Hello guys, I am sorry for not updating in so long, but I can truthfully say that its because I'm working on a story. As of this post, the story is on its 18th page on OpenOffice, Times New Roman Font Size 12. It's pretty nice so far. It's a harem story. :x Yes, I know, it's not exactly the right thing that someone of my age should be writing, but... Yes. Yes.
So, uh, I just thought it would be polite to tell you guys, so you have something to look forward to! Because there's little to look forward to at this point...
Anyways, live well, sleep well, dream well and play well!
Really hope you guys are having fun.

Lovesick to the nth degree,
Agoraoptera.Ben

Chapter Three: Sudden Eloquence

Lyssa. Wake up. An unfamiliar voice echoed through the depths of her mind. A butterfly flapped into being in front of her. She reached out and tried to touch it, but it stayed just out of her grasp, a little purplish-pink shape in the surrounding gloom. Wake up. She opened her eyes to a similarly unfamiliar scene. There was a woman standing over her; a woman with silver hair and a hawk-like visage. The woman looked once at Lyssa and her smoldering eyes, literally, seemed as though they were only giving her a cursory glance. Her deep violet eyes seemed as though they were in flames, a slight wisp of smoke wafting up from those orbs as she turned her head towards... Aco? He was in the room too. In fact, he was asleep as well. He was seated right beside Lyssa's bed, chair facing her and he lay asleep on her. Evidently, he must have waited for a long time for her to wake up.
Something was missing. Lyssa thought for a moment and realised: it was too quiet. For Aco and the woman to be within such proximity to her, it was far too quiet for their subconsciousness to be. Granted, Aco was asleep and Lyssa could feel the sense of being troubled from him, but the woman was strangely quiet. Quiet? No. Lyssa could just make out a slight interest, quickly stamped out. The woman was controlling her own emotions tightly, leaving a murky mind to peruse.
Lyssa blinked as the woman offered her a cup of water. Odd, Lyssa's throat did not feel as bad as it had been. In fact, she felt much better, as if she had completely recovered. Lyssa took the cup without a word, not wanting to break the silence first or risk waking Aco up. Funny how she cared for his comfort that way.
She took a look about the room as she sipped the warm water. The room was like a mirror of the woman, the colour scheme dark and purple. Lyssa noticed a few butterflies around, some perching on the woman, others just flying about with no apparent destination in mind. The butterflies were a lighter colour as compared to the walls, a bright pink and blue pattern on their diaphanous wings.
The door creaked open as the woman left the room. The noise was enough to wake up Aco as he stirred, lifting his head up from Lyssa's blanketed abdomen.
“Lyssa? Lyssa, you're awake! Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. I'm okay. What about you?”
“I'm alright. I was worried about you. I'm sorry, please forgive me.” Aco clenched his eyes shut as if he was fighting his emotions deep within. And he was, that much Lyssa could feel.
“What's there to be sorry about? Thank you for rescuing me.”
“I let you get caught.” His words were laden with guilt. “You wouldn't have needed rescuing if I had been able to protect you better.”
Lyssa didn't know what to say and she pondered for a moment before replying in the way she thought best.
“I'm so sorr- Lyssa!” Aco gulped as she hugged him tightly. “What.. what are you doing?”
In response, she simply drew him closer and tightened their embrace. He slowly hugged her back, arms lifting up to encircle her back.
“I'm sorry.” He whispered.
“It's okay. I don't blame you.”
Lyssa became aware of a mind coming close. She couldn't remember who it was, though it seemed familiar.. Then the door creaked open again and Aco pulled away quickly, startled. It was Ren. She didn't look as if she had seen the interaction between the two and she moved to Aco's side.
“Good morning, Lyssa. Feeling better?”
“Yes. Thank you for saving me, Ren.”
“It was what needed to be done, nothing to thank for.”
“Where are we? Who were those people you saved me from? I still don't know what's going on. Who's that woman with the butterflies?”
“We are in a sanctuary. A safe place for our kind. The people we saved you from would be the Guardians. Just think of them as our enemies for now. The woman with the butterflies is the person who runs this place, her and her cell.”
“Cell?”
“Her group of people. An example would be my cell, consisting of me, Psycho, Aco and now, you.”
“Oh. A little family then.”
“That's how I think of it.” Ren agreed.
A man garbed in a brown robe entered the room, carrying porcelain cups with steam rising off the top.
“So she's awake. Here, I bring tea, brewed by the grand Mistress Allende herself.”
Ren and Aco accepted the elegant cups with a word of thanks.
“Oolong?” Ren asked as she sipped.
“Yeah. Your taste buds are as sharp as ever.”
“This doesn't taste like the usual.” Aco commented.
“Truth. Sorry, Aco, we're running low on deadly nightshade so we put in monkshood.”
“It's alright.”
The man pulled back the cowl of his cloak, revealing a bright, silver and messy shock of hair. By now, Aco was starting to look out of place with his ebony hair. The man smiled widely at Lyssa, his manner familiar and obviously intended to put her at ease.
“So, what's your story, girlie?”
“I'm Lyssa. Who are you?”
“Persience Albans, welcome to our humble abode.” He bowed with a theatrical flourish.
“Then where are we?”
“The Butterfly Grove, Lyssa, one of the last few patches of unblemished forests this side of America.”
“And, uh, which side of America is this?”
“That,” Persience said with a grin, “Is a really good question.”
“You don't know?”
“He doesn't know anything, Lyssa.” Ren interjected.
“Come now, Ren, I do know something. I know that Aco likes Lyssa.”
“What?” Aco exclaimed, roused by Persience's words.
“Don't act so surprised, dear boy. You know very well that I can see what your deepest fears are. And right now, it's a fear of failing in your duty, of letting Lyssa get captured again. You don't want her gone from your side.” He nodded in a mocking, sagely manner.
“That doesn't mean anything.” Aco replied irritably.
“Yes, it does. Your deepest fears used to be regarding bad things happening to Ren and Psycho.”
“They're my family and Lyssa is too. I don't like failing in my duty.”
“And you like Lyssa.” Persience stroked a non-existent beard. “As for you, girl, I can't tell. Your fears are strangely murky. I wonder why I can't see it.” He shrugged.
“Don't be so rude, Persience. This is my family you're talking about.” Ren warned.
Lyssa took in the information silently. So Aco liked her? It was.. reassuring. It gave her a warm feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. But did she like him? As a friend, certainly. As something further? Lyssa wasn't sure. Was this what a crush felt like then? Lyssa suddenly wanted to be closer to him.
“Aco,” She murmured, “Could you come closer?”
He obliged, leaning forward. She shifted herself close to him and lay her head against his chest. He stiffened again, clearly not used to such physical intimacy. Ren pretended not to notice anything and spoke.
“Lyssa, when you feel better, you can leave your bed. I have been assured that you are fully recovered. The Mistress serves dinner in an hour's time. Aco, take care of her needs.”
“Yes, Mother.” He somehow contrived to speak, even with Lyssa's hair just under his nose.
Persience winked at him and stepped out of the room with Ren as the pair sat in silence, enjoying their shared warmth.

“How did this happen?” Karl yelled. “Answer me, damn you, how did this happen?”
“Sir, I-”
“How is it that you alone are alive? When almost everyone else died fighting? I expected more of you, Tobias.”
“It was not cowardice.”
“Then what is it?”
“The girl, she planted a mental command in my head.”
“Bullshit. None of the darkers are telepathic. Telepathy doesn't exist.”
“I felt it. It's up to you whether or not you believe me.” Tobias looked squarely at Karldon in the eyes.
“Do you now understand what I mean, Tobi? These beasts are a threat to all.”
“No, I refuse to understand your interpretation. They came for the girl. We provoked them.”
“So what you're saying is that if we don't hunt them, they won't be a threat to anyone?”
“No. I believe that most would not. We should not use the criminals as a gauge of a species.”
“Where did you get such an idiotic notion?”
“The girl had mercy on me. She let me run. She could easily have killed me.” Tobias made no mention of what he had felt and how the girl had also felt his pain.
“They are irrational beasts.”
“We are the true beasts here. That girl was innocent. And we, we provoked them by kidnapping her from her fellows.”
“You're a sympathiser.” Karldon spat. “After all these years, I never truly knew you, Tobias Albans.”
“You can continue on this, Karldon Grave. You can pick up the pieces of the Guardians and rebuild it as an extermination agency. But. I quit. I refuse to follow your warped logic any further.”
“Warped? It is your mind that has been corrupted! You let that girl make you think she is innocent. You let her, just because, just because,” Karl choked his words out with a sob. “Just because she resembles Nadia.”
“No. That's you.” Tobias replied quietly. “I won't have another part of this. I will seek them out and learn their side of the story. They can't be more unreasonable than you.” He tore off the shield emblem of the Guardians from his shirt and walked out of the crypt where they had lain their dead to rest.
As Tobias stepped out into a rainy, overcast day, he took a deep breath. The air smelled of wet mud and fresh grass. The air smelled of change. He would not hurt them unless absolutely necessary, he vowed. Justice and honor, truth and fairness, that was what would lead him. Now all he had to do was to find them. He checked a piece of paper, an address that his brother had given him, in faith that he would never lead the Guardians there. The Butterfly Grove.

