"Hey! What's the hold-up?" An irritable young male shouted towards the crowd before him, "I'm trying to get to class!". The crowd was unmoved, his voice unheard over the hubbub. He cursed under his breath.

"It's that quiet boy, the one with the weird hair." He overheard a girl before him tell her friend beside her.

'Huh? The one with the weird hair?' He wondered, getting up on his toes to try to see above the crowd.

"Ugh forget it, let me through!" he gave up and began eyeing the spots where the crowd was the thinnest. He shoved his way in, pushing through the bystanders. He didn't have the go all the way through, just to the stairs just after the mob.

"Damn these juniors, always causing a ruckus." He growled, noticing the overwhelming amount of second and first years making up the blockade.

"Goddamit do you know who I am!?" He roared when he was shoved back, "You must be cruising for a br-" The blond boy stopped short. He had made it to the middle of the crowd where there was a generous clearing. In the middle were two students, standing on the stairs, staring each other down.

"What the-" Nijima started. He recognized one of them, and quickly shrunk back.

If he had learned anything about surviving in this school, it was that there was one single person you never crossed.

Unfortunately, that person was currently between him and his classroom, blocking the stairs. More worrying was that there was someone capable of keeping her there, another dangerous force he would have to steer clear of.

He noted that this person was not in the middle of a confession, that would not be uncommon. This person was staring her down, giving her a glare as though he could confidently take her on.

"Give me a break. What's Margulis doing here, and who's the other kid?" Nejima scowled under his breath. He caught the boy's eyes as they glossed over him, making the chills run over him again.

"Green hair? He's getting away with dying his hair? Damn these kids are gutsy." Nejima mumbled. He himself had dyed his own hair, but a blonde dye is much easier to lie about than those damn rainbow kids. He had learned that any one of them had some serious connections, he might as well get the hell out of here.

He began pushing through the other side of the crowd to get to the other set of stairs at the far side of the building. "A little more walking wouldn't kill me, but Margulis would." He said and shuddered.

Horatio's eyes slid back to Margulis. While it wasn't his goal to cause a blockade like this, he just did not care.

'There must be over fifty students here, what's gonna happen if a teacher comes?' He thought. Then he spotted one, watching silently from the fringes of the crowd. Horatio noted his expression, he too was waiting for the confrontation to be over so he could use the stairs. Horatio understood just a little more how influential and scary Margulis was. And how much he himself had grown.

Margulis' glare was dangerous. Horatio knew that if it were not for the crowd she would have launched an attack already. He was not judging her, he would too. After all, that's what she deserves for ruining his life.

"Margulis." Horatio's voice came out as a low growl. It was barely audible but those who head it shivered from the icy antagonism it carried.

Margulis was unfazed. "Move aside." She said simply.

Horatio scoffed and let her pass without another word, not looking back at her as he continued down the stairs.

They both knew this was not a place to fight. It irked them so yet they kept their angers in check. The time would come, that they knew.

Horatio sighed. His classmates had been even weirder towards him, almost as if they were scared. Teachers had even stopped calling on him to answer questions in class, just like the one who was just leaving had. He was unfased, he did not care for their praise or their scorn, Nora and Sylvia's safety was all he cared about, his purpose was to keep them safe.

Margulis continued to her classroom. She was furious, but not at Horatio. She knew she should have done better. Even now she did not wish him harm. She had thrust him into this world and failed to protect him. And now he was scared. She had said it then trying to clear his doubts but without the experience of their clashes now, she did not truly understand his plight. She was angry at herself for letting Horatio go. This was a new chapter in his life and as his guide it was her job to help him through it, and she had failed.

"I don't know what I can do for you anymore Horatio." She muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway. "But I know you'll find a way out." She said hopefully.

Horatio sulked in class, ignoring the ongoing lesson. His mind roamed a small room, focused on a single idea. He closed his eyes and exhaled. Opening them, he looked at his teacher and for the first time in a while, decided to pay attention.

