Humanum Familiares [Best Rookie/Most Original Aug/Sep '11]

"Why, Adria...?" Andre told himself, sighing, standing against a cave wall, "Why won't she let me come with her? It's dangerous out there and who knows what's out there? She's so brave...but so silly and naive and..."


Andre sighed and shook his head, "Think about something else. Think about something else! She's going to be fine. I can think about what I can do when I get back to the dorms. I can clean the toilet, prepare a meal, fix the window. That should keep me occupied, then maybe mopping the floor and sweeping it will work as well after curling up the carpet and placing it away, then maybe I should fix the broken air-conditioner as it can be awfully hot in there...oh and my bed needs some tidying up too...god I sure have a lotta things to do but-"


Just then a large high pitch scream disrupted his train of thoughts and Andre snapped back into reality. That sounded like Adria, and for one second there Andre's face was as white as snow, as he knew something had gone wrong. Maybe he was too late...maybe she's...gone...because of him. She told him to stay but shouldn't he go with her for her own safety? Blaming himself he dashed out into the forest in search for his mistress, his eyes wide and alert.


Just then the ground shook around him, probably caused by the enemy's movements, and Andre volo'ed towards the location where the shaking was strongest. What he saw was so strange and so sci-fi like, the commoner was forced to stare in awe for a couple of seconds. It was a freaking dragon, real and moving before his eyes. It was even more realistic than those 4D movies and mechanic ones, and it was so fast and agile, even Andre had difficulty watching him move. And it was flinging Adria away and towards the ground at a super high speed as if he was playing baseball or someth-


"Adria!" Andre screamed, running towards her as fast as he could, catching her before she could land on the ground. Panting, Andre got back to his feet, hugging Adria tightly without letting her go.


"Don't you ever tell me to stay behind again!"

Adria had her eyes shut as she was flung waiting for the painful impact of meeting the ground, but it never came. Instead she felt someone catch her and hold her tight. "Don't you ever tell me to stay behind again!" Andre's voice reached her ears and she opened her eyes her face pale but no where near as pale as his was. Adria felt tears form as she saw how white his face was and how scared he looked.

"I-I'm sorry" She whispered hugging him back. She felt terrible about scaring him like that and also was in terrible pain from when the dragon had grabbed her. Adria didn't notice the fact that she was bleeding on her side only noticed the dragon roaring in anger swiping his claws at them. "A-Andre M-Move" she whimpered and her familiar used Volo to get out of the way and he set Adria down near a tree away from the battle.

As he set her down Adria stifled a small cry of pain now noticing the blood on her side. "Your hurt" Andre said noticing as well and hugging her tight not caring about blood getting on him. "Y-Your bleeding" he whimpered a bit hugging her tighter as more of the Dragon's roars reached the pairs ears.

"They're going to need h-help the Dragon is nearing death" she whispered in pain looking into his eyes blushing her blush standing out on her pale face "You have to help otherwise they could die" she added moving a bit and letting out a whimper of pain before losing consciousness.

Miharu bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, keeping a close watch on Benjamin. Although the Headmaster's secretary hadn't noticed, Miharu saw the secretary use a familiar power, which probably would have been really helpful when Benjamin got the gunshot wound in the first place. However, Miharu wondered why the Headmaster's secretary would be a familiar. It was strange, actually. With all the trouble that the Headmaster gave them about summoning "commoners" as familiars, he probably hadn't had a human familiar. Miharu started to get suspicious. How could they really know that she was the Headmaster's familiar? For all they know, she could be a spy sent by the people who kidnapped the princess, or...

Miharu's eyes widened slightly. She was glad it was just her, Ben, and Kiroku in the cave; she could share information and theories without being heard.

"Kiroku," she hissed under her breath, just in case. "I do not think that the Headmaster's secretary is the one fighting with us. I saw her use a healing familiar power on Benjamin earlier; if the Headmaster gave us such a hard time about summoning human familiars, why would he have one himself? Would he not sympathize with us instead? Remember the person who shot the student with the arrow and turned him into a monster? I think that is her. However, we cannot do anything about it now. We have to watch her carefully, and make sure she does not get near the princess. I have a feeling that she is not here for a rescue mission, but for an assassination."

"You two are just so funny, but now is not the time." Kenna sighed as she stood up.

She closed her eyes. She was going to have to relive the memory of when she found out that Tristan had died. Kenna was not ready to relive it but she was going to have to.

Flash back

Kenna was sat in one of her old friends rooms. They were gossiping about another student that she was into. Kenna was spread out on the bed while her friend was on the floor. The two girls were laughing and giggling when a letter was posted under the door. It opened and spoke a message that was mean't for Kenna.

"Kenna Warren, will you please report to my office as soon as you can. Signed: Prof. P. Awenston, headmaster of the Tristein academy for magical arts and their teachings."

Then the letter disappeared just as fast as it had appeared. Kenna got up and said sorry to her friend before walking out of the room and following the corridor until she reached the headmasters office. She knocked twice and then stepped inside. The headmaster was sat behind his desk. Emil was sat on one of the chairs on the far side of the room. She could not read his expression at all so she just took a seat near him.

"Kenna...You need to know...I need to tell you something." Emil tried to say.

"Maybe I should be the one to tell her Emil." The headmaster told him.

"Tell me what?" Kenna was getting irritated.

"It's about Tristan, something has happened." Emil said, when Kenna heard her brothers name her heart sank.

"Wh-What has happened, is he ok?" Kenna whispered as a tear feel down her face.

