Hey Guys. I am so sorry. So incredibly sorry. I haven't gotten to a third chapter and its irritating me, so I'm fighting my procrastination disorder and getting it done now. I've been sick and my mom just had twins and my sister was bugging me and I just drove to Visalia and- I'll stop now. But I've been SUPER busy, so…yeah. So Avalene just got to SOPA's HQ, and now we begin! (BTW, the 2nd chapter is on a separate account and the title is "Catching Shadows CH 2" so check that out first!) Onward!

I blinked. The hub was bigger than any building I had ever been in, much less seen. Ty grabbed my arm and smiled. "I'll give you a tour. Come on." I shook my head to clear the shock and followed him. The floor was made of raw nether quartz, and the walls were quartz. It was beautiful. We walked down the main path and the shops bustled. Ty looked right at home. We walked until we got to a nook in the wall with stairs on the sides of the wall. I had never seen anything like it. Ty saw my confused look and laughed, "This is the elevator, a basic contraption Sethbling made. It works pretty well, too. Here, watch and do the same." He stepped on the pressure plate, and the stairs moved in a way that is pushed him upward. Pistons at the top pushed him onto the next floor. He looked down and gestured at the elevator. I nervously stepped on the plate, and I nearly got the wind knocked out of me. I wasn't expecting it to push me up so fast, and I fell when the top pistons pushed me to the second floor. Ty laughed again and held out his hand. "What's so funny?" I said sarcastically, "I just fell, big deal." He helped me up and we walked on.

The next floor was apparently the top one, and the hub was the middle floor, with a lower floor, which we would see last. The floor was small, because of the mountain narrowing, and farms were everywhere. Wheat, cocoa pods, potatoes, carrots, melons, pumpkins, and some plants I didn't recognize. Rows and rows of plants and produce made up most of the floor. We walked over to some ladders, and Ty said, "Ladies first." I rolled my eyes. "What, no elevator?" I scoffed. I climbed up and sobered up real quick. We were outside. The sun warmed my face, and the smell of fresh air calmed my nerves. It was a platform of stone bricks, with guards patrolling it, probably checking for intruders. They had enchanted bows and swords, probably Flame and Sharpness enchants. The view was gorgeous. There was jungle on one end, plains on another, desert in front, and snow behind, the mountain in the middle of all the biomes. I sighed, looking at the jungle. Home. I missed home already. But I'm starting to think that my home has been gone for a while.

Ty led me down to the bottom floor, which I think was the residential area. It was deserted, except for a few people. We took another elevator, which wasn't as bad this time, at least I didn't fall. It was a little bit more dim, but much, much, bigger than the other two floors. The walls were the raw mountain materials, ores and all. There were wood compartments, creating rooms. Each room had two beds and two chests, with a bookshelf or two. I hadn't been assigned a room yet. Strange. Probably after the tour. Then we came to the enchantment rooms. It was basically the library, hundreds and hundreds of books on everything. I was in heaven. The enchantment tables glowed and radiated magic. I could feel it in my bones. Then I noticed a couple of familiar faces. "Seto and Etho? No way!" I looked at Ty excitedly. They were some of my favorites. I didn't mean to fangirl, but I couldn't help it. I composed myself. Ty laughed at my excitement, and he walked over to them. What was he doing? I quickly walked over to him while he talked with the Youtubers. "Yeah, Avalene's new, I'm just showing her around." I looked at him, my I-am-going-to-kill-you face on full blast. Etho and Seto looked at me and smiled warmly. I nodded my head in greeting. Seto stared at me for a second, as if he was trying to remember something, and then he turned pale. I stepped back, I don't know why. His eyes widened, and he said gravely, "You're supposed to be dead. You have magic in you. There is something wrong. I-"He collapsed. Etho and Ty sat him up, and Etho pulled out a potion. He poured it down Seto's throat, and he coughed and his eyes fluttered open. He jumped up and looked around, his eyes looking wild and fearful. He looked at me. "Come with me." Etho looked at him, concern on his face. "Seto, no way. You just passed out, you were speaking weird stuff, you need rest-"Seto cut him off with a significant look. Etho nodded, still looking worried. I followed Seto, Ty trailing behind me.

We came to a private part of the library, and Seto stopped. He muttered something, and the gate disappeared. We walked through and Seto scanned the shelves, looking for Notch knows what. The whole encounter made my head spin. He pulled out a book and started to scan it like it was the key to immortality. I peered over him shoulder, trying to look at the words. What I saw made my heart stop. It was the symptoms for a strange word I couldn't read, as it was in a different language. He shut the book and put it back on the shelf. He turned to me and took a deep breath. "Avalene, have you been feeling vibrations from nowhere? Have you been having almost lifelike dreams? Any strange sightings or instincts? Anything at all?" He looked extremely stressed and upset, so I decided not to lie. "Well…I've been having these dreams, they just came back, and I have felt vibrations, but I don't think they were from nowhere…." I explained my dream and the vibrations I felt when I was by the enchantment tables. He nodded, breathing deeply. When I finished, he bit his lip. "Avalene, can I do a test on you? It might explain a lot of stuff for all of us. I think that this should do it…" He pulled out an enchanted book and handed it to me. Tell me if you feel any kind of vibration or instinct." I held the book, examining it carefully. After a few seconds, a slight vibration in the tips of my fingers came. Without realizing it, I flipped to a page. I looked down. A picture of a white tree and a graveyard came up, along with an section on a city called Rydia. I looked down at the book. "Nope, no way, no, no, no…"And blackness consumed me with a sense of falling, falling, down.

