AENON

He could feel the unnatural coolness of her hands, the side effect of using her powers to the limit. Aenon quickly pulled away, as the boy had loosened his grip, and got up to his feet.

" Emille, why are you here? " He said, trying to sound as calm as possible. He could take her on if it was just her, but her brother was a problem.

"The prophet sent Roy and me. We're here to bring you back to your devotees and punish those who tried to lead you away from us, " she said calmly but the latter part had an unsettling tinge of rage in it. His eyes darted from her to Remi and Zane unconscious on the floor of the store.

" What do you mean, punish? " He questioned, feeling his heartbeat getting quicker. The devotees were an odd group but the steadfast ones like Emille were dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

" You don't need to worry yourself about that Angel Aenon. Roy," she said flatly, her fairy-like tone gone.

Roy entered the store and Aenon trailed him. Aenon remembered the last time he saw Roy just a week or two ago, an eleven-year-old boy who would do anything to protect his big sister and make her happy, who was ecstatic when he saw the brick red bear symbol on his neck. His Etch, the magic mark that branded an edict user. He steadily approached both Remi and Zane and grabbed them by their collars, the bear on his neck looked became animated as it glowed a bright red colour. He carried the two with ease and slung them over his shoulders, one each.

" What should I do? " He asked his sister as he walked out of the store with the two of them.

" Maybe we should leave them on the street, something would pick them off soon enough," she proposed with a hand on her chin.

" You can't do that," Aenon protested, trying to retain the composure and steadiness in his voice. He knew that if he shouted she would claim that they had corrupted his nature and would need to be killed, painfully. If he was too quiet she would say they had made him feeble and would still threaten to kill them.

" We have to Angel Aenon, to make an example for the unbelievers and heretics! If we don't then people won't know that you are the light! The way! Let us do the dirty work for you, your hands have to remain clean so that they can clear the path to heaven for us when we are called. "

Her brother's gaze was fixed on her for a few seconds, Aenon wondered if he knew how far gone she'd gone or decided to ignore it because she was the only family he had left. Aenon looked at her for a few seconds. Her sandy blonde hair was rough and unkempt, the pupils of her ocean-blue eyes diluted making them appear almost completely black, and her pastel green Etch of dandelions flew so peacefully through her right cheek. She was wearing a red cable knit jumper and a long floral skirt, he recalled how dedicated she was to modesty. "Never show more skin than needed." she would always say, despite the dangers long clothing could bring in the times they were in. He always admired her devotion, but now her faith had turned into insanity and he knew whose fault that was. His best friend, Victoria Li.

Aenon stopped observing her and took a deep breath. He knew that Emille was crazy and that her brother was probably just as crazy for blindly following whatever she said. He needed to speak Emille's language for her to listen.

" Emille! Did the lord ever say to punish the sinners for him? Did the Lord ever make you his persecutor, his executioner? The blasphemous words you just spoke make you just as bad as them. You say they attempted to lead me astray, does that mean you do not have faith any more? Is that it Emille? If anyone is to judge these two it is the prophet who is the bridge between the heavens and the world not men like you. You will take us to her now so that we may discuss their punishment and possibly yours." He felt sick to the stomach as he said those words, playing the sacrilegious game that Victoria had created disgusted him but it was the only thing he could think of.

Emille stared in disbelief, then she suddenly burst into tears. Her brother was about to rush towards her when she stopped him with a gesture of her hand.

" I apologize Angel Aenon! How could I ever dream of doing such a thing? I'm sorry, so very sorry. I shall take any punishment you decide to give me. Roy, you heard him, carry them carefully. They can't have a single scratch until we get there and remember to thank Angel Aenon for sparing you from the punishment for our transgression. "

Aenon breathed a sigh of relief, it had worked. He looked over at Roy carrying the two. Their bodies had started moving. ' Three against two sounds much more doable. ' he thought.

" But before that, we have to make sure they're unconscious. Can't have them trying to escape. A necessary evil." Emille said after the tears had stopped.

' Fuck. '

Roy dropped them to the ground and pulled out Remi's bat from his bag.

" Wai-"

The red glow on his neck dimmed as he swung the bat at their heads one after the other. Aenon considered retaliating but even if Emille had exhausted most of her energy, Roy was strong enough to take him on easily one-on-one. Roy turned to his sister as if to ask if that was enough. She nodded, satisfied.

" Since they aren't dead you can always heal them Angel Aenon. Let's be on our way then. "

" Yeah...let's."

Roy picked them back up and they headed down the street. When he left, Aenon swore to himself that he would forget about his old group, but now that he was following a path he remembered so vividly, it was all coming back to him. They hadn't walked far, but he was tired, his hands were sweaty, and his stomach was turning. He threw his head up to the sky, which was foggy and dull. That's how it was every day now. The world seemed to be reacting to the invaders, and most days were dark, grey, and depressing. The little bit of sun peeking out was enough for him to assume it was noon now. As long as they kept their pace, they'd arrive at the base before nightfall when the most dangerous monsters roamed. They kept walking through the city for a while; Detroit was a lovely place before the monsters arrived. It still had some of its former beauty, but it could never be compared to how it was. Most of the once grand and captivating structures had been partially or completely destroyed.

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" We're almost there," Emille said lifting Aenon out of his thoughts.

'Almost is a stretch,' he thought to himself. They still had a little more than a mile to go, but just because they weren't that close doesn't mean he wasn't nervous. He had no interest in returning, and now he was being forced back with two innocent people who had saved his life. Aenon had pondered what happened that day for a while, wondering what would have happened if Remi and Zane had not arrived that day. Would he be alive now if he had to confront the owl himself? Absolutely not. Aenon was an overthinker, and he was aware of it. It was one of the reasons he didn't have many friends before all of this. He was still deep in thought when a beautiful woman, who appeared to be older, ran out of an alley. A little too old.

