(A/n: Forgot to mention that I've surpassed Valentine Academy in terms of chapters. Expect a Stenny one-shot on Christmas! Also, thank you for the fave, Miply)

Chapter 52: The State Harboring A Parasite- Pt.1

*A Little More Than Half A Week Ago*

Trent

"Where are we even going?" Eric asked. He and Trent had stopped bickering a minute ago, when a couple of monsters were alerted of their presence thanks to their voices. They were taken care of within mere seconds.

"Are you blind?" Trent asked in disbelief. "Do you not see the light up ahead?"

Eric glared at him, though he couldn't see it. They're walking in the dark, preserving their magical energy in case they run into a Being of Darkness. Before Eric could retort, Ebony spoke in an annoyed tone. "Please refrain from riling him up. I don't want to hear another trivial argument."

"Agreed," Zerphy said.

"Hmph," Trent huffed. Eric snickered, to which he ignored.

The walk towards the unknown light in the distance was going to take a while since they weren't in much of a hurry. They were a fearless group, mainly because Zerphy did majority of the fighting, killing every monster that dared to stand in their path or come their way. Trent would never admit this out loud otherwise Eric would pester him more, but he's scared of Zerphy more than the monsters and Ebony combined. Underneath her unnatural beauty was a beast that craved and enjoyed battle. An elegant but ruthless beast. A few days after Zerphy came to earth, that being when he and Eric were 10 years old, he slowly began to understand what Ebony meant regarding the other spirits gossiping about Zerphy's personality. Upon a glance she seemed sweet, if not mysterious, and that's thanks to her eyes. They're a blood red, except she had no pupils. Whenever she spoke, her voice was angelic. In reality, however, she was quick to lose her temper, though she would almost immediately try to calm herself down. This occurred five times before, they were all directed at Beings of Darkness'. Somehow, those things had dirt on her, that she was far crueler and equivocal than the average Dark spirit. They would feel her wrath right afterwards, making sure to silence them forever. Whatever her past deeds were, Trent got the feeling they were quite severe and were going to most likely remain a mystery.

After what felt like hours, when it's only been close to an hour, the quartet was getting a little closer to the unknown source that had been the only thing emitting any sort of light within the State. The sound of their footsteps changed, it now felt like they were treading on grass. Withered grass. Every strand was discolored black, making it seem as though they're walking on nothing. The crunchy sounds of their every step disposed of the uncomfortable imagery.

They stopped before a throng of trees. Their leaves suffered the same fate as the grass, yet they managed to stay intact to the branches. This was presumably the woods. More than a dozen red eyes shined into the darkness from within the trees.

"Nothing but crow monsters. Again," Zerphy muttered, bored of fighting the same creatures day after day.

"Why are they so common?" Eric asked for he, too, felt the same way. "Crows aren't the only bird species."

"Maybe they are now or they've never been crows in the first place," Trent presumed. Every animal had been transformed into appalling monsters by the darkness, after all. Perhaps these crow monsters could be pigeons or blue jays or something.

"Either way, they are the easiest to kill, so there's no point complaining," Ebony said. "Our main objective is to defeat the Dark Lord and the darkness. The easier the enemies, the better."

"Fair point," Trent said. He wanted to save the world. If they kept facing strong monsters, then not only would it take longer, they could also lose their lives. He refused to die while the world was this shitty.

"I suppose so..." Zerphy murmured, almost as if she didn't completely agree with the latter part of Ebony's statement.

Ebony held up a hand in front of her with her palm facing upwards, and produced a pale blue Orb of Light. It illuminated their surroundings greatly. The mere sight of the pretty magical orb angered the winged creatures. They all released loud and harsh cries before rushing their way.

