Part 1

The second he opened his eyes, something seemed wrong. He was inside his room on Thor and was still wearing his black uniform. The problem was he didn't remember how he got there. The last thing he remembered doing was agreeing to go back to Casey's house and then everything went black. Confused and extremely sore, he sat up and winced. His fingers, the ones that discharged on their own, were particularly in pain. He felt like an old man with arthritis. He removed his sheets and headed for the shower. He didn't know how long it had been but he knew for a fact he was in need of a shower. Coincidentally, he found his phone on top of the nightstand so he got it and entered the shower with a change of clothes. While inside, he entered a state of deep thought. What was to happen now?

He managed to pass the first round, but what would happen in the next? More importantly, would he be able to keep his powers under control? What about the reason they were here? Had the stone holding ramoji been located? There were so many questions he had…

After some time of thinking and scrubbing, he exited the shower and got dressed in regular everyday clothes. While brushing his teeth, he checked his phone and found multiple missed calls and a message from a certain person he knew.

(Hm, it is close by….Ah, what the heck? I'll go today for sure.)

Thinking this, he ruffled his black blue hair and stepped out of the restroom. By the time he had made it to the main control room, he was ready to go.

“Rise and shine champ! Glad to see you're finally up and running!!” Tony said to him with a large smile. Next to him, Michael turned and waved.

“same here….but what happened? How'd I get here? All I remember is following Ella”

“Ah, that. The second you took about 4 or 5 steps you passed right out. We couldn't really explain it but we guessed that even though you were physically healed your stamina and mana weren't. You were exhausted. ”

Saying so, he smiled wryly as if saying “I don’t blame you”. Axel nodded slowly and once again immersed himself within his thoughts as he sat in one of the benches near him. Was it really that bad? Sure, he was scared to death and in a massive amount of pain but…….well, the more he thought about it the more sense it made, he was truly exhausted. Even now he felt like just curling up in bed. The only reason he wasn’t was because he wanted to speak with Ella and the others..

“Is that what happened?....man, I really am weak…….”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself! You pulled off some really incredible things out there that really kept us all on the edge of our seats!” He heard Natsumi say as she emerged through the door of the hallway. He looked up at her with some wonder in his eye.

“You think so? I’ve gotta be honest, most of that was pure luck. I was lucky. I mean, if Kyle hadn’t shown up when he did I would’ve been eliminated for sure…”

“If I had a dime for every time you downplayed yourself, I’d be rich.” Jeniffer said from her work station among the computers. She shook her head and peered at him over the screen of her computer. Axel smiled and scratched his head. Taking his phone out of his pocket, he checked the time and slightly furrowed his brow. It was exactly 8 am but there was no sign of Ella or Andrew anywhere. There was no way they were still in bed, those two had to be somewhere.

“Uhh, where’s Ella?” he asked into the room. Michael looked up at him and answered.

“She went with Andrew to rendezvous with some PeaceKeeper officials to exchange information”

That was strange. They had the power to freely teleport actual human beings but didn’t have the technology to send messages? That was absurd. Reading his body language, Natsumi lightly tapped his head and shook hers.

“If they use the internet to send messages they run the risk of being intercepted. Duh, Even I can figure that one out” She said giggling. Axel realized that she was right and smacked his palm with his fist.

“Ohhh, right! So then, when will she be back?”

“They just left a while ago and they’ve got a lot to discuss so I’m thinking probably by tonight.”

Axel held his chin with his hand and hummed. If they wouldn’t be back until night time, that would mean that they had the rest of the day to do whatever! That was how it worked, right?

“While she’s off, Lucy’s the one that’s in charge of things.” Tony told him pointing over at a pile of clothes. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the pile of clothes was actually Lucy who was still in her polka dot pajamas. While her hair was somewhat tidy with it’s usual bow, Lucy herself looked like she was about ready to roll over and die. She was sitting in her usual spot at her desk but was not doing anything. Confused he looked back at Tony for answers. However, Tony merely raised his shoulders and sipped his coffee. Why Lucy was placed in charge in the first place was beyond him. He approached her and felt one of the most saddest vibes he’d ever felt, thus far of course.

“Uh, Lucy? Is something wrong?”

“Everything.” She responded. For whatever reason, that one word felt like it was one of the realest things that she had ever said, as if it was more than just an empty joke. Glancing at him from where her head lay on her desk, she sat up and yawned.

“Don’t mind me, I’m just super tired….”

“R-right…...So, what’s on the to do list today?”

“Absolutely nothing, you guys are free to do whatever you want so long as you don’t bring too much attention to yourselves. Go wild”

Somewhat contradicting herself, She once again let her head fall down to her desk with an audible thump. Still a bit confused, Axel nodded and turned around.

“Well, since there’s no plans today, is it alright if I go to Miami?”

Jeniffer onced again looked at him over her screen while typing and tilted her head. “What? You don’t want to explore more of Savant Island?” she said to him. It was not that he didn’t like savant island but more that he was interested in touring a foreign place of regular human soil. Touring savant island would have to come later after spending time with his own kind. Well, the more and more he spent with people like this the more he started to drift from humanity.

“I do but I’d like to tour Miami first. I’ve always wanted to go there” That and the fact that he had someone to meet, but he decided to remain discreet about it for the time being.

Jeniffer looked over at Tony and Michael who in turn shook their heads presumably not having any objections to it. She then sighed and continued to look at her monitor.

“Okay, you can go.” she said. Smiling, he shook his head up and down and got up to leave. Natsumi, who also stood up with him, asked him if he was planning on going alone.

“No, I was going to ask Maria if she wanted to come along-” “Just her!?” “Can I finish!?” Natsumi nervously averted her eyes and waited for him to finish somewhat reluctantly and rather impatiently. Axel took a deep breath and continued.

“Do you guys wanna come to?” he asked the room. Tony and Michael looked at each other and nodded. Looking over at Jeniffer, he saw her shake her head.

“No thanks, Someone has to look over the ship.” “But that’s what Lucy is in charge for, right?” Tony said. “Let me rephrase that, properly look after the ship”

Chuckling, Axel then looked over at Lucy who still had her head down but was writing something in a small journal.

“Well Lucy? Looks like Jeniffer wants you to go!” he said enthusiastically. Lucy fixed her eyes on him with a worried look. Then, she frantically shook her head and said “no!” Jeniffer bobbed her head back and shot an angry expression at her. Lucy, under the pressure of the intense gaze, buried her head in her desk once again.

Confused, Axel blinked multiple times and shook his head. “Okay?” At that moment, Maria walked through the hallway door fully dressed and groomed. As he noticed her ears twitch, she yawned and approached him.

“Goooood morning…… Is there anything going on today?” she asked with a tear in her eye.

“Well actually, I’m planning to go to Miami. Wanna come with us?” He asked. Visibly lighting up, Maria clapped her hands together and jumped up. “On this day!? Of course I do!” she exclaimed happily.

“Good then, I guess that settles it then! Let’s go guys!” he said to Tony and Michael, but the two shook their heads “On second thought, you two go on ahead, we’ll go some other time”

“What? Are you guys sure?” he said sounding disappointed. Maria, however, saluted them and raised her thumb behind his back. They laughed which caused Axel to turn around only to see Maria looking up at them with a worried expression which made it look like she was also wondering why they were not going. Confused he turned back around.

“Haha, yeah dude, we’ve got some stuff to handle here. Just have fun! Also, Natsumi, we’ve got some….tests to run on you so we’d like you to stay” Tony said.

“What? Are you serious? But I want to go too!!”she said attempting to fight back. However, Jeniffer fired off a deadly stare which made the timid Natsumi cower in fear and oblige. Satisfied, Jeniffer resumed looking at her screen. Having no choice but to respect their decision, Axel sighed and turned to Maria again.

“Well, just me and you then! Let’s go!”

“Okay!” she replied. Checking his phone for the time, he also looked for the date. It was only February 14th, so why was she so excited about this day? Her birthday wasn’t for some time now…...Well, questions would come later.

As they both hyped each other up and talked about where they wanted to go, Lucy looked at them both with a dead stare. “We gave you a chance and you blew it, but there’s still time…” she heard a voice whisper from behind. She knew it was Jeniffer but she did not turn around to confirm. Right now, she was fighting herself. After a long heated debate in her mind that lasted a couple seconds, she clenched her fist and renewed her resolve to stay. But, she looked at Axel once more and then felt a sudden urge to talk to him…...There was no doubt that it was that feeling….. Damn it, she truly was a sucker...

“Wait!! I’m coming too!!”

Part 2

The sky was blue and the times were cool. It wasn’t freezing like it was in Sonic city but it wasn’t hot like the Sahara. It was just right. Walking through the large and beautiful city of Miami were the trio friends Axel, Maria, and the surprise last minute addition Lucy. She decided to join them mere moments before Axel and Maria were about to take off. Happy to bring her along, Axel waited for her to get ready and teleported here. Now, they were ready to get the day started.

“What do you think we should do first?” He asked the girls who were on either side of him.

“I haven’t heard of any good places...It’s not like I travel outside of California…” Lucy said. Maria nodded and looked at him. Funny enough, she kept pace with him enough that it almost seemed like she was attempting to hide beside him so that she wouldn’t have to talk to Lucy, Her or the many many people around them.

