Chapter 1

Familiarity with the unknown

It hasn't been too long since the Blood Spiral was defeated and the Huntik team was still regaining their strength. Den and Harrison were focused on their training while Sophie and Lok had many Casterwill meetings to attend and Dante was busy with his new job as a council member. Every foundation agent has something to occupy themselves with, considering that it's still too early for the damage caused by the battle, to be considered a minimum threat. However, Zhalia Moon had to deal with more than just her duties, such as the broken window at her new apartment, the spear stuck on her wall and the piece of cloth hanging lose through the hole it created, three words were written in it.

Bring it back!

She knew very well who that was and the mere thought of confronting him again sent shivers down her spine much to her attempts to be brave. There is no doubt that he is back and that he will do everything in his power to get back what she had taken from him. Not wanting to burden the already troubled and busy foundation, she dialed the number of a person she thought she would never have to meet again, but the circumstances required her presence. She dialed the number and waited, until a rather deep serious female voice could be detected.

"Who is it?" the voice asked showing her lack of interest and annoyance but Zhalia remained indifferent

"Are you the third member of the clan of the Red dragons?"

"That depends of who wants to know my identity" the voice got stricter.

"I am Zhalia, Zhalia Moon. I am sure you remember me, just like you remember our deal"

"Indeed I do" the female suddenly got more interested

"He is back and I will need your help" Zhalia said in an equally strict tone. If he is back, then both she and the female's business are in danger and Zhalia has to do everything in her power so that he will never get it back. Gathering all her strength and suppressing the painful memories from being recalled, she took care of the mess in the house.

A girl with black hair, pale skin and obsidian eyes was walking around on the streets of Venice. To most, she was known as The Silent Girl. To herself, she was The Broken Girl. To her mother and her only friend, she was known as Emmaline Casterwill, Emi.

'Mom,' she thought, 'what's happening? Why is this going on? If only I could tell you about me being a Seeker, about my powers, about my titans. If only Dad was still alive.'

Emi's mother was named Sarah Casterwill. She had no idea of the Seeker world. She was only named Casterwill because of her late husband. She had black hair like her daughter. Other than that, Emi looked like her father.

Emi's father had been Thomas Casterwill. He was the one who had taught Emi the basics of being a Seeker, along with her first titan, a titan called Jacob the Adventurer. He looked like Emi, just with blond hair.

Emi sighed. Remembering her dad was just too painful. Now, her mom was never home. She struggled to support the both of them. Emi had tried to get a job, but she had gotten fired from each one of them. When her mom was home, it was like a little celebration. They laughed and tried to act like a normal family, which was not easy.

Emi had a few titans, but her favorite was Jacob the Adventurer. Her dad had given it to her just before he died. Jacob was good at tracking, like another titan she had tried to find called Kyho the Tracker but couldn't. Jacob was good at hiding too.

Emi was a Casterwill alright, but that doesn't mean the Casterwills liked her. She was what they called The Forbidden Casterwill. She hadn't had any contact with the Casterwills since she was 12, four years ago. The Casterwills just didn't like her. The only ones who didn't treat her like a disease were Lady Nimue and Vivian. She wondered how they were.

Emi sighed and run her fingers in Jacob the Adventurer's amulet. She walked away to a place she had heard about. A place called the Huntik Foundation HQ in New York, willing to join the foundation and use her powers to support the seeker world. She can't let her label keep her away from the world she belongs to forever.

After she hang up, the blond female known as Delia placed her hand at the shaved side of her blond hair and played with her earing. She was standing by the window of her old Japanese temple, watching the area, wearing her usual black leggings, black sleeveless shirt and red leather jacket, her katana always attached in her belt or an arm's length away the most. After all, her job's synonym is danger, a very unusual danger which was now calling to her. Her eyes having the shame silver color with her blade shone in the moonlight, pure interest could be traced in them and a familiar rush of adrenaline started to flow in her veins as she caressed the pointy edge of the blade.

"Dad, I am going out" she shouted not minding looking at a different direction, her eyes hardly fixed on the pale grey moon and a smirk tagged in the corner of her big pale lips.

"Where are you going Delia?"

"Business related" she simply said and her husky tone matched the coolness of the breeze which was blowing in the room from the window in which she was standing just a second ago.

"Man, I can't believe it! Finally it was about time! All this meetings just exhaust me!" Lok, the well-known oversized baby, complained.

