Earth

Akemi woke up to annoying sound of her alarm clock. "Just on time!" She was usualy pretty awake in the morning. She got up and took a quick shower ,then while brushing her wet hair, went to knock on her brothers door. "Hey wake up we have school you know!" She made sure to be really loud so he would wake up. Kemi threw some make-up on, then went down stairs to make some breakfest. All she made was a bagle with cream cheese and some orange juice. She sat down at the table and began to eat, when she saw a baby bird with what appeared to be a hurt wing. "Hey little guy." She spoke softly to the bird before picking it up. She wasn't an animal doctor or anything, but she tried her best to wrap its wing up. "There now you should be a little better." She smiled at it as if the bird was human. Turning her attention away to eat again the bird flew away leaving the bandage behind. "Huh? I know he was just there?" She looked at where the bird was then forgot about it and continued to eat. When Kemi was done she got her school stuff together and her car keys and waited for her brother.

Jaden yawned loudly when he heard the loud, obnoxious knocks on his bedroom door. "Yeah, sure, be there...soon," he mumbled, still half-asleep. He covered his head with the blanket and rolled over, misjudging the size of his bed and falling to the floor with a loud 'thump!'. He groaned and finally got up, begrudgingly throwing on whatever clothes didn't wreak and shuffling slowly out the door to finish with everything else.

He got to the kitchen as his sister messed with some diseased-looking bird at the window and grabbed himself a box of cereal. Jaden chomped down on his breakfast, studying his sister as the bird flew out the window, but decided against saying anything about it. He tossed the rest of his cereal out, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and stood by Akemi's side. "Ready to head out?" He yawned again. "It's too early for life,"

"You've been a great help to me, thank you so much for your cooperation." She spoke in a soft voice, too nonchalant to be real for those who knew her personally. She used her ability to coax the principle into giving her the information she needed. "I'll be on my way now." She flashed a vibrant smile and threw up her hand in a casual wave before turning, her violet hair billowing out behind her.

It was early enough at the school that none of the students had arrived yet. For years now Ami had been searching for that damned angel's offspring after a rumor broke out about the shards being placed within them. Whether it was true or not, she didn't know, but she intended on finding out personally. The war between angels and demons had gone on long enough, without the shard no side had a chance at gaining the upper-hand, they'd been stuck in a stalemate for centuries.

"At least I've figured out where they go to school, I'll watch them for a little while before making my approach." The demon couldn't make her move until she figured out who held the black half, they would be easier to influence, or so she hoped. "They should be arriving soon, I'll hang out here." Ami jumped up and grabbed the branch of a tall tree by the school's entrance, hoisting herself up she sat back, patiently waiting for the siblings to arrive. Idly she wondered if any of the other demons would be accompanying her, though she preferred to get things done by herself.

Bel sat on top of the roof, staring up at the sky. He yawned heavily, never being one for the early morning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of chocolate candy sticks. "This is annoying. 'Oh please help, Belphagor, you're the only one who can.' I only said yes to shut him up. Why can't everyone just let me nap in peace." He sighed and scratched the back of his head, nibbling on a candy stick all the while. "Oh well, I guess I can just treat this as a vacation." He fell back on the ground and stretched out. All this talk of finding the shard and bringing it back was messing with Bel's routine. Now even a place like Earth can become paradise when everyone back home won't stop talking, at least that's what Bel thought. Truthfully he didn't care one way or the other who won, as long as that side didn't interfere with him. Don't judge him wrongly, he would prefer if the demons won, but if they didn't, things would only go back to the way they were. Bel was only asked to do this because the others wanted to actually get the lethargic, unmotivated demon involved in their efforts. Despite his nature, Bel was considered important to the war effort if only due to his strength. Instead of helping them, he has spent the last five hundred years mapping in his room and wandering around aimlessly.

So, his choices were clear, but his choice was probably the wrong one if he wanted peace and quiet. If the demons have found the shard, the angels won't likely be far behind. Bel knows this, though he finds it more annoying then threatening. "Let the one who has done all the work up to this point keep doing it, and then just make sure they get back home with the shard. Seems fairly straightforward. I just hope nothing in-between now and then tries to wake me up."