Agreeing with Lucy, he thought that it would be best to just walk around until they found something interesting. After he told them this, they agreed and had no objections. After about 20 minutes of looking around, Maria suddenly made them stop by tugging on his sleeve.

“What is it?”

“I,uh…, have to use the restroom…” “So you do? Then go on, we’ll wait….” “.......Can you get me some ice cream?...” she suddenly said. Axel, confused, tilted his eyebrows.

“Uh, sure, but why?” “I can’t explain it but I have a real strong urge for some ice cream…something cold in general but it has to be sweet……..and chocolaty…..oh just thinking about it is making me drool but I have to pee…..Just go get it!!” she said as she sped walk into one of the stores next to them. Leaving Axel to wonder what just happened, he turned to Lucy who was looking at him with a solemn expression.

“What? Do you want some ice cream too?”

“Okay, first off, yes. Secondly, It’s called cravings. Get used to that because she’s going to have a lot of those, especially during her second trimester of her pregnancy.” she said still keeping her solid expression. He didn’t really know much about pregnancies but if cravings were something that happened often then his fridge and pockets were in danger. Axel crossed his arms and looked around. To his surprise, he actually found an ice cream parlor. It was a small gray futuristic looking shop. It stood out so much that he started to suspect that parlor being responsible for triggering Maria’s craving. He checked for his wallet and started to walk toward the parlor. However, Lucy did not follow him. Instead, she decided to wait for him there in case Maria came back and looked for them. Thinking that that was a smart plan, he thanked her and resumed his journey.

After some time, he returned to find her sitting on a bench looking through her phone with what he thought were sad eyes. This made him stop with the bag of frozen dairy in his hands. Why was she like this right now? Was something going on? He had to admit that he missed the old hyperactive Lucy…. He approached her and watched as her expression made a complete 180. She picked up her head to look at him with a large smile and said, “Hey, what’s that you got there?”

“Hm? It’s just some ice cream in small containers...More importantly, why did you look so sad a couple seconds ago?” He asked her directly. Lucy made her eyes go round as she lifted her phone and showed it to him.

“Ah? So you did notice? Well, no point in hiding it now!”

“Eh?” he said as he leaned in close to the screen. What he saw wasn’t what he was expecting, it was just a video of a rabbit that was hit by a car and was slowly dying. Though he did feel bad, he was more relieved that it wasn’t something much more serious. Sighing and shaking his head, he reached for the container of ice cream and handed it to her. Taking back her phone, she obliged and took it. He sat next to her and started to eat his. It was all pure vanilla. His favorite flavor was chocolate but it was too sweet and would make him want some water whereas vanilla was both refreshing and not too sweet if cold enough. As he thought this, he felt Lucy suddenly drop her head down on his shoulder. Stunned, he slightly fidgeted. Contrary to him, she once again had a solemn expression on her face with a dash of distant sadness.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Relax, I’m just trying to relax is all. This bench has no head rest and so many thoughts are flowing through my mind right now that it’s weighing me down”

Deep, that was too deep. He wasn’t expecting that type of response especially from her. Come to think of it, how long had it been since he had known her? Going on three years just about. However, he had memories of different interactions with her even before that since they went to the same school though none really came to his mind at the moment. The thing was he didn’t actually hang out with her much until two years ago when they were seated right next to each other during freshman year but, could he really say that he knew her? There was this whole forgotten friend thing going on and he still wasn’t sold on that story. Was it true? Was it not? For the time being, he decided not to think nor talk about it, but how long would that last before it would once again be brought up?....

“Life is so short….so unfair……” she suddenly said in a low voice that was only barely audible. Was seeing a rabbit die really that rough for her?

“Hey, what are you planning to do once her kid is born? Are you really going to help raise her kid? I’m not opposed to it, it just makes me wonder whether or not you’re in a relationship with her since you’d practically be the child’s father figure.”

Hearing her say that out loud really made him think, what was he going to do? He wasn’t ready to be a father, and he wasn’t so sure about having a girlfriend either….. He just had….different matters going on that he hadn’t really thought about it, that tied along with the fact that he wasn’t very confident talking with girls,especially ones he liked….and his self esteem was through the floor…. So many things…

But, there was no way he was going to just leave her alone. If he really thought about it, his conscious wouldn’t let him. As she was now, in her particular condition, she’d collapse. It wasn’t like she’d want to, but he was sure it would happen. She was only barely clinging to her sanity as it was already.

“I’m not going out with her or anything, and she hasn’t brought it up to me either, but I don’t plan on leaving her alone. I’ll help her in whatever way possible, and if her child ends up seeing me as a father figure…….well, just tell me, what am I supposed to do? Look the kid in the eye and say “I’m not your dad and I never will be.”? Cause that’s practically what I’d be saying. I mean, as a child I can’t just crush he/she’s role model, and that’s even if he or she likes me. But when the kid grows up, they’ll know the truth and decide what to think of me then. And in that moment, I’ll completely respect that decision” Saying this was like talking to himself. Up to now, he hadn’t come to terms with anything regarding Maria’s child, but it was clear what he would do now. He’d just help her parent somewhat. After all, she was just as much in the dark as he was. If the two of them worked together, they’d do just fine he was sure. But if he was honest, the idea of a child calling him “dad” or “daddy” was a bit frightening and not to mention intimidating. A title only given to those with authority and responsibility. That or to the kinky and nasty teenagers who find pleasure in being called that by girls..

“Really? Huh, that wasn’t a bad response. So, there’s no one you’re interested in then?”

“Well, no not really…..I mean, I haven’t really thought about it…...I think?” he said genuinely not sure. As Lucy narrowed her eyes, she exhaled and started her ice cream.

“That’s not bad, it just means that there’s room for interest in someone to spark. Which in turn means you could fall for anyone of us, who knows…..girls of course, unless you play for the other team?” she said sounding completely sure.

“I don’t!!”

“Oh? Good”

She was scary, she definitely was. But she wasn’t entirely wrong. He was a guy, it was only natural to think that one day he’d fall in love, and who knew, it could be one of the girls he was acquainted with today. Though, he wouldn’t mind having a girlfriend either now that he thought about it. If he continued like this, he’d be alone forever! But, he had to think of the danger he’d be putting someone else in that was not a part of the supernatural world. So, even if he did, it’d have to be someone he already knew……

(Wait a minute!? What if….)

Suddenly multiple stray thoughts flashed in his mind and he just so happened to catch one of them. As his heart rate accelerated, he looked over at Lucy with the corner of his eye who was just munching on her ice cream. He wondered, what if he were to partner with Lucy?

BADUMP

Hearing his own heart rattle in his rib cage at the mere thought, he felt his stomach contract in the most strangest way. He never thought about it, and now that he was, he wasn’t completely opposed to it. She was far from unattractive, stunningly gorgeous, and actually really keen. As of right now, she was wearing a long red dress that reached her knees and some sandals. She was an eyesore but in a really good way. Would he, would he even have the guts to ask her something like that?......

(Nah)

Shaking his head to rub off his thought process, he attempted to forget about the stray thoughts he was having just now. There was no way he would ruin their friendship. Plus, it’d be difficult to see her in that kind of light. It was difficult for him to see anyone in that kind of light. Besides, relationships were supposed to be the furthest thing from his mind.

“You know,” he heard her say,

“If you were to spark up an interest in me, I wouldn’t mind that either.” saying that completely nonchalantly, she continued to rest on his shoulder and eat her ice cream. Was he really hearing her right? Did she really just say that? Or was it just one of her jokes?

“A-are you joking or something?....” he nervously asked. To this, Lucy slowly shook her head and frowned. “Of course not, I wouldn’t joke about something like this. I mean, Let’s just say if you asked me out I wouldn’t say no. That’s it, nothing to it. Just putting it out there..”

“I, uh…...don’t know what to say…”

“I know you don’t...you never could talk to girls you liked” she said as if throwing her words at him. Stunned and sweating uncomfortably, he watched as Lucy satisfyingly smiled and chuckled. Just as he was going to retort, Maria made her return after what he noticed took forever.

“I’m back!” she said out of breath.

Lucy lifted her head from his shoulder and smiled.

“Wow, what took you so long”

“Really! What took you ages!”

“Well, I was going to the restroom when a group of guys approached me and handed me flowers and started sweet talking me. I wasn’t really sure what to do and just stood there silent. I just nodded and smiled. I mean, you said it was rude to just disrespect people in public right, Axel? Otherwise I would’ve told them to fu-”

“We get it! No need to give us too much detail!” he yelled.

“-lfill their duties elsewhere.”she finished. With a blank face, Axel soon broke into a laugh. He was sure she was going to say something else…

“Anyways, After about 20 minutes or so of awkwardly fidgeting, they just left. So, I went to the restroom, threw away the flowers, and returned here!”

“Wow, you’re a straight savage and you aren’t even aware of it” Lucy said to her while giggling. Shaking his head, he got up and handed her the small container of ice cream she wanted so much. However, she looked at it and scowled slightly.

“I don’t want it anymore, all of a sudden I want something hot...like a hotdog! Oooooh that sounds great!! Let’s go!” she said grabbing his hand and pulling him.

“What!?” he said as he was pulled away. As she watched them run off, Lucy was left to stare at them with soft eyes. As she fixed her hair, she sat and continued to finish her ice cream. Until,

“Lucy!”

“?”

