Chapter 1: Summer-time Madness

The hot summer sun pelted the streets of Icarus City. The heat would have been unbearable if not for the cool ocean breeze blowing in from the coast. Eli strolled along the sidewalk without a care in the world. It was days like these he loved the most, days where he didn't have to use one hundred and one percent of his brain coming up with ways to avoid Ajax and his lackeys.

He was humming to himself when a sudden tingle ran from the tip of his tail. "What the hell is that thing?!" a voice cried.

"It's got the kid!" another voice shouted. Eli tried to ask for information but no one took notice of him.

"Get the fuck away from me!" the last voice grated with a vulgarity that Eli knew all too well. He ran to a crowd of people that a group of police officers could hardly hold back. The crowd was dense and left little space for Eli to navigate so he jumped well above the heads of the tallest and saw who was at the heart of the madness.

Frantically, he pushed himself to the front of the crowd where his eyes widened in horror. "Ajax!" he called out. Ajax was pinned to the asphalt by an ash-grey, lizard-like creature. Its widened mouth approached his head. Eli looked at the officers present. He expected them to do something, but they weren't. He then noticed the bodies strewn across the narrow road—they had tried to do something.

He looked back and saw the look in Ajax's eyes. They had defiance no doubt, but were stained with fear. In the moments that followed, the action that Eli took could only be explained away because in that moment he saw Ajax: his childhood best friend, instead of Ajax: his modern-day tormentor.

A streak of reflected light sliced through the air and hit the creature’s head, giving it pause. Time seemed to freeze as everything present followed the path of the empty soda can, and all they saw at its end was a wimpy kid with a fuzzy-tail, stiff with terror. The viper eyes of the creature glared at Eli, somehow seeming unimpressed. It seemed that the creature was about to disregard him when an image flashed before his eyes. A red-yellow glow.

The creature went berserk and barreled for the dazed Eli who was caught off guard. In a panic, he jumped and grabbed onto the ledge of the roof of a small building. The creature dug its claws into the street then jumped for him again. Eli ran for his life. He could feel the creature's hot breath on his neck. One misstep and he was as good as dead. He jumped from roof to roof and didn’t dare to so much as glance behind him.

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After an eternity of skimming death, Eli realized that he no longer heard the creature. He continued his run—not wanting to celebrate too soon. When he was sure the danger was gone, he leaped into the air and took a deep breath of relief as he saw the Ocean stretching out into the distant horizon—he was safe. Then, something hard and leathery slammed into his back and pulled him into the dark alley below.

Eli curled in pain as he hit the pavement, but he didn't stay down for long. The creature was dazed by the fall and Eli wasn't about to waste the opportunity. He ran away and hoped to put as much distance between himself and the creature as possible, but the alley was a dead end. There was no ledge close enough for him to grab onto and the creature was closing in. He felt the rumble of its low growl in his marrows.

Eli turned to face the creature that bared knife-like teeth and was poised to strike. He shut his eyes and saw his mother and Ajax, and rued the fact those were the only two people worth mentioning in his life. Then, the image from earlier flashed, clearer than before. It was a crystal with something within—almost alive. A crash pulled Eli back to reality, and standing before him was the back of Penitulus Ren and a blackened fist. In front of him was the creature, with a fist deep dent in its face. "Stay back kid," Penitulus’s voice commanded compliance.

The creature approached, ready to strike. Penitulus calmly took a stance with bent knees, pulled his blackened fist back, and stretched his other arm out. The creature lunged at him. Eli's body wanted to turn away, but he didn't, he wanted to see, first hand. Penitulus drove his fist forward, and a wave of pressure smacked Eli in the face forcing him to close his eyes. When he opened them the creature wasn't just defeated but decimated. Bits and pieces of it were scattered throughout the alley that began to vanish into dust. He didn't even touch it, "Are you okay?" Penitulus asked. That was just the pressure from his fist, "Kid!" Eli snapped back to reality and saw Penitulus looking down at him with worry. "Are you okay?" he asked again.

"..." Eli was awestruck.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" Penitulus asked.

"Four," Eli answered.

"Alright, follow the light," Penitulus instructed as he shone a small flashlight in his eyes. "I saw what you did back there," Penitulus said as he put the flashlight away "Saving that boy, you're very brave,".

"I wasn't thinking," Eli said, as he looked up to one of the three God-class maestros and his personal hero.

"That's what's impressive," Penitulus said with a grin. For a split second, He gazed at Eli's tail. "Well then kid, I need to go, keep up the good work," with that, Penitulus leaped into the air, completely out of sight. Eli looked on with regret.

"I should've asked for his autograph," he said to himself.

***

Eli was barely through the door when his mother grabbed onto him. He gasped as she trapped his bruised body in a bear-hug. "Kitten, you had me so worried, I saw the news, and-and I'm glad you're safe." Eli eased her off trying not to wince in pain. She didn't need to know just how close to the news he was.

"I'm fine mom, I wasn't even there," he lied. "Besides, I heard Penitulus took care of it. Isn't he cool!"

"Yeah, I guess he is kitten."

"Anyway, I'm going to go lie down,"

"Are you sure? Dinner's almost ready,"

"I'm sure mom, thanks,"

Eli crawled into his bed. He touched his side and winced a bit. In the quiet of his room, the gravity of the day set in, and a slight pain pinched him between the eyes.