Ren had shut herself in her room with Aco, so Lyssa took the liberty of wandering the lodge. The décor was generally green and brown, reminiscent of the forest all around the building, visible through the windows. Psycho was pointedly ignoring her, sitting on a couch and reading a newspaper. Persience had apparently gone out to find someone else, the third member of his cell and the Mistress was still cooking. Pots of plants were placed all about the lodge, plants which Aco had warned her were poisonous. She sat down beside Psycho.
“Hello again.”
He tried to ignore her and focus on his paper, but she could see that he was juddering, shaking as if nervous, bringing to mind the first time she saw him when he was a jittery wreck.
“You don't like me, do you?”
Silence greeted her comment. But she could feel, even through the disturbing sprawl of his thoughts, that he was trying not to reply. Lyssa twitched involuntarily at the wrongness of his mind.
“I know we got off on the wrong foot and I'd like to patch things up.”
No response.
“What do you have against me?”
Psycho glared at her.
“You are insane. That's what I have against you.”
“But you're mad, aren't you? What makes you think I'm crazy anyway?” Lyssa asked, genuinely curious.
“You kill for the sake of killing. You revel in bloodshed. If those aren't signs of insanity, I don't know what else.”
“That was only in self-defense. I'm not mad.” Lyssa retorted. “The Guardians were trying to kill me.”
“The others might believe your lies, but I know the truth.”
“If you refuse to believe me, then I guess we won't ever be friends.”
“You see that now.”
“But I'm part of your family now. It's going to be awkward.”
“I will protect you if the need arises, but don't expect me to be civil.”
Psycho set down his paper, popped a couple of pills into his mouth and started to head outside, but abruptly a couple of butterflies landed onto their heads and Lyssa saw a vision of trees. The edge of the forest. A man with onyx hair carrying a haversack, staring straight at her. No, not her, Lyssa realised, her perspective was that of a butterfly. The man looked somewhat familiar, just where had she seen him before...
Then it hit her. That Guardian who had shown care for her. The one she had let go. The one she should have killed.
“Psycho, that's a Guardian! It's him!” Lyssa gasped.
The vision faded, even as a voice sounded in their heads.
“Northeast edge. Everyone.” The voice was feminine, soft and calm, though the last word was pronounced with a certain emphasis. The voice was the same that had woken her up. The two butterflies hovered in front of them for a moment and then flew into the distance.
Psycho shot her a sharp look and motioned for her to follow, his movements more controlled than his nervous actions previously, before running out of the house.

Gasping for air, unused to the exertion, Lyssa came to a sudden halt, nearly crashing against Psycho. Persience was there already, looking expressionlessly at the Guardian. The mysterious woman, the one with the butterflies, the one they called the Mistress, was standing beside Persience as if preventing him from moving. The Guardian had put his backpack on the ground and he glanced for a moment at Lyssa, eyes widening in recognition. The ubiquitous butterflies fluttered around, indifferent to the scene, though there were substantially more of the insects about the woman. The atmosphere, to anyone else, was tense, but Lyssa could feel the truth under it. Persience was struggling, alternating between anger, fear and joy. His melange of emotions all but covered the woman's quiet mind, though the Guardian's feelings were equally loud. The Guardian was feeling something similar, but there was more of an element of feeling uncertain, as if he had taken a path that he now doubted. Psycho's, as always, was hard to read and Lyssa tried to focus away from the twinging oddity of his insanity.
And then Ren and Aco appeared from the side, their minds in a whirl. Persience seemed to know the Guardian, but Ren and Aco were definitely confused, that much Lyssa could surmise. The Guardian didn't just look familiar, there was something about his features there that reminded her of someone. Lyssa's gaze shifted from him to Persience and back. They looked... similar, if not for the disparity in hair colour, Persience's silver and the Guardian's black.
They all stood there, the silver-haired folk and one Chinese boy in a rough semi-circle facing a sable-headed man among the trees under a starry night sky. Slowly, the Guardian raised both hands up, palms facing outwards in the universal gesture of peace.
“Tobi.” Persience broke the silence first. Tobi? Was that the Guardian's name?
“Brother.” Tobias replied.
The wave of shock from Aco and Ren almost overtook Lyssa, for a moment threatening to make her faint. She gathered herself together and found that she could only stare at the revelation. Persience had a brother who was one of the enemy?
“Don't tell me you finally revealed this place to your superiors.” Persience said, narrowing his eyes accusingly though his tone indicated that he knew otherwise.
“No. I come of my own accord, brother. I'm no longer one of the Guardians. It's a long story, brother.” Tobias faced the woman with eyes with violet flames and bowed low. “Lady, I mean no harm. I would greatly appreciate it if I could rest and tell my tale to all of you.” He stumbled over his words slightly, nervous.
The woman looked at him for a moment as if judging him, then spoke a single word.
“Come.”
She turned and serenely glided towards the lodge gracefully. Her voice was the same as the voice in the butterfly-induced vision. Did this Daughter of the Moon have some form of control over butterflies?
Tobias muttered something that sounded like “Thank you, Lady.” and he hefted his pack and followed the woman at a respectful distance, avoiding eye contact with the others except for Persience.
The others followed behind and Psycho muttered to Ren, “I don't trust him. We're inviting a snake into our midst.”
Ren nodded in agreement and replied, “Yet it is not our place to decide. This is her home after all. Who knew Persience had a brother? A brother who is evidently a Guardian no less?”
Lyssa walked beside Aco and clutched his hand nervously. She was still new to this, she still had no idea why the Guardians were against them and she still wasn't entirely sure what she was if not human. Aco held her hand tightly in return, his own emotions more of surprise at this turn of events than uncertainty.

Persience handed Tobias a mug of coffee and folded his arms. Without waiting for Tobias to drink, he started speaking.
“So, little brother, what brings you here after all this time? Finally decided to betray your brother? What? Tell me.”
“I have left the Guardians, brother. I.. don't agree with them. What they hold true goes against my ethics.”
“You and your ethics led you to join them in the first place.” Persience was angry and he didn't restrain himself. “Why now? After that time when I came to be who I truly am, after that time when you were angry at me and you left them for your high-and-mighty morals, now you come running to me, telling me that they aren't the righteous saviors you believed them to be?”
“It's all changed. They didn't use to be like that. Now they just want genocide. It's all changed.”
Persience snorted derisively. “Please, don't be dense. They always wanted to kill us. We're just bugs and you're the exterminators, wasn't it?”
“No, no, brother. They only retaliated when darkers- I mean, you Children of the Moon attacked.”
“But now they have gone from peacekeepers to hunters and so you leave them? Don't make me laugh.”
“I am not lying, brother.”
“Yeah? Sure could have fooled me.”
The woman with the violet fire in her eyes laid a hand across Persience's chest, an obvious signal to tell him to back off. Tobias looked to her instead and found that he couldn't look away. Those eyes with a fire that couldn't be there, impossible eyes that seemed to see everything, unreal eyes that held his gaze there, immobilising him. Her lips curved into a small smile as she looked at him.
“Tobias Albans.” She pronounced his name slowly.
“Lady.” He inclined his head in respect. He didn't know anyone there except for his brother, but he could see that she was clearly the one in charge.
“You know me.”
“No, Lady.”
“I am Kaia Allende. You may call me Lady Allende, or Mistress Allende. Tell me, how is Karldon Grave?” The Lady's voice grew hard.
“You assume that I'm still his good friend, Lady.” Tobias' voice matched hers and he stood up to face her. “He is the reason I left. How do you know of him, Lady?”
“That,” She replied softly. “is none of your concern.”
“I apologise for interrupting, Lady Allende, but can we stop reminiscing about the past and settle on the problem here?” Ren cut in, clearly impatient. Lady Allende, in return, gave her a condescending and infuriatingly patronising look but nodded.
“Of course, dear Ren.” She replied dryly. “Now, should I grant you sanctuary, Tobias Albans? You clearly mean no harm. But.” She tapped her long fingers against her chin. “You might bring hunters down on our heads.”
“I would never-”
“Not voluntarily, of course.” The Mistress Allende smoothly continued in that soft, controlled voice.
“I was careful, I left no traces-”
“No, you did not, there are two trackers currently outside the forest, reporting to their superior, presumably Grave.”
Persience tensed noticeably and looked as if he would throttle Tobias right there and then. Instead, he asked the Mistress, “What do we do now?”
“What do we do now? We kill them.”

