Megaman Battle Network - New Generation
Book 3 - Lost Child
By Zelloss
Author's Note: He he... I know it's a bit early to start the third book, but the time was about right. Besides, chapter 4 of Black History won't be up for a while...
WARNING: This part of the story is kinda sad. Nothing violent in this chapter (For once).
Chapter 1 - Abandoned Children
"Don't you forget it, either!"
"Yes..." I stumbled over the words. Why the heck did I listen to this man, anyway?
"What was that?"
"Yes!" I tried to sound confident. I dared to raise my eyes to face my 'master', as we all called him.
He was somewhat older then the rest of us, and a fair height taller too. He also had authority. Not complete, but more then the rest of us. The man was only a child. He had shoulder-length brown hair with a small strand that ran halfway down his back. His eyes were a piercing hazel and his face was hardened and browned by the work he did all day in the sun. He wore a ragged brown shirt and blue jeans that had been scarred and cut in several places.
"Go, then, Zann. I won't tolerate any more nonsense from you."
I turned around and left the small office that our 'master' had turned into his quarters. We were all housed in a small building, which made living rather cramped. We also had to fend for ourselves, mostly, and...
Well, I guess I should explain exactly what is going on here.
This small building, just outside of Akihara City in Electopia is the home to the ACA, Abandoned Children of Akihara. We just call ourselves the AC for some reason. Perhaps because it's shorter. We're the scum children that were abandoned by our parents, be it because the child was a bastard (Illigitamate) child, or something we've done, or whatever reason.
Either way, I'm one of several. We try to make a living for ourselves, a small community of children. We often pick up work inside Akihara, trying to make enough money to feed and shelter ourselves. Sure, the building is a shelter, but we still have to pay a bit for it.
Even our boss, Ray, or Rat as he is 'fondly' named by us lesser children, has to work in order to pay for the building and his own keep. We're in a rather tight situation.
Did I say tight? I meant flattening. The living areas are cramped, bedrooms normally for about 2 or 3 hold 4 or 5. Personal storage is limited, so most of us keep our possesions on our person.
Me, I'm no different then the rest right now. My name is Zann. Just Zann. I'm not sure what my last name is, I never remember my parents.
Zann, oddly, came to mind when I was asked my name. Whenever I think of it, the word 'Forgotten' comes to mind. Which is true. I have been forgotten.
My family cast me out when I was young. Just young enough to survive. Mabye three or four. All I know is that, despite the fact that I fit in, I'm very, very different. I'm currently twelve, however.
The first thing that makes me different is what I wear. A tight silver vest and jeans torn at the knees to make shorts. It happens to be less then what most wear, except for the newest couple.
I'm about of average height, about four feet. My face isn't as young as my body, and neither is my mind. Perhaps it's because of the fights I get into. Perhaps it's just the fact that I have deep-purple eyes.
Deep-purple. Yeah, it's wierd, huh? Perhaps it's some kind of sign. Perhaps it's how I'm supposed to find my parents. My hair is not quite as black, but it's nearly the same shade of purple, cut just above my shoulders.
I paused as I reached the end of the small hallway on the second of two floors in the building, then turned and walked down some stairs.
"Zann! You staying with us, or has Rat finally had it with you?" A girl teased at me. I smiled grimly.
"I'm staying, of course..." I made it sound a bit like a curse. It was, for me. So many rules. I can't do anything to those that make me mad. Nor can I leave the building unless it's for work. I felt like I was locked in.
"I thought he really would have removed you for that last scuffle..." the girl looked seriously at me. "You beat up poor Will really bad..."
I shrugged and looked at her. "Well, if it'll teach people to leave me alone, Kayeli, then it'll work for me..."
Kayeli's eyebrow rose, allowing me to see her blue eyes better. She was a tad beautiful, probably the best-looking out of all the girls in the AC. She had dirty blonde hair and a somewhat tattered white dress. She hadn't been here long, though. "So you want me to leave?" she asked curiously.
"No..." I shook my head. "Not you... I just need some time to myself sometimes..."
"What did Will do to you to make you attack him, anyway?" she asked me.
"I... I'd rather not..." I blushed a bit.