Zerphy inched forward, frowning despite the large number and their swift approach. Trent, Ebony, and Eric remained where they were. This wasn't the first time they let Zerphy handle situations like this on her own, and it probably wouldn't be the last. Ebony at first tried to talk herself into fighting alongside her when they were surrounded by a mass of grisly-looking monsters when Trent and Eric were still children, but Zerphy merely used a glamorous attack to eradicate them all. It happened so fast even though the boys and Ebony hadn't taken their eyes away from her and their foes. All Trent remembered seeing was some kind of sword magically appearing in her right hand that's held up near her chest, the pink blade was thin and long, its tip was very pointy. She spun around gracefully like a ballerina, her long, blonde hair swaying behind her. She went back to her previous stance, though her left arm was bent behind her back. All of a sudden, every single monster stopped moving and making any noise, then multiple heads of red and black roses along with splatters of purple blood burst from their severed bodies. The flowers vanished before they made contact with the ground. What she did was enchanting, as well as ominous. Since then on, no matter how many monsters there were, no one offered to help her kill them. Trent was still unsure whether if it was because of pride or to satisfy her hunger for battle. For all he knew, it could be both.

He wondered if she was going to do that same flashy attack on the crow monsters. He soon got his answer when tiny reddish-pink particles manifested by her right hand. This time, he and the others got to get a good look at her weapon once it fully took form. It's an elegantly designed rapier—the handle that she lightly gripped was black and the hilt was a rich red. In one swift motion, she killed the crow monsters as soon as they were within range with a single slash. A brief glint of red flashed horizontally and they went utterly still. A millisecond later, purple blood and numerous stemless red and black roses erupted from their sliced off bodies. They began to disintegrate while dropping to the ground while the flowers disappeared in the air during their slow descent. The squelching of blood and spilt corpses filled the silence. Zerphy sighed as she whisked away her weapon and lowered her arm to her side, still dissatisfied.

"I'm killing the next batch we come across," Trent declared. They went around the crumbling remains and entered the dead woods.

"That's if there's even any of 'em left," Eric said. He scrunched up his face in disgust and so did the others when a very pungent stench entered their noses. The source caused them to stop. The strong odor was coming from a bunch of human and several animal cadavers scattered throughout—either completely devoured or decayed. It appeared these all had been here for months or perhaps longer.

"That's fucking vile," Eric commented, covering his mouth and nose with both hands.

"S-since we have a ways to go until we reach the exit, I'll transport us out of here," Ebony said, relieving the three, though Eric was the only one to vocally express it. She got rid of the Orb of Light by closing her hand into a fist, the scintillating ball imploding into minuscule particles without a sound. The immense darkness lasted only for one second until all of their bodies shined in a pale blue glow. They're instantly teleported to the outskirts of the woods.

Eric removed his hands from his face, then inhaled deeply. "Ahhh, fresh air."

Trent did the same without the dramatics, but he didn't blame Eric. That was by far the worst thing he'd ever smelled. Eric's farts were now the second worst. "Seems we're only twenty or so meters away from our destination," Zerphy calculated.

Trent noticed that they could see more of where the light was coming from. He could make out a long roof protruding far behind some of the destroyed buildings up ahead. "Is that a mansion?"

"Looks like it," Eric said, squinting his eyes.

"We're going to have to continue approaching it on foot," Ebony said as she resumed walking. Trent and the others followed suit. "A large Cessation barrier is surrounding it, preventing us from getting close by using teleportation."

"Damn, you could tell from this far?" Trent couldn't sense even a smidgen of magical energy from here.

"Elemental Insight, remember?" Ebony said, sounding like a disappointed teacher.

Eric shook his head. "Even I knew to do that."

"Did you really?" Zerphy asked, not believing him.

"Of course," Eric responded, offended by her distrust. "The barrier was created by someone with Dark magic." He smirked.

His correct assessment put a small, approving smile on his Inner Guardian's face. "Seems you did. My apologies." Eric rubbed under his nose, still smirking.

Trent just huffed and rolled his eyes. Okay, so he forgot. It's not that big of a deal. Elemental Insight was a beginner level ability similar to Inner Aura Detection. The main and only difference was the amount of mental effort one needed to exert in order to perceive someone or something from afar. Elemental Insight was less harmful as long as the person or the object created out of magical energy wasn't more than fifty meters away, plus it could be cast while on the move.

