The Coming Darkness

"What?! You're taking Sky?!" Enki jumped up. He wasn't going to allow a shady person such as Aleister to take him away.

Meanwhile...

Enzo had just entered the school after passing by several groups of students leaving the campus. He saw the usual gang out in the lobby, and nearly ran into Maya as she darted out of the school. "Maya? Wait!" He called out, but she was gone. Enzo sighed, and continued walking towards the group. They seemed to be interested in something. Before he could announce his arrival, he saw a cluster of students in the hallway and down near the training entrance. He walked down the hallway, ignoring the glances from the 'militia' students as he made his way into the training room.

"Huh? What's going on here?" He asked, feeling as if he shouldn't be there. "S-Sky.. They're going to take you away!" Enzo's eyes widened. Huh?

Take me away?

Ling glanced over to see Enzo and notified Aleister. The suited man turned over to Enzo. "You heard correctly. In order for you to master your flames, you will need to train in isolation. I have gone through such training as well as other predecessor. If you are already here then there is nothing more I should say." Alesiter clapped his hand and the group dispersed with Ling and Joanne leading them away. "Go home and gather some change of clothes. Come to the headmaster's office at midnight once you have said your good byes." Aleister started walking away towards the exit.

"What sort of training is this? It sounds kind of shady to me." Silver didn't like what was going on. She looked to Eos and Voltaire, and Eos seemed just as distressed as Silver felt. Then Enzo showed up, and Silver frowned as Enki told him what was going on. What are we going to do?

Meanwhile, David was about to respond to Maya as she bolted away. He was a bit concerned, and considered following her to see if she was really alright. It was then he noticed a large group of people not too far away, half of them seemed to be distressed and the other half seemed to be rather calm. He watched as an older looking man, who probably had authority, walked away. I wonder what's going on over there? David decided to stand there and observe, to see if he could pick up on what was happening. He took out a phone he picked up in the last town he was in and began fidgeting with it, trying to make it seem like he was just a bystander, not actually observing them.

Ryuu had heard her long enough to stop attacking the students. He watched, frustrated, as they scambled away. He asked why not? pensively, but received no answer. There was silence between them until Ryuu decided that, next time, he would not stop, or it'll be your friends, he added. Ryuu curtly layed down by the bank and went silent.

After Ryuu had drifted off, Maya let her thoughts run wild again. She almost panicked, but was afraid of waking him up. She held her face in her hands for a moment before going to seek counseling from one of her friends, if they cared or not. Someone's always in the training room. She thought, calming down again.

As Maya got closer, she sensed, most prominently, Enzo and Enki. Others were there too, but they were the ones currently freaking out. She shook her head and neared the entrance to the training room, taking her time to enter. "What do you mean, take Enzo away? Training?" She tilted her head, her voice neither threatening nor panicked. She looked over and noted the boy she had spoken to earlier, taking a few seconds to give a questioning glance.

He was leaving that soon? Sasha shook her head, not entirely absorbing what had just been said.

She refused to look at Aleister while he walked away, his posse following him. Sasha's face was struggling to keep up a calm appearance, the only sign of emotion being the slight twitch of her right eyebrow. She didn't say anything, only biting her lip, fists clenched tightly.

Enzo didn't know what to think. He didn't like being separated from his friends, but after what happened not too long ago, some isolation would have helped him. As Aleister left, he gave everyone a worrying, but understanding glance. He quietly sighed when he saw David, and figured the situation was about to become much more interesting.

That was when he saw Jacen. It took him a second, but his face was something that was burned in his mind like Volitaire's. There was no question about it, that was his childhood neighbor. "Jacen..?" He said out loud, breaking the saddening silence.

Jacen threw his hand into his pocket and pulled his media player out. He sighed upon seeing that he had a considerable amount of time until 6PM.
Christ...I should've just brought my laptop out of the bag before I gave it to that receptionist. Guess I better see what else is around here. No use stuffing my face and not having a place to sleep it off yet.
He got up and casually tossed his stuff in the trash, only concerned about remedying boredom until he could get settled in.
He walked back into the main lobby, trying to think of what he could do next...
That sign said something about a library and a game room if I remember correctly. He started to head back towards the stairs, but something...rather someone caught his attention. He looked to a group of people, noticing a hairstyle that stood out...brown and high in the center, and flared out to the sides....no fucking way...there's no way it's him. Just then, the other boy looked over and instantly became alert. Having a similar expression to Jacen...one of disbelief and intrigue.
"Jacen?" Upon hearing his name, he knew there was no way out of it. He was going to have to go back over and speak to him, lest he start old shit in a new place. Someone seriously has me in a fucking comedy movie. He swallowed his pride and put on a somewhat plain face.
"Enzo, it's been quite a while to say the least...