"Well...?" she looked strangely at me. She probably didn't think it could be that bad.
"He... er... was insulting you..." I gritted my teeth for her response.
"What?" her eyebrow rose up again. "So you broke his arm for it?"
"Kayeli..." I sighed hopelessly, then turned and walked away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kayeli stepped up behind me. "We're not finished..."
"Yes we are..." I turned into a small room and swung the door shut, leaving a rather confused Kayeli outside.
"Girl trouble?" it was another boy in the room who asked me it. Me and him kindof got along. Just kinda. It's only because of the fact that we're the dark side of the AC. Me, him, and one other boy. The ones that constantly get into fights and have a tendency to break rules and break the law and stuff.
"Yeah, Hawkz" I sighed. "More like Rat trouble, though."
I sat down beside Hawkz. Me, him, and the other boy, Briar, got a room to ourselves, simply because everybody else refused to allow us in. It was perfectly sized for the three of us. Briar, as usual, was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh really? Almost gone, huh?" Hawkz grinned. "Must of heard of Will..."
I sighed and looked at him. "Don't mention Will or Rat to me for a little while... I need to let off some anger..."
Hawkz Hastily stood up and stepped back a couple paces. "I hope not on me!"
I laughed. "No, of course not, Hawkz. You know I wouldn't do that."
Hawkz shook his head, his short-cut black hair moving about. "No, I don't."
I laughed a bit harder. Hawkz was a nice kid, he just had a rather short temper that usually ended up with his provoker down for the count. His blue eyes, light skin, and decent clothing tricked people from what he really was.
The door opened, and another boy stepped in. He had brown leather shorts and something that resembled a tan tunic or one of those other medieval shirts. "Hello, Hawkz, Zann" he took a seat beside me.
"Briar, Zann's in a foul mood, I think..." Hawkz warned Briar. The thief jumped up and backwards, trying to put an arm's-length of space between me and him.
Briar was well known for his speed. He wasn't one for fights, the reason he was looked upon as being scum was because of the fact that he would steal possesions, money, and food. Oddly, he never touched mine or Hawkz's stuff, probably because he was scared to death of us.
I closed my eyes and fell backwards, linking my arms behind my head. "Yeah, I kinda am..."
Briar looked wearily down at me. I was not the kind of person you messed with.
"Well..." Hawkz began, then seemed to fall silent. I shut my eyes and tried to rest.
* * * * *
I sighed as I grabbed a piece of day-old bread and bit a chunk off of it. Meals were always so bland here, but we had to make due.
"Hawkz..." I sighed. All three of us were in the our room. "Briar..."
"Yes?" Briar turned to look at me, munching down a bite of bread.
"I'm ready to leave this place..." I looked up at the tattered ceiling. Briar and Hawkz both looked surprisingly at me.
"H... How?" Hawkz started. "Why? You wouldn't leave us behind, would you?"
I shook my head. "No, of course not. You'd be coming with me..."
Briar shook his head. "I don't like it here either, but I have no better place to go..."
I looked at Hawkz, then at Briar. "Listen, guys..." I began. "I have no better place to go either, but I have to get out of here. I'm tired of being restricted. I always wanted to travel, and just perhaps, find my parents..."
Hawkz stared at me with all possible seriousness. "You can't expect to find your parents..."
"You have no idea, Hawkz. Zann isn't even my real name, it's one I chose for myself. I know nothing of who I am or where I come from. I want to patch those holes in my life. I certainly can't do it here!"
Briar looked at me, dumbfounded. "Zann isn't your real name?"
I shook my head and managed a dry smile. "Of course not... I think it means 'Forgotten', but I'm not sure in which language."
Hawkz stood up and stepped away, then turned towards me again. "Zann... You can't seriously leave here..."
"Ijie aris. Ijie aris itiedari, hitomi, denan Hawkz. Ono itras, ichize. Vino itras, mexza" I spoke freely, then realized what I had just said.
"What the hell did you just say?" Briar blinked, confused.
I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. "I'm not sure..." I squeaked out. "Thinking of my name, I sometimes hear strange, foreign words."
