We fell asleep around the same time in the medical room, not long after the doctor came back in to run some more scans. Holly swore she'd wait to make sure I was fine beforehand, but nearly thirty-six hours of no sleep had caught up to her. In the end, she'd slept much longer than me, seeing as I'd just been asleep for thirty of those thirty-six.

Now, we are both up and awake, waiting for our scout trainer or whatever to arrive.

"Who do you think it is?" Holly asks.

I shrug. Chances are, it's nobody we've met yet.

The question is answered sixteen minutes later when Sapphire rounds the corner, holding two windbreakers and wearing a third herself. She smiles, like she seems to always be doing, as she hands them our way.

Were you able to use the Halo Chair? she signs. The sheer fact that I understand her answers the question.

Yeah, not without hiccups.

Sorry. Today we are going a few blocks, nothing super serious. Jackets because today is a cold day.

She heads the way out the sewer gate, and the two of us follow closely behind.

I'll be honest, even growing up in a semiurban area, I've never met another mute person, let alone a Deaf person. At least, out in the wild. I went to a school for the Deaf for a couple of years early on, but by that point, it had been decided that I would just be going to normal school again.

We sneak around a few buildings, probably trying to lose any potential Necromancers that might be trying to find the hideout, before she falls back in line with us. Any questions about anything so far?

There's been a lot of talk about auras and things like that. How does that even work?

I'm not the science brain around here, but essentially, do you know what atoms are?

I know the sign for it, I sign, smiling.

It's essentially the smallest, or almost the smallest, building block of all the universe. It creates most of the matter, except for antimatter, and that sort of thing. Anyway, there's something called an aura atom, which is sort of between the normal atom and the antimatter atom. Like a neutral state. Somehow, combined with our genetics, that determines whatever abilities we have.

What's your aura? Holly asks.

Materia.

Same for both of us, I sign.

Well, Holly signs, before I shoot her a look. We don't know who we can trust with this information. Dwight mentioned some people have more than one, so we're not really sure.

That's true, Sapphire replies. It's uncommon, but some people have up to three. I don't think anyone has ever had more than that.

We approach some sort of sandwich shop, where Sapphire seems to be leading us. It's quiet this early in the morning, which would make for a good chance to sit and eat without drawing attention.

Or, at least, that's what I thought was going to happen, but instead, we took a seat inside without ordering.

How can you tell how many auras you have? I ask. Or what they are?

Some people have an aura that can detect that. Otherwise, you just sort of find out one day. That's how it used to be for thousands of years.

"Breaking news," a TV in the shop says, blaring to life, "a man has been caught trying to siphon information out of us and will be executed once found. His name is Dante Omnitron, and he was last seen near Maxima Park. If you have information on his whereabouts, report them to your nearest Necromancer station."

The TV repeats this announcement again before shrinking down and disappearing.

Stolen story; please report.

Technology is so strange in the future, Holly signs.

They really put it in everything.

Also, what's up with that park?

That's Maxima Park, Sapphire answers. Named after one of Carmsborough's most famous champions, Lady Maxima. Champions did something so large in their life that they get that special status. Not a lot of champions are from Carmsborough.

How do you become a champion?

Well, it's a little political, she says, with an almost nervous look. Usually you're labeled a champion postmortem, but for some, like Luna, those around you give you that title. Then the rest of the world has to accept it.

Luna is a champion?

Like I said, it's political. The Necromancers wouldn't dare recognize it, but she was already pretty much champion status before the war broke out. There's been so much drama the past ten years.

Feels about ten years for us, too, I sign. She smiles softly.

I can't imagine going through what the two of you have, but in some ways, I almost envy it. If I'd been teleported away to another universe two weeks ago, maybe I wouldn't have watched my twin brother die.

"What?" I say out loud, shocked by her seemingly nonchalant attitude about it, but before we can continue, the man who was wanted on TV enters the sandwich shop, clearly out of breath.

"Can either of you two hear?" he asks, pointing at both Holly and I.