A/N: Okay guys, I am a terrible, terrible person. I am so very sorry for taking so long! I stonewalled for quite a long time on this one, particularly towards the end. Chapter Four has not been started and likely will never be. Yes, I know, I promised to finish this story, but its hard for me, particularly because whenever I feel like writing, it tends to be in school where I don't have my computer at hand to type in. I also can't write on paper and then transfer because I can never remember just what line I stopped at. Incidentally, I have started several new Floaters, stories that I haven't decided whether to continue or not. Bleh, I am so sorry, people, I've just been really emotional recently. I hope you guys enjoy this story. I certainly didn't. This isn't one of my better ones. Honestly, I ought to consign this to the Great Recycling Bin in the Sky. Okay, I'll stop babbling. Once again, I am so sorry. Have a good time, unlike me!
-Agoraoptera.Ben

Chapter Two: Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.

Lyssa awoke, but kept her eyes closed. She might have been unconscious, but she could still sense the jarring minds all about her. Slowly, warily, she looked about with her mental eye, discerning several minds a distance away from her. One mind, in particular, stood out like a sun among candles, blazing bright. It had purpose about it, purpose Lyssa could not discern. This skill of hers was frustrating, revealing bits and pieces but not enough to assemble a picture of a person. Then there was a collective sense of... Lyssa couldn't put a word to it. Gratification? She didn't put much more thought into it as the fiery mind started to approach her.
“Wake up, scum.” Her eyes snapped open with fear as he grabbed her hair and pulled her up roughly as she yelped in pain. “Don't bother pretending to be asleep.”
She stared wide-eyed at him and took notice of her surroundings. She was in a cold, concrete room, an interrogation room and prison cell of sorts. An opaque glass panel beside the metal door told her how they observed her. The floor was dusty and cold, causing her to shiver slightly.
“Don't try looking so innocent. I know your kind.”
“I don't.. I don't understand.” Lyssa stuttered out in fear. “What do you mean? My kind?”
“Of course, you would be the newly awoken one. It took us a few days, but we have you at last.”
“I don't know anything!”
“Your kind cannot fool me. I know what you scum do upon awakening. My own parents were murdered when one of you woke.” His voice was full of bitterness and hate; Lyssa could at least discern that clearly as well from his mind. It was overwhelming.
“I didn't do anyth-”
Her words were cut off as he slapped her.
“Shut up, worm. I saw the remains of your classmates. You sucked the life right out of them, didn't you?”
Lyssa found those words to be quite interesting. Had she sucked their life out, or merely extinguished the candle flames of their lives? If she had sucked their lives out, then did they in some way dwell within her own-
Her thoughts were interrupted as the man hit her again and yelled at her.
“Look at me! You are a parasite, a leech, a cancerous tumor upon humanity. You and your kind will die, but as all diseases, we shall study you first.”
The man kept on talking, but Lyssa was more concerned with his mind. Was that a hint of panic mixed with guilt? Something to do with the man's past. Was it someone he loved? His lover?
“I didn't kill your parents!” Lyssa croaked out, surprised at how rough her voice was.
Surprise bloomed in his mind, she could feel that clearly. Outwardly, his face was thunderous.
“No.” The man's voice was low and hateful. “You didn't kill my parents. Your kind did. And your kind killed my sister.” The man's composure cracked slightly and he glanced away for a moment. “Your death will only be another payment of this blood debt I owe to you monsters.” He seemed as if he wanted to say more and his conflicting thoughts confirmed it. However, after a moment's hesitation, he left the room, slamming the door loudly.
“And I don't even know his name.” Lyssa sighed theatrically and coughed violently. Her throat hurt much more than she had expected.

The man made a conscious effort to calm down as he stepped out of the room, but his fellow Guardian saw through it instantly.
“Karl. That girl-”
“That is not a girl.” The man Karl replied icily. “That is a threat to humanity.”
The other man shrugged. “Yeah, it reminds you of her, doesn't it?”
The man Karl kept quiet.
“Nadia was about her age when-”
“Don't ever compare Nadia to such beasts!” The man Karl's voice rang out, hard and filled with loathing.
“Let's talk somewhere more private.” The other man pulled him aside, noticing the stares of their fellow protectors of humanity. “Karl, you're not the only one who misses Nadia.”
“Then you ought to recognise my hate; it should dwell in you too!” He accused.
“Karl, I loathe them too. But I loathe them for their acts against humanity in general. Let go of this vengeance, Karl, it's poisoning you. Our duty to humanity is clear; we must eliminate them wherever they threaten mankind. But you-”
“When they threaten mankind? Tobi, their very existence threatens mankind. We have to exterminate them and prevent them from ever taking root on our Earth ever again, not eliminate whoever threatens.”
“Karl, I'm speaking to you as a friend. I'm appealing to your humanity, man. Let go of this vengeance. It poisons you. A duty of protection gets corrupted into an all-out genocidal impulse. Stop this before it goes on further, Karl. We can't afford to lose our humanity in the process of defending it.”
“I'm willing to sacrifice my humanity, and more, to see them wiped off the face of this Earth.” Karl's eyes blazed with self-righteous fury.
Tobi shook his head. “Karl, you're my superior and we've been friends since childhood. You know I'd follow you into Hell and back again if I had to. But Karl, this is a corruption of our duty. We can't let personal emotions get in the way of our duty. Honour and duty is everything.”
“You don't understand me, Tobias Albans. You don't miss Nadia as-”
“I don't miss Nadia as you do?” Now it was Tobias' turn to flare. “I loved her, Karldon Grave. I still do. Your sister Nadia Grave was what my life revolved around, before she was taken from us.”
“You don't seem to place that much of an importance on her.” Karl retorted.
“I still love her, Karl. I still miss her. Every night I think of her, as I know you do. But I remember what she always said, how she always believed in morals and ethics. We have principles to stand by, and her memory is what holds me to my principles.”
“And my principles tell me to kill each and every one of those beasts.”
“If you so say, Sir.” Tobias replied stiffly, knowing that his stubborn friend would not be convinced. “We have spoken many times of this.” Tobias turned about and went back to observing the girl who looked so much like his dead, lost love.
Karl looked long and hard at his friend's back. Poison. What an ironic word choice. Karl looked down and pulled up his left sleeve. A limb of necrotic flesh, withered and foul greeted his sight. He clenched his good hand into a fist. If he ever saw that boy again, that boy who had tried to protect his siste- no, it was a beast. If he ever saw him again, he would make him pay for this.
“Sir?” A female voice roused him from his dark thoughts of vengeance. Karl turned to see an apothecary.
“What is it?”
“Sir, the results are out. There is no other choice but to amputate.”
Karl didn't reply and his eyes looked into the distance.
“Sir? If it matters, I'm sorry.” The apothecary lowered her head in respect and quickly made her way.

“No.”
Ren stopped her pacing abruptly.
“No?” She narrowed her eyes. “Psycho, what do you mean by 'no'?”
“It's not worth it. We don't have to get that girl out.”
“You would abandon her?”
“Yes.”
“She is one of us, one of our kind. She is as much our relative as any other Child of the Moon.”
“She's mad.” Psycho said, as if it settled the matter.
“I don't think so, Psycho.” Now she glared at him venomously. “You remember how it was like for you at first. I would have thought that you of all people would sympathise with her.”
“Look, I'm trying to provide the voice of reason. She's likely dea-”
“She's not dead.” Aco interrupted softly.
“Okay, fine, if you say so. Even if we somehow locate the Guar-”
“I seeded that one Guardian with a poison. I know where they are.”
“Look, stop interrupting me. Even if we can somehow break through all their defenses, the three of us alone, I think we wouldn't get out without injuries. Chances are, that girl's too weak to run by herself, so if Aco carries her again, that means there's only two of us. We are putting our lives on the line for a crazy girl who is likely to go on a killing streak at the slightest trigger.”
“We are more than a match for them, Psycho.” Ren pointed out. “They are just... human. Only human. And we are... much more. Lyssa is strong, Psycho. Her powers may come in handy when we make our escape.”
“Okay, assuming that we are even going to go and rescue her, if we hit the Guardians in the day, we would be weakened and our exit would be compounded by so many problems. But the Guardians aren't fools, I'll bet they have additional security in the night. Only complete idiots wouldn't.”
“Which we can still take on. It's not as if they have guns. You know that now for some reason the Guardians take captives. This chance will tell us what exactly they are doing.”
“C'mon, Ren, don't do this.”
Ren ignored him and started planning with Aco. After a few minutes of watching them uncomfortably, Psycho reluctantly joined their discussion.