(I'm trying to decide whether or not to end it here. It's such a good place to stop, but I want to know what's going to happen. I don't plan my chapters, I just write. You know what, let's keep going. I'm going to torture you with something better! MUWAHAHAHAHA!)

I woke up in a white bed, my head throbbing and my heart pounding. Why was I in here again? What happened? Then my brain hit me with a dictionary of information. Tree, Rydia, Seto, Ty, book, vibrations, Etho, collapsing, darkness, falling, overload, overload, and darkness took me once again.

I woke up again, remembering everything and miraculously not passing out again. My head and heart still throbbed and pounded. I sat up. I blinked. Ty and Seto came into focus. I needed to ask. "What happened?" My voice was hoarse. What the heck happened to me? Seto shifted on my bed and began his spiel-

"You held the book for about ten seconds and then flipped to a page, muttering something I couldn't hear. You saw the picture and article and passed out. You hit your head on a chair. I think that and the magical overload was what put you out for a week." My mouth dropped. "A week? Magical overload? What?" He smiled sadly. "Yes, a week. And what I mean by magical overload is the magic in your blood connected the image and dream and tried to decipher what was going on. You have magic in your blood, that's for sure. Nobody would react like that unless you had magical abilities." I just looked at him. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head in disbelief. "No freaking way. I don't have magical blood, my parents didn't, and you're crazy." He sat up. "You do. I wouldn't lie about that, and I'm not crazy. You would know. Your parents did have magical blood, the records prove it." I stared at him, afraid I was going to pass out again. Ty must have noticed, too, because he handed me a potion. I downed it in three seconds. It tasted fruity and tangy. My headache stopped and I could see straight, but my heart still pounded. "What books?" I asked Seto, determined to get straight answers. He handed me a book out of nowhere. I wasn't thinking about that though. I flipped to the page he had bookmarked, and read intently, it said this:

KARIGAN AND JOHNATHAN MICA,

Advanced mages, daughter Avalene MICA

IS THOUGHT TO HAVE THE SAME ABILITIES.

I looked at the page. Another secret kept from me. When would it stop? Lie after lie after lie, each one making me doubt my parents. Magical blood? Secret agents? SOPA? Why was it such a secret? I shook my head and closed the book. "They didn't tell me that either." Seto cast me a sympathetic look. Ty looked off into space. I sighed. "So when can I leave? I've seen the infirmary now." They laughed, and I scrambled out of bed. Luckily they didn't change my clothes, so I was saved the embarrassment of having my butt hanging out of one of the hospital gowns. We walked out of the infirmary and back into the library. Seto stopped suddenly, almost making Ty and I plow him down. He turned and looked at me. "Since you have magical blood, you need to train. All the magic in this area could make you dangerous. Read some magic books and follow their instructions, then meet with me every day. In a week or two you should be much calmer and you won't pass out from opening a book." He laughed. I turned red and looked down. "But that's fine. Trust me, you're not the first." We walked back to the dorms laughing and joking.

(Ty's POV)

My God, this girl was a trip. I had been showing Avalene around, like a normal person, but of course something needs to happen and she passes out for a week. I didn't even get to really talk to her. She was so beautiful, though she seemed to try to hide it. She was afraid, that was easy to tell, but she needed to come out of her shell. She was awesome, but she hid. Why? I was confused. Emotionally, she was scarred, but she tried to pass it off as shock. Was she interested? I mentally kicked myself. She just found out she's a mage, and her parents were too, and she just joined SOPA, and I'm thinking about hitting on this girl? What was wrong with me? Well, many things, but I didn't think about that. She seemed to like Seto a lot, though. She was just so funny, but so sensitive at the same time. I liked her a lot, but does she like me? Ah, the worst question in a crush, I thought. The one that determines everything. But I should wait. She had such a sad story, but she was strong about it. Just walking with her made me nervous. But time, hopefully, will tell.

Hope you liked this chapter, I made it long to make it up to you guys, and I really liked this chapter, so…*awkward silence* Oh! Comment on new characters and places and stuff. You guys rock! Also, school project, can you ask me a bunch of questions about anything? I need extra credit, blah, blah, blah, yeah, yeah, please just comment and review. Bai!