Muerte

by IRISHWULFHOUND

Just something I do in my spare time.

Preface

As my new life begins a familiar figure asks me "what do you want to do with your life?" I answer by listing all my desires in life. The figure asks if that is all. I say, "No. There are two questions that I want answered. One, why were humans put on earth, and two, what is my purpose? The figure sighs, obviously hoping for more original questions and answers the first almost mechanically. Humans were just a gamble that nobody thought would get past 2000 years of life so, to put it bluntly humans are an experiment long over. The answer to the second question is a bit more difficult. There is no particular reason you're here just as there is no reason for me to be here. It all depends on what you decide to do with your life. In other words, you were not born with a reason. The figure starts to walk away then pauses; he slowly turns around and says, "I believe your reason for life is to find power. Limitless power" As the figure leaves, the bright room gets darker and darker until it engulfs me. The last words I hear are, "you will not remember your old life, however when you come of age you will remember this" and with that I was born.

Chapter one: Voices

I was walking home as usual when the voice started talking again and, as usual, it asked, "do you remember the conversation yet?" As usual, I asked it back "what conversation? It sighs and says, with a tired tone, something new. . . . "After 16 years even. Your birthday is coming up, isn't it?" My answer – "Yes it is, why?" "Well I'm wondering what you want for your birthday." This was definitely a first. The voice was never interested in my personal life and as far as it was concerned I was just a waste of space until I remembered whatever conversation it wanted me to. "Why the sudden interest?" I asked. "Well I've lived off of you for almost seventeen years now and I figured I'd do something nice since you've never complained about, or to, me." I think for a minute and respond, "well I wouldn't mind getting some new motor skates, the ones with the black and red color scheme." "Done." Out of nowhere a brand new pair of kl-0912's just appeared on my feet. "How in the world?" I asked. "Don't expect that too often." "Thanks." "No problem."

As I walk in the door I yell "DAD, I'M HOME." I hear him yell back, "I'm in my study." I walk up the stairs of the house to the loft, or as I like to call it, Dad's half of paradise. Ever since mom died three years ago he's been basically a zombie. He did nothing but work all day, eat dinner, and sleep. The only time he showed any emotion was in his work or when we hung out together. His work was his dream and I was his pride and joy, his only son. My mother died giving birth to my baby sister who, after only two short years of life, died of a brain tumor. After that, my dad had me go through a full physical and mental examination. They had found nothing wrong but my dad still worries about me. I can't say that I blame him but that, and the fact that I did most of the chores around the house, it just made me feel like if I messed up once his entire world would fall apart. I opened the door and he looked up. It looked like he had just finished his newest book. He smiled and asked, "Would you like to read it?" I had always enjoyed his stories and he took great pride in that. He had written at least thirty books that he never bothered to get published even though they were all amazing. He said he saved the best ones just for me, and it made me feel insanely happy, but because of that we couldn't afford a lot of things he wanted. I've tried to get him to sell them several times before but he still remains obstinate.

"Sure I'd love to dad." I took the manuscript and noticed that this one was quite a bit bigger than he's done in a while. As I looked it over I realized that he named the book "Behemoth of Yesteryear." As I started to read it he asked me, "son where did you get those motor skates?" I replied "A friend gave them to me as an early birthday present because he was going to be in Russia visiting his cousin" he said "oh, ok then." I never knew why but I've always had this uncanny ability to get people to believe anything I've told them. I hated lying to my dad but I couldn't figure out how to explain that an imaginary voice in my head made them magically appear on my feet. "So what are we doing this weekend?" I asked. He looked up in complete surprise and asked "Is it Friday already?" I sighed. It wasn't unusual for the time to get away from him but for a week to go by without him noticing was strange to say the least.

"What have you been thinking about that is distracting you so much?" "Your birthday is Sunday and I haven't gotten you anything" he replied ashamed. "Dad you know you don't have to get me anything" I said. "Yes, I do". I sighed and asked, "Why do you have to?" "Because I do," he replied. "Well it doesn't make any sense to me." He said, " It will when you have a child." "Come to think of it." Oh god here it comes. "When are you going to get yourself a girlfriend?" The truth is that I had a girlfriend which just happened to be my best friend, Crissa Cerulean, but me and a couple of other people just call her Blue since she loved that color. She had long blond hair (which she had dyed blue) that went down to her waist, her eyes were a deep rare yellowish gold color, her skin was a perfectly smooth ivory color, and to top it all off she was from America like me. She had moved here to Tokyo a year before me and when we met she helped me learn Japanese reading and writing in no time at all. We hardly ever were apart and I hated being so. The only reason we weren't together on her birthday today was because she was really sick and her parents didn't want me to get it either. "Dad I'm going to when I want to but right now I'm going to drop off Blue's present." He said slyly "Oh, well don't let me keep you from her." "DAD!" And with that I started out for Blue's house.

Chapter two: coming of age

On my way to Blue's house the voice asked "why did you act like that if you didn't want your dad to know that you like her?" I curtly snapped, "what does it matter to you?" it replied calmly "it doesn't really I suppose but remember I'm a lot older than you and still don't understand how your human brains work." Interested I asked "how old are you exactly anyway?" it replied almost laughing "I turned four-thousand yesterday" I almost fell over and asked "then how come you sound like you in your early twenty's? This time it actually did laugh, "Because I'm not human remember? I am what you would call a demigod" this time I was skeptical "If you're a demigod then how come you're living off the mind of a mere mortal?" its voice suddenly turned sober "because you won't be mortal forever." That caught me so off guard I slipped and almost got Blue's gift dirty "what do you mean by that?" After that the voice got silent.

