The Midnight Train

A Big Turn

A Spin-Off

~The Midnight Train~

*Warning: Characters May Be Completely Different*

“Hey, Deontay! Don’t forget the one in the corner, alright!” a man called as he walked into the restaurants kitchen.

Deontay looked over his shoulder as he cleaned the surface of a round table, “Sure thing, Jeremiah!”

The smell of pizza dough and tomato sauce permeated through the entire restaurant. Flour lightly powdered the wooden floor. At the front of the restaurant were large windows. Four booths were arranged in front accordingly. It was dark outside and the lights of the city in the distance were a sight to look at. In the center of the restaurant were round tables that Deontay was cleaning now. It was closing time and a few of the other boys were doing a few cleaning duties before they left home for the night.

His white shirt had miraculously survived the day. The white apron that he wore had actually done its job today.  However, his black pants had seen better days. An unfortunate accident with a bag of flour saw to that.

Deontay finished his work and headed to the kitchen. He was fifteen years old, just starting high school and already had very good grades. His employer, Jeremiah, was busy cleaning down his cooking equipment. He looked up and smiled at Deontay as he came in.

“Jamal should be coming back soon from taking out the garbage,” Jeremiah pointed to the back door, “When he comes back in, y’all can clock out for the night.”

“Thanks, Jer,” Deontay nodded.

Jeremiah laughed, “Why? You tired?”

Deontay shrugged, “Little, I guess.”

“By the way, you know what college you want to go to yet?” Jeremiah asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” Deontay responded, “I just started high school.”

“You got to think about these things though,” Jeremiah shook a fingered.

The back door opened and Jeremiah turned to see who it was. He smiled as Jamal walked into the kitchen.

“That all you need, Jer?” Jamal asked.

“Naw, ya’ll can get outta here,” Jeremiah shooed them away.

The two friends ran out the back, repeatedly thanking their friend and mentor on the way out. They walked out into the alley. Police sirens filled the air daily in this part of Chicago. The nights always seemed darker and the days weren’t so much better. Gangs ran most of the neighborhood causing trouble for anyone nearby. There were two ways to survive; join a gang or get out of the neighborhood entirely.

Jeremiah’s Pizza Restaurant was the beacon of light for kids in the area. It gave them something to do and put some honest money in their pockets. Jeremiah was a pillar in the community and cared very much for the wellbeing of the kids in the neighborhood. He would help get kids out of these dangerous streets so they would have a better chance at life.

A rumble of thunder, echoed in the night sky. A storm was coming soon as the wind started to pick up.

Both boys, Deontay and Jamal walked side by side down the streets. Jamal, a lighter skinned boy with a buzz cut punched Deontay’s arm lightly.

“Man! Jeremiah worked us to the bone tonight!” he laughed.

Deontay nodded, “You got that right. He always seems to find something else for us to do.”

“Did you see Prudence behind the counter to day?” Jamal asked.

“Yeah, what about her?”

“She is so fine, man! She even said ‘Hi’ to me today! I think she likes me,” Jamal walked with his chest out and proud.

Deontay raised an eyebrow at his friend, “Really? She could be just being nice, man.”

“Naw! She never talks to me, dude! This was the first time she actually noticed me!”

“She noticed you when you slipped on the wet floor three weeks ago,” Deontay smiled, “As I recall, she rolled her eyes at you and walked away.”

“I told you we were going to forget that,” Jamal gave Deontay a serious look.

Deontay raised his hands in retreat from the topic, “Not another word.”

They reached Jamal’s home. Jamal and Deontay went their separate ways. Deontay’s apartment was just a block away. Either way, Deontay jogged the rest of the way home. Rain started falling as he reached the gated door that protected the building of apartments. Deontay brought out his key and opened the door. He made sure to lock it again before walking up the stairs.

Deontay reached his apartment and opened the door with his house key. His sister was crying in her room as he walked in. His mother exited his sister’s room. The woman sighed out of exhaustion and looked back in the room.

“You have a good day, Deontay?” his mother asked.

