Kairi: Sorry for being a little late, my laptop was acting up, and I ended up writing this chapter… what was it? Five times?
Lillith: Four, but who cares.
Kairi: So, a little story. (You can skip this if you really want to...) I am musically inclined (in other words, I am naturally talented at pretty much anything musical) and I like to play guitar, though it's one of the instruments I actually have to work at more. Anyway, I hadn't picked my guitar up since… Oh, some time in June? So I picked it up the other night and started playing 'A Soalin' by Peter, Paul, and Mary (which is a very easy song once you learn the main lick and the end lick, because the main lick just repeats over and over again). Then, about an hour in and still having absolutely no luck at singing and playing at the same time without messing up, I said 'to heck with this shit' and grabbed my mom's Alabama Live CD and the book for it and started to work out the chords… and that stupid little F# chord kept screwing me over (until my dad gave me a little cheat-hint). So anyway, I started playing that… And then I decided that it was time to go to bed. Then the next morning I played that guitar for three hours straight and came out of it saying 'oh my gods my fingers hurt.' Well, that's what I get for not playing for two and a half months.
Lillith: Are you done yet?
Kairi: No, just one more thing… I was practicing in the living room with my dad when I quit the other morning, and I was carrying my guitar back to my room, and my dog stands up and starts barking at it. I told him 'I'd hit you upside the head with this guitar if I didn't love it so freaking much, because as hard-headed as you are, you'd probably break it without even trying.' My mom heard me from her office and cracked up laughing. And yes, the dog in question really is that stupid. Sweet as hell, but he's so freaking stupid.
Lillith: Are you done YET?
Kairi: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Reviewer Responses at the bottom. Enjoy.
"What's Lolly doing up here?" he wondered out loud. The other two shrugged as they walked along. They were nearing the edge of the hallway when Lucian finally opened a door.
The three of them froze in shock at the sight that greeted them.
Standing in the light filtering through the now-open curtains were two of the three people they were looking for…
…and Lolliette was kissing Yusei.
Lucian cleared his throat, and Yusei and Lolliette were on opposite sides of the room immediately. Yusei opened his mouth, likely to try to explain, but Lucian stopped him. "Don't," the silver-haired man said. "Go find Akiza," he ordered Yusei. The black-haired man nodded and disappeared, or rather, started running. Lolliette shifted uncomfortably.
"What the hell was just going on in here?" Jack demanded. Crow came walking down the hall and raised an eyebrow.
"Huh? What did I miss?" he wondered. Jack glared at him.
"Lolliette was just kissing Yusei," he answered. Lucian stepped into the room and motioned for the others to follow. Kalin stepped in quietly, pulling Jack and Crow behind him.
Lucian sighed and looked at Lolliette, who mirrored the action. "Almost all creatures of the Supernatural… oh, what's an easy way to put it?" she started. Lucian rolled his eyes.
"Bond? Or to put it in Stephanie Meyer's terms, imprint?" he supplied. Lolliette shot him a look.
"I was thinking mature," she grumbled. Lucian shrugged. "Anyway, since Yusei and I are vampires, I guess I'll just use vampires as an example. Anywhere between a month and a decade after 'birth', a vampire will 'mature.' They'll lose their status as a newborn and gain some kind of an ability," she explained.
"More often than not, this ability is something tiny, like running faster than average or better eyesight, though in some cases, such as Lolliette's, that ability is more pronounced and is what most people would think of as a special ability," Lucian continued for her.
"But as we were saying earlier, most Supernatural creatures 'bond' or 'imprint' as well," Lolliette said. Kalin held up a hand.
"Wait, you mean once you see your mate, that's it?" he asked. Lolliette sighed.
"Someone's read Twilight…" she muttered. "Sort of… It is similar to the wolves in Twilight, in that you become bonded to your mate, but it's not nearly as strong. It's just that newborns can't bond… which is why Yusei and I just now found out about…"
"We usually stop referring to vampires as 'newborns' after they've hit the one-year mark, but really, they don't pass that marker until after their bodies decide to, as Devlin puts it, 'flip on the Supernatural switch'," Lucian added. "So, on a totally different note, since I sense the need for a subject change, who's hungry?"
