It was only the next morning when the nerves started to kick in. It had all happened so fast. One minute I was fighting Maltor, and the next, I was standing on a large field, readying for takeoff.

But it was too late. Ethan had agreed to it all with a massive grin on his face, so at least one of us was going in with absolutely zero regrets. And when I brought up the language barrier, Ethan dismissed it. He knew that I knew decent German, so I was just hoping that it was decent enough for us to talk to our new mentor.

Natasha had been hugging me tightly for the past thirty seconds. I don’t mean multiple hugs; I mean one straight continuous hug.

‘This is for the better, right?’ she murmured into my shoulder.

‘It better be,’ I snarled, awkwardly patting her back. ‘If I put in all this work for nothing then I’m not gonna be happy.’

‘So you’re certain that it’s gonna escalate now?’ I heard Peter say quietly.

Peter was another one of my friends. He was about half an inch taller than me, and we had similar features. Both of us had medium-length dirty blond hair and long fringes. Both of us had blue eyes. And that was about as far as the similarities went, really.

‘Well, if the Gods took time to warn me that I have to train…’ I said, letting my sentence hang.

‘Did you really have to leave at six in the morning, though?’ Asbel asked, smirking.

‘You made us all get up this early on a Saturday, and we listened,’ Isaac added. ‘That’s friendship.’

Isaac was also a good friend. He had dark brown hair and eyes of the same colour. His smile, although rare, looked as though it transcended time. It was one of the greatest smiles I had ever seen. His brown eyes continuously glistened, however, which was always comforting.

‘Yeah, thank you all for doing that,’ I said sheepishly. ‘I just don’t know how long Ethan and I will be gone for, so I had to at least say goodbye to you all.’

‘Well, bye then,’ Jay shouted, in mock spite, making us all laugh.

‘Yeah, I can’t wait to get away from you,’ Ethan spat, smirking.

‘You leave in like seven hours, calm down,’ Jay murmured, and we all laughed even more.

‘Can you actually fly for over eight hours straight?’ Isaac asked, sounding genuinely interested.

‘Yeah, no problem,’ I said, smirking. ‘Don’t worry. I can go way longer if I’m energised enough. And, even though I don’t know for sure, I’ll probably be able to fly for longer once I’m fully matured.’

‘Man,’ Asbel mumbled. ‘I wish I had wings.’

‘They can be seen as a blessing, I guess,’ I said quietly, not looking at him.

He didn’t seem to realise what he had said, but Natasha did, so she intervened.

‘Do you have enough food?’

‘Don’t worry,’ I repeated. ‘I ate well this morning and I’ve got a few snacks in my pockets. And Ethan will bring some food on the plane, right?’

Everybody turned to Ethan and he nodded.

And that’s when the final guest arrived.

I could see her running towards us desperately, as though she were scared that I would leave without saying goodbye. Her hair flew wildly behind her, and as she got closer, her wild eyes became more and more clear.

And after a short while, Emma barrelled into me, wrapping her arms around me as tightly as she could.

My face began to grow hot as a strange, warm feeling spread throughout every part of my body. I awkwardly put my arms around her and patted her back. Her hair smelled like flowers. Nice flowers. It was messy, too. But it looked good messy. Maybe even better than it was when it was tidy.

‘You’ll be fine, right?’ she murmured into my shirt.

‘Yeah, don’t worry,’ I said quietly. ‘And I’ll see you when I get back.’

Looking up, I saw my friends all smirking and holding back laughs. Asbel was miming kisses in the air. I performed a crude hand gesture behind Emma’s back.

I felt as though I didn’t want to let go. Sure, when Natasha hugged me, it felt nice, in a way. But I mainly felt awkward. It was like a one-sided hug. But now that I was hugging Emma, I was beginning to realise why people liked hugging so much. It was nice if you did it with the right person.

‘So, uh,’ I said awkwardly, whilst Emma still held on. ‘Does anyone know when Charlotte’s getting here? I can’t leave until I say goodbye to her.’

‘Charlotte?’ I heard Emma murmur.

‘She’s like in her twenties,’ I reassured her, and I felt her relax in my arms.

