Violet was sick of hearing that name. Day and night, in school or at home, it was always the same routine. Have you paid your respects for Leon today? Have you kept Leon’s room clean? Have you prayed for Leon’s spirit in heaven? Leon this, Leon that. The moment she was suspected of putting up any kind of lip, she’d be accused of being callous and insensitive, of never having loved her own brother at all. They were so preoccupied over his death that it’s like they forgot she even existed. What was she to them?
She threw another stone. It skipped a good five or six times before vanishing below the river’s surface, slight ripples in its wake. Another pebble launched forward from somewhere behind her, hitting the water at least nine times before sinking. That was pretty good. Instead of turning around to face the mysterious challenger, she picked out another rock on the ground and flung it. Four times. Letting out a sigh that sounded more relieved than exhausted, she turned around to a boy squatting some two or three feet behind her. He seemed to be wearing a school uniform, but she wasn’t aware of any schools nearby that enforced a dress code. Maybe it was a new policy?
“I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a student in uniform,” she started, briefly making eye contact. A wave of uneasiness washed over her, but the sensation quickly faded as he returned her statement with a gentle smile. “Is your school from around here?”
“I’m not attending school,” the boy responded flatly, his smile from earlier now replaced with a slight frown. He rested his arms over his knees and cocked his head to the side. “What about you?”
“I’ve already dropped out,” she gave a noncommittal shrug, perhaps trying a little too hard to come off as nonchalant. “I don’t give a damn about what my parents say anymore. They’ve never cared from the beginning either way.” It was always Leon. That’s how it was back then and that’s how it still is even now, years later. They just couldn’t give it a rest, no matter what they had to sacrifice in the process. It’s almost as though they believed they were being watched and judged by him above. Heaven doesn’t even fucking exist.
“It exists,” the boy suddenly said, interrupting—or perhaps reading?—her thoughts. “It exists,” he repeated, his eyes narrowed and his voice more distanced. “Heaven…” He paused a moment in hesitation, a soft twinkle in his eyes that seemed to carry an unfathomable sadness in them. “…and Hell.”
His words—no, the way he said them—put her at a loss for words. She could feel the chills running down her spine. What did he mean by that? How did he know what she was thinking? Was she just thinking too much into it?
“How did you…?”
“I think it’s about time for me to start heading home,” the boy yawned, simultaneously standing up and stretching. His arms spread, extending above his head as he let out another yawn. His hair caught the glow of the setting sun, radiating a brilliant sheen of gold. The flowers swayed and danced with each breath of wind, the cool breeze melding seamlessly with the tranquil ambiance. The scene was breathtaking and she found herself staring longer than she should have. She’d been graced with the presence of an angel.
And with a blink of an eye, he simply vanished. Gone. Out of thin air. She blinked again, half-expecting him to come back. Of course, no such thing happened, but she was content. That feeling of warmth still lingered in the air and it blew a new breath of life into her. She was beyond questioning the nature of this sequence of events, satisfied with things as they were. The need to question had all but left her.

To be honest, she really didn’t believe it. Portals that lead into another dimension? That didn’t make any sense. There wasn’t any proof and all video evidence could be passed off as cheap visual effects. That kind of thing could easily be duplicated nowadays by any kid with a program you can snag off the shelf for a couple dozen bucks. Yet there she was standing, in front of one of the supposed altars that lead into the Aether. The locations of these things were certainly no secret—in fact, they were quite publicized. But honestly, who really believed any of that? It was large marble obelisk that rose about fifteen meters tall in a needle. Surrounding it in a circle was an array of similar but smaller stone posts.
She laid her palm flat against the stone surface. Was something supposed to happen? Was that all there really was to it? She sighed and backed up a few steps. She was an idiot for even trying. Why was she even here? It’s not like the entire thing didn’t smell of horseshit in the first place. As she turned around, she felt a subtle rumble underneath her feet. Slowly turning around, the smaller stones began sinking into the ground while the large one in the center split into four parts. She instinctively side-stepped so that she didn’t get laid flat when it came down. In the middle, there was a wide hole that was just wide enough for her to fit through. It looked more like a deathtrap than a portal to another dimension. To be honest, she was kind of expecting a ring of glowing light but she supposed that didn’t make much sense either. Though with everything she’s seen so far, she was starting to believe that maybe—just maybe there really was a world on the other side. All that was needed was this one last step.

Violet couldn’t tell how long it’s been since she’d hit the ground. There didn’t seem any way to reach the surface world again. It wasn’t that the entrance wasn’t possible to get to; it was that it just didn’t seem to exist anymore. Nor did sunlight. It was always dark—or at least musky—meaning all light had to be artificially created. The deep forest was a terrifying place to be in with nothing to light the way. The calls of animals that were common in forests on the surface were entirely absent here and that was perhaps the most unnerving thing. All she could hear was her own breathing and footsteps as she aimlessly wandered through the forest. At the very least, she wasn’t feeling hungry or thirsty despite having gone so long without anything to eat or drink, something she’d dismissed as a side effect of being in the Aether.
And it was no wonder why she was so startled when there was a sudden shuffling in the shrubberies somewhere behind her. She spun around, nearly tripping over her own feet as she walked backwards, watching her six with fearful eyes. She paused with bated breath, all sound having gone dead in the dark.
A small gray creature shot out from the bushes and leaped straight toward her, jaws wide open and its claws ready at its side. It must have been several meters away, but it was clearly going to land directly on her from the trajectory of its powerful jump. Violet’s eyes opened wide, knowing that there was nothing she could do. Fleeting thoughts entered her mind and then…
…it happened.
Something sharp and painful squirmed inside of her chest and burst out, feeling warm blood splash across her shirt. She could barely see what it was, but the thing snagged the creature out of midflight in its maw, splitting the monster in half between its razor teeth. The black, eyeless worm-like demon continued to coil out of her chest and dove toward the forest floor, hastily devouring the remnants of the creature it had just killed. Violet stared down at the thing in shock, touching it with shaking hands.
What…the fuck…is this?
Blood continued to spill from the hole it emerged from, its body scraping against the sides of the fissure in her chest. The pain was almost too much to bear, but for some strange reason she didn’t feel as though her life was in danger, but it didn’t end there. She felt the same sensation her back, only this time it was more static. Blades ripped out from her spine and extended outward in a spider-like formation around her sides. A massive eyeball appeared on her hand, staring unblinkingly back at her. Screaming, Violet stumbled back and landed on her rear, taken aback by this insane series of events. Somebody must’ve heard it because a new, unfamiliar figure made its way into the clearing, this one definitely human.
“Don’t look at me,” Violet whispered hoarsely with tears in her eyes, curled up as various appendages from her body thrashed and snapped around. The demon snarled and swung its head around and the blades sliced through the air and the dirt indiscriminately, kicking up dust and shredded leaves. “Please…don’t look…”

The stranger who went by the name of David had offered her clothes to replace her ripped ones, bringing her to some kind of settlement near the border of the forest. The room was lit by several candles, forcing away the darkness in every corner. Violet sipped a cup of water, looking warily up at the man. She'd calmed down for now, but she never wanted to experience that ever again.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, setting the cup back down.
“Don’t mention it,” he smiled. “You headed anywhere?”
“I…don’t really know where I’m going,” she shook her head. “I’m looking for somebody.”
“Everyone’s looking for somebody,” he laughed. “Sorry, I can’t help you there. The only way out of the forest is through the ravine, but the only problem is that it’s swarming with monsters. This settlement’s been holding a discussion on banding together to clear it out so everyone can move on. Of course, you can always go back the other way, but that’s arguably much more dangerous, especially if you plan on traveling on your own.”
“When’s the next meeting?” she asked.
“Right now,” David shrugged. “It’s happening in the next room. Want to listen in?”
“S-Sure,” she nodded hesitantly. It wasn’t like her to be so timid and uncertain of herself, but she’d never been so frightened in her life so she couldn’t really say that she could help it. She followed the man into the next room where the meeting was taking place. There were quite a few people there, only all of these people seemed to be different or have something on them. Violet was the only one in the room that wasn’t visibly different from a normal human being.
“You bring a ghost in here David?” one masked man asked.
“No, she’s one of us,” he said, seating Violet down in an empty chair. “Go on with the discussion.”
Violet glanced around nervously at the faces around her, fidgeting anxiously with her hands. What was going to happen from now on? She took a small breath and listened.

"Another one!? Dang, she's a bit young." Patraeko called out from behind the two, his voice was spoken in a very cocky tone. It seemed crazy how Patraeko had first made his appearance behind the two, but he had already made it next to Violet, crouching down to get to her level. "You sure you ain't stumbled upon the entrance here? Accidental discovery eh?" His tone seemed more insane as he rested his hand on Violet's shoulder, his cybernetic eye seemed to be scanning her body all over, the small red line moved side to side as if it were a pupil.

"Don't kill it" A high pitched voice sounded from behind Violet, the source of the voice appeared in the form of a red and green parrot which flew down and perched on Patraeko's shoulder. "One more til big One-Zero, don't kill it, kill that, not that" The bird continued on repeating the sentence until Patraeko stood and raised his robotic arm to silence the bird.

"Shush, Jeremy." Patraeko ordered in a very serious voice. "Anyway, sorry for being late guys! I was caught up fighting a rogue seeker, he made number 9!" Patraeko moved around the room as he spoke, jumping and spinning as if he was trying to dance. The parrot flew after Patraeko, trying to perch on his shoulder. As soon as Patraeko reached the seat a couple seats down from where Violet sat. He jumped and performed a front flip, only to land on the chair, sitting down. The parrot joined him by perching on his shoulder.

"Continue"

There was voice from behind her as Violet seated herself. This wasn't so much a cause for concern as the fact that he suddenly laid a hand on her. A myriad of switches went off in her head and she found herself swinging her arm at him.

