The Coming Darkness

She peeked back at Enzo, cheeks still a tad red, "O-oh, thanks..." Sasha still wasn't very used to wearing 'nice' clothing like this. Oh, what she would give to be wearing her track suit at the moment.

"Ah, Eos...She told me to walk around like this..."

"Eos?" Enzo crossed his arms. It made sense now, that Eos would have put her up for this, but why? and it wasn't like she forced Sasha. Eos is a healer, after all, so Sasha must have agreed to it. Or maybe some blackmail was involved? He'd rather not ask, Sasha was being nice at the moment. Now wasn't a time to ruin that. "Figures.."

It wasn't like Enzo could leave her out here by her lonesome self. After seeing how she could burn herself out of energy so quickly, and the increasing threats not only in the real world, but in the Gaze aswell, he decided to stay with her. At least until she went back into the forbidden girl's dorm. "Well, I'll stick around with you, if that's okay."

Gotta be the man in the relationship, if you can call this one. He thought to himself.

Sasha was still a bit confused by Enzo's reaction. What did he figure...? Was Eos up to something? Maybe it had to do with the strange questions she'd asked before giving Sasha her makeover. Either way, it wasn't time to think about anything like that.

"Y-you'd stay with me?" The words echoed out of her mouth before she could really register it. Instantly, Sasha flushed red again, and changed the way she phrased what she had just said, "I-I mean, I'm bored, so I need you to stay with me because I'd get really bored without you, i-idiot."

Eos crept around - trying to channel her most stealthy ninja-like thoughts. Trailing behind Sasha, she was monitoring if she was actually going to be able to carry herself around with confidence and handle the presence of others well. But as she turned the corner, she saw Enzo approach her.

"Ah, perfect." She whispered, realizing that this was the best possible thing that could happen right now. They were alone, it was late, and Sasha looked amazing... it was a recipe for something. Something good.

She could hear them talk and rolled her eyes at how much of a dope Enzo could be, but either way... it was out of her hands now. And a sleepy Eos could now go back to her room and snuggle up in bed.

Enzo tilted his head to the side. "Really?" He asked, but didn't expect an answer. He realized a burn spot on the side of his shirt, probably from Aleister's counter-attack. He didn't want to think about him, or the Minus Fire at the moment. He returned his stare to the girl. "What is Eos making you do exactly? Any way I can help?"

"Wh-whatever you want," Sasha muttered, turning her gaze away from Enzo, "Uh..she just told me to walk around and not punch anybody," she replied, shrugging a little bit. All of a sudden the dress felt too short, and the neckline too low. Sasha shifted in her place a little, feeling a bit awkward.

Enzo could clearly see what was going on, and how hard it was for Sasha to keep pretending to be lady-like. He laughed a little. "I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I have a good idea that I know you'll like." He walked over to her, closing the distance. "Let's practice our magic." He didn't wait for her to give an answer, he took her hand and rushed out of the dorm building, running out to the side of the building, which had a good view of the entire town, and it's nightlights.

It looked even better with the snow. Houses and buildings in the distance were glowing with Christmas lights. It made Enzo wonder how Japan celebrated it, but then again, Whiterun was a town of many different backgrounds, nationalities, and cultures, thanks to Sorcerers. It was the one of few things that could bring everyone together without causing a war.

Once they had a spot between the dorm building and the small cliff side that separated the school from the town, Enzo let go of her hand, and turned around. "I know it's probably cold, but you're like a water bender, so, in a way, this is your element!" He smiled, before backing up to get ready.

She was about to reply to Enzo, but was yanked by her hand. Never before had anyone touched her so...so casually like that. Sasha wanted to say something, but had no words to say.

Practicing...actually sounds nice right about now... she thought, Though I hope I can move in this outfit...

The snow was beautiful, and Sasha looked around in wonder, listening to Enzo speak, "No, it's not too cold," she spoke. As she did, the snow around her liquified, then spread onto the ground, around her feet. Sasha lifted it up off the ground, molding the water into several small balls that were spinning.

This was her standard line of attack, and it was usually the strongest one. Sasha knew that she ran out of energy easily, so she always started her offense quickly, trying to end it in the most efficient manner possible. "Y'sure about this?"