‘She should be here any minute,’ Ethan said, still smirking at me and Emma. ‘She better be quick, though, or you’re gonna be late.’

Emma slowly untangled herself from me, but not before whispering, ‘Good luck.’

‘See you in like a few months,’ I said awkwardly. ‘I hope.’

‘Don’t add ‘I hope’!’ Emma shouted, punching me gently in mock outrage.

Asbel began to roar with laughter and Emma’s face became beet red.

‘Shut up, man!’ I shouted at him, feeling my face grow hot.

Then I heard the familiar crack in the air, signalling that Charlotte had just appeared. I whirled around and found her standing behind me with a sweet smile on her face.

‘Do you really wanna get into an argument just before you leave forever?’ she said, smirking.

‘F-Forever?’ Natasha and I murmured in sync.

‘You look so funny when you’re worried, sir,’ Charlotte said, grinning.

‘Oh, great!’ I shouted sarcastically.

‘Sir,’ came a deep voice from behind me. ‘Your window to fly is closing shortly. I suggest you take off now or else you’ll miss the opportunity.’

I turned my head so quickly that my neck clicked.

‘N-Now?’ I breathed.

Butterflies had turned my stomach into a mosh pit. I was going. I didn’t know how long I was going for, or if we’d even be allowed in, but I was going.

Natasha barrelled into me with another hug, this one even tighter than the last. She buried her face in my shoulder and I felt myself grow hot. Especially since Emma was watching the two of us with a weird expression.

‘You sure you know where you’re going?’ Natasha murmured as I awkwardly patted her back. ‘You won’t get lost?’

‘I’m part bird,’ I said, smirking. ‘And I have the coordinates. My sense of direction can never let me down.’

Natasha slowly pulled away and I began my other goodbyes. Jay and I patted each other on the back and then Isaac and I hugged tightly, thumping each other’s backs as we did so.

‘You have the smoke balls?’ Asbel said, smirking, as the two of us clasped our hands together.

‘Yep,’ I replied, beaming. ‘Never know when I might need them.’

Then Charlotte and I hugged, which was strange. It felt fitting, of course, but hugging Charlotte still didn’t sit as well as hugging Emma.

Speaking of which, Emma and I got in one final hug. Her hair still smelled like flowers as she dug her face into my chest again. And, as much as I enjoyed the moment, my chest felt as though it were about to burst, and the man to the side seemed eager to get me in the air.

Emma and I pulled out of our hug and she murmured, ‘Just come back.’

I nodded tightly at her and then turned to Ethan. ‘See you in a few hours.’

‘See you in Switzerland,’ he said, grinning.

Then I turned to the other man. ‘I’m good to go now, yeah?’

‘Yes, sir!’ he said tightly before performing the RoCity salute.

The RoCity salute was a mark of high respect. It was usually used in the military, but could also be used to show immense gratitude or appreciation. It was performed by placing your closed right fist over your heart and placing your closed left fist behind your back. Even the way it was performed had great significance. By placing your hand over your heart, it symbolised dedicating your heart, which is why it was primarily used within the military.

I smiled warmly at him before turning to my friends and nodding.

Then I turned my back to them and took a breath of the morning air. Smiling to myself, I began to run. And I didn’t look back. I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Once I was running at a sufficient speed, I slowly unfolded my wings. The feeling of the wind hitting them was like no other, and the anticipation of flying for over eight hours straight was enough to drive me crazy.

And with one great flap of my wings, I was in the air. The ground disappeared beneath my feet and I felt the wind completely take over my body. Tilting my body slightly to the left at about one hundred feet up, I began to turn southward.

‘See you soon!’ I shouted down to my friends as I soared over them. I do not know whether they heard me. And if they did, I do not know whether or not they responded.

My fringe flew backwards off of my forehead and I laughed maniacally. Eight and a half hours in the air. It was almost too good to be true.

The take-off was always the best bit. The rush of leaping into the air and then the gradual ascent was one of the most refreshing things I had ever had the pleasure to experience. Feeling the air slowly get thinner and colder was a joy that I was glad I could experience. Was it worth the seven years of torture? Probably not. But would I take it? Definitely.

