Mortal Realm

Duranni was impressed. This boy really seemed to know his stuff about demons. Then again, he had faced demons his whole life so he was bound to know something about them. My people. He wants to destroy my people. Do they really deserve to die? Is the better question do they deserve to live? In that case, do I deserve to live? I have possesed and killed many humans in my time. Maybe I don't do it as much now, but I have in the past. Would my actions be forgiven? she thought. An outsider could still tell turmoil was going on in her mind. Did she dare reveal she was a demon? Not at this point. She hadn't built up enough trust with these humans.

"I just arrived here today. I haven't seen that symbol befor." Duranni said in response to James.

If it had been any other circumstance, Saber would've left by now, immediately dismissing any notions of demons or guardians or some secret order originating from the school. However, this was the circumstance, that she had fought demons in the past, and so she knew everything they were talking about could very well be real and possible. The symbol was curious though, she had never seen it and yet it was familiar. An odd feeling for sure.

"The door should have been here from the beginning. What is the oldest building you know of?"

At those word's Saber looked about herself around the campus. The sun was still high and so Saber shielded her eyes with her hand as she scanned the horizon. The dormitories were somewhat new, having been built within the past couple of years by the looks of it, and so had the libraries. In fact, though the age of the main structures of each of the buildings were uncertain, all of them had been renovated in the past couple of years in one way or another. Locating the oldest building by sight would be near impossible. Saber turned back around to face the main speaker and said,

"Sir, if I might suggest something, I believe we could get the answer to your question quickly and accurately if we ask one of the administrators on campus. I am sure that there are records and blueprints somewhere in the library or school records, sir."

Almost right after she spoke, she had a feeling of regret well up inside of her. She was becoming too involved in affairs that had nothing to do with her, almost. However, the damage was done, and all there is left to do is to see where this path would take her.

James nodded sympathetically at Duranni. It must be worse for her, he thought. The others, at least, were in a familiar environment and probably knew each other. Duranni, however, wasn't familiar with the environment or the people surrounding her and add to that demons... He knew what that was like. He didn't expect anyone new here to know much. A girl that looked like she rode in here from the dark ages, however, had a good idea. He nodded thoughtfully.

"That's true. We would've needed to check the archives anyway. Thanks," he smiled slightly over at her, grateful for her idea. That was one problem solved, at least for now. If they didn't find anything... He'd think of something. There was, however, a small matter about how he'd explain his presence at the school.

"The administrators wouldn't, by any chance, ignore the strange boy that popped up from the middle of nowhere and not call social services?" he asked sarcastically, "I need a way to explain my presence."

James walked through the halls with a frown, looking uncomfortably at his new clothes. One of the others had claimed that he was a cousin of theirs and somehow, someone managed to find a guy in town that made a living out of forgery. Usually drivers' licenses and ID's for kids that wanted to get into bars or clubs. Still, he hadn't batted an eyelash at a birth certificate, false school history, a social ID card, a driver's license, and a few other things he did not know the name of. Of course, he had demanded more money than he probably made a year and James was forced to hand over all of his meager funds, while the others pinched in as well. That made him extremely uncomfortable. He didn't like being in other people's debt, particularly when he didn't know them much at all. That also meant, of course, that he couldn't keep anyone out of the fight. No matter what he said, they were coming along for the ride. Fools.

With jolt, he stopped, right in front of the wall. He was in the musty basement of an old, decrepit building that was mostly used for storage. He and the others had been searching for the gateway that hid the Guardians' Sanctuary after finding out this was the oldest building on the grounds. At least, the oldest one that wasn't torn down. In front of him stared the very same symbol that he and the others had been combing the place for. He grinned slightly. The symbol was distorted, as though it was a puzzle with its pieces in the wrong place. He wondered.

He pressed his hand against it. Tiles. Of course. He just had to reassemble the symbol. Slowly, he began to turn it, his face splitting in an even wider grin. As he got to work, he texted to the others with one hand. I got it! It's on the east side, by the classroom collection of old tribal masks. He continued, first assembling the bottom and then the top until at last, it stood before him. Excitement welled up in his stomach. This was it.

He pressed the stone symbol and the wall seemed to just melt away. He stepped forward, heedless of the crucifixes that dotted the floor tiles or the scribbling script of the Hebrew and Arabic names for God. He stopped, however, when he felt point of a spear below his float. He looked up and gasped. Before him stood the statue of an angel, its foot upon the head of a dark, but handsome angel with black wings. He recognized its pose. The spear should be pointing at the neck, but the angel was directing its spear at him.