"Don't touch me!" Violet shrieked, bucking in her chair. A single blade ripped out of her skin and extended outward, nearly within range to slash him. The room suddenly went silent, blood dripping from her hand. Her fingers curled and her breathing became labored, her vision a haze. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" she said hoarsely, grasping her shoulder as though a great deal of harm had been done to it. "I'll wring your fucking neck if you touch me again," she hissed, the blade retracting back underneath the flesh of her arm. Sitting beside her, David raised a brow, surveying the faces of the others at the meeting.

"What's everyone stopping for?" he said, ignoring the outburst. "Carry on."

Violet lowered her arm, her arm shaking as she rested her hands in her lap. "Don't fucking touch me," she whispered to herself, an empty glint her eyes. Her breathing had slowed down a little but she had trouble containing herself. No matter how furious she became, this was one place where she needed to maintain self control. Unlike the surface world, if she lost it here, she might really kill somebody. Violet closed her eyes and flushed all thoughts from her mind.

"Don't worry about it," David said. "Just be more careful next time."

"He mentioned something about a seeker," Violet said quietly as not to disturb the discussion. "What is that?"

"That's what we all are," he answered. "People who come down into the Aether."

"Why would they fight each other?"

"It's a bit of a handful to explain right now," he sighed. "I'll explain it to you after the meeting's over."

"I still think we need Ezekiel for this," one woman said on the opposite side of the room. "He knows the Aether better than any of us and he can probably handle himself in any situation no matter how rough things get. He can keep us safe."

"Yeah, but who's gonna go look for him?" a second man said. "He left, but he never mentioned if he was coming back or not. If we lost people out there looking for someone who isn't even around anymore, we won't have enough people to push through the ravine once we come back."

"It's a risk we have to take," a third one said. "We don't know if we can make it as it is."

"I don't think so," he shook his head. "We don't know for sure."

Patraeko said or did nothing while he sat. Instead, he stared over at Violet. Recalling the images in his head, touching her only for her to lash out at him. Bit mean. At least he managed to keep his cool by dodging back and dancing around the room. He giggled to himself as he thought about dancing around the room. Damn he must've looked like an idiot.

"Hmm... What do you think, Jeremy?" Patraeko spoke quietly towards the parrot, trying not to interrupt the meeting.
"One-Zero! No. Good. Don't kill it." The parrot repeated yet again to Patraeko.
"Stop acting as if that's all you can say, just be quiet and wait til later."

Patraeko leant forward and rested his head on his hands, still glaring over to Violet. Jeremy jumped off of his shoulder and stood on the table, also staring over at Violet.

As the morning light shone across a glistening white marble spire that extended into the air and was surrounded by smaller posts of similarly-colored ivory stone, a young pink-haired boy in red and white formal wear approached the (not so) sacred structure, hands clenched. He looked nervous, but there was a fierce determination in his eyes at the same time.

He had read about it before in history. This was one of the many gateways to the land known as the Aether. It was a terrifying realm of death, full of strange creatures that were utterly lethal. Many claimed that it was where the deceased slept, but others decried this as a hoax--many expeditions into the ironically named hell had gone disastrously. No sane person would go inside, everyone cried, it was pointless and suicidal, and overall not worth the risk, even if you were trying to revive someone dear to yourself. But here and now, this boy was poised to enter it, to rescue some people dear to himself.

Entering the spire and climbing through several flights of stairs, the boy found himself nearing a dead end with some kind of inscription carved into it. Despite all his studies, he could not recognize the language at all. He looked around for other clues, but there were none, and he soon gave up with a sigh, leaning against the carved stone surface. "Well, it's not as though someone will be my tour guide," he sighed, coughing a little from the dust hanging in the air. "So how do I get in...?"

Suddenly, he felt weak pulsations coursing through the stones. Instinctively, he stood up straight, looking around fearfully, and noticed a pattern in the floor that he had missed earlier. Inside this pattern, the smaller stones began sinking into the ground while the large one in the center split into four parts. In the middle, there was a wide hole that was just wide enough for one person to fit through. Perplexed and amazed, the boy slowly approached, peering into infinite blackness below. Two years ago, he would have loved to find out what mechanism had opened the hole, but that side of the boy was now dead. The present-day one now prepared to enter the world at the bottom of this hole. "Sleep well and wait for me, my dear brothers...Thomas, and Christopher. I will be coming for you soon," he whispered into the air in an intense voice, as though those people he was trying to save were directly in the room, peering into the blackness alongside him.

Squeezing his eyes shut and reassuring himself that this was the right choice, Michael Aefenleoht hurled himself into the Aether.

--------------------------------

After what felt like an eternity of falling past blades sweeping through the air and into the fiercest winds that desired to rip him to pieces, Michael finally hit solid rock, letting out a yelp as he was thrown a small distance from the impact. But as he stood up, he couldn't help but smile. He was one step closer to finding his brothers.

He had landed at the bottom of a rocky valley. It seemed he was the only one there, as there were almost no sounds save for birds calling high up above. He figured it was probably best to leave quickly, though, for this was a place inviting him to get attacked from many different angles. As he began to climb, he muttered to himself, "Now, what was that I heard about a Guardian?" he muttered to himself. He remembered that phrase came up repeatedly in his readings, but what was it about...?

But then, out of nowhere, a sharp pain entered his left hand. With a shout, he clasped it with the other hand tightly, glancing at it in confusion. There wasn't any blood on it at all, right? However, when he turned it over, he was greeted by something completely unfamiliar...

A green crest shaped like a pentagon with a design resembling a flower at its center now glowed on the back of his hand. "What's happening? What is this thing?!" Michael's panic only heightened when the earth began to tremble beneath his feet...except it was much stronger. Stones began to fall around him, and he nearly fell down. Terrified out of his wits, Michael started to run away, ignoring the searing pain that the crest had etched into him. Now all that mattered was getting away from this horrible disaster. But he had hardly gotten 3 meters when the ground behind him suddenly split open, hurling him forwards and upon his face. Groaning in agony, Michael looked back to see what had happened...and his mind blanked out with the most terror he had felt that day.

Hovering above him was a towering giant stone, which looked like it was supposed to be some kind of decoration...except it looked weathered, and red lines of energy were appearing as it continued to form. However, as the rock continued to grow, it molded into more twisted and bizarre shapes, pointing upwards like a mountain. Then, lava began to flow from the peak of the mountain, shaping itself into the form of two giant hands of both solid and molten rock, as well as two strange tentacles purely made out of lava. Two more quantities of lava appeared at the bottom, growing to become its "legs"...though they looked far too thin and flexible to serve the purpose well. Finally, at the top of the original rock, the lava spiked upwards and hardened to reveal a face with glowing red eyes.

But Michael only saw half of this, for his mind was seeing something completely different.

2 years ago. The earth was shaking itself to pieces underneath his feet. People were running away, looking terrified themselves, as their homes shattered and toppled in the distsance. But Michael was pleading to a man, "Please let me go back into the city! I must find my family!" But he was ignored, until the officials believed him to be nothing but a nuisance and hauled the now weeping boy away...

30 minutes later, he had been all around the evacuation sites and felt exhausted and hungry, but he had not seen his family at all. Just when the boy was about to collapse, there was an explosion on the mountainside. Shortly afterwards, a glowing orange liquid began to flow down the slope. Watching with horror, Michael knew it was lava. Screaming and sobbing at the air, he could do nothing else as the molten rock swallowed the city. Though it was very far away, he could feel the heat upon his own skin, burning away at him as much as he knew it was burning away at his family...

2 mornings later. Waking up with cramps and pains in every part of his body, entire body dirty and tear-stained, Michael staggered in a sickeningly comical way back towards his home, while people tried to clear away the ash and rock that had deposited there. But when he finally found the house, all of his artifacts and books, his older brother's puppets and dolls, his eldest brother's telescope and constellation charts...they were all destroyed.

And the brothers themselves were lying outside, as nothing but statues, looking upwards with anguish and despair. Their faces seemed to scream, "Why didn't you save us?" Michael, staring at these faces, simply stood there with tears streaming down his face, the parts of his brain that allowed him voluntary control so overloaded that it could no longer control his body. And then, finally, he fell like a rag doll, unable to stay conscious any longer with the horror and guilt...

Now, when Michael stared at the towering colossus of magma above him, he could only think of the disaster that had claimed his family. "No...this can't be real...s-stay away from me!" he howled, trying to scramble to his feet, but his body did not respond correctly, and he crashed to the ground almost immediately. Then, he suddenly noticed that the orange glow was getting stronger, and slowly turned his head back...and was treated to the sight of the golem reaching down towards him, as though to grab him.

As it drew closer and closer, Michael's thought process became more and more scrambled. He wanted to run or scream, but he could no longer convince his body to do either of those things. All he could do was watch the hand that would certainly cause his death get closer and closer--

--------------------------------

Before the newly created lava monster could touch the young boy that had appeared, said boy suddenly fainted, tears and sweat drenching his body. The colossus, however, did not get the message that it should stop its hand, but instead simply picked up the boy and started to walk out of the gorge, cradling its new companion gently.

This was the least it knew to do, for this magma titan was actually Michael's Guardian.

Another day, another nothing. The goatee'd man sighed a little, brushing dust off of his clothes with his hands. It had been a while since he entered the Aether - no real reason, really, he just had too much pent up stress in the real world, and wanted an escape. Jobs, love, relationships, expectations, rules, red tape... so many things just messed with him, and he was really beyond his limit by the time he had decided to look into the occult. He wasn't really like the other seekers - not really looking for any person persay, because he hadn't really lost anyone in his life. He just wanted to get away from it all. Live in a way where he didn't have to worry about the pains of daily life, all the stress and pain of society. In this way, he didn't have to do any of that, and could live out his days in peace and quiet, secluded from any settlement.

