Chapter 1. "Under the Malibu Moon"
Somehow, and for some reason, whenever these kinds of plans were carried out, they always began on a dark and stormy night. They always found it really curious and intriguing, though not enough to actually look into it. However, right now things were different. It wasn't a dark and stormy night, it was actually quite the opposite: a rather pleasant night on a beautiful beach under a full moon.
And, unlike what they had been assured—that is, a completely isolated area where they could appear to begin their operations—right now there was a young teenage couple, probably young adults who had run away from their respective homes. They had thought a midnight stroll on the beach would be romantic, or at least the young man had, and the girl had agreed without much of a fight. Truth be told, it's not like they cared, at least not at that moment, and frankly they weren't sure they would care in the future...
But back to the two youngsters, right now they had both just sat down to watch the full moon as it began to rise over the water, without even considering the near total darkness that, for some reason, was about to occur at that very moment, something that left them completely confused.
And the explosion-like crack that followed the total loss of light, followed by an impact on the soft sand in the dune beside them, only made the scene even more terrifying.
"What the hell was that?" exclaimed the young man, his voice tinged with frustration. He was about to kiss his girlfriend when darkness enveloped them, followed by that crack that echoed through the night. The girl, her heart pounding, clung to his arm. A tense silence fell over the beach, broken only by the sound of the waves.
"I don't know, let's get out of here, okay?" the young woman asked her boyfriend, trying to stand up. Her voice trembled slightly. She lived in the United States, and although she wasn't one to encourage those kinds of stereotypes, those kinds of sounds never meant anything good. "That sounded like a gunshot! We should get out of here!"
The young man was scared too, of course. Only a fool or an idiot wouldn't be scared in a situation like this. However, the sound they heard hadn't sounded like a gunshot at all, at least not from any weapon he knew of, and although he knew this was probably a bad idea, one of the few things any adult will tell you about their teenage years is that "they were incredibly reckless and idiotic when they were with a girl."
"A gunshot?" he repeated to himself with a nervous laugh, struggling not to look scared in front of his girl. "I don't think it was a gunshot, unless raccoons have learned to use guns, I mean, there's no one here."
His attempt at a joke wasn't really very effective, after all, it was obvious he was terrified. And while that sound hadn't been a gunshot at all, and he was sure of that, it sounded almost as if something had materialized out of thin air, almost like the descriptions of apparition in the Harry Potter books, and now, with the darkness growing thicker, he couldn't help but feel the sensation that someone was watching them.
"Don't be a chicken," he simply had to mentally reprimand himself. "You're a man, you can't let a girl see you shaking with fear."
With that last thought, he gave a sigh of resignation and set out to do what any reasonable adult would tell him was not a good idea. However, the teenager who listens to the advice of adults has not yet been born, so he did what any idiotic teenager would do in this situation: go investigate.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it's just kids throwing firecrackers," he said with a wry smile, completely ignoring the fact that it was past midnight and it wasn't Halloween or any other holiday where parents would allow their kids to make noise at that hour. "Relax, okay? I'll go take a quick look and if it's nothing, we'll get out of here so they don't bother us."
Any high school teacher in the world would have rolled their eyes at such a display of "teenage logic."
The girl tried to gently plead with him not to, she really tried to stop him from going, to make him come back, but fear, hormones, and, frankly speaking, "teenage idiocy," didn't make him listen. So she just gave him a reassuring smile, not noticing that she was actually more concerned for her own safety, and not just his.
It was too late for her to do anything, as he climbed up the slope in a rather clumsy way, by the way, and when he reached the top he looked over the edge to see nothing more than a piece of black cloth, maybe a garbage bag or something, moving gently in the slight breeze on the other side of the dune.
He let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding at that moment, and turned to tell his girl that it was nothing and that they could rest easy. And, almost as if fate hated him, a second crack, followed by a much more prominent flash of light, was heard the very moment he turned around, this one being much louder than the previous one. And when he turned to see what the hell was going on now, he realized that about three meters above the dune he was standing on right now... something had appeared out of nowhere.