When I got to Blue's house her dad opened the door took one look at me and tried to close the door. Expecting this I quickly said "she is expecting me you know." He hated me because he knew I liked his daughter but couldn't keep me out while she wanted to see me so he so he gave me strict rules in order for getting in the house (which I often ignored). The first rule was that I was not to stay past nine-o-clock (broken by sneaking in almost every night). The second was that I was to go though a cavity search every time I came over (broken by just having his wife around. She absolutely adored me so he couldn't touch me while she was around). The last rule was that I couldn't be alone with her (broken by sneaking in and having his wife watch us. He had no idea that she let us do whatever we wanted). I took off my shoes and he started leading me upstairs when Ms. Cerulean took over. "Oh Cody! How good to see you. Oh John, dear why don't you let me watch them?" He grinned probably happy to get back to his film. "Well I think that would be fine. Thank you Sarah." As she led me away I looked back to the unusually fit forty year old going back to his movie. When we got upstairs she left for her room and her cats. I opened up Blue's door and asked, "how ya doing?" she sat up on her bed and said "you're late." I looked at my watch. It said 3:01:21. I looked up and said "by one minute." She coughed and said, "in that one minute I could have died." I rolled my eyes and said, "Stop being so melodramatic Blue." She giggled and said "but that's why you like me." I sighed and said "No it isn't." she started to frown but before she could I continued "It's one part of the reason I like you." She giggled again then coughed then whispered "so do you want to get in bed with me?" I shook my head and lay down on the bed. She looked at me surprised and suspiciously said, "well this is new. You've never accepted my invitations before." I said "well that's because your too weak to try anything right now." She laughed and said, "Want to bet?" this time I laughed and said "sure how 'bout if you're right I keep your gift?" She crossed her arms and accusingly said "that isn't fair Cody" I got up and pinned her down then whispered in her ear "Who said I had to be fair?" Right at that moment her dad walked in, saw us, and screamed "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY DAUGHTER?" The second that his face turned red Sarah walked in and saw us then blushed, turned to her husband, and said "John leave them alone they're just kids" He turned to his wife and with cold anger said "You were supposed to be watching them." She was about to say something when I said "Yes but the cats were fighting and she left to calm them." He looked suspiciously at his wife and said "I didn't hear anything." Then Blue got out from under me and said "Well that's because you were watching your movie." He thought for a moment and said "Ok, that makes sense. But that doesn't excuse him from taking advantage of you Crissa." She sighed and said "Daddy, when are you going to accept Cody as my boyfriend?" I chuckled because for this, John had no rebuttal. He just started stuttering "Well I, I mean if, well if you…." He glared at me then sighed in defeat. He looked up and asked "Is this really what you want Crissa?" She rolled her eyes and said "of course. If I didn't I wouldn't have invested so much in him." I got up and said "Speaking of me, here is the present I got for you." I picked the present up off of the floor and handed it to Blue. She opened it and gasped "oh my…" it was a 20 karat gold chain with a sapphire the size of my eye. Everyone including me just stared with our mouths wide open. John was the first one to speak "How in the hell did you buy that?" I blinked a couple times and said "Are you accusing me of something?" He smiled and said "Well it's just that with your dad's paycheck I seriously doubt that you could afford something like that." Out of nowhere my voice turned into the sound of hell, of screaming souls wasting away for eternity, of the deepest depths of my soul as if I had become a feral beast "I don't appreciate you accusing me of such things." At this John jumped back with fear in his eyes and urine in his pants. Everyone just stared at me. I turned my head and looked in the mirror, my eyes had turned into evil incarnate. My pupils had turned into black slits the color was so dark it seemed that light was just a myth in its oppressive presence while everything else had turned crimson blood red. The voice interjected "I thought that would work." I angrily muttered, "What did you do?" It chuckled "I just gave your power a little push in the right direction. If you want to turn back just calm down." I took a deep breath and said in my normal voice "What do you want me to say John? That I stole it from some bank or jewelry store?" he just looked at me and asked, "What are you?" I laughed and told him "ill tell you as soon as I figure that out."

Chapter three: Demi-school

As soon as I had told them about the voice they seemed to think I was crazy. And I couldn't blame them for it but I pointed out my little transformation and dared them to find another explanation. Which they couldn't. After they accepted that I didn't steal the necklace I went home. As soon as I was out of earshot of their house I angrily asked the voice "What the hell were you thinking?" it replied amused "I helped you." I asked exasperated "and how exactly did that help me?" it replied "it enrolled you in school." I stopped dead and asked "What?" it said, "you are now enrolled in demi-god school. Based on what I saw back there you are probably a Reaper. This is good, you will remember soon." I sighed and asked, "ok first of all, what is demi-god school, second what is a reaper, and third what am I going to tell my dad?" it laughed and said, "well first is that it is exactly what it sounds like, it's a school for demi-gods. Secondly, in your world a reaper is called the Grim Reaper. And thirdly, ill take care of your dad." I said "What about regular school?" it was silent for a moment then replied, "I'll think of something. In most cases people who go to demi-school drop out of school by the time they are thirteen." Confused I asked, "Why do they do that?" It replied, "They feel to alienated to really fit in and try to continue their education and just run away. It makes them easier to track because they tend to shy away from the interference of other people." I thought for a moment then asked "Ok assuming that I believe you, how are you going to convince my dad to let me go to a demi-god school?" it chuckled and said "ill talk to him. I'm not just a voice in your head you know." I stumbled a little at this and said "wait seriously you mean I'm not crazy?" it laughed and said "Well that remains to be seen but in this case I'm not imaginary so no, your not. Ill see you at your house." And with that it was silent. After that I went full speed on my skates (45mph) strait to my house and if I didn't have freakishly good reflexes I would have gotten my face rearranged by a lot of different things. As soon as I got to my house I remembered that the brakes on my skates were way to powerful and the skates stopped but I didn't and I flew about ½ a mile down the road right to my front door. Incredibly I didn't have a scratch on me. I walked in the door took of the skates and looked around and I saw my dad bringing some drinks to the living room. He looked at me suspiciously and said, "come here son, there is someone here to talk to us." Right at that moment I thought of at least a hundred questions for the person in our living room, at the top was: Why have you been living off of me for so long? When we walked in I saw him for the first time. He was about my height, white hair, well-tanned skin, and the shiniest black armor I have ever seen (not that I've ever seen black armor before). He turned and grinned a toothy grin so that we both saw his oddly shining white teeth. His eyes were an odd blue color with his pupils white instead of black. He had a scar at the base of his jaw on the left side. His voice was the same as I had heard for the past seventeen years "Ah Mr. Muerte how are you and your son?" it was obvious that my dad didn't trust him by his tone and body language and he made no effort to hide it "what do you want here sir?" the man chuckled and said "Please call me Takano." My dad said, "What do you want with us Takano?" Takano sighed and said, "It is about your son and what his particular educational needs are." My dad handed Takano a drink and said, "His grades are fine." Takano replied "Its not about that. It's about what your son is." My dad stood up swiftly and screamed "THEY PROMISED ME THAT HE WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE TOURNAMENT!" Takano laughed and said, "It is no longer a tournament. It is a school now." My dad just stood, mouth hanging wide open. I asked suspiciously, "What are you talking about dad?" Takano interrupted right then "The school used to be a coliseum. We gathered children with powers like you, from around the world and made them fight to the death. Your father was the most recent champion." My dad sighed and sat down. His voice was almost dead as he said, "fight to live, live to fight, we don't care what is right, life and death has its place, at the top shall stand the strongest race." I sat down and asked, "What are you talking about dad?" He looked at me almost pleadingly and said, "Its what I screamed every time I won a fight. I don't want you to think less of me son but I was a different person back then. I was young, rash, just plain bloodthirsty. I was part of the Reaper clan. Your mother was part of the angel clan. Her healing powers were amazing; she hated me at first for my destructive powers. However over time the way I treated her had an effect. Girls like it when your nice to them son, remember that and you'll get a girlfriend one day." Takano interjected at that "He already has one." My dad looked at me real smug-like when he said that and red faced I said sullenly to Takano "I wish you would've stayed in my head." Takano's eyes went wide and my dad got a black aura around him then asked in an evil voice "You've been tracking him? For how long have you been hearing him Cody?" Takano answered for me "Since the day he was born. Now don't get mad at me the order came from Lord Reaper himself and was supported by Lady Angel." After that I just screamed "WHAT THE **** IS GOING ON HERE?" and as I did I felt my eyes turn again. Takano got up and walked over to me and said "Amazing, I've never seen the beginning form so prominent in someone so new to his powers. It's even more powerful than yours was Ziro." I laughed as I said "Wait a minute, dad your name is Ziro? You said it was George." Then my dad started laughing as he said "Out of all the things to question you choose the name I chose?" I just laughed for a minute and finally I decided it was time for being serious so I thought for a second and decided to try to transform as much as I could. I thought about it but couldn't get the transformation to come. As soon as I gave up though my teeth became sharp my skin turned white as bone and it sunk into my bones. My clothes turned into a shadowy cloak and a scythe just appeared in my hands. It was an amazing and terrifying sight the scythe had odd inscriptions on it, which made it seem as if it could suck out your soul. The blade had veins in it of what seemed to be onyx and the blade itself was made of a dark gray metal. It seemed that it was made specifically for me. The balance was exquisite, while the blade was sharper than any blade before it, it could cut through diamonds. All this happened in a split second, just enough time for my dad and Takano to blink then see me in all the horrible glory that was myself. They jumped back and my back started hurting then black wings sprouted from my back. They grew slowly and when they were finished they seemed to have a life of their own I tested them and they felt powerful as I moved them around. Takano and my dad just stared at me. Then Takano cleared his throat then said "Well I think its time we started making arrangements for his classes Ziro." My dad just blinked a couple times and said "Yes, alright and it will be nice to see Lord Reaper again after all these years." Takano took out some forms out of a leather bag and handed some to my dad and one to me. I relaxed and I turned back to normal and he handed me a pen. I looked over the paper and it was a contract to sign for me to be allowed into the school. It stated that I was aware that there were risks and I accepted that I might get hurt. I signed it only after I saw that they hold a fighting contest every year and the grand prize was a day to use any weapon to keep out of any of the teachers storage rooms. I looked at my dad and he was calmly looking through the forms when I asked, "So what kind of classes am I going to take?" My dad looked up at me then sighed heavily and said "Well son you have extremely powerful fighting skills from what I saw in your transformation and it seems that the Angel blood in you is powerful as well so you'll probably be a fighter who can heal himself and others which is a rare case to say the least. I would guess that you would get mostly fighting courses with healing elective recommendations." I raised an eyebrow and said "So its like a regular school?" At that Takano laughed out loud and said, "If you call a school full of demi-gods normal then yes. But there are some perks to this school. Such as when you get into a fight with someone it is easily resolved with actual fights. Remember this used to be a tournament so fighting is still a big part of life there. The dorms will be specifically designed to your clan and with you be of two clans it will be up to you to decide what we put in your room. We have mixed dorms and baths so if you're shy then you might want to get in the bath a little later. Though in your case I don't think that will be a problem." I took a step back and asked, "What are you talking about?" My dad chuckled and said, "Well lets just say reaper powers aren't the only thing you inherited from me." I thought for a second then my face turned bright red. At this he outright laughed. When he calmed down he looked at me and said "Now about this girlfriend situation. Why didn't you tell me you were going out with Crissa?" I looked up horrified and asked "How did you know?" He smiled and said, "I didn't." I looked at him with my mouth hanging open and when I regained my senses, trying to change the subject I asked, "So when do I start school?" Takano chuckled obviously knowing what I was trying to do then he said "Once you hand me that form if all goes well you will start on Monday. And we will just tell your school your transferring for a different school, which is completely true." I sighed because I wouldn't be going to school with Blue anymore.