Enzo closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. "I'm sure." He replied calmly. He focused, and tried blocking everything out of his mind. "Hit me with your best shot."

"Don't regret this," Sasha spoke, narrowing her eyes a little. The water around her instantly shot at Enzo, in the same pattern as the battle with Enki.

Sasha's words told him that she was just getting ready to attack. Enzo focused deeply. If what Enki had told him was true, this was his own move. One he could use outside of his hyper form. He could faintly feel the disturbance in the air on his skin, he couldn't pinpoint how fast, or where exactly, but he felt it.

"Attribute of the Sk-"
Enzo is pelted by the water. Little drops feeling like speeding rocks fired from a machine gun. The pain was enough for him to automatically switch over to his hyper form.

The force of the water pushed him back. Enzo back flipped back onto his two feet, with his flame ignited. I'll have to work on that...
He confirmed. He could feel the wind a little better, with parts of his clothes wet. Though it wasn't any use now, he had switched personalities.

Instead of blasting away Sasha with an X-burner, Enzo contained his flames that emitted from his hands, and picked up some snow, quickly forming it into a snowball. "Now I have no reason to go easy on you." He said, before throwing a barrage of snowballs at him at fast speeds.

He was getting ready to do something...Sasha just felt it. However, her feelings were wrong, as the water hit his face, splattering all about him. She couldn't help but laugh as he did, though her giggling was quickly interrupted by five or six snowballs hitting her in the face. Sasha grinned, "Oh, now you're getting it!" She did the same, throwing one or two, then using her power over the water molecules in the ice to throw some more.

Enzo realized his situation. She was better at ranged attacks, while Enzo wasn't. He had to close the distance. Though the sound of blazing flame would awake half, if not all of the students sleeping in the dorms. Instead, he ran forward, sidestepping left and right as he avoided the snowballs coming his way. He accidentally slipped on the ice, skating right into Sasha, knocking them both over, and cutting off Enzo's flame due to the cold snow that encased both of them.

Enzo opened his eyes slowly, he must have hit his head on something hard. He felt his hands being the only warm part of his body. "Wh.. what?" He looked down, to see Sasha beneath him, and both his hands on her. He pulled them back, and yelped. His face turned a heated red. "S-So sorry!" He shouted.

She felt herself being knocked over by Enzo, who'd tried to get closer to her, but seemed to have tripped over something...perhaps the ice? Sasha hit the ground, and felt Enzo fall on top of her. When her head had cleared from the initial impact, she felt his hands resting near her chest, and instantly, Sasha reddened, and instinctively turned her head to the side, attempting to mask her embarassment, "I-idiot," she muttered.

Yeah, a really stupid idiot! Enzo echoed in his mind. He stood up, and grabbed her hand, lifting her out of the snow and onto her feet. The two stood pretty close to each other.

It feels like this is one of those times where... I should kiss her, right? Enzo had doubt in his mind. His enemies' main target was those he held dearest to him, according to Enki. He didn't want to put Sasha in more danger. "I'm... sorry for that." He said. He felt his flame growing due to his nervousness of being so close to her. It wasn't long before he would change.

He'd touched her hand yet again, and Sasha still felt surprised by how carefree the male was. They stood together, hand in hand, quiet.

Tch...so awkward...

She sighed a little when he apologized, then pouted a little, "I-it's not like I care, idiot..."

Enzo blinked. He took a few steps back, moving slowly so that he doesn't trip again.
"It's getting.. late. I'm going to head in. You should too." He said to her, and left.

"Ugh.. Damn it, Enzo." Kenji muttered, as he watched from the window.

Enzo made his way back to the dorm room, He opened the door and saw both Enki and Kenji still sleeping. The sight got him sleepy too, and so he changed back into his PJ's. And slept on the computer chair.

She walked calmly but slowly towards what used to be her room in the girl's dorm, trying not to think but her thoughts being clouded by dreams. They weren't her dreams, per se. They were Ryuu's. She thought of how she once was so dedicated to bonding with this dragon, but now wanted nothing more but for the bond to be broken. Ryuu, in her absence, had grown to be a hostile being (also a very large being, at that) who was incredibly hard to control. Out in the forest, she had tried all day, walking many miles only to find the beast of a dragon who hated her and she resented back. He needed to be put to sleep, for now, she told herself.