"It had to be a damn joke, right?" The magical world of Harry Potter really existed, and he wasn't a wizard. The world wasn't fair.
He had no more time to continue with his indignation, because at that very moment the logical part of his brain, or rather, the fight or flight instinct, kicked in as he realized one thing: whatever those things were, they were going to fall right on top of him!
Instinct, coupled with the suddenness of the situation and the loud sound, seemed to have completely unleashed his fight-or-flight reactions. Not in the best way, of course, as he dove forward trying to avoid whatever was about to hit him. But considering he only had a split second, it was really the only option he had, although maybe he should have seen better where he was jumping, because he launched himself in the direction he was originally looking and went through the dune and started rolling down it.
The sand got in his mouth, in his eyes, in his nose... even in places he didn't know he had. He felt the world become a whirlwind of confusing colors and sensations. He felt the hard impact against the ground, the pain in his knees and elbows, his breath escaping from his lungs as he rolled and rolled without being able to stop.
—"Personal note: next time you jump, don't take the longest route." He thought in a confused mix of despair and frustration with himself.
Suddenly, the fall ended. He found himself face down in the sand, completely dazed and with his body aching. He coughed, spitting out sand and trying to catch his breath. He tried to sit up again with noticeable effort. He sat up and looked around. The dune loomed over him, and at the top... there were... he didn't know how to describe what he was seeing, and what was staring back at him: six pairs of bright eyes of various colors looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.
—"Fucking hormones!" He couldn't help but curse. He couldn't just listen to Lizzy and get out of there. Oh no, he had to listen to his damn hormones and end up in a situation so... so... he didn't even know how to describe how he felt right now.
For her part, Lizzy was scared to death. The second roar, a roar that seemed to split the night in two, followed by a blinding flash of intense blue, had left her paralyzed. Her boyfriend's exclamation of surprise and panic, now far from her sight, only intensified her anguish. She had no idea what was going on, but a primal terror gripped her. Her heart pounded, her breath quickened in her chest, and a cold sweat ran down her forehead.
The darkness enveloped her like a living, menacing creature. The sound of the wind whistled between the dunes, creating a haunting melody. She felt the need to run, to get as far away from that place as quickly as possible. But the image of her boyfriend, alone and in danger, held her back. She had to go help him, make sure he was okay.
Her mind and her instincts battled each other, leaving her trapped in torturous immobility. She wanted to scream, to call for help, but fear sealed her throat. She hated this situation, this uncertainty, this feeling of being completely at the mercy of the unknown. "What happened?" she wondered desperately.
Back with the boy, or rather, at the top of the dune, one of the women who had appeared—the leader, if his instincts were right—let out a deep sigh before turning to a girl with black hair and violet eyes who now looked apprehensive.
—"Damn it, Neo..." Alpha muttered, frowning and bringing a hand to her forehead. "You really had to do this, didn't you? Why do you have this overwhelming need to draw attention to yourself?" She sighed, feeling frustration wash over her. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted her with this," she thought resignedly. "She always has to do things her own way..."
Beside her, Beta watched the scene with a mixture of weariness and concern. Her blue eyes, normally bright and full of energy, now reflected a deep exhaustion. She knew they shouldn't have sent Neo as the first, but considering the situation and that she assured them that she could clear the scene of witnesses with her illusory ability, it had seemed like a good idea. But the desperation to find a new home had made them forget one very important detail... Neo had no idea what the word subtlety meant.
—"What do we do now, Alpha?" the redhead asked with a sigh, her voice heavy with resignation.
Alpha simply had to grimace in frustration before focusing her equally tired gaze on her lifelong companion.
—"I don't know, Beta," she finally replied, after a short pause, as she ran a hand through her hair. "We were supposed to get in and prepare for his arrival in a quiet place without being detected. Damn it, Neo was supposed to secure the area with her illusions for our arrival."