Four months later…
Standing around in a room in the 'human wing' of Castle Silas were sixteen people. Yusei, Akiza, and Lolliette were talking about something in one corner, while everyone else sat around on the couches and chairs in the middle, with the exceptions of the three weres, who were lying around on the ground in wolf form due to the full moon having risen the night before, and Halldor, who stood by the window, looking through the curtains with an almost-worried expression on his face.
"I still can't believe you actually brought them out here," Kalin said to Misty. Next to her, Luna was explaining something to Leo. Misty shrugged.
"I would've brought Carly too, but she disappeared a few weeks ago. We figured she'd already come," she replied. Jack shook his head.
"No sign of her… Or Miss Creepy either," he said. Misty raised an eyebrow.
"Miss Creepy?"
Lucian, Crow, and Jean chuckled, though for Lucian it sounded more like a shaky bark. She showed up, did a lot of staring at Jack, and then disappeared, the silver-haired were explained. Then, his ear perked up and he turned his head to the window.
"Halldor?" Broder asked. The silver-haired man had the curtain pushed aside, something that had become a rare occurrence for him, even after feeding, as his memories of being able to burn were still rooted in his mind.
Then Lucian's head turned the other direction, and before any of the humans could have said 'uh-oh' he was on his feet and howling as he ran out. The other two werewolves and three of the vampires followed him quickly.
"Shit! We're already under attack?" Lolliette cried out in shock. She turned to the trio. "Stay up here!" she yelled before running after the others. Kalin sighed.
"Yes, because that's going to abate our curiosity," he muttered. Crow was already headed out the door, with Jack on his heels. Kalin rolled his eyes, choosing to follow the two of them rather than let them get into too much trouble. Unfortunately, the others followed him out as well.
After a short while, Kalin and Crow looked around to find that the others were gone, and it was likely that they had gone down different halls. They didn't make it much farther before they found Devlin and a dark-brown-haired woman fighting two large wolves. Devlin had large, black wings on his back as he set about casting spell after spell, trying to kill the attacking werewolves.
Devlin let off another spell as a third wolf attacked him from behind, nearly tearing one of his wings from his body as it tried to reach his neck. "Trudy! Hold them off for a second!" he cried to the woman, who nodded before holding up a stone, which glowed for a moment before she seemingly disappeared, only to kick the wolf on Devlin's back away from him.
The humans were trapped in the hall as they watched a glowing circle appear around Devlin as he prepared another spell. As the dark-haired man finished chanting under his breath, lighting filled the air, striking down the werewolves and killing them, but not before one could get around Trudy and clamp its teeth around Devlin's neck.
"Devlin!" three worried cries rang out. Trudy, who was closest, ran over to him first, pulling out another stone and holding it out, obviously trying to use its power to heal.
"No… no, no, no, no, no…" Trudy started chanting after a moment, when Devlin's breathing became less and less pronounced. She clenched her fist for a moment before placing her hands over Devlin's chest and closing her eyes. "I won't lose you, dammit…"
Crow and Kalin watched as an ethereal light surrounded Trudy, then flowed through her into Devlin, not only healing all of his wounds, but hers as well. As the light faded, she tried to stand, but collapsed, likely from exhaustion. Kalin caught her and shot Crow a look, and they carried the duo to a room nearby.
They were about to leave when Devlin's voice stopped them.
"Kalin, Crow, wait…" Crow stopped and looked back at Devlin, who was sitting up in the bed as if he had never been attacked. "Trudy… She started glowing gold when she started healing me, didn't she?" he asked. Crow nodded and walked back over.
"Yeah… and then the glow just kind of…" he started.
"Flowed into me?" Devlin finished. "I know. She's human again," he added sadly. Crow looked down at the woman.
"Again?" he wondered. Devlin nodded.
"Trudy was born a human, but, around the time she turned twenty, she was in an almost-fatal accident. I pulled her out of the car before the fire started, but there wasn't much I could do to heal her. Fallen Angels don't specialize in healing, after all," he told the duo bitterly. "But… there was one thing I could do… Trudy deserved another chance at life, and by then, I was starting to give up hope that I would ever find my soul mate…"
"You gave her Immortality, didn't you?" Kalin asked from next to the doorway. Devlin narrowed his eyes at him for a moment.
