This job was given by the council for the upcoming weekend, and it was mandatory that they do it because they had been given the proper trust. There was an upcoming meeting between some authorities on Saturday and even with their most trusted workers on the job, the council was concerned of the rise in Dark Guilds striking recently, and especially with some sort of event happening that was sure to either stay peaceful or turn into a riot.

She didn't want to do it, but if she didn't go, there would be trouble. She didn't want to be in the middle of a city with a whole bunch of people, responsibility weighing on her shoulders, and the possible chance of the wrong people showing up. What were they to the council, dogs!? Actually, they probably were… Wow, that made her feel so much better. Hint the sarcasm.

Thinking about it wouldn't help… They still had to do it. It was getting cooler again after the summer heat, so at least they wouldn't be standing around boiling their heads off. Maybe they'd just freeze their butts off, considering that they had to be there at an early 9:00am and stand around to make sure nothing suspicious happened or to report anything that might happen.

"Is the backup in place?" A woman with long, wavy blonde hair that had been pulled back into a ponytail questioned over a magic device, her gray-blue eyes darting around as other officers did. She was the lead of the older unit, so she was in charge. That was a lot of responsibility on a woman with a family.

"Both of the units are ready to be deployed in any case of emergency, ma'am." A man with long, straight brown hair answered over from the other side, his baby blue eyes wandering over the silent little crowd that had gathered.

He really should've been paying attention to his unit more, honestly, as he was the lead of the younger unit and had the responsibility of keeping these newbies on their feet. He was responsible for getting the home, and he scratched at the invisible skin under his small brown beard that was growing. He wouldn't forget that first words on of the newbies had given to him: "It's a female Jesus". He wasn't female, but he laughed anyways.

"And if both units should fail, Officer Rovia Monroe?" The woman questioned, her voice wavering only so slightly that he could notice. Her expression was solemn and her eyes had a far-off look as if she was questioning whether she would be able to go home and eat dinner with her lovely, pregnant wife and her three children. There was a pause before Rovia responded.

"I don't believe that will happen, Jo." He reassured her, keeping a calm smile on his face as he stood in front of the big back doors. She was on front with her unit, he was on back with his unit, and a Magic Guild was guarding everything else. "I doubt it, but if it does happen… the Council is more than prepared to do their unrelenting part."

Jo nodded, satisfied, before getting off of the other line to take a deep breath. The morning breeze was colder than it had been, that was for sure, but the air was still warm… It was still okay for now. Rachelle and Liz were at each one of her sides, giving her determined looks and stern nods, Rachelle even sending a soft smile. Erin would be staying at home today, watching from the Lacrima screens, because morning sickness had really gotten to her and Jo didn't have to worry because Jameisha would take care of her pregnant Mother no matter the strain on herself. Her younger brothers would behave because they knew how to follow orders, just like good little officers. They wanted to join the force someday… Jo didn't know how to feel about that, but she figured that Erin must be feeling that way about her being in the force all the time. Sias and Chephira were inside, guarding the most important room and knowing Chephira, probably hacking into the system to bring the security complications back into full-force.

Rovia didn't worry about her and her unit. He didn't have to. He had his own unit to attend to, even when he was merely standing in front of a door. Tara and Spencer were on either side of him and Kadin had made her way to the roof by now as their little sniper in case things really went wrong. The crowd was steadily growing, but he didn't really mind all of the signs and chatting that was going on. He saw multiple blonde heads, a mix of skin tones, and a mix of ages all running around. The oldest at the moment had to be in their twenties, while the youngest appeared to be an eight year old boy.

These people were his responsibility and that was his weight to carry, not his unit's. Not Jo's. It was his.

Abner wasn't one for these kinds of things, especially not while he was babysitting for strict parents. It was just a friendly protest against the council, yah, but… His sign was plain white and he had a dark red marker in his hand as he contemplated what to write while Roland, the eight year old boy he was babysitting, ran around with his other markers and drew on people with their permission.

At some point, he caught sight of a boy with tanned sepia brown skin who was wearing a white hat to stand out, all decorated in bright colors and running around with his husky dog as if he was Roland's age… in reality, he was probably about ten years older than Roland. His parents stood nearby, a couple of signs with them and a very much decorated bike that probably belonged to their son.