The next day I ran hundreds of different scenarios in my head trying to figure out how to tell Blue that I was transferring to a demi-god school. Most of them involved telling her directly and the rest was either trying to have her come with me, or indirectly telling her. I called her and she said that she was feeling a lot better and that she would be over tomorrow for my birthday. I decided that I would tell her tomorrow. Right now I was going to tell my dad were I got my new skates. I was still confused about everything that had happened yesterday so I had no idea how my dad would take it. I walked into his study and he was taking some aspirin, obviously what happened yesterday had taken its toll on him. He was talking to someone on the phone so I just waited for him to finish and I caught some of the conversation. My dad sounded upset as he said, "Yes, yes I know that he needs the control but I don't want him entering the competition. Yes I know he signed the contract. Yes sir I understand but." He sighed and said, "Very well but if he starts to go too far I want you to stop him. I don't want him to go through the same thing I did. All right I understand so I'm going to drop him off on Monday at eight? Yes sir, all right. Thank you Lord Reaper. Goodbye." He looked up, saw me and asked, "How much did you hear?" I walked in and said, "Just you saying goodbye to Reaper." He sighed and asked, "So what do you want?" I sat down in one of the chairs that were all around and said, "I lied about the skates. Takano gave them to me before I got to Blue's house yesterday. When he was still in my head." He looked down and cursed under his breath. He looked up and said, "Well he is coming over tomorrow to help you pack so you can thank him properly then. Now on to the subject of what you're going to tell Crissa." I went stiff and said, "Dad, Blue has seen my eyes turn and she heard my voice." He put his hand over his face and said, "Oh my god son. Well if only Crissa knows." I put my head down and said shamefully, "Her parents do too. I'm sorry but I couldn't exactly control it when Blue got that necklace." He looked up at me quickly and wide eyed then asked, "Was it gold with a large sapphire?" I raised an eye and said, "Yes it was, but how did you know that?" he sighed and looked down again after a minute he talked again, "You know son, I never wanted this for you. I had hoped that since your mother's and my clan differences would cancel each other out and you would live a happy, normal life. But as we have seen we had no such luck. Your sister died because the powers in her body tore her apart. In you though it seems that they have found a way to live together. At least for the time being. There may come a time where you will have to choose to be an Angel or a Reaper. And son, I hope to god that you don't. There have been cases like yours before; they are rare but not unheard of. The ones who had to choose between their powers went mad only hours after they made the decision. They had lost a part of their identity; they had lost the knowledge of who they were. All of these cases had their powers unlocked by that cursed necklace." I just stood there not believing what I had just heard. I stood up then remembered that Blue still had the necklace. I stared at my father and asked, "How would the necklace effect humans?" He looked at me confused and said "The necklace will cure any ailment of humans and make them smarter, faster, stronger, and more agile. Why, does Crissa still have it?" I sat down and sighed in relief. I looked up at him and said, "I thought since the necklace had such and effect on us that it would harm humans." He raised an eyebrow and looked me over, then after a minute he said, "You really care about her, don't you?" I looked up then chuckled and said, "Dad we have been going out for almost two years now." He looked up angrily at me and said, "How long did you say you were going out with her now? You may want to choose your words very carefully son. You know I don't like being lied to." I started to slowly back away as I said "I said that we have been going out for two years and that you should know that I'm faster than you." And with that I bolted out of the room and ran downstairs. When I got to the base of the stairs my dad was already there his right eye turned black. I smiled as I jumped over him and sprinted out the door and let the transformation take me. As I started growing wings I jumped up and sailed fifty feet in the air. As I started to descend my wings had fully grown and had started to beat powerfully as I started out for Blue's house with blinding speed. On my way there I had a thought: it would be fun to tell John that I had come for him. By all accounts I looked like the grim reaper and it was about time I had a laugh at him. I landed in front of Blue's door and looked at the sun and from what I could tell it was about nine thirty. A perfect time to scare John. I rang the doorbell and when John opened the door and looked at me he just stood there waiting. I rose to my full height, which was a couple inches over John's six feet two inches. I gave him my most menacing glare and breathed the words, "John Cerulean, I have come for your immortal soul." He looked me over and said calmly "Nice try Cody but your costume isn't going to scare me, I took off the hood and he saw the skull that was now my face. His eyes went wide and he started to back away towards his living room but before he went five steps I was in his house staring him in the face. I started laughing so hard I cried when he screamed like a girl and tripped over his socks and as he looked up at me I turned back into myself. My sides were splitting as I said, "Oh my god John, you should have seen the look on your face." He scrambled to get up as Blue and Sarah came bounding down the stairs and they say me on the floor crying and holding my gut with John angry faced an red from embarrassment and you can probably figure out the rest: they both started yelling at John saying the exact same thing, "Oh my god, what did you do to Cody?" I got up and said, "Oh relax girls I'm just laughing really hard because I scared him. By the way he is the one who screamed." At that Blue giggled, Sarah sighed then said, "Ok then, how about I make some tea and we can all talk this out, ok?" So Sarah made some tea and we all sat down in their living room and the second we sat down the doorbell rang I groaned and said, "That's probably my dad." Blue looked confused as she asked, "Why would your dad come here?" I looked down as I told her, "Well I kind of ran out on him because I finally told him we were going out and he didn't exactly appreciate me lying to him for two years." I looked around to see everyone's expressions. Sarah sighed and went to get the door while John just stood there at war with himself. He was probably trying to figure out what to do about me and Blue, with dozens of scenarios going through his head for getting rid of me. Blue sat there looking scared and proud at the same time. Probably over me telling my dad about us. I sighed as my dad came into the room fuming and glaring at me. He walked over to me and grabbed my arm angrily saying, "Come on son were going home." The second he grabbed me I had him on the ground with his arms behind his back. I got off of him and looked at Blue; she was wide eyed with her mouth hanging open as I felt my eyes turn again. I sighed as I let my dad up and let my eyes turn back. I sat down on the ground and said, "Dad I'm sorry I lied to you but right now I'm just too mentally exhausted to deal with this right now." I lay back as my body exploded in pain and I couldn't care less as I fell asleep.