Deontay nodded and glanced in his sister’s room, “Is she alright?”

“I think she got an ear infection,” his mother sighed. She walked down the short hallway to the bathroom, “What can you use for an ear infection?”

Deontay shrugged, “Decongestant? It could help get some of the fluids out.”

His mother rummaged through the medicine cabinet. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

“We don’t have anything like that.”

Deontay pointed to the door, “I could go get something at the corner store.”

His mother looked at him, “Could you? That would save me the trouble. Make sure you bring something to cover your head. It’s raining outside. There’s twenty dollars in my purse.”

Deontay nodded and found the money. He threw on a hooded sweat shirt and walked out of the apartment. The rain was coming down now as Deontay ran to the corner gas station. He entered just as a clap thunder rocked through the sky.

The store was empty for the most part. There were one or two other shoppers in the store and one cashier that probably lost a bet. Deontay walked around the isles looking for the medicine he needed.

He was browsing the isle when a group of teens walked in. Deontay looked up from a box he was reading and froze. The boy that led his group of friends pulled out a gun on the cashier. He demanded that the cashier empty the cash register. The others ran around the store, sweeping items in the bags they brought with them. All the teens wore masks. Once they got what they wanted they started to get out of the store.

“Hey,” Deontay called before he could stop himself.

“Don’t be a hero, man!” the boy called as he ran out.

Deontay ran after the group. He ran down the street in the pouring rain and darted down an alley. There was a loud pop. Confused, Deontay looked down at his chest. He suddenly felt lightheaded and fell against the alley wall. Deontay found it hard to breathe, quickly noticing it was getting harder and harder to take in air. He faded into darkness listening to the patter of the rain.

IOIOIOIOI

Deontay sat on the back steps behind Jeremiah’s Pizza Restaurant. He was on his break and had chosen to spend it alone. The door behind him opened and Jamal came out onto the steps and sat beside him.

“Where you been, man?” Jamal asked.

Deontay looked at him, “I’ve been out here.”

“I know, but you haven’t been here. Know what I mean? Is this about you being different and all? Cause I think what you can do is pretty awesome.”

“Kind of,” Deontay shrugged, “I got this letter in the mail a few days ago from this guy named Sirius inviting me to some place.”

“That’s not at all creepy…” Jamal raised an eyebrow.

“No, it’s not like that!” Deontay shoved Jamal. Still unknowing of his strength, Jamal was pushed off the steps.

“Ow!” Jamal rubbed his shoulder.

“Sorry,” Deontay smiled, “Still getting the hang of it.”

“So is this guy going to help you control this new thing you got here?” Jamal asked.

“I guess,” Deontay tried to think a moment, “It looked more like an invitation. It said that if I did consider going, all I would need to do is bring the invitation to any subway or train station by midnight.”

“You have the letter?”

Deontay reached into his pocket. The letter was a little bent but the gold lettering was still brilliantly clear. Jamal read the note and nodded.

“I think you should do it. What does you mom think?”

“She’s all for it if I want to.”

“Then what’s holding you back, man?! You should get outta here! There are more opportunities for you there than here.”

“What about you?”

“What about me? I’ll be alright. I’ll get outta here my own way. You don’t gotta worry about me.”

IOIOIOIOI

Jamal smiled at Deontay as he walked out of the apartment. Deontay had a single suitcase that carried his necessities.

“They aren’t coming?” Jamal asked as Deontay locked the apartment door.

“I spoke to mom before I left. My sister was sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her up.”

“Shall we go?”

Deontay nodded. It was around eleven-thirty as the boys ran to the nearest subway. Together they walked down the stairs and purchased tickets. Upon looking at the schedule, Deontay noticed that there were no midnight trains. Still, they sat and waited.

“I’ll keep an eye on your sister, kay?” Jamal stated, “She needs to get outta here too.”

“Thanks,” Deontay smiled, “You be sure to tell me how she doing.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” Deontay shrugged, “I’ll figure it out when I get there.”