Lyssa was cold. They had left her alone in the bare prison for... She could not tell how long it had been since she had that meal Ren had cooked. Thinking about it only made her hunger pangs feel ever more aching. The worst thing was that she couldn't shake off the presence of minds just outside the room, more than likely observing her like an animal. She had enjoyed probing the minds of the people outside- technicians of some sort, she decided- but after a while, the novelty had lost its charm and then the minds became an irritance, a torment. She didn't like the minds. She didn't like the sensation. It felt like a large crowd all around her, muttering inane things that she couldn't make out clearly, things on the verge of being shown and revealed, but frustratingly vague. In the end, Lyssa just crawled to the corner and curled up, trying to keep herself warm as best as she could. She covered her ears with her hands, but it didn't keep out the sound of their subconscious. She started crying, but it didn't wash away the feel of their emotions. She started screaming then, screaming till her voice grew even more ragged and she pounded her fists against the grey concrete wall over and over.
When Tobias opened the door, he saw her limp and shivering, lips bloody from where she had bitten them in an effort to drown out the muffled voices with pain. Her hands were bruised and her skin was pale. When was the last time she had eaten or drank anything? A day? Two? While Tobias could sympathise, having starved for several days on end as part of his training, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt towards the girl. Despite her nature, she still appeared as a perfectly normal human being.
Lyssa looked up at him with swollen, bloodshot eyes.
“I.. Help.. Cold...” She chattered out through shaking lips.
Was it really that cold? Tobias removed his right glove and reached to take her pulse. She didn't draw back, evidently too weak to even respond in the slightest save for the slight look she gave him through glazed eyes. Tobias recoiled instantly upon touching her wrist; it was freezing cold. Not just the temperature of her body, he had noticed slight wisps of shadow curl towards his hand where he had touched her.
Tobias quickly strode out of the room, still silent. As he shut the door behind him, he asked the technicians, “Why has she not been given food and water? Her temperature is far too low for her to be healthy and-”
“Sir, Captain Grave told us to wait for a while more before we took her blood for testing. Nourishment is only to be provided after the blood has been drawn.”
“That's inhu-” Tobias stopped speaking and took a deep breath. He realised that it was Karl who had given the order. It would not do to appear as if he was going against his friend's commands. “When exactly will nourishment be provided?” He asked, forcing his voice to keep level.
“Not too long, Sir.” The man checked the clock on the wall. “Actually, I believe we just missed the timing, Sir. We shall see to it now.”
Karl's hate had reached many of his men too. It wasn't too unexpected; each of them had lost someone close to the darkers, as the Children of the Moon were colloquially known. This level of vehemence was rather regular, Tobias supposed. Yet, it was still startling. Had they intended to let her starve, if he had not said a word? Were the protectors of humanity losing sight of the very thing they were trying to save?
He shook away the heavy thoughts and saw that his fellow Guardians were taking their own time in bringing water and food for the girl. He decided to bring it in to her himself.
“I'll take that for you; I don't have much to do right now.”
“My thanks, Sir, I have no wish of being in the same room as that darker.”
Tobias did his best to ignore the comment and took the tray. The food was meagre; a small bun and a cup of water.
“Wait a moment, Sir, I'll go in first to take some blood samples.” Another man called out.

Lyssa was so weak that she did not even lift up her head to see who was coming in. When the needle pierced her arm none too gently, she didn't even squeak. The only indication that she was still awake was her half-open eyes.
“Girl, here, have some water.” A warm voice suddenly came from in front of her. She did not react and Tobias slowly lifted her head as she just looked at him lifelessly. He put the cup to her mouth and let her sip a little. The warm water seemed to give her a slight bit of strength and she slowly pushed herself up to a sitting position against the cold wall.
“Cold...” She murmured as best as she could through her parched throat. “Cold...”
As if realising that the person feeding her would be warm, she slumped forward onto Tobias and weakly lay her arms around him. He froze, unsure of whether she was going to attack him or not. She just continued letting him support her and after a period of time, her eyes closed in slumber. He slowly pulled back from her embrace and placed the food on the floor at a side; she could feed herself when she woke. He was just about to turn and leave when her eyes snapped open and her mouth curled weakly into a grin.
“They're... coming.. for.. me.” She somehow contrived to force the words out and she started laughing softly. Darkness started to bleed from her, gathering as a black mist about her. Tobias started to run for the door, but found that he could not move. The black mist entwined itself around his limbs, apparently inducing paralysis. Tobias knew fear then.
This must have been what Nadia felt like. The thought went through his head unexpectedly and brought with it a storm of emotions. Guilt, hurt, anger, hate. Abruptly, his limbs were free once more and he stumbled backwards unsteadily.
He saw the girl buoyed by the mist, standing up. Tears glistened in her eyes and she mouthed to Tobias a single word. Run.
The command seemed to echo in his mind and he obeyed without thinking, throwing open the door and realising that the alarms were blaring loudly. He hadn't heard a single thing while in the room because the room was soundproof to prevent the captive from hearing anything. There was no one in sight and he ran out of the building unthinkingly.
It was all that saved him from the ensuing death that came sweeping through the halls of the Guardian's base of operations.

Something like savage joy appeared on Ren's face as she and her shadowy twin cut through the Guardians, her with her knives and her shadow absorbing the life force of the personnel manning the posts. She did not know where Lyssa was being held, but that did not matter. She would kill as many of them as she had to before she could find her. A stun baton caught her arm and the limb fell limply after spasming for a few moments, her knife clattering on the floor. She snarled even as a Guardian kicked her harshly, pain blossoming in her abdomen. Abruptly, the Guardian collapsed. She quickly stood her ground once more, just in time to see Psycho dispatch the last Guardian by forcing the Guardian's blood to burst out of his own skin.
Psycho turned to her.
“See what I mean? If I hadn't saved you there, you would have been caught and nothing would have been accomplished.”
“But you are here and that is what matters. Aco, done yet?”
“Yes. I've found it.” Aco had been rifling through the bodies of the dead, taking access cards. He looked up and his eyes widened in concern. “Mother, you're bleeding.”
Ren lifted a hand up to her brow; the hand came away with sticky crimson fluid.
“No matter. We have to keep moving. They might decide to kill Lyssa rather than let us save her.”

As the trio raced around the corner, they suddenly started hearing screams. Picking up their pace, they saw a man thrown from a side corridor and hit the wall with a sickening crunch. Black fog followed after him slowly, entwining around his torso and the tentacle of black suddenly solidified, crushing his spine.
“Lyssa?” Ren called out.
“Ren...” They heard the reply come softly, followed by a wracking cough. They turned into the corridor and saw Lyssa sprawled on the floor, surrounded by unmoving bodies of Guardians. The black smoke covered much of the corridor, but Ren could clearly see that Lyssa was still weak, especially from her apparent exertions in taking out these Guardians.
“Lyssa!” Aco rushed to her side, lifting her to a half-sitting position.
“Aco...” She gave a short laugh. “I knew... I knew you would come for me... Thank you..”
“Don't say any more.” Aco carried her into his arms and looked to Ren.
“Well, now that we have what we came for, let us depart, swiftly.”
As they ran towards the exit, there was nobody to stop them. In Aco's warm hold, Lyssa sank into pleasant unconsciousness.