"St. Michael. The Archangel," he gasped. This was it. The entrance hall. If he managed to get past the first defense...

There were a few things that sucked about being lost. The first thing was obviously one was lost. The second was being lost and alone, which shouldn’t have been so bad in a school full of people. But Enya had this habit of getting lost in the most crowded of places. Glancing around, the red head, sighed, glancing back towards the map in her hands. It wasn’t helping her situation, if anything it was making it worse. She couldn’t read the things to save her life. So deciding that the best course of action was to just walk around until she found someone was the only plan she had in mind.

Then again, the building that she was at was pretty desolate. She hadn’t seen or even heard a sound. “I wonder if I could find my way back to the dorm.” She shook her head knowing it was hopeless on that cause too. She couldn’t remember the way she’d come. Standing up from where she’d been sitting, she rubbed the back of her neck actually wishing she had a hair bow. It was hot. And she loved the heat because it never seemed to bother her unless her hair was on her neck as it was now. Shaking her head she lifted the locks up allowing for some air and then let it back down. The copper strands reached the top of her medium green tank top easily. Now she was at least glad for the thin clothes. The tank top and jean shorts helped a lot but the socks didn’t. Too bad she was never abandoning the hiking boots.

Deciding that inside the buildings would probably be a better idea, she headed inside. And it was a lot cooler. She smiled lightly to herself as she looked around. She had to find someone in this place. “Hello?” She called out. She could hear her faint echo bouncing off the empty walls. “Great…” She muttered to herself as she wandered further into the building. Every now and then she would stop and look at some of the stuff becoming fascinated with a piece here and there.

After searching the whole upper floors, Enya decided to check the lower levels not holding out much luck. It seemed she managed to find her way to a building no one went to. Heading down she stopped a few more times to look at things before making it to the basement. She was just getting ready to turn around and head back up when she saw sight of the male. Finally, someone.

“Hello?” She called out lowly as she moved closer. That was when she saw the statue of the angel. She stopped walking and looked at it and then the boy. It looked particularly dangerous for him to be standing that close to the spear. But something inside her gut was going off. Something was off. She got the feeling every now and then but she could never explain it. All she knew was that something was right either with the situation or the other person himself. “Uh… is this a bad time… I’m kinda lost…” She whispered slightly as she kept looking at the statue and then the male.

From what seemed like out of nowhere, Saber came out from behind a wall to stand just next to James, her attire the same as before. She had been following James from a distance to see what course of action he would take and where it would lead him. If anything he had talked about before were true, then she decided that she had to be there to witness and to fight. James had led her to a building that she had not even known about until today, and as she saw James touch the wall and reveal a hidden passage, her heart fluttered with excitement and anxiety. It was then that she came out to see what was inside the hidden passage.

"Sorry, I don't exactly have a phone so I...."

Saber paused mid-sentence to stand in awe of the awesome architecture and detail of the statues of two angels that stood before her. In perfect condition, it could have been 2000 years old for all they knew.

"St. Michael. The Archangel,"

The statue was in the form of a famous painting that she had seen in reference books of St. Peters Basillica when she was doing a research paper for Art History 102. Why this statue was here at this place in a hidden passage was still a mystery.

"Who is like God..."

Everyone had split up to go and search for this door. Leon had gone west to check that side of the school. He had no idea what he was looking for but this symbol that James had shown him. He started at the top of the building and worked his way down. On the top floor he accidentally walked into someones room. "Oh god i'm sorry." he said as he rushed to close the door. 'Wow I have got to pay attention when it comes to searching.' he thought as he ran his hand through his hair and walked down the flight of stairs. His trips to the lower levels provided no clues to the whereabouts of this secret tunnel, room thing. He reached the ground floor and found nothing there.

"Wow I am no good at this kinda thing." he said as he exited the building. Outside was nice, well minus the extreme heat he would like it out here. Leon then walked toward the main building to see if he could find anything there, but before he got there he got a text saying I got it! It's on the east side, by the classroom collection of old tribal masks. "I know where that is."