"Ah… I see now. You're quite talented at covering it up, Kalin," he said. Kalin looked uncomfortable. "But then, most Aegyl are." Crow looked between Kalin and Devlin for a moment.
"Aegyl?" he asked, directing the question to Kalin, though Devlin was the one to answer.
"A half-angel, half-human, with all of the abilities of an Angel except one," the black-haired man stated. Kalin sighed.
"Gifting… One of the few abilities the Fallen Angels retained, even if its power was more limited than what the Angels could do," he muttered. Crow continued to look between Kalin and Devlin.
"And speaking of which… I've already Given Trudy Immortality once, I can't do it again, not for her or anyone else. So I'm going with the second option I have left to me at the moment," Devlin explained, turning to Crow. Kalin looked at him for a moment, then looked over at Crow and balked.
"You can't be serious!" he cried in surprise. Devlin redirected his emerald gaze to Kalin for a moment, at the blue-haired man recovered his calm. "At least ask him first," he conceded. Crow tilted his head to the side.
"Okay, I'm totally confused now," he informed them. Devlin sighed.
"The ability to Gift allows an Angel to do one of three things. First, they can Give a human Immortality. Angels can do this multiple times, depending on their class, but Fallen Angels can only do this once. Second, they can cleanse a Fallen Angel's wings. I've never heard of any class of Angel aside from priests doing this before, though," he explained.
"Probably because it's forbidden for any other class of Angel to do so. My mother liked breaking the rules though… and I know she managed to cleanse a Fallen Angel at least once, despite being a warrior class," Kalin added. Devlin sighed.
"Which brings us to the third and final Gift. Should an Angel decide, for whatever reason, that they wish to become human, and they are absolutely certain that they are willing to give up their abilities and wings to do so, then they can pass they wings onto another person, of any species other than the Angels, and that person will become an Angel in their stead," Devlin explained.
Crow stared at him for a minute. "Wait, you don't mean…" he trailed off. Devlin nodded.
"Fallen Angels can only grant Immortality once. I don't want to just sit back and watch Trudy grow old… It was bad enough having to watch all of my friends age and die," he told the ginger. "And I'm sure Yusei, Akiza, and Kalin will feel the same way. After all, vampires are immortal, in nearly the same sense as an Immortal is, and as an Aegyl, Kalin still has quite life ahead of him as well."
Crow's eyes found their way to the floor as Kalin walked over. "Trudy won't just suddenly grow old in the next few days, so Crow, take some time to think about it. In the meantime, I'm going to go check on the others," he said. "Oh… And don't tell anyone else what I am. I've been hiding out as a human since I was six. I don't need the High Council coming down on my ass for the shit my mother put them through."
Devlin chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't say a word," he promised. Crow nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly.
Kairi: Yep, there you have it. Trudy is human. Devlin has offered to give up his wings to Crow. Vampires have special abilities. Can anyone guess what Lillith's is?
Lillith: Pft, of course not. You haven't given them any hints at all.
Kairi: Shut up, you. Well, try guessing anyway… Oh, and there's going to be another big time-skip in about… oh, three or four chapters. Just thought I'd warn everyone. (Four months is a small time-skip, two years is a bit closer to a big skip.) So then, Reviewer Responses!
Marlene101writes- Thanks! Well, my school always starts on a Wednesday, so it was just strange… That's alright, I'm happy to get your review anyway!
FiringShootingStar- Is Jack related to Kiara? Well… that's still a few chapters away, after the big time skip. Sorry. And yes, obviously the twins are in this. (I guessed them to be about twelve during the events of the Fortune Cup, and the first scene (Yusei falling of the cliff) was about a year after the end, so they'd have been about fourteen at the time, and there was a two-year skip between Yusei leaving and Halldor disappearing, so they're sixteen now.) And anyway, the next chapter will be up… Sunday, because I was supposed to update yesterday.
Kairi: So, anyone else confused about ages now? Well, that's something I should probably work out for everyone, seeing as how some of them are still human. But, on another note, I'll see everyone on Sunday! (Unless my laptop starts acting up again…) Please don't forget to review!