Immediately her eyes went to Sasha, knowing that she would be deeply upset by this. She walked over and put a hand on her shoulder - unsure of what to say at that exact moment. Instead she simply tried to ease her mind, "Maybe we can all focus on training too. That way we won't feel so disconnected from Enzo, and maybe it'll keep us well..." She tried to force a smile, "... distracted."

Pausing - she looked around at the others, "Why don't we get something to eat together?" It was then that she noticed someone come up, it was that boy she had accidentally hit with the door. Ah! And he knew Enzo! How embarrassing...

"What are you doing in Sorcerers? Are you a student?" He asked, but didn't wait for an answer. His mind flooded with questions he wanted to ask, and Eos' idea sounded pretty good, for a last day with his friends. "Y-yeah! Join us, Jacen!"

Sasha didn't look up; didn't even react when a gentle hand was placed upon her shoulder, though it calmed her down, just a little bit. After hearing the voice it belonged to, Sasha realized that the person was Eos, and gave a meek nod, completely unlike the fierce character that she was, "Yeah...alright..."

Silver frowned at Sasha. She wished that she could help the girl, but anything she could do would probably end up making it worse. She turned to go into the cafe, and saw a boy standing not too far away, fidgeting with his phone. "Looks like we got ourselves an eavesdropper," she noted with a sigh.

David looked up, hearing what she said, and seeing she was looking at him. "Who, me? No no, I'm just sta-" He stopped mid-word. This girl.. He walked over to Silver with a curious look on his face. Who is this..? She looks so.. Familiar... Could it be?..

Silver stared up at him as he approached her. ..What does he want? She frowned at him, looking into his eyes in attempt to be intimidating. Instead she saw something else.

"Is.. Is your name.. Silver?..." David asked her hesitantly. Silver was a bit surprised. She nodded slowly. Who is this guy? David's face lit up, he even laughed a little. He immediately hugged Silver, and Silver was just standing there, in shock. "Uh.."

Volitaire was still rummaging through his thoughts. A sudden training regimen this fella that was with Silver, and some guy who knew Enzo but Volitaire knew nothing of him? Everything was so backwards all of a sudden. He kept his quiet and tried to make some sort of good from all this, instead of getting a bit worked up in his own apprehension. He figured he could finally speak up on Silver's new friend, and maybe apologize for not sitting around trying to heal. But with the air, it probably wasn't the best time. He let out a long sigh, he couldn't seem to keep any of his thoughts in order. "So far, everything went from a bit easy to hectic. I just hope this...what was his name? Egh, who cares...but I assume he put this school under its new liberation? He may as well. All I know is Ling and that other girl, but if he's with them, then I can understand what they may be here for, or grasp a little bit of it. God, my stomach feels sick thinking about this guy... He felt everyone's safety was jeopardized even more. He began tapping his chin after keeping on this too long. "How messy.." He said under his breath.

Jacen didn't know where to start, he figured he'd just go in order.
"Well, I'm here because my parents think I can't control my own powers. So yeah, I'm a student...I got my ID and stuff, I'm just waiting on my room and to be assigned to a team. Also, I just got finished eating a snack so...
Jacen thought to himself:Even though I lived next to the guy, I barely know him. Hanging with them might kill some time...it's worth a shot. "You know what, that sounds fine by me. I'll just sit and talk wit-wait a second. Aren't you that girl that hit me with the door earlier?" He looked over and saw her standing there with a shy, subdued expression. He hoped he didn't scare her, but he needed closure. Getting hit with a door is not something you just let roll off.

Her eyes lingered on Sasha momentarily, realizing that odds are she wasn't going to get much more of a response out of her. "Alright then, let's go." But in the midst of all this, two reunions were taking place - somehow warming up the air. She at least vaguely understood the connection between Enzo's friend and Enzo, but why was this guy over here hugging Silver? And who the bloody hell is he?

She scratched her head, making eyes at Volitaire as if to say 'what's up with that?' without actually saying the words.