By the time I had reached my cruising altitude of about eighteen thousand feet, RoCity wasn’t even a dot on the horizon. Even if I were close enough to see it, the clouds below me would’ve hidden it from view. Speaking of clouds, there were barely any this high up. But when there was one, I did not swerve out of the way to avoid it. They felt like a cold mist. It was like being in a cold bath for a few seconds.

The greatest thing about being at my cruising altitude was how free my mind was. As I was flying at both my preferred height and speed, I felt comfortable enough to mindlessly glide and flap with zero worries. And, Gods, did my mind run free.

Strangely, William Johnson was not the first thing that came to my mind. Emma, however, was. I did not know exactly what I felt around her. My heart always felt as though it stopped beating momentarily upon seeing her, and doing so much as talking to her made me feel warm and fuzzy.

And our hugs had been an entirely different story. It was as though my entire body shut down. All I could feel was warmth. My entire body had grown hot as well. I wanted to hug her again.

Then I thought of my friends. At least I would be seeing Ethan in a few hours. But it would certainly take a while to get used to not seeing everybody else nearly every day. I would definitely miss laughing with them all at Lunch. And I would miss Jay’s jokes, the arguments with Asbel, the laughs with Peter, the trust with Isaac, and the warmness between me and Natasha.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

I wanted to go back. I fought back the desperation to return to the city with the thought of returning better than ever.

I didn’t want to fight Maltor. But he had evidently made it clear that he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Even if he wanted to kill most of the Earth’s population.

Then I wondered whether or not he was actually prepared to kill me. He had had the perfect opportunity to do it on Thursday. But he had disappeared. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to kill me, just as I couldn’t bring myself to end him.

But what if he tried something whilst I was gone? What if we received word that he had attacked RoCity upon learning that I was gone? I had vowed to protect my people, so under that circumstance, I would have to give it my all to fight him.

Part of me knew I couldn’t. Knew that, no matter what, I would never be able to build up the courage to kill him. Knew that, even with possibly months of training, I wouldn’t be able to get myself into that frame of mind.

I mean, Maltor was my best friend. We had known each other for practically all our lives. We had fought together for years. Killed people together. Been tortured together. You don’t just move past things like that.

Then there was the issue of William himself. I had absolutely no clue how long we would be. I didn’t even know if Ethan and I would be allowed in. Nor did I know what exactly he would train us in, or how he would do it. As he was a son of Titan, could he also put flames on his sword? Control lightning? He probably could. Maybe he’d just teach us that, but better?

It was around then that my mind truly went blank. I merely flew across the skies without a care in the world. After a little over three hours, I could tell that I was about halfway through Belgium. It was mainly countryside below me, and there were hardly any houses. But Belgium was strangely beautiful. Something about the way the sun shone down upon it made it seem to glow.

I started to think about how long I could actually fly. Eight hours was surely no problem, and I knew it. But what exactly was my maximum? I had flown for nearly thirty hours straight when I had escaped The School, but that was a stretch. A huge stretch. I had been flying faster than usual, and a larger distance than I had ever done, all without food. When Rob had found me after I crash-landed in Birmingham, I had been a complete mess. That’s why he had decided to take me in.

When I had become Prime Minister, one of the first things I had done was invite Rob to RoCity. But he had declined. He had insisted that I didn’t need him in my new life, and he feared that he would only get in my way by complicating things for me. That had been a hard blow. Ethan and Jay were there with me as we received word of his decline. I had cried. Of course, I had. Why wouldn’t I? Then, a few days later, Ethan had flown out to Birmingham with me so I could see Rob.

He commented on how big I was, and how different I looked. We’d hugged, we’d laughed, we’d told each other how much we’d missed one another. I had played with Maxie for two hours in the garden.

That had been over a year ago. Rob would want me to do this. Imagining the look on his face when I returned to tell him I'd saved the world again, I pushed forward harder and did not look back.

***

Once I had crossed into Switzerland, I was hungry. Very, very hungry. But I only had an hour left of flying. The sun was high in the sky, and, in a strange sense, it felt as though it were fuelling me to keep going.