It was nearing midnight and the boys stood up and waited tor the train that was supposedly supposed to come. The last train left nearly thirty minutes ago. It was strangely quiet. Jamal tapped his shoulder and pointed at the clock. The clock was frozen at midnight. Looking around it looked as if time had stopped. The few people that were there were didn’t move at all.

Down in the tunnel was a bright light and a train horn sounded the arrival of the subway. The train sped past but was slowing down. Sand scattered from the top of the train followed by blocks of snow. Tropical leaves slid off onto the ground. It was as if the train had been through all the corners of the earth in an hour. Deontay stepped back in order to avoid being hit by the flying debris. For brief moments he saw labels over the cars showing different countries flags.

The train slowed to a stop. Three cars lined the platform all labeled with the American flag and one of the doors opened. A man in a blue uniform stepped out. He looked down at a clip board and flipped through a few pages.

“Deontay Walsh, I assume?” the man said looking up, “Your letter please.”

Deontay reached into his pocket for the letter. He looked at it for a few moments then looked up at Jamal.

“If I’m getting outta here, you got to promise me that you will get out to, alright,” Deontay said to his friend with all seriousness.

Jamal nodded, “I will, man. Promise.”

Deontay hugged his friend before walking toward the subway train. He handed his letter out to the man who looked it over. Deontay looked over his shoulder at his friend and nodded.

“Promise is a promise,” Deontay smiled, “Keep me posted.”

The man stamped the letter and handed it back to Deontay. He walked across the threshold and the doors closed after him. The train started its departure. The man announced that their next destination was New York. Deontay looked out the door. Jamal ran across the platform waving his arms like crazy with a big goofy smile on his face. Deontay couldn’t help but smile. For a moment, he thought he saw his mother carrying his sister in her arms. Then they were all lost from his sight.

The train was engulfed in a flash of light. Outside the windows was a strange nebulous atmosphere. Deontay took a startled step back.

“It’s alright,” the man stated with a smile, “We’re just passing through a portal through space and time. We’ll be in New York at midnight. We have a few more stops before our final destination.”

Deontay didn’t understand completely but the past few weeks had thought him that there were things completely out of his control. He looked around for a seat and saw a girl of African American descent sitting alone in a booth. He sat across from her. The girl didn’t give him as much as a glance. She just stared out the window, her arms crossed across her chest.

“Hey,” Deontay tried to appear friendly, “Names Deontay.”

“I didn’t ask,” the girl responded.

“Just thought—”

“You thought wrong.”

“Where you from?”

“None of your business.”

“You like chocolate chip cookies?”

The girl looked at him. Deontay reached into his bag and brought out a container of cookies. He took a bite in one and offered her one from the box. She took one and nibbled on it.

“Zara,” she muttered.

“Nice to meet you,” Deontay offered his hand for Zara to shake. She simply glared at him and he put down his hand.

The train came out of the dimension and into another subway station. The people outside were frozen except for a few nervous looking kids carrying their letters. The train stopped at their cabin door opened. The man walked out and called their names.

“He’s an android,” the girl stated.

Deontay looked at her, “Really, like a robot? How can you tell?”

The girl rolled her eyes, “How does he know our names?”

“Lucky guesses?” Deontay shrugged.

The girl sighed and looked out the window again. Deontay had the feeling that she was losing interest. He had to say something smart soon or even chocolate cookies weren’t going to fix it.

“Where do you think we’re going?” Deontay asked.

She gave him a side glance, “How am I supposed to know?”

“Just thought you have some thoughts.”

She shrugged, “A place that doesn’t exist.”

The man announced that they were now going to a place called the Island. The train went through a dimension and exited again. They were high above an enormous city. The rail curved passed an enormous tower, the tallest structure for miles. It was enormous, unlike anything Deontay had ever seen. It light up like a Christmas tree. The offices light were on and bright. Everyone in the car stood up and gathered by the windows.

