I looked back through this fic and I realized that all the characters swear a lot. Sorry 'bout that. (Although… it is a fic with Lavi, Kanda, and a bunch of high school kids…what do you expect?)

Anyway, I'll try and be better this chapter. For Easter. Or whatever.

"Who are you talking about?" Cassia asked, frantically staring around. In the back seat, Lavi was battling with the door, pushing and shoving at it, trying to open it. "Unlock it! Cassia! Unlock the doors!"

She fumbled for the button and there was an audible click as the doors unlocked. Lavi was out of the car in a second, running towards the bench, hand clenched around his hammer. Kanda spared Cassia a cursory glance, spat out the word, "Lenalee," and vaulted out of the car too, ignoring the pain still battering his head.

"Who…" Cassia started to ask, but they were both gone. Sighing, she killed the engine and slowly got out of the car, following the paths of the two boys. Lavi was standing a few feet away from a bench, staring with a completely broken look on his face at its occupant, who seemed completely oblivious to the scrutiny. Kanda was standing a few feet farther from her, still as a statue.

She halted behind Kanda and stared at the girl. She was beautiful, obviously Asian, with ridiculously long legs that she appeared to have no qualms about showing off. She was wearing the shortest skirt Cassia had ever seen, and yet she couldn't deny that it looked good on the girl. Her head was turned, so Cassia could not directly see her face, but she could tell that her features were delicate and pale. She was staring, completely engrossed, around her, her eyes flicking back and forth between the road, with its innumerable cars rushing by, and at two guys break dancing to blaring hip-hop under a tree. Looking as though…as though she'd never seen anything like it before.

And then, Cassia got it.

"Oh, shit," she said, echoing Kanda. She hurried to catch up to the two boys, but stopped short as she saw that there was a person standing behind Lenalee.

He looked normal, listening to an iPod and leaning against the park bench with a hand in his pocket. Normal, except for the fact that his other hand was wildly twisted, contorted beyond belief, bright red, and formed into a gun.

A gun that was pointing directly at the girl's head.

Kanda seemed to realize it an instant after she did. He cursed, and his sword was suddenly in his hand. She could feel her wrist tingling and throbbing painfully, and as she looked down, she saw that the bracelet was emitting a soft glow. She whimpered slightly, wanting nothing more than to make it go away, yet also realizing that she was going to have to use it in the very near future.

Lavi didn't seem to notice the gun. He was too transfixed with the girl, or perhaps he was just standing at an angle where her body blocked it. His arm, holding the hammer, dangled down uselessly by his side. He was vulnerable, she could tell, and she started toward him, but she was too late…

Another man walked right behind Lavi and transformed into something…awful. Bulbous and misshaped, looking half animal and half machine, sprouting guns from every part of its body, with a maniacal grin on its otherwise tortured face. It stretched out an arm and swept Lavi aside as though he were nothing more than a twig. He crashed against the ground thirty feet away and let out a pained cry. The other one, behind the girl, turned to look at Cassia—eye contact.

Time froze.

They stared at each other, she poised in the act of running, it getting ready to pull the trigger. And then it laughed. She saw the gun twitch.

She started running.

But she knew she would be too late.

Right…so, short chapter, I know. But that felt like the place I needed to stop. To make up for it, I'll post the next (long) chapter over the weekend. I promise.

You know what's sad? Last chapter, I got a ton of subscribers and views and stuff, but only 1 review.

Son, I am dissapoint.