A/N: Heyo, this one is distinctly shorter. Still too long perhaps. Anyway, if it seems a little rushed, with all the events happening all at once, I apologise. Anyhoo, read and critique! Oh and if you didn't get the title, go google it and click on tvtropes. But do that at your own risk, for I hold zero responsibility in the event that you waste a large portion of your life there. Just saying. I'll be away for CCA camp from 10th to 13th, so uh, even though Chapter Three is semi-done, don't expect it to be posted. In fact, I probably won't post it until Chapter Four is done. Yes. Yeap, have fun this holiday (which, incidentally, does not appear to be a holiday due to extreme time constraints and... other stuff.) and enjoy yourselves wherever you may be!
-Agoraoptera.CerebrateBen

Chapter One: Wake Up, Time To Die

The girl Lyssa lay on the bed, her face smooth and unblemished, her eyes closed in sleep; deep sleep evidently. The man standing watch over her bed fished out a coin from the depths of his trenchcoat. The coin was gleaming as if it were newly minted. An unfamiliar face and an odd language was printed on it and the man flipped it over and over about his fingers. He reached forward and put it into the girl's open palm, closing her hand into a fist around it. He stroked her long silver hair and took a step back. He walked to the window and looked out. Almost a full moon, but not quite then. Not that he needed to check. He could feel it in his blood. Just a day or two more to the full bloom of the moon. The Flowering Night, as his people called it, or the Night of Nights. He smiled slightly and lifted up the window quietly and jumped out, trenchcoat flaring behind as he fell to the ground, seven floors below. He landed with little more than a thud and he quickly made his way into the night after dusting himself.

“Hey, Lyssa! Wait up!” Tessil gulped heavy breaths after chasing the hooded girl. Lyssa only nodded to acknowledge her friend's presence and adjusted her bag and carried on walking.
“You don't look too well, Lyss.” Tessil commented, looking at Lyssa's deep eye bags. Lyssa just shrugged and kept walking.
“I'm okay.” She coughed out hoarsely.
“No, you're not, Lyss, you should stay at home.”
Lyssa shook her head and muttered, “I'm fine.”
“Your eyes are bloodshot, Lyss, you really should go and rest.”
“I said I'm fine, Tess!” Lyssa flared up suddenly, her pale skin radiating anger rather than illness and weakness.
“Chill, Lyss, I'm sorry, okay? You really scared me there for a moment. Your eyes even went all red for a second. Wow.” Tessil shrank back from her. The pair continued walking towards their class in silence.
As they took their seats, Tessil heard Lyssa murmur to herself, “Full moon up tonight, full moon up tonight.' over and over again.
“What do you mean, Lyss?”
“Huh?” Lyssa looked up distractedly. “What do I mean?”
“Yeah, you were saying 'Full moon up tonight' over and over again. Full moon important to you?”
“I was?” Lyssa appeared genuinely surprised. She shivered slightly and pulled her hoodie closer about her. “I didn't realise.”
“Oh.” Tessil looked over at her friend worriedly, even as Lyssa's gaze started going unfocused again and she started muttering things to herself. Suddenly, Lyssa snapped out of her reverie and looked at Tessil with an intense urgency.
“Tess, tonight we've got night class, don't we?”
“Uh, yeah. What's got you so worked up, Lyss?”
“Nothing. Nothing. It's nothing. Night class...” Lyssa stared around distractedly, “Okay. Right. Right. I think you're right. I should be home. I'll see you for night class then. Bye.” She stood up, grabbed her bag and just left the classroom abruptly as the bell signaling the start of lessons rang, leaving her friend staring after her, concerned for her odd behaviour.

“Lyssa! You look like you've been crying! And are these cuts? You weren't cutting yourself, were you? What happened?”
“Tess, I know what it looks like, but I'm fine now. Really, I am. Don't worry for me, Tess.”
“Yeah... You do look much better.”
Lyssa's complexion was less pale and more radiant; she seemed as if she were glowing. Her eyes were still somewhat bloodshot, though they appeared more alert and less distracted. There were cuts on her arms though, fresh new cuts just scabbing over beside her old scars. She had even pulled back her hood, revealing her long, beautiful mercury-coloured hair.
“The full moon sure is pretty, isn't it?” Lyssa commented, looking directly upwards at the full round silvery orb, a colour not too different from her hair.
“Yeah.” Tessil wondered what time exactly the moon would be full as she stared up into the night.
“It was full since seven. Seven thirty-eight. And it'll end in twenty-two more minutes.” Lyssa switched her gaze to Tessil, her eyes wide open and her mouth spread wide in an open grin. Tessil's blood ran cold.
“How did you know I was-”
“Thinking that? I don't know. I just know. It's amazing. The moon is amazing. The night is amazing. I feel odd. I'm getting this really strong pressure building up in me, you know? It's just building up, building up, building up, building up and I have to release it!” The last syllable left Lyssa's mouth with a scream as the lights of the classroom blew, plunging the classroom into utter darkness as an even deeper shadow pulsated from Lyssa and blasted across the room, black on black, throwing tables and chairs to the sides, throwing her classmates against the walls with bone-shattering cracks. The darkness picked up speed and the class was a whirlwind of shadow and blood, as the impacts left the stains of various people on the walls. All the while, Lyssa laughed maniacally, reveling in the sheer frenzy and adrenaline rush of the moment, soaking in the death like some deity having sacrifices offered to her. As the room started to settle and the unnatural dark receded into Lyssa, night reclaimed the room.
Barely realising the fact that the darkness had shredded away her attire, she picked her way through the splinters of glass and wood to the mangled heap of her friend. Somehow, she could see clearly in the night, even clearer than as if it were day.
“Tessil?” Lyssa called out in a singsong voice. She knelt down behind Tessil's broken and crushed body. “You're all snapped.”
Lyssa stood and straightened and skipped towards the exit, her feet somehow being simultaneously cut by the broken tables and yet mysteriously healing over with darkness shrouding over it. Humming a repetitive tune, Lyssa made her way home.

Heaving the body of her father into the chute, Lyssa found herself singing an old rhyme.
“Lizzie Borden took an axe
and gave her father forty whacks
And when she saw what she had done
She gave her mother forty-one.”
Repeating the same words with a little smile, she threw her mother in as well and started cleaning the bloodstains on the floor. Lyssa decided to leave the blood on the wall. It made for nice décor, she thought.
After she mopped up the blood, she finally went to get dressed. She pulled on a plain white shirt and some jeans before fishing another hoodie from the wash. As she took out the strange coin she had woken up with, the day's events caught up with her and she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