"I am afraid to say that he died last night of a sudden illness that no one could stop, I am sorry Kenna." The headmaster told her.

Her full world stopped then, her brother could not be dead. He should be alive and well like he was the last time she had visited him. Tears where falling fast down Kenna's face. She had no time to tell him how much he had mean't to her or to even say goodbye. She started to sob. What was she going to do without him?

"Kenna..." Emil whispered.

"Can...can I see him? I need to see him" Kenna sobbed.

"I am sorry, we can not allow that. You will have to wait until the funeral." The headmaster told Kenna straight.

Kenna started to shake and cry harder. She needed to see her brother and they were all stopping her. He could not be dead, there was no way she was going to believe he was dead. The amount of anger that filled her then was at an unbelievable level. She was mad at everyone and every thing. She wanted to explode and that was what she did. Fire broke out of her and trashed the headmasters office. The headmaster and Emil had took alot of effect from the blow but they were alright. Kenna couldnt take anymore, so she passed out, all the while crying and whispering Tristan's name.

Flash back ended.

Kenna let the anger she had felt then flow through her. She started to shake and she knew that she was glowing. Josh and Emil both looked scared and worried but Kenna kept going. She was going to beat this dragon if it was the last thing she did.

"If she does that she could seriously hurt herself..." Emil murmured.

"What?!" Josh cried.

"The day her brother died, she used a similar energy... we never told her but... she almost killed herself." Emil looked away eyes closed.

Flashback

Emil sat at the bedside of Kenna hospital bed, his hair was a wreck due to him running his hand through it in worry. His shirt was ruffled and his royal guard cadet pauldron was hanging loosely from his soldier.

The nurse walked into the room and Emil shot up and ran towards her.

"Well?! Is she going to be OK?! Is she?!" He cried.

"Don't worry Emil... she'll be alright, we got her tests back today, the magical damage done should be repared by tommorow." The nurse said.

Emil slumped to the ground.

"Thank God..." He murmured before passing out from exhaustion. Hehad been by Kennas bedside for two days.

End of Flashback

"But... but... she used it against the turned student... right?" Josh fretted.

"That was only a fluke, Kenna has the oddest way of unleashing her full magical potential in one full blast, almost destroying herself in the process." Emil said.

"This may kill her..."

Josh gasped at Emils words.

"She can't die if I stop her!" Josh cried.

Josh turned and grabbed Kenna by the shoulders.

"Kenna! Kenna stop! You don't have to.... You don't have to..."

"SUCH A TOUCHING MOMENT!" Scythe roared. He held Adriel by the throat.

"R...Run..." She groaned.

"FOOLISH GIRL THEY HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN!" Scythe threw Adriel to the side, knocking her out.

"NOW PREPARE TO DIE!" Scythe charged at the Emil, Josh and Kenna as he bellowed his words.

Scythe suddenly stopped in his tracks. He was held back by a massive wall of ice. Emil stood in front of it sweat pouring down his face as he quickly rebuilt the wall as it was ravished by Scythes claws.

"I can't hold much longer..." Emil moaned silently.

Suddenly a rain of arrows fell on the Elder dragon pushing it up against the wall of ice.

Adriel stood strong behind the massive dragon.

"Foeda draco sentio nostri ... Gandalfr Core!" Adriel cried. Her gauntlet was gone and the ruins on her hand were now perfectly visible and glowed a bright green.

A glowing green arrow flew towards the dragon pushing it through the wall of ice and causing Emil to fall from exhaustion.

Josh ran over.

Emil began to shout, he had come to a realization.

"Familiars! Whoever can hear me! Let your true power flow like Adriels activate Gandalfr core! It's deep within you, now use it!" Emil used the last of his strength and pulled Josh close.

"AS soon as Kenna launches her enrgy use Gandalfr core to convert it into power and use it to strike the dragon... It won't be enough to finish it off... It would take a strong poison to that (OOC: hint, hint) but it should be enough to severely weaken it... now don't mess up... you stupid ponce..." Emil passed out.

Gandalfr core... Josh was sure of it, it must be the enrgy he feels comming frm Kenna, the dark glow he has.

If Emil was right... then it would be enough to severely weaken the dragon if all the familiars used it.

Josh stood in front of Kenna and drew his sword. It was time for the battles final stage.

(OCC: Kiroku's back at the cave, remember? But I hinted that Adriel had another phial of the poison, if you still wanted to do that angle.)

"How could I not? We were potential first-targets being so close," Kiroku whispered back, folding his arms with the pole of his weapon nuzzled against the pit of his elbow, "And I would think that the headmaster was just cracked and hid his shame by blaming us instead. But I see the point. If it does turn out to be an assassination, though, there has to be a better cover than just simple misdirection. I mean, if it's not her then we can only assume that the real Adriel is back at the school. There has to be a better cover... wait."

Remembering the phial that the Adriel in question gave him, Kiroku reached into his pocket and pulled out the bottle of poison. It was only now just clicking in his head. Him. "That no good-- She was going to use me as a scapegoat!!" the boy growled under his breath as he gripped hard on the phial, "She said it was Dragonsbane, and I can only guess it's a powerful poison. Glad you said something, or my hide was going to burn." Raising it up, he planned to smash the thing into many different pieces. That would show her for trying to use him as the blame-shield... But then again, he couldn't. Even if it was a tool to incriminate him, he now knew the truth and Miharu was his advocate. There wasn't much worry now, so he lowered his arm and simply held the phial. At least, if all of them out there died, the two could still carry on with the poison as a crutch. He didn't want to think like that, but sometimes all possibilities had to be considered. This was surely one of them.