—"And we were supposed to prepare the arrival for him, and with him here, explore the world before deciding if it was suitable to inhabit," Beta completed, who couldn't help but make a face of her own at the gravity of the situation. "But now, we have two humans: one unaware of what's going on... blessed dunes, by the way, and one who looks at us like a deer caught in the headlights..." She really felt like strangling Neo right now, that silly girl and her need to play with people.
—"You're not the only one who feels that way." Alpha didn't need to read her mind to know what was going on right now, and she couldn't help but let her voice sound resigned. "There's little and nothing we can do. Naruto will be here soon... Hopefully he can resolve this without much trouble."
—"Neo? Naruto? What the hell are you talking about? Where the hell did you come from?" The young man jumped up, pointing at the women. His face reflected a mixture of confusion, surprise, and indignation. "You almost fell on top of me! Where the hell did you come from?!"
One of the figures watching him from the dune seemed to have been outraged by his words. He watched her step forward, her body tense and her fists clenched, ready to launch herself at him, but before she could, Alpha reached out a hand and stopped her. It was a subtle but firm gesture, which the other woman obeyed immediately.
The boy simply watched the scene with wide eyes, not understanding what was happening. "Who were these women? Why had they appeared out of nowhere? What were they up to?"
He didn't have much more time to think about that, because from one moment to the next Alpha moved. It was a movement so fast that the boy wasn't even able to follow her movement: a blur, a flash, and suddenly the elf was standing in front of him, just inches away. Her face, illuminated by the dim starlight, seemed even more beautiful and supernatural up close. Her blue eyes, bright and intense, looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and determination. The boy held his breath, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. Alpha's closeness was overwhelming, he could feel the warmth of her body, the scent of her perfume, the intensity of her gaze.
—"Who are you?" she asked in her soft but surprisingly firm voice. "What are you doing here? Actually, scratch that. Where is here?"
The boy swallowed. He was nervous, the woman was looking at him with an intensity that made him feel completely uncomfortable. Her blue eyes, bright as sapphires, seemed to search his soul. "What do I tell her?" he thought desperately. "How did I get into this?"
Alpha, meanwhile, remained surprisingly calm. She watched the young man carefully, looking for a way out of this situation with as little collateral damage as possible. Her companions, from the top of the dune, watched the situation with exasperation... at least mostly. Delta was simply confused, not knowing what to do right now. Zeta frowned, clearly impatient. Epsilon simply crossed her arms, watching the whole damn thing with a disapproving grimace.
If Alpha's presence wasn't enough to intimidate him, the presence, the reminder that there were still five others just like her, did. Intimidated by the situation, he took a step back. The blonde in front of him radiated a strength and determination that overwhelmed him. He felt a shiver run down his spine. "This woman is not playing around," he thought fearfully. "If I'm not careful, she could hurt me."
He cautiously backed away, but tripped over something on the ground: a soft, heavy object that sent him sprawling on his back.
Alpha simply sighed and looked down, fixing her attention on what the boy had tripped over. The young man, still dazed from the fall, followed Alpha's gaze. Then he recognized the object he had thought was just a black bag: it was a body, covered by a dark velvet cloak.
His heart skipped a beat. "Who is it?" he wondered with anguish. "Is she dead?"
He sat up with difficulty, his eyes fixed on the body. The cloak completely hid her face and body, but he could make out the shape of a hand protruding from the fabric, a pale and motionless hand.
Alpha fixed her eyes on the body and let out a sigh of exasperation.
—"Really, Neo?" she asked incredulously as she brought a hand to her forehead. "Now you're scaring teenagers on their midnight dates?"
The boy looked at her in confusion.
—"Neo..." he repeated. He had heard that name from the woman's lips before. "Could it be that the corpse... is...?"
Alpha completely ignored his question and knelt beside the body.
—"Come on, Neo, get up. These games aren't funny."
The corpse didn't move at all, it remained as still as it had been at the beginning of everything, with the cloak covering its face.
The boy's eyes widened. "Faking?" he thought incredulously. "Is she crazy?"