“I may have a reputation for being an odd one, but I'm telling you, Ren, that girl is cra-zee! She's mad! She's touched in the brain, Ren! I don't even want to go near her!”
“Oh, calm down, Psycho. Granted, the way she awoke, taking out a whole class and going home to kill her parents, that's pretty unbalanced, but-”
“Pretty unbalanced? And you guys think the way I awoke was weird? Please, torturing that kid to death, I've got nothing on this girl, Ren, nothing at all. Don't send me in there, Ren, please don't. I know you've got a heart, I've saved it enough times.”
“Quiet Psycho. She's one of us, all the same. She's still a Daughter of the Moon, even as we didn't decide to leave you to die, you a Son of the Moon even though some of us were hesitant about you. You turned out nice enough.”
“But this girl's insane!”
“Enough, Psycho. I'll go in with you, if that will stop you complaining.”
“It's not going to stop me from complaining.”
“Just shut up, okay?”
The willowy Oriental woman pushed the taller man into the room, both adorned in a white medical gown.
Lyssa looked up from the white bed, a drip inserted in her right arm. She smiled a little.
“Oh hello, doctors. Which hospital am I in?”
“Good morning. Before you say anything else, know that we are the same as you.”
“What do you mean?”
The tall silver-haired woman raised both hands and Lyssa watched in fascination as shadows started congealing about her palms and then dripping onto the floor. The dripping increased in frequency until the dark puddle on the floor suddenly rose and formed a pitch-black split-image of the woman. The shadow-woman went to check on Lyssa's blood pressure and pulse as the woman herself took Lyssa's fever.
“This is what I mean.” The woman told her, after making sure that she was alright. “Now, child, tell us who you are.”
“I'm Lyssa.”
“No last name?” The shadow-woman dissipated after writing something on a clipboard hanging on the bedside table.
“I don't remember.”
“Well, that's alright. We'll be faking identities anyway.”
“So I can make my own name?”
“Essentially yes, but we'd like to know your real name.”
“You know I'm Lyssa. Could I go by Lizzie Borden?”
The man standing at the side flinched slightly and started muttering under his breath.
“Psycho.” The woman said firmly. “Control yourself.”
“So can I?” Lyssa asked again.
“Lizzie is close enough to Lyssa.” The woman conceded.
“Then who are you?”
The Chinese woman smiled. “I'm the one asking questions here. But I'll tell you. I'm Ren.”
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Lyssa, how old are you?”
“How.. old I am?” She hesitated. “I don't remember.” She whispered.
“It's okay. Memory loss is to be expected after such a violent and traumatic awakening. You're lucky our people picked you up quickly. The dramatic way you awoke sent the Guardians coming after you much quicker than they had spotted awakenings before.”
“The Guardians?”
“Bunch of madmen who seek to exterminate our kind and supposedly protect humankind from us.”
Lyssa groaned a little and brought a palm to her head.
“Are you okay?”
“A little headache.”
“I'll administer painkillers through the IV drip, if you don't mind.”
“No... I don't mind.. No. I don't feel so good suddenly.”
“That's normal, Lyssa. The rush of the power within you is very intoxicating, but it doesn't make up for proper nourishment. I don't believe you've eaten much or drank much for a while.”
“No. Isn't that the point of the drip?”
“It's to keep you hydrated, yes, but it cannot sustain you for long. Your lunch will be coming soon.”
“Lunch huh. How long have I been out?”
“Three days.”
Lyssa blinked twice. “Three days. No wonder I feel ravenous. What are we anyway?”
“Now Lyssa, you'll concentrate on regaining your strength. You are no good to anyone, least of all yourself in this state.”
Lyssa nodded and then turned to the nervous man.
“Who are you?”
He flinched when he realised she was talking to him, but he managed to keep under control as he hurriedly replied, “Psycho.”
“Lyssa, are you comfortable in your clothing?”
“Yeah, I'm fine, but can I have my clothing back? I don't feel safe without my wallet-”
“Don't worry, we've got your coin.”
“How did you know?”
“One of our people gave it to you. We give it to those who will awaken within the next day or two.”
“You knew what was going to happen?”
“Not so spectacularly, no.” Ren shook her head. “You are distinctly stronger than many others, but you need to exercise control.”
Lyssa gave a non-committal half-sigh. She drew a deep breath and exhaled. “I'm bored.”
“Try exercising your power, but slowly. We don't want you to wreck our equipment.”
“And how do I start exercising my power?”
“Simply. Start with attempting to draw shadows to you, or exude shadows if that's how you do it. It's a mental exercise, but it will tax you physically so be wary of overdoing it.”
“But how? You haven't answered me.”
“Feel the shadow. It will have a distinctive feel in your mind, unique to each of us. Grasp onto the feel, your impression of shadow and bring it forth.”
Ren headed out of the room, followed by Psycho but she took a step back and then told Lyssa, “If you need anything, we're around. I'll be right back with your lunch.”
Lyssa nodded and closed her eyes, thinking. What was her impression of shadow? Comfort. Where she could rest in peace. Slight cold, comforting cold. She imagined the cold misting around her hands and she opened her eyes to see the pores of her skin exuding an inky black fog. She lost her concentration with surprise, but somehow the shadows continued to seep out from her hands. She let it envelop her arms and then she pulled it towards her with a thought. She inhaled some of the darkness; the frost had a slight bite to it, but it was still extremely soothing. The thick fog of black quickly covered much of the room.
Lyssa started drawing shapes in the mist, pulling strands of fog here and there. Gradually, of its own volition, a face formed in the depths of black. Its features were barely discerned, but its shape was clear. The face, masculine in form, floated just in front of Lyssa, another patch of black among black.
Just then, Lyssa heard the door swing open and she heard a Chinese curse as the black fog started to spill out of the room.
“Lyssa! Call back your shadow! Now.”
Lyssa started and the face dissipated. She concentrated, concentrated on pulling all the frost through her skin into her blood, turning it black as sin, black blood coursing through her veins-
She gasped as the shock of all the cold shadow quickly entering her hit her sharply and she almost let loose the fog once more. She shivered uncontrollably, teeth chattering as her blood ran as cold as the mist had been and her bones felt as if they had been lined with hoarfrost.
Ren sighed as she pushed a trolley within Lyssa's view.
“I knew I shouldn't have told you to practice now. My mistake. I knew you were strong, but to release so much and then to take it back in so quickly, that's not good.” Ren took her temperature again and sighed. “You're too cold. It's due to the shadow, isn't it?”
Lyssa nodded numbly as she tried to pull the blankets tighter around her.
“At any rate, you'll recover quickly enough. I've brought your lunch.” Ren looked closer at Lyssa. “Girl, you look like you've seen a ghost. Are you alright?”
“There was a face in the shadow...”
“Of course. Was it fully formed?”
“N-No... The face was still forming when I called it back.”
“You're much stronger than we expected. Still, that is a matter for another time.” Ren lifted the tray of food and placed it on the bed table, then shifted the table so that Lyssa could reach it easily. “For now, eat and rest. The food may not be to your liking, I'm sorry about that, but we have no idea what you can or cannot take.”
Lyssa shivered some more and then slowly sat up to eat. Her appetite was ravenous and she quickly devoured the noodles and drank the thick soup with gusto.
“Eat slowly. I know you haven't eaten for days, but slow down.”
“It's delicious.” Lyssa commented as she finished the last few drops.
“I know, I cooked it. But still. You watch out for any signs of your stomach feeling upset. Toilet's over there, if you need to go, push your drip along or call me if you really feel too weak.”
“Okay.” Lyssa sighed contentedly and snuggled deeper within the blanket.
“I'll leave first. Anything you need, that button over there will alert me.”

Outside of the room, the nervous man approached Ren.
“I told you, Ren, she's mad!”
“She seems perfectly fine to me, albeit a little on the girlish side.”
“She's an actor, I swear! She's crazy!”
“I think, even though you represent a professional opinion, I think we ought to seek a third, unbiased opinion.”
“'Unbiased'? Look, she killed a whole classroom of her acquaintances, got up, went home and killed her parents for no discernible reason with a ceremonial knife, which I have no idea where she got that from. Who's the one being biased here?”
“I admit, I am being more lenient in my judgement to her, but as of now, she appears fully balanced.”
“I still remember when I was brought in. None of you trusted me for weeks. Is this gender discrimination?”
“Calm down, Psycho. Look, I'm sorry for what happened, but you did torture that little girl unto death.”
“And I admitted it. I never shirk from my deeds.” Psycho threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “But this...”
“Okay, Psycho, calm down. How about you go in there and have a chat with her and psychoanalyse her? It's what you do for a living after all, isn't it?”
“I'm too jumpy right now. Chances are I'd try to kill her first as a preemptive action to protect my own life.” Psycho shuddered and took a pill from a bottle and promptly swallowed it. “I have got to remember to take my own self-prescribed medication. Anyway,” He glanced through the one-way window at Lyssa dreamily lying on the bed, “She finished eating quickly. Aren't you going to clear the tray?”
“I'll send in Aco. Lyssa should probably get to know everyone of our little family.”
“Family. I never understood your obsession with that concept.”
“It's a Chinese thing.” Ren smiled and called out. “Aco!”
“Coming!” A responding shout came from the other side of the hall. The hall was not particularly spacious, but had a homely atmosphere. It was surprisingly different from the medical feel of Lyssa's room, mahogany walls and a polished floor instead of a sterile tiled white room. A Chinese boy, not much older than sixteen quickly emerged from a side room and stopped in front of Ren.
“Yes, Mother?” The boy had lively eyes that seemed to dance with a certain light in them. His onyx hair was a tad bit too long and was being held to the side by a hair clip.
“The girl in that room is Lyssa, a new addition to our family. Go and greet her, have a talk with her. Attend to any needs she might have and once you're done, take out the tray to the kitchen.”
“Yes, Mother.” The boy shifted his shoulders and headed in to do as he was told.
Psycho looked on with interest. “Explain to me again how you managed to get him to call you Mother after you killed his biological parents.”
“I was honour-bound to take him in. It wasn't a bad choice.”
“Funny. You just evaded my question. Never mind. Go do your paperwork. I'll watch them from here.”
“Alright.”