"...Miharu?" Kiroku asked suddenly, not bothering to hush his voice, "I have to ask. What happens when a mage dies? Does a familiar live on? Does it die, too? ... Perhaps that's not the greatest thing to ask right now, but I was curious."

"Kenna! Kenna stop! You don't have to.... You don't have to..."

Kenna could feel the fire flowing through her and it was getting stronger. All she had to do was hold onto the memory. She started to shake. She could not keep this magic in her much longer but she needed it to be stronger.

"Josh..I need.." Kenna tried to say but she was shaking to much for her words to come out.

Josh was in front of her, she knew that she was safe for now. She just needed to concentrate.

"...Miharu?" Kiroku asked suddenly, not bothering to hush his voice, "I have to ask. What happens when a mage dies? Does a familiar live on? Does it die, too? ... Perhaps that's not the greatest thing to ask right now, but I was curious."

Miharu winced slightly, closing her eyes. Images of Kaida and her mage flew through her head.

"Familiars and mages are bonded," she said finally. "Even if one of them dies, the other does not...but they want to. It would be better if they were dead, kinder. If someone who is bonded to you dies, it is like your soul dies with them. Kaida is a familiar without a master now, and the only reason why she still functions is because her master, with his last dying breath, told her to protect me and to come to my aid if I ever call her. That is the only reason why she is still functional, the only reason why she can still live. A mage and their familiar become close fast. Some believe it is aided by magic, others believe it is because of the familiar summoned; they were destined to become a true pair. Kaida is lucky, her master gave her a job to do. For those who are not so lucky, they usually kill themselves or do a suicide run into battle, mages and familiars both. When the other dies, you die with them in soul, but not in body, nor in brains. It is a painful life, one I would never wish upon you, or even of my worst of enemies."

Throughout her whole speech, she kept her eyes closed. She muttered a short line of Japanese, before opening her eyes. Although tears had not welled up in her eyes, her eyes were suspiciously bright.

"No," she murmured, mostly to herself. "I would not."

((OOC: Okay, I was totally BSing there. XD Let me know if it isn't true~))

Primeria Sage
Primeria's Quarters
A single candle flickered dimly in a dark room as it sat atop a small wooden night stand beside a neatly made bed. It barely illuminated the room enough to show the silhouettes of two figures, one laying on a neatly formed pile of hay on the wooden floor while the other sat silently on the side edge of the single bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, the female figure's long lavender hair mixed with the orange flickering candlelight as she glanced at the unconscious male figure laying on the patch of hay. A single distinguishable mark rested on his hand and adding to his oddity was his orange clothing he wore. The girl kept silent as she began to recount the few moments earlier within that day.


*Flashback- Earlier in that day*
Primeria's Quarters
"Miss Primeria Sage. We are to escort you to your summoning ceremony." One of the pair of knights said to the lavender haired mage that laid on top her white covered bed, still in her student robes. The afternoon light that entered into her room revealed a book infested library that held many different magical codex. Primeria slowly picked herself up from her bed while enduring some of the lingering after-effects of her early morning medical treatments. She kept silent, with a few dry coughs escaping her mouth, and slowly made her way towards the two knights. They took to the lead and Primeria followed suit, albeit slowly.

School Grounds
Primeria found the summoning grounds completely empty save for the few magical teachers that were to oversee the ceremony. She knew no one would be there that time of day as classes were still in session and she was glad there wasn't anyone. She felt much more confident without the cold stares that would normally come from the anticipation of the other students should she had done it with her class. Primeria and the knights reached their destination before one of the teachers stepped forward.

"Primeria Sage," the older male teacher spoke aloud, "due to your absence from this morning's ceremony, you will now attempt to summon your familiar at this time. Are you ready?" Primeria looked at the addressing teacher and nodded.

"...Yes sir." Primeria answered, however, in truth, she was as nervous as they come.

"Very well. Begin the chant." He commanded before taking a step back into line with the other teachers. Primeria brought out her small brown wand(with magic! xDDD) and took a relaxed posture. Before she began her chant, her lungs constricted and coughs escaped her mouth causing her to halt her chant. Some of the teachers looked at each other and wondered of the possibility of her inability to even finish the chant, but they kept silent. Primeria quickly recovered from her spasm and began the chant once more.

... ... ... ... A few moments later after finishing her chant, nothing appeared in front of Primeria. The teachers began a small chat amongst themselves as to what would be done while Primeria stood shocked at her failure. As she looked down out of despair, a crackle sound caught her attention causing her to raise her head. A magic circle was now forming at the center of the summoning circle where it hadn't been before, and a pulsing magical wave came from the swirling pentagram. The summoning was a success as a bodily form was beginning to appear and materialize from the pentagram's seal. A blinding light erupted from the form causing all the participants of the ceremony to cover their eyes before the seal disappeared leaving only a figure in orange in it's place. Primeria looked at her summoned familiar to find that it wasn't a mystical creature she had been hoping for, but rather a person... a young male person about her age more or less. He seemed disoriented from the summoning procedure because he tried to keep his balance as he wobbled left and right.