But despite her trying to hide amongst the others, Enzo's friend picked her out without a problem. "Oh... heh..." She put her arms behind her back and smiled innocently, "Yeah... that was me." Stepping forward she bowed her head in apologies, "I am really sorry 'bout that... it wasn't the best way to welcome you to Sorcerers, was it?" She attempted to make a joke about it, in hopes that he would laugh it off.

"Heh, I guess not. I've been through worse though, so don't sweat it. I wanted to at least get your name, but you sped off before I got a chance to get back to my senses..."
Jacen figured it was no harm, no foul...he really had been through worse, thinking back to fights he had gotten into at his old school. This was nothing...not even a mark. She probably was spaced out or something...and she's pretty cute. No need to get off on the wrong foot...even if I still don't wanna be here.

Volitaire slightly chucked at hearing Eos hit this new guy with a door. But he came back to Earth hearing Eos' voice again. He decided to put off his thoughts for a while, and wondered who that guy with Silver was. He had a feeling JD wouldn't like this at all. With that, he began to think where he was? He was a slippery blonde. But he still wanted to talk about things with Eos, then go say sorry to Silver...and possibly see who her new friend was. He walked over to Eos and nudged at her a little. "Umm..Eos, I still need to talk to you about something." He looked to the blue hatted fellow. "Uhh, excuse me." He held her hand and pulled her to the side. "I'm sorry, but if your brother hasn't yet told you, I have to..."

At this point, they were both ignoring all the others. David stopped hugging Silver, leaning back a little to look at her, his hands on her shoulders. "You.. You don't remember me?.." Silver frowned. "No.."
"We used to be best friends?..." Silver stared at him. The only person she's ever had who could be considered a 'best friend' got killed not too long after they started calling each other that. Or, at least that's what she thought.. Silver's eyes widened. "No.. You.." David's face became hopeful. Did she finally realize?

"David?.."

There it was. David nodded, clearly excited that she finally realized. Silver was still staring at him, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly blinked those away and hugged him again, even tighter than he was hugging her before. He put his hand on her head as he hugged her, offering her a comforting pat."How?.. How are you alive?.." He got confused. How am I alive? What does she mean?..

To much surprise, the boy turned out to be pretty easy going. Eos chastized herself for judging a book by it's cover - something she tried to never do. "Oh! Right! It's Eos VanCi-oh!" She felt herself get tugged away by Volitaire, cutting her off before she could even finish properly introducing herself. It seemed as though the forces were against her when it came to speaking with Enzo's friend. But this was odd of Volitaire, her eyes tugging away from the new boy to Volitaire's imposing red eyed glance that was pretty good at shutting her up and getting her attention.

"Told me what?" She asked, raising a curious brow.

"Well, I judge after I see JD there wouldn't be much time between you and me. By then I'll have to leave again, and well, I gotta tell you why I have to leave." He sighed, his brows were slanted downwards having a feeling she wouldn't like the news too much. "I umm, found the man that was responsible for the genocide of my family...I disappeared before because I went to him and it didn't end so well. He didn't take me having come see him very well, and he rose my parents from the dead and they had attacked me, which explains my burn, and also the fire outside Sorcerers...that was my fathers doing. Also, I'm going to see him again, and get my answers whether I have to fight him for it or not. But if I do...there may be a chance I won't come back. Supposedly, my Virus snapped when I saw him and I took a severe blow that knocked me out. I barely remember what happened, but an ally saved me. I just wanted to let you know, so you don't think I'm avoiding you or keeping too many secrets."

Her lips parted as she felt her jaw drop ever so slightly at the news. It was hard to comprehend all the chaos that encircled his life all at once, but somehow she felt she was the only one who could understand it. But it was all too dangerous, "Take me with you!" She gripped his hand in hers and pleaded with him, "What if something were to happen to you? He's killed your parents... he could kill you too!" She was all too easily flustered by the circumstances and felt her heart racing. She couldn't lose another person she cared for.

"Eos, as much as he could possibly kill me, he can kill you. I can't bring you along, I know you may want to help and you're worried but, I can't lose you too. Last time I went on a dangerous mission like this my brother died, and if I lose someone I'm beginning to consider my other, I don't know what I'd do to cope with it. I am having help, don't worry. But I don't want you getting hurt." He took a deep breath, trying not to get worked up at the thought of her getting hurt. "Stay with your brother, okay? I'm not going to let myself get killed by him, I prepared my whole life just for this moment. I won't let it slip by, okay?" He pulled her into a tight hug and lightly kissed her forehead. "I'll be fine, alright?"

