Across the labyrinthine halls, the two brothers crossed back and forth to avoid being detected by their prey. Samson was moving quickly, keeping a decent jog up with nothing but a small flame along his thumb to light the way.

'Where do you think he's going?'

'Perhaps the Grubbard twins told him to come out at night?'

The brothers kept a good distance, managing to watch as Samson took the stairs all the way down to the enormous loading docks that they had arrived at. He continued through the cavernous hall until he got out into the night.

"Looks like you aren't a pusilanimous after all," one of the twins mentioned.

Coming from the shadows on either side of Samson, the Grubbard twins body-tackled the much smaller boy, sending them all tumbling to the ground. There was a dark mass with a flurry of limbs, and then the two brothers started to drag a wiggling something behind them.

'They tied him up?'

'The Grubbard twins were known for edgy pranks and shinanigans. They're probably taking him to the pond for a dip.'

The two bullies roughly pulled Samson along, skipping the rope, letting it go slack and then yanking it, and even swinging the poor kid around like a hammer toss.

The awkward terrain of the nearby woods was painful for the restrained child, but they got over the rough roots and pointed rocks to arrive at a very simple pond. The pond was nearly shrouded by reeds, and the caucophony of crickets and frogs would wake up even the deepest of sleepers. It's murky waters were still and black in the darkness, but the denizens were about to come alive when a new neighbor would drop in.

'Tell me when.'

'We need this to be a close call. As close as we can get it. We need to wait until he stops moving, and THEN jump in. Be ready to resuscitate.'

"You see, novice," one of the bullies said as he sat Samson down on the pond's edge, "this is what happens when you think you're better than other people. Magic might be pretty and useful, but some coin and connections are FAR more powerful. So we're gonna throw you in this lake, and you're gonna try to swim out of it. And when you go crying to the teachers, they're going to turn their back on you."

"Our offer was good, squirt," the other brother spat. "You should have taken it."

With that said, the two brothers hoisted Samson by his shoulders and feet. Like a particularly heavy sack, they fumbled him to the water's edge and started to swing the kid back and forth. Once enough momentum was achieved, the let go.

Samson flew to near the center of the pond with a loud 'kersplash'.

"HOPE YOU CAN BREATHE UNDERWATER!" one of the brothers shouted as they laughed on the shore.

The center of the pond thrashed and pounded as Samson tried desperately to keep afloat. From behind the rope tie under his teeth, the air he tried to breathe was suddenly caught in a whirlpool of water in his lungs. He could feel the cold night's chill gripping intensly at his body, as if dragging him into the icy afterlife.

'Wait for it.'

The pond thrashed, but most of the movement was already below the waterline as Samson sunk to the bottom. His binds failed to move no matter how hard he pulled at them, and panic was quickly setting in.

'Wait for it.'

The pond water continued to ebb and flow, rapidly spinning around until the waves began to recede and calm started to return to the natural scene.

'NOW!'

The pond violently exploded, sending water in all directions. The Grubbard twins on shore recieved a hefty smack of sludge from the bottom while the Byron brothers were hit by a light rain further back.

'What the hell was that?'

'That wasn't you?'

'I can't do that! The only one who could is-'

"YOU ARSEHOLES!" shouted Samson in rage.

The small boy stood in the middle of what was once the pond, water rapidly collecting once more at his feet. He was free from the rope bonds and standed braced as though he was taking some effort to keep balance.

"YOU ABSOLUTE, PORK-BRAINED, TIT-SUCKLING WHORESONS! YOU WERE GOING TO LET ME DIE?!"

In a suprise to everyone watching, Samson summoned a powerful jet of flame from his hands that poured magic fire over the ground. Steam rose from the flames, hiding the entire pond in a thick cloud.

Samson came flying out like a panther, landing squarely on the chest of a Grubbard twin with a hard knee to the sternum. His hands wrapped around the boy's throat, pressing with no mercy on his windpipe.

"GET OFFA HIM!" shouted the other Grubbard, scrambling to help his choking twin.

Samson responded by directing a powerful blast of flames into the Grubbard's face, searing his flesh and causing the boy to scream in agony.

"YOU FUCK OFF!" Samson screamed as he punched the Grubbard under his hold. "YOU LITTLE SHITS WERE GONNA KILL ME? THINK NOBODY WOULD NOTICE!? NOBODY'S GONNA NOTICE WHERE I HIDE YOUR BODIES, YOU GANGREEN GUSTLE LICKERS!"

'The mouth on him.'

'This is wrong. This isn't Samson! The Samson in the Academy never spoke, he only looked at people!'