Hawkz looked at me with a bit of fear. "There's something not perfectly real about you, Zann. I've always known it, now this proves it" he turned and opened the door, then walked out and closed it silently. Briar got up too, right after, and followed Hawkz through the door.
I sighed and layed down on the cloth on the floor we called a bed. "Zann... Zann..." I chanted slowly to myself. "By childhood young, careless and innocent. By adulthood aging, watchfull and guilty. By death gone, forgotten and lost..."
I sighed deeply, linking my hands behind my head. I felt something hit my right hand, something slightly heavy. I felt it with my hand, it was something metal. Slowly, I sat up and looked at it. Two crescent moons, twisted into a circle, with a chain going around it like a charm. I stood up quickly and looked at the window. There was no pane, so I looked outside.
Nobody there. It must have come from outside, though. I turned back to the twin moons. Carved out of silver. I could probably get a fair price for it, but something warned me against selling it.
I heard a knock at the door, and then Kayeli stepped in and shut the door behind her. "I heard you want to leave, Zann."
I hastily tried to hide the crescent moons. "Yeah."
Kayeli looked at me suspicously. "What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Seriously, Zann, what are you hiding?"
"Seriously, Kayeli, nothing."
"Zann..." Kayeli hissed, and I realized that she was quite serious. I removed the strange silver carving from my pocket, where I had hid it.
"It's so pretty..." she looked at it. "You going to sell it?"
"No" I shook my head. "Not sure why, but I'm not going to sell this..."
"Well, there's got to be a reason..." Kayeli looked at me. "Speak up, Zann!"
I turned back to the window. "Kayeli... I think somebody gave this to me, just a couple minutes ago, though I never saw anybody."
"That's silly!" Kayeli laughed. "Nobody knows you're here..."
"That's what I'm supposed to believe..." I continued to stare out the window. I held the crescent moons in my palm. Something about it reminded me of something.
"Zann?" Kayeli looked out the window beside me. "Is something troubling you?"
I finally broke my gaze from the view outside. "Yeah. Have you ever seen this before?"
Kayeli looked at it. "No... Here, let me put it on you..." she grabbed it and stuck it over my head before I had a chance to protest. The silver moons hung over my chest. "It's a nice touch for you..."
I blushed a bit. "There's something so familiar about it though..." I thought aloud.
"Kayeli?" a girl called from outside the room.
"Yeah?" Kayeli called back.
"We want you back in our room, pronto, room meeting" the voice finished it's message, then footsteps walked down the hall. Kayeli followed them, giving me a moment of privacy.
I flipped the brilliant carving over and over in my fingers, like I was looking for something, trying to remember something.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
* * * * *
"Zann, wake up! Rat wants to see you!" I was rudely shooken awake by Hawkz. "And what the heck is that silver you're wearing around your neck?"
I shook my head a couple times then opened my eyes, before sitting up. "Alright, I'm going..." I tried to leave the subject of the crescents from further conversation.
"You didn't answer our question" I heard Brian scold. "What's with the moons?"
I shrugged and walked out, leaving the two with the same questions I had. I climbed the stairs and entered Ray's 'office'.
"Zann..." he growled. "Do you know what happened last night?"
"Last night?" I raised my eyebrow. "No, why?"
"I'm sure you do. You happened to come under possesion of a foreign object, Zann."
"What? You mean this?" I pointed to the silver moons.
"What else?" Ray looked at me. "I can't allow you to wear it, no, I can't allow you to keep it. Having an AC with something like that would give us a terrible name..."
"Why?" I asked, confused. "What's wrong with it?"
"You don't know?" Ray was startled. He stood up and looked down at me. He was a foot or so taller then I was. "That's a symbol worn by a man of darkness some years ago. If you wear that, people will think you're related to that man..."
Something struck a chord. "What? Who was the man?"
Ray shook his head. "I can't remember his name, at this one time when I suspect I should know it. Either way, you must not let that thing be seen, before it becomes a problem. If you don't hide it from view right now, I'm afraid that you will have to leave."
"Leave?" I grinned. "I'm keeping this symbol right where it is."
I had realized my chance. The twin moons was, perhaps, a link to my parents. If I could get the name, then I would be able to find them. Perhaps they would know me. It was much better then me just sitting around doing nothing. I'd never find anything out by remaining here.
