Taking the long road to the academy was necessary for a prolonged explanation. It was lucky enough that, on their way back, the trio met Alciel at the gates. The star student asked where they had been, to which Paxton replied with a generic excuse.

   "Oh, and the star students are angels," Goddard added unceremoniously.

   Alciel kept an even face and even laughed a little as Samson eyed the boy up.

   "Such joking," Alciel laughed a bit, "I suppose that makes you demons?"

   "I can see that," Samson said, looking between the two. "Star students are so perfect, I figured something was up. You brothers are also too suspicious."

   "Alciel, it's fine," Paxton stated, "Samson is one of the future demon lord killers. We'll need him on our side."

   Alciel dropped the smile and garnered a look similar to a disappointed father.

   "Is there anyone else that needs to know our secrets? Perhaps the lunchlady will become an incredible magician?"

   "Christina, Jeff, Samson, Barrot, Liz, my brother, and myself," Goddard listed. "We're the ones who will be the greatest future achievers."

   Samson looked at Goddard in disbelief. Partially because of the insanity he was spewing, and partially because he had just traded quips with a star student.

   Over the few short days that Samson had been around, he learned that the star students are untouchable. If anyone messes with them, that person is just gone the next day.

   And yet these two lunatic were bantering with a star student.

   "You mean the theif?" Alciel asked, a little taken aback.

   "Yes, THAT Christina," stated Goddard with a note of irritation. "The one you nearly KILLED."

   Alciel was quiet, following the boys back through the hallways before saying, "We need to discuss the details of the future. A mistake can cost us dearly, especially at this early stage. A strong foundation will fall if not constructed wisely."

   "We'll talk about it later. For now, we need to talk with Samson. Is there a spare room we could use?"

   "Thousands of them," Alciel droned, then stopped and put a hand on the wall.

   A small panel of light came to life, and a hidden door appeared without a sound.

   "This place is one giant mind-fuck," Samson swore as he was dragged into the featureless white room.

   The Byron brothers threw Samson to the side, letting him sit against the wall as the door closed behind them.

   "What now?" Samson asked with a smug grin, "You gonna pork me?"

   "I have a few questions," Goddard said, pacing in front of Samson as Paxton leaned in the far corner. "First off, why were you hiding your power?"

   "To find the right time to use it," Samson said happily.

   "Did you plan for when?"

   "Naw, just whenever. Like when those rectum brothers started to piss me off, or just when I had business to deal with."

   "Why?"

   "Because, people will do WONDERS for you if you're the poor, defenseless innocent! Maybe you've never noticed from your ivory towers, but being a bystander is the perfect camoflouge! Nobody notices you unless things are terrible, and then they go out of their way to help! There's nothing to lose!

   "Until some asshole takes it too far, and then I just light them the fuck up."

   "Okay, can you stop it with the language?" Paxton asked in disgust.

   Samson made unblinking eye contact with the older brother and said, without blinking, "FUCK."

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   The tension in the room was palpable, so Goddard stepped between the two like a parent seperating his children. It did nothing to fix the foul mood, but it managed to stop them from antagonizing each other.

   "Let's back up," Goddard offered. "Samson, what were you thinking out there? Why did you almost blow that guy's face off?"

   "He deserved it," Samson spat.

   "Why?"

   "BECAUSE HE TRIED TO KILL ME. DUH.... Now that I think about it, you guys almost let me drown, too!"

   Paxton and Goddard shared an unknowing look, but Samson pulled at the thread.

   "I felt you guys following," Samson told them. "It's something like heat sonar, or heat sense; anyway, I knew that someone was watching us."

   "So you can sense our body heat?" Paxton asked quizically. "That's a new one. What's the range?"

   "Ah don't know!" Samson mocked.

   "How do you not know something so simple?"

   "Ah dun't now!" Samson loudly continued.

   "That's enough!" Goddard shouted, his voice oddly deafened in the compact room. "Maybe we should have let your parents die."

   The room suddenly swelled in heat as Samson ignited the air, sending a wave of flames over Goddard. The entire room was suddenly a sauna, but the warrior mage put up a defense to stop the burns. He stepped into the fire and walked to Samson, putting a hand around his throat.

   "Turn it off," ordered Goddard, squeezing his hand tighter.

   "Allow me," Paxton offered.

   Paxton stepped up behind his brother and reached over his shoulder. With a single hand, he gripped the writhing Samson's arm in such a way that his thumb was in his armpit.

   Some time passed, during which the flames continued to spread and scorch the walls. Samson seemed fine at first, but the smaller boy began to swoon after a while.

   "Ooooh, I have a headasche," he swooned with a partial slur. Paxton adjusted his grip as Samson said, "Wahat are you duuing two mee?"

   The flames started to die down as Samson's head lowered, kicking up twice as the boy tried to stay awake.

   "Why isn't he struggling?" Paxton asked as he held the grip.

   "He hasn't practiced magic control like we have," Goddard explained, "he's probably not able to use it while moving."

   Samson went entirely limp, not even struggling under the grip of his captor.

   "What did you do?" Goddard asked, lowering the smaller kid to the floor until he rested on his behind.

   "There's a blood vessel underneath the arm that circulates an enormous amount of blood," Paxton explained in return. "If you press and hold it for long enough, it slows blood flow down to a crawl. It's the easiest non-lethal trick that I know."

   "How long will he be out?"

   "Between ten and twenty minutes. Although, it's different with body size."

   The boys looked at the scorched walls and small child with indifference.

   ""What do we do now?"" the brothers said in unison.

   They shared a knowing look that they had never shared before. One of understanding that there was no plan from here on out. The plan was gone, and they needed to take the developments as they came to make the best out of things.

   "Well, we should probably start with Samson," Paxton informed, looked at the passed out child.

   "But what do we say?"

   Paxton considered his brother's stance before saying, "Lying hasn't worked so far, soooo... the truth, I guess."