November 3rd, 2029

She was as young as they'd come, being one of twelve years old. So she wasn't exactly a full-blooded American, but mixed of both white and Hmong, born to an American and Hmong immigrant. It was her mother who came from Laos that settled down in the east coast, up until she met her father, and together they married and had only little Carly Evans-Nguyen. Carly was more like her mother in appearance, definitely a girl who would never bring anyone to question her ethnicity upon first glance, which she could pass herself as a full Hmong.

This day was the worst day she'd come to ever know and experience, from the understanding of it. First, it started out with a hate-crime, where someone had broken into their nice house in a dead end town in Missouri, which left both of her parents dead. She wasn't there to see it live and in person, for she had been out with friends.

The place was a crime scene when returning, proving to be as big a nightmare as any other. Only, it wasn't a nightmare. It happened, some disturbed soul decided to play killer and take their lives like that. And the world stopped turning in her favor.

She sat on the porch, broken in and alone while numerous cops, forensics and some detectives were moving about. It was a slow process, and maybe the slowest thing she'd ever had the dishonor to live through. It wasn't like a wait for recess or lunch in middle school, nor like the impatiently slow wait for the bell to ring to notify when school was over. No, this was more of a hellish variety, a grand example of torture she heavily wanted to end.

Poor little Carly wasn't allowed inside for her own good, and hell, not even for awhile for that matter, not that they had it taped off-limits, but Carly was not going to be able to actually stomach being around here, especially with no one to take care of her.

She broke and fled the scene when it broke inside of her after trying so hard to withstand the heartache from this, a most silently powerful blow to her character. She ran and left the units to do their work. Of course, she had been noticed by some of the cops, whom didn't do much to keep little Carly from fleeing.

She made no effort to face it just yet, or close around the now if any. Her breath was shaking, as if she had finished running a mile nonstop. Her blurry vision had made it nearly hard to see ahead of her- and had it so she actually bumped into a man. "Ahh!"

"Excuse me, miss...!" The man shrugged, helping Carly stabilize on her feet. The man, a clean-shaven young man around his twenties, looking like one of those handsome guys that belonged in clothes commercials, smiled at her once noticing her tears. "Hey, are you okay?"

Carly had no reason to talk to a random stranger, let alone answer a question this one had asked her just like this. She shook her head at first, deciding to continue running, but she had also begun to feel like she needed to vent, to get her self-contained fluctuated emotions out of her system. "M-my p-parents..."

"Your parents?" The man looked down past Carly, noticing some siren lights several blocks away. "Oh, I see..."

She didn't expect him to remotely understand what she was thinking, but it was that she was too emotionally distraught that straight thinking eluded her for now. She circled around him and continued to run away, further from her house, when the man called out for her. She glanced over her shoulder only to find the suave man gone. It slowed her down enough to shift her eyes around, trying to locate the man who just vanished without a trace. Spooky. She let it go certainly quickly, not giving too much of a damn for it- and saw the man right in front of her.

"Agh, jeez!" Carly jumped back, heart sinking immensely from being startled by this occurrence. "H-hey- Why are you f-following me?"

"Carly..." The man responded, voice growing quieter and serious.

It put Carly on an uneasy spectrum, which made her suspicious of the man. And that was also before she added the ominous fact that he knew her name. The statue form of the young girl had kept her unable to move this time, radiating an aura of overwhelming fear that paralyzed her. She had no words to say, and her brain, giving her all the red alerts to escape, was found conflicting with her body that dared not budge. "Uh... Um..." It was all she forced out from her lips.

"Do not be alarmed," the creepy yet handsome man soothed gently, stretching out a hand, waving it in front of Carly. He closed his palm and then opened it again to reveal a shiny diamond. He drew closer to her, holding her hands to place the diamond.

It was astonishing and bewildering for her own eyes. What had little Carly seen; an authentic work of some otherworldly magic, or a professional con trick that was meant to rope her into being gullible to buy what he was about to try and sell. The diamond in her hands felt real enough, yet somewhat sharp between her fingers. Rough, but was shining impeccably within the sunlight, glittering gracefully.

"How- How did you-?" Carly kept moving her head from the diamond to this strange man. "Are y-you a-?"