He even decided to abandon his name back in the real world - it wasn't required anyways. His life in the aether was completely separated from whatever his old persona was. There was no real resemblance whatsoever - it was a complete cognitive disconnect. It was just the way he wanted. Peace, and quiet. The solitary life. This kind of tranquility... it really didn't exist in real life. Not at all. It wasn't as if he hated real life or anything, or the people even. He just didn't fit in with how society worked - so why not ditch out? That's what he did. And far into the foreseeable future, he knew he'd not regret his decision.

So when he saw a small form walking up from the distance, the man really was confused. She looked young - no idea how old she was, really, but at the very least, at the time she entered this world, she must have been somewhere in her teen years. Or, at the very least, be short. It was hard to tell many details of her body - most of it was covered by a long dark grey cloak that covered most of her. She really was tiny. And, well, the man didn't really know how to respond at first. He opened his mouth - it felt creaky and odd, as if he hadn't opened it in a long time. He tried to work his tongue - that worked even less. It felt utterly alien. So while he tried to greet the girl somewhat jovially, what instead happened was him staring at her, mouth agape. And that earned a sharp, almost haunted glare from the girl.

"...Suspicious." She muttered.

What was suspicious? He tried to say it, but it only came out as 'whaspshious?" and the girl cocked an eyebrow uncomfortably, almost menacingly. The man tried again, but with no real success.

The girl really did look haunted, as if she was incessantly hunting for something that was unattainable. As if she'd given up on everything but the end goal. She walked with confidence and purpose, and honestly, it made the man feel somewhat in awe. Someone like her was truly someone to watch out for - she had power. And the mindset to make use of that power, for whatever ends she may have. No guardian to see - so she had to have some kind of self or aegis reflection. Probably a speed type, what with her small subtle movements and almost calculated shifts in position. And at last, the two were face to face, the man dwarfing her in physical size, but the girl towering over him in terms of presence.

"Rumors." The girl said, looking at the man in distaste. Her entire body was coiled up, as if she was a snake - her muscles were tensed to the point that one wrong move from the man would send her into a killing position, most likely. It was the first time in a long time the man felt fear. "People say there's a rapist around. You look likely." Her mouth curved downwards in irritation. "Gonna defend yourself, or are you just gonna stand there and let me kill you?"

"I'm innocent!" The man spurted out - although it came out slurred and blurred together into indistinguishability. The girl almost huffed and shrugged.

"Heh." She lowered the hood of her cloak, revealing a too-wide, almost crazed smile. "So be it!"

She brandished her left hand, and sparkles almost seemed to flow from them. Sparkles? The man just stared in shock - self reflection, then? Sparkles? What?

"Justice unto you!" She shouted, looking almost embarrassed. The area around her seemed to mold the moment she said it -was it like a key phrase, or something? She then shimmered and her whole body seemed to shine a bright lavender color. The cloak then wrapped around the feminine shape, making it ambiguous and shifting, before suddenly puffing out behind her, now attached and more like a ruffled and torn cape behind her, attached to her almost wing-like left sleeve. Her arms went together at the elbow, and her body arched forwards - the something akin to a skirt appeared to explode from behind her, before encircling around to it's entirety. Extra frills appeared under the skirt, unleashing another wave of sparkles that rested around her feet. The girl went back into almost a standing position, before twirling around - sparkled reaching up and wrapping around her chest and torso, before turning into a fluffy lavender and white one-piece, melting together with the skirt. A cup-like right sleeve emerged at the same time. The girl made a twirl - lavender tendrils wrapped around her feet, forming thigh length boots. Her hair cascaded out -was it getting longer? - and was done up into a graceful pony tail, the elastic emerging from the sparkles that were floating all over. The girl then spun again, this time faster and lower, and a long curved serrated sword burst out from the somewhat sword-and-wing like crest on her left hand. Her arm swung as a dark purple ribbon burst from her chest, attaching to the dress, while standing in an aggressive stance.

Somehow the above happened in less than a second in actuality - all anyone really could see was her being enveloped in a lavender light, and emerging from it in magical girl form. She aimed the sword threateningly towards the man, in a mockery of those cheerful and adorable anime magical girls, a look of righteousness and fury on her face. The man took a defensive stance, fire twisting around his wrists in preparation for an attack. A fight was inevitable at this point.

The cape suddenly tore apart, into two bits - two ripped up and almost demonic wings. The next second, the girl surged forward with incredible speed - the fire blasted uselessly at where the girl once was - it was already too late. The girl had knocked him over and now was holding his body down. The crooked grin on her face only twisted further in pleasure.

"This is for your victims!" She screamed, and stabbed the sword downwards, twisting the weapon around in the man's stomach. Blood spurted out and his form contorted in agony - a scream exploding from his mouth. What appeared to be meaty tissue mixed with intestines was bubbling out of the wound. The girl only giggled and drove the weapon down again, eliciting another cry of helplessness from the man.

What could he do? He was absolutely innocent. And yet, the girl seemed determined to place the blame on him. He only wanted to live a life away from everyone, so why was this happening? The girl whistled nastily and her hands went down to his pants, preparing to undo the zipper and pull them down.

"I should cut this thing off." The girl growled. "Serves you right. Filth. Trash. It's only justice...." Smirk. "Right?"

She wrenched the pants down... revealing smooth skin. No genitalia whatsoever. The girl stared at it in shock for a few seconds, before shaking her head, and staring again. Calculations seemed to run through her mind at incredible speed, before she got off the man, doing a little spin in the air remove the blood from her body. Her eyes remained cold and unwavering on the man.

"....So, you're innocent." She murmured curtly. "Shouldn't have looked so suspicious."

The man gurgled something, but the girl refused to acknowledge his existence any longer.

"Time to keep hunting." She sighed with resignation. "Kill him. Get stronger. Hopefully find Olivia on the way." A hesitant pause. "...Maybe."

The girl then tore her cape apart again kinetically, transforming them into wings and took flight aimlessly, until she spotted a giant magma thing walking, leaving behind the innocent and helpless man. The girl descended, quickly shifting back into non-magical form, letting the cloak drape around her once again, and putting the hood back over her head. It looked like a boy - unconscious, perhaps out of fear, but he didn't look like the type to be a rapist, did he? She landed deftly on the magma monster, beside the boy, before tapping him a few times. Maybe he had some information.

Perhaps.

"Hey." She muttered in a monotone voice, punctuating each word with a poke in the cheek. "Boy. C'mon. Wake up. I gotta ask you some shit already."

As the magma colossus continued walking away from the gorge from which it had risen out of, a girl suddenly landed upon its hand, directly next to its new master. What she wanted wasn't clear, but the giant's other hand began to rise when she approached the boy, as if to attack her. When she didn't try to harm him, it also did not strike, though its hand still remained in position.

No one could really tell what the titan was thinking at any given time, but it was clear it was ready to protect its master from anything that it deemed a threat.

--------------------------------

A rhythmatic series of jabs to the face caused Michael to finally awaken from his nightmare...or whatever he had experienced in the gorge. Rubbing his face, he started to rise, feeling his entire body had been soaked from the cold sweat he had broken into...that apparently hadn't stopped even when he was sleeping. Was his heart beating faster, still? This was really bothersome...but terrifying, of course. If he met that giant again, what would happen? Would he have a mental breakdown again?

There was no point in worrying about all this, so he looked around to see who had been poking him in the cheek. It seemed to be a girl with black hair, barely older than he was. "O-oh...hello," he greeted awkwardly, giving his best smile that he could after the trauma episode. "Well...I'm awake now. You were sayi-"

But his words froze midsentence, for as he was looking up to her, he noticed that the magma colossus from before was also there...and holding them in its hand, even. Once again, his mind blanked out, and he suddenly fell back down in the giant's hand, his eyes wide and his entire body tense. His vision blurred with a crazed combination of whatever he was seeing now, and the events that the magma colossus reminded him of...

It seemed the boy was awake. And given his sudden self-interruption, perhaps he was completely new to this whole aether thing. Though... there wasn't much of a reason for such a fearful reaction? In her current form, she was utterly inconspicuous. And the monster wasn't even that bad. Just a giant magma lump, or whatever. While she knew that there must have been some kind of symbolic reason as for why the boy's reflection spawned a guardian, it didn't really matter all too much to her. She focused her gaze on the boy, rearranging her hood slightly.

"I'll explain all this shit later." She said flippantly, gesturing at the guardian. "Just answer me this first, boy. I was thinking. You look kinda girly." She paused, chuckling a little. "...You kinda act girly too. So maybe your fear reaction was cuz of this rapist I heard goin' around. You seen him? Know where he went?" She sighed, still sneering at the boy. "I was hunting him for the past few weeks. Scum. Y'know. But yeah. Any idea where he mighta gone, boy?"

Though he could tell even in his nightmare...actually, he had no idea what he was supposed to call it, since he was still awake...that the girl was talking to him, Michael could barely hear her over his memories. He couldn't respond at all for a few minutes, before the hallucination ended abruptly. Gasping for breath, Michael put a hand on his heart, just to make sure it was still there. When he felt as though he had calmed down enough, he started trying to respond, but it all came out in a quiet, raspy voice that was completely different.

"...I...I haven't seen any...rapist at all...or anything here...really," he replied, trying not to look at her, for if he looked in her direction, he'd be looking at the magma giant directly. "...I...just entered...the Aether...some time ago. Fainted...when I came in."

Of course, he could divulge into the reasons why he had fainted, but he was trying his absolute best not to go into it.

If the girl really cared at all about the boy or whatever, she'd have thought more about what kind of thing would make the boy faint so suddenly. She took a cursory glance at the scenery - there really wasn't anything special around, unless the Guardian counted. So... magma-based trauma? In any case, it didn't matter. What did matter was that this boy had no lead whatsoever on her hunt. She prepared to unleash her wings again, when she remembered that she said she'd explain the whole deal to the newcomer. So, perhaps grudgingly, the girl sat down again, almost uncomfortably.