Kemi ignored her brothers usual attitude, and went out the door. Her cute little powder blue punch buggie was shinning in the early morning sun. "I know that you don't want to ride in this to school so you can take your car. Besides I have to pick up one of my friends on the way. And don't forget we have a Pre-calculus exam today!" She made sure to put a lot of strain on the 'exam' part. Akemi hoped into her car and turned the radio up slightly and was on her way. She made sure to wave to her brother, but that was a lost cause anyways. She honked her horn for her friend to come out so they could get to school on time. "Hey silly!" Kemi smiled widely as her friend said hey to her. "Lets go shall we!" Kemi smirked back at her friend then took off to school. They pulled up to the student parking lot, and saw that a lot of people were there already. "Everyone must be anxious to take exams today." She looked around the school as they walked up to the doors. She made sure to be one of the first people to her class.

"Yeah, yeah, no duh," Jaden waved Kemi off, hardly listening to her ramble on anyway. He hopped into his own ride and took off. He wasn't a car man, so he couldn't tell anyone what year, make, or model it was. But it was a nice, sleek black with cottony seats and a good-quality radio, and that's all the mattered to him. It didn't take him long to reach the student parking lot and get out of his car.

He took a lazy glance around and noticed how many people actually bothered showing up today. Weird, but nothing too totally unusual, he supposed. "What's so great about a dumb exam anyway?" he mumbled to himself as he made his way past the office towards his class. He paused to kneel down under a tree to open up his bookbag and grab a bag of skittles he stole from his sister's room. She wouldn't miss them, he thought as he popped a few into his mouth.

Amaryllis was growing increasingly restless and was beginning to doubt the validity of the principle's words when something attracted her attention. She looked around, sitting up enough to get a good view of the area; it wasn't anything the ordinary five senses could pick up. She could feel a dark power, like that of a demon, but it was different still. There. She found it's source, a dark-haired boy underneath the very tree she had sat in for over an hour now. 'That has to be one of them, with the black shard. Lady Luck must be on my side today.'

Her original plan was to stalk them a while before making any moves, but Ami found herself surprised at just how strong the shard's were at such a close range, she couldn't help but getting closer. Besides her odd, violet-colored hair she didn't look too strange, not a day over eighteen at the oldest. Quietly she made her way down the other side of the tree and approached the dark-haired boy with a fake, but believable smile on her face, evoking as much of a calming feeling as she could.

"Um excuse me," she tapped him lightly on the shoulder, kneeling down next to him, "I'm new here and kinda lost, do you think you could help me find my way around?" At such a close range now the smile on Ami's face grew more real as she realized just how strong this jewel must actually be.

Jaden jumped at the sudden person approaching him. Since when was she there? He blinked, feeling a little stupid once he realized it was just some girl. She looked a little older than him, but she was shockingly pretty. Yet, there was something he couldn't help but feel unnerved him about her. She seemed...off. He stood and shifted his weight from foot to foot, shrugging off the weird feeling and suddenly feeling calmer. "New, huh? Yeah, I guess I could show you around," he said. He smiled casually at her and motioned for her to follow him through campus.

"The name's Jaden, by the way," he told her as he walked. "What's yours?" Jaden couldn't help but think of that strange feeling, but continued to ignore it for the moment. After all, she was just some new kid and he could handle himself. How bad could she possibly be?

It was hard to take her mind off of the immense strength coming from the shard, but Ami did manage to snap out of it and pay attention to her surroundings. She noticed there weren't any angels around, as far as she could tell, but surely they would be there shortly, she had to get this boy on her side and fast. "I'm Amaryllis, it's a tongue-twister so most people call me Ami." She walked beside the dark-haired boy, hands clasped behind her back while she pretended to be interested in the tour. "What's your's?" She asked idly, green eyes looking around, not at the buildings but at the people. Not too far off she could sense another strong source, maybe whoever had the other half of the jewel. If she could somehow get to that one too her day would be perfect.

