*Chapter 1*

She opened her eyes.

Uncurling her stiff arms from underneath her, she stretched and yawned loudly as she cast her gaze about the dark room. The sound of chirping crickets echoed faintly from the open window, announcing the time of night, and the girl smiled as she listened with relaxed contentment.

"I love summertime. It's just so peaceful."

Sighing happily, she turned her head and glanced at the depressed couch cushions beside her. A second girl was snoring loudly, head thrown back with mouth agape, and judging by the twitching condition of her limbs she seemed to be deep in a dream.

The semi-alert teenager rose from her bed away from bed gradually, though she realized an ominous predicament lay before her. Unable to discern her whereabouts without tripping over every object, common sense thus dictated she turn on the light or end up on her face. But at the same time, she was hesitant at the idea of disturbing her sleeping friend, who was resting so gracefully. However, she eventually decided with a careless shrug that it was about time to wake up anyway.

As artificial light flooded the room, she quickly rubbed her smarting green eyes to ease their adjustment, groaning in groggy irritation at the harsh brightness. Being careful not to trip over the disarrayed weapons sprawled across the floor, she stumbled back to the couch and obnoxiously poked her friend.

With an abrupt snort, the snoring girl stirred to life and raised her head carefully. She blinked tiredly at her awakener before breaking into a goofy smile that radiated the blissful happiness only sleep could bring. The clips fastened in her hair were tilted askew in the mess of golden brown locks, which currently resembled the windblown mane of a lion. Her sleep-creased clothes combined with the amusing bed-head gave her the appearance of an innocent child waking up after an afternoon nap.

Brushing her untidy bangs from her face, she said, "I think we fell asleep, Lizzy. My goodness, what time is it?"

Elizabeth covered her mouth as another massive yawn escaped, and she glanced down at her watch, squinting at the tiny numbers. "Well, Catherine, it is, uh...11:02 p.m.!" she replied amusedly.

Her once drooping eyes now wide open in surprise, Catherine straightened and said, "Oh. Dear. Not again...I might as well live here, what with my history and its tendency to repeat itself! Catherine comes over in the afternoon, Catherine eats lunch with Lizzy, Catherine goofs off with Lizzy, Catherine eats supper with Lizzy, Catherine falls asleep on Lizzy's couch...Need I go on?"

"No, no, I get your point. But sure, go ahead. We could always use another family member, make yourself at home. Although, I doubt you can do that more than you already have!" Lizzy said with a chuckle.

Catherine laughed and threw her hands in the air as she chirped, "Yeah, well...I can't help it! Your couch is so comfy! I sure hope your parents don't mind though, they're so nice to have let me stay for this long. Even if it does happen...a lot..."

Straightening the buttons on her yellow shirt, Lizzy shrugged and said, "Nah, they don't even notice anymore. You're like part of the family."

Catherine eased herself off the couch to stoop down and retrieve her sai, and with a smile she said, "Still, thanks for having me over. I love our weekly practices together."

"Me too, especially when we do weapons combat! I think next week we'll work on ground defense." Lizzy suggested, resting her bo on the weapons rack and slipping her pocket knife back into its home in her jeans.

"Gosh, I think you've gotten stronger, Lizzy. My arms are aching!" Catherine complained as she lifted her sai up and down, wincing slightly each time.

A ring of laughter broke out in response to her friend's complaint, and in a gesture of mock seriousness, Lizzy planted her hands on her hips as she objected, "But you've gotten much taller! Seriously, it's like every time we fight I have to adjust my style again, otherwise this keeps happening!"

Rubbing a small bruise on her head to emphasize her point, she pushed her lower lip out in a pout.

A shrug of her shoulders complimented by an innocent tilt of the head was all the explanation Catherine offered in her defense, and she giggled happily.

Curtains fluttered lightly in a warm breeze that aired the room, relieving the slight stuffiness of the atmosphere. Though the whisper of wind was a welcome refreshment, a faint sensation of uneasiness soon distracted Lizzy's complacent mind. She gently placed a hand on her friend's shoulder to quiet her bubbly attitude, and both girls listened in mutual silence.

Turning her head slowly in the direction of the curtained window, Lizzy said in a hushed tone, "Someone's outside."

Catherine nodded, her own sharp awareness confirming her friend's. Other than the chirp of crickets, the two girls heard footsteps steadily walking back and forth along the sidewalk outside. The sound itself was not abnormal, it was rather common for civilians to take a stroll along the streets when it pleased them. The context, however, was severely off. If it wasn't odd enough for an individual to go out this time of night, it was even more so if his route included passing by one specific house multiple times.

Keeping her voice barely above a whisper, Catherine asked, "Should we get your parents?"

Lizzy shook her head, her dark chocolate hair falling in front of her face as she pointed out, "It wouldn't help much. My mom would just freak out, and my dad would overreact. Besides, what if it's just some guy lost in this part of town? He could be looking for a street or something. Calling the police on him then would be-"

The girl was cut off by a shout from outside, and a large object struck the side of the house with an alarming thud. Lizzy sharply glanced at the window, and she cleared her throat nervously before adding, "Ok, maybe I was wrong..."

Biting her lip in thought, Catherine debated a risky action she was preparing to take. With a deep breath, she snatched up her sai and bolted for the front door, the realization of what she was about to do pounding against her heart.

Lizzy reached out a hand to stop her unwise friend, but her fingers only grasped thin air. "Are you crazy?" she hissed, the rhetorical question thrown out to disguise her fear. "You have no idea what's out there, you could get hurt!"

The truthful words of Lizzy halted Catherine for a brief moment, and she glanced over her shoulder hesitantly. Despite the logic the situation demanded, her mismatched blue and brown eyes continued to sparkle with curiosity. "I want to see what's going on." she finally admitted.

"With your sai?" asked Lizzy dubiously, her eyebrow arched.

Catherine fingered her weapons uncertainly as she explained, "Just in case...You know, for safety."

Before Lizzy had the chance to drive any more sense into her, Catherine flung open the door and dashed out into the darkness.

Lizzy's emerald eyes repeatedly jumped between the realm outside, where her friend had vanished, to the window, which warned her of unknown dangers, and back to the door once more. A low growl of reluctance followed Lizzy as she grabbed her wooden staff, and taking hold of courage, she followed Catherine's footsteps.

"If something happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself..." she whispered.