"Yes," Holly responds. "You're the guy they're after."

"They're coming."

Sapphire tenses up beside us, apparently either reading his lips or the looks on our faces. We stand up from the table and look out the window.

What's the plan? Holly asks.

Ask how many.

"How many are there?"

He raises up three fingers.

We can do that, Sapphire responds.

I thought we were taking it easy today for Tes!

This is easy, she signs. They won't be expecting four of us.

Three. I sure won't be using my power, unless I can make it look like the Necromancers did it. The last thing I need is two more people freaking out on me.

"You two new to the cause?" the man asks.

"You could say that," Holly responds.

A ghostly apparition appears on the road outside. Hollow sockets appear where eyes should be, and they seem to stare right at us.

I thought we were done with ghosts on the Hindenburg.

A person forms out of the figure of the ghost, and two more run up from further down the street. The ghostly body points at us through the window, and a moment later, the glass shatters.

"The four of you are under arrest," one of the three Necromancers says, carrying golden handcuffs. "Surrender now, and we won't kill you."

Whether or not she understood what the man said, Sapphire immediately created golden chains around her wrists that extended a few feet, and whipped them against the ground. Holly created herself a shield and helmet, and Dante lit the tips of his fingers on fire. In response, the ghostly figure vanished, a whirlwind formed around the one carrying the handcuffs, and the third person sprouted their own chains, theirs a deep purple to contrast Sapphire's golden.

One of the Necromancers is the first to make a move, the whirlwind turning into a harsh wind which blasts towards Holly. Her shield breaks the current, giving her a chance to raise a fist from the ground to uppercut her assailant. They launch off the ground, clearly hurt, but trying to play it off.

The next two to attack are Sapphire and her counterpart, who lash at each other with their chains. They seem about evenly matched, despite the Necromancer's materia apparently being stronger by default.

Last are the ghost man and Dante the fire guy. Whenever the ghost appears, Dante spouts flames at him, only for him to disappear right away, as if taunting.

Now, how to help them myself?

I stand next to Holly, hoping she gets the idea that I'm faking being any help. She seems too busy to notice, more worried about the windy menace than anything. The man raises himself in the air with his gusts, and spins, forming a tornado in his wake. Holly tries a few desperate attacks, but nothing gets very far without shattering midair.

Not too far away, Sapphire's counterpart attacks. She counters effortlessly, clearly rehearsed in her work. The Necromancer seems less so.

What if I made it seem like that one was sabotaging the others?

With the tornado still forming, I coordinated my attack with that of the materia Necromancer, sprouting a massive materia tree in the middle of it. It breaks apart the tornado, sending the man falling into and down the tree. When he smacks the ground a few seconds later, it's clear he doesn't plan on getting back up.

The materia Necromancer looks at the scene, confused and horrified. "Where did that come from?"

"Losing control?" Holly taunts, focusing attention on him.

Next is the ghost, who is getting physical with Dante. What to do about a man who can literally disappear? I guess it's a test of my reflexes. Can I get an attack on him at the same time the other Necromancer attacks?

I time the attacks and how long the ghost stays visible. The materia Necromancer has no pattern to his attacks, but the ghost is rhythmic and is usually visible for a second.

It appears in front of Dante and hits him hard before vanishing. Then, beside him on one side, and then the other. Taking a guess, I get ready to lay my trap, and when the ghost appears behind Dante, two bony materia hands appear and grab at it, holding it tight.

"What the hell, Aaron?" the ghost man says.

Dante, seeing his opportunity, roasts the ghost man, leaving him wounded on the ground.

"I swear I'm not doing that," the last Necromancer, Aaron, says.

With him distracted, Sapphire gets one of her whips wrapped around him, which turns into her own set of handcuffs. She looks back at us with a proud smile. I can't help but smile back, despite "not having done anything."

"I can't believe we just did that," Holly says, practically bouncing up and down. "We just defended ourselves with superpowers."