains of Wales. There, we seek a power that existed long before man walked this earth.

We seek a dragon.

We seek-

****

The alarm went off, waking Allisa. She groaned as she turned the alarm off and sat up her bed, a hand resting on her head. "What was that?"

She realized that she had another dream, but this one felt different. She didn't know why but it felt like something was left out, some kind of name. She then dismissed the thought as her dreams never really made much sense, to begin with, still as jumbled up as before, showing small, seemingly random pieces of Arthur's life. What was different was that after each dream, her head started to hurt briefly. It was nothing too bad and went away quickly.

As the pain subsided she looked around her room.

Her Friends were now staying with the hunters so she once again had her room to herself, which came as a relief to her given how complicated things were having them stay. As she lifted herself out of bed her phone started to ring.

"How could that be?" Allisa picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello."

"Hey Allisa."

Allisa recognized the voice as Lucy. "Oh hey." She then looked at her clock. "Have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, I know. Just wanted to let you know that the school's been closed today."

"What?" Allisa sat back down on her bed. "It's closed?"

"Yeah, Chris told me some parts of it got completely wrecked yesterday."

"Wrecked?" She thought back to yesterday and then remembered her struggle against the ghouls. "Oh right." She muttered. Guess we did go overboard back there.

"Sorry?"

"N-nothing, just talking to myself."

"It was weird though. Apparently, Mr. Stevens was taking detention and passed out all of a sudden. When he woke up, parts of the school was completely wrecked."

"You don't say."

"Yeah. Chris says it looked like a war zone."

That sounds right.

"Hey wait. Didn't you have detention yesterday?"

"Ack!" Allisa didn't know how to respond.

"Did you notice anything?"

"N-n-n-no, nothing, really." She said really quickly.

"Really? You don't sound so sure."

"I-It's news to me. Must have happened when I left. Y-Yeah, that's it."

"If you say so. Hey, since schools out, why don't we hit the mall. We haven't really hung out for real in a while."

"Oh, sure. Guess we haven't since before summer vacation."

"Ok. I'll see you in a bit."

"Right, bye." She then hung up. "No school huh? That's a first." To her, it wasn't exactly something to be too happy about, since she's partly responsible for why it closed in the first place.

****

"Morning," Allisa said as she entered the kitchen.

"Morning," Alicia said. "Did you get the news?"

"News? Oh yeah, I got a call from Lucy. Is there really no school today?" Allisa asked.

"Not for you no." Alicia shook her head. "Strangest thing too. Your dad hasn't told me much, but he said it looked like some kind of gas leak. They've closed the school down until they can make the necessary repairs."

"Lucky." Luke, who was sitting at the table said to her.

"Wait. You have to go?" Allisa replied, slightly amused.

"It's just the high school because of the damages," Alicia said. "I'm guessing Lucy told you."

"Yeah. She called me this morning."

"It's so not fair. Why couldn't the elementary school be wrecked?" Luke moaned.

"Well, tough luck." Laughed Allisa.

"Oh that's right. One of your teachers wants to talk to you at school." Alicia interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Haha." Luke mocked.

"Wh-Why me?"

"They just what to ask some questions about what happened," Alicia replied.

"Oh." She remembered that Lucy mentioned Mr. Stevens, which meant she could guess what kind of questions they would be.

"Well, tough luck." Luke mocked.

"Have some breakfast first." Alicia insisted.

"Ok." Allisa groaned.

Testimony

The front of the school was packed with fire trucks and police cars. Seeing it again, Allisa realized how bad the damage was. Just outside the main entrance was a massive skid mark, which tore into the road. The entrance itself was gone with the hall before it showing the scars from her battle with the Ghouls.

Talk about overboard.

"Allisa!"

Allisa looked out and saw Chris, Lucy's stepfather approaching her.

"Glad you came. Your daddy wants to see you."

"Ok, thanks Chris."

Chris looked out at the devastation, scratching the back of his head. "Incredible huh?"

"I'll say."

"Just can't imagine who could have done this."

It's probably best you didn't. Allisa thought. "So, do you have any leads?" She asked hoping that they didn't.

"Na. No way some random street gang could cause this kind of devastation. The best theory we have are people using explosives."

"Really?"

"Man, things have been hectic lately. First the Serial killer now this...." Chris rambled on before stopping himself. "Uh... never mind. You should go see your daddy. He's with the Principal."

"Right. Thanks." Allisa walked off, hanging her head a bit after overhearing Chris.

****

Allisa opened the door to the principal's office. Inside was Herb, Mr. Stevens, and the principal Cody, a tall, smart looking man.