The English teacher had left immediately the final bell rung, so did all of his classmates. He had been sitting alone in the empty classroom for ten minutes.

Horatio stood up, taking his bag. There was no need to wait, Nora would not be coming today.

He pulled out his phone from his bag, texting as he walked. It was a long shot yet he opened up Nora's contact.

-Didn't see you today.- He typed and hit send. He waited for a bit and got no response.

-Don't tell me Aunedm asked you out again.- He sent, chuckling at his own message. He left the school gates, walking down the street. There was no response.

-Hello?- He sent. A reply came, overlapping his.

-Please stop texting me.- It read. Horatio stopped in his tracks, staring at the phone screen.

-What's wrong?- He sent and continued walking. There was no response.

-You can't still be mad about that thing last week.- He typed, he thought of adding more but didn't. He hit send.

-So you're aware of the problem?- She sent. Horatio growled. For a moment he thought of shutting off his phone. He squashed that thought and replied.

-That shouldn't be a problem- He sent.

-I'm surprised you think that way.- Her reply came.

-You've changed Horatio, not in a good way.- She sent.

-What's that supposed to mean?- He typed and sent. The message did not go through.

"What the? Did she block me?" He asked aloud. With huff he pushed the phone into his pocket. He would talk to her when they got home.

He continued out of the suburbs with a thought, 'This is all her fault.'

In a way he was right. Rational to a fault he had concluded their current schism was an inevitability accelerated by her accident he had prevented. Emotional still, he put blame to her, believing things would have gone different if Margulis' plan had not been affected by their breach. The state of their world put him on edge, its fate hanging on a thread, set to be destroyed at any moment their god deemed fit.

"I'm only doing what is right for the family." He absolved himself, both his human family with Sylvia and Nora and the found family in Margulis and the Voidwalkers. He would always place himself in danger for them, no matter the consequences. Even now he still closed rifts, against Margulis' wishes. He would keep at it no matter the danger to him he knew he would win, coming home to see them both. One day he would want to see Margulis as well, he just had to make sure he would not be putting them in danger ever again. No matter how they tied into it he would be the one to take the risk. He was strong, with the power he had from Margulis.

He stopped, the thought hanging in his mind. "Activate energy control: Left hand." He ordered and slunk into an alley. He held up him palm and felt for the fiery energy of the flauna, its mana. He found it, hidden within, reluctant to his orders. He closed his fist, shutting down the pathway and leaving the alley.

He continued into the Elysian Plains, passing by Jermanson Park. 'Nora.' He felt himself thinking. She did not have to know. Why was she being so nosy?

He stood there, hoping that just for a moment, they could all go back to before this nonsense with rifts and Voidwalkers, before all these strange happenings, before he knew what his family was. That wouldn't happen, not for a moment. Truthfully he couldn't say he knew what they were. Sylvia and the one within her. She didn't know about the Voidwalkers or the rifts, otherwise he would be able to feel rift energy from her, just like himself and Margulis, and any other Voidwalker hidden in their school. He surmised it was a safeguard set in place by their god, what keeps outsiders away from rifts. But she had spoken of them.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Horatio sighed. He was just about to leave when he felt it, alien energy, not of this realm. "Shit." He cursed. He looked at the park once more, feeling at the energy. It was weak but definitely there, the signature of a rift.

Horatio stepped back, visions of shroud coming to him. He could not let them take Sylvia. He backed away, turned and ran. Unable to come to terms with the fear. There was another rift in his neighborhood.

He ran home, bursting through the front door. He slammed it behind him and rushed to his room. Sylvia was in the living room and saw him run in. Curious she followed him.

Horatio barged into his room and made for the bathroom. He felt nausea like never before, his heart beating like a drum. He clutched at his chest and put another hand over his mouth. They were coming, dark shadowy figures, they were coming to steal away all he had. They had already taken some, and today they would finish the job.