They ambled in the darkness again. The more they walked, Trent began to suspect there were no more monsters within the vicinity. He stuffed his hands into his sleeveless hoodie pocket. It was starting to get a little cold. Eric started up a conversation out of boredom.

"What if the people that are still alive are all living in the mansion?"

Trent shrugged. "Depends on how many."

"It's gotta be a lot if they managed to kill damn near all of the monsters here."

"It's also possible for a small group to accomplish such a feat over time," Zerphy said.

"True," Eric responded with a nod.

"Wait, stop," Ebony suddenly said as they came to a quick halt. They're standing in the middle of the street. No one uttered another word, even though Trent and Eric were confused, but that feeling didn't last long for they heard a strange commotion. It's coming from one of the ruined shops.

"What the hell is that sound?" Eric whispered.

Zerphy summoned her rapier in her right hand. "It's a spawn zone," she said eagerly.

"Which means nighttime has arrived," Ebony said, apprehensive. "Let's get rid of it quickly."

"Naturally." Zerphy took off up the street, her high heels clacking rapidly on concrete as she ran towards the building that's halfway in shambles. Her figure soon disappeared behind a wall, and she engaged into what's going to be a very brief battle.

"She's so badass," Eric praised, as if mesmerized.

Trent rolled his eyes again. "We get it, you still have the hots for her."

Eric shot him a glare. "S-shut up! No, I don't." Trent could tell he was blushing just from his flustered response.

"You'd best dispel any lingering feelings for her," Ebony advised.

"I-"

Before Eric could reply back, Zerphy returned in vibrant reddish-pink streaks of light, making him jolt. "I believe we should check the other buildings for any more spawn zones, then we can seal this place."

Ebony nodded. "Good idea. We must make haste." The four split up into pairs to cover more ground. The boys went with their Inner Guardians. They all specialized in close combat, but Trent and Ebony kept it simple with Enhanced Orbs of Lights. Eric was able to use his red auras to create weapons, and he threw nothing but knives at the monsters' incomplete forms. Zerphy continued to use her rapier to either stab or slice them. It didn't take them too long to annihilate the big nests, there weren't much of them like Trent expected them to be. They regrouped outside of the small town. Just when Trent was about to seal the whole area off within a barrier, shrill distorted cries pierced through the silence.

"So there was one more left," Zerphy said.

"I'll take care of it." Trent's body appeared as if he abruptly exploded into pretty turquoise and white sparkles as he teleported to where the crying was coming from, it being the roof of what used to be a convenience store. He stood not too close in front of a nest. He could discern six moving heads sticking out of it. They were babies, which was a good thing. He stuck out a hand towards the nest, knowing exactly what spell to cast. As soon as his hand emitted a turquoise-colored aura, the babies' cries of fear intensified in a panic and they began to scramble out of the nest. Trent trapped them along with their nest inside a greenish-blue bubble outlined in a white color. The shrieking became moderately muffled, but evidently more frantic. He neared the large sphere, placing his palm gently against it. "Divine Toxin," he uttered. The bubble's color altered to being just green while a yellow hue intermixed with the white. A white and yellow-colored gas appeared out of thin air within the bubble, and the baby crow monsters' bodies and their nest began to melt. The crying and screaming reduced to garbled noises, then to silence. Once the infant creatures and their home were a pool of black and purple goop, Trent stepped back and closed his hand into a fist, prompting the bubble to swiftly shrink out of existence, taking the liquified remains with it. His aura disappeared, then he teleported back to Ebony, Eric, and Zerphy. He sealed the small town within a large turquoise barrier.

"That was way too easy," Eric said, though he wasn't discontented about it.

"That's only because we acted fast," Ebony said. "It would've went differently had they all managed to form completely. Now let's continue."

They resumed on their way without any more interruptions. As they gradually got closer, the speculations about the building being a mansion started to become true. They also saw a functioning water fountain in the very center of the arched driveway, the water looked clean. There were a few expensive-looking cars parked in a neat curved line. The porch light was on. Before long, they finally arrived at their destination, standing next to the fountain. Trent let out a low whistle, him and Eric awed by the sight of the mansion having maintained such perfect condition.