"...Whatever." She said, with a lazy frown. "Guess I gotta get you up to speed..." She poked the boy again. "What do I even call you? Just boy all the time ain't really gonna cut it." She then gestured at herself. "I'm Luna, by the way. Been here much longer than you."

It was only after the girl had moved herself right next to him that Michael finally started looking in her direction...well, she didn't seem very friendly, but at least she was bothering to give him a hand. At first, Michael was about to stand up, but his legs were too weak from the trauma, and he ended up clumsily falling back down. "Ah...I am Michael Aefenleoht," he replied, keeping his voice as steady as he could as he nodded in her direction. Wasn't exactly a bow, but it would work. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. Um...just call me whatever you want, I suppose?"

Michael whatevertheshit. The last name was too confusing, and it didn't really seem worth it to bother. And Michael sounded kind of silly. Mike would have to do. Mike the boy that wasn't really very manl- anyways. That didn't matter. The girl relaxed on the hand, figuring she might as well take the time to rest a little before ditching the runt and hunting again.

"So, Mike." She started. "I ain't gonna ask why you're here. That's personal shit. But you do gotta know that... there're demon things. They wanna kill ya. That means combat. Relyin' on your Guardian - the magma dude - who, by the way, is a lot bigger than most Guardians I seen. So I s'pose you got lucky there." She stretched her arms. "Anyways. Yeah. Demon things. Combat. Gotta get over whatever's got you afraid if you wanna survive in here. This magma dude's your only ally. Understood?"

Well, "Mike" would work, he supposed...but when Luna said he had to rely on his guardian, which was the magma colossus of all things, Michael stared at her with disbelief and dismay. He started to protest the idea, before he realized that there was really no point in protesting--she knew the land better than he did, so she probably was more aware of what was going on. "...some luck I have," he sighed, eyes focused unusally closely upon his hands...no wait, he couldn't look at them, either, not with the new green marking that had appeared. "Um...I'd like to ask more, but...I think I'm a, um, bit of a special case, so never mind. Well...is there anywhere we can go, then...like, where the demons won't attack us, or something?"

Looking the boy over... who really did seem utterly terrified of pretty much everything, Luna figured that it really was a shame. If he was stronger mentally, he'd be an amazingly powerful fighter, what with the Guardian. Of course, Guardian Reflections leave the seeker themself to be vulnerable, doesn't it? So... in any case, the boy would have to learn some basic self defense. Or... just go to some settlement and stay there, where he'd be surrounded by others. That's the coward's route though - but perhaps it suited him just fine. He wouldn't have to really fight - but then, he wouldn't be able to find whatever it is he's looking for, either.

It really did suck. Luna'd probably have a better time finding Olivia if she had a strong companion to sic on whatever's too strong for herself to handle.

"There's some place with people up ahead." Luna pointed in the direction. "Though, y'know. Demons can still get in. But there's safety in numbers." A sigh. "...Though it's kinda stupid. Can't look for what ya came here for, ya know?"

Well, as good a time as any to describe the whole Reflections shindig.

"Anyways. Y'got three different types of reflections. You're a Guardian type." She grabbed his face and aimed it at the magma dude. "In which y'got that guy, for example, protecting your ass." She then quickly shimmered lavender, emerging in her magical girl outfit after whispering her catch phrase and looking away briefly (conveniently at the point in which Mike started to laugh, but barely managed to suppress it before any sound could come out or when she turned back.). "...Y'got Aegis. That's me. Enchanted equipment and stuff. Like my sword." She quickly changed back. "Then y'got self reflection. Like, body mods, or super powers. Y'could have better reflexes, maybe. Or shoot lighnting outta your nipples. Shit like that." She poked the b- Mike again. "Ya gettin' it so far?"

Michael shot an annoyed glance in her direction. "Would you mind not poking me so much?" he asked, before his expression changed back to its normal smile...which wasn't necessarily genuine, but let us ignore that for now. "But, yes, I think I get it."

"You're helpless." Luna said smugly. "Kinda like someone I kn- anyways. Yeah. And helpless people're fun to poke." She then conjured up a small dull rapier, and tossed it at Mike, hilt first. "Swing that 'round a bit. You're gonna have to fight yourself too, at least a little bit. Just in case. Magma dude don't look like a fast type."

As he caught the unsheathed weapon (it was best not to ask where it had come from), Michael sighed. Helpless, she had called him. It wasn't exactly the most encouraging thing to hear after a trauma attack...Ugh, I shouldn't be thinking of that now! Carefully propping himself up with the thin blade, he tested his legs to see if they were actually capable of working now. To his relief, they were. "So...I guess I'll need to use this weapon, then." He tried stabbing through the air with it, but of course his arm was shaky, and he was sure he looked silly. Hell, Thomas would be laughing at him ri-

Shouldn't. Think. About. Thomas.

Michael was about to sheath the rapier, but he remembered there was no sheath, and he was just making himself look even more idiotic. With a sigh, he put it back down. "Well...thank you for telling me about this place, Luna."

....This really was hopeless. Mike just didn't really seem good or whatever, with a sword. Perhaps it'd take time. Luna more or less ignored the thanks - she's a knight of goddamn justice, didn't need no thanks - and brandished her left hand. Her mark glowed, and yet another sword popped out. She did this a few more times until there was a small, yet worthy selection. A greatsword, a claymore, a cavalry sword, an estoc, a zweihander, even a shortsword and an epee. There was also a katana, but she had a feeling Mike wouldn't go for that one. She gestured at the selection with a grin.

"So maybe a rapier ain't your style." She said. "Pick whatever feels right t'you, I guess. Then we can ask some smithy in the settlement t'make you a sheath for it, after you try it out." She looked fondly at the weapons. "A sword's gotta feel like an extension of your own arm, y'know. Gotta feel natural. If it's awkward, y'won't be able to use it in a pinch."

Though Michael was actually tempted to pick up the katana just to see what it was like, he figured it was the worst possible choice. He looked among the other weapons, already knowing he wouldn't be able to weild something too heavy, so the zweihander was out of the question, too...after going through the other swords, he picked up the claymore and started swinging it around. This one felt a little more right, but he needed two hands to wield it. Oh well, better than nothing...hopefully he could find someone to teach him how to use it.

"Then, I guess I'll go with this one," he declared, holdng it up. "Is it really okay, though, for you to just be handing me your swords?"

"I got plenty of spares." Luna shrugged, before conjuring her own favorite, a curved cavalry sword. "Wanna have a go?"

"W-wait, now?!" Michael stared at her with disbelief. "Um...I don't know if I'd like to do that...you know, we might..." How was he supposed to word this without feeling silly? Somehow, though, it didn't feel like the palm of the magma colossus...or rather, his cruel joke of a Guardian...was the best place for a duel. "Um...maybe when we get to the settlement," he sighed.

That reminded him, he needed to tell his Guardian to head to the settlement. Would it listen to him, though...? "H-hey. Guardian," he called up, without looking at its face himself. "We, uh, need to go in that direction, okay?" His hand pointed in the direction that Luna said the settlement was in.

To his surprise, the Guardian immediately turned and began to move in that direction without any questions or delays. Perhaps it wouldnt' be that much trouble after all...maybe. All he needed to do was get over his fear of it...

Luna waved a hand and dispelled the extra swords, before putting herself back into a relaxed position.

"Seeing as you're all weak right now..." She laughed. "Guess I'll stick 'round for a bit. Maybe use you as bait to draw the rapist out once we're there. Sure are girly enough." Oddly enough, she didn't really mind the kid too much. Maybe it was because he was similar to Olivia in some ways - but perhaps not, and he was just too sympathetic for her Knight of Justice self to ignore. In any case, it seemed she was going to accompany him for at least a little bit. Maybe she'd eve enjoy it. Poking him sure made her day, after all.

Eying her with a rather annoyed...and maybe nervous...look, Michael hoped she was joking about the part about bait, even if he was mostly sure she was. "Well...thank you," he replied awkwardly. Well, it was nice to not have to travel alone, he supposed...

--------------------------

Meanwhile, if the people in the same room as Violet looked out the window, they would see a certain magma colossus far away, but advancing towards the settlement...

Jeremy whistled as he looked out of the window. "Mr. Payemyndii, look!" Jeremy called to Patraeko as he jumped back onto his shoulder while looking out of the window.
"I told you, there is no need to be formal." Patraeko spoke while he turned around to look out of the window at the massive magma titan walking towards the settlement. "Wow... That is not something you see every day. Hm.. I wonder how many days have passed..."

Patraeko stood up and wondered over to the door. "Hey guys, I'm gonna go say hi to our visitor." He spoke with an insane tone, he seemed happy to go into action. "Hey, One-Zero, care to join me?" Patraeko directed his offer towards Violet, giving her that name due to what his parrot was saying and because he did not know her name.

The people in the room did not object to Patraeko's decision, he was too unpredictable to deal with. The guy strikes fear into their hearts and they all would love to get rid of him, but his skills in fighting and the way he deals with things is irreplaceable. No matter if he was insane or not.

Drannec awoke, gently nudged by a fox's snout. He was in a small home, and he didn't know about the meeting going on just across the road. Hell, he didn't even know there was a magma colossus coming towards his sorry excuse for a home.

Drannec. I saw something outside... well, you'll want to see it yourself. Gris shifted into a mink, and walked by Drannec as the two of them exited the windowless home, to see...

Outside was a massive, deadly-looking magma giant. It was easily taller than Drannec's poor little house, and that meant it was probably something he should avoid. And yet... if he could study how something made of lava-- of molten stone, that is-- could gain an animate form...

Did it classify as a beast? Was it a magic golem, or some strange animal? He walked over to get two things-- his pack, and his sturdy metal staff. He called to Gris, who was pacing near the door restlessly, obviously worried about the chance of an attack from the lava monster. Gris, do you thing we can study that thing? It'd be a great addition to my report!

His report was already pages long, simply on the flora of the Aether-- and he'd only been here a month. At the behest of others-- mostly Gris-- he hadn't chased after any of the fauna.