Unfortunately, no matter how hard she begged, he just wouldn't allow her to come along. Her heart sunk as she realized that there was nothing she could do.

Fear, worry, uncertainty. It choked at her words, making it impossible for her to say anything. She wasn't okay with him leaving, she didn't want him to go off fighting someone so sinister alone. So instead of speaking she just nodded, biting her bottom lip - failing to hold back a few stray tears that she quickly wiped away.

Resting her head into his chest she closed her eyes, trying to take in this moment in every way she could. She would hold onto this second in time until they were together again.

Taking a deep, but shaky breath she took a step back and looked up at him. "I need you... to come back to me, okay?" Her words were trembling and difficult to get out without breaking down - but she knew she had to be strong. At least for right now in front of him.

He saw her tears, he never wanted to upset her but he knew he couldn't let her come along. Knowing Venciersio he would pick her off first just to get to him, he may as well have lost his mind after something like that. He stroked her hair while she was buried into his chest while looking down on her. This is the third person he needs to return to. That much more he knew he couldn't let himself die, but the fear of trying to keep his condition under control was making him wonder how he could possibly do this without losing himself to himself. He let her go when she stepped back, he wanted to ease her of all the worry right then and there...but how could he do that? Instead he smiled, even under all the circumstances he could smile in front of her to let her know he was going to be okay. "Of course I will, if I don't who will help your brother protect you?"

Enzo nodded. If this were his last day with his friends for a while, he'd spend it wisely. "I think a trip to The Wizard's Treat sounds good." He closed his eyes a bit, remembering the food he ate last time; ramen. Out of all things, it was ramen. He reopened his eyes to add "I'm buying this time." Before giving Sasha a smirk. He had won his own confidence back, at least for now.

Then, Volitaire trailed off with Eos, and not on a happy note. Something felt urgent, and it spiked his curiosity, but he didn't want to barge into whatever problem they both had.

Enzo started walking over to the entrance, seeing as how the school was nearly empty now, except for the few stragglers. He stopped and looked over to his group of friends. Could I really handle leaving them?..

Looks like being not so serious has gotten me jack shit here...didn't realize I was such a dangerous character. Jacen rolled his eyes and walked over to Enzo.
"Yo, what's that guy's damage?

"Damage..?" Enzo quickly looked over to the group, scanning them for any signs of wounds. "I don't see anyone hurt.."

The comment that Enzo made brought back just a little bit of the old Sasha, who chuckled, "Glad to know that I won't have to toss a bill in your direction, eh?" She attempted to smile, but it seemed a little too shallow; a little too forced. Her eyes still didn't retain the same spark that they'd had in them moments before.

"Not...actual damage. I mean, like what's his problem? He said excuse me and then whisked her off like I was gonna hurt her or something. Let's just...head over to the restaurant." Jacen was always a hothead during his younger days...he figures he might as well let it roll off. Wouldn't be a good look to already start a problem and have it come back on the good old Eirsith name.

As he listened intently in on the conversation at hand, he felt a sickening feeling sink in his stomach. "Doesn't private training like that, require some sort of paperwork or something? Even if he is the head master, it just seems rather suspicious. First day of being here, and already I have a feeling something bad will soon happen." He continued to listen in on the conversation, hearing more and more people talk. Deciding he had eavesdropped enough, he opened the iron doors, looking in one some familiar and new faces, all of them looked to be students. He saw a few of them beginning to walk away, including the fiery haired boy he saw before, but never got a chance to introduce himself to. Regardless, Marcus made his way to the remaining group, "Hello everyone," he said, flashing the same smile he always seemed to have on his face, "are you all alright?"

Maya was beginning to follow the others, for lack of anywhere else to go. She attempted one last time to be social. "So, Jacen, is it? Don't worry about it, they needed to talk~" She hummed, taking a place beside Jacen, also in line with Sasha and Enzo.

Maya looked back and saw a strange man, who looked was too old to be a student but too young to be a teacher. As he spoke, she was thinking. He had been eavesdropping earlier, she noted, but... I think he's not dangerous. What would it matter, anyways? They're all master fighters. She looked down and fell back into place as her usual silent self, before she had even come to sorcerers.