"Maybe I was right," Eric said, referring to his earlier statement regarding there possibly being a lot of residents still alive inside the mansion.

"Not necessarily," Zerphy said, frowning.

"Trent, Eric, perceive the interior with your Inner Aura Detection," Ebony instructed, frowning as well.

The two teens did as told. They stared intently at the mansion, then within it. Through Trent's eyes, the building and the miscellaneous items were shown in dark grey colors while the seven figures he saw were highlighted. They were inside different rooms, though two of them were together in a room. Only five of them possessed Inner Auras—three were males and the other two were females. The last two, a woman and a little boy, were ordinary humans. He could tell right away that two of the males had the ability to control both Dark and Light magic based on the adult having a smoky-colored Inner Aura, and the teen's was a brighter shade of grey—borderline white. The man was definitely the teen's Inner Guardian. The last male teenager's Inner Aura was green, indicating that he possessed just Dark magic. The two female teenagers were the same—the color of one of their Inner Auras was green as well and the other's was a pinkish red. But Trent didn't see what was causing Ebony and Zerphy to frown.

Suddenly, the Mixed Inner Guardian's figure stood behind the front wooden doors. Trent didn't blink until just now to return his vision back to normal, yet he didn't see the guy move. The spirit opened one of the wooden doors and stepped out onto the porch, leaving the door ajar a little bit. It was kind of strange that he was wearing a butler suit, the tie was blue. He had short and unkempt blonde-silver hair and his angular eyes were grey-blue. He gave them a warm smile. "Were you all guided here as well?" He asked in a thick yet ineligible German accent.

"Are you referring to the human that is venerated as 'The Wandering Savior'?" Zerphy asked before anyone else could respond.

Trent remembered them encountering that person six years ago in the State they'd been living in ever since Eric and his mother had randomly showed up there. The individual was a middle-aged man. He had short, brown hair and plum-colored eyes behind black round-rimmed glasses. He wore a semi-formal attire consisting of a white dress shirt, brown khaki pants, and shiny black dress shoes. At that time, he had a small entourage of a family of three and an elderly man. How he knew the trio was a family was because the man had made it known. Trent wouldn't had figured they were related due to their unalike appearances. The woman had long, red hair and maroon-colored eyes while her daughter's hair and eye color were light brown and dark brown, and her son had brown hair and dark green eyes. He was clearly the oldest since he was taller than his mother. The state of the family's eyes were identical to Ms. Cartman's. Seemed the redhead's children took after their father...or she wasn't their biological mother. The brown-haired man had brought them all there with the hopes of letting them stay while he proceeded on with his voyage. Ebony understood and was more than happy to look after them until they were comfortable in the house next door to theirs, getting rid of the expired foods and drinks and helping them restock. She'd preserved three grocery stores within Cessation Barriers and confined several other shops and stores in normal barriers to keep the monsters away from them, that is until the man imparted extremely important information before departing, which had been very helpful even to this day, and still would since it was a vital step that would save the entire world. Hence, Trent and the others started their own journey. But before they did, Ebony put Cessation Barriers around both houses to prevent the sustenances from going bad. That's when Zerphy came to earth, wanting to lend a personal hand taking care of the monsters and their spawn points. That was supposedly her reason.

The Mixed Inner Guardian blinked in slight shock and confusion. "I did not know zhat was his title, but I suppose it suits him given his altruistic deeds."

"Then to answer your question, no. We came here of our own accord," Zerphy said.

Eric jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "And we dealt with the monsters and spawn zone, then sealed off the area, so you're welcome."

The Mixed spirit smiled again, appearing grateful by the news. "I see zhat. Zhank you very much for zhe support." He stepped aside and opened the door he came out through all the way. "Care to come inside?"

"Gladly." An eager Eric was the first to take him up on the offer. Trent, Ebony, and Zerphy soon followed. Ebony nodded appreciatively as soon as they're on the porch. The butler spirit walked in once they're all inside and closed the door.