I began to worry about Ethan’s flight. He was going to land at Samedan Airport, and that is where I would meet him. Yes, he had a very skilled pilot, but Samedan Airport was known for how difficult it was to land there. It would be no problem for me to get there, as it was only about five-and-a-half-thousand feet in the air. But the thinness of the air and the altitude could easily be a problem for an aeroplane. Not to mention the fact that the airport was in a valley.

The anticipation of finally making human contact after this long flight drove me to push forward slightly, and speed up. Just a little bit.

Actually, scratch that. Ethan and I were not supposed to meet at the airport itself, but more so at a supermarket right next to it. And from there, a driver was supposed to pick us up and take us as close to the camp as possible. The driver would not be able to take us all the way, so I would have to fly with Ethan in my arms to get us there. I found this hilarious, but Ethan tried to mask his evident fear with fake laughs.

The Alps themselves were a whole different story. After a while of being in Switzerland, I could see huge mountains below me, which made me feel strange. I didn’t like being so close to the ‘ground’. The air was colder and thinner, and whilst the thinness wasn’t a problem, the temperature started to make me shiver, which was admittedly a fact that had been overlooked.

The Swiss Alps would undoubtedly be much, much colder than RoCity. Sure, English weather was always unpredictable, but even that seemed like a blessing now that I could feel the sheer difference in temperature. We had packed spare clothes, but none of them were exactly Alps-temperature worthy.

Trying to ignore the sheer temperature, I let my mind drift again to the training itself. The only thing I could possibly think of was he would hone our Titan powers. Like how I could coat my sword in flames and lightning, and extend grass, and control the snow; things like that.

And then I realised that I was right where I needed to be. In fact, I should’ve already been making my descent. Upon realising this, I straightened my wings and stretched them out as far as they could go in order to keep my descent as smooth as possible.

Descending only heightened my excitement. This was actually happening. I was going to learn to become a fighter. Not that I wasn’t already one. I could easily beat nearly anybody in a fight. Chuckling to myself, I realised that I would probably have an easier time knocking out a military soldier than maiming Maltor.

The clouds felt colder than the ones near RoCity, which I found strange. Yes, I was now in the Alps, but part of me had expected clouds to all just be the same temperature.

Samedan slowly became clearer and clearer. It was only a small town, with only a few thousand people. I found it quite strange that an ordinary human town had a smaller population than a Mutant safe haven. RoCity had a population of well over a million people, which I suddenly realised was even larger than some countries.

I had been shown a photo of the supermarket the previous night, and after a short scan of the town, I found it. I angled myself ever-so-slightly to the right, perfectly aligning with the supermarket.

As I got lower, a black SUV became clearer and clearer, and I was certain that Ethan was already here, and that that SUV would take us to Piz Vadret. I quickly judged that the road was just about long enough for me to land on, because this had also been overlooked. Maybe we were actually unprepared.

Ethan was watching me from below, and once he realised that I had noticed him, he started waving up at me. He was standing just outside the SUV, and his beaming face became clearer and clearer as I descended.

Hastily steadying my wings, I began to angle the tips of my feathers for a landing. I stretched my legs out slightly, hoping for a smooth landing. And I got one.

My feet effortlessly connected with the ground and I ran along the length of the road. Keeping my wings stretched out so that my speed gradually decreased, I eventually came to a stop a few feet away from the SUV. I ruffled my wings, letting them feel the cold air once more before tucking them tightly against my back.

‘How was the flight?’ Ethan asked, smirking.

‘I’m hungry,’ I said plainly. ‘The food’s in the car right?’

‘Yeah, I left the bags in there,’ he said, staring at me in amazement. ‘How on Earth did you do eight and a half hours?’

‘I’m genetically made to fly long distances,’ I said quietly. ‘I don’t know what bird’s DNA I have, but it’s gotta be one that can fly for ages.’

Ethan and I silently got in the car, and I immediately grabbed one of the bags and dug through it. I found my chicken sandwich and it wasn’t long before I was shovelling it into my mouth like there was no tomorrow.

‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ Ethan began cautiously as the car started to drive, ‘what about Maltor? What are his wings made for?’