"Yes, leave. I'm going to give you one chance..." Ray stared at me, silently whispering to himself.
"I'm not removing it," I stated firmly.
"Then it's time you left" Ray seemed to bare his teeth. "You are to leave within this half-hour. Do not associate yourself with the AC either."
"Well..." I heard Briar's voice in the doorway. "If you're moving him out, I'm coming."
"Didn't think you'd leave us behind, did you, Zann?" I could tell Hawkz was grinning. The two were coming with me.
"I'm not at all sad to see you go..." Ray sneered. He obviously didn't like us.
"We're not sad we're leaving, either" I bit my lip. "Goodbye, Rat."
I turned and left, and Briar and Hawkz handed me a small pack of sorts. "Figured you might need this..."
"We knew you were leaving today, so we packed for you!" Briar smiled, making me grin.
Just before we walked out, Kayeli called over to me. "Zann... You're not leaving, are you?"
I took a good long look at Kayeli. I would miss her, no doubt. "Yes. Goodbye, Kayeli..."
Kayeli looked at me, speechless, and I turned and walked through the small door.
"Wait, Zann!" she called after me, opening the door again and rushing out. "I found something out..."
"What?" I asked.
"That symbol..." Kayeli began to explain. "A girl in my room recognized it when I drew it for them. It's a dark symbol, Zann, worn by a man who was without a heart, a true demon. Society views it as a dark sign, and nobody ever wears it because of it's history."
"Who wore it though?" I asked.
"The man's name was Zelloss Grausherra" Kayeli looked at me. "He dissapeared recently. He's thought to be dead. His wife, Mihillias, is dying of cancer. If you mean to meet with either, I suggest you hurry!"
I turned and dashed towards Akihara, then I stopped. I turned towards Kayeli. "Goodbye!" I called out, and waved towards her. Hawkz and Briar did the same.
"Goodbye..." I heard her, she was rather sad. I was too.
"Zelloss Grausherra..." I whispered the name silently. "I'll find you..."
Author's Note: He he... I know it's a bit early to start the third book, but the time was about right. Besides, chapter 4 of Black History won't be up for a while...
WARNING: This part of the story is kinda sad. Nothing violent in this chapter (For once).
Chapter 1 - Abandoned Children
"Don't you forget it, either!"
"Yes..." I stumbled over the words. Why the heck did I listen to this man, anyway?
"What was that?"
"Yes!" I tried to sound confident. I dared to raise my eyes to face my 'master', as we all called him.
He was somewhat older then the rest of us, and a fair height taller too. He also had authority. Not complete, but more then the rest of us. The man was only a child. He had shoulder-length brown hair with a small strand that ran halfway down his back. His eyes were a piercing hazel and his face was hardened and browned by the work he did all day in the sun. He wore a ragged brown shirt and blue jeans that had been scarred and cut in several places.
"Go, then, Zann. I won't tolerate any more nonsense from you."
I turned around and left the small office that our 'master' had turned into his quarters. We were all housed in a small building, which made living rather cramped. We also had to fend for ourselves, mostly, and...
Well, I guess I should explain exactly what is going on here.
This small building, just outside of Akihara City in Electopia is the home to the ACA, Abandoned Children of Akihara. We just call ourselves the AC for some reason. Perhaps because it's shorter. We're the scum children that were abandoned by our parents, be it because the child was a bastard (Illigitamate) child, or something we've done, or whatever reason.
Either way, I'm one of several. We try to make a living for ourselves, a small community of children. We often pick up work inside Akihara, trying to make enough money to feed and shelter ourselves. Sure, the building is a shelter, but we still have to pay a bit for it.
Even our boss, Ray, or Rat as he is 'fondly' named by us lesser children, has to work in order to pay for the building and his own keep. We're in a rather tight situation.
Did I say tight? I meant flattening. The living areas are cramped, bedrooms normally for about 2 or 3 hold 4 or 5. Personal storage is limited, so most of us keep our possesions on our person.
Me, I'm no different then the rest right now. My name is Zann. Just Zann. I'm not sure what my last name is, I never remember my parents.