When she looked up, she noticed that Axel had freed himself from Maria’s hold and was now in front of her. Confused, she stared up at him.

“Hurry! Don’t think I’m about to leave you here surrounded by guys that might be out to get you like they did Maria! Let’s go!” he said grabbing her hand and pulling on her. Stunned but moved, Lucy laughed and ran with him.

“You idiot, you made me drop my ice cream…..” she said.

__________

After some time of wandering around, they somehow made it to a beach that was filled with tons and tons of people. For Axel and Lucy, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But for Maria, it was a massive deal. Just the mere sounds of jumbled up voices speaking over each other one after the other was enough to make her head hurt. It irritated her and she felt like lying down. At first, he thought she was exaggerating a bit too much and felt her forehead. She was burning up, exactly what he was afraid of. If she burst a vein here that would mean trouble. Since he’d rather not have her hurt herself, he suggested they sit and wait for him under the shade of a tree while he went out and bought an ice pack and some water.

“Sounds good, I’ll look after her then!” Lucy told him.

“Great, thanks. Maria, she’s trustworthy, you can talk to her openly about anything so don’t worry about her hurting you or something” He said to reassure her. Maria looked at Lucy and then back at him with unsure eyes. After giving her a nod, she responded in kind and turned back to Lucy. Relieved of how smoothly that went, he turned heel and walked off to find a store. Most of the one’s around were just restaurants or small food courts. That’s not what he needed, he needed to find something similar to a liquor store. While walking down the sidewalk built next to the sandy shores, he noticed a crowd of people huddling around something, someone(?). He wasn’t too sure. From where he was standing, he could only see a huge circle of people.

(are they watching a street performer?)

In popular areas like these, street performers were a common thing to see. Some were interesting, some were not, each day was a surprise. In Sonic City, there weren’t really much of those guys around but he would see one every now and then. In Los Angeles when he visited when he was a child, he remembered seeing lots and lots of amazing performers out in the busiest parts of town. It was always awesome to see so many talented people. Hopefully one day, He’d be able to go again.

As he walked by the large crowd, he put his hands behind his head and continued to look around. At the same time he was nearing the other side of the crowd, he heard what sounded like a small scuffle break out and turned to look. In that same moment, he witnessed someone break out of the crowd and fall to their knees.

“Wait!wait! Everyone please calm down, I’m really busy right now!!!” that person said. She was a girl who was probably a little older than him. She was shorter than him and had the most strangest color hair he had ever seen on anyone. It was bright pink and super long, long enough that it nearly touched the ground even after it was tied up into a ponytail. Her long bangs parted neatly from her mint green eyes. Her skin was pale and smooth and her body was well developed. Not too large but not to small. On her person, she wore a white puffy romper. Confused yet again, he watched as the crowd ruthlessly approached the girl once again and did not give her a chance to get up saying, “Ms Ivanov please! Sign my phone, hand,face,etc!” Meanwhile, he watched as she was once again swallowed up by the crowd. This made him sweat uncomfortably and panic as he wondered what would happen to her if she got stomped on. Scared, he felt his hand unconsciously rise and his legs approached one of the people among the crowd. Understanding his own intentions, he felt his raised hand heat up and spark with the power of electricity.

(Don’t kill them…...don’t. don’t, don’t,DON’T!!!) he told himself as he touched the shoulder of a man among the crowd. Almost instantly, the man tensed up and yelled out in pain, but he was not the only one. Everyone else there also yelled in pain. As they all struggled to figure out what was happening, they panicked and soon began to scatter like flies. Eventually, only the pink haired girl remained while shaking somewhat,her hair slightly frizzled. What he did was unleash a small current probably only a little more powerful than a tazer and touched one person causing a chain reaction. it only worked since they were so close to each other but that also meant that the girl he was trying to help would also have to suffer a bit. in the end, it seemed it worked out alright. Giving himself a pat on the back, he quickly ran up to the girl while shaking the power off of his hand. He kneeled next to her and shook her shoulders but immediately regretted it as he felt a powerful and painful shock run through his body. This caused his muscles to contract for an instant and he was then left to shake unconsciously.

“So in the end I got a taste of my own medicine?great..” he said to himself. “Hey, we better get out of here before they swarm you again!!”

The girl with pink hair looked up at him with dazed and confused eyes. It was then that he noticed that her hair was super frizzy now due to the electric shock she had just endured. If that was the case, it was possible that his hair was frizzled up as well. Now touching his hair with one hand, he snapped his fingers at the girl with the other. When he was about to just give up and leave, the girl grabbed his arm and stared at him for a good moment.

“What? Is it my hair!? It feels fine to me….but come on hurry up!”

“No, not your hair! You, you’re that boy! The boy I’ve been looking for!! Axel Ison, right?” she asked with glimmering eyes. Stunned and a tad freaked out, Axel stood up and slightly raised his still vibrating hands.

“Uhhhh, I don’t know what you’re talking about..” he said as he began to make his retreat. This was bad, very bad. It was not everyday that he ran into people looking for him. As he was now, the only people that would be looking for him would be bad people….since that was the case, he thought it would be best to hightail it out of there now.

“Yes you do! It’s written all over your face! Anyways, I know you’re wondering how I know about you and where you are but surely my social standing speaks for itself,right?”

“I'm not following you here, what exactly do you mean?” he asked her.

“You don’t know who I am?” the girl asked suddenly starting to look shocked.

He dug through his mind and desperately attempted to recall her. He had to admit, there was something about her that gave him the impression that she was important. Not only that, but he felt like he had seen this type of hair color before on multiple occasions…..but he just couldn’t put his finger on it……

“Nope.”

“What!? Are you living under a rock, my guy!? I’m Olivia Ivanov! The singer and actress? The Diva, as they say?” she said to him with growing impatience. Axel started to feel a little overwhelmed and began to sweat.

“N-no! I’m sorry I don’t reme-” he began to say but then actually remembered something. His little sister had such a huge respect and admiration for a certain singer that she had numerous merchandise of this singer. He even saw posters in her room of her and what not. He saw her watch this singer on TV on multiple occasions but he just hadn’t remembered her name. It was her! The Olivia Ivanov in the flesh!

“Ohhhhhhh, now I remember! But what on earth are you doing way out here? Don’t you live in Russia?” he said starting to cower in her overwhelming presence. He just felt like she was muuuuch more important than him. Almost like in the presence of royalty..someone so famous was standing right before him..wow…

“Haven’t you figured it out by now?I’m here for you!”

“Wow, you speak English fluently. I wouldn’t even guess you were Russian….And your normal talking voice sounds heavenly all by itself… I’ve gotta get a picture for my sister!”

As he reached for his phone to take a picture, the girl Olivia rose to her feet and pulled him away causing him to almost drop his phone.

“No need! I can meet her personally if you want but right now we need to follow your advice and get to someplace where nobody will notice me!” she said.

(She’d take time out of her day to meet my sister? Wow, this is so cool!) he thought as he allowed himself to be steered by the pink haired girl. Eventually, she found refuge under a large palmtree and a bench. The palm tree itself was short but the leaves themselves were long enough that they covered their faces. She sat down and wiped away the sweat from her brow. Behind them was a small gift shop so they were able to lean on it to rest. Taking a seat next to her, he got around to asking her what her intentions were.

“Nothing bad, I just wanted to meet you…..let’s see, how should we start this?.....Okay, look at this video” she said as she showed him something on her phone. On the screen played a video that unconsciously made him shake. It was a destroyed city with multiple mecha snakes ravaging about. It was no doubt the battle of Sonic City that took place one month ago. It was from the perspective of a guy who was filming the scenery with shaking hands. However, he manages to clearly capture a scene that he was all too familiar with. It showed a girl in a white dress with her hands over her head and then suddenly a blurry figure that jumps out and punches the mechs sky high. The man in the video is clearly shocked and shakes the camera a whole lot more, but the figure is distinctly noticeable falling from the sky if one were to pay close attention. There was no avoiding it, this was him saving Maria. He should've known. He should’ve known that people would take the chance to record this incident. He was in the age of technology!! But then, one question remained, how in the world did this chick figure out who he was? Sure his profile was visible but it wasn’t enough to give his identity away!

Putting the phone back in her pocket, she told him to calm down and listen. “This video has almost been completely taken down from the internet and is almost impossible to find. I had the fortune to find it while it was still fresh and downloaded it. It was difficult but I was able to screenshot the split second your face was shown and asked around the internet if anyone had any information on you. Little to no one knew who you were but some did. One gave me your name and even told me exactly where you were. The minute I got your name and info I took down the post and brought it up no more. And now here we are.”

His face at this very moment must’ve confirmed her final doubts but he didn’t have any time to worry about that. With his jaw dropped, he began to sweat even more and stutter. What he was hearing was incredibly ridiculous. He didn’t know what was scarier! The fact that someone actually went that far to find him or the fact that she was able to find him at all! Was she the only one? Did more people know who he was? Was it bad that she knew!? Would he have to kill her and get rid of the body!?Would he have to spend his days living among the shadows!?

“Dude, relax. Literally no one cared to know who you were. It was just speculations on the video being fake. Anyways, You can’t deny it now. You are the one in that video.”

“I’m not! I think you’re thinking way too hard about his and are just wasting your time here on me, have a good day!”