Chapter three: remembering

I woke up in my room and as I looked around I realized I had transformed in my sleep. I slowly got up with a migraine that could kill an elephant. I looked around and Blue was asleep on the floor holding a stuffed toy from her house that I gave her on her birthday last year. I slowly reverted to me when my dad walked in with some water. He sat down and handed it to me then looked at Blue. He sighed and said, "She stayed up till about three in the morning watching you. She saw your basic transformation come out." I looked at him panicked and asked "It gets worse?" He chuckled as he looked up and said, "It gets a lot worse son, so much worse. In your final transformation you will look something like this." I blinked and my father had turned into a horrible, disgusting sin against god. He looked at me with eyes that made me see hell in my own head; I went insane after being in his presence for a few seconds. When I was about to pass out my body went instinctive and I turned back into my Reaper form and took a defensive position. My dad said in a voice that made me freeze in place, a voice that in cold anger could make fire freeze, "Son, control your-self. Turn back before Crissa wakes up." Hearing her name made the thoughts in my head reconnect and I turned back instantly. My dad tuned back and he looked surprised. He looked me over and said, "Well this is a surprise, and I expected a fight." I sat down and asked, "Why did I pass out?" He took my glass and started walking out of the room and when he got to the door he looked back and said, "Happy birthday son." I watched blue for a while before getting up to go to the bathroom and when I got back she was in my bed. I looked at the clock and saw that it was three in the morning. I walked over and got into bed with her, she stirred at first but fell back to sleep when I got comfortable. I laid there for a while just watching her sleep, her breathing seemed a bit strained so I softly tried to move her and when I did she woke up. She was extremely groggy when she said, "Well look who climbed into bed with me, and I thought that you didn't want to sleep with me." She yawned and inched up to me then went back to sleep. I stared at the ceiling for a while before I checked the clock again. It said that it was four-thirty. It was set to go off in two hours and I didn't want it to wake up Blue so I grabbed it and turned the alarm off. I was about to put it back when I saw a box where it was supposed to go. I picked it up and looked at the tag, it said: To: Cody, From: Lord Reaper. I sat up and slowly started to open it so I wouldn't wake up Blue. Inside was a bracelet and a note. I tried on the bracelet and it turned into a metal glove. I read the note, it said:

Dear Cody, I am sending you this in hopes that it will be useful to you. The bracelet inside will make it so you wont transform unless you say a keyword. To set the keywords simply say: keyword set, and then say the keyword or phrase. You may only set one password so choose it carefully.

Sincerely, Lord Reaper

I looked at the glove as it changed from bracelet to glove to ring and said, "Keyword, set, Crissa Cerulean." It beeped and a voice said, "Is the password Crissa Cerulean what you want?" I said yes and it beeped again, "Password set." When I looked up there was another present on my bed next to Blue. I walked over and picked it up this ones tag said: To: Cody From: Lady Angel. Inside this box was a cloak and a note. The note said:

Dear Cody, I send you this cloak for two reasons. First is that I believe you will look nice in it and second it will help you communicate with the other students at the school. This cloak is designed to make you speak and understand the language that we speak at the school. Most students have to learn it unless they spend a good amount of money to buy one of these. I hope it will be of use to you.