Zann, oddly, came to mind when I was asked my name. Whenever I think of it, the word 'Forgotten' comes to mind. Which is true. I have been forgotten.
My family cast me out when I was young. Just young enough to survive. Mabye three or four. All I know is that, despite the fact that I fit in, I'm very, very different. I'm currently twelve, however.
The first thing that makes me different is what I wear. A tight silver vest and jeans torn at the knees to make shorts. It happens to be less then what most wear, except for the newest couple.
I'm about of average height, about four feet. My face isn't as young as my body, and neither is my mind. Perhaps it's because of the fights I get into. Perhaps it's just the fact that I have deep-purple eyes.
Deep-purple. Yeah, it's wierd, huh? Perhaps it's some kind of sign. Perhaps it's how I'm supposed to find my parents. My hair is not quite as black, but it's nearly the same shade of purple, cut just above my shoulders.
I paused as I reached the end of the small hallway on the second of two floors in the building, then turned and walked down some stairs.
"Zann! You staying with us, or has Rat finally had it with you?" A girl teased at me. I smiled grimly.
"I'm staying, of course..." I made it sound a bit like a curse. It was, for me. So many rules. I can't do anything to those that make me mad. Nor can I leave the building unless it's for work. I felt like I was locked in.
"I thought he really would have removed you for that last scuffle..." the girl looked seriously at me. "You beat up poor Will really bad..."
I shrugged and looked at her. "Well, if it'll teach people to leave me alone, Kayeli, then it'll work for me..."
Kayeli's eyebrow rose, allowing me to see her blue eyes better. She was a tad beautiful, probably the best-looking out of all the girls in the AC. She had dirty blonde hair and a somewhat tattered white dress. She hadn't been here long, though. "So you want me to leave?" she asked curiously.
"No..." I shook my head. "Not you... I just need some time to myself sometimes..."
"What did Will do to you to make you attack him, anyway?" she asked me.
"I... I'd rather not..." I blushed a bit.
"Well...?" she looked strangely at me. She probably didn't think it could be that bad.
"He... er... was insulting you..." I gritted my teeth for her response.
"What?" her eyebrow rose up again. "So you broke his arm for it?"
"Kayeli..." I sighed hopelessly, then turned and walked away.
"Where do you think you're going?" Kayeli stepped up behind me. "We're not finished..."
"Yes we are..." I turned into a small room and swung the door shut, leaving a rather confused Kayeli outside.
"Girl trouble?" it was another boy in the room who asked me it. Me and him kindof got along. Just kinda. It's only because of the fact that we're the dark side of the AC. Me, him, and one other boy. The ones that constantly get into fights and have a tendency to break rules and break the law and stuff.
"Yeah, Hawkz" I sighed. "More like Rat trouble, though."
I sat down beside Hawkz. Me, him, and the other boy, Briar, got a room to ourselves, simply because everybody else refused to allow us in. It was perfectly sized for the three of us. Briar, as usual, was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh really? Almost gone, huh?" Hawkz grinned. "Must of heard of Will..."
I sighed and looked at him. "Don't mention Will or Rat to me for a little while... I need to let off some anger..."
Hawkz Hastily stood up and stepped back a couple paces. "I hope not on me!"
I laughed. "No, of course not, Hawkz. You know I wouldn't do that."
Hawkz shook his head, his short-cut black hair moving about. "No, I don't."
I laughed a bit harder. Hawkz was a nice kid, he just had a rather short temper that usually ended up with his provoker down for the count. His blue eyes, light skin, and decent clothing tricked people from what he really was.
The door opened, and another boy stepped in. He had brown leather shorts and something that resembled a tan tunic or one of those other medieval shirts. "Hello, Hawkz, Zann" he took a seat beside me.
"Briar, Zann's in a foul mood, I think..." Hawkz warned Briar. The thief jumped up and backwards, trying to put an arm's-length of space between me and him.
Briar was well known for his speed. He wasn't one for fights, the reason he was looked upon as being scum was because of the fact that he would steal possesions, money, and food. Oddly, he never touched mine or Hawkz's stuff, probably because he was scared to death of us.