"Seal the contract!" The same teacher before spoke once more. Primeria hesitated for a brief moment before she brought forth all her will-power and ran towards the summoned human in front of her. He was comparably taller than she was as she attempted to lift herself higher on her toes, even wrapping her hands around his head to bring him lower, and brought her face towards his. ... ... ... *blank out*

*Present Time*
Primeria's Quarters
Primeria stared at the man once more with the orange candlelight hiding her blushing face as she remembered the final moment of the ceremony. She was glad that one of the knights helped bring him to her room because she would not have been able to with her weakened body. Closing her curtains in an attempt to not wake the unconscious man, Primeria waited patiently.

'What a strange outfit...' She began with her silent thoughts.

(OOC: I think that's an interesting concept. Tragic, but something has to happen, right?)

Kiroku sank back as he felt the weight of the knowledge on his shoulders. Truly the only fate worse than death is wishing for it. There was no way he wanted Miharu nor himself to feel that pain. Just imagining himself seeing Miharu dying was enough to cause a reaction to shock him out of a sudden stupor. Regardless of it being them being bound or his familiar abilities, he couldn't imagine having to move along from her death. She was, after all, his savior.

"I... I wouldn't want to see you die. Between you and I, I can see the close bond in action, honestly. Though it sounds even crueler to people with my ability. We'd be more apt to take a mortal blow for our Mage, only to make them feel the urge to kill themselves," Kiroku said out loud. His voice was trembling in shock, but his mind was keeping him from thinking so much about it. He could see that Miharu was in enough pain. Seeing him in hysterics might make her do the same. And that wasn't a good thing at a time like this. But she seemed to be suffering... he could control himself. "What's on your mind? Since we have this time, and Ben's asleep, we're alone to talk freely."

He wasn't so sure of what he said. The trembling he felt himself do wasn't stopping. The initial shock was gone, too. It was something else. He was feeling something else... danger. His senses were telling him that Miharu was in danger. Looking over at Benjamin, he was still sound asleep as he said. Were the others unsuccessful? Was that dragon heading their way now? Or was something else coming...

"Get'er move on!" A portly police officer yelled, poking the soon to be inmate Cody with a cold merciless nightstick.

"Yeah, yeah." Cody muttered, ignoring the officer's mumbled threats. It was a clear day in the heart of New York City, a perfect day for Cody's transport upstate. In a smart move, the NYPD was going to separate Cody from his loyal followers and ship them to separate prisons. It makes sense as Cody's gang was a small, yet liable threat that could cause a prison a hearty problem if they were to be imprisoned together. Cody wasn't the only one. He was being transported with a group of about 15 different prisoners. Most of them were older than him, though the years of imprisonment could do horrors to the human body. With food more disgusting than what you would find on your average flight, not eating that was probably the healthier choice. The chains on their ankles sung with every step and the handcuffs on their hands bounded their hands rather closely.

Passing through a small district of the city, Cody watched the people intently. It was going to be the last time he would see the outside world for some time. The sights and sounds of this beautiful modern haven would become nothing more than a memory. A glint in Cody's eye. Women were doing their weekly shopping. Men stood around with cellphones talking about the economy and the terrible government. Children gaped at the sight of a man in handcuffs. Homeless people were having a grand celebration at the sight of a quarter lying around the ground. All safely from the horrid prisoners trapped behind a steel fence, with barbed wire acting as a full head of sharp bladed hair. Oh, there's some green light standing before him. That's normal.

"Wait…what?" Cody said to himself aloud. He stopped moving, causing the entire group to kick up dust from the abrupt stop. Cody didn't care, as the green light mesmerized him. It was if he was caught in a trance and an urge to investigate overwhelmed him.

"Willingham! What's the hold up?!" An officer roared with frustration. The voice was hoarse and rough as if sandpaper was forced into his eardrums. Clearly the woman had smoked one too many cigarettes in her day. But Cody didn't answer as it was not the time for cute retorts. "Willingham! Wake up yer dumb-whatchamacallit!!" The yelling grew closer, louder, and deadlier. Cody's mismatched eyes remained glued to the sight of the light, which seemed to form some sort of door or portal. "Willingham! What in god's name are you starting at?"

"Shut up for a second," Cody replied raising his hand into her face. He tried to find the words to say, but nothing came to mine. Sighing, he decided it was best to just go with the flow of the conversation: "Don't you see that green thing there?"

The portly officer turned around and stared into the abyss known as Earth, scratching her rosy hair with the nightstick puzzled. "I have no idea what you are on about, son. But take mah advice and get a move on before I beat you senseless!"

"Right, right. But before I do that, do I have permission to tie my shoes?" Cody pointed down at his shoelaces, undone by mysterious forces. "You see, if I fall over them it is going to cause quite the problem. And seeing how we are running late as it is…"

"Stop yer yapping and do it already!"

"Thank you. Did I ever mention how beautiful you are?"

"Stop while your are ahead…"

"Right," Cody snickered pulling his flirtatious hand back. Cody knelt down in the dirt and began fondling with his shoelaces. Cody, as to be expected, wasting time. As the officer's attention was distracted by the fluttering of the local flying rats, Cody struck. Using the key he swiped from the officer was she was looking for the green light that Cody was hypnotized by moments ago, Cody undid his chains around his ankles and tackled the guard with his superior strength and bolted towards the light.

"Thanks for the free key! I'll be sure not to waste my newfound freedom," Cody yelled, blowing a kiss to his fellow inmates.

"What in the tarnation?" The officer called in a tone not unlike that of a confused southern child.

He didn't know if the green light was what he thought it was. Then again, he didn't really care. Without a moment's hesitation, Cody dove into the light.