The four looked around the luxurious foyer as they stopped. For some reason, the place felt...empty to Trent. He knew they weren't alone in here, but he still couldn't help feeling this way despite the fact. Perhaps he was overthinking it since this was his first time being inside of an extravagant abode.

"Have you all eaten-"

"No," Eric replied, cutting the Mixed Inner Guardian off, who took no offense as he sauntered past them.

"Zhis way please."

Trent and the others trailed behind him out of the entrance area and into the dining hall. The sight of the expansively embellished room and the long table that barely had anything on top of it didn't sit right with Trent either. Even before the world had gone to shit, he doubted all of the chairs would've been occupied with the inhabitants that once resided here.

The butler spirit stopped and politely gestured for them to sit down at the table. "Have a seat. Your meals will be served to you all shortly."

"Are you gonna be the only one cooking?" Eric asked, an eyebrow raised as he and the rest neared a chair to sit down in. Him and Zerphy sat next to each other, Trent and Ebony sat across from them.

"The only person he's allowed to cook for is me," spoke a new voice.

All eyes looked to see a dark-skinned teen approaching, a teasing grin on his attractive face. His black hair was an inch away from touching his shoulders and he had navy-blue eyes. He's wearing dark blue pajamas made of satin with golden trimming and had designs that appeared to be tiny white stars on both the long-sleeved top and pants. On his feet were a pair of fluffy, white slippers. Based solely on his magical energy, Trent knew he was the host for the Mixed Inner Guardian. But...he looked oddly familiar...

"Ahem. You shouldn't lie to your guests, Young Master Tolkien." Trent and Eric widened their eyes.

Tolkien waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, relax, Sullivan. I was just jokin' anyway." He stopped behind the vacant chair at the end of the table closest to the group. He waved at the two female Inner Guardians. They greeted him back with a nod. Sullivan wandered off, seemingly to the kitchen.

"Tolkien?!" Eric practically yelled.

Said teen looked puzzled by his sudden realization. He studied the brunette for a few moments, then averted his attention to Trent. Disbelief developed on his face. "Trent?"

Trent blinked his eyes back to normal size, though his astonishment shifted. It didn't sound like Tolkien merely guessed his identity despite his tentative tone. "How'd you know?"

"Your eyes," Tolkien responded with certainty. "You were the only kid in elementary that had black eyes, and they're still freaky to look at. Uh, no offense."

"Nah, you're right. It's like he doesn't have any pupils. It's super creepy."

Trent shot Eric's smirking mug a glare. Bold of him to say that when he's literally sitting right next to his Inner Guardian. He pointed a finger at Eric. He pointed a finger at him. "Well he used to be the fattest kid in the school." It was Tolkien's turn to appear surprised.

Eric glared back at Trent. "Oi! I wasn't fat, I was big-boned!"

"That's definitely Eric, alright," a voice of a female said amusedly. Walking in were doubtlessly Tolkien's friends, even though Trent didn't fully recognize them, especially the guy wearing glasses that had very dark lenses. How the hell was he able to see through them? The three teens were dressed in similar nightwear with dissimilar-colored socks on their feet. Their pajamas were different in color and design. The dark-skinned female with long, black hair and dark blue eyes was cow printed with black trimming, her socks were white. The other female with light brown hair that went down to her back and had jade green eyes was light blue and decorated with small sunflower heads with white trimming, her socks were yellow. The male with short and slightly curly brown hair was a plain red with silver trimming, his socks were black.

Eric stared at them with furrowed eyebrows, looking as though he's trying to figure out who they were. They stood next to Tolkien. Trent was mostly curious about the guy in glasses, and so were Ebony and Zerphy, who silently greeted the three teens when they waved at them. The fact that the brunette acknowledged their presence doubled Trent's curiosity. And then it clicked. The guy was blind.

Sensing that Trent and Eric weren't going to figure who the other three were anytime soon, Tolkien decided to tell them. He pointed at the African-American girl. "Nichole." He pointed at the other female. "Heidi." Lastly, he pointed at his male friend. "Jimmy."

