This is my first fic in a while, and the first on the site! I hope you guys enjoy it… It's is more of a teen story cause of violence/sexual themes etc., sorry kids (:

Diclaimer: I own no characters except Xenia!

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The full moon is out.

An unnerving silence fills the streets. Shadows of streetlights and smoke from hushed buildings are the only signs of inhabitants. There is no movement.

Until they came.

Travellers dashed down the silent path. They sprinted past the aisles of looming walls, and in between buildings, to elude their pursuer.

A mysterious figure glided closer and closer behind them with breakneck speed. Feathers marked its approach, falling like snow to paint the sidewalk below a pitch black.

"We can't outrun him!" yelled a woman of the group. She was dressed ready for battle, her sharp-tipped weapon held in hand.

"Come with me, we have to hold him off!" a brown-haired man shouted back.

The two travellers detached from the group, leaving an aged old man, and a young female to escape alone. The man grasped her hand firmly, and ran with awkward magical haste for his old legs.

They raced towards an enormous ship out of water, its silhouette creating an ominous sight among the trees outside of town. Minutes passed, but the boat never seemed to get any closer.

A black feather fell in their path.

The old man's eyes widened, as the hunter revealed itself.

A silver-haired angel descended slowly to the ground, its solitary wing parallel to the street cement. His intimidating smirk was visible, along with a beautiful, slender blade he held in hand. There was blood on the hilt. It was fresh.

Slow steps were taken towards the two travellers. Each one created a resounding echo within the alley.

"I won't let you take her!" exclaimed the old man.

"You may keep her," hisses the angel, "all I want is her heart."

The girl's eyes widened. She backed away slowly, only to fall to the floor backwards, shaking.

The two readied their stances. The winged swordsman quickly lunged forward, his sword reflecting a blood red moon. The old man murmured just as quickly, while complicated hand motions brought out a concealed wand beneath his blue robes.

"Blizzaga!"

A blistering combination of snow and hail erupted from the tip of the wizard's wand. The howl of the wind rattled windows in the vicinity.

The angel smirked again, stopped in his tracks, and leapt into a front flip of superhuman altitude. The attack rushed through the air he had occupied.

A small chuckle escaped his lips, as he yelled, "Graviga!"

Instantly, the structures surrounding the three lost their bottom floors, crashing down at unbelievable speed, and created an artificial smokescreen as their descent stopped.

The spell was not limited to the buildings however, as the one-winged angel fell with unbelievable swiftness, skilfully marinating a killing stance. He created a loud vacuum as he sliced through the cloud of smoke with his steel.

The old man's jaw dropped as the tempered sword tasted chilling victory, plunged straight through his right hand, into the ground.

The scream was deafening.

At that moment, a brown-haired male tackled the assailant. He was visibly injured from head-to-toe; it was the man from before. The angel's grin could be seen turning into a frown as they flew backwards, his eyes still eerily fixated upon the girl.

"Merlin, get her to safety!" shouted the wounded man.

Merlin nodded, turning his kind, soft gaze upon the girl. His right hand was still stabbed straight through the solid brick, movement was not an option. His steady eyes gave away no sign of pain.

"Xenia," he whispered with a smile, "You must find yourself."

The girl looked puzzled. The entire sentence did not make sense.

With his functioning left hand, Merlin flung what seemed to be flat yellow keychain to the girl, murmuring an incantation clearly interlaced with powerful magic. Xenia only had moments to see that it was a bird, before blue light engulfed her vision, the scene before her eyes disappearing into nothingness.

Or was it her that was disappearing?