**********************************

"Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!! Ooof" Cody's voice made an assortment of sounds normally only found in a Warner Brothers cartoon. He found himself surrounded by smoke. He managed to pick himself off the ground, but the flying through some mysterious glowing portal took his ability to stand with it. Balance was hard to come by and as his sense of hearing returned, all he could hear was muffled laughter and jeering. Was he in high school again? Were they laughing at him?

Disoriented and confused, Cody's eyes focused on a small girl before him. She looked…well….about 10. Maybe 12. Her head barely made it to his chest. It was kind of cute and it made Cody smile a bit. But then she took hold of his head and brought it down to her level and….smooch. A burning sensation swelled on his hand and the pain seared into his mind. Shocked took hold of his body, and the world faded to black.

******************************

"…light…" Cody said in a muffled voice. He blinked several times and he rose from the floor, feeling around attempting to get a feel for his surroundings. Rubbing his face, hair and everything around him, Cody reached the conclusion that whatever had happened was not a dream. The pain of something being branded on his hand was far too real and as his vision returned to him, the sight of some sort of hieroglyphic or ancient rune on his hand was the icing on the cake.

"So I ain't dreaming," Cody assured himself. "I'll say this much. This is the weirdest jail cell I have ever seen. Not a fan of the cowebs myself, but to each his own. Guess it really isn't my choice in the end is it?," he chuckled. "Since when did they start using hay for beds?" Cody directed the question the small lavender haired girl from before. The room was nicely decorated though notably more medieval than he was used to it. In fact, it was as if he was pulled into a fantasy novel. It was jarring, but Cody thought to himself: I could get used to this.

He turned back to the girl on the bed once again: "Name's Cody. What are you in here for? Vandalism, assault, larceny, rape, murder? All of the above, maybe?" Cody said with a tinge of sarcasm.

Primeria was utterly shocked the moment the man in the orange outfit finally awoke and began to talk. His manner of speaking was sarcastic to say the least or so she assumed from his tone.

'So I ain't dreaming, I'll say this much. This is the weirdest jail cell I have ever seen. Not a fan of the cowebs myself, but to each his own. Guess it really isn't my choice in the end is it? Since when did they start using hay for beds?' He started randomly ranting as he faced Primeria, and she looked at him awkwardly. 'Name's Cody. What are you in here for? Vandalism, assault, larceny, rape, murder? All of the above, maybe?'

"...I-I beg your pardon? *cough*" She answered in a confused tone as she tried to keep up with his words. "... T-This is not a jail cell. ...It is my room, and w-well... I can give you this blanket... if you'd l-like. I w-wasn't expecting... something like you." Primeria took hold of the extra, white blanket she kept at the foot of her bed and offered it up to the man. They gave her extra blankets in an attempt to make up for her condition. As she kept eye contact with the man, her face couldn't stop itself from turning red. "M-My name is... P-Primeria... *cough cough* and I-I do not believe I have done any of what you have said..." She took a few large breaths of air upon finishing her reply to Cody. It was still surprising to her that he was her familiar, and the assumption of caring for a familiar, in his case, was somewhat much more different than she had had in mind.

Primeria wasn't sure what to say now that he had finally awoke but then his clothing caught her attention. It wasn't of this world, and it didn't seem to be a fashion trend as the orange was much too bright and stood out within a crowd. She inspected him once more with her eyes.

"... I do w-wonder... where did you f-find such clothing? *cough*" Primeria asked sheepishly with her coughs seemingly deciding to appear with their moment.

Kennas magical energy was building and Josh could feel it... If Kenna released that energy, even if he absorbed it, the simple release might kill her... and as her familiar, and maybe more, he couldn't let her put herself at such risk. He had to stop her.

A ring of fire was surrounding Kenna. Josh turned around and ran towards her.

"Kenna no!" He jumped through the growing flames and grabbed Kenna, pulling her close.

"You need to stop this!" Josh screamed.

The fires grew higher and threw Josh back out. He ran back towards her, but it was too late... a massive explosion of fire launched from Kenna knocking Josh backwards. Before the fire could damage anyone Josh stood before the bulk of it and drew his sword.

"GANDALFR CORE!" He screamed.

The fire rushed through his sword and into his body and his black glow blazed into life. Kenna lay before Josh, she looked badly burnt and injured.

"Kenna!" Josh cried.

He began to run towards her but a voice made him stop.

"WHAT A STUPID AND FOOLISH GIRL..." Scythe bellowed.

"OH WELL EITHER WAY I WOULD HAVE ENJOYED FINISHING HER OFF WHEN SHE WAS STRONGER BUT I DONT MIND DOING IT NOW!!!" Scythe charged towards Kenna.

He was held short by a chain that grasped his back.

Josh stood behind him his gunblade of chains outstretched and his eyes a chaos red.

"You won't touch her, you piece of ****..."

He pulled on the chain hurling the dragon backwards. He swung his sword sending another chain towards the dragon, this time the beast dodged and broke free, flying into the sky, Josh jumped and smacked it down with a strike of dark energy. Scythe swung his tail and launched Josh mid fall.

Josh landed and skid back.

It was now up to the others, when they used Gandalfr core, they would be able to defeat Scythe, he was sure.