The last name took Trent and Eric aback. "Huh?!" Eric pointed at the brown-haired teen. "That's Jimmy?!" The teen himself confirmed by nodding his head. Confusion replaced shock. "But weren't you crippled and needed crutches?"

"A-as you can s-see, I no l-longer need t-them," Jimmy responded evenly. Hearing him stutter further proved that he was the disabled child that transferred to Park Tree Elementary School. The one Trent made fun of once. He wondered if Jimmy still remembered.

"But damn, Eric," Nicole said, smiling a little. "Never thought we'd see you again not only with all your fat completely gone, but without Stan, Kyle, and Kenny."

Heidi nodded in agreement. "Right. You four were almost always together."

Eric frowned at the mention of his best friends. Trent knew about the history between them, that due to his past actions, Eric was certain they didn't want to be friends with him anymore. Not that Trent would blame them. He nearly killed Kenny and wanted to take Kyle's life. He also revealed that Kenny was immortal. Trent still found that hard to believe. "Screw them." Then Eric grinned at Trent. "Trent's my new best friend."

"Unfortunately," the blonde muttered flatly.

"But didn't he used to make fun of you a lot?" Tolkien asked.

"He picked on everybody back then in school," Eric pointed out.

"But it was mostly you cuz I actually hated your fat guts," Trent admitted. His reputation as the infamous bully of Park Tree Elementary hadn't been forgotten, not that he's bothered by it.

Eric's eyebrow twitched and his smile became strained. "That's all in the past. I've forgiven you."

That's such an obvious lie. "Yeah, right," Trent scoffed.

"Ladies and gentlemen..." came Sullivan's voice. He along with two maids were coming into the dining hall. Seemed he really meant what he said. Each maid was pushing a vintage serving cart made of mahogany with the dishes covered by a metallic lid. Beside them were four sets of utensils enveloped within clean napkins, thin red strings kept them tied up. The maids halted behind their guests on each side of the table. "Your dinner has arrived." As soon as the maids uncovered the dishes, a mouthwatering fragrance filled the air.

"I'm getting hungry again," Heidi said, transfixed on the plates of lasagna that were being served to Trent, Eric, and their Inner Guardians. Nichole patted her shoulder with a short laugh.

"That's our cue to leave," Tolkien announced. "I hope you guys enjoy your stay, however long you're gonna be staying for." They all bid each other goodnight, then Tolkien and his friends left.

"Where'd they come from?" Eric asked, referring to the maids, who were now setting their wrapped up utensils down on the table next to their plates.

"I summoned zhem," Sullivan answered.

Ebony regarded him with wide eyes. "That must mean-" She got silenced by Sullivan putting a finger up to his lips. Ebony nodded in understanding and began to untie her napkin. Trent wondered what that was about. He was for sure going to question Ebony on what she was going to say after they're finished eating.

"When you are done, leave your plates and silverware on zhe table. Zhe maids will take zhem away and I will escort you all to a room."

"We will," Ebony said. "Thank you for the hospitality."

"It's our pleazure," Sullivan responded with a kind smile.

"Can I get somethin' to drink?" Eric asked, a fork in hand.

"What would you like?" Sullivan inquired.

"Got any alcohol?" Eric asked slyly. Trent shook his head, knowing what the answer was going to be.

Sullivan chuckled. "Yes, but zhose are off-limits." He knew it.

Eric frowned. "Hmph, fine. I'll have a soda."

"Very well. Would zhe rest of you like a beverage as well?"

"I want a soda too," Trent said, using his knife to chop up his lasagna into small, uneven portions. Ebony and Zerphy shook their heads, both holding a knife and fork in each hand. The maids went off to prepare the boys' requested drinks.

"Remember to eat slowly, Eric," Zerphy said, akin to a disciplinary mother. She began to cut her lasagna with delicate precision, a huge contrast to how she wielded her rapier. Ebony did the same.

Eric pouted. "I know." He tried to cut off a piece of his lasagna with his fork, but was struggling.

The maids returned with Trent's and Eric's sodas in a glass cup, then they disappeared. And so did Sullivan, giving the four their privacy.