"Allisa, thanks for coming," Cody said. "Please take a seat."

Allisa took a seat and sat down. She looked at her father standing to the left of the room. Just looking at him she could tell how exhausted he was. "What's this about?" she asked.

"No need to look like that, it's nothing bad," Herb reassured her. "Just want to ask you some questions about what happened regarding last night." He then turned to Mr. Stevens. "Ok."

Mr. Stevens cleared his throat before speaking, eyeing Allisa with his cold gaze. "As you know in detention, I was knocked unconscious after miss Zepher stood up. I'm not entirely sure what happened but for a second I swore she disappeared before my eyes like-"

"We just need your testimony." Herb interrupted. "We're pretty much in the dark here so anything will help."

"Oh, r-right" Of course Allisa knew exactly what happened. But she knew she couldn't tell them anything. Therefore the only way out of this was to lie. "Actually, you just passed out all of a sudden."

"R-really," Mr. Stevens looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wh-What happened after that?"

"Well," Allisa thought hard about her explanation. Lying was never her strong suit but this time though, she had to make it sound convincing, but not too much to get looked into. "After you passed out, Nel then collapsed. After she did, I passed out too, so I don't know what happened after that."

"You too?" Herb said, raising his eyebrow.

"Wh-Well, what happened after you woke up?" Mr. Stevens said. "Because when I finally came too, you along with four other students were gone."

Allisa wasn't expecting him to ask that. Crap! What do I say now? "Wh-Well..... when I came too..... uh, I was outside." She said nervously.

"Outside?" Herb said, sounding not too convinced. "Outside the school?"

"No, um....." Allisa tried hard to think of an excuse. "I-I can't really remember."

A vein in Mr. Stevens' head stuck up. "You expect us to believe that someone carried you outside and left you there?!" he then turned to Herb. "Mr. Reed, you can't honestly believe this?"

Herb kept his eye on his daughter, who lowered her head in response to her father's spacious look. "Well, stranger things have happened lately, I'm frankly ready to believe anything."

Allisa let out a small sigh of relief.

"Y-You can't be serious!" Mr. Stevens blurted out.

"I don't think you can get any more out of her. I'm sorry chief." Cody said.

"That's fine. What about the other four? Have you tried to contact them?" Herb asked Mr. Stevens.

"Well, We don't have any contact details of them or parents or guardians."

"Really? That's strange." Herb said.

Cody then nodded to Allisa. "Well, thank you for coming down Allisa. You can go now."

"Oh, th-thanks." Allisa stood up, feeling relieved. She did wonder if anyone bought her story though. Frankly, she wouldn't have believed a story like that if it were said to her.

"I'll show you out," Herb said, getting the door for her. As she walked through, Herb shut the door behind them. "So, is there anything you want to tell me?" he said to Allisa.

"Huh?"

"Come on. How dumb do you think I am? I can tell when you're hiding something."

Allisa's heart started to race nervously. She had hoped that her explanation would have been enough to get her out of any trouble, but it seemed she was wrong.

Herb, however, let out a long sigh. "Look, I'm just really tired from this case so... uh, whatever happened to you yesterday, was it anything bad?"

"No." Allisa replied shaking her head.

"Ok. Just wanted to know." He then turned to the door. "Now you can go."

Allisa was a little surprised that he wasn't perusing this any further. Usually, he'd question her more thoroughly. "Are you ok? You look really tired."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just what's been going on recently been getting out of hand." He said exhaustedly.

"Oh. You mean with the serial killer?" Allisa was getting worried about her dad after her encounter with the ghouls. "You're gonna be ok, right?"

Herb smiled at her. "Hey, don't worry. I'll be fine." He said as he turned around. "It's not like you to get concerned like that."

"Just got a bad feeling, that's all," Allisa said back.

"I'll be alright. I'm careful." He then turned back to the door. "Oh, and your teachers are going to post everyone's homework to do until the high school gets repaired. Just letting you know." He then opened the door again and entered, closing it behind him again.

"I'll fix this," Allisa said quietly after he left, clenching her fists. She had been having second thoughts of getting involved with the serial killer. But after seeing how tired her father was, she was more convicted to do what obviously needed to be done.

She then turned and walked away. I'll take down this Alchemist and put an end to this.

Life with the Hunters

Dale looked into the cabinet. "We barely have anything left." He said. At the table sat Melvin, Cliff, Yuki and Max, who was having a very large breakfast.

"You seriously eat a lot," Cliff commented to Max.

"It's cause I use large amounts of energy a day," Max replied with his mouth full. "So I need a lot of food. That's what the old geezer says anyway."