The diamond rose into the air, hovering in front of her shock-strickened face. She gasped, not taking her brown eyes off of it, but had raised a hand to poke at it.

The gentleman, whom she had now noticed was wearing a suit similar to that of a tuxedo, still had his hand out for the diamond to land back on his grasp. When he plucked it from the air, he closed his hand yet again and reopened it to Carly, showing her the disappearance of the gem. "I can take you away from here, miss. All you have to say is the magic word."

"M-magic..." Carly looked back at the scene that heavily obstructed the street. No way she could go back there to an empty place now, and the fact that she had no close relatives who would take her in was a shot through the roof.

The reason she wasn't close to her extended family was due to both of her parents' side of their own family trees had never blessed or accepted the interracial romance between them. For her mother, Ying, it had to do with the customs her family followed, groomed ideally to marry a male of her own race, which didn't exactly work out in the end.

Thomas Evans dealt with the same bullshit as well, only with his old man and siblings, berated heavily for not keeping the bloodline pure of their next of kin, when they'd figure he would settle with a child or two with the "Vietnam whore" as they had described her. That's where he broke away his contact with them, but not with his mother, the only person who blessed the marriage, but could not make it at all.

Even as Carly had aunts, uncles and cousins, she and her parents were the outcast of both sides, with the girl having only met close friends of her parents, and some of their kids as well. Even still...

She had never real close family not counting her parents.

An uncontrollable response, an unpredictable body movement, had her take the man's hand, all while still having that unshakeable feeling that she should not have. And by logic, she shouldn't have accepted whatever this was. But still, as creepy as this man appeared to be, he didn't seem hostile, or came with an aura of malicious intent. And for that one reason, which defeated her logic, she accepted his hand and took it.

Next thing she collected into her brain was him pulling her right into his chest for what she thought was a suffocation attack. "Hey-!" She cried out, before going muffled into his chest.

The man covered her entirely with his arms for just a second, setting his own chin on top of her head, closing his eyes while chanting in some weird, foreign language. She struggled to get out and escape his clutches for a few seconds before he had stopped chanting, and in turn, had let go of her.

"Whoa!" Carly fell back, smacking her back right into a tree. "Hey-!"

They weren't in her hometown anymore.

"Wait, what's going on?" The biome was a forest one, but Carly was at the start of the treeline tjat ran for miles on both sides. In front of her were some railroad tracks, set along the opening. The man had transported them both to this natural place, somewhere away from civilization, through some mysteriously supernatural means. No magic could ever accomplish such a thing. "Hey, what- What have you done?! Where have you taken me?!"

"Now, now," the man calmly spoke. "One question at a time. Come, Carly, we have much to discuss."

The man took initiative and started wandering off to one direction, moving swiftly among the train tracks. Carly took another look again, hoping to spot any other person around, which became more impossible by the second. She then thought to get help by contacting one of her friends from school in this emergency, but somehow her phone was not in the pocket of her skinny jeans for some reason, despite knowing she had them, was sure of it. Did the magician swipe it or...?

She chased after him.

Night

He created a campfire where they huddled around for warmth. Carly was getting cold from behind, despite having clothes to fight it off, having both the jeans and a pink fluffy sweater. Her hands stuck out closer to the fire, adding for some extra warmth. The fire called fiercely, maintaining its existing life as it laughed its fiery laugh, keeping the two strangers company in the shadow of the night. The magician, if that was what he actually was, was across from her, on the opposite side of the fire. He hadn't say anything about himself, only giving her commands on what to do under the promise that he would eventually explain himself. And he was about to fulfill.

"Carly..." The magician readied to address himself. "Before we start, I'd like to express my sincerest condolences to the loss of your parents."

She noted his harmless, kind nature, but had looked away at the mention of her loving parents. "Th-thank you..." She sadly whispered, still emotionally wounded by today's dastardly event that took a sharp turn in her life. "Now, tell me what it is you want with me, and also... Who, or what are you?"

The magician smiled, having the appreciation of Carly's eagerness to know it all. "For the record, this isn't a kidnapping-"

"I mean, my phone is missing," she cut in.

"-And I apologize for making it appear like that. Excuse my bumpy mannerisms, but my name is Ray Robertson, and... Well, as you can guess, I am affiliated with the arts of magic and sorcery."