Forever yours, Lady Angel

Throughout the day I found gifts from all of the teachers at my new school. Oddly enough Takano never showed up. There was one from a Professor Druid, which had a staff that could transform into any plant. The next was from a Professor Animalia, which contained a belt that allowed me to talk to animals. After that was Professor Lioustra who had sent me a full set of plate armor that I could shrink down for easy storage. Next was Professor Barius who sent me large gems that contained the power of the elements water, fire, lightning, earth, energy, darkness, and light. Then it was Professor Da Vinci who sent a large array of books, different color inks, and odd parchments. Next was Professor Muerte who was apparently my uncle, he sent me a pair of sunglasses that had x-ray vision, I accidentally put them on when Blue walked by and quickly figured out they worked. Last was Professor Phenexius who had a custom bag made for me that could store anything. I put most of my gifts in the bag. The ones I kept out were the bracelet and the belt. I wanted to test it out later but before I did I had to my presents from my dad and Blue. My dad had gotten me a mirror looking object that allowed me to talk to anyone in the world; all I had to do was say their name. Blue's gift was a lot simpler, and I loved it. It was a pearl. It was shaped like sitting cat and it made me feel at peace with everything. It was extremely smooth and shiny. My dad walked over and asked if he could work some magic on the rock. I looked at Blue and she nodded so I gave him the rock. He grabbed it and said some words under his breath but before I could ask him what he said the rock came to life. It was like a living stone. My dad gave it back to me and asked, "What are you going to name her?" I thought for a couple minutes trying to think of a name that had meaning but was still pretty. I snapped my fingers and said, "Kiyomi." My dad chuckled and said, "Pure Beauty huh? Well that seems fitting." I looked down at the cat and asked it, "How do you like your name Kiyomi?" It meowed and climbed up my sleeve and sat my shoulder. Then I thought of something. I grabbed my belt and put it on then I asked her again, "How do you like your name Kiyomi?" She looked at me and said, "It's pretty, I like it." She climbed down and curled up on the floor for a nap. I turned to my dad and asked "does she eat anything?" He sat down and said, "Nope, not a thing. I hope that it's ok that I brought her to life." I looked at the wall clock and it said that it was ten at night. I got up and stretched then said, "Well then, I'm going to bed." I gently picked up Kiyomi and headed upstairs. Blue caught up with me in my room and kissed me on the cheek. I chuckled and set Kiyomi on my nightstand and asked Blue, "So, you want to sleep with me?" She giggled and said, "Sure, it will be your going away present. We got into bed and I started kissing her, her lips felt soft and wet. Her mouth tasted like hamburgers and orange soda. She got on top of me and really started getting into it and she didn't stop for half an hour when she got up she looked like she did when she was getting ready to try something. I sighed and stripped down to my boxers. Blue had stripped down to her underwear and was sneaking up on me. I turned around and caught her as she fell off of the bed. I put her down on the bed and got in next to her pulled the covers up and said, "Well my love, goodnight." With that I went to sleep.

In the morning the alarm went off at six thirty and I sat up on my bed and turned off my clock. I stood up and started my morning routine. I took my boxers and heard Blue woke up and turned around and saw the amused look on her face and in an unexpected surge of confidence I asked her, "Like what you see? It's all yours." She outright laughed at me as I put on some clothes then said, "Well I'm not sure, and why don't I test it out?" I rolled my eyes and said, "You know why Blue. I'm going to do this right." The only way we were going to try something was after we were engaged and we still had another year before I could ask her to marry me without her fathers consent. And I was NOT, going to get it. After the stunt I pulled he undoubtedly hated me. I put my shirt on when Kiyomi climbed up my clothes and sat on my shoulder and purred. I put on my belt and said good morning to her. She looked up at me and said, "Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" I laughed and said, "Well that's news to me. What did I say?" she repositioned herself and said, "You mainly mumbled Crissa's name and talked in an odd language." I raised my eyebrows and walked into the kitchen to start breakfast. I made a few eggs and a good amount of bacon with hash browns. I grabbed some orange juice from the fridge and set up for my dad who walked in when I finished at seven. By the time we finished eating it was seven-thirty and Blue left for school while my dad gathered stuff up that he said I would need for school. He finished at a quarter to eight and we brushed our teeth then my dad said, "Well I suppose it's time to leave." With that we stepped outside then he started chanting strange words, "Fruisa deo lastr yuiar respirtius." Then everything went white and the conversation came back to me.