“You did great in that tournament you know?” she said to him as he was leaving. This one statement made him stop dead in his tracks as he turned to look at her once more. She, unlike him, had very shiny eyes that said she knew she had him right where she wanted him. If she knew about the tournament, then there was really no backing out now..

“Okay fine, I am. But how do you know about that tournament?”

“At last you admit! You’re a terrible liar, did you know that? Well anyway, I heard almost everything about you from a small little girl that looks like……...that?” she said pointing to a certain young girl that was walking around in the distance. She was wearing a mid length purple dress and had a worried look on her face. Almost as if she was looking for something. Her face was round and her eyes were brown, her hair was long and tied into two twin tails. What stood out from her was her dazzling night colored hair.Just as he gasped and realized that he recognized her, she turned to their direction and approached them with quick steps.

“Um, excuse me?” she said.

“Can you give me some directions please?”

“I can give you more than just that!” Axel said moving up the large leaf that covered their faces. The second the girl recognized him back, she widened her eyes in shock and stepped back.

“Axel!? I’m so happy to finally see you!” she said as she dropped her bag and hugged him. Having her cheek pressed up against his own, he squinted and laughed. The girl, Olivia, was going to remark about what was going on until she started to put two and two together. As they were hugging and laughing with each other, she noticed that they looked strikingly similar! It was almost like that girl was the female version of him, and younger at that. So then that could only mean….

“You’re siblings?!” she exclaimed.

“Huh? Yeah, We are.” Axel said as he let his sister go.

“Her name's Stacey.”

The girl, Stacey, approached the pink haired diva and extended her hand.

“I'm so sorry I didn't give you much information before Miss Olivia….I just wasn't really sure how to say it...haha…”

After staring at her for a couple more seconds in awe, Olivia shook her head and shook Stacey's hand.

“I just can't believe you were related to him. Though I guess it makes sense since you knew exactly where he was.”

“Hold on a second here, Stacey was the one that told you where and who I was? But that doesn't make any sense! Stacey, how in the world did you know where I was and what I was doing? And why on earth did you tell her?”

Stacey smiled and joined them under the large leaf. She took a seat next to him and began to explain.

“Well, for starters, I called your house a little while ago just to see how things were going after the attack but was instead greeted by a very bossy sounding girl. She said that supposedly you would be out for a little while in Miami and wouldn't be home for some time.”

(Ella!? You readily told her all that!? What if she was an enemy!?)

“After that, I figured the only reason you would be coming out here was to go to the savant island. So, I left you a message on your cell and told you to come out here.”

“Now I'm more concerned about you knowing about savants. How do you know about that?”

Stacey laughed and raised her small palm to his face. Heat reached his cheeks as sudden small bursts of colorful explosions popped in her hands.

“How do you think?” she said.

“What the!? You're a savant!!?”

“Any louder, bro? Tell the news already!” she furiously told him after he yelled. Shrugging her comment off, Axel tried to make sense of what he was hearing. It was simply astonishing. The more he dug into the world of the supernatural the more he realized that nothing around him was ever really normal. Since that was beginning to be the case, he decided not to question things anymore. If they were true, they were true. Besides, if what Ella told him of savants was true then Stacey was just among the few in the world that received a superpower. Suppose there was nothing else to do but hope that she wouldn’t hurt herself.

“Okay, but why are you out here then? Aren't you supposed to be inside savant island?”

“No, no. Remember a couple years back when I asked to move out to Miami with grandma because I wanted to see more of the world? Well, since around that time I discovered my ability I managed to slip under the radar. I haven't had much time to exercise it so it's still a tad weak. I learned most of what I know from a brown haired girl. A really cute one with curled edges who claims to come from inside the island. She sort of resembles Casey…”

“It is Casey.”

“Whaaat? That makes sense…”

As they both continued to inform each other of what they didn't know, Olivia sat in the background just soaking up all the juicy intel. This carried on for a while until she finally got bored. And in that instance, she spoke up.

“This has been sweet and all, and I now know that you were the one that gave me all his information, but now I'd like to ask a couple questions if I can.”

Axel and Stacey stopped speaking and looked over at the girl who started to look impatient.

“Oh, yeah sure.”

“Okay so, Stacey, why didn't you tell me who you actually were when we met?”

“Oh, that's easy! I just didn't wanna ruin the surprise!” she said with brimming joy.

“Okay. Now Axel, I'd like to know more about this hidden world you're involved in. Tell me all about it and then I can tell you why I'm here.”

Axel started to feel a bit nervous and looked away from her. He wasn't really sure what to do or even where to start, or if he should start at all….

“Perhaps I can be of assistance and let the young lady know all she needs to know, yes?” An outside voice told them.

“That'd be great thanks” he replied without really thinking. However, his sense of security soon ran cold along with his very blood causing him to turn pale. From behind them they heard a voice of a male. Axel slowly looked around but saw no one. The two girls were confused until they saw the look on his face, and in that moment they froze and waited for him to calm down. Yet, Axel couldn’t.

“Up here” The voice said which made him visibly jump. He moved his head up and at last saw a figure standing one of the branches of the tree above them. He was a man with blonde hair that reached his shoulders with bangs that stopped perfectly over his eyes. He was thin but tall and had an arrogant smile on his person. He wore a long brown coat, the type detectives in movies wore, along with a fedora. They couldn’t see what he was carrying, but he’d recognize that strange S mark symbol anywhere. This man...was dangerous.

“Ah yes, already turning into an ice statue filled with fear just at the mere sight of me? My oh my, How you managed to push Ryan back is a mystery to me.” He said as he jumped down from the tree and landed in front of them. Simultaneously, the leaf that covered their faces suddenly fell gently on the ground. It was cut clean off from the tree without them even noticing. He was fast!

“W-what are…..” He struggled to keep calm. What was he to do!?

“Relax guy. I'm not here to stir up a ruckus. Unlike that Ryan, I'm more civilized, among other things.”

Hearing him say that was still not enough to make him calm down. If something here broke out, so many people would be in danger…. So, as to not provoke him, Axel stayed quiet while biting his own tongue.

“I've heard a lot about you and I just had to come see for myself but I gotta tell you, I'm not impressed so far…” He said to him.

“Okay? Is that all you're here for? You can leave now then!”

“Hey now, not so fast! It's true that you look weak, but I wonder how strong you really are in a fight. And so, I plan to find out.”

This time Axel really felt the ice cold hand of terror grab his heart as he saw the man in front of him get into a fighting position. He couldn't do this here, at the very least somewhere else!...

“I-.....We can't do this here...Let's at least go somewhere where we have more space to move!”

“Nonsense, I won't go all out here as long as you don't. Besides, this place is as good as done anyway.”

It was no good. It was coming and he could see it. As he shook and clenched his fists, he nervously whispered over to his sister who was watching him with shaken eyes. Keeping his eyes on her, he slowly got up and walked off to the side in order to give himself some room. He was now standing to her side and was about 10 feet from the man.

“As soon as I say so…...Fire off an attack straight up to the skies as powerful as you can…” he said careful not to alert the guy in front of him. Without really understanding, Stacey slowly nodded her head and took a few more steps back eventually backing up into the wall. Presumably scared, Olivia was the only one left in the dark and at this point really wanting to know what was going on, but ,before she could ask, it had already began.

“Now!!”

Simultaneous to his yell, many things happened all in rapid succession. First, the man before him jumped at him in little to no time and covered the distance between them with stunning speed and agility. He raised his arm up to meet the man’s and they clashed, forearm to forearm. With what little time he had he reinforced his arm and legs with a dash of super strength and it thankfully did the trick. Otherwise, he would’ve been blown back. At the same time, stacey jumped off to the side so as to not hit the tree above them and fired off a powerful firework up into the air from the palm of her hands. With a huge and shiny explosion the entire beach and its people soon focused in on the source where the explosion had come from. Then, seeing the two of them in the midst of what seemed like a scuffle people began to start gathering around, the exact opposite of what he was trying to achieve here!

“So it looks like you can tank that much, huh? You may be a worthy opponent after all but I don’t wanna overhype you too much here so what do you say we go for a bit of a spin?” he told him as their forearms shook in front of them.

“Run! Run!!!” was all he could yell out in hopes that everyone around him would pick up on his clearly distraught voice. Thankfully, it started to seem a bit odd to people and they soon began to take a couple steps back as soon as they started to see sparks picking up from the atmosphere. These sparks of energy caused every electrical device in the immediate area to explode. That was what really set everyone off. It was abnormal, and in their lives and world, abnormal was bad news. However, like had happened many times in history, curiosity was keeping them in place. It was too late, the next move was about to be thrown and he could no longer afford to divert his focus.

Gritting his teeth, they both jumped back and caused a shockwave only strong enough to cause a couple people to fall over. Seeing that finally made them all turn heel and head for the hills. Though they were finally running, he still could not calm down in the slightest. The man ran to him once more and threw a punch aimed for his jaw. He fell back to the ground and narrowly avoided the blow with only a couple ticks to spare. Throwing his hands back, he flipped over and used his legs to kick the man mid flip. However, the blow was parried by his arms. While still in the air he felt his legs grabbed and pulled. His insides turned as he was thrown toward a nearby building. He felt every part of his body scream in agony as he broke through something. When his body stopped moving, he felt his vision flicker and his consciousness stand on its toes. There was no way any regular human could’ve survived a throw like that. It could only mean that he was slowly changing and adjusting to superhuman strengths, but he couldn’t focus on that just yet. As his vision stabled, he looked around and noticed that he had crashed into a small liquor store made of thin wood. By the time he was up, there was no one around. They had likely gotten frightened and ran.