Their view was cut off as they entered a tunnel. The train came to a full stop and the doors opened. The man instructed them to continue directly forward. A woman would direct them with what to do if we formed a single file line. Just follow the American flags if they were to ever get lost. At first no one moved. Then after sighing loudly and rolling her eyes, Zara stood up and walked off the train. Deontay hurriedly followed her.

She spoke with the lady behind the desk under a large American flag. As she did, Deontay looked around. He heard all sorts of languages being spoken and saw all sorts of flags that he had never saw or heard of before. Soon it was his turn.

“Name please,” the woman said with a smile on her face.

“Deontay Walsh,” Deontay said.

“Welcome to the Island, Deontay,” she said as she typed on the keyboard while looking at him, “We hope you enjoy your time here whether you decide to stay or visit! Either way, it looks like here you will be learning to control your new abilities!”

“I guess.”

“That sounds great! We have great schools here to help you with just that! The Tower, I’m sure you saw it coming in, has provided an apartment for you free of charge! Isn’t that great! Here you go!”

She handed him a set of keys and a credit card, “You can spend $5,000 a month from that card, okay? That should keep you comfortable during your stay here!”

“Who’s money is this?” Deontay was shocked that, by the sheer number of people here, someone could afford to hand out $5,000 dollars a month.

“The Towers, but don’t worry about it, okay! Do you have any other questions?”

“Can I write my family?” Deontay asked.

“Of course! Silly me,” she handed him an envelope, “this is the Islands address! Simply put that and your name and apartment address on the return address!”

The address wasn’t like anything Deontay had seen on and envelope before. It was just a string of numbers and letters.

“Why is the address like that?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” was the response, “I assure you the letter will get to where it needs to go and back! Any other questions?”

“No,” truth was that he had about a zillion more.

“Okay! Then just go down those stairs and a Taxi will get you to your new home away from home!”

Deontay did as he was instructed. He walked down the stairs and walked out into the cold open air. A driver opened the door for him and he sat inside. Beside him was the girl he had met on the train. The driver asked for his name and he gave it. His new address popped up on the screen. Once the Taxi was full, they were off. Deontay never took his eyes off the tower as they drove all over the Island. Whoever the Tower was, they had given him a way out of a bad situation. He was in a way indebted to them, even if it was mostly a personal sense. There had to be a way to repay them in the future.

Insanity: Chapter Forty-Six

Insanity

Chapter Forty-Six

~Midnight~

Day Thirty-Six

Nest typed frantically at the keyboard. Rose sat nearby, bored to death. He sat on the ledge facing the machine, his legs dangling over the edge. Nest ignored the man’s humming.

The machine made a sudden whirl. It started spinning but only slowly. Rose sat up at the progress.

“Are you almost done?” Rose asked.

“Half way,” Nest reported, “It’s on. Now all I have to do is activate the ingrained program.”

Rose raised an eyebrow with interest, “Really? How will we know when it’s doing what it’s supposed to do?”

Nest smiled sarcastically, “Oh, we’ll know.”

Rose let out a long sigh as he reclined on the ledge, “I am so bored.”

“Will you keep quiet while I do my work,” Nest sounded annoyed, “You’re here to guard not make small talk.”

Rose rolled his eyes. There was no talking to Nest when he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

A few floors down Penelope hid in one of the empty business rooms. She hunkered down in a dark corner. Fang had told her to wait a while for someone, if anyone, were to come up to help her out so that was what she was doing. She knew that she was almost at the top but she also knew she needed rest before going up against whatever was up there.

A thought suddenly struck her. She ran to the large desk in the room and looked in it. There was a laptop there and she grabbed it. Penelope went back to her corner and turned it on. The laptop opened to a login page. With a few quick strokes on the key board, the laptop opened to the desktop page.

She typed frantically until she came across the security cameras on her floor. She looked at it briefly before moving on to something else. A few more keystrokes she hacked into the lone roof camera. Unfortunately, it was facing the wrong way. She created a program to gain control of the camera and it responded by turning very slowly. After a few minutes she was able to see the machine.