"…I-I beg your pardon? *cough*... T-This is not a jail cell. ...It is my room, and w-well... I can give you this blanket... if you'd l-like. I w-wasn't expecting... something like you." The woman took hold of the extra, white blanket she kept at the foot of her bed and offered it to Cody. She turned to a shade of red not uncommon of that of a tomato. "M-My name is... P-Primeria... *cough cough* and I-I do not believe I have done any of what you have said... I do w-wonder... where did you f-find such clothing? *cough*"

"So I am not upstate, eh? Interesting," Cody said with a sly smile. Cody unconsciously took the blanket and wrapped it around himself. Going into thought, Cody had reached a single conclusion: whatever the green light did, he welcomed it. It was clear he wasn't in New York or in jail, so he really couldn't complain. It must have teleported him somewhere. Somewhere far, far away. But where exactly? Or when? As far Cody could tell, such decorations were that of ancient world. 500 or 600 years ago from his estimation. Even third world countries had access to electricity as far as he could tell. Was he thrown back in time by some alien force? These were all excellent questions and possible theories, but the reality that he was leaving a lady hanging and that won't do.

"Primeria is a very pretty name for a very cute little girl. Nice to meet you," Cody said with a seated bow. Cody offered to shake her hand and remembered the handcuffs and hideous fashion crime that was his outfit. "Oh, and the clothes. Well, you see…from where I come from this is what prisoners wear," Cody began raising his handcuffed hands to Primeria's eye level, hoping it would help communicate the message. "I'm a criminal. I'm wanted for the rape and pillage of the city of New York, destruction of property, robbing the crap of several banks. Oh, can't forget that fact, I murdered 17 people in cold blood," he said plainly as if the details were only minor achievements. "So…where exactly is here if I am not in a jail cell and you aren't my roommate?"

"Oh, you got any food? I'm starving!" Cody added at the end, as if he lost himself in his brief story and forgot to ask the most important question. He figured Primeria was a kindhearted girl, considering she so easily gifted him with a blanket (though the bed of hay was a bit insulting), so demanding food was only natural. He had a few questions, but discussing matters over a meal was always more comfortable.

"So I am not upstate, eh? Interesting," Cody had said before he suddenly became silent. Primeria looked at him curiously.

"... C-Cody?" Primeria asked, however, he did not reply leading her to assume he was deep in thought. Primeria took note of him saying cobwebs and looked about the corners of her large room, the ceiling especially. She hadn't noticed it before but now that she had, she felt sorrow for the poor spiders that had taken residence in her empty and dark room. Turning her attention back to Cody, he was clearly still in thought before he suddenly spoke up.

'Primeria is a very pretty name for a very cute little girl. Nice to meet you.' He raised his hands to hers, however, the metallic cuffs that bound his arms forced him to halt his action. 'Oh, and the clothes. Well, you see…from where I come from this is what prisoners wear. I'm a criminal. I'm wanted for the rape and pillage of the city of New York, destruction of property, robbing the crap of several banks. Oh, can't forget that fact, I murdered 17 people in cold blood. So…where exactly is here if I am not in a jail cell and you aren't my roommate? Oh, you got any food? I'm starving!' Cody had bombarded Primeria with so much information her head began to spin trying to compute it all.

"...C-Criminal!? *cough cough* ...city of... New York?" She softly outbursted. She wasn't sure if she heard right but it clearly sounded like criminal, causing her to begin to worry. He had spoken from his very mouth all the treacherous things any person could do, and yet, there wasn't a hint of remorse in his tone. She was beyond confused especially at the fact that she had summoned a criminal of all things. Her cough spasms began to work up forcing her to take a few moments to recover.

"...Ah, food..." Primeria had forgotten to prepare food in advance for her familiar, but clearly, her human familiar would need sustenance quite differently than a regular magical creature. Primeria got off of her bed and knelt down on her knees before she opened the nightstand beside her bed. She took out a small oval container that was wrapped up in a decorative cloth.

"...H-Here. *cough* This was to be my dinner, however, ...I rarely eat it anyway. ...D-Do take it." Primeria offered the container to Cody. She was surprisingly able to converse well enough despite him being a complete and total stranger. Something about him was... different, other than the fact that he was her familiar and all. Primeria remembered the shackles that bound his arms as she offered her container with her left hand.

"... Oh... L-Let me rid you of those..." She was reluctant to release him but thought maybe he wouldn't do anything to her... hopefully. Primeria reached under her white pillow and brought forth her small brown wand. "...*cough* What was it again..." She muttered to herself before a soft chant began. Cody sat where he was without much movement if only to stare at what Primeria was awkwardly doing with the stick in her hand. "... Hah!" With a shout, a single fireball formed from the tip of her wand before it bolted straight towards the metal chains. It seared the chain links at the middle that crumbled apart save for the leftover chain links that now dangled from the single large metallic ring around his wrist.

"Huff... T-That should... be more comfortable..." Primeria slumped weakly onto her bed and slowly picked herself up once more. A moment passed before she remembered he had asked her where he was. "Eh? Y-You are in... Tristein Academy... *cough* School of Magic." Primeria stated.

Kenna was reliving the memories that she had with Tristan. She didn't know if she was dead or not but she did not care, all she wanted was more time with Tristan. She may be able to tell him how much she had mean't to her and maybe she could finally say goodbye.

The first memory she had was when she was 3 years old. It was the day her parents had died. Little Kenna was stood in front of her parents graves. She was just staring at them like she was waiting for her parents to step out of there at any time. Tristan was 15 at this point, he was stood by a tree just watching Kenna and crying.

"Tristan, when is Mommy and Daddy coming out of there?" Kenna called as she ran towards Tristan.

"We have to go Kenna." Tristan told her as he grabbed her hand and started to walk away.