‘Speed,’ I said through a mouthful of food. I made sure to swallow before continuing. ‘He can’t fly for as long as I can, but he’d beat me in a race any time. His wings are smaller and nimble. Mine are stronger and larger. He’s more agile in the air, too.’

‘And you don’t know what bird you’re made from?’

‘‘Made from’ is probably the incorrect term. ‘Fused with’ would probably be more accurate. They’re both wrong, actually. I don’t know what the term is. But yeah, neither of us knows what bird we have the DNA of.’

‘The School probably has documentation right?’ he said, still choosing his words carefully.

I stared determinedly out the window at the mountains that were whizzing past.

‘Who knows?’ I said absent-mindedly. ‘They probably do. If they’re still around after losing their star experiments.’

‘S-Star experiments?’

‘That’s what we were. We were flawless compared to everything else they made. The Erasers were too slow, and they were always in pain. The rabbit fusions were too weak. Too fragile. Everything had its flaws. Except us. We were strong and fast, and we could fly. We were humans at their best.’

‘Hold on a minute!’ Ethan said, sounding almost desperate.

‘Apologies,’ I said quietly, snapping myself out of it. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me recently.’

‘No, no, don’t worry!’ he cried apologetically. ‘I just wondered what you meant by ‘too fragile’. And I’m still trying to comprehend a human-rabbit fusion.’

‘They always died young,’ I murmured. ‘Their lifespan was way too short. Not a single one lived past the age of three. And they didn’t die from anything. It was natural causes. They literally could not be any older.’

‘How did you and Maltor survive?’ he breathed, and he looked utterly appalled.

‘Nobody knows. Even the Erasers, which were their best experiment before us, only lived to about seven or eight. The School probably thinks we’re dead.’

‘Wait, don’t tell me…’ Ethan said, and he had realised something that I had realised many years ago. ‘Your lifespan…you don’t know what it is, do you? You don’t know how long you can last, do you?’

‘Humans can easily live to their seventies and eighties. I have absolutely no clue what my lifespan is. I could die tomorrow for all we know, and I would give away no signs whatsoever. As it stands, we’re the oldest things to ever come from that place. The odds of us still being alive are astronomical.’

Ethan stared at me awkwardly. ‘Well, we’re in Switzerland safe and sound.’

I smirked. ‘Yeah, are you ready to be carried up a mountain in my arms?’

His face became slightly pinker and I laughed. I’m sure he would enjoy it thoroughly.

‘Yeah, you definitely are,’ I said, grinning.

‘Just to be clear!’ he said abruptly, straightening his back. ‘I am ready to experience flying! Not being in your arms!’

Upon seeing that my grin had not faded, he changed the subject.

‘Anyway! Are you looking forward to training?’

‘Yeah,’ I said, trying to hide my smirk. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing the look on Maltor’s face when I’m no longer a pushover. And the look on your face when I lift you into the air.’

‘Shut up,’ he snarled. ‘You’re not bridal carrying me. And don’t you even try.’

Before we even knew it, we had come to the end of a road. The car could not take us any further. I turned to look at Ethan and grinned at him. He merely glared at me before grabbing our bags and getting out of the car.

Once I was also outside, I began to take in my surroundings. The car had stopped in an area with a few buildings. Strangely, they all looked as though they were houses, and maybe even a restaurant, but they also looked like log cabins. The road was practically a dirt path, and after glancing at what was in front of the car, I saw a wooden gate which led to another dirt path. That was where we had to go. I could tell.

‘It’ll only be a two-minute flight from here,’ I said calmly as the cold wind picked up. It flowed through my body, and I relaxed my shoulders, letting my body take it all in.

‘Can you ask the driver what the time is?’ Ethan said, also calm.

I walked over to the driver. Clearing my throat, I hoped that my German was good enough. ‘Do you happen to have the time, sir?’

He glanced at his watch before looking back at me. ‘Ten past five, sir.’

He looked like somebody I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of. Picture a typical bodyguard and you wouldn’t be far off.

‘Ten past five,’ I repeated. ‘And that’s in Swiss time, idiot.’