I closed my eyes and fell backwards, linking my arms behind my head. "Yeah, I kinda am..."
Briar looked wearily down at me. I was not the kind of person you messed with.
"Well..." Hawkz began, then seemed to fall silent. I shut my eyes and tried to rest.
* * * * *
I sighed as I grabbed a piece of day-old bread and bit a chunk off of it. Meals were always so bland here, but we had to make due.
"Hawkz..." I sighed. All three of us were in the our room. "Briar..."
"Yes?" Briar turned to look at me, munching down a bite of bread.
"I'm ready to leave this place..." I looked up at the tattered ceiling. Briar and Hawkz both looked surprisingly at me.
"H... How?" Hawkz started. "Why? You wouldn't leave us behind, would you?"
I shook my head. "No, of course not. You'd be coming with me..."
Briar shook his head. "I don't like it here either, but I have no better place to go..."
I looked at Hawkz, then at Briar. "Listen, guys..." I began. "I have no better place to go either, but I have to get out of here. I'm tired of being restricted. I always wanted to travel, and just perhaps, find my parents..."
Hawkz stared at me with all possible seriousness. "You can't expect to find your parents..."
"You have no idea, Hawkz. Zann isn't even my real name, it's one I chose for myself. I know nothing of who I am or where I come from. I want to patch those holes in my life. I certainly can't do it here!"
Briar looked at me, dumbfounded. "Zann isn't your real name?"
I shook my head and managed a dry smile. "Of course not... I think it means 'Forgotten', but I'm not sure in which language."
Hawkz stood up and stepped away, then turned towards me again. "Zann... You can't seriously leave here..."
"Ijie aris. Ijie aris itiedari, hitomi, denan Hawkz. Ono itras, ichize. Vino itras, mexza" I spoke freely, then realized what I had just said.
"What the hell did you just say?" Briar blinked, confused.
I opened my mouth to say something, then closed it. "I'm not sure..." I squeaked out. "Thinking of my name, I sometimes hear strange, foreign words."
Hawkz looked at me with a bit of fear. "There's something not perfectly real about you, Zann. I've always known it, now this proves it" he turned and opened the door, then walked out and closed it silently. Briar got up too, right after, and followed Hawkz through the door.
I sighed and layed down on the cloth on the floor we called a bed. "Zann... Zann..." I chanted slowly to myself. "By childhood young, careless and innocent. By adulthood aging, watchfull and guilty. By death gone, forgotten and lost..."
I sighed deeply, linking my hands behind my head. I felt something hit my right hand, something slightly heavy. I felt it with my hand, it was something metal. Slowly, I sat up and looked at it. Two crescent moons, twisted into a circle, with a chain going around it like a charm. I stood up quickly and looked at the window. There was no pane, so I looked outside.
Nobody there. It must have come from outside, though. I turned back to the twin moons. Carved out of silver. I could probably get a fair price for it, but something warned me against selling it.
I heard a knock at the door, and then Kayeli stepped in and shut the door behind her. "I heard you want to leave, Zann."
I hastily tried to hide the crescent moons. "Yeah."
Kayeli looked at me suspicously. "What are you hiding?"
"Nothing."
"Seriously, Zann, what are you hiding?"
"Seriously, Kayeli, nothing."
"Zann..." Kayeli hissed, and I realized that she was quite serious. I removed the strange silver carving from my pocket, where I had hid it.
"It's so pretty..." she looked at it. "You going to sell it?"
"No" I shook my head. "Not sure why, but I'm not going to sell this..."
"Well, there's got to be a reason..." Kayeli looked at me. "Speak up, Zann!"
I turned back to the window. "Kayeli... I think somebody gave this to me, just a couple minutes ago, though I never saw anybody."
"That's silly!" Kayeli laughed. "Nobody knows you're here..."
"That's what I'm supposed to believe..." I continued to stare out the window. I held the crescent moons in my palm. Something about it reminded me of something.
"Zann?" Kayeli looked out the window beside me. "Is something troubling you?"
I finally broke my gaze from the view outside. "Yeah. Have you ever seen this before?"
Kayeli looked at it. "No... Here, let me put it on you..." she grabbed it and stuck it over my head before I had a chance to protest. The silver moons hung over my chest. "It's a nice touch for you..."