There were two people on the roof and no sight of Zero much to Penelope’s relief. She knew she was no match to Zero. One person was sitting on the ledge, he looked bored, at least Penelope though he was a he. The other one was typing feverishly at a key board. It looked like the machine was working but not yet fully functioning.

Penelope struck a key and the camera view shrunk to about half the page also showing the camera in the hallway. She retorted the image of the hallway and installed a program to wake her up in the camera viewed anything different than the way it was now. She tested the alarm; it was a high pitched noise that very few people could hear especially through walls.

Another press of a button and the hallway image took up half the screen space. After that she placed the computer down in front of her and lay back in her corner. Her eyes grew heavy and soon she was fast asleep.

Fang entered what looked like the utilities of the building; the electric, gas, water and anything else that made a building work. He entered just to see a flash of Arisa’s hair as she turned a corner.

“Arisa!” Fang yelled and ran after her.

He ran between rows and rows of large tanks that looked to contain salt for the water. Pipes ran back and forth above and below him. He turned the corner he thought Arisa had gone down and stopped. It was a maze of electronics and tanks and electrical work all surrounded by four sides with grey concrete. Fang sighed in frustration and ran down a row of generators.

Blue found his way into a type of clearing in the midst of the electrical hum of the tanks and electrical wires. Flare was almost gone back into the forest of hums.

“Kyra!” Blue shouted.

Flare stopped suddenly. She stood there frozen for a moment. Her breathing caught in her throat. She slowly turned around to see her long lost friend. Flare stared at Blue taking in his appearance. After a while, she gave him a crooked smile.

“Hey,” she said awkwardly.

She couldn’t say anymore, her words couldn’t make it into sounds.

“I thought you were dead,” Blue stated, his voice a little rough from lack of use.

“I should be,” Flare answered.

Blue answered quickly, “I should have—”

Flare shook her head, “There wasn’t anything you could have really done. You would have only gotten caught yourself,” she paused, suddenly her mouth felt really dry, “I see you’ve done well for yourself.”

“I guess you could say that,” Blue said with a smile, his smile faded, “You’ve looked better.”

She gave an uncomfortable laugh, “Yeah, I can’t argue with that.”

“Why Zero?” Blue asked.

Flare shrugged, she was about to answer when someone else answered for her.

“Because I saved her from that wrenched place,” Zero answered. A dark smile spread across his face, “Well, now, Flare, it seemed you found the enemy,” he eyed her darkly; “I suggest you do something about it.”

He stood on a platform, his grey and purple eyes staring down at the two below. His arms rested on the railing as he leaned over to get a better look at the two. Black hair fell lightly on his arms. His dark clothing made him look like a dark, sly, menacing creature even though his build looked thin and without power.

Blue glared at him, “Her name isn’t Flare.”

“It is to me,” Zero barely gave Blue a glance in his direction, “Either way, I have a previous engagement. When I come back, I want one of you dead. If you’re both are still standing there and talking like a pair of children when I get back, I’ll kill you both,” he looked in Flare’s direction, “Understood.”

Flare looked down to avoid looking into anyone’s eyes.

“Good,” Zero stood up straight. With a smile he added, “I’ll be back then.” With that said, Zero vanished in a dark purple mist.

Blue stared at where the man was a while longer. There was no one on earth that he hated more that than man at that moment. He looked at Flare. Her head was still down in thought and confliction.

“Kyra?” Blue asked.

She looked up at him. Tears had stained her face and were still flowing from her eyes, “I’m sorry, you don’t know Zero like I do.”

Blue’s shoulders slumped at the words, “I won’t fight you.”

Flare extended her hands out to the side. Fire began forming around her hands and wrists, “I don’t have a choice.”

“You always have a choice,” Blue said, the water pipes started to shake and clang.

“You don’t know Zero like I do,” Flare did her best to breath easily.

“I’m sure Fang can take you in. He’d do everything to protect you,” Blue offered.

“I’m sorry,” Flare took in a shaky breath, “I am so sorry.”