Ethan smirked and nodded. ‘Do you want me to carry all the bags?’

We had two bags each. I could carry a few.

‘Put one on your back, and then put another in your hand,’ I said coolly before pausing to think. ‘I can carry two but they might be in your face.’

‘Actually, don’t worry,’ he said, smiling at me. ‘You don’t need more to carry. I can carry three bags in my hand.’

I smiled at him before turning back to the driver. ‘Are we all good to go?’

‘Yes, sir,’ he said calmly. ‘Good luck. And have fun. And well done on your German. It is very good.’

‘Thanks for the compliment. And thank you for bringing us here. Hopefully, the next time you see us, we’ll be changed people.’

He smiled at that, before turning and bowing to Ethan and getting in the car. It became evident that he would not leave until we had begun our flight.

After double-checking with Ethan that he was ready, I unfolded my wings and flapped. I lifted effortlessly into the air and hovered for a moment, letting the cold air power through my wings.

‘Lift your arms up,’ I said, looking down at Ethan.

He nodded before completing my request.

I smirked to myself. He had no idea what was coming.

Diving down as fast as I could, I wrapped my arms underneath his and soared back upwards. Ethan let out a loud yelp as he felt his body become weightless. I continued to fly upward until we were at about eleven thousand feet.

‘The mountain is only about ten-and-a-half-thousand feet high,’ I said happily. ‘This is a perfect altitude.’

Ethan didn’t respond. My entire body went numb, and it had nothing to do with the temperature. Ethan’s lungs certainly did not have special air sacs. Ethan could not breathe this high up. We knew that the camp had special equipment to allow regular breathing, but the flight there would certainly be trouble for him, whether or not it was only two minutes.

‘Can you breathe?’ I asked, looking down. We had only been flying for a minute, and Ethan had his eyes tightly shut and his face was tight.

‘Well enough,’ he said slowly. ‘I’m taking deep breaths. Just, for the love of the Gods, please land.’

‘About a minute and a half left, you’re doing great.’

I flew as fast as I could, and we got there a little bit sooner than expected.

Piz Vadret looked like an ordinary mountain, as far as I could tell, but we did not have time to look for the details. My eyes scanned the mountainside for the ledge that marked the entrance to the camp. And, thankfully, I found it.

It looked exactly like I had expected it to. A stone platform jutting from the side of the mountain. It looked big enough to fit about a crowd of one hundred on it, so there was plenty of room to land.

Diving down as fast as I could, I noticed that the snowy mountain wall in front of the ledge had begun to part. Yes, it was parting. I couldn’t see what was inside the mountain very clearly, but I didn’t care. We needed their special air.

I hovered directly above the platform for a moment, before masterfully lowering myself. I whispered to Ethan to straighten his legs and he slowly did so as we descended. The moment I felt Ethan’s feet make contact with the ground, I shot my own feet downward and completed the landing. The ledge was hard yet smooth beneath my feet.

In the direct centre of this opening, there were two people, and they each only looked about fifteen. The one on the left was a girl with long brown hair and sparkling eyes of the same colour. The one on the right was a boy with very little hair and green eyes. He was tall and muscular, but he wore the same clothes as the girl: a grey long-sleeved shirt and black trousers. Then I realised that they were both holding swords.

‘Who are you? What is your purpose?’ the girl shouted, pointing her sword towards us.

‘I am Albert Santrrer, Prime Minister of RoCity!’ I cried desperately. ‘My friend isn’t used to the altitude! We need to-’

‘Ah, don’t worry, these two are for me,’ came the voice of an old man from inside.

The two teenagers parted and revealed the speaker. He was a man that seemed to be just under six feet tall. He had no hair on the top of his head, but he did have some grey strands on the sides and presumably the back. Grandad’s hair had been like that. He also had a thick grey beard and warm blue eyes and an even warmer smile. He was wearing what had to have been a white robe and sandals, even though that was definitely not what somebody in the Alps should wear.

‘Wait…’ I breathed, my words turning into mist in the cold air. ‘Are you…’

‘Titan told me you’d come,’ he said smiling. ‘I believe I will be your mentor? I am his son, William Johnson.’