I can't fight a being of lava, Drannec. It'd kill me in a heartbeat. Why don't we--

Drannec didn't give Gris a chance to continue, heading out the door with paper and pencil in his pockets and the metal staff in his hand.

Ugh. At least ride there, you silly little scientist. Gris shifted into an elk, her usual form, and ran in front of Drannec.

The two of them traveled closer to the lava colossus, and found... some kid, and an intimidating lady with a sword. As Drannec hopped off Gris, both of them were surprised at how docile the lava-beast appeared-- though "docile" in their mind was "not burning the forest down, yet". Still, it was a welcome change. Drannec approached the two.

"Hello! Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?" As Drannec said those words, the back of his mind silently hoped it wasn't just another reflection. Reflections were useless to his overall cause-- well, other than Gris, of course-- as they couldn't be studied properly. Yet they were the only beasts he'd seen so far-- well, the only things close to beasts he'd seen.

Drannec awaited a response from the two strange people on the road.


(OOC notes stuff: I'll only be using italics for Gris/Drannec mental conversations, just so it's clear)

As they continued to walk through the (not so) heavenly realm, Michael couldn't help but marvel at the scenery below him. It almost seemed like the trees were more vividly colored here than in the reality he came from...not to mention, the legs of his unfortunately designed Guardian were not burning them, no matter how close they brushed, although he wasn't sure if that was an attribute of the guardian itself or of the trees.

"Hello! Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?"

Confused, Michael looked around for the source of the voice, only knowing it came from far below. By the time he noticed the man riding an elk on the ground, he was alarmed by how close he was to the leg of his Guardian. "Whoa! Stop!" He shouted frantically, and the Guardian immediately obeyed. "Um...bring us down," Michael continued, and the hand lowered to the ground, allowing him and Luna to safely descend.

"Um...hello," he greeted the man on the elk with a bow. "I am Michael Aefenleoht, and this is Luna." He then gestured to the magma titan behind him. "And this is my Guardian, to answer your question." The titan, however, simply returned to its original standing position and made no acknowledgement of the man or the elk at all.

A bit lost on what other conversation he could make, Michael gestured to the elk. "That's a fine creature you have there," he commented politely. He had never seen one of them in real life before...funny he was seeing it close up in the Aether of all places! In any case, this man looked...somewhat arrogant, but at least fairly trustworthy. "Say, do you know if we're getting close to, uh, a settlement or something of the sort?"

What was she doing here, really? Luna was pretty... meh, it didn't really matter anyways. She felt more or less somewhat neutral to all of this. Maybe a little anxious to hurry up and find the rapist. Her left hand clenched a bit - damnit if there'd be another victim before she took the damn rapist down. She was a Knight of Justice, wasn't she? She had to do it. And... perhaps she could get Olivia's attention like that, too. She didn't even really know how she'd locate or recognize Olivia within the Aether - but she sort of hoped that it'd come naturally.

...Missing someone that was enough to be your second half really was harrowing. And it was the only thing that was keeping her going, too. How she'd failed Olivia, how she'd been the reason for - well... perhaps it was arguable what the true reason for her death was, but Luna sure didn't help things. Sure, she'd messed up terribly... fucked up pretty much everything. But she was determined to set it right.

They were getting to that quaint little town. Luna could see it in the distance pretty easily. Once there, she'd work on Mike until he was strong. Maybe that was for the best - with this gigantic Guardian, it was a certainty that Mike'd make a strong ally after some work. She glanced at the boy, shrugging slightly. Yeah, he'd need a lot of work. Luna swung her sword a bit, relishing it's curved edge. It really was her favorite, and it meshed well with her ability to fly. Her flight gave her almost a pseudo-cavalry type effect, allowing her to charge at a high speed at her foe. Coincidentally, the sword was good for slashing and thrusting movements while at a higher level and speed - so it really did mesh well with her style. It was long, though, but she modified it's weight to be workable against most unarmored foes with no stamina or speed penalty.

Her vision snapped to... a man riding some deer with antlers thing. Luna glared at the most-likely-a-Guardian, and readied herself to transform. Her whole body tensed up - the only problem was the terrible activation phrase. Honestly, it was demeaning. It... was cheesy and - oh, whatever.

"Hello!" The man greeted in a grating voice. "Say... this sounds like an odd question, but what is the nature of that lava monster you have there? Is it an animal from some part of the Aether I've not seen, or... something else?"

"Whoa! Stop!" Magma dude stopped. Luna had a wry grin on her face- already, Mike was learning how to command the Guardian. "Um...bring us down," And so, magma dude brought them down, in order for the boy to make introductions. Luna lowered her sword just a bit. Maybe he wasn't a threat. But... he could be the rapist. She took the time to transform, murmuring her activation phrase as quietly as possible, quickly shifting from shimmering lavender to her magical girl outfit, cavalry sword, cape, and all, and hopped down from the hand herself.

"Are ya blind or somethin'?" Luna snorted derisively at the pink-haired boy. "It's right up ahead, maybe a few more minutes." She gathered saliva and spat onto the ground at her feet. "Silly."

She then turned her attention to the elk-rider, frowning slightly, menacingly. Perhaps it was time to try and glean some information. He, at the very least, seemed as if he'd been in the Aether for a longer time than Mike had. So then, she took the opportunity to split her cape into wings, and rush directly at the man, stopping with her sword only inches away from his throat.

She paused, staring the man down threateningly. That long auburn hair.... giving him an almost shaggy look, Luna found it potentially suspicious. Could he be the one? The ever-so-elusive rapist she'd been hunting for the past few weeks? If so, why would he approach her now?

"Rumors." She almost growled. "A rapist goin' 'round. Ya heard of him?" She drew her face closer to his. "Perhaps you're him?"

In hindsight, even if he was the rapist, he'd probably answer in the negative anyways, right? Who'd just admit it, inches from death? Maybe she'd just run him through, to be safe. But... killing someone without giving them a chance to explain themselves... it's not very heroic or justice-y. Against her better judgment, she decided to wait and see what he said.

Well, that was disappointing. Another Guardian... hmph. Where were the fascinating beasts that musty old tomes spoke of?

Best to put that aside, Drannec. I can't protect your sorry hide from everything. Gris was as practical as ever-- disappointingly. Ah, well, that was what she was there for, right? To make sure he didn't get his sorry bum killed.

"That's a fine creature you have there. Say, do you know if we're getting close to, uh, a settlement or something of the sort?"

Drannec looked at the boy, who seemed shaken by something or other. He looked... new. Kind of like Drannec, really, but at the very least Drannec had been in the Aether for a couple months.

"Thank you, kind sir. And yes, your friend there is right. There's a settlement nearby; in fact, that's where I live."

Just as Drannec finished, the intimidating one-- the woman-- gave him a piercing glare, the challenging sort.

"Rumors." She almost growled. "A rapist goin' 'round. Ya heard of him?" She drew her face closer to his. "Perhaps you're him?"

Rapist? The worst thing Drannec had ever done-- well, he was Thomas then-- was a bit of credit dodging, and cheating on a test.

Haven't heard anything like that in the sky. Heard a lot worse, though-- couple of mass murders.

"I've never heard those rumours. Hmm. Well, I'll keep an eye out for someone like that-- they sound dangerous." Drannec tried to change the subject, hoping to shake off the woman's intimidating glare.

"So, uh... Michael and Luna, right? What's been going on around the Aether? I've been, ah, holed up in my home for a while, so I haven't really heard much. In fact, you two are the biggest news this week!"

"Me, blind?" Michael sounded the slightest bit stung as he said this, although he still tried to be as polite as possible. "I mean, my father and older brother used to tease me about how much I endlessly pored over my books for hours and hours, but aside from that my vision is sufficient." It took a moment for him to realize he had alluded to his family again, and he let out a sigh, his mood dampened a bit. At least he hadn't droned on for too long about it yet.

Just as he finished, he stared at Luna with horror as she spit upon the ground, and outright accused him of being the rapist he was looking for. "Um...I apologize for her behavior," he sighed, pointing at Luna with an open palm. Honestly? Forget all those silly standards everyone seemed to place for women, even Thomas hadn't been that irreverent--and that was really saying a lot, because his older brother sometimes seemed to go out of his way just to be as irritating as humanly possible...

Not that it changed the fact that Michael had come for him. "As for news...well, there isn't really anything I'm bringing, for I just arrived in the Aether a few...uh..." Actually, come to think of it, he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. "Well, a relatively short amount of time ago, to put it plainly. As for Luna...well, have you heard about anything, aside from the rapist?" Then he remembered something else, and turned back to the man. "Oh...I don't believe you introduced yourself, either."

As he spoke, he held the claymore behind his back. Currently, he didn't really trust the Guardian to hold it, even if it was supposed to be protecting him--even now, he didn't know what the Guardian was thinking as it silently gazed onward. But it didn't seem right to be carrying on such a casual conversation while holding weapons out in the open for people to see.

"I've never heard those rumours. Hmm. Well, I'll keep an eye out for someone like that-- they sound dangerous." The man looked edgy and nervous .... but, as Luna had to grudgingly admit, not particularly guilty. He reacted as an innocent might have - so she pulled the sword away from his throat, and after a few quick movements, her sword was pulled back into her body through the mark on her hand, and she shifted back into her cloak-and-street-clothes outfit, feeling once again glad that her too-flashy combat costume was gone. Still, she felt the rigid kevlar vest underneath - probably the only bit of protection that wasn't connected to magic in any way. She walked back to Mike, feeling all the more frustrated that she wasn't getting any new leads on the rapist. For all she knew, he was hurting another victim right now, and here she was, hanging around with two strangers.

Though, admittedly, Mike had quite a few similarities with Olivia so far - and her missing Olivia was so intense that it was hard to draw away from the boy.

"Um...I apologize for her behavior," Mike said, and Luna stuck her tongue out at him, before turning once again to face the man.