"And isn't a mission more exhausting Lok?"

"It is but…maybe I was getting a little bored. It's all about repairing plans and stuff. I want to do something that will really help the foundation now"

"But you are doing something Lok, something very important for both the foundation and the Casterwills"

Sophie protested, but before she could continue, Den patted her in the shoulder.

"Shhh guys! You'll wake her" he said and pointing at Zhalia's sleeping figure at the corner of the private foundation jet. In fact, Sophie was glad he did so. She has to admit that those meetings have been draining a rather big amount of her energy, but she acknowledges her position and the duties that accompany it. However, she had to agree with Lok, a mission looked like a break from their struggle to stand back on their feet and the greatest part is that maybe they won't even have to fight. Guggenheim only spoke about signs of a titan, but no one is sure about what they have seen. And their mission is close to New York, so they might as well pay Dante a visit if he is not too busy.

"Why is she sleeping in the first place? This is really unlike her" Sophie asked curious

"She has been working hard you know, there has only been a month or two since then" Lok defensed his blue haired friend.

"It's not just that" Den interrupted, clearly concerned about his friend whom he considers a sister "She is really stressed out lately and on edge… I mean, more than usual. Something is bothering her"

"We should ask her" Lok suggested

"And you really think she is just going to tell us? You know her Lok; she is too stubborn to do that"

"Oh, right!" Lok agreed with his girlfriend's argue

The trio continued talking for a while and didn't notice how Zhalia was pressing nonstop buttons in her phone, sending a message to a number not familiar to them.

I have a bad feeling about this; we might need you sooner than I thought

Emi knocked on the door of an apartment close to Central Park, having been informed it belongs to the head of the foundation.

'Please open.' She thought, 'Please open.' As if having heard her silent pleads, a man with black hair and an aged face opened the door.

"Who might you be?" He asked curious, confronting an unfamiliar face. Emi sighed and mentally smiled. Maybe this trip wasn't a complete waste. Something nagged at her though.

'Fake your last name.' She heard in her thoughts. She didn't know who that voice was from, but she listen to it anyways. Besides, she didn't know Metz's opinion about forbidden Casterwills, so just to be safe.

"I'm Emi Thoth. I was told to come to you because… I am a seeker" Emi said. The older man smiled warmly at her, noticing her discomfort and nervousness.

"Come in, Emi." He said, "I'm guessing your here to join the Foundation." Emi nodded. The man moved inside and gestured for Emi to come in. Emi stepped in the room and immediately relaxed due to the warmth and hospitality Metz provided her.

"It's nice to meet you, Emi. My name is Metz." Metz, said, but of course Emi already knew it.

"Nice to meet you too sir." Emi said. Metz smiled warmly at her again.

"Just Metz is fine." He said, "Now, tell me, Emi. Do you have any experience with titans?" Emi nodded. She pulled of Jacob's amulet.

"This is Jacob the Adventurer. He's one of my strongest titans. I have quite a few." Metz nodded.

"How did you become a Seeker in the first place?" Metz asked.

"My dad was a Seeker. He taught meal that I know." Emi said, "My mom has no knowledge of being a Seeker at all, though."

"Well, show me what you know." Metz said.

"Gladly."

"Break Spell!" Emi shouted.

"Overcast!" The Foundation agent called. An orange shield blocked her blue attack. Emi huffed.

"Brain... Bubble lift!" She called, picking up the red haired seeker.

'Dang it!' Emi thought, 'no forbidden powers! Curses Emi! No Brain Wave here. Not at HQ.' She looked back at Metz. He was studying her carefully, observing her every move. It has been an hour and yet, Emi has hard time keeping herself from casting forbidden spells. Finally, Metz spoke and signaled the end of the test.

"Well," he said, "you have potential. Welcome to the Foundation." Emi smiled out of gratitude, but the feeling in her gut grew worse.

The jet landed on Rhode Island, a small state of USA just besides New York and headed to the place where the titan's traces were supposed to have been witnessed. On their way there, Lok, Sophie and Den were lively as usual, with Sophie trying to maintain the topic of their conversation focused on the mission and the boys not taking it as seriously as she wished. Giving up with their immatureness, she shot Zhalia a pleading stare but received no answer by the blue haired female. Concerned, Sophie took a few steps back and reached Zhalia's side. She had to pat her shoulder to gain her attention, which she successfully achieved. Zhalia was now eyeing her with a glimpse of surprise in her eyes which vanished in an instant upon recognizing her teammate and friend.