“Is this all you have? Come on now! This isn’t enough to get me going! Get up...and this time, get serious…..or die”

Hearing him say that made Axel jump to his feet which in turn made his head rush. He got a hold of himself and suddenly felt a warm liquid in his mouth. When he turned and spit he realized that it was his own blood. He wiped his mouth and clenched his fists. He had to catch him off guard. As it was now, he was sure that whoever this guy was already thought he was a pushover and that would be his undoing. All he had to do was land a solid hit with power magnet. Not enough to kill him but at least render him immobile. This time, Axel charged first and spread out his fists.

“A head on charge!? I’m game!” he heard him yell.

(That’s what you think right now, but just you wait until you see what I have in store for you!!)

As soon as he was within range, Axel jumped into the air and used the wind around him to carry him up and over the man. Before he could react, Axel threw both legs under the man’s arms and kept them there. Next, Axel used every last ounce of strength he had to land on his hands and lift the man off his feet using his bare legs. He thrusted him forward and finally introduced his face straight to the ground itself. Axel scurried off the ground and went outside to gather his thoughts before he could get back up.

What he did wasn’t anything he was taught before, rather it was something he came up with a long time ago but never actually used it because at the time he thought there was no way he’d be able to jump over someone like that.

“AXXXXXEEEEELLL ISSSSOOON!! Incredible!!!! I let my guard down for a second and this is what you do to me! Now I understand clearly! You are definitely a danger that needs to be taken down right here and now!!” he heard him yell from inside the tiny shack. Axel turned to find the cloaked man holding his nose that was clearly bleeding.

“Well, it’s been fun but I really have to finish things up here before anyone actually strong gets here.”

The second he saw the glow in his eye disappear, Axel’s heart dropped. That was the look of a killer. The second he acknowledged that, his breath was suddenly taken and his feet were above the ground. Before he could even gasp he saw a fist lodged in his stomach and the figure of the man that was standing 20 feet from him just moments prior now standing mere inches from him. As the man smiled a cold smirk, axel spat out blood mixed with saliva. He was sure a rib or two had broken, but that was fine since he was close to him like this.

“!?” the man exclaimed. Suddenly, he was grasped by the hand of Axel and a firm grip was placed on him. He looked up and saw something incredible. The right hand of the boy named Axel shone a powerful light and it looked like it had turned a different color. Rapid bolts of electricity shot one after another in his arm as he threw it back and swung at his face. He could feel crazy amount of pressure, and there was no time to dodge!!!

But,

When the actual blow landed, it felt like nothing more than a average jab. Yes, his face was pushed to the side but the blow itself was soft. Far too soft. Turning his head back, he saw Axel’s face of triumph soon turn into that of horror. He laughed and finally slammed him into the cold concrete ground.

“It was a nice try, but I win.. I don’t even think you know my name. Well, as a part of the six paths, I hold the rank of three and am known as Kevin the third. It was a pleasure my dear boy but now it’s-”

BOOM

Before he could finish, Kevin was suddenly hit with a blast and sent flying off his feet to crash into another building. The blast was strong but not enough to make him crash through it. With rage now surfacing on his face, he looked up to face his attacker. It was one of the girls that was standing alongside the boy Axel just a while ago. With sweat dripping down her face, the young black haired girl stood with her palms leaking smoke.

“You……You leave him alone!!!!”

Part 3

Axel could not believe his blurry eyes. He couldn’t talk, he couldn’t move, but he saw his sister jump to his rescue and slap the man named Kevin with a powerful explosion. Stacey raised her palms once more and raised her guard. Though he wanted to, Axel could not tell her to get away, his mouth and vocal cords weren’t responding! Instead, he saw Kevin come at her with stunning speed. Stacey’s palms exploded with colorful and powerful explosions and caused a huge amount of smoke to block her field of vision. Because of this, Stacey was unable to react to the arm that suddenly came at her from the smoke and grabbed her neck. She started to flail as she was lifted off her feet. As the smoke finally cleared, the man was made visible with little to no scratches on him. Fear engulfed both Stacey’s and his own heart. This scene was familiar, far too fucking familiar and it was gnawing at his insides. He needed to help her, this time for real he needed to get the fuck up!!!!1 but his body was unresponsive!!! He could see her body start to lose strength as she kicked and kicked and her palms continued to pop explosions one after another but none were as powerful as the first or even second blast. Kevin began to laugh maniacally due to the scene before him.

Axel felt tears leak from his eyes from the anger as he grit his teeth and used everything he could to stand. He had to stand!!! He had to help!!!!! He had to save her!!!!!!

[Then save her. Get up. I will help you, and in turn you will help me]

He heard the familiar angelic voice in his head speak once again but he could not afford to waste another second worrying about that. In this one moment, he could only think of the excrutiating amount of pain he wanted to cause the bastard that was hurting his sister before his very eyes!

The ground around him shook and cracked and his hair began to stand on end. With a slight flicker, his hair and eyes glowed a deep dark night blue color as his canine teeth sharpened. Kevin threw him a glance but did not waiver from strangling Stacey. Axel roared from the depths of his being and sat up while only thinking of pure and absolute destruction. Power overflowed him and it was so intense he thought he’d burst. He couldn’t control himself!

“Oh? So the rumors are true, eh?....!?” Kevin said that when seconds after he swung his head back and saw what he could only assume was a palm swipe at him followed by a blast of heat which forced him to let go of Stacey. He jumped back and widened his eyes. It seemed that his time was up. Before him stood a young man with golden spiky hair and gleaming blue eyes, though it was not the boy from before. With an aura of flames and a look of a killer, the guy snarled devilishly and had his palms at the ready on either side of him. If his memory served, this was none other that the boy known as Kyle, also known as Incinerator and ranked number 1 of all savants.

“Oh?”

And as if that wasn’t enough, a group of random girls suddenly appeared and began to aide the boy named Axel. A brown haired girl, a blonde one, a pink haired one, and the former dark haired one who was breathing profusely. The brown haired girl carefully held onto the boy who was at last losing consciousness. The glow in his hair was gone and he laid back. Though, before he could say something, The devil before him moved. Kevin raised his guard and felt a fist land on his arms once again followed by flames.

“You’ve got some nasty reflexes! but a bug is still a bug!!…”

When the demon of the earth spoke those words, Kevin began to feel the skin on his arms singe and sizzle by the heat that was being produced. Kevin moved away and jumped up. When he looked down, Kyle was nowhere to be found. Immediately realizing it, Kevin spun around but was too late and was shot by a powerful explosion of fire and slammed back down to earth.

Kyle landed on the ground and waited for his opponent to make themselves visible again. As the smoke from the ground rose, Kevin peaked out and looked over at the girls who were still aiding Axel. All except for one. A certain blonde haired girl who gave him the coldest glare ever. Standing tall, back straight, fists balled but lowered, eyes scowling and lifeless. There was not a sign of light, only darkness as her frown seemed to deepen with every passing second. She was furious, and he knew that look all too well.

“Fine, fine, I’ll leave.” he said sighing.

After all, with the demon here there was no way he could keep on going. Besides, their time would come soon enough. And so, the smoke began to twirl around him eventually swallowing him whole. When Kyle jumped at him and used his flames to swipe the smoke away the man was already gone. Nothing remained but the damage he had caused, and a terrifying stamp of fear planted in the heart of Axel…..

Part 4

Some time after, Axel raised his head from whatever soft object he was on this time and slowly looked around. It was dark and cool so he could only assume that it was night time. That or the sun had exploded but he felt way better going with the former. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. It was then that he noticed that the room he was in was actually rather large. That along with the fact that he was fully changed and bathed. He actually smelled like flowers which wasn’t too much of a bad thing at all. Plus, the soft object he was on was actually just a bed so that was a good thing. In fact, there was a large pile of blankets right next to him which were placed presumably to keep him from rolling off. But then it hit him, how in the world was he able to just sit up like this? He had just gotten a massive smack down and he was sure he’d be in bed for a long time!

“You’re up?”

He heard a voice in the room say. When he looked around he found a girl with two long and smooth looking pig tails wrapped in the natural color pink. Her eyes gleamed in the night as she hugged her knees and looked over at him from where she was sitting at.

“Huh? Olivia right? Yeah, I’m good it looks like.”

He got up out of bed easier than he thought he’d be able to and walked over to her. Next to her, there was a balcony entrance so he walked through there in order to get some much needed fresh air. Once out, he found himself up way above ground. He was on the top floor of what he could only assume was a hotel. Also, just as he thought, it was night time. There was a small glass table there with a chair so he pulled one up and sat on it. Turning to look at the city, he could see the large and beautiful sandy beach glistening under the moonlight. He leaned on the table and sighed as the cool breeze ruffled his hair. A little while after, Olivia came out to join him but only by standing at the door frame.

“I’m sorry to ask so soon after you’ve woken up but, do you think you can tell me what exactly happened yesterday night?”

“Yesterday night!? You’re telling me it’s been an entire day!? Man, that’s nuts……..but well, No, I don’t really mind telling you but I honestly don’t know if I should….”

