Chapter 58: Stalkers Amongst the Dragons

Since I'm on summer vacation, I decided to post another chapter a week early just for the heck of it. XD This probably won't happen again any time soon, so don't expect it.

Also, I'm going to college in the fall, so pretty soon this story is going on hiatus while I get used to classes and life on campus. And then, since it's college, updates will not be as regularly as its always been. I will most definitely continue this story, but school comes first.

By the way, can you spot the Harry Potter reference in this chapter? Hint: it has something to do with Gryffindor. Also, that Future Diary quote is actually from Mirai Nikki Abridged by Yunoinbox. You gotta admit, it perfectly describes Yuno's state of mind.

Carter really should have been studying. She had a math test coming up, and while she detested the subject with a burning passion, she didn't want her grade to drop. Unfortunately, with the looming threat of the High Breed invasion, things like studying and school seemed so miniscule in comparison. Also, it was a really nice day out and her mind couldn't help but wander away.

It was why Carter liked the distraction of Evan dropping in so much.

Evan folded his mismatched wings and walked through the open balcony door. He looked much better than a few nights prior, where he had collapsed after using too much of his powers. He was grinning, his eyes lit up mischievously as he held something behind his back.

"Guess what I got," he sang as he danced towards Carter. She stood away from her desk and sauntered up to him, a glint in her eyes.

"Let me guess," Carter drawled out. "You got my special delivery."

"Do you remember the rule?" Evan asked in mock seriousness.

She held up her hand and dramatically put the other over her heart. "I solemnly swear that I will not tell Sam about these items for she will burn them to a crisp."

Satisfied, Evan brandished the developed photos and put them in Carter's hands. "I still can't believe you haven't got caught taking those pictures."

"I still can't believe you let me talk you into developing them," she answered back gleefully as she poured over the pictures. There were three in all, all of Ben during his last soccer practice. He was dressed in his uniform, goalie gloves on and all. The pictures were nothing particularly special (they were clearly shot by an amateur photographer) but in all three pictures Ben looked intensely focused, a triumphant smirk on his face.

"What I want to know is why stalk him," Evan said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sure if you just ask him-"

"No, he'd be embarrassed if I asked," Carter cut him off.

He shook his head. "You'd make a perfect Yuno Gasai, you know that?"

Carter raised an eyebrow, and then suddenly put the photos on her desk. A glazed, slightly crazy look washed over her face as she stared dreamily at Evan. She brought her hands up to her face, cupping them like in that scene from Future Diary. And then, in a sickly sweet voice, she said:

"I just traveled to a parallel universe and killed myself in order to take my own place. And I did it all for the sake of love."

Evan's eye twitched. "That's...freakishly accurate."

Dropping her hands, Carter smirked. In her normal voice, she said, "Still consider me a yandere?"

Evan shook his head. "No, you're more like a well-meaning stalker. If there ever was such a thing," he added as an afterthought.

Carter rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You have something to tell me don't you?" She focused on Evan's few ticks when it came to beating around the bush. They were impossible to find unless you knew him for several years.

Evan immediately wiped the jovial smile off his face. "New shipments just came in. Grandpa Raph says you need to upgrade before the invasion."

Carter heaved a sigh, feeling a weight suddenly press on her shoulders. "Okay. Just let me hide these." Evan stepped to the side as she stomped her foot on the wooden panels next to her bed. A hollow ringing sang out as a block of the floor slid away, revealing a square hole. It was only a few feet deep with one object inside: a photo album. The album was old and thrifty and small, something that was clearly bought on clearance. It was no wider than a phonebook, and only an inch thick.

When Carter got it out and opened it, she revealed that half the pages had already been filled. The first few pages had pictures of Ben at ten years old, showing him hanging out with Carter and Sam and Evan for the few weeks they knew each other. He was often smiling into the camera, or laughing, or doing something goofy.

From the fourth page on it was all teenage Ben, this time with his attention focused elsewhere. Carter smiled as she flipped past the pages of him sleeping on her couch. She had finally downloaded the pictures off her phone and onto her computer, printing them in color. She had spent hours deleting all evidence from her phone and laptop, but it was well worth it.

