A/N: Hey everybody, this of the re-done version of my first fanfiction, Bladed Wings! I would recommend that you read this but if you want to be impatient you can read the very poorly written first version of this story. It should be on my page.

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Chapter 1:

"Juuileut dollida!

Three students stand attention, watching, and waiting for further instruction.

"Joh-eun hwal."

I silently go into a deep bow along with my peers. I look back up to see Master Daren leaving his chair.

"Please take a seat, remove and fold your belts." He says as he makes his way back to his office.

I look down at my Taekwondo uniform, pure white except for my blue belt. I silently untie my belt and carefully fold it, I check to make sure that it's perfect before placing it in front of me.

I silently sit still as I wait, meanwhile my peers whisper excitedly to each other. I roll my eyes in irritation, I don't like it when they disrupt the peaceful silence that should be taking place. I think that it's disrespectful.

I look to my older sibling who sits on a bench, my fellow redhead smiles and gives me a thumbs up. "Good job," he mouths.

I cast him a nervous smile and look back down at my blue belt. I've been in Tae Kwon Do for three years now and throughout that time, both of us have been getting used to foster care, moved to a new school, and what I oddly find is most important: Conner has become a second degree black belt.

I want to catch up with him. I look around, Master Daren is taking a while, did we do anything wrong? What do I do if he doesn't give me my brown belt? I take a deep breath, I need to calm down. I did everything perfectly, in fact I'm pretty sure that I did better in my forms than the two boys beside me.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts as Master Daren walks back into the room holding three brown belts.

I let out a sigh of relief, everything's fine.

"Paul,"

"Yes sir!"

Master Daren quickly tied the belt around the young boys waste. "Congratulations on your brown belt!"

Paul gave him an arm bump and shook his hand. "Gamsahabnida, thank you sir."

Paul jogs back to his spot. While Master Daren gives Alex his belt I shift in excitement.

"Erin."

"Yes sir!"

I stand and walk to Master Daren, carefully keeping my composure.

Master Daren skillfully ties the belt around my waste, "Congratulations, brown belt."

I give him an arm bump and shake his hand. "Gamsahabnida, thank you sir."

The room claps while the three of us stand at attention. "You will learn the cut turn kick, also a new takedown. A lot to be excited about for this next belt!"

We all bow to Master Daren before taking our leave.

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"You did a fantastic job Erin!" Conner exclaims as he unlocks our current homes door.

"Thanks. But my spinning hook kick was a little sloppy." I almost lost my balance mid-kick.

"What!? Your spinning hook was perfect. When I was a blue belt I didn't do as well as you." He assures me. Unfortunately he is incorrect. When he was a blue belt he could do everything at least three times as fast as some of the instructors.

He just wants to make me feel better.

I make an effort to smile and Conner it returns it after a second. "Why don't we order Vietnamese food tonight to celebrate? Paula is working late."

"Sure," I nod as we enter. "I want the special number one."

"As usual," Conner says in a teasing tone. I send him a look but he doesn't seem to notice, "anyways, how was school today?"

"We go to the same school."

"But I mean for your classes, did you learn anything? Was there anyone being annoying?" I roll my eyes and sit down on the table, Conner starts organizing things around the kitchen. Tch, he's always looking for some way to be useful, I wonder what he'd do if he was put in a room that was perfect. I think that he might go insane actually, the way that he copes with life and stays stable is by keeping himself busy. It makes me wonder what he's always distracting himself from...well it's a pretty easy guess but whatever. I'm just curious about what goes on in his head.

"Tch, a teacher tried to convince me to go to a summer camp for "mentally challenged students". Like, depressed people and stuff like that," one thing that I can say that I miss with being with my blood parents is that adults were clueless and would just leave me alone. Now they just...act like they're walking on eggshells around me. Even after three years, when an adult sees me they see my past. And I hate it.

"It would help you make some friends," I narrow my eyes in irritation.

"You know that I'm not a people person, besides, you're all that I really need socially so…"

"You do realize that eventually we'll be living away from each other. I think that it's about time that you branch out a bit, also, don't sit on the table. You can sit on a chair like a regular person," I sigh but I comply, I rest my elbows on the table and watch a Conner works.

Should I argue with him? I hate it when we argue though, it ends up that both of us are unhappy and don't really know how to talk to each other for about an hour. But if I don't say anything he'll think that he won.

"I don't think that anyone would want to be around me anyways...I'm a messed up person."

"Don't say that, I like being around you."

"You're different! You're my brother and in case you haven't noticed we've been through quite a lot of shit together!"

"But that doesn't mean that-" he's interrupted by a loud knock from the front door. "Huh, Paula must not be working late today…"

I immediately get a strong feeling of dread as Conner leaves the kitchen. I can tell that he senses it too, the way that he's walking says it all. I stand up and move to watch from the doorway, I flinch when the person knocks again. This time it's far louder and more aggressive.

Conner carefully unlocks the door and peeks outside, only to be shoved backwards.

I freeze, our father.

Panic fills my chest, adrenaline flows through my body, my heart races, and my mind flies through different thoughts.

Shitshitshitshitshit, when did he get out of jail!? How the hell did he find us!? What's going to happen now!? What do I do!?

My worst nightmare is coming true.

He's going to kidnap us, and then he'll lock us away forever. We'll never be seen again.

I can't, I can't go back to that godforsaken family. I don't want to be beaten, I don't want to always have to worry about locking my bedroom door at night. I don't want to be near him, I don't want to be near my mother.