“You don’t have to start from the beginning or anything like that. Your blonde haired friend, Lucy?, told me the gist of your situation. She said that it wasn’t that big of a deal to tell me since I went through all the effort of finding you. Besides, I had apparently seen too much so, after many threats and making me swear on my life or be killed on the spot not to tell anyone, I was told everything that she could tell…...haha…” she said as she began to sweat uncomfortably and look right past him.

(Was Lucy that tough on her?)

“Well anyway! There’s no going back now….”

“Yeah, sorry about that…….but as for the other day, that guy was a part of the shadow hunters. What’s more, he was far stronger than the last guy that came and attacked sonic city by the looks of it. The last guy was called Ryan the 6th from what Ella told me, and this guy called himself Kevin the 3rd. If we’re going from largest to smallest in terms of power then that definitely means that this guy Kevin was 3 times stronger than the last guy. That’s all I really know since the rest was just a one sided beat down…...What about Kyle? How in the world did he get there? And my sister! Where’s my sister!?”

Having so many questions in his mind made his head hurt and it caused him to get frustrated. In contrast, Olivia shook her head and took a seat directly in front of him.

“I don’t know about the Kyle guy, but your sister is fine. She was shaken up but otherwise fine. Her and the others went back to some ship. Well, except for two of them..”

“That’s a relief….but, who do you mean stayed?”

Looking at her, he saw her raise her hand and point over her shoulder. Axel turned his head and looked at the bed that she was pointing at. At first, he couldn’t see what she was talking about until he looked closer and immediately giggled for not realizing it sooner. The pile of blankets that was next to him was actually a human being. A human being that went by the name of Maria. She was snuggled up and wrapped in a large blanket sleeping soundly. He chuckled and turned back to Olivia.

“Ah, okay, you meant Maria.”

“Yeah, that one didn’t want to leave your side and so she didn’t. In fact, she was the one that helped give you a shower since you were starting to stink.”

“One of the ones? Oh my God, all of a sudden I feel a strange sense of violation…..” he said as he began to hug himself in slight embarrassment.

“If it makes you feel any better we kept your boxers on. So, you can clean that yourself.”

“So you were one of the ones that showered me too!?”

After some time of trying to cool himself down, Olivia began to play with her phone as she continued to talk with him.

“That girl there, Maria, she’s your girlfriend, right? You guys are expecting a child soon?”

“Hm? No, She’s not my girlfriend. But I guess you can say we are expecting a child”

“What do you mean? Like a one night stand gone wrong?”

“I’m not the father dude!” he yelled after seeing her disgusted facial expression. But after collecting his thoughts, he sighed.

“Look, she has a pretty messed up past and I prefer you’d warm up to her and have her tell you. But as of right now I’m only helping her out, Looking after her.”

Olivia paused from what she was doing on her phone and looked up at him. She focused on him for a couple seconds before turning her attention back to her phone.

“So then, I’ve noticed, why does it seem like she has two sides to her? I get the feeling she’s hiding something…”

Axel widened his eyes and froze for a moment. Could it be that in just the short amount of time she had spent near Maria she had figured it out? He took a deep breath and thought up his next words carefully.

“Listen, don’t think badly of her. Don’t look at her like some weirdo. Hear me out here, please don’t ever look down on her,”

“What are you talking-”

“I’m being serious.” he said to her with a very intense glare. Being on the receiving end of that, Olivia had no choice but to quiet down and listen.

“She went through some deep stuff almost 3 months ago. She was kicked out of her home for a mistake made in the heat of the moment. I didn’t hear about the details, but I read them. Even before she was kicked out she was dating a very manipulative bastard who I suspect was using her from the very beginning. I don’t know about what happened or how it came about, but the fact of the matter is that they did it and it changed her entire life. Her parents shamed and disowned her, the true father denied and put his hands on her, her own friends ridiculed her and showed their true colors. she was torn, shattered,and lost with no one to go to but herself. She wandered the streets and dealt with a lot of shady people. More and more she was sure that the people of the world were all cold and heartless, no one was real, nothing was real. Nothing but coal disguised as diamonds, and she was starting to believe it. Her mind was on the brink of rupture but by some miracle I managed to put a stop to it. I saved her that day. I thought nothing of it, but she thought everything about it. Then, when I took her in and showed her true kindness her mind stopped its change. I thought she was going to be alright, I thought she was going to be a fine mother, but I was wrong in one aspect, she was not alright. It’s true, she does have what you can just call a split personality. But, it’s not her fault. I don’t think she’s even conscious of it, but I know this has to be the case. One day while I was cleaning up in my living room, I found what I thought was an empty torn up journal, but it was so much more. It was basically a diary that summed up almost every day of her life. I didn’t read much, but I skimmed through most. What supports my theory even more is that she once used to love a strange combination of pizza and coffee. That was something that her entire family enjoyed from what I could tell, but now she absolutely hates the thought of them both but she doesn’t really understand why. Every Time we’d try eating one of the two she’d reflexively gag. I could only think that because pizza and coffee are tied in with happy memories of her family who she has come to hate now she in turn hates the same foods they once enjoyed together. But she isn’t aware of it! Also, in almost every case of split personalities the person forgets their former self and the memories they make when in different personas. However, with Maria, I seemed to have stopped her mind from splitting apart midway and thus caused her to keep her former memories while also having two sides of herself, plus remembering what happens in each side but not taking notice to her change of attitude. For her first side, whenever she is around someone she is comfortable with I have come to the conclusion that I am engaging with the new Maria. The girl who does not know proper social etiquette,is demanding, and a bit too straightforward. So far she has only been this way with me. The second side is the side I call ‘Dark Maria’. The one who now prefers to stay quiet and avoid anyone and everyone. If at all possible, she prefers not to go out at all. This Maria is the Maria that still feels the same way she did when she roamed the streets alone. If you notice carefully, whenever I leave her side or join it, Her eyebrows and ears will both twitch. This usually means she has either gone into the New or Dark Maria persona. But she has gotten better in both roles and slowly but surely they will eventually both become one and she will be all better. I’m just glad I wasn’t too late. So now you know! So that’s why I’m saying, Please don’t ever make her feel anyway you wouldn’t want to feel!” He finished his explanation with a sigh. Olivia paid close attention to every word he was saying and thought them through carefully. She wasn’t sure how everything went about still but she couldn’t deny the truth in his words. After all, the girl named Maria did show no sign or interest in interacting with her, and when she was in the presence of Axel she would visibly make a 180 in mood. Since that was what she had seen up to now, she could only believe in what he was saying was true. Plus, he seemed so earnest…

“I get it. I won’t.” she told him. Axel smiled and blew air out of his nose. He was glad he could trust her…

“Man, I only just met you a while ago and I already feel like I know you well. Why is it that you fit in more than me?”

From the very start, Olivia was told most of what was going while he was left in the dark for a while. It was not fair that she was making herself comfortable already, was she not fearing for her life at all??

“I’m not to sure but from what I’ve heard you’re one of the star players in this game. But anyway, It looks like I’m going to be sticking with you guys whether I want to or not, I think.”

“That so? Man, well whatever, the more the merrier I guess……. By the way, what time is it?”

“Around 4ish in the morning.”

“4!!!!!???”

________

Now walking outside of the hotel he slept in, Axel looked up to the slowly descending moon and watched the twinkling stars glisten in the night. From what Olivia told him he now knew that the hotel he was staying at was the suite of Olivia herself. Since he was unconscious she was the one that offered to lend him her place. That large bed was her own and she had been sleeping on the ground. However, this one night she could not sleep and had stayed up to think about a lot of things. Though he wasn’t really sure what, he didn’t want to pry and instead excused himself as he was starting to feel hungry. So, he grabbed his wallet and started to head out. She offered to come along but really he just wanted to go alone to the nearest open restaurant.

While walking down one of the main roads, he came across a really large and beautiful looking church. It seemed almost brand new. The very air around the place seemed so nice and relaxing that he stopped walking and changed his course to walk to it. To his surprise, the large black gate was already opened. Without really thinking, he walked in and took a good look around the place. The building itself was massive and it appeared to be made out of marble. There were a good number of trees surrounding the place and the walls were lined with rows of gorgeous flowers. The grass was soft and damp and the smell was almost divine. He really admired how well taken care of this place was. After staying silent for a couple seconds, he could hear the faint sound of a fountain.

(there’s one behind this place? Man, I think it’d look much better up here..)

Thinking that, he walked along the wall of the church and followed it to the back. After about 20 steps or so, he reached the back of the church and was once again in awe. It looked practically the same as the front but as he thought the fountain really made the place stand out! It was a standard round fountain with water spurting out from the top and collected at the bottom. In the night the water reflected the moonlight and it almost seemed like it was sparkling.

“Hm?”

But then it was at that moment he noticed that someone else was there. A girl who was wearing a bright yellow dress with black leggings. She had gorgeous blonde hair and was presumably holding her face. He couldn’t tell since he could only see her back through the water. On top of that, he could hear the faint sound of what he thought were sobs. They were silent, enough to the point where he could’ve easily overlooked them and turned around. Being as curious as he was, he walked toward the girl with wary steps. As he got closer, the louder and more clearer he could hear her sobs. When he was within her hearing range, he finally realized who was the one sitting there. In turn, he himself grew worried as he saw tears leaking from the side of her palms as she held her face in her hands. Worried enough to want to make her stop at all costs, and so he called out to her.