The small rips in her clothing exposed her skin to the cold air. She took in deep breaths as she got closer, noting that there were two others around. People she knew? Yes, Sasha, and Enzo. She stopped to look for a quick few seconds, before hurrying in. Maybe they'll finally get together. She sighed as she felt Enzo running away again. Maya quickly went to find her room, going in to bed.

Back in her room, Eos had changed into her nightgown and slipped herself into bed. Once her head hit the pillow, she closed her eyes and all of a sudden the only person she could think about was Volitaire. She had remembered seeing him earlier again, but he didn't even approach her.

Quickly trying to silence her worries, she forced herself to clear her mind and drift off to sleep - too bad that wouldn't save her from dreaming about him.

She nodded, backing away as well, "Seeya."

Sasha headed back into her dorm again, washing away all the beauty that Eos had bestowed upon her that night. Sasha sighed a little, falling back into bed.

I could have sworn he was going to...Gah, no way in hell that'd happen..

And so, with that thought, Sasha drifted off to sleep.

Spoiler

Down a deserted street, the small boy named Enki ran. He ran as fast as he could. Shouts of threats and damnation behind him, but he had no intention of looking back. He didn't want to see them. Enki was a boy who looked up to all things in life, yet life treated him poorly. Just when he thought he had made good distance from his pursuers, His foot had gotten caught on a loose stone in the path, making him fall down.

The shouts and howling of the angry mob grew louder, and Enki's leg was far too injured to move. Enki gave in, covering his head with his arms, letting the sleeves of his shirt cover his sobbing face as the mob closed in on him. There he is... Why did you have to run? We'll do you in too. Fast and painless.

"Stop." Sky commanded the mob. Sky was a small boy, and stood beside the crying boy. The mob quickly stopped, not out of fear, but confusion. Why was a little kid standing up to a gang of troublemakers?

Enki moved his arms, seeing Sky standing beside him. "Sky!" He shouted in delight, his sorrowful voice filled the street. What the fuck do you want, kid? Go away. This isn't any of your buisness.
"Don't address me as a kid." Sky responded. "Turn around and leave." The group of gangsters ignored him, and moved in on Enki. Sky stepped inbetween them and the boy.

"I said stop!" He shouted. The man holding a large waraxe swinged down on Sky. The boy closed his eyes, and narrowly avoided the axe, cutting a bit of his hair off. "Tryna get cocky by keeping your eyes closed?" The man said. In the same movement, Sky leaped up and kneed the man in the face, hitting him in the temple. The man fell over, and Sky landed, his eyes still closed. The rest of them decide Sky was the problem.

The mob rushed in on him, and Sky dodged all of their attacks narrowly, giving back a counter-attack of his own, that froze them in place. Enki simply watched as Sky seemingly danced past all of them, ending up on the other side of the mob.
"Attribute of Sky: Enzo opened his eyes, and the pain of the attacks he had dealt registered in all of the gang members, hitting them all at once. They all dropped down to the floor at the same time. Serene Mind."

Enki stood up and wiped away his tears. "Sky.. How did you do that?" He asked, as Sky approached him with a smile. "Are you interested?" Sky asked. Enki nodded, sporting the face of a fat kid in a candy store. "Alright,"

"I'll teach you."

Time: 7:00 AM
Day: Tuesday
Clear skies, 56F

Enzo woke in the chair, apparently upside down. He had been moving around in his sleep. He sat up straight. What a weird dream. He thought to himself. Enki was already woke, and so was Kenji, who was browsing 4chan.

It was quite cold that morning - this apparent in her pink nose and cheeks, and the sun shown brightly as it was reflected off the blanket of snow that accumulated overnight but was quickly melting under the clear skies. All in all it was quite beautiful, and the smell of quiet, untouched snow was something to savor.

Eos walked across the roof of Sorcerers, her small footsteps following those of her brothers, who was walking toward the edge. "Why did you make me come up here, JD?" Her warm-honey eyes glittered in a perky confusion as she made her way to stand beside him. Those eyes glanced down over the edge of the building as a light breeze blew about the red ribbon in her hair.