"So, uh... Michael and Luna, right? What's been going on around the Aether? I've been, ah, holed up in my home for a while, so I haven't really heard much. In fact, you two are the biggest news this week!"

A recluse, then? So... not looking for someone in the Aether, that's for sure. Luna tried think - but gave up after a few seconds when nothing really came up, as for reasoning to enter the Aether in the first place. It didn't really matter, anyways.

"As for news...well, there isn't really anything I'm bringing, for I just arrived in the Aether a few...uh..." Mike paused for a moment, looking rather pensive. "Well, a relatively short amount of time ago, to put it plainly. As for Luna...well, have you heard about anything, aside from the rapist?" Then he remembered something else, and turned back to the man. "Oh...I don't believe you introduced yourself, either."

Michael was holding the claymore as he stepped off from the hand. That made Luna's mien twist into a bit of a grin. Lugging that sword around was likely to be good for him, help him acclimatize to the weapon's weight as well as gain some muscle mass in his dominant arm. He'd have to work his other arm too, since the sword is a two handed weapon, but that'd come with time, she supposed.

"I think... yeah." She took a glance around, and recognized the forest and saw a bit of a ravine going through it. "Some people here're tryin' to set up some group to fight demons in the forest." A thought suddenly came to her, and she glanced at Mike. "Hey. Mike, y'need combat practice, right? And I need to hunt for the rapist. What say we go to town an' help'em fight?" Her eyes almost gleamed from under her hood with eagerness. "Ya can get more experience, an' I can ask around for more leads and whatever. Ya up to it?"

Almost as an afterthought, she added on; "Oh, an' I guess I'll watch your back in the fight." Pointing a thumb at the elk-man. "Maybe get this guy to watch your ass, too."

Luna draped the cloak around her shoulders and started walking into town, excited at the prospect of maybe finally getting a lead on the rapists position, on where he was. Then she could dispense justice and get on with the Olivia hunt. That's what mattered most, after all.

This is a stupid idea, Ambar.

Despite that one insistent thought flitting about in her head, the young woman kept moving forward one foot in front of the other. The Altar loomed ominously overhead in a shocking parody of some manmade structure she could not recall the name of. Ambar knew from what little research she could find on the Altars that each one had a unique appearance, but the geometric anomaly before her was something else entirely. The altar in Dubland was vaguely pyramid shaped with runes that looked so much like waves and crests. The one in Hawaii was a group of obsidian shards pulsing red. For all intents and purposes, they were beautiful in an eerie sort of way.

The tourists already saw you pass the yellow line, it'd be embarassing to go back now. Damnit. You stupid idiot.

Why was it, Ambar thought sullenly, that the Altar closest to her home was this thing. The Altar looked like nothing more than a jagged, twisting mass of silver that somehow formed perfect angles and an obelisk shape despite the gaps in its design. The odd designs around the base constantly writhed with a life of their own, their meaning just barely out of understanding but not so alien that one could not try to decipher their meaning. It was disconcerting.

This is the point of no return.

It had not been her best idea. Doing this in broad daylight, in the middle of New York City on a Friday afternoon with four-dozen tourists crowded around the gleaming altar was the kind of poorly constructed plan that riddled Ambar's life, now that she thought about it. It was too late for those kinds of thoughts though. The Altar felt cool and smooth against her palm in defiance of the afternoon sun blazing down against it. The hushed whispers of the crowd were making Ambar's stomach turn.

With a cry of anguish Ambar tore her hand away from the altar and fell to her knees. She was on all fours and vomiting her guts out in moments. Damnit. I knew I'd chicken out, fuck, fuck. Wiping a bit of saliva from the corner of her mouth and choking back a sob, Ambar took a moment to regain her footing. She nearly lost it again when she stared out over a commanding view of a heavily wooded area.

It was so poorly lit by some sort of ambient light that it was hard to discern at first, but Ambar slowly came to the realization that she was not in Kansas anymore. The smell hit her first. A mix of earthy loam and a charnel house. A sudden tightness against the three longest fingers of her left hand was the second thing that came to her attention.

In the wan light, Ambar made out three bands against her skin. They would be the only reason she survived the next few days.

---

Twelve Days Later, the Meeting

It was hard to blame Violet. That freak, Patraeko, was startling enough as it was without him actually touching you. Ambar shuddered as she settled in to her seat. It was not that he had cybernetic implants–Ambar was hardly as judgemental as all that to dislike someone based on some body modifications–that unnerved her about that man. It was everything else.

Petraeko was unabashedly unhinged. He made no attempt to hide his imbalance. His modifications were hardly legal, on that note. The parrot that acted as his constant company was icing on the nutcake that was Petraeko. Just as he was doing with Violet, David had given Ambar the courtesy of explaining some basics about the realm in which they now dwelled. The knowledge that Seekers grew in power by slaying other Seekers was hardly comforting with people like the cyborg around.

Turning her attention back to the discussion at hand, Ambar nodded in consideration. From what she had learned of Ezekiel, this dude was a total badass. In the time she had joined the small settlement, three people had died in some gruesome fashion or another. It was painfully obvious that they were not equipped to endure their surroundings without protectors like this Ezekiel.

Without thinking Ambar raised her hand to call for attention.

“I volunteer to go search for him!” keenly aware of the sudden attention, Ambar ran a hand through her hair and began twiddling with the rings on her left hand. “I mean, my Aegis is sort of perfect for running and getting out of trouble. With enough supplies and a lead, I could probably keep safe for a while as I search for this Ezekial guy...”

Ambar adjusted her glasses and meekly scanned the room for any sort of support. The gesture was hardly altruistic. She just figured that the more useful she made herself to these people, the less likely they were to outright slaughter her to increase their own power.

Finding Ezekiel would just be a bonus.

"I have a name and it's not 'one-zero,'" came the curt reply. "My name is Violet." The woman was still a little heated from earlier but she'd managed to keep herself under control for the moment. This was not the time for outbursts. Someone else that seemed to be around her own age suggested going out to search; Violet didn't know enough about this world to make a judgment call here, but it did lead to some more questions. "What's with all this jargon everyone's throwing around?" she whispered to David. "What's an Aegis?"

"I'm sure you have a lot of questions," he answered, "but like I said earlier, I'll answer anything that I can once we're outside." He cleared his throat and threw in his own opinion on the matter at hand. "I concur," he said, nodding to Ambar. "If we try to force our way through, we'll lose too many people. Even if we don't end up finding him out there, the least we can do is turn back. It'll be much safer than plowing through the infested ravine, even if it's a long stretch of land to move through. If it does come to that, it'll still be manageable as long as we stay as a group."

"Go fuck yourself!" a man by the door shouted. "Do you have any idea how long it took for me just to get here? Maybe you should take your heads out of your asses and realize that some of us need to go this way." His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his breathing had grown heavier. "I know my daughter's out there somewhere beyond that crossing and I'm not turning back, not even if I have to push through it myself." He stood up and clenched his hands into fists, brilliant white sparks crackling across his hands. "We're crossing the ravine."

"Sit down," David said calmly, gesturing for him to settle down. "Nobody's certain of anything right now, but we need a solution that works for everybody-"

"Well it doesn't work for me!" he snapped. "How about the rest of you?" He said, raising his voice as he addressed the others present at the meeting. "Are you all okay with this? Gonna let these two assholes waste all of the progress we've made to come this far?" A sudden rumbling interrupted the flow of the conversation and their gazes were drawn outside as something incredibly massive could be seen making its way to the settlement from afar.

"The hell is that?" someone whispered.

"Everyone out," David said, a hint of command in his voice as he rose to his feet and made a sweeping motion with his arms. "This could be dangerous. Even if it's not a monster, nobody heads straight for a settlement with a massive guardian like that at their back unless they're planning a total wipeout. We need to move, now."

Violet hesitantly stood out of her seat, surveying their faces with an anxious expression. Guardians? Monsters? A wipeout? What the hell was going on?

---

Lilliana sat propped against the wall of a strange building, in a strange new place. So it existed, The Aether, it wasn't as bad as people said it was, she just felt so...tired, and dizzy. She raised a paw to her head and groaned slightly, a groan accompanied by an unfamiliar growl, her vision was fuzzy as were the rest of her senses but finally as the fog in her brain began to dissipate and her vision cleared. The fuzzy paw appendage remained, the feeling of brushed fur and heated body a constant along with a keen flood of information from her other senses. For a moment, she panicked, patting down her body with wide eyes and trembling paws, her new tail only serving to madden her more with its nervous twitching and frantic flickering as she searched her body for any signs of humanity.

With a deep calming breath and a shudder, she pulled a note pad from her left pocket along with a pencil and began to frantically sketch on the open page. Light details, dark shadows, fine and accurate presses and strokes eventually left her with what could possibly be one of her most precious assets. A fine sketch of herself, of who she really was before she entered this place, a human. With a shaking hand she flicked the notebook to a new page and pocketed it with the pencil in tow, another deep calming breath and she was ready to try and stand, and whilst it first her strange padded feet discomforted her and left her stumbling and falling due to their strange angling with her legs. She eventually began to walk with small effort, her constant swerving ears and swaying tail however would take far longer to get used to, as well as the claws and constant flood of information she wasn't sure her brain could process.

Luckily that seemed to have adapted too, she should have expected such a reflection, at least her clothes hadn't been lost in transition, even with all the fur she could not imagine feeling very comfortable so exposed. Besides it would make her suit much more difficult to use, not to mention all the dirt and pieces of bark that she knew would get tangled within the strange mass of ha-. Her Suit!, Her tail began flickering and twitching again, only making her more nervous as her stumbling legs tried to run around the area she had entered, eventually finding the piece of machinery at the back of the building she had lain against. With another not so relaxed shuddering breath, she checked the various packs for the supplies she'd placed in them and found everything in correct order, climbing in through the back as per her own preference, her new limbs found themselves ill suited and uncomfortable for the machine. It was useable however, and that would suit well enough for now.

