A heavy cloud of dust rolled out of a door, three coughing bodies stepping out into the semi-darkness of the night to breath fresh air. Doubling over themselves, on the verge of letting their lunch out, they finally were able to calm down.

"What was that thing?" A blond girl asked, looking into the open door. "And how did it end up in New York?"

Her skin was paled compared to her two companions, who were both fairly tanned. Her long, blond hair had numerous streaks of pink to give her nearly white hair color. Her leather jacket, black with a detachable hood, covered a gray tank top, her legs covered by a light pair of skinny jeans and black biker-like boots. Her ears were covered with at least five piercings each, all varying colors as though to show her indecision on things. The only thing that appeared to not be a rebellion against her family, parents, or maybe even her past was a pair of thick rimmed, black glasses.

"Relax, Kaysen, we got it and we can search the database when we get back to HQ." The older of the two companions was a male, roughly a year older than her. His short, brown hair caught the light just right to make him appear heavenly. His short sleeved, button up shirt was ripped and cracked with blood, all of which covered in dust. His eyes were merely a shade darker than the blond, Kaysen, but she felt it connected them just a slight bit more.

The youngest of the three could of been anywhere between fifteen and seventeen, with one of those faces that you can tell even when they're forty they'll still need to be checked their age. His skin was less tanned as sunburnt, which was noticeable under the street lamp. A redness covered the top of his cheeks, his nose, and what was seen under his ripped red shirt of his shoulders almost blended into the shirt. The most noticeable thing was his startling, dark green eyes, examining the two of them.

"Umm... What did you see exactly?" The boy asked, his eyes nervous and his voice shook like his throat was in an earthquake.

"Dust monster, but how did they get through the rift from Wales to America?" He pulled out a cell phone and began to dial a number that by now both Kaysen and himself had memorized.

"Troy, let me handle this one before you call Jack," Kaysen said, readjusting some of her weapons that covered the majority of her belt, trying to not look at either of them.

"Yea... Sure..." Troy said, putting away the cell phone. "I'll be over here if you need any help."

Kaysen grabbed the arm of the startled boy and went into the building they had just escaped, the dust majority settled. Troy seemed startled at first at that, but kept his post guarding the two as they have their private conversation.

"That was not a dust monster, and you know it," Kaysen said, releasing the boy. "I'm Kaysen, by the way."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, but his startled eyes have it away that he did.

With a sigh, Kaysen pulled out her necklace. Three homemade beads strewn onto a leather cord, and a single pendant. The first bead was of a blue Police Public Call Box, flying through what looked like space. The second was an Egyptian god, Toth, in a debate with Athena. The third and final bead was of a giant squid. The pendant consisted of circles and lines, what appeared to be random to the boy.

He pulled out his necklace, with a total of four beads. The debate, the giant squid, a scroll with Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Latin, and Ancient Greek on it all saying "life," and a river written in names.

"Name's Jaune," he said casually. "Who's your parent?"

"Myself, I guess... Long story." Shifting on her feet, she looked uncomfortable. "You?"

"Hades. Is that guy-"

"Troy," Kaysen interrupted.

"Is Troy a mortal?" He emphasized the name, as though the exaggerate his hatred to being interrupted.

"Fully. I'll tell him to tell our boss that I'm going on my vacation. You need a ride to camp?"

"No, I'll just walk." Jaune picked up a bag that he had left by a pillar in the frantic chaos of the attack. What Troy had thought was just a dust monster was actually an aggressive manticore stirring up dust. Jaune had managed to kill it, but had nearly shot Kaysen.

"I'll be at camp by the morning," she stated with low enthusiasm. "Good luck."

Thank you DamascusDalek on for Jaune (pronounced John with an accent on the J) and helping me get over any writer's block I had for the past year! Also a big thanks to my boyfriend for the character Troy. More new characters will be up in the next chapter! :)