Carly raised an eyebrow. "Magic and... Are you saying you're a wizard? You don't look like one."

Ray laughed, shaking his head. "No, no, I am not a wizard, just a practitioner of magic on an expert level, as you have seen back home."

It made sense to her, even as it didn't at the same time. "Huh... I never believed in magic before. I mean, I watched the Harry Potter movies but, wow. So... Where do I fit into this?"

"I am able to foresee any helpless individual in dire need of saving or serious help, and I answer the call, for any vision that I can get. In this case, and I don't mean to be weird, but I saw you before we met, and so it was by destiny's firm hand that I come to you."

"Wh-what?" She was confused. "What do you mean saving me? I... I didn't need saving, Mister Robertson! Not me, my parents! My parents!"

What he kept to himself was that he had seen Carly as part of a larger design that required her presence, and all he needed to do was give her the push to assure she would partake in this unconventional path which a spot all ready for her. This was his real job, and then he'd go find another person who needed to wander into their design with his help. Carly was only the second person he had seen with a greater purpose, over the usual people he'd been used to rescuing. To say that he saw the future she participated in was too simple, yet one way to look at it. Either way, he was here to set Carly on a different path.

"Yes, I am aware of that, and again, I am sorry."

Carly was struck with anger, only seeing that this practitioner of magic had proven his authenticity and yet failed to prove his word by not intervening in the tragedy. That was it! This man was mocking her! "How dare you?!"

"Carly-"

"All this speak of helping poor souls is crap! Why didn't you just-?!"

Ray swooshed his left hand into the air, which changed the setting as if they were in some virtual reality; the forest surrounding them had vanished, replaced by an empty stage made for operas and plays. The setting changed from the grim dark to a lowly lit tan that filled about the ceiling and stage in full. Carly was in the front row, seated in one of the seats next to Ray. She was just as confused as she was before, and was about to ask what was happening when they gained two unexpected guests.

A man and a beautiful young woman were on the stage, slowly dancing as a song in the background played, presumably from behind the curtain. As Carly listened on, she realized she was listening to a song that felt like it belonged of the past century. "Where are we?"

Ray only looked on towards the couple, and only faintly did Carly see a sort of twinkle in his eyes that she didn't know to label as an illusion cast from her eyes or the real thing, which begged the question of why he looked like he wanted to cry. And when Carly looked back at the slow-dancing couple who didn't take notice of their existence, she made the connection; the man had turned out to be him. Apart from that, but Ray- dancing Ray- looked to be the exact same one as he did now.

"Oh..." Carly then found herself interested in the girl she assumed was his wife or lover. The girl looked to be around the man's age, if not younger, smiling widely in her black dress with a red stripe circling around the waist. "Who... Who is that woman?"

"My fiance... Or, ex-fiance," he informed Carly, twirling his fingers afterwards at the dancers. She looked on to see both lovers, from this possible flashback or memory play, stop and stare at them. Then, the pale girl in the black dress disappeared, which made her partner drop to his knees, tilt his head downward and brood. Ray let out a defeated sigh. "Saving everyone is logically impossible, and I hope you would never have to understand that, which would mean that you'd never be part of situations were you're not given those dilemmas or ultimatums, but..." .

Carly swayed from the stage to him, beginning to connect the dots of his message. "You mean...?" And she pointed a finger, waving it around, summing up his harsh lesson; he believed that because if was true, had to be, and it was only true if- "You lost her, didn't you?"

Carly wasn't planning to be direct about it, but she had to know. She had to know what he was trying to sell her, and whether or not she believed it was on her. "Well? Is that how you know?"

He never responded, which ended up answering for her the question. Then, he meant what he said earlier and told the truth. He did... Didn't he? But it only enticed her to be angry again.

"No, that can't be it! Th-that was only once! Y-you can do anything, right? Right?!" She grew desperate, voice starting to break as the body quake severely, more able to move this time. "H-hey, you can revive them! You can, I know you can- What are you waiting for?!"

Ray only turned his head and met her teary eyes, having the look that said he could not promise her anything, a sort of confrontational stare that challenged Carly's state of thinking, set on her emotional preference. "I simply cannot. Forgive me, child."