He's being so quiet...

JD was not garbed in clothing for the weather- mind you he was from a country where the cold was a dominant factor, but it shouldn’t have lead him to wander about in t-shirt, jeans, and sandals. Those fingers twitched over his amulet, and he rubbed his thumb over the brunt of the jewel.

When Eos spoke those eyes- substantially darker- focused in on his sister, and he inevitably smiled. JD turned his head to the side and placed a hand firmly between her shoulder blades- which should have been comforting but it was far from it. Instead he launched the brute strength of his arm behind her which without preparation would send her tumbling off the roof of Sorcerers.

Was he being sentimental? Did he bring her up here to enjoy the wonderful view? Those thoughts were encouraged as she felt the warmth of his hand on her back.

But those thoughts, they were suddenly dashed. A firm jolt of pressure was knocked into her back, sending her forward without warning. Her eyes widened - and she barely had time to let out that quick and shallow gasp that puffed out into smoke amongst the winter air.

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGs90-odCjE]]

And in those moments she was without a thought. Her mind had no time to process, and the shock that froze her body only stiffened as she felt the force of gravity pull her forward - her pupils now small and petrified as the view of the ground below became clearer.

Maya slept very little that night. She felt like she couldn't even think her own thoughts. Maybe Maya shouldn't have, but it helped clear her mind to count the people in the dorms. Everything is different, she thought, before trying to go to sleep again. She got up early, taking a quick, cold shower and changing into her fresh new clothes. They were... odd, but they were clothes. She shook, for whatever reason, and started heading out of the doorms. "I'm dead, I'm screwed, we're all going to die~" she hummed. This isn't how she would normally feel at all, but there were now the emotions of Ryuu which she couldn't simply filter out.

Upon instinct JD’s fingers curled around her gown and he held her as tight as possible- that lithe body of hers dangling upon the edge. He gave Eos a long moment to understand her plight before he drew his arm back upwards and pulled the girl into his own body. It was an alien way he held her as if he hadn’t seen her in so long and missed his sister so much. JD’s voice cracked the suffocating silence- but sounded different than his usual snarky British twang, “not yet m’dear Beatrice. You are so close. You are beginning to act like she did. It is only a matter of time, and you will be complete.”

There was a long moment the passed by that, and the cool air wafted through JD’s blonde locks before he removed himself from that tight embrace that held Eos. “E- what?” He asked in a confused tone. A hand came to his head and he frowned. “Was I doing that ‘thing’ again?” JD paused and frowned as a terrible headache ricocheted through his body. Those fingers bit into his temples as he stood there- not really realizing what he had done but having a morose feeling that he had hurt Eos- yet again. “I hate magic.”

And then it came - the hand that would just as quickly send her to her death came back to save her. As he caught her suddenly, her body jerked forward, hanging against the clothing that held her back, the sudden halt causing a few fearful tears to shake from her watery eyes - the bits of clear salty blue vanished into the distance.

When she was finally back on firm ground, she felt herself nuzzled into her brothers chest, this feeling so distant but so familiar. He wasn't himself, this made clear through his words - those words and that name.

At those words, the stone around her neck shown brighter than ever before.

Eos was still shaking, even when JD came to, once the familiar warmth of her brother returned she began to sob into him, gripping his clothes tightly. "Yes, sleep brother came out again... he... he-" She cut herself off and tried to calm herself down, knowing that this wasn't entirely or remotely his fault.

"Brother..." She collapsed into him, "It's okay." She spoke between shaking breaths, reassuring herself more than JD in that moment. "I forgive you. It's okay."