He walked towards that end of the school which took him a few minutes. Once there he notice the angel holding a spear at James. "You know if you walked further that would have been a little unhealthy." He was trying to be smart or anything he was just pointing it out. He saw the girl with the sword and realized she must have wanted to join them. Leon rubbed the back of his head. "So is the place lined with traps or is this just the guardian that is to protect it?" He was unsure of what to do next so he waited until one of them made another move.

The idea of splitting up was horribly stupid in her mind. Yet, at the same time, she was glad to get away from everyone. She didn't like all the company and crowding, it was harmful to her sanity, it seemed. She started singing softly to herself, something that seemed like it should be in the trailer of a horror movie, she then laughed softly, the boredom, it was getting to her. And though she didn't like to admit it, she didn't like being completely and utterly alone, and silence, she hated it as well. Soon however, she stumbled across James and several of the others, along with someone she hadn't recalled seeing before. She caught the last words from Leon, something about if the place was full of traps and such. "That would just be our luck right?" she grinned. It was like a movie, truely, and she still had in the back of her mind the several people who struck her as odd before. "Are you demons?" she mumbled, speaking to no one. She walked closer to James, and looked at the spear ahead of her. "Well what the fuck, it's like the thing knew we were here, and it's threatening us." she stuck her tongue out a bit. "Or warning us." she laughed.

"So who are you then?" she directed her attention at the 'new girl'. She didn't recall seeing her the other day nor did she ever recall seeing her on campus. "Why are you even here?" she asked coldly. We're they just inviting random people now? She remembered the boy not wanting any of them to be a part of this. They were all going to die blah blah blah. "Whatever, what do you propose we do now then?" she asked, taking a look behind her and then keeping her eyes glued on the new girl. Eyes was used to acting on impulse, never listening to whatever someone said, even in unknown territory like this, but then eyes was on her own all the time, she had to dig deep just to stay put right in that moment.

As if being ignored was bad enough it seemed like she wasn’t even wanted. Enya had no problem with getting lost. The last thing she wanted to do was get on the bad side of anyone here. But this was her first time being around other people and she didn’t want to go back out and get lost again. She repressed a gulp as she looked from person to person.

It was, however, the remark made by the newest person who had come in that grabbed the girl’s attention. She stopped looking back and forth from person to person and focused solely on her. Demons. Those were things she knew about, but could she let that be known. No. She had to stay back. The feeling in her gut had only increased over time. She was beginning to wonder if they were like her.

Enya had known there were others out there, but she never thought she’d actually run into any of them. Okay, sure one at a time maybe but certainly not one than one at a time. This seemed to be a group. And if there were more? She repressed another gulp knowing that she now had to answer for herself.

“Uh… I’m lost… I’m just trying to get help…” She mumbled lightly. Now she wanted to stay. But she couldn’t say that. She lifted the glasses higher onto her face as her eyes flashed slightly in the light as she drew more power into them. It brought things into more focus as the green of the orbs grew defeating a bit more of the gray. “Can… I _” She was cut off by the girl bluntly writing her off as she started speaking to someone else in the group. “What are you all doing down here?” She was afraid to ask. Afraid of the response but she wanted to know.

If they are like me. If they can see the demons then… For once maybe I’ll have friends. Except maybe this one. She doesn’t seem to like me at all. Jeez, I can’t help it that I can’t read a map to save my life and get lost easily. Give a girl a break. But then again if they are like me how come there are so many of them at one place? I need to find a way to stick around… That’s too assertive. I’ve got to convince them somehow to let me stay then. I’m tired of being the only one who knows. I had to leave my family just to protect them… Wait. If I get this weird feeling in my gut does that mean they do too?

The question stuck with her as she glanced back to the statue, the boy standing in front of it and then to the other people in the room, lastly landing on the one person who was staring her down. She repressed another gulp, wanting to leave so she could get out from under the sharp gaze but she wanted to know, she had to know they were the same as her.

John eyed the statue curiously. There just had to be a way to get past it. If this was the entrance to the Sanctuary, then Guardians had to pass it by all the time, at least, when they were here. Slowly, he had been convinced that there weren't any Guardians anymore from not being able to find them and finally, seeing no one here, at their supposed headquarters. Nonetheless, he didn't let himself dwell on that disappointment. Instead, he stared at the statue curiously. He stepped back and was relieved to see the angel reposition its spear at its classical position over Satan's neck. At the voice of the new girl, however, he almost stumbled.