Evan whistled as he spied the later pictures. "How are you not Yuno?"

Carter found an empty page and slid in the photos. "I'm not an anime character."

He clapped her once on the shoulder. "Whatever. Let's go."

Underground

Like all good secret hideouts, Slayer headquarters was deep underground. Its tunnels spread like intricate spider webs underneath Bellwood's unsuspecting populace. And since the underground city was connected to headquarters, that made it all the more easy to walk to the armory in the middle of town.

Carter and Evan walked down the cobblestone streets into the small armory they frequented. It was a small shop, not unlike something found in a videogame. Along the stone walls were rows and rows of weapons: axes, swords, assault rifles, and other goodies for murder. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, but instead of jewels knives of all shapes and sizes hung.

The old lady behind the desk looked up from her magazine with a scowl on her face. She gave a curt nod at the back door and went back to reading. Carter and Evan strolled past her and into the dimly lit room.

The room was a thin rectangular shape with thirteen oak desks placed haphazardly inside. Sam was already in there, sharpening her dual Dao swords on an automatic press, creating noise and summoning sparks to fly around her. She briefly looked up, smiled, and gestured with her head to the left of her before going back to work.

Carter turned around to see an older man in the room. He had nearly blended into the room thanks to his drab clothing: brown cargo pants and a black t-shirt. He was supposed to be young, but the scars on his angular face and muscular arms gave him the impression of old age. It wasn't helped by his solemn dark green eyes hidden by thick horn rimmed glasses. He blinked owlishly at them, his face half hidden by brown hair that fell past his shoulders.

Suddenly the man broke out into a grin, making him seem like a much younger man. He brought up his hands and quickly signed: Miss me?

Well-versed in American Sign Language, Carter answered back: Not as much as Evan.

Evan grinned and shouted, "Grandpa Raph!" He immediately leaped into his arms, allowing himself to be spun around like a small child. Raph eventually put him down and the two began to converse with their hands.

Carter walked towards Sam, weaving around the tables silently. She waited for her friend to finish sharpening her blade. "Your turn," the redhead said as the Goth summoned her scythe.

As she went to work, Sam bobbed around the tables, picking up random weapons and examining them. She didn't really need to pick out new weapons. She already had her trusted items as charms on her silver bracelet, and if they happened to fail, she could use her powers against the High Breed. First rule of Slayer school was to never depend on your powers in any situation, but this time around the breach in rules could probably be forgiven.

Once Evan had finished catching up with his grandfather, he went over to Sam. He leaned close to her so they could talk over the noise. "What weapon are you getting?"

"I have everything I need. You?"

Evan held up his charm bracelet, finally revealing the kinds of weapons he had on there: two Colt M1911 pistols, a sniper assault rifle, a shield, a katana, an axe, and a metal baseball bat. "I'm thinking of upgrading my rifle."

"Will you have enough time to get used to it?" Sam asked as the sharpening noises stopped and started up again. Carter had begun work on her athame.

Evan shrugged. "Probably."

Raph chose that moment to tap Evan on the shoulder. He quickly signed: How is Ben's team doing?

Evan leaned over to say, "Pretty good, considering. The High Breed haven't invaded yet so they're treating it as the calm before the storm."

Raph nodded and moved his hands. We have a few weeks. Pick out new weapons if you want and train with them. We don't have much time.

Evan and Sam nodded as Carter finally stopped sharpening her weapons. Everyone turned to her as she willed her athame back into its charm form and slowly got up from the press. When she looked up and saw everyone staring at her, she gave a confused, "What?"

Later

Everyone had gone their separate ways, Carter to study math, Evan to play videogames or catching up on Doctor Who, and Sam to Kevin's house.

Truth be told, Kevin hadn't told anyone where he lived. He had kept it fairly secret, saying that the garage he occasionally used to house his car was his friend's, when it was obviously his own. He may have felt embarrassed, since he was technically an ex-con who didn't have much in the way of parental guidance. Sam didn't hold him against him though. It was probably a hard thing for him to talk about, and besides, it wasn't like there was a good time for the subject to be brought up.