She trusted her hands forward. The fire shot toward Blue. The water pipes burst. Water flowed and swirled around Blue so when the fire hit it had no effect except filling the room with hot steam. Another stream of fire shot toward Blue. Blue made an ice wall that shattered when the fire touched it. Still in danger he jumped to one side. To his surprise the fire followed him, he shot his hand forward. Water left his hand and snaked around most of the fire leaving behind smoke and mist. The little that did escape got Blue’s leg. He shouted in pain and wrapped the burn in a thin layer of ice.

Flare threw fireball after fireball at Blue. He climbed a ladder to the second level. Blue managed to dodge most of them. He ran on the upper level metal walkway. One of the fireballs hit an electric control panel. It exploded causing Blue to be blown forwards. He fell hard on his shoulder on the metallic grated floor. Blue looked down and saw Flare, her orange eyes staring up at him with regret and determination. She inhaled and Blue had a sinking feeling as to what was coming. As fast as he could, Blue rolled out of the way as the blazing inferno blasted through the grated floor. As it grew neared Blue got to his feet and ran. There was another explosion and to avoid it Blue jumped over the railing and onto the ground.

He was breathing heavily already. His eyes spotted Flare as she walked out of the explosion toward him, a ball of fire in her hand. He didn’t want to fight her but he also had a promise to keep. Blue sighed as he got to his feet and avoided another fireball. He wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to keep his word on both promises.

Fang looked around hopelessly lost. He tried sniffing her out of listening to her but the smell and hum of all the machines seemed to mask any sign of her. Out of frustration, Fang hit a nearby machine.

“Frustrated, are we?”

Fang turned. Zero stood a few yards behind him. Fang’s mind raced, Zero was the last person he needed to see at the moment.

“I do have to say you are very punctual aren’t you,” Zero said, “Pity really that you won’t be there for your own funeral. It’s rather hard to be there when they won’t even be able to find your body when I’m through with you.”

A force radiated from Zero’s body, blowing Fang back through several machines. Fang quickly got to his feet and reached for his gun. A sharp pain ran through his head. For a moment, he his surroundings speed by followed by a sharp pain to his side. When the pain left as suddenly as it accrued, Fang saw Zero in front of him. Zero extended his hand. Fang found that he was unable to move. He was lifted into the air and thrown into yet another row of metal machines.

Fang coughed up blood. He staggered to his feet and struggled to keep balance. With the back of his hand he whipped the corner of his mouth where some blood seeping from his mouth. His vision blurred as Zero approached once again.

“You really disappoint me, Fang,” Zero said as he flicked his wrist.

Fang was sent flying into a concrete column. He gasped in pain as his head hit the column. His vision blurred. A sharp pain entered his head again, showing him crashing into yet another hard object.

“I thought it’d be fun to play with you,” Zero crouched in front of Fang, “But I see you’re nothing but a rag doll.”

Zero made a motion as if to shoo away a fly. Fang felt excruciating pain as he was thrown through the pillar and into a generator a few yards behind it. Fang gasped in pain. It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. Zero, when he died was able to get practically every power in the book, when Fang got a very nice gift every full moon. Fang stated at the ceiling, trying to work out a solution to win. He forced himself to sit up and stand. Zero approached him slowly.

Fang backed away. Something he had not felt in a years started to fill his core. Fear. Zero’s seemed to suck out any hope that Fang had of making it out of this alive and replacing it with dread and fear. Fang continued to step back as Zero grew closer. Zero seemed to be enjoying this slow and painful torturous death of another human being. But there was something that Fang though he recognized in Zero.

Suddenly, Fang tripped on an electrical wire and was sent sprawled on the cold floor. A smile appeared on Zero’s face as his prey no longer had anywhere to go.

“Beta?” Fang said in disbelief.

The smile on Zero’s face disappeared. The ceiling space between Fang and Zero caved in. As Fang covered his eyes from the debris he saw a grey blur land on its feet and run at Zero. A clawed hand grabbed Zero by the neck. At a speed Fang had only seen Raven accomplish his grey savior dragged Zero a few yards and threw him through three concrete columns and several machines beyond.