How did she sneak up on him like that? He must have been too busy thinking to notice someone behind him. If she had been a demon, he'd have been a goner. Nonetheless, he found it difficult to explain why he was here of all places, "I'm, uh, just looking for something. What are you doing here?"

At her answer, he nodded, "Lost, huh? I'm new here too..."

He was relieved to see Eyes and Leon, however. He rolled his eyes at the silvery haired male, "It was a booby trap, obviously. And there are obviously a few more defenses. There should be a system to get past them, however."

He sighed as he heard Eyes and then the new girl talk. He spoke, "It's sort of a secret. You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

Wouldn’t believe it even if she were told? It wasn’t like she hadn’t heard that line before. Course, she could have said the same to them about some things. Could it be that we are actually speaking about the same things? Enya sighed lightly as she glanced around still not liking the way the other girl was staring at her.

“I can see I’m not wanted…” The line pointed clearly to the female who kept glaring at her. She knew she should try to get to stay. But that was rude and she couldn’t be noticeably rude to people. She turned and started to head out of the room, back to the heat and back to being lost.

Before she left she turned and glanced back at the statue. “There would probably be a switch somewhere to get it to move. If the spear is moved when you get close, then the switch is somewhere else.” It was a logical solution, one anyway, to their problem. “That or you have to risk life and limb to get through it because the switch is on or near the angel.” She sighed lightly.

The copper haired teen knew she couldn’t out rightly ask what they meant by demons, or rather what the girl had meant by demons. She clearly didn’t want her around. The way to stay seemed to be the boy she first saw in the room. “So what did she mean by demons?” She wanted to see where they went with it. If those were the things she’d seen since fifth grade.

Leon scratched his head at what was being said between the others. He gave a small laugh. "Hehe. Um that is a really good point." He said as he moved past the girl. He started to examine the angel. It was quite detailed, the line looked perfect in almost every way. 'Wow who ever did this must have been doing this for quite some time.' Leon thought as he moved his head to get a better look at the statue. He took a few steps back to get in line with the others. "I can't really see anything in there." he said while shrugging.

He looked at the other girl and smiled. "Oh i'm sorry I didn't catch your name. What is it?" He didn't want to be rude but he was just curious. He examined the girl to just see what she really looked like. He started to look at her up and down and then turned around. 'Wow that was rude.' He thought. After a few moments he turned back to face her. "I'm Leon, in case you are wondering." He said as he looked to James to see what was to be done next.

"So James what is it that we do next?" He was kinda hoping he would say 'Oh you know nothing and not venture into the dark room with an angel that wants to kill us.' But Leon knew better than to hope for that. He then walked over the the angel and began to examine it one more time. "It feels like I missed something looking at this." He said out loud but not to anyone in particular. He stayed in a crouched position until he was told what was the next thing that they had to do in order to go further into this little cave.

So the new girl was lost, as she started to walk away she realized something she hadn't before, and she was surprised she hadn't seen in sooner. The girl had a very faint blue aura around her. Almost like that of James. James, the ice user. But blue could also stand for water, though why so faint. She observed the auras of the others, they were strong and bright. Did that mean the girl was weak, no, that couldn't be it. She then turned around and started talking about the so called traps and buttons they should be pushing or things they should not do. She also heard her say something about demons. Her aura indicated something along the lines of curiosity and deceit. "It's funny you should even ask that question." she said. "I think you know very well what I was talking about, furthermore..." She folded her arms, "It seems this girl possesses the water or ice element...but your aura is so faint I cannot make it out properly. She sighed and looked her up and down, just like Leon had, this made her grin some. "Well I had a theory, demons have unusually large black auras..." she trailed off. Adding, we were in the company of some last time, just seemed like something she didn't want to say at the moment. As if she wanted more stress or fear put into these people.

"You should stay here." she said while staring at the spear. "You know, if we can't find that fucking switch she was talking about, I can just freeze the time in this place - unless these traps include magic?" As Leon kneeled down and said he saw something that was missing, she raised an eyebrow. "What do you propose then? It's like the movies and we have to put the missing piece in to make it move?" Similar to a switch, technically. She looked back at the girl, she barely trusted these people, but the girl who just happened to wander in here, whether that was a good or bad thing in the end she wasn't sure of yet. She didn't want to take here eyes off anyone. "You also possess arcane magic." she stated, as if she didn't know already. As the white in her aura indicated. "So where is everyone else then?" she asked James. She wondered if they were still wandering around the place, or hadn't even bothered to come.