Suddenly, the body under the cloak moved, revealing a girl with beautiful pink and brown hair, who sat up abruptly, a mischievous smile on her face. Her eyes, of different colors, met Alpha's blue ones. She didn't say anything, but in her eyes you could see an undisguised amusement, and it made it clear that she didn't care about any of this and found it incredibly funny.
—"Neo," Alpha said in a warning tone, though she couldn't help but smile slightly. "You know Naruto isn't going to be happy when he finds out about this, right?"
Neo, in response, looked at her with an expression that said it all: "He'll find it fucking funny." And Alpha knew instantly that it was true. Naruto, despite everything, would think it was all really funny. Then, maybe, he would take the situation seriously. Alpha sighed and shook her head, with a resigned smile. "This girl..." she thought. "She'll never change."
Neo looked away from Alpha and focused on the boy, who was watching her with his mouth open. Her eyes, one light pink and the other brown, shone with undisguised mischief. She seemed to be saying, "You have to admit it was fun."
The boy, intimidated by Neo's gaze, took a step back. "This girl is crazy," he thought fearfully. "I hope she doesn't turn me into a toad."
—"You better behave, Neo," Alpha warned her, in a tone of voice that brooked no argument.
Neo, in response, gave her an indignant look; her eyes seemed to be throwing darts at her. "How dare you scold me?" was a message more than clear in her expression.
—"Naruto would find it funny, that's true," Alpha continued, ignoring Neo's gaze. "But we have work to do. We can't waste any more time with your games."
A childish pout was reflected on Neo's face, crossing her arms and looking away. She made it clear that she was not happy with the reprimand.
Alpha finally decided not to let this girl waste any more of her time, so she simply let out a sigh once more before inhaling deeply, and observing her surroundings before remembering one thing: the boy never answered her question.
—"Where are we, boy?" she asked once more, this time in a much sterner tone.
The boy swallowed, feeling a lump forming in his throat. He remembered that this was the second time he had been asked the question and that he hadn't answered the first time. He looked at the blonde in front of him with some fear, and then at the other women watching him from the dune, each and every one of them seeming to look at him impatiently. "Am I in trouble?" he thought with anguish. "I hope they don't hurt me."
A tense silence fell over the scene; only the sound of the wind and the sea could be heard. Alpha kept her gaze fixed on the boy, waiting for his answer. Her expression was inscrutable. The boy felt a shiver run down his spine; he knew that a single wrong word could have terrible consequences.
—"Malibu..." he finally replied, unsure if these people even knew where Malibu was.
A slight veil of sadness covered the blonde's face; even the indignant bicolor-haired girl couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic at the sound of that name.
—"Malibu..." Alpha repeated in a barely audible whisper, her gaze lost on the horizon. The sea breeze stirred her golden blonde hair, and the moonlight bathed her face with a halo of melancholy. "I remember this place... It was beautiful. Golden beaches, crystal clear waters... Naruto taught me to swim here." A nostalgic smile crossed her face for a few brief moments.
Neo nodded slightly, her eyes shining with nostalgia. She remembered the warm waters of Malibu, the laughter of her friends, the feeling of freedom... A past that seemed so distant now.
—"It was," Alpha said with a sigh. "Until the non-magicals destroyed it all." Her gaze fell on the boy, and a glint of pain appeared in her eyes.
The boy watched them in confusion. "Why that reaction?" he thought with a little fear. "It seems like they know Malibu, but... why those reactions?"
—"This was our home. We arrived before them." Alpha's voice sounded bitter, full of pain. "They polluted it, they destroyed everything... our home, our lives... they turned it into hell."
—"It was our home..." Beta murmured, coming down from the dune and standing next to Alpha. Her voice was barely a murmur, choked with emotion. "We could... maybe... No, they are here too." Her gaze went to the boy, and a glint of hatred and resentment appeared in her eyes. "Non-magicals... We can't stay... not here. Those animals..."
She simply couldn't finish her statement. An unfinished statement that let a silence take over the scene. The other women watching the boy left their expressions of indifference for a mixture of various emotions, ranging from sadness to fury. The atmosphere was oppressive, charged with pain and resentment. The boy felt a shiver run down his spine. "I have to get out of here," he thought desperately. "Why are they looking at me like that? What did I do to them?"