He caught sight of a tall boy with short ginger hair and dark brown eyes who was standing with a shorter boy who had shaggy, unkempt brown hair and bright blue eyes, both of their signs showing off rainbow flags and posted pictures of their happy times on one side, while on the other read: "If we can't choose for our future, neither can you." It seemed fair enough to him.

He then saw a tall teenage boy in a wheelchair who sported chin-length, extremely wavy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. His wheelchair was decorated and the back pouch held multiple signs, and he was smiling to a younger girl beside him who must've been his sister. She was short, around five feet (with Abner being nice about it), and had shoulder-length dirty braided blonde hair with bright gray-blue eyes. She seemed content just standing by him, but also looked liked she was probably that one quiet kid in class who could snap out and be very aggressive at any point.

There was a girl with bright blonde hair, also braided, and bright blue eyes who merely stood in the back, her sign down for the moment, but Abner knew she would raise it right away when the protest started. She carried a small, peaceful smile and yet her bright blue eyes were full of determination to find rights in their country.

Then, there was a girl with tanned brown skin and dark brown hair with red/ginger streaks that came down to her mid-back, wavy and in a mess but still looking incredible. Her eyes were a striking hazel green and she was standing with a boy who had short, unkempt dirty blonde hair and soft chocolate brown eyes. He wore small glasses and was about her height, although he seemed older than her despite his baby-ish round face. With them was a pair of woman, one with chin-length, straight black hair and hazel brown eyes and the other with long, wavy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. They both looked very different, but they were here for the same reason: civil rights.

The last pair of people that caught Abner's eyes was a pair of teenaged kids, one a girl and one a boy. The boy had long, wavy, soft-looking brown hair and blue eyes that matched the girl's, although her hair was bright blonde, straight and reached her mid-back. They both smiled at each other before their expressions went neutral upon looking back out at the crowd.

Eventually, Abner found his hand moving to make a statement on his sign as soon as Roland came running back with his other markers. He drew a certain flag on the back of his sign and as soon as the protest was ready to begin, he allowed Roland to climb onto his shoulders and sit there, helping Abner hold up his proud sign: "It's gotten bad! People with anxiety are protesting!"

The number of people grew and grew, increasing in number with every second. Hours and hours were invested into this, into their civil rights, and they were here together because they had to fight; because they didn't know how to die quietly. By the time the crowd numbered up to nearly thousands from across the nation, each side equal in numbers.

And then suddenly, there was a bang the caused Abner to pull Roland down, covering him the best he could. A scream rang out, and Abner wasn't sure if it was his or not.

All Hell broke loose.

Katie was leaning forward on the couch, completely absorbed in the breaking newscast of what had gone down in an authority meeting between the council. She didn't even notice that Seph was watching from around the corner, in which she shouldn't have been because she knew that sudden news worried her an awful lot.

"We are live from where a riot has just calmed down after breaking out between protestors, but we'll go to Officer Joanna Anderson. What's happened over here, Officer Anderson?"

A Female Officer in her late thirties appeared in front of a crowd of people that seemed to just be calming down.

"Well, after dangerous gunshots were fired by a member of what appears to be a Dark Guild, my partner, Rovia Pendleton, and I gathered our units and broke out into the riot, stopping the shooter and calling medical experts onto the field due to a twenty-three year old college student and part-time babysitter Bailey Caelum, preferred name Abner, was shot protecting an eight year old boy whose name I cannot release under the family's protection. The member who shot is currently being held on attempted murder charges, and Abner is currently in the hospital in reportedly stable condition."

Seph nearly collapsed, although she wasn't very surprised that they had aimed for an eight year old boy. They'd take out anyone, even a toddler if they had to…

"Thankfully for many here today, they are safe and sound as my partner and I's units are going around offering any help citizens might need. A lot of people came here today, protesting because it was a very personal event for them. To see it go downhill… I'm truly sorry us as a force couldn't do much more than we did."

As the interview went on, Seph crept into the hallway and just sat down with her book in her arms, unsure of whether to read it or to just sit there. She decided to, in fact just sit there and think.

Things had gotten serious and she could still hear the TV.

"With some questioning, it turns out that this Dark Guild has sent out more than one attack in the past four months. We're not sure what they're up to, but it appears that they have a goal. We'll do everything we can to figure out that goal."

Things had gotten far too serious.