Chapter four: control

I remembered that it happened in a place like this, in a white world where there was only darkness. In a second though it was gone the room had turned into a scenic view of a castle. It was a magnificent sight that almost made me feel as if my insignificant presence was offensive to it, and then I had a thought. I pulled my golden armor out of the bag and as soon as I thought about putting it on it turned into a liquid and attached itself to me. My dad looked at me and asked, "Aren't you surprised at that?" I sighed then said, "After everything that's happened the past few days nothing surprises me anymore." We walked to the castle and as we did I noticed that it was cut right down the middle. On the right it was nothing but lifeless dark horror and on the left it was nothing but vibrant happiness. When we got to the doors the themes reversed and the door on the right was made of white marble that had carvings that seemed to be carved by angels. However on the left the door was made of bloody bodies, some of which were still trying to defy death. They were either screaming in pain or begging for someone to end their lives. Looking at the contrast made me feel squeamish and as we walked in it looked extraordinary, as if it was brand new. Kiyomi poked her head out of my bag and asked me, "So this is where we will be going for school?" I looked down and asked, "We?" she looked at me confused and asked me, "Don't you want me with you?" I smiled and said, "Of course, its just that I didn't think that far ahead." I looked up and my dad had stopped at two pairs of large double doors that looked like the gateways to heaven and hell. Kiyomi climbed up the carvings on my armor and sat on my shoulder trying to look noble. My dad walked forward and opened a normal sized door in-between the two larger doors. He looked at me and said, "This will be your room for as long as you stay here. I walked into he room and it was empty except for a door and a large desk. I went over to the door and opened it. Inside was a king size bed and a cat bed on a pedestal next to it. Kiyomi jumped down and as she did she grew into a normal sized cat. She walked over to the pedestal and laid down in it then proceeded to go to sleep. In this room there were two more doors one led to the bathroom, which had a bathtub the size of a pool. The other led to the kitchen, which had a few things in it. I proceeded throughout the room that tuned out to be a house. It had an entire room just for goofing off with video games and a computer. It had a couple of empty rooms and one room that seemed to go on forever. It was so large that I couldn't see the other end of the room even with binoculars. When we finally got to a room that just had an arch in it I looked at my watch and it said it was still a quarter till eight. I raised my eyebrows and jumped down to the arch. When I got close it started glowing red and blue. My dad walked up next to me and said bitterly, "Its time for you to meet the heads of this school." We walked through the arch and in a flash of light we were in a gray room. The farther left I looked the whiter it got and the farther right I looked the darker it got. I took off my armor and put it back in by bag then pulled out my air techs and put them on. When they were on I went full speed far into the room. My dad kept pace with me until I thought of something. I willed my transformation and my air techs changed with my body. They turned into white skulls with black wings on the side. I started to put distance between me and my dad until his right eye changed then he started going twice as fast as I was. It was at that point I jumped and started flying. The air techs started flaming then acted as rockets and I was pretty sure I broke the sound barrier as I passed my dad. I used my scythe as brakes as I saw a couple of figures at a table playing chess. I stopped just in time not to hit the table. I turned back when my dad got there a couple minutes later panting with both his eyes black. When he caught his breath he said, "After twenty years I guess I'm a little out of shape." The man looked over and said in a funny voice, "Ah little Ziro its nice to see you again. Laura sends her regards." At hearing my mom's name my dad visibly stiffened. The man stood up and glided over to us, his entire body was covered in black cloth. The only visible part of him was his right eye, which was completely white. His hands were more like claws that he placed on my father's shoulder. Then the woman appeared in front of me and started eyeing me over. After a minute she stood up looking satisfied. Her dress was made of a brilliant white with light blue accents. Her brown hair fell down to the base of her spine. Her eyes were a gentle blue color, which made me feel as if I could stare in them forever. Her voice was gentle but firm as she said, "Well, this is quite unexpected. I would have thought that he would be younger, well to each their own I suppose." That's when I saw something coming at me and when I looked I saw Kiyomi racing towards me. She jumped up on me then turned back to her normal size. After climbing up my clothes she purred as she sat on my shoulder. The man looked at her then walked up to me and said, "I see that you already have a familiar. Well that saves us the trouble of making one for you." He handed me a piece of paper and said, "I'm terribly sorry to cut this meeting short but you have classes to attend and we need to talk to your father. Do you have any questions before you leave?" I took a step back and asked, "Are you Lord Reaper?" he chuckled then replied, "Why yes I am." I turned to the woman and said, "That must make you Lady Angel." She smiled and said, "Smart boy." I bowed to them both respectively and said, "Thank you for the birthday gifts, I am sure they will come in quite useful." They both said, "Your quite welcome." Then Lord reaper raised his hand towards me and everything went black. In a split second I was in a hallway looking at a door that said power control 101. I looked at the piece of paper that Lord Reaper gave me and it said that my first class was in that room. I looked at my watch and it said it was five minutes till eight. I walked in and it looked like there were about thirty kids in the large room. I looked at the paper again and it said that professor Barius ran the class. I looked around and walked up to a man with black hair that was slightly graying. I asked him, "Are you professor Barius?" the man glared at me and said, "Yes I am, and who exactly are you?" I bowed and said, "I am Cody Muerte. I am here to attend this class and thank you for the gift you sent me." As I looked up Barius look slightly impressed with me. He walked over to a podium and said, "Class, I am professor Barius. I will be teaching you how to control you powers. Before we get started can anyone tell me the history of this school?" I raised my hand and asked, "Wasn't it a coliseum until a while ago?" He smiled and said, "Yes it was but Ziro Muerte changed that. When he won in the fight against Lord Reaper and Lady Angel the request he made was that no person should be forced to fight in this place again. So Lord Reaper on a whim turned it into a school. But that's enough of that now has anyone gotten a familiar yet?" I raised my hand with a couple of other people. Barius asked us to take them out. As I took Kiyomi out the boy next to me jumped back and grew a wolf tail and ears then started growling. Kiyomi hissed as she grew to her full size and a large dog rushed to the boy's side. As the dog jumped at Kiyomi I turned into my Reaper form and grabbed the dog by the throat and said, "Resiu hios lretac juopis." The boy burst into flames as I used my scythe to throw him clear across the room. Professor Barius sighed and threw some water on the boy, helped him up, and checked him over for injuries then sent him back to the seat next to me. When he got there I looked at him and, "Sorry about that. It's just that I don't want her to get hurt and I don't know my strength yet." The boy looked at me confused and then I remembered that people speak a different language here. I pulled my cloak and put it on them repeated myself. The boy smiled and said in a pleasant voice, "It's ok. I'm sorry I lost it, I'm more instinct than person these days." I saw some burns on him and I placed my hand on his head and willed my power to heal him. In a flash of green light he was healed. I pulled my hand back and said, "Huh, I didn't think that would work." At that point everyone in the class was looking at me slack jawed. Even Barius looked surprised. He looked himself over and asked, "Are you sure your new at this?" I laughed and said, "Yes I'm sure. By the way, my name is Cody." I held out my hand. He shook it and said, "My name is Tou-Ookami. It means large wolf. But you can call me Kami" I looked at his ears and tail and said, "I would've guessed as much. My last name, Muerte, means death in Spanish." He smiled and said, "So I'm guessing you're a Reaper?" I scratched my head and said, "Yes and no. I am a Reaper but I'm half Angel as well. Hence the wings that grow out of my back and the healing power. In fact, let me try something." I forced the rest of my transformation to stay back as I made my wings grow. Professor Barius walked over to me and said, "If you're going to show off, at least let me direct you. At least it seems that you have good control. You may not even need this class. Hmmm, how would you like to be my assistant?" I raised an eyebrow and asked, "What exactly would that entail?" he laughed and said, "Well, you just help me demonstrate stuff in class." I leaned back in my chair and said, "Well that sounds good to me." I put my hand on the back of the chair and balanced myself on it using one finger. Then I vaulted to the ceiling and used my reaper hands to go across the ceiling like monkey bars. I jumped down and asked; "Like that?" he smiled and said, "Well that's kind of what I meant. But in the future would you wait until I say to do something? Well seeing that we only have ten minutes left I'm going to say that today was a waste of time, I'll say that today is over for classes you will go to your second class tomorrow. Good day to you all." And with that he was gone. I turned to Kami and asked, "So do you want to come to my room and help me decorate?" he laughed and said, "Well if you don't mind animal furs then I'm your man." As we were walking out the door someone grabbed my shoulder and pulled on me. When I hit the floor I turned into my reaper form and grabbed the person by the neck and lifted them three feet off the floor. I gathered myself just in time not to crush the person's throat. I turned back into myself and let the person down. I poked around in my bag and pulled out the bracelet that Lord Reaper gave me and slipped it on. Then I knelt down to the little girl who I had almost killed and healed her. I sighed and helped the girl up then asked her, "Now exactly what do you want?" she got up and dusted herself off and said, "I want your help. You seem to have your powers under control. How did you do that, how long have you had your powers, and what is your name?" I raised my eyebrow and said, "Well in that order. I just do, it's kind of choosing which fingers to move, and some parts are harder than others to keep down. I've had them for like three days now." At that she screamed, "WHAT? IT TAKES YOU THREE DAYS TO GET TO THAT LEVEL BUT IT TAKES ME FOURHUNDRED YEARS TO BARELY CONTROL MINE?" she started glowing as I quickly took off my bracelet which was a ring at that point and put it on her. Then I said, "And lastly, my name is Cody Muerte." She looked up at me with an angry look on her face and asked me, "What is this thing?" I knelt down and said, "It's a charm that won't let you transform unless you give it a password. So have you calmed down yet?" she took deep breath and said, "Yes I'm fine now." I thought for a moment and asked her, "Hey Kami and I are going to my room to redecorate it. You want to come?" she smiled and said in a sweet voice, "I would love to. I think every house needs a feminine touch. By the way if you're wondering my name is Naomi." I smiled as I asked, "So which way are those big doors?" both Naomi and Kami stopped dead in their tracks and slowly looked at me. Kami's voice was barely audible as he asked, "You mean the doors of heaven and hell?" I continued walking as I said, "I guess so. Remember I just got here today so I know nothing about this place." When they stopped moving completely I sighed and said, "if you don't want to come with me that's fine but could you at least point me in the right direction?" they looked at each other then started to laugh. They laughed nonstop for ten minutes before they could say something. Naomi was the first to talk, "I suppose it's a perfect fit for you." Right as she said that a giant drill bore through the ground right in front of us. It slowly started to rise showing a door under the drill. From inside I heard a woman's voice scream, "YOU IDIOT, YOU ALMOST HIT MY SON!" the door flew off of the hinges at blinding speed and hit me square in the face. I was knock down in an instant. I felt were the door hit me, and it turned out that I had a bloody nose. I quickly healed it and looked up to see a beautiful woman dressed in furs hugging Kami and checking him for any piece of him that was harmed. Her skirt was dangerously close to her hips and her only other pieces of clothing was a bra made of what seemed to made of a wolf pelt and a cape. I got up from under the door and stood up to find the woman sniffing me. She jumped up and exclaimed, "Why you must be Ziro's son. Its nice to finally meet you, I am Caria Animalia. And it seems that you've already met my son." I smiled and said, "If your referring to Kami then yes I have. So are you going to kick a door in my face every time we see each other? I don't mind it's just that it would be nice to have some warning." She blushed and said, "Oh, I'm sorry but I didn't see you when I was trying to get to my son." She held out her hand and as soon as I took it my body exploded in pain again. This time my body reacted as you would expect, it writhed and I screamed for a few minutes before I passed out.

