AN. It's ok CJ, it wasn't clearly stated. Regulus is a boy. -MLO

The Ascendant

Chapter 2: A New Destination

Not trusting my voice I turned and headed in a separate direction, knowing the others would be following closely behind me. There were too many questions running through my mind. I had to find answers and quick.

'Chiron? What does Chiron have to do with any of this?' Questions like this were going through my mind repeatedly. I needed answers, but where could I find them from anyone besides Lilith? Nodding my head I answered myself. I would pay a little visit to Chiron myself.

We had already reached our hangout so I looked around the room, wondering who I would take with me. Maybe Tanner? No, he had been through enough. Justin? Yeah, he would do. "Justin?"

The blond looked up at me, "What's up?"

I stood and motioned to the door, "Come on, I gotta go do something."

"Alright." He didn't need an explanation, which was one of the things I favored in him. He didn't ask questions unless absolutely necessary.

On our way out several of the members looked up but none said anything, which was best. They knew that time was of the essence, that I couldn't be bothered by trivial questions such as where was I going. I just hoped Chiron hadn't moved from his location since the last time me and Lilith had paid him a visit.

The dusty alleys that we walked through did not give me the sense of home that I had become so used to since joining the gang. Now they simply served as reminders of the hatred that was brewing between us and the Cobras. I glanced at the walls of the buildings we passed, my gaze traveling over the familiar graffiti that decorated the once dull brick and concrete. Lilith had been the one to suggest the new décor, her more peaceful way of marking our territory. I agreed with her, as did much of the gang and even the regular occupants of the city. The artwork was pleasing to the eyes and did not stench up the town like the markings of the Cobras. They preferred to use the blood of their victims to mark their territory.

I knew they had to be taken care of before Lilith left the hospital; otherwise it would be hell trying to get away from her to finish the job. On the day of her orientation she took it upon herself to be the sort of peacemaker of the group. She tried to avoid physical fighting as much as possible, and with her size it would be an easy guess as to why. Her peaceful ways were another reason she was so loved amongst the group. She was innocent, despite having seen and lived through life on the streets. Another reason why the Cobras had to pay for what they did. They hurt the one weak link in our chain and they knew it. It was up to the rest of us to show them just how strong the rest of the chain was.

We were entering neutral territory now; the markings were less, leaving the walls bare. I knew Chiron stayed in this general area, having friends on both sides left him with no choice to discriminate. We headed past the only diner left in the city, the others having been turned into big name restaurants or destroyed for other new modern shops and tourist attractions. Highland was changing, quickly becoming part of Seattle; its neighbor city. Past the only high school in the city and some of the new shops we walked down an alley large enough for a taxi cab. There were a few doorways scattered and we walked by a vast majority of them, stopping in front of the one door that had no markings on it.

I knocked on the door and was greeted with a swift and angry sounded, "Who is it?"

"Chiron, its Regulus. We need to talk."

Silence followed my reply until we heard the rattle of the chain and the click of a lock being undone. The door opened enough to allow us through, shutting and locking behind us. "I admit I had expected you would come earlier than this."

"I was watching over Lilith."

"Ah, yes, of course." A fat, short man came into view. His thinning black hair looked greasy and his stench confirmed the fact that he hadn't bathed in a few days. His clothes were tattered and dirty as well. His gaze was wild, taking us both in with a single glance. He looked nothing like the man I once knew him to be. "How is little Lilith doing?"

"She'll survive. I have some questions to ask you."

"Oh? Well then, come, have some coffee with me." He led us farther into the little room that was nothing more than a little hole in the wall. There was a table with four different chairs set up in the far corner. He gestured to the coffee pot that was in the middle. I declined but Justin excepted, he was a coffee-holic and since we hardly ever had money he tried to get some whenever he could. After Chiron poured two cups and was sitting comfortable I fired my first question.

"Lilith mentioned your name at the hospital. I want to know why."

Chiron visibly flinched, "I was hoping my part in the fight would remain a secret but I should have known Lil would tell you."