"Old geezer?"

"He means master," Melvin said with a sigh. "He just likes to nickname people."

Max nodded in response.

"So, Old geezer?" Cliff said confused. "I don't think he's that old. Why'd you call him that?"

Max shrugged.

"By the way, where are the girls anyway?" Yuki asked looking around.

"Mirage went to drop Sasha off at school. Nel said she wanted to go with them." Dale replied.

"School? Thought we trashed it yesterday?"

"Yeah, the high school. The Elementary school's still open." Cliff carried. "The high schools gonna be closed until they can fix the damages we caused fighting off the ghouls."

"Damages? What kind of damages?" Max asked, still with his mouth full.

"Well, we did mess up the entrance fighting off the ghouls." Melvin pointed out.

"Then there was that corridor you obliterated," Yuki added, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh that," Max said as he continued to shovel food in his mouth.

"Still, thanks to the skirmish, I'm able to thin down the whereabouts of the Alchemist. Won't be long now." Dale said.

"That reminds me, how are you tracking the Alchemist?" Melvin asked.

"Well, it's a combination of my sensor abilities and crystal relays I set up around the town," Dale explained, rubbing the back of his head. "Since I'm not much of a fighter, I try my best to support the others."

"You sell yourself too short," Cliff said, patting him on the back. "Trust me, when it comes to tracking, I can think of no one better. It's only a matter of time till he catches this bastard."

"What are sensors anyway?" Max asked.

"Like Nel, you idiot," Melvin said with a dead pan's expression.

"I know that! I just never understood what it is."

"Oh, well it's kinda complicated," Dale said. "It's kinda like a sixth sense which we use to detect mana. It ranges from being able to sense someone using magic or any mana type abilities to tracking and gauging the mana inside someone. Though I can't do the latter very well."

"It's a very rare ability." The Elder then approached the table, surprising the boys with his sudden appearance. "In my life, I've probably met about twelve different sensors, including Dale and Nel of course."

"Wow. Never realized sensors were that rare." Max said with a grin.

"Nothing compared to you." Dale then leaned in on the table. "You're a Salamander, right. That's a league on its own."

"You think?"

"Certainly. This is actually the first time I've ever met one." The elder said.

"That's saying something," Cliff commented.

"So that scar on your chest," Dale pointed to Max's scar. "That was from a dragon?"

Max hesitated from hearing the question. "Um, yeah...."

"I think that will be enough," Cliff said to Dale, noticing the change in Max's mood. "Anyway, since you guys are staying here, you could help out around the home."

"Like what?" Yuki asked.

"You could start by grocery shopping. We're pretty short on food at the moment."

"Grocery?" Melvin said.

"You know, food and stuff."

"I'll write a list for you," Dale said as he got up from the table and pulled open a draw. "We'll probably find some other jobs to do around here."

"So we have to work huh?" Yuki said.

"Well, you are kinda freeloaders at the moment so why not make yourselves useful," Cliff said. "Me, Dale and Mirage have day jobs and the elder, well....." Cliff looked and saw the Elder had disappeared. "He's not really a reliable person. Anyway, I think helping out in the odd chore is a good way to pay us back for letting you all stay."

Yuki then finished his breakfast. "Yeah, I got it."

"Far enough," Max said.

"Yeah. I don't mind." Melvin said.

"That went easier than I thought," Dale said, slightly relieved.

"So what's grocery's?" Max asked.

"I think it's too soon to talk," Cliff said, feeling concerned.

****

Sasha hummed along as she walked to school. Mirage and Nel followed behind her.

"That's a nice tone. What is it?"Nel asked Sasha.

Sasha turned and smiled at her. "The hymn of good fortune. Mirage taught it to me."

"Hymn of good fortune?"

"It's an old hunter's tune. Don't know much about it, but it's catchy." Mirage said.

"I see," Nel said chuckling. "As an assassin, I never really had something like that."

"Aw, that's too bad. You're really missing out." Mirage winked at her. "Oh, and thanks for coming."

"It's no problem. Since you're letting us stay, the least I can does help you out."

"Good to hear it. Oh, by the way, something I wanted to ask." Mirage then stopped. "Assassins have different groups or something like us hunters?"

"Clans. And I suppose you're correct." Nel corrected. She then rolled up her sleeve. "My clan is the Crimson blades." She said showing off her tattoo. Mirage and Sasha looked at it.

"Oh, cool," Sasha said. "So, have you beat up lots of bad guys?"

"I guess that's one way to put it," Nel said as she lowered her sleeve.