As the dust settled, Fang could vaguely see his rescuers silhouette.

“You alright there, Fang?” the voice seemed familiar but different at the same time.

Another figure approached him and offered him a hand. Fang accepted the help and stood up. He found himself looked into lilac eyes that he had seen before but not on the young man before him. The small bell around the man’s wrist brought the image forward in his memory.

“Reighn,” the other man called.

The man turned around and the bell around his wrist rang. Fang looked at the approaching silhouette. As the smoke and dust settled, he began to see Undertaker. His gold eyes were no longer hidden by his hair. He no longer had his hat and his grey cloak was undone all the way down exposing most of his well build chest. His black pants were dirty from the rubble. He did walk around bare foot, not minding the sharp items that were lying about.

Undertaker walked right up to Fang, took a long finger and pointed at Fang’s forehead. Fang took a step back, surprised at the force behind the poke. Undertaker smiled a bit, not as wildly as he had done in the past at his shop.

“As smart as you are,” Undertaker began without his accent, “you can be rather stupid.”

Fang didn’t respond. He was still determining with how to deal with Undertaker’s sudden change. Undertaker’s eyes seemed to look deep in to his own, deeper than just the surface. Another smile crept across the man’s face.

Undertaker moved his finger from Fang’s forehead to the tip of his nose, “So you just found out that Zero and Beta are the same person, hmm?”

For some reason, Fang felt a slightly violated. Hesitantly, he nodded. Reighn turned suddenly toward where Zero had been thrown. The bell on his arm rang.

“Undertaker,” blood ran down the side of Zero’s face, “I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

“No one really expects me to be anywhere it seems,” Undertaker stated after he read Fang’s mind.

In all honesty, Fang really didn’t thing that a crazed old man who really did look crazed and old on the outside would bother to get involved. Then again, Fang hadn’t had the best luck with probability lately.

“Reighn, would you keep him busy for a while for me?” Undertaker told more than asked, “I have things to do here.”

The bell rang again and Reighn walked toward Zero. Reighn picked up a long pole. The bell rang and the poll turned into a reaper-like scythe. He ran toward Zero.

“Fang, you need to listen to me,” Undertaker smiled, “You have powers too you know. Just a little less noticeable than the others.”

Fang was about to say something but was stopped by Undertaker’s finger shushing him.

“You’ve been saying how the only power you’ve got has been turning in to and out of a wolf, am I right? Of course I am. Well, I’m here to tell you that you are wrong, dear Fang. Bloody wrong. Granted, it’s taken forever and a day to make itself known but now it’s been bugging out for a while and you still don’t see it? Of course you don’t. Like the time those Agents can you your door, the time when you and Shadow were on that boat, and several other situations, what did you thing those were? If you notice the time from when you get the visions and the time of the event gets shorter and shorter. Oh, Fang, you can see the future even if it isn’t so far ahead it is the future none the less. I’d steel that ability if I could,” Undertaker smiled, “but I won’t.”

There was a loud crash. Reighn pulled himself up from the ground. Undertaker took a quick glance behind him. He looked back at Fang.

“Focus,” Undertaker smiled.

He left Fang and dashed toward Zero. Zero barely noticed Undertaker’s approach when Undertaker kicked him in the side. He flew back and crashed in to a wall. Quickly he recovered as Undertaker approached gain by dashing at him at a low angle. He pushed Undertaker to the side sending him crashing into a concrete column. Reighn appeared just then, coming in low, slid on one knee and kicked Zero under the chin. Reighn pivoted to his feet and kicked Zero in the stomach sending him back.

Fang had to smile. Those two made a good team even outside the shop.

Edonya gasped for breath when she reached the area where Blue and Flare were fighting. She stepped back suddenly when an explosion of fire erupted in front of her. Stopped from going that way, she looked for another way. She smiled when she saw a ladder that went up to a higher level walkway than the ones Blue and Zero were on. She climbed the ladder easily and walked to a point to where she could see the action.