"No... No, don't-" She gripped and folded her hands into fists, thomping the air as if a table was in front of her. "Don't give me that! You pulled put a perfectly rare gem from your hands! If you can do that-"

The setting returned to its original form at Ray's expense, bringing them back to the campfire. "My magic has limitations, little one. Resurrection of the dead is not impossible, but it must never be done. Do you know why?"

"No... Tell me!" She demanded. "What is it that will not make you do this for me?"

He controlled the fire and created two fiery spheres above the fire, where he stood up and began a lecture. "There is a balance between life and death, which that itself is a balance on the universal scale. Everything, and I mean everything, has a reason for being in some degree."

"No... No, I don't buy that! My parents dying- What was the reason for that?! To- To hurt me?! Well, it worked!" She stumbled about, legs shaking from both the combined anger and pain that it tossed her on her knees. Hitting the ground repeatedly with her hands, she heaved out some broken words barely comprehensible. "Give- give them back to me! I just- I need them! I need them, please!"

The girl meant it for all that it was worth to her. For all that they were worth to her, and it was clear as daylight she'd do anything for the exchange. Or, that's what she'd claim, until he'd counter it with an impossible task or journey that was out of her hands. Then, she'd understand the price to break the balance, which she didn't understand just yet. "I'm sorry, but I cannot."

They may have been jabs to her frail, small heart, but Carly needed it. Carly needed to learn this the hard way. They were never coming back, but her life didn't have to derail because of it, needed to be reminded by her. "Fraud magic man! Nothing but a fraud!"

"Please, I have more to offer you... I can help you-"

"No, no, I-" She cried too hard that her words had finally become inaudible weeping.

Ray pulled out tissues from the sleeves of his fancy attire, flicking them to her. "I don't think your parents would want you to be sad, little one."

Carly wiped her face lightly with the few tissues and looked up at him from below. The sleeves of her pink sweater had gottwn dirty, as did her jeans, but she gave no substantial damn for it, or for anything else for that matter.

"I certainly know my own wouldn't want me to be sad, and to tell you the truth, it has been so dreadfully long since I've seen them... And I know they've passed as well, so we have that in common."

So what he was saying was that he understood her.

"I have much to teach you, little one," he revealed. "And I will do so, under the role of your personal caretaker."

Caretaker? This shocked her in a neutral way.

"Yes," he replied, dropping the mind-reading card. "When you're ready..."

February 17th, 2030

"Okay, again!" Ray spawned some shadow figures in the barren grassy field, right in front of the growing girl. The drills were simple; Carly was to practice her newfound skills and techniques onto them as fast as she could. The exercise was more or less like a virtual simulation, only it was possible for the girl to get hurt in this training, just one of many things she had the liberty of learning while under Ray's wing.

They lived in a cabin away from civilization, where she had died only to be reborn as a new person. A new Carly who'd come a long way after the atrocious devastation of her family. Yes, she missed them every so often, and wondered what could have happened if that never happened. She never dwelled on it too long, seeing as how overthinking it would slow and shut her down.

In between, she learned much about him and threw her trust slowly. The facts were never too specific, but Ray Robertson happened to be immortal, a curse that was the result of his older brother, a practitioner of Haitian voodoo and dark sorcery. It wasn't just him who was affected by the hand of his brother, but the girl Ray loved, his old fiance, had suffered a cruel fate, and that was it. No names were given, nor an idea of when or where it happened. But it didn't matter, and plus, she wasn't too rude or demanding to venture down that lane.

Carly swung her hands to punch the shadow figures using the fighting techniques she'd learned from Ray. She performed some roundhouse kicks, but her height was somewhat of a disadvantage to her leg swings as of yet. She still had a long way to go.

The style was basically that of a martial arts style of fighting, and more. She questioned it, but was under the impression since day one that he proposed this so that she could defend herself properly, overkill for a precautionary measure. She always figured she'd be a pacifist, or at least never having the thought that she'd get into trouble to the levep it called for use of this particular violence. Carly, a mere girl with a soft heart, had an ideal makeover now, and while she was young as well. What then?