'Looked at people how?'

'Like he was going to do something.'

'Show me.'

A moment of silence passed in the darkness while Samson continued to choke the life from his peer.

'Oh. Okay, crazy idea, what if Samson was a total lunatic from the start, but the death of his parents calmed him down?'

As the Grubbard twin tried in vain to fight off the boy who held his throat down, Samson smiled sadistically.

"That's enough," came a harsh order.

The three involved in the prank looked up to see the shaded silhouettes of Paxton and Goddard approaching the scene of the exploded pond.

"I wondered when you asshats were gonna show up," Samson remarked, not releasing the pressure on his victim.

"I said," Goddard repeated, stepping with impossible speed right up to Samson, "LET. GO."

"Or what?" Samson challenged, the corners of his mouth stretching sickeningly around his face.

Goddard reached down, put a thick hand around Samson's scrawny arm, then pressed two fingers into the blood vessels on his wrist. Goddard held on for a few seconds, long enough for the muscles in Samson's hand to lose strength and release their prisoner.

Fire erupted in front of Goddard's face as Samson threw a splash at him with his other hand.

The pyro seemed pleased with himself, until the flames died and Goddard's face was revealed with a mean look and no damage.

A loud crack permeated the night as Samson's forearm doubled its bone count.

"EEEEAAAAAAIIIIIIUUUUU!" screeched Samson, throwing himself back and cradling his broken arm.

Paxton rushed over the the burnt Grubbard twin while Goddard dealt with Samson to heal him. The poor boy's face had second degree burns on the cheek and the hairs were singed off around the edge. He was not okay, and Paxton had to wonder if Samson was worth it as a comrade.

"Damn it," Samson swore, holding his arm in seething pain, "You bastards really like to play lords, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Paxton asked, stepping in front of the Grubbard twin.

"Always lying, always running away to do something secret," Samson chided with glee. "I bet Barrot that you two were torturing animals in the woods. He thinks you're gay. Which one is it, huh?"

"We're not hiding anything," Goddard insisted.

"BULLSHIT!" Samson roared, screaming at the top of his lungs. "You two are as sly and slippery as oiled snakes! What about Mini, huh? You really expect us to believe you just 'found' a little girl in the forest? Nobles aren't that noble! Whatever you're doing to that kid, you're only getting away with it because the teachers don't want you to leave!"

Hearing all of this was a great shock to the two brothers, who had assumed their excellent stealth had kept them safe this whole time.

"You have such poor taste in women," Samson sighed. "'Mini's just a child, no meat on her at all! I like Christina more. THERE'S something you can grab on to!"

Both Paxton and Goddard suddenly became much more serious.

The brother's moved like wraiths, a blur to the eye until Samson felt a powerful clench around his stomach. He looked down to see a pair of arms holding him, then his world was flipped upside down as he was suplexed into the mud. The boy was released in a daze, just long enough to see something coming from the air that landed hard and fast into his gut. The impact even pushed his spine around, wiggling it with extreme discomfort.

Blood and bile spit from his mouth like a cannon, launching into the air and painting his own body green and red.

"I don't get it," Goddard said, looking down at Samson's small frame, "why is he like this? He wasn't supposed to be THIS angry? He used to have some remorse, and even do the right thing with his rage."

"This isn't rage," Paxton advised, "it's a lack of empathy and a will to fight. Samson's a little sociopath."

The pyro boy couldn't speak, his mind still processing the amount of pain he was in. Nobody had ever pushed his guts around like that before, and it was an experience he wasn't eager to repeat.

"Listen, Samson," Goddard said while kneeling down to his former comrade, "you're right, we've been lying and sneaking around behind your backs. But we're preparing for something huge, and you need to be a part of it."

Samson struggled for breath as he eeked out the words, "Whatta [huff huff huff] loada [huff huff huff] crap."

"It's true," said Paxton, leaning over and taking a careful look at Samson. "I don't like it, but there's danger in the future that threatens the entire world. The whole of the human race is hinging on us, and we can't let them down."

Paxton then placed a hand on Samson's gut and healed him with the gentle, white flames. The pain disappeared and Samson was able to breathe normally again.

"Samson," Paxton said with a small smile, "we need to stop a demon invasion. They're coming in nine years, and that's not a lot of time to prep the entire human race. We need your help, or rather, the help of who you'll become. What do you say about joining the Sin Squad?"

Samson looked at the two brothers, dimly lit by the newfound moonlight and trace fires around them.

His voice quivered for a moment as his thoughts took time to focus themselves.

"You're fucking insane."