“Lucy?” He said into the night. Like a snap in reality, Lucy stopped her soft trembling and raised her quivering eyes. Looking to her side, she saw Axel standing there with caring eyes. Wiping away her warm tears, she responded back to him in slight wonder.

“Axel?....” she said with a shaky voice.

She sat up straight and sniffed. Axel walked over to her and sat right next to her.

“What are you doing here? Why are you crying?” he started saying with growing worry. Lucy wiped away more tears that continued to leak through her eyes and sighed. She managed to control herself for a couple seconds and responded to him.

“I was just…..I was just…...Promise you won’t laugh when I tell you tell this…….I was just feeling super frustrated….about a lot of things!....” she started to say. Gradually, her voice graduated from shaky to stable. Axel prepared his ears and decided that it would be best to hear her out and let her vent. If he interrupted her she could get more upset and he didn’t want that.

“When me and Maria were waiting for you on that bench where you told us to stay, I was wondering why you were taking so long…..then I noticed that Maria was probably wondering the same thing…..Then I got to talking with Maria and I got to really know why she likes you so much…..and in turn I noticed what a likeable person she is….she’s so pretty and smart and….perfect! And I thought,wow….I could never compete with someone like this…...and then after a longer time passed I started to really worry about you…..there wasn’t any sign of you anywhere and you weren’t answering your phone…..Then out of nowhere we see a giant flash in the sky and immediately knew something was up and I was right. When I saw you lying on the floor knocking on death's door I could only think Oh my God, why!? Why can’t I be more useful? Why can’t I be there to protect those I care about!!! Why did things have to end up like this!?........the first night you were here I stayed up all night so that I could help you in whatever you needed when you got up. I mean, you were practically a pile of bones! Two broken ribs, fractured shoulder blades, broken wrists, dislocated knee joints, a ton of bruises and cuts…...Seeing you like that made me feel awful……..And then……….well, here I am…..”

As she finished her small vent she released a breath of air and seemed to calm down some. Axel took in every word she said and processed them in his mind. With what she had said now, he was positive he knew what she was feeling. Or at least, the feelings she harbored. But unfortunately, he’d have to set that aside for now. What was really important was getting her to feel better.

“I hear you, and I’m sorry that I made you worry...but don’t beat yourself up or compare yourself to others. For starters, you are one of the most beautiful girls I have ever had the honor to lay my eyes on so I seriously think that there is no reason for you to feel like you are no competition. Hell, you blow it out of the water! Secondly, just you being around and helping Ella is already a lot more than you give yourself credit for. Finally, It’s not like I blame you for what happened. I mean, even I with this powerful ability could do nothing, and I wouldn’t want you getting in harm's way either. So cheer up, thanks to this godforsaken ability of mine I was able to make a full recovery in no time at all. I mean, I’m sore but that’s about it!”

Standing up and doing multiple leg stretches in front of her in attempt to show her how fine he was actually made her giggle instead. Accepting his words as true, she thanked him with the warmest smile that he finally felt was genuine enough to make his insides tremble in awe. Then, while he was captivated by her, she pulled him close and hugged him. Digging her face in his stomach, she mumbled something that he was not able to fully comprehend.

“~~~~Maybe, your wish to be with someone like me will come true after all~~~~”

“What was that? If you stop hugging me maybe I'd hear you better!!”

Lucy laughed and pulled herself away. She shook her head and, no matter how much he asked, she would not repeat herself. Axel knew she'd be a hard nut to crack so he just ignored it and helped her up on her feet. He was hungry at the moment and the only thing he wanted was to eat. Now that he knew that it was Lucy who also stayed behind with Maria, there was no need to ponder about that any longer. So, Axel invited Lucy to go eat with him, A request that Lucy happily accepted. When all was said and done, Lucy and Axel found themselves heading back to the hotel where Olivia and Maria were waiting.

“Hey, I didn't wanna say anything before but, is it just me or are your eyes turning blue?”

“What? You're kidding!?”

“I'm not! I mean, it's not all too noticeable but it's definitely there. Almost like a blue glaze laid over your usual brown eyes. It's extremely light but if you look closely you can see it….”

Axel scratched his head and looked up at the sky. He didn't know what was going on but he was definitely feeling more than just a change in eye color. There was a deep and dark heat near the center of his torso that he just couldn’t understand. It wasn’t bothering him or anything physically but it was definitely a cause for concern since he didn't know what it was.

“Now that you mention it, I have been feeling pretty strange ever since I woke up but in a good way……..the only bad thing is that I have an uneasy feeling about something. Like I shouldn’t be taking it so easy…….”

“Well maybe it’s just a side effect from that fight. Just try and ignore for now and let’s get back to the sweet.”

Since there was nothing he could do about it for now he agreed with Lucy and returned to the hotel room. Once there, he laid in bed and once again fell asleep without even saying a word to Olivia. Regular fatigue coupled with a full belly was more than enough to knock him out, and since Maria was already there he didn’t have to worry about her well being. It was such a good feeling to be able to rest that it even rubbed off on Lucy and she too huddled up on the edge of the bed. Times like this were nice…

For him, his next battle would be the following week, and the time flew by before he even knew what hit him. In that time he reunited with Ella and the others and told them everything that happened. Everything from the tournament and his issues to the fight with the shadow hunter. Although things were starting to get risky all of a sudden, they all decided to still keep Axel in the games in order to continue their search for the ramoji girl. The sooner they found her the better. Now, Axel was sitting in his very own prep room only a step away from the arena where the next event would be announced. The room was made up of one locker and 3 sets of sofas and a small fridge filled with water. Inside were all of his friends preparing him for his next fight.

“Man, back into the fray once again. I don’t think there’ll ever be a moment of silence in my life again.” Axel said sitting on the ground against the wall. This time around he was allowed to come dressed in his own clothes so he decided to wear a pair of special type of black sweats. The type that had a tight ankle brace so that they wouldn’t trip him up. These reached the top of his shins and around his waist and were held up with a fighting belt he received when he was little. It was just a standard color white. Then a standard white T-shirt that was tucked in and some lightweight running shoes. Whatever was next, he was ready.

“Don’t start complaining now, bud. You gotta remember why you’re here. To get stronger and find the ramoji” Michael said to him while sipping on a bottle of water. Next to him, Tony nodded and released a pitiful smile.

“Man, I don’t think I remember you being such a little wuss when we were kids.”

“Pretty bold words from someone I don’t remember. You looking for a fight?”

As both of them stood up and bumped heads, he couldn’t help but feel an odd sense of nostalgia, but before they could begin their tussle Lucy raised her voice and asked for them to quiet down.

“Listen, we know that the ramoji girl named Elizabeth made it to the next round. You already saw what she looked like from the picture you were provided. If you can find her in the arena or during the event it’s imperative that you approach her and try and get her on our side. If you can get her to meet us then we can handle the rest.”

Axel backed away from Tony while frowning and nodded. He walked over to where Maria was sitting and plopped down next to her.

“So then, Ella and the others are really out there?” he said to Lucy who brought her eyebrows together.

“Yes, they should be on the outskirts of the island now. If anything happens, they’ll be ready to fight.”

Axel grunted and leaned over his lap. Since the shadow hunter, Kevin, told him that “this place was as good as done anyway” he had reason to believe that they would be attacking Miami soon. Because of that, Ella and the other S.O.S users under her command regularly patrolled the city to make sure that nothing would happen without them knowing. Ella did mention that she was a Captain, but he never got to meet the unit she supervised so he didn’t know how strong they were. He just hoped nothing would actually happen. While they were out there, Saphire took the job of staying up with the ship and making sure everything was in order on both sides. Down on the island with him were everyone else he knew, Including the two participants who were with him the last go around, Casey and Katie.

He ran into Katie just before entering his prep room. Apparently, she had been looking for him ever since the first event had ended. She said she was here to cheer him on since she could no longer participate herself. He considered her a friend now so there was no way he could say no. Unfortunately for her, It meant that she also had to keep quiet about whatever they talked about in there. Lucy made sure that she wouldn’t speak without letting her know of the circumstances they were involved in.

“Hey Katie, just what did you do that other day with Casey. You know, the whole geyser thing where Casey managed to accumulate four flags?” Jennifer asked. When they got separated in the forest, Axel instructed Casey to go on to plan B. It was a super risky move but one that was worth it in the end. Katie fixed her glasses and lit up, presumably because she was finally getting noticed in the room.

“Oh yes! Before we emerged from the underground, Axel took a look at the holes that were on the ceiling. Somewhere above we noticed reserves of more water and it was then that we realized that those holes were actually geysers. The only problem was that it had no heat source. So, Axel had Casey heat up the water as much as she could and eventually it started boiling and ready to burst. Then, Axel told me to freeze the time around certain points of the boiling water moments before it shot up. I didn’t understand it then but it turned out to be a plan of pure genius. So, once Casey shot up a ball of flame into the sky I released that time and the rest is history.”

“Wow Axel, You can actually plan ahead like that? And here I was thinking that you were just an idiot.” Jennifer said holding up her hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. Axel clenched his fist and furrowed his brow.

“I see you’re all feeling feisty today, eh?”