After defeating the shadowy figures, she stretched out her limbs and cracked her knuckles. Her physique had been healthy all of her life, but she gained some muscle overall, to the point she felt she could break anything she held easily. Other than that, nothing had really changed, apart from her hair growing out long enough to reach her shoulders, which she found herself okay with. In the before time, she was irritated by that and cut her black hair. The earrings were another thing, but she kept them for now.

"Excellent, little one!" Ray proudly complimented. "You can take a break if you please."

"Hm?" Carly had a desire to keep at it, for she had begun to enjoy the fighting exercises. "Hold on, give me a few more!"

"Oh?" Ray was mesmerized in a good way. "My, you really love this, don't you?" He spawned five more punching bags for her. "Last bunch, I mean that."

Carly smiled pleasantly and worked her way through them, performing all her moves.

Later

The sun was setting low, and she was alone again, leaning against a tree, looking up into the heavens. Somewhere high above, they were watching her, and she had that distinct feeling it might have been true when a breeze moved directly to her face, blowing her hair out of place. It spoke to her like the gentle touch of a mother's warmth when she applied her hand to little Carly's face.

And Carly was still able to remember those times when both of her parents tucked her in, after one or the other had read a fairy tale. While she had found it a repetitive agenda, she never minded it at all. Not when they were there, giving her all the right love and attention. All the right support and affection she loved of them. Their faces, full of content behind the silliness, always a sight to treasure.

So why did she miss that only now? They were gone, but Carly had grown out of that child phase long before death wrapped its cold fingers around them. It made no sense for her to be- Unless... She did miss them, and it only took for her parents to be dead to realize it. She gasped. Why was this?

The horizon was a gleaming orange now, sparkling away as the sun, presented now as a dome, kept moving downward while the clouds around the spectacle were scattered in lines horizontally. A perfect sunset she found rather peaceful and calm at this time of year. And she smiled, snuggled perfectly to the tree she leaned against. She reached out in an effort to pluck the clouds out of the air; maybe by being around Ray long enough, the essence of his magic might have rubbed off on her, giving her the same properties as him.

Nope, no puffy cotton candy-like material entered her grasp at all, but it would have been wonderful if it was possible. And for posterity, it was indeed possible by Ray's specialties.

He joined her, standing right beside the tree. "What are we looking at?"

"The sunset..." Carly jerked her head forward, directing to it. "It's beautiful."

"It truly is quite a marvel, isn't it?" He set his hands to his hips and whistled. "Oh, man..."

"What, you've never taken the time to look at one?" Carly teased jokingly, responded with a blank expression by him. "Wait, you're kidding me, right?"

"No, I have... It's just been awhile is all..." He faced the sunset again. "But I've seen the dawn before, which feels longer to arrive in the day, I feel."

"Explain... I've never seen one, but they're the same thing, aren't they?"

"On the surface level, they are, yes." Ray began kicking away at some rocks beneath his feet. "But a dawn is just seen less by people, which is because of not only the time, but the fact that there's that darkness just before it. Not enough are up and about to watch it, and for those who are... I think they simply do not care."

She blinked idly.

"On the other hand, the sunset marks the end of a day, and more people tend to flock to it because it has wholesome value. Families, friends, and even couples come together to enjoy it together, whether at a park, at a backyard, or anywhere else. It always has more meaning than what we've believed when growing up... And now that I told you-"

Carly was baffled by such an analogy. "Holy shit, dude!"

"Ahem!"

"Okay, but that- That was very... Spiritual and deep."

"Well, I gave it some thought, but not too much thought, mind you. I hope you can carry this with you for the rest of your life, little one. See the sunset with kids-" He stopped, realizing she was still young than need be to give her such advice. "Oh, disregard my words."

She chuckled, then frowned. "I've never looked at it that way, no. I never- I never had the time to really notice things to that level there, Ray. Nor have I seen one together with my mom and dad. If only... Still, that makes me rethink what I thought I knew."

"Oh, hey, I don't mean to make your head rattle lifelong with such stuff. They come to you in due time, little one. You'll learn as you'll live, I can promise you that."

Carly had a question. "So... You, what about you? Have you seen your fair amount of both?"

"Oh... Well," Ray coughed. "I've only ever seen a few of each, but nothing to label it memorable."