"Assassins have special abilities right? That's what the Elder says anyway." Mirage asked curiously.

"That's right." She then quickly activated her Piercer Eyes.

"Whoa!" Mirage said jumping back. "That's... kinda creepy."

"Your eyes just turned yellow!" Sasha said just as suppressed.

"It's called Piercer Eyes," Nel said as her eyes went back to normal. "It allows me to see things in greater detail."

"See... things? Can you like... see in the dark?" Sasha asked enthusiastically.

"Not really. I can pinpoint exact details beyond what the normal eye can pick up. For example," She then pointed to a nearby tree." With my ability, I can identify each individual leaf on that tree."

"Really?" Sasha didn't sound impressed. "That sounds kinda lame."

"Ohh, that's savage," Mirage said chuckling. "I think it's impressive."

"Th-Thanks," Nel said, feeling a little down. The three then began to walk again. "First time it's ever been called lame." Nel brooded.

"So how big is your clan?" Mirage asked.

"Oh," Nel then stopped walking. "It's just me. All the other Crinsom blades are dead."

Mirage and Sasha stopped as well and looked at Nel. "Oh, Um... sorry. Didn't mean to pry something like that up."

"... It's ok," Nel said as she began to walk. "I'm searching for the ones who are responsible. A group called White Rose."

"White rose?" Mirage then started to walk again, taking Sasha's hand. "You mean the flower?"

"I don't really know. I only found out who's responsible recently."

"What will you do when you find the rose guys?" Sasha asked.

"I'll kill them," Nel replied bluntly.

"Geeze, that's cold....." Mirage said to herself. But, can't blame her for feeling this way. In a way, she's not too different from us.

Sasha then broke the silence. "Um, Nel. Are you the one who found out about Allisa?"

"That's right," Nel replied.

"Hm.... Didn't you think she was kinda weak? She looked like it to me."

"What makes you think she's weak?" Nel asked, slightly amused by the question.

"Well, I was kinda expecting it to be some strong boy, you know, like in picture books. And Allisa's... well, she's supposed to be bad at sports. And she goes to Dale's comic book store and the only people who go there are people who never go out much. It's kinda strange that someone like that has this important sword that everyone's been talking about."

She knows how to get to the point. Mirage thought.

Nel then chuckled slightly to herself. "I have to admit, my first impressions of her was pretty negative as well. At first, I thought there was some kind of mistake."

"So it wasn't just me," Mirage said quietly, feeling relieved.

"In some ways, I guess that's what makes her amazing because she looked so weak back then she always finds a way to surprise." Nel continued. "For example, she was able to defeat a knight single handily."

"A knight? You mean a Rosairan knight? Aren't they supposed to be like tanks?"

"That's right. With only two months of training, she was able to gain power equal to that of a knight."

"She took down a knight.... after training for just two months?" Mirage sounded more doubtful than convinced.

"I know. I don't think I'd believe it if someone told me." Nel chuckled.

"Aren't knights supposed to be good guys?" Sasha then interrupted.

"Well.... It's a long story." Nel said crossing her arms. "Let's just say she had a good reason."

"And with only two months of training, she was able to take down a knight." Mirage summarized. "It's crazy, but I kinda believe that."

"How come?" Sasha asked.

"Not sure. She has something about her but I can't really explain."

"I still don't really understand it either," Nel said.

Sasha looked at both Nel and Mirage. "Both of you aren't making much sense." She pouted.

"Guess it's something you'll understand when you're older," Mirage replied to Sasha.

"Hey, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm a hunter too you know." Sasha huffed.

"You're still in training though. And you're still in grade school."

"That doesn't mean anything! I can do stuff the other kids can't."

Nel then turned to look at Sasha. "I'm sure you'll see it soon." She said to her. "Just give it time."

Day off school

Allisa had agreed to meet Lucy by the entrance of the mall. Looking around, she saw many high school students around who had the same idea she had. Though she couldn't help to lose her self in heavy thought. The Ghouls, the Alchemist, she couldn't help but worry about her father. She didn't quite know the death toll, but having encountered them, she knew that this was something he or any of the other officers could handle. And as usual, her mind wandered to herself once again. She couldn't help but laugh at herself on the mess she winded up in.

Got myself into trouble again. Guess I can't live an ordinary life anymore. She then took a look at her right hand. Still, we're the only ones who can put a stop to this. She then clenched her fist tight. Dad, I will stop this.

"Allisa." She was then startled by a voice right beside her.

"L-Lucy!"

It was indeed Lucy who was standing beside her. "Spacing out again? What am I gonna do with you?"