That is until she discovered another problem, with a final wrench and a crack that left her hunched over in pain and whimpering, she discovered a pair of wings that had lodged themselves in between some of the back plating, why did she have to get such a troublesome form? A gentle paw slowly and carefully folded them out of the plating, her control of the muscles within them less then novice. She managed to keep them folded to her back with difficulty and eventually sealed the suit completely, finding the space much smaller then she remembered, especially with twitching ears that flattened to her head in defeat, gracing what seemed to be pointed ivory horns. She was no longer surprised, only submissive that she was to live with this form until she retrieved what she had come for, it came in handy sooner then she ever thought possible as she hefted her large gun up into proper defensive position.

She heard the thumping before she booted up the hardware in her suit, the sensors finally kicking in and alerting her to somethings presence. "Little late you piece of junk" She grumbled, tightening her hold on the back and front grip of her gun, feeling the familiar weight calming her significantly as she trudged awkwardly to the front of the place she found herself stranded in. Her training had kicked in and she ignored all but what could be an enemy, her sensitive ears picking up scraps of the inside conversation, apparently they were leaving. If that was the case she would provide covering fire, she was completely oblivious to the lava monster or its companions, in fact anything that her instincts told her were friendly, instead getting down on one knee and bending the other, bracing herself and the suit. Locking a few plates together and holding the gun down by her hip, sweeping it back and forth as she scanned the horizon and flipping a lever back and forth with a whir and click as bullets rolled down in position to refill the weapons ammo box.

Locked and loaded, all she needed now was a target. Hoping that her new body wouldn't get too badly bruised and jarred by recoil and any damage the suit sustained, but she doubted it. "Just my luck." She joked with a determined grin. Waiting outside the strange building like a living statue.

"Oh, an' I guess I'll watch your back in the fight." Pointing a thumb at the elk-man. "Maybe get this guy to watch your ass, too."

There was an expedition going on soon? Drannec had been writing a report on some of the trees nearby— sadly, it seemed that many of them were essentially the same as trees on Earth— for some time, but he should have heard of this. Gris, why didn't you tell me about the expedition? I could finally find some fauna to study!

I did tell you, you dope. You just pushed me off to compare tree bark, or something.

Ah. He didn't remember doing that, but it sounded right. Oftentimes such things went by in a blur.

"I'd be happy to help you on that expedition. It'd be more helpful to study new parts of the Aether, instead pf staying where it's relatively safe, after all."

"Ah, Violet. Eh, One-Zero sounds better. Mind if I call you that?" Patraeko was going to call Violet One-Zero anyway, he was just being polite.

After listening to the volunteering people made, Patraeko couldn't resist. "If you guys are volunteering then I'll go too! Shit sounds fun, and my reflection will be a lot of help. How else do you think I can move with such speed and agility?" Patraeko moved around the room to demonstrate his speed. It was something you would expect from a cartoon, he moved from one area to another area amazingly quick, stopping in different positions which were quite comical as well.

As people began leaving the room, Patraeko noticed Violet was standing still. She seemed confused with what was happening, what a newbie. Patraeko had to do something if that big guy was dangerous. He quickly moved towards Violet and picked her up, holding her like a princess in his arms. "Come, One-Zero. The settlement needs us!"

"Ahahaha! You always wanted to say that Mr Payemyndii" Jeremy commented on Patraeko's words through his high pitched laughter.
"Got a problem? Anyway, lets go!"

"Do whatever the hell you want," Violet hissed, still upset about earlier. "Just don't expect me to respond to that."

"Yeah you can move a little fast, good job," the man from earlier said sarcastically. "So can just about every other fucker down here, most of 'em with half the mind to rip us all to pieces. You want to think of this like some kind of fucking game, you take your candy-ass somewhere else."

"We don't have time for fighting," David said, staring at them. But clearly they did, since Patraeko quickly moved in and picked up Violet despite showing her agitation about being touched earlier.

The room was suddenly splattered in blood as blades and claws extended from Violet's body, stretching out from nearly every part of her. She spun out of his grasp in a twisting whirlwind of splashing blood and razor sharp edges. A demon-like worm burst out from her back and hovered over her shoulder, baring glistening teeth. A single metallic wing extended from her shoulder and eyes began appearing where they shouldn't be.

"I've had it with you," Violet said quietly, glaring at the man who'd touched her. "And here, I was trying hard enough to keep myself in check, but even after I clearly said not to touch me-" The room shook violently as she stomped on the floor in rage, her arms shaking and her eyes glowing a crimson red to match her blood-soaked body. "I'll fucking murder you," she snarled. David reached out for her but quickly withdrew his hand when a blade whipped toward him. "Don't make me repeat myself," she said with cold eyes.

"This is not the time," David warned Violet. "We need to go. Now."

"Then go," she said. "I won't be satisfied until I rip this pompous asshole in half." It was happening again. Only this time, it felt so much more natural. This guy was purposefully trying to get on her nerves unlike most of the cases where she snapped, which was usually some little misunderstanding or accident. This was different. "You," she continued, locking her eyes with Patraeko. "What did I just fucking say a minute ago?" The demon seemed to swell inside, gradually starting to fill up the space of the room. "Don't." A new set of blades appeared on her back, folding around her like spider legs. "Fucking." Metal arms tore through her skin and emerged from her shoulders, bent forward in claws. "Touch me." She lunged forward, aimed straight for his chest with an array of blades extended from her arm.

"Are we just leaving them here?" one whispered to David.

"We don't have a choice," he shook his head. "We have to get moving before that thing reaches us. If anybody thinks they can split them up, be my guest, but it's gotta be fast."

After watching the amazing transformation the little girl showed Patraeko, he couldn't help but smile. But his smile was filled with insanity, bearing his teeth, his eye widened and his pupil changed to the shape of a black ring. "Now THIS isn't something you see everyday!" He smirked, then giggled then gave off a massive laugh of insanity. As the event unfolds, Jeremy had already left the scene to wait in a tree for his owner. "Now. You guys get to see what I can REALLY do!"

As the bladed arm flew towards Patraeko, he doesn't move, instead he stands and welcomes the blades. Suddenly, the blades are blocked and the forward velocity is instant cancelled out. Causing Violet to come to a sudden halt. The source of the stop comes from the tips of the blades. Small circles of liquid shadow had formed in front of each tip, - About 2 feet away from Patraeko's chest- blocking the blades from reaching any closer to Patraeko's body. The main source of the shadows lies at Patraeko's feet. His Shadow. Even though the shadows had liquid properties, they defied physics as they flowed up his legs and around his body. Only to slowly drip upwards off of his shoulders into two large balls of the liquid which began circling around his body, smaller balls began forming as the larger ones reached their maximum size. (About the size of his head). Along with the balls of shadow, the main shadows from his body also dripped outwards from his chest into the circles of shadow in front of him, constantly strengthening them and replacing damaged parts.

"You see, this is why I call you One-Zero." Patraeko spoke out to Violet, his voice had completely changed into a deeper, more evil yet insane tone. "Your actions have begun placing you on my list. Now what you have done, it won't be long until you join the list and number One-Zero!" Patraeko raised his arms and removed his backpack from his back, he dropped it onto the floor, causing a rattling noise to be given off due to the large amount of ammunition held inside.

"However, this isn't even my final form!" Patraeko speaks as he lowers his arms to his sides. The backpack was covering the two perfectly cut holes in Patraeko's clothing. The shown skin begins to lump until it splits open, allowing two massive bone structures to emerge. Stretching about 12 feet each the two structures each have an extra 3 smaller bones unfold to form the skeleton of wings. Dark, Blood red skin forms from his back up the wings, causing them to somehow glow in the light. The wings are perfect, no holes or rips. It was obvious Patraeko didn't use them much.

"Now we can both show off our Reflections!" Patraeko laughed yet again but suddenly stopped to speak;
"I like your reflection though, it's pretty cool! Wanna make a pact and work together? That sounds nice, we should!" He seemed to be talking to himself, his personality constantly changed along with his voice. Showing that he had spent a lot of his life alone, hence the fact he has no idea how to act in certain situations.

"Thanks, David." Ambar said, sighing her relief. The assumption that she would not be required to venture out alone was clear in his voice, and Ambar was visibly thankful for that. The man by the door though, Julio, was a different matter entirely. He seemed broken, unstable. Ambar frowned slightly. Things like that made her wonder; what were the circumstances of the death of his daughter? To be that adamant about her rescue, it would not be so far fetched to assume that she was his last remaining relative, or only child or something like that. Maybe a car accident and survivor's guilt?

Her ruminations were cut short as that sociopath Patraeko demonstrated his own ability to move quickly via his reflection. Ambar visibly shuddered at the greasy shadows that poured from the cyborg's body as he zipped across the room, making a show of stopping abruptly in different positions. This time, Ambar just could not resist. "Patraeko, what is your damage?" her words were more inquisitive than patronizing, more soft than annoyed. "You're armed to the teeth, sport illegal body mods and have a Reflection that does nothing but amplify your destructive potential," she waved a hand across the room, making sure to indicate all those within, "You could be a paragon of the Seekers, but you choose to act like some thirteen year old white boy on XBox Live who has way too much time on his hands and just must be a troll at every opportunity."

David's gaze suddenly hardened as he focused on something outside of the room. Whirling around to the window, the cause of his concern became immediately apparent. A huge, shambling mound of a creature was ambling its way towards the settlement. Its course was not deviating in the slightest, and when David said to run, Ambar was already leaping out of her chair. Her limbs felt like fire as the energies of her ring, Fear, flooded her system. A single step brought her to the door. The alacrity the item imparted was still quite jarring to Ambar, and she nearly crashed in to Julio, who was still ordering others out alongside David.

A sound not unlike the rush of water, a lot of water, roared from somewhere close. Somewhere close behind her. Ambar stopped dead in her tracks at the door, allowing the rest of the occupants of the room to empty out as Violet's Reflection tore from her body in a tidal deluge of inky blood and viscera.