—"Beta," Alpha said, her voice soft but firm. "Calm down."
—"How do you want me to calm down?!" Beta shouted, her voice full of rage. "Their kind destroyed our home! They killed our people, our friends! New Home was supposed to give us a home... a new one, away from these animals! And now... now it turns out they're here too! It's just not fair!"
Her voice cracked at the end, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. A tense silence fell over the place once more. None of her companions knew what to say at that moment, and they simply watched Beta, who had always been the most emotional of them all, not knowing quite how to comfort her. The boy, for his part, was intimidated by the intensity of the emotions. He simply shrank in his place and lowered his gaze.
They remained that way for a long time, while the sea breeze played with their hair and the sound of the waves broke the silence of the night. Suddenly, a powerful presence, yet warm and comforting, filled the atmosphere. A halo of golden light seemed to surround the figure of the red-haired young man who had appeared out of nowhere, and who was now approaching Beta with a serene and understanding expression. His eyes, red as blood and bright as stars, reflected a deep compassion and a firm determination.
The boy, who was watching the scene with curiosity, felt a pang of envy.
"Who is this man?" he thought. "And why is he comforting her like that?"
—"Everything will be alright. I'm with you, after all," Naruto whispered to her in his soothing voice. At that moment, he wished he had been the first to appear. He could have resolved the situation much faster, and Beta wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
Beta clung to him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. "Sir..." she murmured through her tears. "It's not fair... They... they're here... We... we can't stay... not here, not with them..."
Naruto simply hugged her tighter, gently stroking her head as he kissed her forehead. "I know, Beta, I know better than anyone."
He knew it wasn't fair to blame these humans for the sins of those who inhabited their world, but it wasn't like his opinion was going to be very popular with his people either. They already hated them from long before, and after the war that nearly drove them to extinction and devastated their world... they simply weren't popular with the magicals.
—"We're going to find a home soon, I promise. But for now, we can't leave here, at least not until we gather some supplies to take back. The people back there need it."
Beta nodded against his chest, still sobbing, but with less intensity. She knew Naruto was right, but she still didn't want to be there any longer.
Naruto didn't force her to look up. He simply let her there, crying on his chest to vent all the pain she had been carrying in her heart. While she did, he looked up. His eyes, red and intense like two burning volcanoes, focused on the boy, who was watching the scene with fear and confusion.
—"Go now, and don't tell anyone you saw us," Naruto said in a firm voice, but with no trace of hatred. He knew these humans had nothing to do with his pain and suffering, but that didn't mean he liked them either. If he was letting him go, it was because he knew that probably no one would believe him if he told them what he saw, and because they had better things to do at that moment.
The boy said nothing, just nodded. He had no idea what the hell was going on right now, but he didn't want to be there any longer, and he simply started to slowly walk away, not wanting these... these... he didn't know how to describe them, only that he didn't want them to change their minds and lunge at him.
—"Johnny! Help!"
The sound of Lizzy's screams reminded him that he wasn't alone, and they brought him back to reality with a jolt. He felt his heart race, and not caring about the other five girls, he started running towards the dune to get to his girlfriend.
—"Lizzy," the boy whispered in panic as he ran up the hill, past the five girls who seemed perplexed, or rather, dismayed. Apparently, and if their expressions were any indication, they had completely forgotten about the girl by focusing all their attention on Johnny, as he now knew his name was.
—"Boss... do we do something?" Delta asked, not sure what to do right now. Actually, the sound of the girl screaming and crying, reaching her ears even if she knew she was a non-magical and therefore an enemy, were activating years of ingrained protective instinct in her body.
—"It couldn't be Latin America, could it? It had to be the damn Yankees," Naruto complained. Seriously, he had to show up right on one of the most popular beaches in one of the countries with the most paranoid military in the world. Sometimes he wondered if the gods hated them or something.
—"It could be worse," Beta whispered. "At least we're not in Russia."