"I-I don't space out all the time."

"Oh that's right," A big grin appeared on Lucy's face. "It's usually when you think about guy's."

"That's not true!"

Lucy laughed a bit, which caused Allisa to chuckle a little. "Your reaction never gets old." Her facial expression then changed. "Still, everything ok? You looked a little serious."

"I'm fine. Just a little worried about my Dad."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Lucy said reassuringly. "Chris is there after all."

Allisa smiled in return. "Thanks."

"Well," Lucy then pushed Allisa around. "Let's go." She then pushed Allisa towards the entrance.

"H-hey, I can walk."

She was the only person she ever felt herself around. They'd known each other since grade school and did everything together like true best friends. This was the first real-time they had spent together since coming back from summer. They spent the day going to various stores around the mall, mostly just to look rather than to actually buy anything.

Most of all, they just spent most of the time talking. Allisa was happy, but at the same time felt bad for not telling Lucy about what's been happening to her, not that there was a guarantee she would actually believe her. But, she kept it in and enjoyed her day out with her friend, unaware of the danger that was approaching.

****

The man wore a thick coat that when right down to his knees consoling most of his body. Most people he passed gave him a wide berth while others avoided him completely, all afraid of the stranger. Above on the rooftop was Thatch who was looking down on him.

"What's that idiot doing?" he said to himself. "Can't he be a little more inconspicuous?"

"He just doesn't have our grace to travel on the roof." Behind Thatch was Frosh, who was hovering above the ground on aboard.

"By the way," Thatch looked at the board. "What the Hell is that?"

"It's the hoverboard from Back to the future. It was one of my favorite films in my past life."

"Really? Is it any good?"

"I don't know. I don't like Back to the future."

"Then why did you just say you did?!!"

"People change."

Thatch turned around gritting his teeth. "Just my luck. Of all people, I'm stuck hunting sacrifices with you and that psychopath. Oh, and on top of that," He then pointed to the clear blue sky above. "Why are we doing this in the middle of the firkin day?!!"

"Rubrik says they're important so the sooner the better." Frosh then reached into his basket and took out something that grew into a strange gadget. "Besides, with those Avalon people looking for us, it's better if we do this when they least expect."

"In bored daylight?! We're basically just asking to be caught!"

"All of our last moves were at night. If we strike in the day, it would be the last thing they'd expect." Frosh then pointed at his head. "You really need to think for once."

"You're just asking for me to blow your head off again." Thatch then turned to face the street once again. "So where are the sacrifices anyway? You're supposed to be the tracker."

"Well, according to the scanner," Frosh looked closely at the device. "There's one at the baseball pitch close by, and the two others are close to there."

"Right, that's a start. Better let Gamba know." That looked down on the street to spot the coated figure.

"On it." Frosh then took out a radio. "Frosh to Gamba. Frosh to Gamba. Come in Gamba. Over."

"What? Is there something I can kill?" A voice came on the radio.

"You didn't say over. Over."

"Why does he need to say 'over?!'" Thatch yelled.

"You're supposed to say 'over' when you talk into a radio. Everyone knows that."

Thatch then snatched the radio from Frosh and spoke into it. "It's me. The troll says the sacrifices are at the baseball pitch nearby."

"Hey. I'm not a troll."

"Head over there."

"Got it." The response came through the radio.

"Oh, and be more discrete. You look like a murderer stalking his next victim."

"That's exactly what I am. A beast in search of life to reap."

"Whatever? Just don't 'reap' the sacrifices or mother will gut you."

"She can try." The radio then went silent.

"Man I hate that guy," Thatch growled.

"Well," Frosh then started to move. "Last one there has to tell Sharly about the dolls in Gamba's cell."

"Screw you! It's your fault, you tell her!"

Frosh then crossed the edge of the roof with his Hoverbed and then fell down into the alleyway. "Thatch, I think I'm outta gas!" He called out like nothing had happened.

"Then there's you," Thatch growled quietly to himself. "This is gonna be a long day."

****

"Two please," Allisa said to the store clerk. "I'll have the strawberries."

"Me too," Lucy said.

"Oh, And I'll have some cream with chocolate sprinkles on mine."

"Sure thing." The man then handed both of them a milkshake each. After taking them the two took a seat.

"Geez that looks fattening," Lucy said to Allisa, staring at the whipped cream on her milkshake.

"It's not that bad," Allisa said, putting a straw through the cream. "It's not like I'll get fat from this." She then took a slurp of it.

"Yeah, cause every calorie goes straight to your boobs."