The youth Aco tidied himself nervously and opened the door; he hadn't had much contact with girls. Not that he had much contact with people in general, for that matter. But if, as Ren had said, this girl was to be a part of his family, then it only made sense for him to get to know her. He saw from the outside that the girl had nice silver hair, just like Ren and Psycho. She was probably one of them, with their dark powers.
He stepped in and closed the door behind him gingerly, feeling uncomfortable under the girl's gaze. He bowed, went to sit at the bedside chair and he looked at her.
“Uh... Hi. I'm Aco.”
“Hello. Do you also have shadow powers?” Lyssa asked, suprisingly straightforward.
“Don't I wish.” He blushed slightly at his admission. “No, but I've got something other.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“I inject myself with Mother's liquid shadow. It's given me... some poison abilities.”
“Oh cool.” Lyssa slowly sat up and grinned. “You look about my age. I don't remember my age. What's your age?”
“Uh, I'm not too sure either. Never kept track. Maybe sixteen or seventeen?”
“I see. Maybe I'm seventeen too. I can't remember. Are you Chinese? I remember something about Chinese friends in my school.”
He nodded in response, self-consciously brushing a hand through his hair.
“We're pretty similar.” Lyssa stared at him with an odd look in her eyes that made him feel even more uncomfortable. “You're cute.”
“Wha- I, uh, I-” He stammered, unsure of how to respond and blushed.
“Yeah, you're really cute.” She giggled slightly.
“Uh.. Okay... Thanks, I guess.. I don't know your name.”
“I'm Lyssa. You can call me Lyss or Lizzie if you want.”
“Alright. Lyssa. Uh, nice name.”
“Thank you. Aco's a nice name too.”
“Thanks. You're a Child of the Moon as well, aren't you?”
“What's that?”
Aco stared at her, eyes wide. “You don't know?”
“Nope. What's that?”
“It's people like you and Ren and Psycho. People who have the dark powers, like Ren's shadow and Psycho's blood. Children of the Moon.”
“Oh. I guess I am.”
“What's your power then?”
“Shadow too. Wanna see?” Lyssa asked, her voice lilting playfully.
“Umm... Okay. Don't tax yourself though. Mother would kill me.”
“Mother?”
“Ren. I call her my mother. But she's not my biological mother. It's complicated.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lyssa closed her eyes and a blissful blank smile came across her features. Slowly, oily, misty darkness began to pour from her once more. Then she opened her eyes and twirled her fingers in the mist; the mist was not as thick as it had been, nor as dark.
The mist slowly enveloped Aco, who inhaled as much of the slightly sweet smoke as he could. As his muscles relaxed and he slumped in his seat, he closed his eyes in complete comfort. While the dark mist was a little cold, it was just the way he liked it and he almost fell asleep.
“Like it?”
He jolted upright, remembering that there was still this strange, yet not unappealing girl by his side, sitting on the bed.
Lyssa giggled slightly at his reaction. “You sure looked like you were enjoying it.”
“I, uh, yeah. Reminds me a little of Mother's opium.” Aco continued soaking in the misty darkness, which started to intensify in its thickness.
“You look really blissful. Ah...” She sighed pleasantly.
Aco opened his eyes and looked straight at the girl emitting the slightly sweet smoke. “Did anyone tell you you're beautiful, Lyssa?”
“You don't look like someone who usually compliments people, so I'm honoured that you think so. I think you're rather handsome as well.” Lyssa pushed aside her blankets but Aco quickly stood up to stop her.
“Hey, Mother would most definitely kill me if I let you get up. I, uh, I'll clear the tray and then go for now.”
“Oh.” Lyssa's tone was crestfallen. “Could you come back later? You're really good company.”
“I wouldn't know about that, I don't socialise much.” Aco replied bluntly as he efficiently cleaned the table and maneuvered it back to its position in front of her bed.
“You can see so well in the shadow?”
“Yeah. I'm used to it, I guess. Uh, see you later.” He opened the door with one hand, balancing the tray with the other and exited, wisps of black smoke following him.
“Aco, boy, you'd best be wary of her.”
“Why, Uncle Psycho?”
“She's mad.” He whispered to the youth as if confiding a secret.
“She seemed perfectly fine to me. She's quite a nice person, though I don't have that much experience with people. Certainly, she doesn't seem mad to me.”
“What's wrong with you people?” Psycho exclaimed. “You all think she's perfectly fine and that I'm mad?”
“Well..” Aco shrugged uncomfortably. “You are mad.”
“Yes, yes, I admit that, my mind is not as properly structured as it should be, but you all think she's fine? This is ridiculous!”
“If you say so, Uncle Psycho. Now, I need to wash this or Mother will have a fit.” Aco politely sidestepped the older man who stared into Lyssa's room with wide, wild eyes and carried his tray, headed for the kitchen.
Psycho continued staring into the receding black fog of Lyssa's room. The girl was smiling dreamily to herself; quite obviously mad, he thought. She was most certainly insane to have decided to gone home and then kill her own parents after her powers surfaced. Most definitely insane. He decided to go in and analyse her, just as Ren had suggested. However, he couldn't go in in such a state. No matter, he simply ingested a couple of pills, calming himself down.

Lyssa cocked her head quizzically to a side as the door opened again, this time revealing that nervous American man who had came in with Ren just now. He looked much more controlled now though.
“Hello, Mr Psycho. It's nice to see another American.”
“This is America, Lyssa. It's not surprising to see other Americans.”
“Ren and Aco are both Chinese. I don't remember much of anything. I wouldn't be surprised if this were China.”
“Lyssa.” The man stared into her eyes as if searching her soul, making feel oddly exposed. “What was it like when your powers surfaced?”
“I felt full, overflowing with energy and I just had to release it. And then I did, of course.”
“You killed your classmates. Then you got up, went home and killed your parents. Why?”
“Why? My parents... were not the nicest people. I've thought of killing them for so long.”
“All children think of killing their parents at some point of anger. However, you obviously had no spur-of-the-moment hatred towards them. The long way home would have cooled you off either way. Why did you kill them?”
“I don't know. I don't remember. But,” She exhaled, “It felt great. Surely you'd understand. The killing. It's so.. exhilarating. I can feel the knife in my hand even now.”
“Yes, we retrieved your belongings, the knife included. Where did you get such a ritualistic dagger? It's too stylised to be anything else.”
“I took it.”
“Where from?”
“From someone. He didn't want to give it to me, but he let me hold it and then I stuck it in him.” She giggled softly. “It took me a while to find a good brand of soap that got rid of bloodstains.”
Psycho named a brand of bleach. “That's a good one to use. But back to the point. You enjoy killing, don't you?”
“Don't you?” Lyssa countered with a smile, her gaze just slightly off-centre but enough to be disconcerting.
“Do you? I'm the one asking questions here, Lyssa.” He pushed.
“Sure, why not.” Her mouth opened slightly as she smiled wider and Psycho caught sight of wisps of black smoke drifting out from her mouth, giving her a deranged appearance.
“You're insane.” He muttered to himself.
“Just like you.” She had heard him and she replied.
“Not like you.” He retorted. “I at least don't revel in murder for its own sake.”
“Neither do I. I like the feel of blood on my hands. You do, don't you?”
Psycho flinched as if he had been struck. “Insane, utterly insane.” He murmured again and made to leave the room.
“Wait, Mr Psycho, could you help me ask Aco to come back in when he can? I'm so lonely...” The longing in her tone sent shivers up his spine as he ignored her request and fled the room as quickly as he could without seeming as though he was afraid of her.