"Are you ok Zhalia? You seem distracted. Are you tired?"

"No Sophie" she answered coldly and not looking directly at her, which only raised Sophie's concern. It's not unlike her to hide her worries or tiredness, nut Sophie's gut tells her otherwise and she trusts it.

"Zhalia, if it's something about the mission I believe you should let us know"

"I still don't know if it concerns the mission" she answered, her gaze fixed on the trees surrounding them

This forest of Rhode Island was a majestic sight, with the trees surrounding you and the different colors in their leaves, the melody of the flowing water of the river hitting gently the white rocks that surrounded it and the paths made of small stones in different shades of grey.

"Then what is it ab-"Sophie was cut by Den's scream when Lok pushed him aside and the girls used hyperstride to avoid a falling trunk. After all of them regained their balance and gathered close to each other, they confronted a huge cyclops, like it just jumped from a Greek mythology book, holding two enormous axes. His head was bald, his eye empty and his body had an abnormal sized waist while his muscles looked like they didn't fit in his flesh. The big brow above his eye was brown and it rose at the sight of the small humans in front of him. Lok hold back laughter.

"Why is he wearing a skirt?"

"Lok, that's not a skirt! It's ancient Greek warrior attire" Sophie corrected him as they jumped aside to avoid another hit by the cyclops's axes.

"That thing is huger than a colossus" Den pointed out and Zhalia who was by his side had to agree with him. This titan was too big, but it's too early to jump in conclusions.

The team called their titans immediately, but most of them returned to their amulets with one blow of the titan's axes. No matter how many spells the seekers fired to the titan, they didn't seem to affect it. After sometime, the titan started to melt and slowly change form to a Minotaur, the same size it had before.

The team was stunned but kept fighting him. They separated to different directions and shot spells at him, trying to keep their distance, which only lessened the power of their spells. The only titans left ere vigilante, Sabriel and Gareon. The titan kept changing forms every ten minutes to another Greek mythology being and when Medusa's turn came, Gareon was the only titan which could fight her without the worry of being turned into stone but soon had to return to his amulet, due to the blow of a spear a now human formed titan pierced him with. Now, he looked like a giant ancient Greek warrior with terrifying large human features.

The team was beyond exhausted and was considering the option of calling Metz to send more agents while Zhalia's suspicions got confirmed. They need the help of an expert to this kind of titan. She was about to pull out something from her pocket, but never did.

A piercing pain alarmed her neural system and made her scream at the top of her lungs. She fell a many meters away from the team and hi a trunk with her back, her breath got cut immediately as she fell on the ground hissing in pain. When she took a glance of her body, she noticed to huge and deep cuts. The titan must have hit her with the pointy edge of his spear when she let her guard down.

In the battlefield, Lok had fallen unconscious and Sophie was trying her best to keep a shield around the two of them while Den was trying to distract the titan. The trunks falling around them with every movement of the titan were making dirt rise from the ground and it penetrated their norslits, making breathing painful.

Zhalia felt her body heavy and with the last drops of strength remain in her system, she pulled a whistle at the shape of a dragon out of her pocket and blew in it. Not even a second after she did, a blond head passed besides her like a thunder and moved to Sophie's direction, swinging her katana so strongly, it cut the titan's hand which was about to smash Sophie's shield.

Then the female headed to Den and made sure he was ok. Using the trunks of the tees which were still standing in their place she jumped and avoided that titan's hits with an incredible speed and stabbed the eye of the warrior. After she backed off, the giant humanoid titan looked at her as if he was just pinched by a mosquito. The wounds she created did nothing to them. Den looked both at the titan and the girl with open mouth.

"H-How? Where the heck did you come from?"

The girl didn't reply and seemed to be deep in thought, trying to remember something and apparently didn't notice the titan heading to their direction. Den took a few steps away and seeing her keeping her position confused him. She looked like she could handle the titan, but why on earth is she just standing there?

Out of the blue, a smirk made its way to her lips as she lifted her katana and took some weird ninja position. Without averting her gaze from the titan's eyes, she strictly ordered.

