Chapter One; Feeling
It was a quiet day. There were birds singing of course, the academy hovering over a patch of land, ready to move, and the wind whistling through the trees, young people were talking about nothing in paticular and the monsters in the Training Block were getting their butts kicked by the usual of suspects, Kiana Artemis. She spent most of her time at Firah Academy in her dorm room, reading or writing or drawing, otherwise she would be at the Training Block building up her levels as she aspired to become an Agent for Firah Academy's mercenary force. Today, she decided to get some exercise and fight some thunderfish monsters for some experience.
"Fira!"
"Hey, Kiana!" a youth said as Kiana approached victory against the thunderfish.
"Drake!" Kiana said as the massive fish leaped out of the water and summond a thunder bolt, only missing Kiana's head by a centimeter. "Fira! Dammit, Drake! That fish nearly killed us!"
"Well, hey, I just thought about saying hello, that's all. Well, not really. The Headmisstress wants to see you."
"Oh yeah, about what?" Kiana asked casually.
"It's about taking tomorrows exam."
"But, I won't be taking it until next year." Kiana said thoughtfully.
"She wants you to take it tomorrow." Drake said as Kiana started for the exit. Drake was a nice enough guy. His hair was light-brown and his eyes were a strange sea-blue colour.
"Are you coming? Or do you wanna be stuck in here?" Kiana said playfully.
"What..! Oh, yeah. Wait up!" Drake said while Kiana waited for him by the exit.
Waiting by the elevators, was Drake's girlfriend, Tsyna. Tsyna was a selfish air-head who made fun of all the new commers to Firah. She never liked Kiana, but knew she would have to go past her sometimes because Drake saved her life when she first came to Firah and something in them sparked a friendship. Tsyna was jealous, and everyone knew it.
"Hi Drakey, and fiend-oh I mean friend." Tsyna teased.
"Tsyna, can you and Kiana just get along?" Drake sighed.
"I don't have a problem, and you know it, Drake. Later." Kiana said as Tsyna gave a hysterical laugh.
"If I knew it was this easy, I would've brought my girlfriends along with me." Tsyna hissed as Kiana went up the elevator.
"I'm sick of this. You're always stirring up trouble. Last week, Jeff was minding his own buisness, and you tripped him over, for nothing! Then I had to step in and stop him from hurting you. If Kiana starts picking a fight with you, I'm not going to be there to stop her." Drake said angrily as he started for the dorms. Drake was very popular, the most popular guy at Firah, but people found it weird how he was going out with a nasty bimbo and not the quiet, caring person Kiana was. Kiana was well-known, too. Three years ago, Drake found her washed up by the old lighthouse on the beach while him and his class where on a mock-exam. Kiana told him how she was from a different world and that her parents died in a car crash and that she ran away to the beach and nearly drowned. They became friends and Drake was given a special honour for saving her life. Tests were confirmed that she did come from another planet or world as her genetics were silghtly different to the humans of Amora. Her knowledge of Amora also proved how she was different. Everyone in Firah came to know her as a nice, quiet soul who just wanted to be left alone.
"Kiana, you have been here for three years, and, I think you would make a great Agent. You have some leadership skills, you can take care of others, your smart enough to know that whisfurs can actually poison and there's a ninety percent chance that you would acutally pass." Headmisstress Alcyone said.
"I know, but, I don't like the idea that I might have to kill people on a regular baisis right now. Even if they are bad or whatever...I'm more of a Slayer..."
"But you are better off being an Agent rather than a Slayer because you get to travel to more places, earn more money, and gain more experience."
"Slaying is more my style, or Hunting..."
"Slaying monsters, hunting witches...You possess more than that. You would be wasting your time doing otherwise."
"Hmm. I still don't know..."
"It's a great opportunity."
"Yeah, alright." Kiana said dully.
"Good! Now, be at the carpark by thirteenhundred hours, and wear your uniform, okay?" Alcyone said eagerly.