“Cool down now kitties, Now I’ve got a question.” Jessica said raising her hand.

“What I’ve been dying to ask is why you decided to help Katie here make it over the finish line knowing that you wouldn’t pass”

Axel raised his eyebrows and looked over at Katie as if asking for permission. Reading his intentions clearly, she softly nodded and allowed him to continue.

“Kay then. While we were underground and eating breakfast, We asked each other what our reasons were to win. When it got to Katie, she went on to tell us that ever since she was little she was made fun of by her classmates because of her weak ability. Apparently, some of her tough classmates were participating in this tournament and in order to prove them wrong she entered in hopes of beating them. She was really determined so of course I wanted to help her see that through to the end. That’s why.” Axel smiled at Katie who also smiled back. The room acknowledged Axel’s explanation and in turn respected both Axel and Katie even more. When they were about to ask a couple more questions, they heard the sound of trumpets playing outside. Hearing their cue, Axel and Casey stood up and got themselves ready to walk through the door leading into the wide open plains of the thunder dome.

“That’s us.” Casey said.

“Yeah” Axel replied.

“Axel, I’ve also been meaning to say this but, you seem extremely different right now…” Natsumi said while looking at him from head to toe. The surprise guest who was Olivia, joining them for some reason, also shook her head in agreement and added on.

“I thought that my eyes were playing tricks on me but I guess I was right!”

“What? Seriously? Well, what’s different?” he asked while examining himself. Lucy stood up and walked up to him. She grabbed his sleeve and made him face the other way making his profile visible.

“I think it’s safe to say we’ve all noticed. Before, you’re posture was slightly slouched but now it’s straightened. As well as your body tone, it seems to be more…...muscular.” She said as she spun him to face her again.

“Your eyes are now a strange mixture of brown and blue and I daresay you got a tad bit taller. Also, smile for me” She commanded. He did as she asked and then made him say Ah. She then nodded as if confirming something and allowed him to close his mouth.

“Well, I was right. You didn’t brush your teeth today” She said covering her nose.

“I was in a rush and I couldn’t find my toothbrush!!” he yelled blushing.

“Haha, In all seriousness, your canine teeth have sharpened a considerable amount and the tone of your voice has deepened if only a little. It seems rougher. Now, this doesn’t seem to be the work of puberty, no, it happened much too quickly for that to be the case. You seem to have gone under some type of transformation but I have no idea why….Do you feel any different?” she asked him.

He wasn’t really understanding why he was going through this but he definitely was feeling a whole lot different. More “Aware” of his surroundings. For example, the color of everything around him had almost sharpened. Like watching TV on 4k resolution but even better. Sounds that he would’ve missed just weeks before were now slightly more audible to him. Like the sound of rustling hair, or a sniff, or even someone tapping their fingers together, he could hear it. It was as if all of his senses had received a spike but he couldn’t fathom why.

“Actually yeah, I feel like everything about me has been increased by a couple fold. Even my attitude has changed a bit. I swear I feel like I could stop a train with my bare hands. I hope all this feeling of power doesn’t get to my head….”

“Well, we can work out the details later. For now, focus on finishing this event and getting close to Elizabeth, okay?”

Axel agreed and followed Casey out the door. As he walked out, he heard his friends root for them which made him smile. As he followed the sounds of cheering down the hall, he thought back to a certain incident. There was one possibility he was thinking of that might’ve caused him to change. Just moments before Kyle had come to his rescue, he had felt an intense feeling of power surge from his body which caused him to slightly lose control. It felt like he wasn’t himself, there was no real way to explain it. He wondered, was that the cause of his change? He held his shoulder and bit his lip. Walking side by side with Casey in silence, they eventually made it to the end of the tunnel leading them into the thunderdome. Once there, they were hit with waves of cheers as well as many lights that shone down and lit up the arena.

“Well Ladies and Gents! I hope you had your rest this week because things are really about to heat up this time around with our final 50 contestants! As those participants gather at the center of the field, please ready yourself for one grand surprise!” They heard the announcer speak to the crowd. The crowd continued to cheer and whistle as Axel and Casey reached the crowd that had formed at the center of the field. Once there, Garold, commander in chief of the savant police force, greeted them with a solid salute. Keeping that pose, he began to talk right after the final contestants had arrived.

“I want to start off by saying congratulations to all of you for making it this far. This proves that you’re not just livestock ready for slaughter. May you continue to reach for success and be blessed with the best. Now then, for your next challenge you will be facing something quite simple. I want you maggots to form a two man team and get ready for combat. Once you’ve done that you will meet me here. I’ll give you 5 minutes.”

For Axel and Casey, such a command was simple. They simply looked at each other and nodded. Once again, they were going to fight together. After 5 minutes had passed, Garold once again resumed his speech.

“So you’ve chosen your brother in arms? Good, now then, the task you will be facing is a Battle Royal.”

“An all out battle between all of us?!. Oh no, suddenly I’m starting to feel sick….” Casey said next to him. Even with his sudden confidence, he couldn’t help but agree.

“In our special arena the rules will be simple. 25 teams will fight until there are only 5 of you left. That’s 10 people in total. Knock one person out of bounds and their entire team is out. Knocking people off the battle stage is the only way to eliminate a player. Even if they are out cold as long as they are still in the arena they are still in the game. Of course, no killing is allowed and you have an unlimited amount of time until 5 teams are left. Lastly, no weapons or items of any kind can be used unless made of your own power. Other than that everything else is fair game. Be strong, Be smart, and have fun cadets. That is all, now gear up for battle.” Saying so with a salute, the commander stepped aside and gave the announcer the okay to continue.

“You heard it folks! A battle royal where the finalists will be decided! I hope you’re all as ready as I am!!! Let’s get this party started!!! It’s all yours, Pixelator! Take it away!” the announcer yelled out. Axel slightly fidgeted but this time the one known as Pixelator was in his sights. He was a blonde kid who nodded and raised his arms.

“Yes ma’am!” he responded. Next, multiple cubes of light began to circle the entire field and began to take shape. It grew and grew until finally it towered over the entire dome itself. When all the particles of light settled into place, the light died down and materialized into multiple floating platforms all hovering over them. One down on the ground in the center followed by one on either side of it hovering over it and so on. In total, about 20 platforms spun in one huge ferris wheel circle. With a swish of his hands, the platforms came together and formed one strange and giant sphere. It spun like the earth itself. Satisfied with his work, pixelator looked over at Axel with a grin as if asking if he was ready. He knew he was mocking him for last time so he just shrugged it off. Laughing, pixelator once again caused their bodies to pixelize and shoot up toward the giant sphere. It was a surreal feeling but before he knew it when he opened his eyes, he was in a completely different zone. Countless pipes the size of tree barks hovered over and crossed one another. There was no solid ground. If they wanted to maneuver through here they would have to jump from pipe to pipe. Just like it looked outside, it was really big on the inside. The out of bounds zone was also clear as day. All around them they could see the outside world. If one were to jump out or fall out they would lose, That’s how it’d go down. It was a simple thing to say, but not easy to do. As Axel and Casey once again readied themselves for battle, they heard the announcer outside give them the green light to begin.

“Okay guys! May the best 5 teams win! Go!!”

With the horn signaling them that they could start ringing, something on the battlefield changed almost immediately. His sense of balance was thrown off and his colorful vision almost brightened. His clothes seemed baggier and he suddenly fell on his stomach. The strange change made him gasp and push himself up on all fours.

“What the hell?Casey are you all-........right?” he said in a voice that didn’t sound like his own.

“Huh, what’s the matter? Why are you-........HUH?”

As the crowd began to quiet down and begin to break out into confused whispers, the bunch of Axel’s friends sat among the stands and stared up into the many giant screens floating and revolving around the stadium. With this they would be able to keep track on everything that was going on, but already they didn’t like what they were seeing. Maria, who hadn’t said much of anything this entire time gawked at the screen and was about ready to scream…..but not in horror no….

“A-Axel…..”

In pure joy.

“You’re so cute!!!!” She got up and yelled as her ears and eyes twitched. Her one yell sparked an uproar of cheers agreeing with her.

“Casey!!! Why are you tiny??!!!” Axel said in the voice of a 9 year old.

“I could say the same about you!!!” she said in a squeaky voice while trying to hold her clothes together. Luckily for her, she was wearing a similar get up as him, but in a orange and black combination, so it was easier to hold together by tying knots. They staggered to their feet and looked at each other. Eventually, kid Casey came to terms with the situation and held him in a tight embrace.

“You look so cute!!! Like when we were kids!!!” she exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t get too comfortable you two, the real fight is only just about to begin.” said a voice above them. When Axel and Casey looked up, they saw the one sole man who had not turned into a child. He was the only one, along with his teammate, who were still in their regular age. As the two looked down on them with cocky smiles ensuring their victory, Axel felt his stomach turn. The games had only just begun and he was already in a stalemate. Just what would he do? Just what could anyone do like this? How could he possibly hope to fight as a kid without any powers!?

“You’ve handled some tough situations before Axel, but honestly, I’m gonna love to see how you make it out of this one.” Lucy said as she crossed her legs. The girls around her stared at the screen in awe. The next few moments they knew would be action packed, and they could only hope that Axel would somehow manage to make it through this. With anxiety turning them sick, they bit their lips and watched as Axel gritted his teeth in horror…..