XXXXXX
Finally, Johnny reached the top of the hill. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the scene unfolding before his eyes. Twenty men dressed in camouflage, with rifles and flashlights, surrounded Lizzy. They were in full combat gear, and their faces reflected a mixture of tension and aggression.
—"Get down! Hands where I can see them!" one of the soldiers shouted, pointing his gun at Lizzy.
Lizzy, pale and trembling, hugged herself, her eyes filled with terror.
—"Lizzy!" Johnny shouted without thinking, running towards her. "Don't hurt her!"
He simply ran towards his girl without worrying about his own safety. Why didn't he listen to her and they left? However, the more he thought about it, the more stupid he felt, so he just kept running, finally entering the men's range of vision, who pointed their flashlights at him and fired a warning shot into the sand in front of his feet.
—"Get down on the ground!"
The shout wasn't terrifying or anything, but the fear he was feeling right now, coupled with the guilt over his recklessness, made him fall to his knees and raise his hands not knowing what to do, his mind racing, barely able to see the two gunmen running towards him.
—"You're going to owe me a big one, kid." The voice of that strange red-haired man echoed in Johnny's mind, surprising him. "Who said that?" he thought, confused. "And how is he talking inside my head?"
At that moment, a bunch of red lights appeared out of nowhere, flashing towards the soldiers. Johnny watched them fall to the ground, one after another, as if an invisible force had knocked them down. "What's going on?" he wondered incredulously.
The sound of alarms broke the night, followed by a burst of gunfire. Bullets whistled over his head, hitting the sand around him. Johnny, terrified, threw himself to the ground and covered his head with his arms. He felt the earth vibrate under his body, the smell of gunpowder, the metallic taste of fear in his mouth.
And then, everything went black. A deep, silent darkness enveloped him completely. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he couldn't feel anything. Only darkness.
XXXXXX
—Wake up.
It was barely a whisper, a soft masculine voice that seemed to resonate in the depths of his mind. Johnny woke up with a start, his heart pounding and his breathing ragged. He sat up in bed, disoriented. He looked around, his eyes wide. His room, bathed in the dim light of the streetlamps, was strangely unfamiliar to him.
"Where am I?" he thought in confusion. "What happened?"
He tried to remember, but his mind was blank. Only a feeling of anguish and an irrational fear tormented him. He brought a hand to his chest, feeling his heart pounding. "Why am I so scared?" he wondered desperately. "What was that dream?"
When his heart rate calmed down a bit, he looked at his phone to check the time. It was barely 2:13 a.m. He saw that he had a message from Lizzy:
—Were we supposed to meet tonight?
Johnny frowned, confused. He didn't remember making plans with Lizzy.
—Not that I remember... did I forget something? he replied quickly, feeling a pang of curiosity.
—No, I just had a strange feeling that we were supposed to meet, was Lizzy's almost instantaneous reply.
—You just finished one of those horror books of yours, and you're looking for someone to talk to, aren't you? Johnny asked with a smile.
—No, I just woke up and my heart was beating really fast, and I don't know why. I thought I had forgotten something important.
—Do you want me to sneak over to your house? Can I come keep you company? Johnny joked.
—No, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Johnny.
—Good night, Lizzy. Sleep well, Johnny said, and ended the conversation. He put down the phone and lay there, a smile on his face. "What did Lizzy mean by that, that she had a feeling we were supposed to meet?" he thought with intrigue. "That's strange..."
A shiver ran down his spine. There was a strange atmosphere in the room, a sense of unreality that he couldn't explain. But he decided to ignore it.
"It must be tiredness," he thought. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off to sleep.
Outside his house, hidden in the shadows, Naruto watched Johnny's window. His expression was a mixture of weariness and concern. He had had to use his powers to erase Johnny and Lizzy's traumatic memories. It wasn't something he liked to do, but it was necessary to protect them.
—"What a night," he murmured to himself. "Who knew this mission would end like this?" He laughed to himself before shaking his head.
He turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind a deep silence and a sense of mystery hanging in the air.
End of chapter.