Sam walked up the driveway in time to see Mrs. Levin get out of her car with groceries. She was a pretty lady, clad in black. She had almost a meek presence to her thanks to her soft facial features and her stature. She looked up when she heard Sam walk up the driveway.

"Hello," Mrs. Levin said, eyeing the redhead.

Sam smiled brightly. "Hi, Mrs. Levin? I'm here to see Kevin."

The older lady relaxed a bit. "Are you Sam?"

"Yes I am."

"Kevin's told me a lot about you," Mrs. Levin said, a soft smile on her face. "He's in the garage."

"Do you need help with the groceries?" Sam asked politely. The older woman shook her head.

"No, just go right in."

Sam left her there, walking into the open garage. The Dodge Challenger was inside, and Kevin himself was under the hood. "Kevin?"

Startled, Kevin got out from under the car and looked at her. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," she stated. "So you live with your mother?"

Kevin grimaced as he blushed. "What of it?"

Sam arched an eyebrow. "Nothing. Do you feel embarrassed by it?"

"No!" he said too quickly. He slowed down. "I…I just figured that with all the drama going on back when I was a kid, it'd be weird if you found out." He averted his eyes nervously.

"Kevin, you're sixteen," Sam stated. "If you didn't live with a parent or guardian Social Services would be on your ass."

"So you knew?"

"I pieced it together." Kevin sat up properly as Sam kneeled down to face him. "There's something else bothering you isn't there?"

Kevin looked at her, surprised. "How'd you know?"

"I know you well enough."

He rolled his eyes. "Right…"

Sam pressed on. "So what's bothering you?"

He opened his mouth, closed it, and then said, "Did you get a letter in the mail about my test results?"

She shook her head. "You're supposed to get that."

"Then why haven't I got it yet?" Kevin snapped. "It should have been here by now!"

"Kevin, it's been three weeks," Sam said calmly. "They're not going to grade that test in such a short amount of time."

"Okay, yeah, but…" He trailed off, hunching over in a hopeless manner. "I just…I want it before…"

"Before the High Breed invade," Sam finished for him. She thought for a moment before asking, "Isn't it better if you don't know now?"

Kevin stared at her. "How?"

"Well, let's say you had the results in your hands right now," she continued. "And let's say you failed. You'd be in a funk for weeks, thinking you weren't smart enough for school, or you weren't good enough, or whatever. By the time the High Breed invade, you'd be a useless wreck.

"Now let's say you passed. You've got your GED and you're happy. You're looking for a decent job when suddenly the DNAliens attack. You get injured in battle, or you die, and suddenly your bright future goes up in flames."

"But what if I don't die?" Kevin asked curiously.

"Then you might have missed an interview or some other opportunity," Sam said. "The point is it's probably better if you didn't know right at this moment."

Kevin thought for a good long moment before saying, "I get what you're saying, but I don't really agree with it."

She shrugged. "That's fine."

"So what are you doing here, really?" Kevin asked.

"I wanted to see you," she repeated. "I don't know, I guess I just wanted to hang out or something, just the two of us."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"Well, yeah."

Kevin put away the tool in his hand. "Let me finish up here and we'll go somewhere. I don't really feel like working on my car anyway."

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Who are you and what have you done with Kevin Levin?"

He snorted. "Hey, sometimes my therapy doesn't work on me. Especially since the invasion's about to happen," he added as an afterthought.

Sam stood up and smoothed out her skirt. "My sentiments exactly."

"Okay, I'll finish up and you think of where to go."

Sam would have, but the voice of Mrs. Levin suddenly rang out in her ears. With a devious little smile on her face, she asked, "So you talk about me to your mother?"

Kevin's red cheeks and sudden spluttering were all the answer she needed.