I waited, growing more impatient, "What was your part? She only mentioned your name."

"This fight was supposed to happen," he took a deep breath. "You may not believe me but I want you to know that everything I say here is true. It's up to you to believe me or not."

"Just get on with it Chiron."

"Very well," he took a sip of his coffee. "The Cobras and the Triplicities are not ordinary gangs. As you have taken note the Cobras have a tendency for pain and blood while you guys lean more towards peace and humanity in a sense. There is a lot that is going to happen in the next few weeks, for how long it will last I don't know. Others will join you, some of you will fall. At this point anything can happen.

He sighed and I knew this was the part he wanted to leave out. "There are members among you and the Cobras that have special gifts. I'm aware that you two and Lilith are the ones with the gifts and I know you knew about several Cobra gifts. You have to be careful, this fight won't be easily won like most of the others."

"There's going to be a fight?"

"There's going to be more than that. There's going to be a war. You all have to be ready for when it hits."

I nodded, there was going to be a war? More questions popped into my head but I knew now wasn't the time to answer them. I had things to do before Lilith was released from the hospital. I stood, Justin followed. "Thanks Chiron. We better be heading out now."

He nodded, "I understand. Go." We turned and walked out, as silent as we were when we were walking there. Our thoughts, however, were the same. What were the Cobras doing at this moment? Did they know what we knew? One thing was sure, we had a job to do.

"Sir they're on the move."

"Very well; keep following them. I think it's time we pushed destiny a little faster."

The gangly man nodded his greasy head and walked out, now was the fight they were waiting for.

We reached the hangout without incident. I knew a fight was looming around the corner though. There was a thick tension, a silence so loud that it seemed as if time itself was holding its breath. The town was divided into a 'Y' shape. The Cobra territory and the Triplicity territory; the Skyrocket Diner was located at the center and all the places after that were neutral territory. There were several buildings that made up the border between the rivals. They had been divided equally by a third party. Two of the buildings however had been destroyed by a fire; we knew the Cobras were responsible because the two buildings had belonged to us. They were growing in numbers; this was noticeable because of the daily increase in minor attacks. We were losing; this latest attack had dealt us a devastating blow.

We needed new members, and badly.

"Reg look!"

Justin took off into a run, I did as well when I noticed what he was pointing at. Cobras, on our turf. This time they had gone too far. It would end here.

By the time we reached them the first punches were already being delivered. Justin immediately jumped into the fight. I knew then that this was it; this was how we were being forced to avenge the guys we lost and the damage that had been done to Lilith. Scanning the crowd I noticed about seven Cobras, two of them standing on the outside like me. Growling I looked straight at them, willing them to see me. No one was getting out of this fight and none of the Cobras were going back alive.

Walking calmly but swiftly I headed towards the two. They were instantly on the defensive, good. This fight would be challenging,making the kill that much sweeter.

Ducking to the ground I quickly shot my leg out and knocked one of them to their feet before they could react. The other jumped out of the way before I could swing at him. The loud thump of the guy falling hinted at a hard fall but I didn't stop to look. Jumping up I took a swing at the guy who didn't fall. I recognized his face from one of my classes at school, Kyle something. My fist didn't have much impact due to the distance between us but it had some effect. I heard the groan of the guy on the ground so before he could get up I turned and kicked him hard on the side. I knew the boots I was wearing would do some considerable damage; when the snap came I knew my confirmations were true. Surely he had some broken ribs.

I was stupid to stop paying attention to Kyle and the pain that was now coming from my right arm was the proof. I looked down at it to see it bleeding, great. I turned and glared at Kyle who was smirking. "Look Reg, you have a cut similar to Lil. Well, one of hers anyways." I growled at his use of our nicknames, his tone was laced with venom and hatred. "Let's see if we can give you a few more so you two can have more in common."