I blushed a bit. "There's something so familiar about it though..." I thought aloud.
"Kayeli?" a girl called from outside the room.
"Yeah?" Kayeli called back.
"We want you back in our room, pronto, room meeting" the voice finished it's message, then footsteps walked down the hall. Kayeli followed them, giving me a moment of privacy.
I flipped the brilliant carving over and over in my fingers, like I was looking for something, trying to remember something.
Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.
* * * * *
"Zann, wake up! Rat wants to see you!" I was rudely shooken awake by Hawkz. "And what the heck is that silver you're wearing around your neck?"
I shook my head a couple times then opened my eyes, before sitting up. "Alright, I'm going..." I tried to leave the subject of the crescents from further conversation.
"You didn't answer our question" I heard Brian scold. "What's with the moons?"
I shrugged and walked out, leaving the two with the same questions I had. I climbed the stairs and entered Ray's 'office'.
"Zann..." he growled. "Do you know what happened last night?"
"Last night?" I raised my eyebrow. "No, why?"
"I'm sure you do. You happened to come under possesion of a foreign object, Zann."
"What? You mean this?" I pointed to the silver moons.
"What else?" Ray looked at me. "I can't allow you to wear it, no, I can't allow you to keep it. Having an AC with something like that would give us a terrible name..."
"Why?" I asked, confused. "What's wrong with it?"
"You don't know?" Ray was startled. He stood up and looked down at me. He was a foot or so taller then I was. "That's a symbol worn by a man of darkness some years ago. If you wear that, people will think you're related to that man..."
Something struck a chord. "What? Who was the man?"
Ray shook his head. "I can't remember his name, at this one time when I suspect I should know it. Either way, you must not let that thing be seen, before it becomes a problem. If you don't hide it from view right now, I'm afraid that you will have to leave."
"Leave?" I grinned. "I'm keeping this symbol right where it is."
I had realized my chance. The twin moons was, perhaps, a link to my parents. If I could get the name, then I would be able to find them. Perhaps they would know me. It was much better then me just sitting around doing nothing. I'd never find anything out by remaining here.
"Yes, leave. I'm going to give you one chance..." Ray stared at me, silently whispering to himself.
"I'm not removing it," I stated firmly.
"Then it's time you left" Ray seemed to bare his teeth. "You are to leave within this half-hour. Do not associate yourself with the AC either."
"Well..." I heard Briar's voice in the doorway. "If you're moving him out, I'm coming."
"Didn't think you'd leave us behind, did you, Zann?" I could tell Hawkz was grinning. The two were coming with me.
"I'm not at all sad to see you go..." Ray sneered. He obviously didn't like us.
"We're not sad we're leaving, either" I bit my lip. "Goodbye, Rat."
I turned and left, and Briar and Hawkz handed me a small pack of sorts. "Figured you might need this..."
"We knew you were leaving today, so we packed for you!" Briar smiled, making me grin.
Just before we walked out, Kayeli called over to me. "Zann... You're not leaving, are you?"
I took a good long look at Kayeli. I would miss her, no doubt. "Yes. Goodbye, Kayeli..."
Kayeli looked at me, speechless, and I turned and walked through the small door.
"Wait, Zann!" she called after me, opening the door again and rushing out. "I found something out..."
"What?" I asked.
"That symbol..." Kayeli began to explain. "A girl in my room recognized it when I drew it for them. It's a dark symbol, Zann, worn by a man who was without a heart, a true demon. Society views it as a dark sign, and nobody ever wears it because of it's history."
"Who wore it though?" I asked.
"The man's name was Zelloss Grausherra" Kayeli looked at me. "He dissapeared recently. He's thought to be dead. His wife, Mihillias, is dying of cancer. If you mean to meet with either, I suggest you hurry!"
I turned and dashed towards Akihara, then I stopped. I turned towards Kayeli. "Goodbye!" I called out, and waved towards her. Hawkz and Briar did the same.
"Goodbye..." I heard her, she was rather sad. I was too.
"Zelloss Grausherra..." I whispered the name silently. "I'll find you..."