In Phineas's Basement

Ben had always found Sundays to be fairly boring. A few months back he would have spent most of the day doing homework, or watching TV, or playing videogames. Laziness seemed to permeate through the air on that particular day, since it was the day after the much-anticipated Saturday and before the universally-hated Monday. Even after he had started his weekly training with Phineas the feeling hadn't changed much, since the time pocket warped the hours and minutes so splendidly.

But after yet another beating courtesy of Phineas, the groggy, lazy Sunday feeling seemed to leave Ben. At least, that was what it felt like when his eyes opened inside the healing pod. Everything except his face was submerged in a liquid that smelled like herbs and cough syrup. A breathing mask was attached to his face, connected to a tube that pumped sweet, clean air into his mouth and nostrils.

Suddenly the tube was receding, a whirring sound travelling over the water. The mask unattached itself, snaking away and disappearing into the pod's metallic walls. The water pooled around him quickly drained away, leaving the smell of medicine.

The glass door slowly opened, lifting itself up so Ben was assaulted with cool air. He sat and up and rubbed his arms, trying to get rid of the bumps when there was a sudden flash. He winced from the bright light and turned to his left. There was another flash, and Ben closed his eyes to protect his irises.

When he finally opened them, a towel was immediately thrown at his head. He quickly used it to dry off his hair before yet another flash nearly burned his eyes. Except this time he heard a faint click noise. Irritated Ben looked up to see Newt standing before him, a digital camera in his hands.

Newt stared at Ben's furious face and smirked. "Carter's going to love these pictures."

Blushing madly he tried to get out of the tub only to remember that he was still naked. He searched around for his clothes to find them a least twenty feet, folded innocently behind Newt. Ben glared at him.

"Give me my clothes."

"Make me, naked guy."

"You asshole!" Ben swore before he suddenly got a better look at Newt. He seemed worse than the last time he saw him. His skin was translucent and stretched across his bones, giving him a somewhat skeletal appearance. His eyes were sunken and bright with fever, and he stood slightly hunched over.

"What happened to you?" Ben rasped.

Newt smiled a weak, sardonic smile. "Training for the High Breed invasion. I'm not used to what you and Kitty went through, so I'm not taking it well. I need another session in the healing pod," he added as an afterthought.

Ben stared at him. He never looked like that after one of Phineas's training sessions, did he? Sure, he may have seemed tired or pale, but thanks to the healing pods he never looked dead on his feet. He had never needed multiple healing sessions at any point. Just what kind of training was Newt going through?

Newt suddenly handed over Ben's clothes. "Phineas needs you in the armory. I need to lead you there, so get dressed." He then turned around and walked to the back of the room to give Ben his privacy.

Ben quickly toweled off and dressed and both boys soon left the metal room. Newt seemed to walk slower than usual-another sign that he needed medical attention. Ben tried not to notice too much.

Finally they arrived at the Carmichael armory, if you could call it that. It was really just a small room hidden away in the middle of a hallway. The doorway was cleverly hidden behind a large painting of a fat lady in a Greek dress sitting before a mausoleum.

The inside was musty but littered with weapons of all types. Guns, swords, halberds, the whole works. Phineas was in the middle of the room, swinging around a dark gray sword and a gray sheath that looked like a cleaver. A black ribbon was tied around his arm, connected to the blade. He swung both sword and sheath around, practicing movements that Ben had never seen before.

"He's here," Newt announced as they walked further into the room. Phineas finished his set before putting the blade away. He quickly unwound the ribbon from his arm and set the weapon against the wall.

"Newt, go back to the healing chamber," Phineas ordered as he walked up to them. "Think you can make it?"

Newt puffed out his chest indignantly. "Who do you think I am?"

The older man smiled sardonically. "Alright then." Newt left in a huff, leaving the two alone.

"What the hell is going on with Newt?" was the first thing Ben asked. "He looks half-dead!"

Phineas sighed. "I have an inkling but I'd rather not say. Personal reasons," he added as his grandson looked at him. Ben just shook his head.

"So what did you need me for?"

Phineas dug something out of his back pocket and held it out. Ben took it in his hands and examined it. It was a small gold tube no wider than his thumb. He looked at Phineas in puzzlement.