"Yeah, sure."
"Okay, now, here are the teams," Alcyone said as all the candidates lined up in the carpark.
"Hey, Kiana." Drake said as he got behind Kiana.
"Hi." Kiana said nervously as her Headmisstress called out the names. Kiana wasn't nervous about the field exam, she was more nervous about Drake standing behind her. She didn't know why, so just said, "Good luck, Drake."
"Thanks, you too."
"Hendric, Artemis and O'Conner, you are in team T.C." Alcyone called out in her cool-as-usual voice.
They stoped wondering who O'Conner was when a tall, dark-haired boy with pale-blue eyes greeted them.
"Hi guys. I'm Edmund, Eddy for short. Guess I'll be with you guys for the exam. I'm a transfer student from Panthera Academy."
"I'm Drake." Drake said holding out his hand to shake Eddy's.
"I'm Kiana..." she trailed off as Eddy gave her the weirdest of looks.
"The Kiana? The girl from Earth? Wow."
"What!" Drake said defensively.
"I just thought that she would have green skin or something..."
"Wha-" Drake started again as Kiana pulled his arm by his side.
"It's okay, Drake. I think I'd do the same thing too if I hadn't seen it myself. Don't worry about him, he gets grouchy sometimes. I really think we should go now." Kiana said as they got into the car."
Ten minutes later, they reached Atlantia, a port town south-east of Firah Academy. When they had finally reached the pier, and were told to get inside the vessle waiting for them, they were then briefed about their mission.
"Hey! It's Instructor Herrah Magson!" Drake said as Herrah came into the room.
"Didn't she just start, like, yesterday?" Kiana said.
"I wouldn't know, I only started today." Eddy said quietly.
"Uh, hi, um, I'm..."
"We know who you are. I'm Kiana, that's Drake and that's Eddy. Nice to meet you." Kiana said happily as Herrah turned on the projector.
"Well, thank you. It's nice to meet nice people for a change. That brat Tsyna will get her...Uh well we are headed for Greyton Sanctuary because some poachers have breached the outer security wall and are trying to kidnap young unicorn and kill the adult unicorn for their horns..."
"So, what are we s'posed to do when we get there?" Eddy asked, pointing to a spot on a map the projector showed.
"You, T.C., are supposed to contain the unicorn block of the sanctuary and defend it while T.A. attack the poachers from the inner security wall and T.B. attack from the outer, during that time T.D will take the youngest of the unicorn herd out to the pastures and defend them. T.E. are to send any urgent messeges. They are also to find out, if they can, why the unicorns are so weak. They usually flee from battle, but this time they didn't and unicorns are extremely smart. If you guys muck up, then the rest of us Agents will take over and finish the job. Okay?" Herrah finished.
"Okay. But who's gonna be leader?" Eddy asked curiously.
"Kia-" Herrah started
"No." Kiana said sternly.
"Drake will be leader and you two will follow orders." Herrah said quickly. Then she turned off the projector and sat down.
"Me? Alright."
"Just don't tell us to do something really stupid." Eddy mumbled.
"Hey? Where's the other Agent?" Kiana asked, looking around.
"Jesi is in the driver's seat right now." Herrah said.
"Just curious.."
"Curiosity killed the cat..." Eddy began.
"Yeah, well I'm no cat ..." Kiana said angrily.
"I didn't mean anything by it." Eddy said quickly.
"Now who's the grouchy one?" Drake said playfuly as the boat docked ashore. As they left the vessel, and got onto the shore, they were suddenly filled with sudden rage and saddness.
"Oh, my god!" Kiana gasped as she saw unicorn carcases and the bodies of poachers as they where scattered everywhere.
"We have to get inside the sancutuary over those walls, Kiana, do you know a way inside?" Drake asked.
"'Course I don't! I've never been here. We might have to barge our way in...I know!"
"What?" Eddy said, somewhat surprised.
"We get a roc to fly us over..." Kiana began.