"Huh... Figured you would by your answer to my question. Okay, so you proved me wrong, but I was talking in terms of appearance."

Ray simply raised his shoulders and smiled like a goof. "I guess a simple 'I don't think so' would have sufficed, huh?"

"I guess so, yeah." Carly was done admiring the sunset and moved back to their cabin uphill.

"Wait, I must drop some news regarding your future," he insisted, stopping Carly from heading back.

"My future? You mean the fact that you basically took me in, like, not at all legally? I've gotta be missing back home after all this time, too. Speaking of... What am I supposed to say when I do go back? I can't exactly say a magician raised me like some secluded person, can I?"

"No, no you cannot," Ray chuckled lightly. "I wasn't planning on having you stay around too long, just enough time to train you."

"Wait, train me for what?" Carly had the funny idea that he was looking for the next person to take his place. Weird. "I am so confused... Wait, you can see into-?"

"It's complicated, but I can, yes. Now..." He shot a hand out at her direction and flicked it upwards. "You'll be needing that."

He changed her clothes, which surprised her yet again with the magic. Carly now sported a black suit similar to a shinobi shozoku, coming with a hood and a dual-blade holster occupied by a pair of katanas. "Wait, why am I dressed as a ninja? And what-?" The katanas proved to be somewhat heavy for her. "Are you going to make me a freaking assassin?! Are you kidding me?!"

"No, no, it's nothing of the sort. Here, take my hand." He held it out for her, and she took it, faster than their first time before. "There is a special place for you, I just needed you to get ready for it. From there, your new friends will take matters into their hands, and your life will get better. You will know no loneliness again."

"Wait, what? What new friends? Hold on-" Carly got no respective answers with Ray wrapping himself around her in an awkward hug, muttering that strange language again. And she had yet to ask what it was.

Elsewhere

"Remember, you're here to get a job," Ray instructed her, placing his soft hands on her tiny shoulders. "Specifically as a bodyguard."

They stood near a narrow dirt road, standing in the middle of nowhere. Behind them, a rectangular building stood out in the open grassy field around. They were alone very briefly until three vehicles drove down the opposite direction, no doubt returning to the building up ahead.

"This seems kinda fishy... Bodyguard for who? And... What for?"

"Worry not, little one, for you will be falling into greatness. And if you're thinking you'd be doing some evil work, I can safely say you will not be. Okay, time to move."

"Move-?" Carly was hurled into the air, hiding above in the trees. "Hey, what am I-?!"

"Middle car is your target! Don't worry, I'll drop you when it approaches! Talk to Lisa Loud, she'll be riding in the middle."

"I don't know who that is! Wait, are you gonna stay?" Her legs kicked around in the air, desperate to be at ground level. "Ray?"

She stayed floating, watching the three white armored trucks pass beneath her. And just as Ray said, she landed on the roof, sticking out on all fours. The armored truck had stopped abruptly, jerking her body an inch backwards. "Damn it!"

She attracted multiple armed men from all three vehicles, facing down the barrels of many rifles and shotguns. It nervously spooked her enough to piss herself until she remembered what she was doing, under the instructions of her caretaker. "I want to speak to Lisa Loud! I know she's underneath me!" Carly kicked at the roof when standing up, arms held out. It was almost a miracle she hadn't been shot to shit. Maybe that was Ray's doing, from where he had hidden.

The armed security for this Lisa Loud person looked at each other with eyebrows raised before all centered on the middle truck.

"Well, if you cannot handle the waiting time for a scheduled meeting like all of my appointments..." A young woman of the high school variety, quite possibly a graduate, had emerged from the back of the rear, looking up at Carly. She was a brunette with some short, messy hair, wearing huge black glasses, dressed in a green shirt underneath a white coat and tan pants that spoke out simply but sophisticated at the same time. Her face was darkly unreadable, but it was like Lisa was doing the analyzing on the girl. "And who might you be, child?"

Carly was about to say her name, but she figured she needed something intimidating, yet interesting that it could sink hooks into others when it was spoken. Something, something that also had meaning the way Ray had presented conceptually to her.

Her parents, lives snatched by an angel of death in one of her better days, only for it to be the reverse thereafter. An... Angel of death... Took them-

"Well?" Lisa was rather impatient. "What is the meaning of intruding on such short notice?"