Allisa then choked after Lucy's comment. "Wha-What?! D-Don't say that stuff out loud!" She said as she clutched her chest, her face going bright red. "And it doesn't go straight to my boobs!"

"Oh come on. They've defiantly grown since last we met. What other explanation is there." Lucy then looked at her own chest. "Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure mine shrank."

"Th-This isn't something to discuss in public!" Allisa stuttered in embarrassment.

"I know. Can't help but feel jealous."

"Of what?"

Lucy then stuck a straw into hers. "Plus, It's just cute to see you embarrassed." She said winking at her.

"Hey! You can be cruel you know."

Lucy laughed as Allisa picked up her spoon and took some cream off the top. After consuming the cream on the spoon, Allisa noticed her friend's expression had changed. "Something wrong?"

Lucy shook her head and smiled, picking up her milkshake. "You just seem.... Different."

"Different?"

Lucy took a slurp of her milkshake before answering. "It's like, I feel something about you has changed. Not sure what it is."

Allisa held her spoon in her mouth for a second, thinking about what Lucy had just said.

"It's probably nothing," Lucy said.

"Oh." Allisa put her spoon down and stared at the cream.

"R-really, its nothing. You don't have to get down." Lucy said awkwardly.

"O-ok." Allisa then took a slurp of her milkshake.

"You do seem more confident in yourself though." Lucy continued.

"Hm?"

"Well," Lucy thought a bit. "That time with Francesca the other day where you got her to back down. You've never done something like that before."

"R-really?" Allisa thought back, and realize that she had a point.

"I'm not sure what happened to you over summer, but whatever it was it definitely made you more confident in yourself."

"I-I don't think I've changed that much."

Lucy looked at Allisa more closely. ".... Yeah, you're right. Guess it's just me."

Allisa went back to slurping her milkshake, fighting back the waves of guilt she felt. Lucy, I'm so sorry. She glanced another look at Lucy who was slurping her own drink. I just can't get you involved.

After the drinks, the two girls headed towards the entrance of the mall. "Ok." Lucy then turned. "Better start getting home."

"Ok. See ya." Allisa then turned the other way. She was about to walk off but stopped for some reason. "Hey, Lucy." She said turning around.

"Hm?" Lucy turned in response.

"Thanks for today. I had fun."

"Huh?" Lucy looked puzzled. "Wh-What was that? Makes it sound like we're on a date or something."

"Huh! N-no I was just...." Allisa stuttered in embarrassment.

"You can be really weird some time," Lucy said chuckling.

"I told you I...."

"It's ok," Lucy said catching her breath. "How long have we been friends?"

"Um? Since 3rd grade."

"Right." Lucy smiled at her. "And I'll never forget what you did for me back then."

"Oh, that was nothing, really."

"Still," Lucy then walked up to Allisa and patted her on the shoulder. "I don't think I could ever make up to you. So you don't ever have to feel like you have to thank me for anything. Cause I'm the one who still hasn't thanked you."

"Lucy," Allisa smiled back. "What's with the speech? That's quite unlike you."

Lucy laughed as she let go. "Can't blame a girl for being poetic."

Allisa laughed back. "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow." Allisa then walked off.

"Watch out for the serial killer!" Lucy joked as she walked in the opposing direction.

A large smile formed on Allisa's face as she watched her friend walk off.

Suddenly, a cold wave came over Allisa. She froze in place as an oppressive feeling washed over her. Wha-What the!! Every ounce of strength she had vanished as the feeling passed her. It was a cold, terrifying feeling. What is this? Why can't I move?

She then turned her head, looking down a street, where the feeling seemed to be coming from. That way leads to the town baseball pitch and little else. The feeling then passed and her strength returned.

It came from over there. Allisa wasn't sure, but she was getting a bad feeling from that direction. Though mostly instinct, she started running in the exact direction. Just what the hell was that?

****

Melvin groaned loud. "Can't believe it took that long to get all this stuff." He, Max, Yuki and Nel were walking with groceries, Max carrying the most due to his strength.

"Doubt it could be helped," Nel said.

"Still, It seems like the simplest thing in the world at first." Melvin reached into his bag and pulled out a cereal box. "Who knew it would be that complicated to find something like this."

"I just don't understand why some of the same things have different names," Max said. "Allisa's world can be really weird sometimes."

"Nothing about this world has made sense to me," Yuki said. "I really hate this place."

"Then why come in the first place?" Melvin asked. "You've done nothing but complain since we arrived. I'm still surprised you even decided to come."

"A deal with that bastard, Rowin." Yuki gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Which I'm gonna make sure he keeps."

"What kind of deal did you strike?" Max asked.