Horatio's knees felt weak, his entire body was far from fine. He couldn't stop it. Even as his mind drifted in the sea of torture he vomited into the sink.

Sylvia came up from behind him. "Horatio?" She called. She saw him bent over, dropping to his knees. She walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" She asked tenderly.

Horatio felt her warmth and that scared him even more. He did not want to know a world where he could not feel her. He felt cold, like he was dropped naked into a frozen tundra. He needed her, but knew she could not stay. He shook his head.

"What's the matter?" She asked, kneeling to his side. He did not respond or move. Her touch made his feel afraid, brough the nausea back. He did not want to look at her, afraid she would not be smiling. Her face was meant to hold smiles, she was meant to be his source of happiness in this dark, bleak world and he knew that right now she was not smiling.

Sylvia did not say anything anymore. She stayed there with Horatio, quiet as he recovered. The shock slowly faded. After a while its hold loosened and he was able to assume control. He slowly clambered to his feet, his legs still weak. He turned to Sylvia with a weak smile but said nothing.

She wasn't smiling.

"Talk to me Horatio." She said. He looked away but still faced her. He did not know what do to. She was supposed to give him strength, what he had was not enough.

"I can't say." He said sadly. His limbs went slack.

Sylvia nodded quietly, drawing him into her arms. "You've changed Horatio." She said. "Please be okay."

There it was, she had said it just like they all had. What was wrong with change? Why should he not change, grow, adapt? His world was tearing itself apart and everyone was blaming him. He saved them both. put himself in danger for their sakes and this is how they treat him. But they were right.

"Where is Nora?" He asked, he had not seen or felt her as he came in, then again, he could not possibly had felt her in that state.

"She's sleeping over at a friend's place." Sylvia answered. "You should take a bath, I'll warm up your dinner." She said.

That night was something else for Horatio. His mind felt focused for the first time in weeks. He was able to understand what was going on and how to get out of it. He spoke up in the darkness of his room.

"Hey there." He spoke out to the darkness. He waited for a moment before continuing. "I need your help." He said.

"I can see that." A voice rang in his head. He chuckled.

"I'm sorry." He said first, "I should have not spoke to you like that."

"You forget that we are one being. I understand how you feel, broken, helpless. You are afraid of your own weakness, of your dependency on Margulis. Before we were introduced into this world you let your confusion lead you to a dark path, your irrational behavior caused much trouble for us both." The Analyst said.

"Yeah, I know, and I'm sorry."

"I'm not done. In the days where I was quiet I took the liberty of analyzing your behavior. The results are...interesting." It said. "What do you think of Sylvia." It asked.

"She's my sister, i trust and care for her."

"Do you love her?" It asked.

"of course, why even ask!?"

There was silence as it computed his answers. "How would you discern your love for her from your love for Nora."

"I don't like where you're going with this." He replied with a chuckle, "You sound like Margulis."

"Margulis was right." It said plainly. Horatio waited for it to continue, "Your feelings for Nora are different to those for Sylvia. Though they stem from the same place they don't hold the same value. If Margulis had never showed up you would eventually have realized this."

"That can't be true." Horatio replied. He knew it was true, the Analyst never made a mistake in its calculation, he only spoke as a formality.

"Also," it continued, ignoring him, "according to the calculations, factoring in our discovery today..."

Horatio immediately felt sick. He tried to ignore the flashes. That was in the past, this rift would be different.

"I believe the best course of action, once you can get in touch with Nora, is to show her the rift, closing it in her presence."

Horatio sat up, "Whoa there." He said, "You can't be serious about that."

"The Analyst was adamant, "Frankly Horatio, I believe the theory of compatibility is a hoax." It said.

"A hoax?"

"Many factors made me come onto this conclusion, but the most important one must have to do with the day you stopped the car." It said. Memories of flame came to his mind, the turning point.