"And James, I think she would believe you." she said, stepping towards him some. "So, are we going to stand here forever or what?" She leaned against the wall ever so slightly, and one part of it moved back. She turned around abruptly to see a part of the wall then out of place. The angel moved slightly, but not enough to get passed. She cursed under her breath some and looked around. Immediately getting on her knees, she felt the wall up and down, and pushing another part of the wall, it moved again. "Ah, so that's how this works." When she stood up, she accidentally got too close to the angel, which then almost seemed to swing the spear at her, and in natural reaction, she created a shield in front of herself which stopped the spear. "Well fuck!" she shouted, stepping backwards, the angel then in the spot it began in. She realized then it was a sequence, she looked for the places in the wall again and pressed the first one, and carefully the second. "So where might the others be..."

Getting one of the teens to agree with her was a start, even if it wasn’t the person she believed to be the leader. It was definitely a start. Enya smiled lightly as she turned fully to face into the room. “I’m Enya.” She replied lightly right after the white haired male gave his name, Leon. She gulped under his gaze as he looked her up and down. She feared him seeing what she was doing as she did anyone who looked at her for too long. But once he stopped she breathed a small sigh of relief hoping it wasn’t noticeable. As soon as Leon went looking for the switch, possibly due to her comment, she took the chance to look around again.

The angel statue was highly impressive in the fact that as old as it appeared it could still move on its own or that the mechanical abilities to create it were present at such an ancient time. Then there was Leon bent down searching for a switch and the first male she’d seen, and the girl who wouldn’t stop staring at her. A fact that made her stomach twist into knots. As the girl started talking, her brows furrowed in confusion. I know what they’re talking about, the demons? She gulped under the hard gaze. What is she? How can she know these things about me? She thought to herself until the other girl brought up having a water or ice element.

“What do you mean… water or ice element?” She questioned as she looked at Eyes and then the two males in the room, using it as an excuse not to look at the other girl’s hard gaze as she looked her up and down. Then a single phrase caught her attention. She should stay. She felt her heart speed up and her stomach twist around. She could stay. No more having to be alone. “I… I can stay? Really?” She tried not to let the hope show through in her voice. She didn’t want to seem like her life depended on staying. It didn’t.

Then the other girl, Eyes, started speaking about freezing time and magic. Now she really was confused. Understanding the fact of demons was one thing. Things she’d seen since fifth grade could be called demons; sure, she wasn’t completely sure. But freezing time and magic? She shook her head, opened her mouth to speak and then stopped herself just short of any sound coming out. I have arcane magic? That’s what she calls what I can do? How does she know that? Enya’s demeanor changed. She stood rigid, her muscles close to shaking. If she knows what I can do, does she know the truth? She glared at Eyes as if it would help her figure out how much the girl knew or even how she knew it, or possibly even to keep her from knowing her secret that the arcane abilities that she had protected.

Taking a moment to calm herself down, to unknot the clumps of muscles in her body, she watched as the other girl played around with the wall and watched the angel statue move. Watching the spear being reflected off an invisible shield Enya completely froze more so than she had before. She can… she has a shield… The girl’s green and gray eyes were wide. “How did you do that?” It was the first time her voice was completely strong no sign of her scared to be around others self. Forget believing anything about the demons, freezing time, magic, water/ice elements, or arcane abilities. I thought I was the only one who could do that… But how did she block a physical attack? Even I can’t do that… She gulped again, blatantly staring at Eyes in shock through the darkened lens of her glasses.

Duranni went off to look for the symbol. She had no idea of where to start looking, but she was determined to help. You are the downfall of your race. You don't deserve to live. Stop helping them and be normal again, a voice in her head kept telling her. Humans are rats to be crushed underfoot and demons are the superior race that have natural rights to rule. Why was this voice so persistent? What made it so hard to abandon it? She had decided she wasn't going to be like that anymore. It was hard creating a new nature for herself. That was another way humans were better than demons, if there was something they didn't like about themselves they could change it much more easily than a demon could.

Duranni found the others after searching around for the symbol. They found a a statue holding a deadly looking spear. There was another human with them. The statue was moving its spear around, it was definitely part of this, but how did it correlate? Not sure what to do Duranni said to the new person, "I'm Duranni. What's your name?"