"None of your business Pyro."

Max grunted and turned to face Yuki. "What's your problem anyway? Whenever we ask you something you always say 'none of your business, anti-social Jerk!'"

"I'm certainly not telling you, pathetic excuse for a lizard!"

"Not like I wanta know anyway! Knowing you it's probably a boring story full of random crap, sword Bastard!"

"Say that again! I'll slice you to ribbons!"

"Bring it on! I'll fry ya!"

"Argue when we get back!" Melvin said, breaking the two up. "Last thing we need is more people watching us."

"It was his fault!!" Max and Yuki yelled.

"We're almost there," Nel said, leading them into the back ally where an entrance was located. "You two can duke it out when we're inside."

"Don't encourage them!" Melvin snapped.

"They'll argue either way, so it's best they get it out of their system."

"Why are we using this entrance anyway?" Max asked. "Shouldn't we go through the store like when we came out?"

Nel lifted her hand to the wall. "Dale said we could use one of the back entrances to-" She then froze in place, dropping her bags.

"Nel?" Melvin walked towards her. as he did, Nel turned her head staring off into the distance, her eyes open wide.

2, no 3. And quite strong too, but....

"What is it?" Yuki said, seeing the urgency in her face.

"Leave your bags here," Nel said urgently.

"What's up?" Max asked, putting down his load.

"We may have trouble."

"Ghoul's?" Melvin dropped his bag and looked around.

"No," Nel said in an unsure voice. "It's.... different. And a lot more powerful." Nel scanned her surroundings carefully. It doesn't feel like ghouls. But it's quite similar to that gas masked guy from before.

"Different?" Yuki said, dropping his bags. "What are we dealing with?"

"Just follow me." Nel then ran off.

"Wh-Wait!" Melvin then ran after her. "Can you at least tell us what's going on?"

"Who care's!" Max said as he rushed past him. "I've been looking for a chance to cut loose."

"I was starting to worry I was losing my edge," Yuki said besides Max gripping his sword scabbard.

"Why are you so into this! It's supposed to be a bad thing, remember!" Melvin yelled. "It's scary how you two will stop arguing whenever there's a prospect of a fight."

****

Allisa arrived at the town baseball pitch. It was relatively isolated from the rest of the town with many games being played there, mostly used for the school. She stopped short by the fence to catch her breath. For some reason, she ran all the way there. What was more, the strange feeling she felt had gone.

"Maybe it was nothing?" Allisa then leaned against the fence. "It was weird though." She then looked into the pitch. There she saw a single person standing in the middle of the pitch. "Huh? Is that...."

****

Bill took the baseball in his hand and stood in the Pitchers. He then leaned back and threw it as hard as he could, which unfortunately landed just a few meters away to his right rather than straight. "D-Damn." He went to retrieve the ball and went back to his position and tried again. Baseball was never really much interest for him. Asides from that, sports weren't really his strong suit. But, he did have a motive to practice. If I make the team, if I do well, maybe she'll finally notice me.

"Bill?"

Bill then dropped the ball when he heard his name being called out.

"Huh? A-Allisa?"

Allisa walked towards Bill. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you liked baseball?"

"Oh, I-I-I" Bill blushed as he tried to form words, getting more and more nervous as Allisa approached him. "Wh-What are y-y-you doing here?"

"Huh? Oh, um...." Allisa looked around the area, seeing that those two were the only ones here. "Has anyone else been here at all while you were here?"

"N-no."

"Ok. Was anyone here before you?"

"N-Not that I know of."

"Oh, I see." Allisa looked down to the ground puzzled. Maybe it was nothing after all.

"A-Are you l-looking for s-s-someone?"

"Hm?" Allisa then looked up at him. "Oh, not really." She then took another look around. "Just checking something out."

"Oh, um, w-what are y-y-you checking out?"

Allisa sighed a little. "Nothing." She then started to walk away. Guess it was just my imagination.

"W-wait!" Bill called out.

"Hm?" Allisa turned round.

"I-I-I was wondering. D-Do you, um......" Billy started to go red. "Um, we-well..."

"Is something up? You can tell me?"

"Wh-would you like t-t-to go out with me, s-some time?" He blurted out.

"Huh? Wh-what?!" Allisa started to go red as she looked around nervously. "Um.... Uh, Th-that's really sweet... um?" she stuttered nervously, thinking to some way to let him down easy. "Th-Thing is..."

"Ugh. What are you doing here?" A snobby voice came from just behind Allisa. Looking back she saw Francesca entering the pitch.

Oh great, just what I need.