"The two Voidwalkers were quick to fix the situation in order to keep their secret a secret. What do you think would have happened had they not have done that?" It asked.

Horatio was unsure how to answer. "My powers would have become common knowledge." He said.

"Wrong. Something far different from the logical conclusion would have happened. I can't relay that information to you now, that would put too much on you mind. Just know that there is no danger to the state of the world by showing Nora this rift. After all, even if I;m wrong, she has some secrets of her own that could come in handy." It said.

Horatio thought of what Nora had told him that day. The things about Sylvia and Her. Was he supposed to believe them? He could not tell. Quietly, he returned to sleep.

The next day came quicker that Horatio had expected. Friday, the last day of the week he would be in the same building as Nora. She was avoiding him, he was aware of that.

He sat in class thinking about their plan. "Just how do you expect me to get her to follow me?" He asked the Analyst quietly.

"You will think of a plan." It said.

"You're putting an awful lot of faith in me." Horatio sighed.

"I trust you."

"That's a bad idea." He said, closing the conversation. He rested his head on his desk, pondering this task. Apart from here he had no idea the places Nora frequented in the school, and she did not come to his class anymore.

He would have to ask for information but he did not even know who her classmates were. If he just went around asking for her, she would hear of it and avoid him. This was tricky, but he had a plan.

Lunch break came and Horatio stepped out of class. Ge walked up the stairs to the third floor where the final year classes were. He pushed by the coming swarm of students making their way to the cafeteria. He knew his target was not among them.

Horatio stepped into class 3-A and saw her sitting at the very back in conversation with two others. Margulis Toldaap. He smirked and walked up to her.

In a bold show he came straight to her and grabbed her hand, lifting her out of her seat. "Come with me." He said commandingly.

"Huh?" She was unable to say anything as he led her out of the room.

Horatio led Margulis up to the rooftop, closing the door behind them. Broken of her stupor, Margulis wriggled her hand out of his grasp and stepped away from him.

"What do you think you're doing!?" She asked agitatedly. Horatio placing himself against the door and spoke.

"I'm letting you in on a secret."

"I don't have time for this Horatio, move aside." She warned.

"Fine by me" He said, stepping out of the way obediently, she did not move for the door, glaring Horatio down. "Though it won't be fair to you if I left you in the dark." He said, baiting her.

Margulis growled, "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Just something you don't have the time for." He said.

Margulis watched him angrily. "Speak up Horatio, don't make me force it out of you." She threatened.

"My my, ever so violent." He teased.

"Compared to you, I'm an angel." She spat.

"True, and this angel's task for today is to protect the compatibility she so greatly desires." He said. Margulis flinched.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well lets just say that there's a rift I know of, and a person I'm close to. Due to some past events we're both guilty of, this person must witness this rift." He said, "And I...will make that happen." He said.

"Don't you dare Horatio. You know for a fact that your actions could doom us all." She shouted. He chuckled.

Horatio raised his hand, a sigil appeared before it. Margulis stepped back, shock in her eyes. "W-what? How did you-"

"There's much about the Void we aren't being told Margulis." He cut her off. He closed the sigil. "Come stop me Margulis, your existence depends on that." He said and stepped out, making his way down the stairs.

"Horatio wait!" Margulis finally pulled out of her stupor and chased after him. She passed through the doorway and down the stairs, making her way to the hallway. She peered up and down but did not see a trace of him. "Dammit!" She cursed.

Horatio made his way to his class and picked up his bag. He would leave early, taking a detour on the way. He had some things to set up.

Margulis went back to class as the bell rang again. She sat down quietly, her mind swimming with thoughts. 'This could not be.' She told herself. Horatio could not have used her power, they had no bond anymore.

She rested her head in her hand. She did not understand, Horatio knew something, something big. She had to find out, but how? She had no idea where the rift would be, unless...

Margulis stood. The teacher was just coming into class. She ignored him, walking out. She had an idea.