Volitaire awoken inside his bunker room. He sprang up and saw that Artizle and Montesque was outside the door talking. He walked outside and noticed he was in his pajamas. A white t-shirt and grey lounge pants. "Did..one of them undress me..?" He silently thought before opening the door and interrupting their conversation. "Volitaire...you took a hard blow last night. Montesque told me your virus activated and he tossed you across a nearby forest...said you landed pretty hard. Are you alright?" "The virus..of course..no wonder I may not remember much. But I was thrown? Across a forest? How the hell did he do that?" A brief flashback popped into his mind where he was tossed against the double doors of Venciersio's office. "That must be how..-" "Volitaire..? Are you with me?" He interrupted Volitaire's thoughts on last night. He was easily beaten, but couldn't even remember it. "I'm..I'm okay..just a bit foggy from last night. Montesque...when I'm ready can you take me again?" Montesque hung his head. "Volitaire, he's too strong for you...as demonstrated he managed to knock you out cold. Even in your powered up state." "Montesque, we have to go back..." "He'll be expecting us t-" "That doesn't matter! I'm going to get my answers and I won't wait around forever!" Volitaire's sudden uproar startled Montesque into silence. He sighed and looked to Artizle, who had not much to say on the matter. "Prepare yourself for the afternoon...I'll return then." Montesque left in his Temporal Rift.

The manor was destroyed at the front from Venciersio's Spatial attacks. The forest nearby has a large break going down through it and the courtyard looked battle damaged. The man sat in the crypt under the manor, coffins were lined up and a red robbed man stood with him. "Montesque, you asked me to raise some corpses? What do you want to do with them?" "It appears that a certain child has lived through his families demise. I can't be bothered to handle him, nor will I send any of my contacts. He's not worth the time. So I shall give him a fitting end. I shall let him fall to his own fallen. The two coffins in the back...they're adjacent to each other. Both are named 'Lucath'." The necromancer walked to the back of the crypt and pulled the lids off the coffins. Two well preserved bodies of a long hair blonde woman, and a black haired male with a goatee was laying inside. Both in rags. The Necromancer places his hands on their chests and a green runes slithered down their bodies. Their eyes lit up and mouths gasped for air. The slowly rose and climbed out the crypts and stood at the Necromancers side. "My risen dead, you must seek out your child, and-" "Find and kill your child. Volitaire Lucath. Return with his body. He will come of use later." The two sprinted and leaped out the crypt and into the forest. "Lets give him a real reason to hate me..."

JD shook his head. “No no- you shouldn’t forgive me. You should stop me E- stop me anytime I don’t act like myself. Stop letting me do this to you.” If the boy had any notion as to what was doing this to him he would have ended it right then and there, but alas he was without a single clue on why he blacked out when he did. Those breaths were deep, and his head screamed- but everything seemed to come into focus with Eos sobbing on his chest.

“You are my only family.” JD wanted to know what he had tried to do, but he somewhat had a decent idea considering their current situation. “Let’s go back inside E.” He stated calmly though inwardly he was screaming in terror at what had near about happened. Usually this alter-ego, this Sleeping Brother, was not too hostile in his approach to E; but today had proven to be far more traumatic.
JD bit his lip almost till it bled as he attempted to lead his sister downstairs. The cool nip in the air caused his skin to goose bump, but he ignored it. He would go back to his room, get dressed, and then meander over to his girlfriend’s room and pretend that none of this ever happened.

Well, here she was again. Blackest black area she'd ever seen. Typical. Though she was afraid he would show up again. Silver waited a few minutes, expecting him to show up and beat her to near death again. However, he didn't.

[[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gweNNwVMClw ]]

It had been about 10 minutes, or that's what she felt, and she heard a small child's laugh. A laugh that almost sounded familiar to her. She turned, looking to see if there was a child that might be the source of this laughter, but of course, there was nothing. As she turned around to start walking again, she came face to face with a black dot, surrounded by white. She looked up and noticed something, beginning to back up a bit. When she got far enough away, she saw it was an eye. a giant eye. They began popping up all over the place, along with many sick devilish grins. The laughter became more intense and grew deeper the more she backed up. Suddenly, it all merged to become one giant face, the laughter almost seemed as if it was directed at her pain. Silver fell to her knees, frozen with fear. The face was staring at her, and it wouldn't stop laughing. It got closer and closer to her, and she fell back. When she fell, she just kept falling. It seemed like she would fall forever. However, she managed to turn herself around only to see the ground approaching fast. She was about to hit the ground when--

Silver jerked herself awake. She found herself in her bed, her fists clenched with her poor sheets inside them. "God, I'm so tired of those nightmares.." She threw her sheets off her, and swung her feet off the bed. Quickly, she changed into her new uniform, since that seemed to be the only thing she had the option to wear, and she decided to walk out and see who was around.