Blue shielded himself with water as a fire storm surrounded him. He was sweating nonstop from the intense heat crated from the steam created by the impact of water and fire. Blue’s defense was a foot thick bit the tornado of fire was reducing the width by the second. Again Blue was thinking of attacking but he did say that he wasn’t but at this rate he was going to break his promise to Arisa. Besides, he could really go for some ice cream right about now.

Suddenly, the fire faded away. Hesitantly he dropped some of his shield, enough to see out around him. He saw Flare on her knees breathing heavily. Blue dispersed his shield took a breath of cooler fresh air. He slowly walked toward her to see if she was all right. She had given him all she had and looked physically exhausted.

A sharp pain seared through his shoulder. He looked at his right shoulder. He was bleeding from a six inch cut and he could feel the pain but he couldn’t see what had gone through him. He fell to his knees and grabbed his shoulder. There was a thin sliver of resistance and he held his shoulder. He looked up at Flare thinking that she had done this but she looked back at him just as surprised as he was.

Flare looked to where the attack had come from. She spotted Edonya. The girl smiled back at Flare unknowing what had happened before he arrived. Edonya formed an invisible blade. It wasn’t really invisible as everyone thought but was made of a very thin glass. Whatever she thought about and created in her hands was formed in that invisible glass. She gripped the hilt of her blade and raised it above her head in the pre-motion to throw it.

“Wait!” Flare shouted but it was too late.

The blade had already been released from her hand. Flare reacted before she could think.

“Lumin!” she screamed as she ran toward Blue.

Edonya’s eyes grew wide with shock, “Flare?!”

Flare stood between Blue and the blade. She felt a sick feeling as it went through her, cutting her diaphragm. She staggered a little ways, holding the area around where the blade hand entered. Weakness in the knees and a lack of oxygen caused her to collapse and fall onto her side. Edonya stared at the scene below confused and bewildered.

“Kyra?” Blue crawled to her side, “Kyra?”

Flare lay on her side, gasping for air. Her life blood was draining out of her body. She raised one hand and dragged it through her blood. Blue looked at where her hand went. She drew a circle with triangles shooting out of it. In the inside she drew a spiral that connected with the base of the circle. She gave a weak smile.

Blue nodded his understanding and removed the invisible blade. He touched the exposed wound with his fingers and drew beside her sun. He painted a crescent moon with a spiral connected to the bottom tip of the moon.

Flare smiled.

She pointed toward the moon, “Lumin,” she said between short raspy breaths. She then pointed to her picture of a sun, “K-k-ky-”

“Kyra,” Lumin said for her.

Kyra nodded. Lumin rolled Kyra on to her back. Their eyes met; Kyra’s fiery orange eyes and Lumin’s cool blue ones. Lumin leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He then found the hilt of the blade and firmly pulled it out. He threw the blade aside and cupped Kyra’s face in his hand. Near the end, Lumin released the kiss. Kyra’s breath was getting shallower and shallower. She looked up to him and smiled.

Her eyes began to wander past him, unblinking and distant. He heard her take her last breath. Kyra was dead.

“Blue!”

Lumin looked up suddenly at his old name. He saw Arisa standing a ways away. Arisa’s gaze shifted from the girl in orange to the one she knew as Blue. She saw the blood running from his shoulder but the girl had no weapons to inflict such a wound. There was a clang from above and Arisa’s eyes shot up to the sound. She saw Edonya standing there with a horrified look on her face. Edonya raised her hand above her heard again as if to throw something. In a brief moment of clarity, Arisa noticed the slight discoloration in the area above her hand. The moment passed and was replaced with rage.

“You’re dead!” she screamed at Edonya.

The machine’s spinning increased as Nest sat typing with a grin on his face. Rose stood and walked toward him. His hair was being stirred by the breeze being created by the machine. He stared at it as it continued, faster and faster. Nest seemed to be close to finishing. Rose took another step forward when the machine fully activated.

It was time that the building entered into dawn.