"But what about Mommy and Daddy?!" Kenna cried as she tried to fight free from her brother but it was no use.

The second memory she had was when Kenna was 8 years old. Emil had brought Tristan home drunk and now he was passed out on the sofa. Kenna placed a bin next to him and grabbed a blanket from her room to put over him. While she was putting the blanket over him, Tristan woke up. He looked at her briefly before he took the bin and puked his guts out. Kenna just sat there and watched him.

"Tristan." Kenna whispered.

He didn't look up, he just kept puking. When he finally stopped, 8 year old Kenna ran to get him and drink of water. When she returned, he had his head over the bin again, but he wasn't puking anymore. Kenna lifted his head up carefully then took the bin of him and passed him the water. He drank it quite fast and passed the glass back to Kenna. Kenna put Tristan down back on the sofa and sat next to him. He face looked a bit green. Tristan gave her a tight smile and then passed out. Kenna got into a small ball on the floor and fell a sleep herself, she was not leaving him alone that night.

The next memory she was in, was when she was 15. She was just about to go out with Tristan for the day. He was waiting in the car for her while she was just fixing her hair. Out of no where, her ex-boyfriend Ryse came out from the kitchen, he most of came through the back door.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Kenna exclaimed.

"I am not sure." Ryse sighed as he reached for Kenna and held her arm and squeezed hard.

"Let got of me!" Kenna yelled.

That was when Tristan came running in. He looked at the scene and didn't waste anymore time. With one quick move, he had Ryse on the floor with a busted nose. Tristan looked down at him with a look of pure hatred, but when he faced Kenna, his eyes turned worried.

"Did he hurt you?" Tristan demanded.

15 year old Kenna didn't get a chance to answer because the present Kenna was blinded by a strange light. When he opened her eyes again, she was at the beach that Tristan used to take her to when she was upset. She looked at the sea, the tides were quite gentle and kept brushing up and down the shore.

"Kenna, what are you doing?"

Kenna quickly turned around to see Tristan. She looked around but a earlier version of herself was no where to be seen. This Tristan was actually talking to her.

"Tristan." Kenna whispered.

"It is not your time, you need to go back." Tristan said as he took a step back from her.

"Tristan, this is not a movie. Is this really you?" Kenna yelled.

"Yes." He said simply and smiled.

Kenna ran over to him without a second thought. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. After hesitation, he hugged her back. They stayed like that for a while. Kenna didn't want to let him go but he broke there hug before she got time to think.

"I want to tell you-I want to tell-how much you mean to me." Kenna sobbed.

"I know, and now it is our chance to say goodbye." Tristan hung his head.

"Wha-No! I am not losing you again!" Kenna yelled at him.

"You have to, It is not your time yet, you have to go back." Tristan paused. "I am so proud of you Kenna." He smiled.

"I am not leaving, no again." Kenna cried as she fell to her knees.

"Goodbye Kenna." Tristan whispered.

Kenna put her head in her hands and started to cry. When she looked back up, Tristan was gone and she was at his gave. She stood up and stroked her fingers across his name and the date of his death. The grave said 'beloved brother and father'. Kenna fell to her knees one more time and stared at the grave.

"I finally got my goodbye." She whispered before she closed her eyes and rested on the grave.

Josh felt his energy fading he fell to the ground in a heap he felt the black enrgy fade and his eyes went back to normal.

He managed to pull himself up. Scythe had went in the direction of Adriel and the others so he should have been relatively safe. The fact of their height was becoming more and more apparent, clouds swirled around Joshs feet and he could see Tristein academy in the distance. He saw Kenna body laying limp some distance away. Josh ran towards her.

However suddenly the ground began to break and crack beneath Joshs feet, it seemed the altitudes icy temperatures were slowly destroying the aerial platform and would soon plummit them to ground level.

The cracks began to head for Kenna.

Josh quickly pulled himself together and ran, he jumped over gaps in the ground racing the slowly destroying terrain, A bit fell under Joshs feet and his Gandalfr core activated, he used the chains from his gunblade to launch himself up and forwards before he fell.

He jumped gap after gap, his energy wearing thin as he ran, he was just about to reach Kenna when the ground broke beneath her and sent her plummiting.

"Kenna!!!" Josh cried, he jumped through the hole and plummeted downwards, keeping himself straight like a bullet for extra falling speed, when he reached Kenna he grabbed her and tried to launch a chain back up, but it was to far away.

This was the end... but the suddenly...

A dragon swooped down and caught Josh and Kenna, it was Miharus.

"Did you come to help us?" Josh asked a smile on his face.

The dragon nodded.

"Alright I've got a plan... You need to get me above Scythe alright?"

The dragon nodded once more and flew towards the floating platform.

The dragon soon had Josh directly above the battlefield. Josh turned to the dragon.

"Take Kenna back to the cave. We'll be there soon!"

The dragon roared in agreement.

Josh perched himself on the edge of the dragon and felt Gnadalfr core reactivate. The dark energy flowing around him. He landed on Scythes back with a crunching stab of his blade.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Scythe roared in pain.

"Vinculis obligare Gandalfr eum!" Josh cried.

Chains ripped up from the ground and bound the dragon, pulling his head back and revealing his soft underbelly.

"Adriel now!" Josh cried.

Adriel drew back her bow and felt as the nature and gandalfr magic of her powers flowed through it.

"Spiritus natura ... tuae humilis servus Elvin audierit sonitum ... Et percutiam arcum meum verum!" She recited her nature arrow spell once more, this time firing three.