"Give it a little juice," he said. Ben wrapped his fingers around the item and put some electricity into it. Suddenly the tube elongated, becoming so tall that it towered over him. The tube became thicker until he needed two hands to wrap around. Perched right at the top of the pole was a gold eagle, its wings stretched out as if it were about to take flight.

"Cool," Ben breathed, taking in the beautiful features of the predator.

"Hold out your arm," Phineas said. Not paying attention, he stuck out his bare arm. Phineas suddenly grabbed it; the second he made contact Ben felt a burning sensation. With a yelp he brought back his arm, letting go of the pole. Before the eagle could hit the floor it suddenly shrunk in size, the pole becoming the tiny tube once more. Ben didn't notice as he gripped his arm in pain.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he snarled as the pain started to go away.

"Sorry. I would have told you, but then you would've resisted," Phineas explained flippantly. "Look at your arm."

Ben turned his arm so he was looking at the inside. Starting from his wrist and stretching to almost his elbow was a Latin saying. In neat, black print, it said: Memores sint reprobi.

Remember the fallen, Ventus said in Ben's head. Poetic, no?

"Remember the fallen?" Ben parroted back, looking at Phineas. He was holding the tube with his fingers, idly twisting it around.

"Whenever you summon the eagle, shout out that phrase in Latin and put as much power as you can into pole," Phineas said. "You should probably use it as a last resort weapon against the High Breed."

"What does it do?"

"It concentrates your electricity into this supercharged form and sends out this blast," Phineas explained. "It'll take up most of your energy, so I repeat: you should probably use it as a last resort."

Ben nodded and looked at the saying imprinted into his skin. Suddenly the black ink started to lighten. It was disappearing into his skin, becoming so that it was never there.

"It's gone!" he said stupefied.

"Good, it's supposed to," Phineas said flippantly. He held up the tube and said seriously, "Remember Ben, only four people can use this: the two of us, Ezekiel, and Sam. No one else can. They not only need the power to charge it, but they must also say the incantation in Latin to activate it."

"Decent failsafe," Ben noted. "But why that saying in particular?"

"You'll know it when you use it," Phineas said cryptically. "Trust me."

Later

Cordelia and Isaac were standing before a coffin. The wood was lacquered and dark, with a rose centerpiece carved into its middle. It was quite lovely, though it probably shouldn't have been hidden away in a dark cavern.

Cordelia walked up to the coffin, her slit skirt swishing around her pale legs. She opened the casket, revealing ebony boxes stacked inside. She brought one out, revealing the Chinese dragons carefully carved on it.

"You sure you don't want to use these?" Cordelia asked Isaac. "These would help."

Isaac slowly shook his head, the sorrow evident in his manner. "No. Not yet."

As Cordelia put the box away, they could hear footsteps behind them. Lucille, Raphael, and Phineas were strolling towards them, Lucille leading the way with her short flaming hair. She extinguished the fire when she came up to them.

Phineas stood between Isaac and Cordelia as Lucille clung to Raphael's arm. The five of them stared at the closed coffin in silence.

"So many lives…" Isaac choked out finally. Phineas put a hand on his shoulder.

"You've been making amends for so many years," he told him. "This will just be another one."

"And think about how great it'll be once we defeat the Unbeatable Monster," Lucille said brightly. "You're entire conquest will finally be over."

"It'll be over sooner than you think," Cordelia said gently. "Right now we need to focus on the next few weeks. We have so little time, and our children need us." Raph nodded his head solemnly to drive the point home.

Isaac sighed, his shoulders sagging. He seemed so much older, and yet he didn't feel wiser at all. "Everything's for the kids, huh?"

"Someone has to teach them how to run the world," Phineas pointed out lightly.

"Even if we'll be hated in the end," Lucille chimed in.

"All for the children," Cordelia repeated as the coffin loomed before them.

In case you were wondering: Chinese dragons traditionally have control over water, rainfall, hurricanes, and floods. You can see why I used them here. XD

So, thoughts anyone?