Akemi was sitting waiting for class to start, and she noticed her brother with some girl walking around. "He better not miss class cause of that girl..." She whispered to herself as more people came in. The bell rang and she started to worry if her brother would make in time. Her brothers attitude worried her sometimes, not knowing their father to well probably didn't help either. The teacher took attendance and passed the test out. "My brother should be here soon. I'm sure he has a good reason as to why he is late." She told her teacher as he gave her her test. Her protest did little though the class had already begun to take the exam.

Jaden cocked his head. "Huh? I told you already, Ami," he said, snickering a little at her absentmindedness. He put his hands behind his head and pointed to a few hallways, naming them off monotonously. He wasn't really into this whole dumb tour thing, but hey, at least he got to walk around alongside an OLDER, pretty chick. That would definitely give him some points when some of the guys around saw him with her. Well, it was a nice thought at least.

"That's the nurse's office...the math hall..." He yawned. "Sorry, my sister woke me up this morning and I didn't get much sleep." He threw some skittles in his mouth as they wandered the school halls. The bell rang a little bit ago, but he didn't really care. He'd skipped class plenty of times and besides, he was 'helping a new student.' At least, that was his excuse if any staff bothered asking--they probably wouldn't, though. "So, Ami, what brings you here anyway? This place is kind of a bore,"

I feel like I'm forgetting something..., he thought vaguely to himself. After a second of not being able to remember whatever it was, he shrugged it off.

Alisha scrapped the side of the wooden chair carefully, flawless nails lay rested into the small line she had dug. She was patiently keeping watch over the clouds, or more so, what lay beneath the clouds. Earth, it was such a messy place and yet it was the source of her existence, without it she wouldn't be needed, she wouldn't be noticed...she wouldn't be perfect. Alisha wasn't quite sure what she would do if they day ever came when earth didn't need her, she didn't have any hobbies or close friends, she honestly didn't know what else she would do.

Alisha stood finally, the wood chips falling from her milky smooth palms while she brushed the satin silk of her simple gown down, moving with more grace than an average angel of her age Alisha spread her wings slowly and made the flight downwards. She was invisible to mortals and other breathing creatures, it was odd, to never have truly breathed a breath of her own. She was a creature of creation, not birth, she would never know what it was like to have a family or die or even understand the meaning of life but she was perfect in that sense. The petty emotions of the average being didn't apply to her, Alisha very rarely felt anything other than a small ounce of pride when she succeeded at something. Landing gently she looked around with a vacant expression before she glided over to the empty spot that Amaryllis previously occupied.

She watched quietly as she spoke to the boy, keeping watch of the surrounding area...

Kemi looked around the class and her brother never came in. "Great another absence for Jaden." The bell rang and she finished just in time to get out early. Kemi grabbed her stuff the jetted out of the door. After throwing her stuff into her locker, she went to go find her brother. Kemi ran into Jaden and some random girl. As she walked over she accidentally ran into some girl that looked like she was watching them. "Sorry but I have to see what my brother is doing!" Kemi apologized to the girl then continued to walk to Jaden. "I hope you had a good reason for missing our math exam. Oh I'm sorry my name is Kemi!" She looked at the girl next to Jaden.

"Oh yeah, sorry I was thinking about something," she laughed, placing a hand on her cheek as if she were slightly embarrassed. It was a small challenge to keep up with the conversation when all she really wanted to focus on was the jewel. "Well," she started off, looking around at the different classrooms, "my dad got transferred here for work so I came with him. My parents are divorced but I thought it'd be cool to leave town and see some new sights." As soon as the words rolled off her tongue two other powers flared across her senses, both light. It was definitely her lucky day. Ami had to be careful, adding an angel to the equation made her task harder.

"Oh so this is the sister who disturbed your peace earlier?" She joked lightly, examining Jaden's sisters, she had the other half, there was no doubt about that. "It's nice to meet you Kemi, call me Ami. You can blame me for your brother's absence, I got turned around and asked if he could show me around for a bit." Ami held her hand out to Kemi, forcing another believable smile into her features. Now that she knew who both of them were she would have to approach Jaden later and reveal her real reason for being here, she hoped the promise of great power would be enough to persuade the boy to her side.