"My friends call me Cici," Carly revealed. "But for you, it's-"

Act I: Enter The Dawn, Chapter VII: Death Angel

March 3rd, 2030

Carly hadn't seen Ray since then, and wondered how he was doing. How intriguing had it been for her to actually meet someone affiliated with a world straight out of a fantasy movie. If that was real, then who was to say supernatural realms weren't either? Boy, that was a little unnerving and creepy to think about. Safe to say she wasn't part of it, meaning no residual danger from that.

Still, she had been curious about Ray's whole origin, and that woman from that live scenery he pulled out of his head. He showed it to appeal to her, and she knew that already. But... Was it actually real? Or did she get fooled?

She was cut off when the buzzing kicked off, letting her know the simulation was starting.

Lisa Loud took complete advantage of the minor martial artist, accepting her as her second private bodyguard, a weird decision thus far, and Carly had yet to be introduced to the first one. It was the potential that Carly had which pushed the decision, and now, here she was, the mixed girl of two different races, submitted and integrated into Vial Corporation and its endless cruelty which she had not known as of yet.

But here, it was different than that she knew. Here, she had been given more power, higher than the average security around the facility. But still, she was the girl who still needed a life, and Lisa herself saw to it that Carly received a few private tutors. Meanwhile, the Missing Persons case for Carly had been closed and taken care of by Lisa's influence, and it would be practically impossible for someone to figure out that Carly was not actually missing.

Her fighting skills were put to the test, closely watched and recorded to spot any weaknesses and places to focus and improvise by the combat instructor of this Vial Corp facility. Carly began to enjoy the blades, being a beginner as of yet with them.

"Initiating combat simulation!"

The beeping stopped, and Carly, staring down at the end of the round room, was now facing multiple holographic hostiles at once. Still dressed in her black suit and armed with her katanas, Carly reached her hands out behind and gripped the handles, sliding them out. "Let's go!"

May 29th, 2030

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

Not a drill, but an actual lockdown. It occurred to her that one, or maybe more hostiles, were barging in for an attack. She had been alerted of an attack that happened in the Dadetown facility, which sent this one to be more wary and cautious of any suspicious activity. Today was that day, it seemed. She strapped up to her katana holster, and came running right behind some of the guards passing by her personal room. "What's the consensus, doc?"

"Intruders at the main hall! Do not let them infiltrate the data room! Stop them at all costs!"

She followed the armed security to the staircase when two figures had already appeared at the second floor, stopping them shortly. "Hey, what's going on? Why did you guys-?" She broke through the circle, coming face-to-face with two blonde women in white, armored suits. "Who-?"

She blinked once- and upon opening her eyes, they were gone. This followed by a sudden gust of air that blew her hair fluttering backwards. Not only that, but somehow the weight of her katana pack had become light. She touched her back and felt nothing there. "What the-?"

Lana had disarmed her while Lola took care of the opposition, knocking them out with gut punches. "Hey, what's with this little girl, Lola?"

Carly put her hood on and lunged at Lana, but the speedster got out of the way. "Holy-" She fell, coming right in contact with Lola's feet.

"This isn't a pheno, Lana. She's trying to fight us." Lola picked Carly up and performed a sleeping hold. "Goodnight, girly."

And Carly lost that fight, proceeding to drift off into sleep.

AN: Cici, ladies and gentlemen! More scenes with her are around the corner, as well as her befriending some certain Louds down the road. I've got big plans for her, so just wait for them to unveil. Cici, taking on the role that Lucy had in the 2026 series, which in complex terms is, she was the original Lucy, in the whole "ninja" department, which I know isn't exactly fitted for Lucy, hence a corrected mistake on my part.

Ray Robertson, an original creation made by me since... Fuck knows. Same origin intact, and I'm glad I found a spot to place and establish him this time. Quite a role he plays for not one, not two but three characters in total, directly that is. It's the look that I decided to change... Just imagine him as a Ben Barnes lookalike, I guess. I'm not good with these things xD. More of Ray down the line, for like a few more chapters. Don't worry, his backstory is all set.

I'm going the supernatural route here, more than with magic. Next chapter is a dive into it; Demon Hunter. Does thou want to miss it?