" H..Help me, please. Something's chasing me. " She panted as she spoke.

Emille immediately took to cover Aenon and Roy followed suit. Roy spoke up for the first time in a while.

" Lady, that alley's a dead end. "

"N-no. Y-you have to believe me."

They all stared at her with suspicion, adults were dangerous. Any of them could be one of those monsters.

" ...Why do you kids always have to be so difficult." she screeched as her face became gaunt and her skin paler.

As her skin paled and the veins on her face became visible, the woman's eyes turned a bright red. Her veins were black and grotesque. Her front teeth were visible as she hissed. They were sharp. Very sharp.

" It's a vampire. " Emille murmured to Roy.

" Since it's out in sunlight it's a weak one. " Roy replied.

Aenon didn't know what to do, he could leave them to fight it and run away with Zane and Remi or he could help them fight. Why should he, though? They were taking him against his will so that he could play Jesus for them. They didn't care about him, and he owes them nothing. Vampires were powerful; even a weak one could fight Roy and win. It could easily get rid of them for him.

" Step back Aenon, " Roy said as he threw Remi and Zane away from them.

The winds became heavy and blew in the direction of the vampire as Emille raised her hands and her cheek shone a brilliant green. But she vanished before they could hit her. Vampires were extremely fast, and hitting one would be a difficult task. It reappeared next to Roy and grabbed the boy by the throat and lifted him up; in response, he kicked her in the chest. shoving her back a few feet.

" Not bad, " She spat.

Emille raised her hands once more, but the vampire appeared next to her and grabbed both of her arms. She screamed as her arms were crushed, blood pouring from both. Roy rushed to his sister, yelling and punching wherever he could. The vampire easily avoided each of his blows, went to the ground and, with a sweeping kick, brought him to the ground. She raised her fist to finish off the boy. The vampires' weakest punches could break concrete and Roy had super strength, not durability. The world seemed to slow down as she moved in slow motion towards Roy's face. Aenon couldn't let them die; even if they were insane, they had always helped him, both before and now. They had protected him, and Roy had even made certain that his friends were kept away from the battle.

" OVER HERE! " He shouted as he channelled his energy, his etch began to turn a bright blue. It was a cross with a circle of water in the centre. ' How ironic ' he thought. The vampire darted from above Roy to behind Aenon, but he was prepared for it. He blocked her incoming punch with his shoulder, breaking it, and aimed his other hand at her face. A torrent of brilliant blue water slammed into her. She screamed in agony as her face began to sizzle and burn.

" Guess vampires really are weak to holy water. Burn in hell. "

He blasted more water at her till she had completely turned to dust. He dashed over to Emille and covered her arms with the purest water he could; he wanted to heal Roy as well, but he insisted that he was fine and that he should concentrate on his sister. Her arms were soon perfectly fine.

"Thank you, Angel Aenon, for another miracle," she exclaimed.

Aenon acknowledged with a nod and moved over to Remi and Zane. Emille attempted to stop him, but Roy drew her back. He healed both of them.

" About time you did something. " Zane groaned. Aenon's eyes widened in shock.

" You were awake this entire time? "

" No, I awoke about ten minutes ago and decided that pretending to be unconscious was preferable to having my head bashed again. We couldn't do much either way, that juvenile delinquent gave us both concussions. Didn't enjoy being thrown so far away though. "

" What about Remi? "

Zane threw his hand at the redhead who jerked awake.

" Damn, that kid has a killer swing. Oh. Yeah, I was pretending for a while too, but guess I fell asleep." Remi said as he got up and rubbed his head.

" How did you guys not get caught? " Aenon asked.

" I'm fairly sure that the little boy could tell but feigned obliviousness. "

" Little? Dude, he's almost your height."

Zane threw him a glare that Remi stuck out his tongue to. Aenon couldn't help but laugh, maybe at the hilariousness of the circumstances or Zane's once-in-a-blue-moon reaction to something.

" So, I take it we'll be heading to your old group now? "

Aenon nodded his head, it often surprised him when Zane read situations so well. He wasn't exactly emotionally intelligent but he had his moments.

" Before we do that you should probably heal your shoulder, kinda dropping at the wrong places. " Remi pitched.

Aenon laughed again and healed his shoulder. He headed towards Emille and Roy and told them they would be heading to the base now, with no one unconscious. On the way there, Emille was constantly raining praises of all the miracles Aenon had done.

" Like just now, very few edict users can use so much of their powers for as long as Angel Aenon. My wind was already almost completely used up after what I did at the store. That shows how otherworldly he is, he didn't even faint when I made the vacuum."

" Emille, I've told you countless times. I used to swim and can hold my breath for a while. "

" Dang Aenon, do all of them worship you as much as she does? " Remi teased.

Aenon nudged his shoulder in response. Remi noticed Emille shivering as they continued walking.

" You okay? "

" Y-y-yeah It's just my drawback. Whenever I overuse my wind, I get r-r-really cold after. "

Aenon removed his blue cardigan and handed it to her; she refused at first but eventually agreed after he insisted. Roy carried her the rest of the way, not only because she was weak and tired, but also because she was slowing them down. Soon they arrived at a manhole.

" This is still the quickest way right?" Aenon asked to which Roy nodded in response.

" Your base is in a sewer?" Zane inquired, his face looking mildly disgusted. Remi rolled his eyes before he whispered.

" Ok, so what's the plan Aenon?"

" To free everyone here from Victoria's brainwashing."