I never wanted to see either of them again.

Tears escape my eyes and I let out a strangled sob as I collapse to the ground.

He has a gun, he's going to kill us.

At least that's better than kidnapping us.

I realize that Conner's standing in his way, he's saying something.

His voice is so calm, I wonder how?

There's no way that Conner can reason with him, I can tell that he's drunk. There's no talking to our father when he's drunk.

Suddenly Conner is hit to the side, and my father is aiming the gun…

At me.

I guess that he really is going to do it, it makes sense that he wants some revenge. Conner and I got him put in jail, but I suppose that he did deserve it. Well, at least now he's either going to kill himself or get caught, either way the world will be rid of his cancerous presence in society.

I silently accept my fate, I just hope that dying isn't too painful.

I don't react when I hear a loud BANG and see a white light.

But I do react when I realize that I haven't been hit.

I watch as Conner struggles against our father. The man shoots again but luckily Conner has a hold on the end of the rifle.

Our father suddenly kicks Conner in the stomach which sends him stumbling backwards. He follows up by slamming the gun over his head.

I can't let this keep happening, I have to do something.

Snapped out of my trance I move, I stand and run at my father.

Conner has fallen backward and our father has raised his gun to finish him off. I slam into him with all of my power, the gun fires but misses because of my attack. I continue to hit my father as hard as I can...until he fights back.

He hits me in the chest so hard that I fall onto my back. I automatically scramble to get back up but suddenly there's an enormous weight on my chest and I can't breath.

I'm pinned to the ground and icantbreathicantbreathicantbreath! My lungs are on fire but when I try to gasp for the oxygen that they need the pressure being put on my throat blocks it.

I furiously kick and struggle to escape from the chokehold but nothing's working. I glare into my father's eyes, one of the people who I hate the most.

If I become a ghost I'll never forgive him, I torment him for ever and ever until he kills himself. I'll refuse to move on even after death!

The edges of my vision begin to go black but my eyes don't move from my glare.

You...you and my mother will regret even giving birth to me!

That is my last thought before I'm plunged into darkness.

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My head aches…

I slowly open my eyes, allowing them to gradually adjust to the dim lighting. I look around the room, am I in...a hospital?

"Erin!" I jump and glance to the right, I spot my elder brother sitting in a chair beside my bed.

"Co-" I my throat screams in pain and I choke.

"No! Don't try to speak. Tyler choked you until you passed out and I called an ambulance." I take note of how Conner calls our father by his first name, he's never done that before. Of course I have, I guess that this past experience changed his view a little bit.

I slowly take in what happened.

Tyler showed up, tried to kill both of us. We survived, well...barely. And now I'm sitting in a hospital.

I feel tears beginning to well up and I bite my lip in an attempt to regain emotional control.

"Oh Erin," I look up to see tears already freely flowing from Conner's eyes. "I-I'm so sorry that this happened. Don't worry, he's back in jail. It sounds like he's going to be in for at least ten years."

Relief that I didn't realize I needed fills my chest and suddenly I'm crying freely.

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I must have eventually fallen asleep because I open my eyes and Conner's missing.

"I came as soon as possible when I heard what happened!" I jump at the sudden loud noise but relax when I recognize my foster mother practically running into the room. After a few seconds Conner follows. "Are you ok sweetie? How are you? Can you talk?"

"Uhh…" My throat rasps. What the hell does she think!? Do I look ok!? Oh golly gee, I have a goddamn cast on my neck! Of course I'm not "ok"!

"I'll take that as a "no"." Paula sighs at my lack of words. You have no idea.

An awkward cough interrupts our one-sided conversation, a nurse who has been waiting patiently by the door up until now finally speaks. "I'm sorry but Erin needs her rest and…"

"I understand." Says Paula as she moves to usher Conner out of the room.

"Get better," Conner gives me a weak thumbs up accompanied with an equally weak smile. This experience has probably shaken him just as much as it's shaken me, if not more.

The door slams shut

I let out a huff and adjust the way that I'm lying, well now what? How long is it going to take me to get back into life? As in school, Taekwondo…

Probably at least a month.

But what can I do until then?

A feeling of dread sets over me as I think of having absolutely nothing to waste my time on.

No, I'll ask Conner to get me all of my schoolwork, even if the teacher insists on me not having to worry about it. I need to distract myself.

An entire month...how many books can I read in that time?

Usually it takes me a couple of days to read through a book the size of an average dictionary and the month is June. Today's the fifth and there are thirty days in June so…

Twenty five days, I'll need twelve or thirteen dictionary sized books. That is...if I only need to sit around until July.

My thought process is interrupted by a loud bang followed by hissing. I look to my right and spot something with smoke coming off of it on my bedside table.

I prop myself up with my shoulders to get a better look at the thing.

A necklace.

It has a black scale shaped pendant a little bit smaller than the palm of my hand. It's held by a thick steel chain and I can't see any clips for somebody to take it on and off.

It feels like it's calling out to me, I subconsciously sit up and reach for it.

But as my hand reaches for it I get an intense ominous feeling.

But once I start reaching I can't stop it feels like my bodies on auto pilot and I can't shake myself out of it.

My hand brushes the pendant and suddenly I feel horrible fiery pain, I let out a scream.

And then the world goes black

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A/N: WOOO! This is SO much better than the original first chapter! What do you guys think? lol, who thought that Erin was gonna die?

Please review! I love hearing questions, comments, and feedback!