"A rock! You've gotta be joking..." Drake trailed off as Kiana began to point at a huge bird.
"A bird, you idiot. R-O-C, not R-O-C-K. Geez it dosn't take a rocket-scientist."
"Yeah, I-I knew that. But, how do we ride one of those? Tell it it's a pretty birdie?" Drake said sarcasticly, slightly teasing.
"Hm, glad you asked. Roc birds have a leader, and this leader is an Eos."
"Yeah, so..." Eddy interrupted.
"Hmmm, well, all we have to do ask and be polite. These birds are far more advanced than humans, and if we treat it with respect, it will do the same." Kiana finished.
"What? I'm all for being polite to nature, but we don't have time to fight any birds." Eddy said unenthusiasticly.
"I have it as my Eos. But if you guys wanna ride you've got to ask it very politley." Kiana said cooly. "Let me summon it..." Five minutes later, an enormous bird, bigger than a small elephant appeared in front of them and said, "Who needs a ride?"
"Me and my companions, great Roc." Kiana said sweetly.
"I understand that the unicorns are in a crisis," the big green bird cooed. "I shall help them by helping you. Get on." it said, lowering it's enormous body and ushering the trio on it's back. Seconds later, they where up in the air and over the enormous concrete wall protecting the inner layers of the sanctuary.
"Thank you, great Roc. But we must get there quickly, if you please." Eddy said, pointing to a gang of several poachers circling a baby unicorn and it's mother.
"There's no time! Kiana, they're.." Drake started as Kiana seemingly read his mind and leaped off the roc and landed on two feet, ten meters from in the air. She raced quickly over to the poachers and passed them to get herself between them and the animals.
"Firaga!" Kiana cried as a poacher fell. Another one shot her with a pistol, but it missed and only grazed her shoulder. Kiana countered by slashing him with her twin sai and summoning Lorelai, a pretty Eos with the ability to deafen, and K-O'd them with simple ease.
"I wiiiilllll taake caaaare heere, Kiiaanaa." Lorelai sent to her, using her mind instead of talking.
"Okay, thank you." Kiana thanked quickly as she checked on the mother and child. The mother had grazes on her while the little one was just in shock.
"What a bunch of sad-guys!" Kiana protested. " They cornered them and then attacked them! Coward-scum!" Kiana growled as she stepped over the unconscious poachers to lead the unicorns out to T.D., who were to take them to the pastures. She then hurried back to the unicorn block, relieved to find that Lorelai had kept her promise to take care of the poachers wanting to take the unicorn block. When Drake and Eddy landed, Lorelai disappeared, leaving the trio by themselves.
"Whew, that was lucky, eh, guys?" Drake said as he sat down on a big rock.
"Yeah, was too, seeing as Kiana did most of it...Hey, are you alright?" Eddy asked as Kiana started to breathe very deeply.
"Hnuh? Oh, it's asthma. I get it sometimes if I stress myself out. But it's not bad. I can get through this, no prob." Kiana said unsurprised. Just then, a big, mascular poacher came barging through the entrance of the block with an enormous machine gun.
"Time to die!" he screached insanely as he fired his gun. Luckily, no-one got hurt and the unicorns still inside had been hidden in other blocks and inside over-grown hollow trees. When he finally stopped firing, Eddy and Drake tackled him, but he got up very quickly and shoved them to the ground aiming his gun at their heads. Eddy thought that it was the end until Drake muttered something and then suddenly, the big man was on fire! He then jumped into a pond and then scurried out, heading towards Kiana. But Eddy, specalizing in cross bows, shot him in the back before he could harm Kiana.
"Are you okay?" Drake asked as he hurried over to Kiana as her breathing was becomming worse.
"I...can't...breathe...!" she said as she struggled to fill her lungs with air. Then a blue-haired girl named Celestia came to give them a message. "All teams are to fall back immeadiatly...Oh no! What's wrong with her?" She gasped as Kiana was suffocating.
Then everything went black...