I managed to dodge the blade, not an easy task when all I could see was red. This guy had cut Lilith; it was his fault that she would always have scars to remember that day for the rest of her life. The third strike almost reached its mark but I moved, causing it to barely nick my shoulder. Quickly I rushed at him, grabbing his wrist hard enough for him to lose his grip on the knife. I had hoped this would be a fair fight but I knew that it wouldn't. Squeezing down on his bones I closed my eyes, feeling the ice freeze inside me. Opening my eyes Kyle froze when he noticed the ice cold blue they had become. Screaming he looked down and noticed that his arm was rapidly becoming encased in ice. I let go once his arm was frozen to his shoulder. He was still screaming, now cradling his frozen arm. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction I began pummeling him in the face and stomach, turning him into one big bloody, icy mess. I was so intent on hurting him I almost didn't notice the shadow of a guy behind me. Quickly I raised my elbow, making it appear like I was going to punch Kyle again when my arm went backgrounds, elbowing whoever it was behind me in the knee. A scream was heard as the guy fell to the ground once again. Standing up I caught the glint of Kyle's knife. I picked it up and knelt by Kyle.

"You know, I could cut you up and let you live with the scars but to me, you don't deserve to live." I quickly slit his throat, watching as he died a slow and painful death. Walking to the other one and dealt him the same blow. I stood and watched as they died, this was my little revenge. I looked around and noticed that all the Cobras had fallen, good, no survivors.

A boy known as Clip limped over to me, his leg was bleeding. "That went better to be expected."

I nodded, the Cobras were tough but we were tougher. I looked down at my arm, thankfully it had already stopped bleeding. Obviously it didn't go as deep as Kyle had hoped. Glancing over the others I felt a small relief that there were only a few minor injuries, nothing major. We had definitely gotten lucky during this fight. It wasn't often that we had a fight with the Cobras and get away with only a few minor cuts and bruises.

We gathered the bodies together into a pile and lit them on fire; an insurance of sorts in case they weren't dead yet. After awhile there was nothing left but a pile of ashes. We all headed back to headquarters to clean up as best as we could. Changing my shirt I walked back out, no one bothered to ask where I was going because they all already knew.

The hospital loomed before me. I knew Lilith would be ready to go home, she was a quick healer; it was after all, on of her special gifts. Walking in I headed to the main desk, quickly catching the attention of the nurse who hadn't forgotten me; considering I was just here earlier. I hoped they would release Lil, despite the growing darkness of the late hour outside. Before I could even open my mouth though the nurse pointed to the far end of the lobby where Lilith stood, dressed in the bloody clothes she had arrived in.

"She insisted on going home today, despite doctor orders."

Nodding I turned and walked over to her, quickly pulling her into a long embrace. "I'm so glad you're ok."

She smiled softly, "You know I'm tougher than that."

Again I nodded in response. "Come on, let's get you home."

She sighed and nodded, leaning against me as we walked out of the hospital and back towards the hangout. I could feel her trembling and wondered if she had fully recovered or if she was just pretending so she could get out of the hospital. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the later, Lilith hated hospitals. We had reached the door and were walking through when everyone looked up. I was dwelling so much I didn't notice that it was she that called everyone to attention.

"What's up Lil?"

"Everyone, we're moving."

The whole place erupted. Moving? Out of the question. We were not gunna hide from the Cobras, no matter how strong their forces were. I wondered what brought about this change.

She shook her head, the current reaction obviously having been the one she had expected. But surely she would see the madness in what she had just suggested. Moving now would be like declaring to the Cobras that we were giving up. That we were letting them win the war. That wouldn't work at all. Surely she realized that, didn't she?

As if hearing my silent question she nodded, "I know what you guys are thinking, but it's inevitable and thus, unavoidable. We need help if we plan to win this war."

"Where would we go?"

"Forks."

&&&

A dark figure sat up, frozen into fear by the images that were still flashing through his mind. He knew it wasn't flashes of the future because that was not his gift. He also knew because he had lived through those images, he had been there. His companion laid her hand on his arm.

"What's wrong?"

"They're coming."