Francesca then walked right up to where Allisa and Bill was. "Surprised to run into you tomboy." She said in a snobby voice. She then looked at Bill who was standing behind her. "And who's this nerd?"

"Oh, um...." Bill stuttered. "I-I-Im-"

"Don't care." Francesca cut him off before returning her attention to Allisa. "So why are you here?"

"Um...." Allisa couldn't think of an excuse, mostly due to her not knowing why she was here in the first place. "Why are you here?" She countered.

"I asked you first. But, if you must know, I'm meeting a couple of friends for a party." She bragged. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Uh..... Good point."

Francesca then pointed a finger at Allisa. "And don't think I've forgotten what you did to me at gym the other day," she said in a stern voice.

"Huh? What did I do now?"

"Oh don't pretend you don't remember humiliating me?"

What did I do again? By her own recollection, all she did was hold her ground over a very trivial matter, hardly anything she could consider humiliating.

A group entering the pitch, three girls and four boys then interrupted them. "Hey! Francesca!" one of the girls waved at her.

"And here they are." Francesca waved back as they approached her. The girls then all stared at Allisa.

"What's she doing here?" One the girls asked.

"Good question? Which you still haven't answered." Francesca pressed.

"And who's the nerd?" One of the boys said, addressing Bill.

"Um, I-I-"

As Bill stuttered, Allisa grabbed his arm. "We're just leaving." She said.

"Hey!!" Tristan then walked onto the pitch, along with three other boys. He marched right up to Allisa, an angry expression on his face. "Your friends with that freak aren't you!"

"Huh? F-Freak?" She had even less clue what he was talking about.

"Don't play dumb, yesterday I saw you going off into the woods with him yesterday."

Is he talking about Max? Allisa thought to herself.

"I-Is that true?" Bill said to her.

"Huh, no, um..... Th-That's-" Allisa mumbled.

"Stay out of this!!" Tristan yelled at Bill before returning to Allisa. "That punch of his fractured some of my ribs! Doc says I can't play football for 6 weeks if I'm lucky!"

"S-So, wh-what do you want me to do about it?" Allisa responded as innocent as she could.

"Well, you're his girlfriend right!"

"G-Girlfriend!!" Allisa's face went red. "Wh-What a minute! I-I'm not his-"

"So I figured." Tristan intruded Allisa, a sinister grin forming on his lips. "If we kidnap you, we can lure that bastard out and beat the living snot out of him."

"Huh?!"

"W-whoa that's nuts." Francesca interrupted. "Besides that guy's kinda hot. No way he could go out with a loser like her."

"Well, I saw them hang out together!" Tristan yelled.

"Doesn't mean they're going out." One of the boys said.

"Yeah. They could be friends or something." Another one said.

"Shut up!!" Tristan yelled. "Either way, he'll come for her!"

"But that kid's supposed to be freaky strong. Not sure if all of us can take him?"

"Yeah, I heard he managed to knock over a tree with a soccer ball."

"I told you to shut up!!!"

"My what a nasty group of children." A sinister voice then came from the entrance of the pitch. A figure dressed walked slowly towards the group. "Still, I find there is such beauty in youth. They can be cruel, selfish, detached from the affairs of the real world, living in ignorant bliss. That's probably what I like the most."

"Who are you?" Tristan called out.

"Oh, no one really."

Tristan then signaled the boys near him. They then approached the figure, who stopped as the group taunted and jeered him over his appearance. "Not sure who think you are freak,"

"Oh me. I'm just a concerned citizen."

"Concerned citizen?" Francesca mocked. "He really is a freak."

"Besides," the man said in a low voice while a sinister grin appeared on his lips. "Haven't you all heard?"

"Heard what?" the boy closest to him said.

Suddenly, the man swung his right arm out, knocking his coat high in the air. Blood flew out from the boy as his upper body was sliced clean off. The boy next to him had half of his head cut in the process. In shock the other boy collapsed, about to scream when the man pivoted, cutting the boys head off. The others were rendered silenced as they watched the brutal murder carried out before them.

What in the world....? Allisa thought, keeping as calm as best she could as several of the girls broke down screaming.

The man was bald, wearing simple clothes, which were worn in several places, and was barefoot. Along with several stitches along his skin that were visible, in place of his right hand was attached a massive blade. The man turned slowly to the others, grinning through his teeth. Blood dotted his face and was smeared over the front of his clothes. The man brought the blade close to his face and licked off some blood from it before grinning once again through his teeth.

No way.... Allisa bit down on her lip. Now, of all times....

"THERE'S A SERIAL KILLER LOOSE!"