"Oh god." the word was barely more than a whisper as she took in the beast that was Violet's...Guardian? Self? Ambar could not know. What she could determine though, was that it was absolutely breathtaking. Terrifying and awe-inspiring in equal measure. It took a visible effort to focus her thoughts on the present.

David was giving up on separating the pair. A spark of panic ignited in Ambar's chest. If Violet was anything like most people that came down here, she would not exactly have the best grasp of how to use her reflection at first. Patraeko, on the other hand, not only knew how to use his, but had a god damned assault rifle. A quiet, insistent thought nagged at her:

You can't lose her.

"I'm sorry, Violet!"

Before either of them knew what was happening Ambar had a hand wrapped around Violet's wrist and was hauling her through the door and out into the settlement towards David with all due haste. Technically meeting the parameters of her Aegis, Fear, by running in the opposite direction as Violet, Ambar's feet barely touched the ground as she sprinted across the square with supernatural agility.

The entire time, Violet's bloody Self was bearing down on Ambar's small form with reckless abandon. The creature sought to hack off limbs and stab deep, but found that task to be easier said than done. Thanks to Ambar's tertiary Aegis, Weakness, each attack left little more than a red line across her flesh.

Ambar let go when they were several hundred feet from the house. She doubled over, hands on knees, heart hammering and covered in dozens of bloody cuts. "I'm sorry." she repeated through ragged gasps. "Sorry." it took a little bit, but she finally managed to catch her breath again, looking at Violet with clearly apologetic eyes.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to invade your personal space, but I needed to get you away from...him." she managed a weak smile. "It won't happen again."

She did not notice the left-side lens of her glasses missing a large chunk of glass.

Michael nodded to both the man with the elk and Luna. "I thank both of you for helping me," he replied. "Then, I suppose I can go on the expedition as well. We might find some interesting bit of his...wait, never mind." Abashed, he reminded himself that the Aether probably had no recorded history, aside from what the other Seekers would have seen.

They were getting closer and closer to the settlement by now. Luna was already walking into town with a confident look, and Michael was ready to follow...but abruptly, he heard a hissing noise from above, and realized it was coming from his Guardian. Looking up, he was worried he would experience another trauma attack...but instead, he saw it grasping one of its lava tentacles in its hand, as though it was a whip. It drew its arm back, ready to slash...

"H-hey! Stop! Guardian, stand down! Now!" Michael ordered, but the magma titan simply remained motionless in that same position, like it was ready to attack at any time. Trying to find the source of it all, Michael turned and noticed a robotic suit holding a gigantic gun...where was the user aiming it at? Was that what was bothering his Guardian?

Leaving the claymore with the man on the elk, Michael moved towards the suit as close as he dared to, raising his hands to show he was unarmed. "Please, put the gun down!" he pleaded, hoping the user wouldn't open fire on him. "I'm not here to attack you!" Although, with the Guardian in position to strike, his words probably weren't too convincing.

Suddenly, he saw something else--a black girl was getting attacked by another girl...was "girl" even the right term for the second one?! Monstrous appendages soaked with the girl's own blood were bursting out of her body, with blades at the ends, and they were hacking away at the black girl. Eyes wide with horror, Michael began to run towards the two, forgetting about the robotic sentry, but they were gone long before he could get close. "What is...going on in this place?" he wondered as he gasped for breath.

Meanwhile, the colossal magma titan continued to loom above the city, whip in hand, still poised to lay waste to anything it believed would threaten its young master.

Jeremy flew down to hover near Ambar's head. The parrot spoke in a high pitched yet calm and caring voice. "Mr Payemyndii mentally unstable. Insane. He strong. Yet simple. They fear him. Personality changes scary. He my master. Be nice to him. He nice to you." The parrot spoke in short sentences, ready to fly away if attacked.

A silent explosion occurred at the front of the building where Patraeko was in. The black shadows threw the shattered pieces in all directions, originating from one of the small balls of shadow orbiting Patraeko's body. He flew out of the building after the two. "Hey, you're stealing my number! We were in the middle of something. Get back here, I won't kill unless provoked!" Patraeko called out in between his giggles. He laughed as he was having fun while flying. Once the two stopped he allowed himself to fall and land perfectly on his cybernetic leg, the hydraulics cushioned his fall.

With his sword drawn and more balls of shadow forming around his body he spoke to the two. "Why would you interrupt me? We could be friends!" His voice changed again to how it was before, his laughing had stopped and the tone of insanity began to fade away.

"Meanie"

Damnit, what the hell was going on? Sure, the magma dude was giant and strong, but was everyone really that cowardly as to run away instantly? Whatever, really. They're all daft, idiotic. Cowards. Luna grumbled angrily to herself as she wondered exactly how they could expect to want to defeat the demons in the ravine if they couldn't tell friend from foe whatsoever. She heard Mike yell something about his Guardian - and Luna turned her gaze upwards, seeing... rapid movement. A furry. Luna shuddered abruptly remembering some clients that - oh, whatever, ignore it. Ignore it, focus on the damned present. No need to dwell on whatever happened before.

...Idiot.

Luna quickly changed back into magical girl form, and telekinetically tore her cape behind her, allowing it to form those shredded wings once again and flew her way back to Mike and magma dude. The way he clumsily yelled 'Guardian' was amaturistic and, really, unneeded. She had traveled once with someone that had a Guardian Reflection, and they swapped little tidbits of advice together, comparing the differences between Aegis and Guardian. Course, Luna killed her in the end - turned out that said person had once run over a little girl with her car, paralyzing her for life, and as such, was deserving of justice, justice which Luna so readily meted out - regardless, it seems those few days would come to use for once. Conjuring her cavalry sword quickly, the lavender girl flew straight at Mike once again, with a serious look on her face.

..And then she poked his vulnerable cheek yet again.

"Piece of advice, boy." She said mockingly. "Ya should name the damn thing once ya can." She spun the sword in her left hand, between the index and the thumb deftly, for no real reason but to spend some of her built up energy. "Faster y'name somethin, the faster ya build an emotional connection to it, y'know? And the faster y'get one'a those, the easier it is fer ya an' magma dude to work as a team." A cocky smirk. "So, no more callin' the poor guy 'Guardian', okay?"

"...even something like that can help?" Though Michael did not entirely believe it, he decided it was worth a try anyway. Luna had been trustworthy so far.

There were many names of giants and titans from mythology that he had heard of, but none of them--Chronos, Oceanus, Hyperion--seemed to fit. A bit hesitantly, he looked back up at the giant, trying to think of just what kind of name would be fitting. As he did so, he remembered how it had reminded him of his home, Atlanta, and the tremendous disaster that had befallen it... And then, one name finally came to him that seemed good enough, though it caused him to bitterly smile a bit. This cruel joke just won't stop, will it? "I think I've got a name," he finally announced, standing upright and turning towards the Guardian.

"Okay...from now on, you shall be called Atlanthal."

Luna stared back and forth between... uh, Atlanthal and Mike, with a shrug, not really understanding where Atlanthal even came from. It didn't matter, anyways. She then turned, and had her cape rip up again, tensing her body for flight.

"Whatever." Luna said, turning away. "They're evacuating. Atlantshit's probably scarin' 'em. I'll go talk to 'em."

She then darted off of Atlantshit's arm, aiming herself at the crowd that was quickly heading out of the town. She decided to land beside one particularly anguished-looking man, and smirked up at him. Could he be the rapist, perhaps? She tapped his shoulder, and the man shot her a bit of a glare.

"The hell's goin on?" She asked.

The man stared at her too-flashy magical girl outfit for a few seconds - long enough that Luna quickly dropped the semi-affable act, and frowned bitterly towards him. "Answer me. I don't got all day, here."

"How do you think I feel." The man finally responded, as slow as a goddamn snail. "We're dallying around, doing stupid shit, when we should be going to the ravine, killing the demons." A vein seemed to pop in his head, and Luna felt somewhat amused, and relaxed her stance. He wasn't the rapist - he was just another seeker, desperately looking for someone. "My daughter's over there. I gotta save her. Gotta fucking get her back."

A grin grew on Luna's face, and she pulled him aside, brandishing her sword with ease.

"Well, fuck with this." She said darkly. "Y'see that huge Guardian? The magma one." She gestured at Atlantshit. "That thing's pretty damn massive. If you could get some of your buddies to help, me an the boy with the Guardian might be able to take on the ravine. Ju's, tell whoever's in charge that it's a good guy, got it?"

Not that she particularly cared about the wellbeing of these seekers. Luna's more intrigued by the possibility of finding Olivia beyond the ravine. She'd never been there before, so there was always that chance, wasn't there? And she was confident in her speed that she'd be able to get away if it turns out she underestimated the demons in the ravine.

"Guy in charge is David." The man muttered. "You look pretty strong. Maybe we can hurry the fuck up and get this shit dealt with."

Luna more or less chose not to respond as she approached the person in charge, at the front of the evacuating people, apparently named David. She shot him a dark glare.

"...Y'realize that the magma dude ain't an enemy, right?" She sighed with annoyance. "It's a Guardian. Kid controllin' it's a newbie, but the Guardian looks strong. We're here t'help out with the ravine. So... let's get on with it." She flashed him a toothy grin that somehow looked more menacing than welcoming. "I ain't the only one with shit to do beyond the ravine, after all."

Still... Luna shot an annoyed glance at the parrot. It looked like it could be a demon - and she felt like killing something, in her impatience. Demons are disgusting creatures, anyways. Luna conjured a long thin sword that looked more like a harpoon than a sword. With pinpoint accuracy, Luna threw the sword at the parrot, with a bit of a pleased smile on her face. With the speed the sword was going, there was no way the parrot was going to dodge it without getting badly hurt.

"Probably a demon." Luna shrugged at David, keeping an eye on her prey.