Jaden pouted as his sister approached. There she goes being all bossy again, he thought, rolling his eyes. He had completely forgotten about the test, but what was another F? He was failing a lot of his classes already. It wasn't that he wasn't smart, it was just that he didn't care. What was he going to do anyway? What did it all matter? Jaden has a trouble streak. The teachers disliked him, he was in the office every other day, he would get into fights, he skipped class. He only did this because he was angry. Why didn't they have a dad? He didn't know anything about his and Kemi's father. He was angry at him, whoever he was, for leaving them like they were. So he expressed it by acting out. He could do what he wanted to whenever he wanted to.

"Yeah, unfortunately," he scoffed, a little harsher than intended. "And we're not done, right, Ami? I, ah, gotta show you the portables and stuff." He rushed, trying to avoid his sister's glare as much as possible. He'd probably hear it when he got home, but he wasn't in the mood now.

"Oh sure I guess," Ami continued to follow Jaden, glancing back at Kemi and waving, "it was nice meeting you!" She wished they could've stuck around just a little longer so that she could gauge Kemi's power, but she guessed the girl was just as powerful as her brother. 'Have they figured anything out yet? Surely after of these years of having the shards in their possession they've noticed something strange. I must know what their new abilities are.' Amaryllis knew if there was one angel present more would be on their way, she had to do something now. "Do you mind if we sit for a second?" She asked, her green eyes spotting a bench. She went over to sit down and patted the spot next to her for Jaden.

Jaden looked around for any staff that may be wandering around before nodding and joining her on the bench. He looked around for something to do or say when he spotted the nearby trash can. The sun shone on one side of it, casting a long shadow that reached and connected with the shadow on the bench. He smirked. "Hey, you wanna see something cool?" he asked her, getting a weird nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe showing her wasn't such a good idea...but he'd never showed anyone before, not even his sister. But it couldn't be that bad, right?

He leaned over and touched the shadow. The shadow creeped up Jaden's arm until it stopped at his elbow. The shadow that was previously there was there no longer. He beamed and turned to Ami, connected his shadowed hand with his normal hand, the shadow transferring between the two. "It's awesome, huh? I learned I could do this a few weeks ago. I can't really do much else right now, though, but I'm sure if I keep practicing I can do some really great stuff."

Ami sat cross-legged, staring at Jaden's little show with eyes wide in genuine amazement. "Shadowmancy," she whispered in a barely audible voice, she was definitely impressed, "That's amazing." She made sure to chose her next words precisely, she didn't want to freak him out. "What would you say if I told you I could teach you how to do more than just play around with shadows?" She questioned him, her facial expression changing from careless to focused, her voice serious. She wasn't speaking out loud to Jaden, but mentally through a telepathic link. "You're very special and I can show you so much more." She also did her best to evoke a calming air around herself, hoping he wouldn't think she was crazy and run away.

"What's that?" Jaden mumbled, missing whatever she had said while he was releasing the shadows back to their natural states. He sat back, straightening his posture. He blinked widely at her as she explained to him. "Woah, how are you doing that?" he asked, in complete awe. He had been a little skeptical that some random new girl could help him with these strange powers of his, but after she spoke to him like that, he was convinced she wasn't just some ordinary girl. Maybe she really could help him. But... "How do I know I can trust you?" he asked, standing up cautiously, looking her up and down. There were a lot of wackjobs out there. And a wackjob with whatever powers she had was something he did not want to be stuck with. He was a free man.

Ami stood up slowly, never taking her eyes off Jaden. "I'll explain that later, but now it's important that you come with me Jaden. There's something very special about you, and there are other's who want to find you and use your own talents against you. You'll just have to trust me for now, I have to get you away from here now." She reached to grab his wrist, her empathy was best when she was in physical contact with the person she targeted. "I know you probably think I'm insane right now but soon you'll find out that I only want to help you, and make your powers even stronger." Amaryllis kept her voice as calm and even as possible, but she knew after the little trick Jaden pulled that others had to sense it, she was running on borrowed time.