The spirits of nature in the arrows guided them into a perfect triangle on Scythes chest, driving deep into him and causing him to bleed. A green ruinic symbol formed using the triangle as guidelines. Marking the weakest spot on Scythes chest and using the ruins as a sort of target.

"Now!" Josh cried.

" I can't hold him much longer, someone finish him off!

(gee, this isn't late)

[FONT=&quot]The boy tried to explain to her about everything. She couldn't understand. Was he lying? She hopes he was, for her sake. But before she could answer, a letter flew into the room. She watched Alex stare at it, the piece of paper disappearing right before her eyes in a splash of smoke. Magic tricks in this situation? Really? "Let's go," he said before grabbing her hand. The urge to refuse was great, but she allowed him to drag her on through the unknown halls.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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"Students I regret to inform you that your friend and loved one Smantha has died in her sleep... Despite our best magical cures we could not heal her I'm sure most of you know by now the severity of the matter. Samantha was found with three enchanted arrows in her chest. The magic used was completely uknown to us... but it bore a dark and sinister precense. This has led us to believe the culprit may be a member of the long lost heritage of.... the void mage."

Maka had no clue about what he was talking about. Was the little trick she saw earlier real? It couldn't be, unless what the boy said earlier was true. She had never heard of any 'void magic' on Earth. However, what concerned her the most was the idea that Alex probably had powers too. Escape was going to be harder than she first imagined it. Her previous ideas were scratched out from her mind. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"Let's go. Back to my room. It's time we both had a chat got to know each other.... cause it seems like we're gonna be stuck together for a while," Alex said to her. Well, that was quick.

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She sat down on her straw bed, grasping at some of it to feel its texture. Funny, it was actually rather comfortable. She gazed back up at the boy, trying to smile. "So, you guys have magical powers, right? What can you do?" While saying such, she decided that the boy was probably telling the trusth, and that she had ended up in some abnormal world. There was only one way to get answers, and that was through more questions…

"Sorry for asking so much, but yeah, I'm kinda curious. Umm, how did I get here…? And what am I supposed to do?"[/FONT]

Luckily for Cody, Primeria seemed to not be too afraid after hearing of Cody's "crimes". The fact she seemed to honestly believe caused Cody to smile widely. He wanted to tell her the truth that he really wasn't that bad of a criminal. Oh well, he thought. I'll continue this ruse for now.

She offered Cody a plate of food in which Cody immediately took with glee. He did feel somewhat guilty in taking her dinner however. He smiled weakly, averting any semblance of eye contact. Primeria was indeed a kind, caring girl who genuinely seemed to care about him in such a short time. Cody fumbled with the plate, however, as the handcuffs on around his wrists impeded his dexterity a fair deal. He almost dropped the plate, recovering enough to balance the plate with one hand before placing softly on the floor.

"... Oh... L-Let me rid you of those.."

Primeria fondled with her pillow and brought forth a small brown wand, seemingly with a face of accomplishment but also of hesitation. Maybe she was scared of Cody after all. Once again, guilt slowly crept on him but it was quickly replaced by unparalleled fear.

"Hey, hey, don't go Harry Potter on me," Cody begged. He read enough of the books (finishing the 6th one before dropping the series completely. After all, the movies do a fine job summarizing the plots). She ignored him, muttering to herself in some language Cody couldn't even begin to comprehend. With a meek shout, a fireball shot from the tip and launched itself at Cody. Closing his eyes out of fear, Cody froze still.

*Poof*

Cody slowly opened an eye and saw the handcuffs were cut, leaving him with a metal wrist band around his right hand.

"Huff... T-That should... be more comfortable..." Primeria said slumping onto her bed before picking herself up to sit comfortably.

"Haha! Wow! Thanks a lot!" Cody cheered, diving into his meal. The food was fantastic, far better than what he was used to. For the past few years, he was stuck with anything he could cook up in his small apartment. Most of the recipes ended in horror stories, though he got the hang of it over time. He never had the money for good ingredients, however, impeding any attempt at making a truly edible meal.

"Eh? Y-You are in... Tristein Academy... *cough* School of Magic." Primeria stated, remembering Cody's earlier question.

Cody desired to reply, but choked on his food upon hearing the name Tristein Academy. Forcing his throat to down the food without unnecessary regurgitation, Cody took a deep breath and cleared his clogged throat. "Tristein…Academy…? That's an odd name. Then again, I suppose New York is an odd name to you as well," Cody said a certain amount of confidence. "And magic, huh? Hmm, this just keeps getting better," he said with a laugh. Following the fireball moment, it was at this point that Cody believed he figured it out. He did not travel back in time, but instead was probably transported to a parallel world. One that relied on magic instead of science, at least to some degree.

Cody continued to gobble up some food, before stopping himself about halfway. "Here, Primeria. You can have the rest. You seem pretty sick. You need to eat something or you are never gonna get better. Growing girls need their food, after all." Cody lifted the plate up and handed it over to Primeria forcefully. He didn't particularly care if she wanted the food or not, but it was the thought that counts.

"Oh and by the way, I was kidding when I said I murdered all those people and stuff," Cody said with an apologetic tone. "So there is no need to be afraid of me. Let's just say I made a lot of poor choices back home and it caught up with me. Hence, I am technically a criminal, but not as bad as I made it sound. But let's keep that between you and me, alright?" Cody said with an exaggerated wink.

"I got one more question though, if you don't mind," Cody began, sitting cross legged with his small blanket draped over him. "Why am I here exactly?"