Chapter five: Something extra

I woke up with what seemed to be my dad and all the teachers arguing. Then I heard Blue's voice saying, "What if he doesn't wake up?" I tried to say that I was awake but all that came out of my mouth was a bark. Everyone whipped around to find me trying to stand up then all at once they said, "WAIT!" it was too late though, I fell off the bed and hit the ground hard. When I woke up again I was in a cage. Seeing the bars I panicked and tried to grab them, but instead of hands I had paws. Before I could panic again I took a deep breath through my nose and tried to ran the door open. The door opened right before I got to it and I just kept running at full speed. I heard people running after me and I felt my eyes turn, but it was different this time. It was wilder than before. Like everything before this was an abstract painting of the real world. Right as I got to a larger gate I heard Blue screaming for me I turned around to see my dad holding her. That sight made me see red as I ran past all of the other people in the room and tackled my dad. Right then I heard a sweet sound that made me feel calm and let me gather myself. I looked around for the source of the sound and it was Kiyomi in her larger size. She walked up to me and started purring. Astounded for a moment I walked over to Blue who was wearing her necklace and lay down at her feet. Kiyomi walked over to me and lay on top of me. That was when I noticed that as far as animals I was obscenely large. Laying down I was almost six feet high. I looked down to the glassy floor and saw a red furred wolf with golden eyes looking back at me. I blinked and started growling at the reflection on the floor. I blinked a couple of times and tried to turn back. It worked partially, my body was able to stand upright but my body was still covered in fur. My head was still in wolf form but the eyes had turned into my reaper eyes. I still had the tail and my manhood had turned back to normal. My hair almost looked like it was on fire. My body was buff to the point that it was almost disgusting. My hands had turned into claws and my feet were still paws. I looked around and everything was in slow motion. Everyone was looking at me. I walked awkwardly over to Blue and noticed that my tail was wagging. She blushed as she looked away from my waist. I looked down and quickly turned around to get my bag. I walked over and took my armor out of the bag and it morphed onto my body with my tail sticking out. I walked back over to Blue and stood next to her. Everyone just kept staring at me and eventually Animalia asked me, "Are you feeling ok?" She blushed and asked, "Does everything feel alright." I stretched and said, "A little angry that this kind of stuff keeps happening to me. So how long until ill be able to control this, or turn back, or whatever is going on here." She sighed and said, "Well, this has never happened before. So I have no idea. It looked like you can control it to some degree but it will probably take some time to fully control it." I sat on the ground and started thinking. After about ten minutes I walked back over to my bag and took out the bracelet and put it on. Instantly my skin started to burn and I fell on Lord Reaper. He sighed and put me back on my feet as I turned back into my human form. When my skin stopped burning I screamed, "SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE! WHY DOES THIS CRAP KEEP HAPPENING TO ME!" Lord Reaper chuckled when he said, "The exact same thing that happened to me at your age. I am a god but I had to born at some point and I had to discover my powers without the help of this place or any of the modern objects that help you today." I looked at him intently and asked, "Are you saying that I am a god?" he sat down on a chair that appeared out of nowhere and said, "No I am not. I'm saying that it's possible. You are both an angel and a reaper, so you may be equinox. The voice of reason, neutrality, the perfect fusion of yin and yang. Whatever you want to call it, just remember that it is only a possibility and that I'm not saying that anything is certain just that it looks that way." I started laughing as I said, "To think that I was a normal high school student four days ago. My biggest aspirations were getting a college degree and marrying Blue. I've been here for a day and I doubt anything can surprise me ever again. I'm assuming that this stuff will keep happening to me?" my dad stepped forward and said, "Son to be precise in the other world, about ten seconds has passed. Time moves differently here. Every twenty-four hours here is about ten seconds over there. The aging process is stopped in here as well. The perfect place for people who want to live forever, and it does look that way. But in the other world it will probably be only about three days until you get some control over it." I looked over to Blue and asked, "Why is she here anyway? Not that I'm complaining but it doesn't seem like many people here would be happy to be reminded that they used to be human." Lady Angel glided over and said, "You keep astounding me by how insightful you are. But nobody would dare touch her while the teachers or Reaper and I are around. She is here because we told her about what happened and she wanted to see you. I know that this not the ideal time but are you going to be participating in the tournament?" I sat on the ground and said, "Well that all depends on whether or not Blue will be staying here with me. If she does I will but if she doesn't I wont feel any need to show off." Then we all looked at Blue awaiting her answer. She looked at me shocked, she just stared for a minute before she regained her senses and said, "That depends." I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Depends on what exactly?" she blushed and asked, "Am I staying with you?" I laughed and said, "Well that's kind of the point of this conversation isn't it? I wouldn't have it any other way." She smiled and walked over to me. I smiled back and got up then asked everyone, "How are Kami and Naomi?" Lord Reaper was the one to answer, "They're fine, a bit worried about you but fine. By the way you did a nice job healing Tou-Ookami of his burns." I snapped my fingers as I remembered something. I quickly asked Lord Reaper, "May I have a map of this place? I have no idea where anything is." He changed his expression to what looked like a smile under the bandages and said, "You are the first person who has ever asked for a map. Yes, you may have one." He handed me a large piece of old parchment and said, "Well other than having you sign the registration form for the competition, we are done here." He gave me a piece of paper and a pen. I read the paper and signed my name then handed the paper and pen back to him. He turned around and muttered something under his breath and I saw darkness. When I could see again Blue, Kiyomi, and I were back in my bedroom. There was a book on the bed. I walked over to it and picked it up. I looked back at Blue and said, "Welcome to our humble abode." I looked down at the book and opened it to the first page. It said, "Chapter one: Decorations" it explained how to decorate my place; I just imagined how I wanted it to look and said code redecoration. The rest of the book explained the school rules and other miscellaneous stuff. I looked up and saw Blue's face inches from mine. I was about to say something when she jumped on top of me. She was surprisingly lighter than I remembered but I suppose that it was mainly due to my newfound strength. She started kissing me desperately and didn't stop except to breath. After about twenty minutes of this I pushed her off of me and asked, "What's wrong?" she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I thought that was going to lose you. Please never make me worry like that again." I hugged her and said, "Blue, I cant make that promise but I promise that I'll do my best." Right then I heard a knock on the front door. I put Blue down and went to answer the door, Kiyomi followed soon after. I opened the door and I got nailed in the gut. I looked down and saw Naomi hugging me. I coughed and smiled then said, "You are stronger than you look." She looked up at me smiling and asked, "What happened to you back there? We were worried." I looked up and saw Kami. I smiled and got up then said, "Follow me; there is someone I want you guys to meet." I lead them back to the bedroom and before we went in I asked, "Do either of you have a problem with humans?" they shook their heads and Naomi said, "They are wonderful pets." I stopped as I was about to open the door turned around and said, "You think that they're pets? How can you possibly think that they're pets?" they looked at me as if I just told them I set off an atomic bomb in their house. Kami steeped forward and said, "Cody, they're just animals. They are weak." I picked him up by the throat and told him, "If you say or do anything to upset her I will rip your brain out of your urethra." I dropped him and opened the door. Blue looked up from the book, smiled and asked, "Who are your friends?" I gestured to them and said, "This is Kami and Naomi." She got up and walked over to us. She held out her hand and said, "It's nice to meet you." They shook her hand and looked at me warily. I smiled and said, "This is Crissa, my girlfriend." They looked at me then at her and sighed simultaneously. Kami stretched and said, "To each their own I suppose." Naomi just rolled her eyes. My smile faded slowly as I said, "Well it's about time to get started with the decorating." As we proceeded to decorate Blue just stared at the constantly changing room. When we eventually finished it at least thirty animal skin rugs and mounted heads, all of different animals and colors. After Kami was done with it I added a couple of leather chairs and a fireplace. The rest of the house had living armor posted every door and had a couple rooms where Naomi had gotten full control. They were mainly pink. When we got to the large room they told me that it was a training room and that when I transformed it turned into whatever it wanted to test me at. Whether it be multiple opponents, speed, or strength it could push me to my limits for as long as I stay transformed. When I looked at one of the grandfather clocks that were everywhere I saw that we had been doing this for six hours and there was still one room left to go. We walked in on Blue constantly changing the colors of blue in the room. I smiled as I walked over to her and said, "Well I have to go to class in a few hours so I'm going to get some sleep." I kissed her on the cheek and started off for my room. I passed Naomi on her way out and thanked her for her help. She giggled and said, "It was no problem. By the way I left you a little surprise under your bed." With that she turned around and left.