"Distract him!" and Den obeyed. He had no idea who is this girl but she definitely knows what she is doing, that he could safely conclude. After he gained the titan's attention and started running to the woods. He looked behind him and in the splint of a second; the girl had caught up with them and was swinging her katana, until she pushed it in the titan's heel, causing him to actually scream in pain. Den had to run really fast by her side to not get smashed by the enormous body which fell on the ground and then vanished into a blue hue of energy and headed to a direction unknown to them.

Den immediately rushed to his team, having completely forgotten about the girl's existence and helped Sophie carry Lok. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gasped upon noticing the absence of his sister.

"Guys, where is Zhalia?"

"I thought she was with you! And who was that girl?" Sophie asked now equally concerned with Den, but the mentioned female answered their questions.

"She is right here" she said as she approached them, carrying a barely conscious blood washed Zhalia in her back with ease. "As for me, I am your ally"

"Metz you wanted to see me?" asked Dante as he walked on his mentors office, not really surprised about his call, considering his work program, and noticed a new presence. "I see we have a new face here"

"Dante, this is Emi Thoth, she just joined the foundation, but this is not why I called you" Metz replied with a quite sad and nervous tone in his voice which made Dante concerned.

"What is it" he asked and his mentors sigh only raise his concern, while the new girl Emi was standing there with a nervous expression, her feeling was confirmed.

"You are not going to like this Dante. Promise me you will only sit out of the room and watch" Dante only nodded. He wanted to know more about what this was all about, but he trusts his mentor and will obey his orders no matter what is in that room.

After they passed a few corridors, they headed to one of the many rooms in the HQ of New York and out of the window of it; several figures could be recognized as his teammates. Dante gasped and lost his voice upon the sight of Zhalia's blood washed face, chest and waist and the nurse beside her, stitching up a huge cut, from her lips to her abdomen and another one from her shoulder to her pelvis. Lok was unconscious and Sophie and Den had minor cuts and their backs turned on him. He was about to enter but restrained himself remembering Metz's words, clenching his jaw and fists. Emi was watching the whole scenery with sadness in her eyes but it couldn't reach the one Dante was feeling. Dante looked at Zhalia for a while with a loving expression and then narrowed his brows.

"Who did this?" he asked not taking his eyes from the window, even though the nurse had closed the curtain. Metz was about to say something, something completely different than the answer which came from a person no one expected to see or knew.

"An abnormal" a deep female voice replied and when the trio turned their heads where it came from, they saw a tall, blond female with shaved her on the side and blade silver eyes, holding a katana and playing with it like it's lightsaber for five year olds. Metz and Dante were stunned. How did she get there so easily?

"What's an abnormal?" Emi asked out of curiosity, paying more attention to her words rather than her presence. Nor she, or anyone in the room had ever heard of such a thing and Emi was more than willing to find out, mentally comparing it with her ancient powers was unknown to the world. The girl's expression remained indifferent.

"They happen to be my specialty. I am Delia Santiago"

"Emi Thoth." Emi introduced herself and stepped forward to shake hands with Delia, clearly expressing her friendly intentions, but she just ignored it and looked at her obsidian eyes with her silvery blade ones, a gesture which discouraged Emi but also made her more eager to find out, what is an abnormal.

Irene Rays A/N: Hello to all my sexy beautiful aliens! How are you doing this lovely day in this lovely planet?

Soooo, this is mine and Carter Casterwill's combined story and we both have an OC of ours. Mine is Delia Santiago, the mysterious skilled ninja girl.

Really, how does she know Zhalia? Who is after her? What are the abnormal titans and what is the clan of the Red Dragon? Do you like our OCs?

I am hoping you enjoyed the first chapter and that you have a wonderful day.

Never forget to smile and stay awesome!

Lots of love from Irene Rays~~

Carter Casterwill A/N: Hello my lovely hot dogs! How are you today?

Okay, this is Irene Rays' s and mine combined story. We both have an OC. Mine is Emi Casterwill, The Forbidden Casterwill.

How doesnDelia know Zhalia? What is their deal? How was the person who attacked Zhalia's lovely wall? What does he/she want back? What is an abnormal titan? Why does Delia work with them? What is the clan of the Red Dragon? What do you think of our OCs? Are they good?

I hope you like this story and tells us what you think by commenting! Thanks for reading!

*smile* say awesome!

With all Huntik and awesomeness,

-Carter Casterwill