Akemi stared at her brother for a moment, then followed him and the other girl. Hes not getting away that easy! She thought as she peeked around the corner at Jaden and Ami. She saw them both do something with shadows moving around them and on her brothers body. "What is going on?" Akemi was shocked and amazed at the time. This was something new to her eye, and it reminded her of the bird earlier on. She turned her back to them and started to walk away. She sat down under a tree and look around herself. Her mind started to wonder about different things and it hit her. "Can I heal?" She looked around herself for something that could be healed, then she saw a butterfly laying across from her. Kemi crawled towards it and put her hand on its wing. After a moment or two the butterfly got up and flew away. "I can I can heal!" She jumped up in shear excitement.

Jaden frowned. "Right now? What? Wait, woah, what's going on, exactly?" he asked, starting to become overwhelmed with all this new information. He couldn't just GO with this woman, could he? He had no idea what he was getting into. When Ami grabbed his wrist, he had the urge to follow her anyway, but it didn't feel right. It didn't feel like it was something he wanted to do. But he shook his head, clearing his mind, and shrugged off the odd sensation. Well, he never had been one who thought before he acted, so why not? He turned to look at Ami and nodded. "Alright, sure, I'll go with you." He paused before adding. "I trust you."

Mentally Ami sighed in relief, at least he was willing to go with her, though she was unsure if it had anything to do with her empathy, whatever the cause may be she was glad. "Good, don't worry I won't let any of them hurt you." She tightened the grip on Jaden's hand, running as quickly as she could outside. It was fairly quiet on the school grounds since everyone was still in class, but soon they should have been changing classes. "I hope you aren't afraid of heights." She laughed, closing her eyes as if concentrating on something, then a pair of large black wings sprouted from her back. "We're gonna go on a little trip, I wouldn't look down if I were you." Ami got a tight hold on Jaden's waist before soaring off into the sky, high enough that she couldn't be spotted from below.

"I'll take you back to my place and explain everything to you Jaden, I'm sure you'd like to know who your father is." She shouted over the sound of her own wings beating fast against the wind. If she was going to get this boy on her side then she would have to tell him everything, from the beginning. In the distance she could see her apartment, and slowly she began to descend to the balcony.

"Woah!" Jaden exclaimed, too shocked for words. It was like there was a new surprise at every turn with this chick. He looked down at the ground below, everything growing smaller. He thought he would start getting vertigo or something like in the movies, but really, it just felt nice. The slight breeze from Ami's wings were calming and it was as if anything could happen up here. Like he could be himself. He wondered if some day he could learn to fly like Ami could, if he could manipulate his shadows into working in his favor, but those were thoughts for another time.

He grew more solemn when his father was mentioned. "Tch, what father?" he mumbled harshly, casting his eyes downward in a pout. The trip was cut too short as they landed on a balcony. He didn't bother asking where they were, but he knew it couldn't of been too far away from the school--they hadn't been flying that long. "So, what now?" he wondered aloud.

Ami landed on the balcony of her temporary home soundlessly, her wings immediately shrinking until they were invisible. "Despite what you might think, he was a very important man," she started, leaning against the railing and looking down as people crowded the streets below, "his name was Angelo and he was the leader of, well you may not believe me but, he led angels in a battle that took place centuries ago. It gets crazier, there's been a war going on, unseen to humans, a continuous power struggle between good and evil." She paused and shifted the weight on her legs, collecting her thoughts. "There was a very special jewel that could grant it's possessor a tremendous amount of power. Your father split it into two even halves, one containing the purity of man, and the other, the darkness that follows the light. For hundreds of years no one ever knew where he hid the pieces, and he died without telling a soul."

Amaryllis turned around, leaning her elbows against the railing now, her eyes locked onto Jaden. "I did a little research and found out that he had two children with a human female, and within them he hid the shards. You, Jaden, and your sister have the pieces inside of your hearts, literally. That's how you were able to pull off that shadow trick back at the school." She placed a hand lightly on his shoulder, leaning in closer as if she was about to tell him a secret, "There are power-hungry people out there that want to rip the shards from you and your sister so that they can possess it's full power. I wanted to find you so that I could teach you how to really use the power within yourself, otherwise you could be attacked and killed, the same thing stands for Kemi." Ami dropped her hand and moved to open the sliding glass door that led inside of the apartment.

"The choice is yours alone, I can't force you into doing something you don't want to. You can either learn to get stronger, or pretend you didn't hear a thing and wait to be killed, it's up to you."