Chapter six: It's not even funny anymore

When I woke up in the morning, Blue was in the bed with me and she was completely naked. I just sat there with my mouth hanging open until she woke up and smiled. Her smile turned into a grin as she cuddled up to me. I started sweating as I said, "You know, you are making this really hard for me." She got closer and reached for my waist as she said, "It looks like you mean that in more than one way." She started stroking it and I jumped out of bed to get dressed. I still had an hour but I needed an excuse to get out of there so I said that I had to eat and find my class. I went to the kitchen and opened the cupboard and grabbed the first box my hands felt and I grabbed it occasionally grabbing glances for Blue. I quickly ate the cereal and just as I was about to brush my teeth she sneaked up behind me and grabbed me. I started sweating as I said, "Please Blue, at least wait until the tournament while my testosterone is raging." She frowned and asked, "Well how far away is that?" I turned around and hugged her then said, "It starts tomorrow." I turned around and ran towards the door trying to think how I was going to get out of this. I got outside, took out my map, and started looking for my classroom. It took me about forty minutes to get to the room. Today I was going to learn historical tactics with Professor Da Vinci. I entered the room and the first thing that caught my eye was the giant drill that had almost impaled me the other day. I walked up to it and saw that the door had been replaced with a chunk of steel. I heard a man laugh and say, "I suppose that this new door would hurt a lot more than the last one. It was made of copper last time." I looked up and saw a man that looked to be about eighty and had a snow-white beard that came down to his waist. He wore a red suit with black stripes. He was smiling ear to ear as he walked over and said, "I am going to sell this particular devise to the humans. I'm sure that they'll find some use for it. They always seem to in the end. Anyway I'm quite pleased to finally meet you properly. I am Leonardo Da Vinci." I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Leonardo Da Vinci? As in from the fifteenth century Leonardo Da Vinci?" his smile got wider when he said, "The very same lad." He held out his hand and when I hesitated he laughed outright and said, "I suppose I would be wary to if the last time I touched a teacher I turned into an animal. Don't worry son, I'm not part of any faction. I just got my hands on the fountain of youth." I slowly reached out and shook his hand. To my surprise I didn't explode into a giant ball of pain and anguish. He went over to this desk and said, "I am quite tired of talking like this so may we please talk according to school rules?" I stared at him for a minute before remembering the cloak that Lady Angel had given me. I took it out of my bag, put it on, and asked, "Is this better?" he sighed and said, "I suppose so. So what exactly are you doing here so early? I yawned and said, "I had to get away from someone." He smiled again as he said, "the tournament hasn't even started and you already being hounded for autographs eh?" right then Takano walked into the room looking down at some papers. He maneuvered around all the clutter on the ground still looking at the papers reading silently to him self. He looked up at professor Da Vinci and said, "We are getting hundreds of complaints about your drill Leo. Most are from Animalia but that doesn't change the fact that the drill is dangerous." The professor looked sad as he said, "What has happened to us? We used to throw caution to the wind and charge head on into danger. Now look at us, the only action around here is the action we cant participate in." Takano handed him the papers and smiled as he said, "I know but don't worry. As soon as he remembers we can take our revenge on his father." The professor slapped him then pointed at me. I turned to start to run but then all the teachers were in front of me. They all touched me at once. I instantly passed out.

When I woke up I was in chains and my bag was on the other side of a dark dungeon-like room. With a man dressed in green going through it. I stood up and shouted at him. The man jumped and sprinted away without taking anything. I edged forward to see how far I could go the chain stopped me as I was about two inches away from my bag. I pulled on the chains and they snapped easily enough. I grabbed my bag and looked inside. Everything was still inside. I put on my belt and armor then looked around for a way out. The only way that I could see was a trapdoor directly over my head.