Heh. She starts laughing as he closes the door. I don't remember. What a lie, but only the crazy one suspected that something was out of sorts. So funny. Turns out the only one with common sense was the one who was mad. Ah, she remembered the slick blood on her knife and then her hands as she dug into the bodies of her parents. After a while, the blood turned sticky, but it was still a nice feeling. Then the blood caked and congealed, stiffening and then cracked when she flexed her hands. A nice topping to all those tears and pain she had endured. Mmm. Lyssa stretched, feeling completely at ease in the soft and comfortable bed. They didn't know, did they? That weird man Psycho might be out of the room, but she could still hear the strange tenor of his mind. It made her twitch a little.
She couldn't exactly tell what they were thinking, but she had a grasp of what they felt. And Psycho's subconscious was weird. It wasn't as straightforward as Aco's curiosity or even as Ren's mind, which admittedly was substantially more complex. Ren was curious too, but there was a whole host of other emotions that made it difficult for Lyssa to pick out how Ren felt. Psycho's mind though, the feel of his mind was just plain strange. It just seemed so jarring and unlinked, the undercurrents of his thoughts clashing against each other unlike the smooth flow of Ren's and Aco's. She couldn't hear their thoughts though, not like that night when she killed Tessil and the others. Even with her broken body, Tessil's thoughts had rang out loud and clear, expressing shock, disbelief and pleading for help. Desperate pleading, ah, how sweet it had seemed to Lyssa's ears, though it was all in her mind. It gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling deep in her stomach.
It was rather surprising to Lyssa, how easily she had figured out how it all worked. She felt someone else come within range of her mental hearing. To the best of Lyssa's knowledge, there were only three people in the house, Ren, Aco and Psycho. This mind was pretty colourful and held a certain care for people, evidently Ren. It wasn't that hard to distinguish minds and Lyssa tried to familiarise herself with the pattern of Ren's subconscious.
Psycho's twisted thought-flow approached Ren's. Oh, this would be useful, knowing the location of people through their minds. Nobody could surprise her now. She tried to concentrate on Ren, Psycho's mind a whirlwind of conflicting impulses. Surprise, Lyssa picked up, surprise and disbelief from Ren. Psycho must be telling her about Lyssa's own words. Heh. Ren wouldn't believe him. Not with the little fostering of a good impression that Lyssa had done on Ren's psyche anyway. Ah, but the subconscious was so easy to manipulate and change. It hadn't taken Lyssa that long to figure out what exactly she could do. If she could submerge herself in the undercurrents of the minds of other people, why couldn't she tweak it? And so she did, just because it seemed fun. And nobody suspected a thing except the crazy man, whose own mental instability perhaps protected him from her mind-warping power. Not that it mattered. It wasn't as if she was going to hurt any of them, was she? According to Ren, she was one of them. It would be nice to be among people who didn't dislike her. Or found her scary.
Hmm? What was that? A twinge of alarm from Ren. From Psycho too, the emotion strong enough to be sensed over all his disturbing thought-flows. Something was wrong. Slight panic from Ren, but tightly controlled. Something she knew would happen but dreaded, then. Ren was approaching.

Ren threw open the door, just stopping it from slamming against the wall.
“Lyssa. We have to leave now. Are you well enough or do we need to carry you?”
“I.. I don't know.”
“Aco!” She shouted out the door. “Quickly!”
“Yeah! Just finished packing!” The reply echoed back, his voice getting louder as Lyssa felt his mind come along. He was... quite fearful. Not exactly fearful, but worried. Yes. Worried and nervous. Ah, Lyssa reveled in the relative ease of comprehending him.
“Yes, Mother?” Aco's head came into the room, slightly breathless.
“Carry Lyssa out; we don't have much time.”
“Yes, Mother. The IV, I'll just bring along the bag then?” He asked as he stepped into the room and quickly pulled aside her blankets. He was carrying a backpack, rather large and bulky.
“Just take the bag.” Ren left the room with that final instruction.
Aco unhooked the IV bag from its stand and handed it to Lyssa, hefting her into his arms without much effort. His arms were warm to her touch and she took the opportunity to examine his face closer. Dark brown eyes, almost black, a rounder nose in contrast to her own hawk-like visage. A mouth curled in anxiety, he glanced down in askance as he caught her looking at him.
“Are you okay?”
She blinked sharply and averted her gaze.
“Yeah. I'm good.”
“Aco! Time?” Ren's query rang out.
“Daylight, Mother. Shall I cover Lyssa?”
“Yes, yes, we don't have much time, the Guardians will descend on us in less than ten minutes!”
Lyssa sensed the tension in the air and started to become nervous as well.
“Who are these Guardians?”
“Shh, I'm sorry Lyssa, but Aco will have to cover you for now.” Ren's face came into her view as she draped a dark blanket over her. Before her sight was completely obscured, Lyssa saw that Ren wore a cloak and hood with a cowl.
From under the dark cloth, Lyssa felt Aco moving, moving out of the room, going to somewhere which she could not see. She felt the odd mind of Psycho and Ren, following. Anxiety was the greatest emotion present- no, it had changed. Something nauseating. Fear. It made Lyssa feel sick.
“Shit!” Psycho started swearing. “They're here!”
“Go, Aco, take Lyssa and run!”
“But where-”
“Just run! We'll find you later!”
Lyssa felt Aco's pace quicken and within a few seconds, she could not feel Psycho or Ren's minds anymore. Then she felt someone else in front.
“Aco!” She yelled, the blanket muffling her voice. “There's somebody up ahead towards the right!”
“How do you know?” He asked, voice strained as Lyssa felt him turn to a side.
“I'm not sure.” Then she felt a whole cacophony of minds, too many people, too many for her to think and she screamed with the confusion of so many thought-flows. The impulses bombarded her and she barely felt Aco stopping suddenly.

They were surrounded. Aco swore in his native tongue and concentrated deeply. The men around him him wore black masks, something that looked straight out of a science-fiction military game. Green goggles reminded him of night-vision goggles that were so common in movies and the rest of their outfit seemed similarly surreal. Most of the men held rods in their hands, rods that Aco recognised from Ren's teachings to be stun-rods similar in nature to cattle prods. Others held guns that accomplished the same purpose, tasers with electrical charges crackling as if in anticipation.
There was no way out. While Aco was not one of the Children of the Moon, he had abilities of his own, as he had told Lyssa.
“I'm sorry, Lyssa.” He told her as he laid her limp, seemingly unconscious form on the ground. “Don't take away the blanket or you'll get burnt.”
He straightened and reached into a side pocket of his backpack, removing a vial of murky brown liquid. The smell of the air changed, an odd sickly smell that seemed to be coming from Aco. His skin started to glisten with an oily substance and his eyes seemed to drip with it. His sharp fingernails seemed to turn black as if his fingers were diseased and he flexed his hands slightly.
“You Guardians won't take either of us.”
Suddenly, the lead Guardian raised an outstretched palm, stopping his men from advancing. The Guardian took a step forward and removed his mask, revealing a man in his mid-thirties with auburn hair.
“You.” He had a rich, baritone voice and he raised a finger to point at Aco. “You are not a Child of the Moon. But, there is one of the scum here.” The man looked down at the dark bundle that was Lyssa and smiled. “There, is it not? Vulnerable to sunlight, so you wrap it.” He lifted his stun-rod lazily. “Tell me, why do you aid these monsters? Do you even know what these filthy beasts are? They are enemies of humanity, young boy.”
“So that's your rationale?” Aco whispered. “That's what you Guardians think?”
Without warning, Aco threw the vial at the Guardian and ran forward. The Guardian raised his arms to ward off the vial which broke, spraying its odourless, foul-looking liquid over him. Aco reached him and slashed at him with fingernails that looked as if in a deep stage of decay and the Guardian flinched as Aco drew blood. Then the Guardian brought down his stun-rod and Aco was thrown to the ground, even as other Guardians closed it on them.
“Hmph.” The lead Guardian gave a sound of contempt as he eyed Aco, held to the ground by other stun-rods on him. Aco couldn't move. He looked towards the black blanket.
“The blanket has one of humanity's foes. Take it back, we have much work to do on it.”
The other Guardians heeded his command and one of them carried up the bundle, Lyssa not responding in the slightest to the movement, dead to the world.
“No!” Shadows emerged from a side corridor, harbingers of Ren's path.
“Leave the boy! He is not one of the beasts.” The lead Guardian commanded. “Take the scum and leave, we have what we came for.”
“No! Stay and face me, gutless fools!” Ren shouted as she ran out from the corridor with a shadowy doppelganger of herself and Psycho along with her.
“Any other time, I would gladly kill you, scum. But now is not the right time.” With which, the numerous Guardians quickly left, bringing Lyssa with them. But not before the lead Guardian dropped a small cuboid.
Ren cursed and grabbed Aco, dragging him away into the corridor with Psycho's help just as the explosive detonated, scorching the entire passageway. Ren looked Aco over as he slowly regained his motor skills. He got up slowly and yelled his frustration out to the whole world.
Lyssa was gone.
A/N: Ahh, I am so very sorry, people! I've been meaning to post this up, but stuff has been catching up with me, some really bad stuff. Been through a fair bit of emotional duress errr I think you could call it that. Having a bit of emotional turmoil etc, your regular wangsty shizz. So, uh, for the first time, I'm planning to write a story that will be continued and finished. I'm trying. And uh, sorry for the length, having copy-pasted from word document, it looks loooong. 11 pages on OpenOffice, with font size 12 Times New Roman. Bleh, I'm just bullshitting, aren't I? So uh, I apologise for the length again and please read and review! I would really appreciate feedback and criticisms. Really.
-CerebrateBen

Edit! Thanks to a spur of the moment change, oneshots now come in pairs! Please feedback which oneshot you prefer for me to continue as a comment on this post preferably! Thank you lots lots! =D
-CerebrateBen