I stared at a map in disbelief. Next to me, Selene grinned in satisfaction. What was in front of me was... Staggering in its complexity. Intricate in its design, elegant in its execution. "I know they're good but... A rock group did all this?! What is this Davinci Code and, perhaps more importantly, how did people crack it?" I ask, utterly baffled.

In front of me was a long list of esoteric riddles with even more esoteric solutions. Word association, Gps coordinates from math problems, a fucking audio analyzer. Next to Selene was a laptop with an open chat log, she and a large group of people had spent the last week deciphering all of this to figure out where Thornmarch was playing. Damn, people were scary when they worked together. " I would have helped but… well, looks like you managed to crack it without me. It looked pretty hard to."

"Nah, you're kind of a ditz when it comes to this." Selene says with a teasing laugh, and then hugs me. "I'm just kidding, but it's okay, really. We nailed it pretty quickly. Oh, tomorrow's going to be so much fun!" She said, giving me a squeeze.

I tried not to let that get to me. I know she was kidding but too many people have been calling me ditzy as of late. I mean sure I'm not the smartest, but I do my best. It was hard to focus on studying in high school when the fate of the world rested on your shoulders and I spent many an all nighter just to get into college. It was a major source of sadness. I honestly tried! "Well, as long as it got settled I guess. So where is this thing being held anyhow?”

Selene pointed to a building towards the center. "Here. The building is small but after some digging we found out it connects to the Heaven Tunnels. That's more than big enough to hold a concert."

I couldn't help but laugh. "So we're not only going to see an underground rock band, we"re going to see an underground rock band." That was just too ironic and I couldn't help but wonder if that was the point. They definitely seemed to have a sense of humor. Not to mention sadistic, you would never see normal bands try to give riddles to see if they could attend or not. I guess that was part of their charm?

I sat back against a library chair, lost in thought. The Heaven Tunnels, that took me back to a place I mentally did not want to go. A lot of bad memories stirred in my head, but I clenched my hand tight and took a deep breath. Nightmares were not going to get in my way. Snapping myself out if it, I nod. It would cost what it would cost.

Selene closed the map and sat back, apparently pleased with herself still. "Once the concert is done, we go to my place, gush over how awesome it was, and drink ourselves under the table. The next morning we wake up, wonder why we got so drunk, play video games, and then go out to eat. Sounds like a fun weekend to me!"

I admitted that it was sounding like a great weekend plan... Probably accurate down to the letter too. Not even my powers could outright save me from a hangover, though I could dull it somewhat. Selene wasn't the type to just go to bed quietly either. We often got together on the weekends, and I can only count one night where she decided to tuck in early. Ah, the power of a woman in her college years.

Making sure I had all of the details, I thanked Selene for all of her hard work on the subject , and I started to make my way home. There would be time with her soon, and I had my own things to prepare, like clothing and snacks of all sorts for us to have. I felt like that was the least I could do to contribute, especially after all the work my partner had done. Thinking about what to bring, I almost didn't notice Callie flagging me down. I stop and wait for her to catch up before continuing.

We walked in silence for a moment, then "Found the guy. He was in a fancy apartment in central New Heaven. Thing was, he was dead when we got to him."

I blinked. Dead? That was more serious than I imagined. While Daemons CAN kill people, controlling them with their powers was far more preferred... After all, instead of losing a life, that life you would have taken devotes its existence to serving you. But if whoever was spying on me was willing to go that far to silence someone when a simple mind wipe would have done the trick. That spoke volumes. They were willing to permanently cause damage and they had me in their sights. "Hm... Let me guess, last sight imaging did nothing" I say, referencing a magic that allowed one to view the last thing a person sees before their death.

Callie shakes her head. "They were reading a book when they felt a sharp pain. They were killed from afar by a rifle bullet, poor bastard probably didn't even hear it go off. But that just confuses me even more. He was being mind controlled, that much is obvious from the tape. So if they were going to kill a target they had under their control, why go out of the way to kill them in such a way that screams murder when they could have just as easily ordered the guy to off himself?"

I lowered my head, thinking. "You're right. It's not to send a message, suicide would have sent the scare factor far more than a simple bullet. Maybe they’re trying to say they could be anywhere with a sniper right now?" I ask. I gulp slightly at that thought. It was one I'd rather not entertain. "Or maybe, and this is just wild intuition, maybe it was a third party?"

"Well, that would explain the oddity." Callie admitted as she thought about it. But what would the play be? To save you?"

Save me... Indeed, there was a 'savior' who would very much like to protect a potential asset. I would have to confront Doll soon, but that could wait until Monday, if I caused any kind of trouble that could prevent my rock vacation I wouldn't have to worry about a deadly blackmailer, because Selene would put a bullet in me herself. Even I knew how ridiculous I was in choosing to wait, but this was something important to me, and I wasn't about to let fear stop me from something like that.

We walked a few streets, and I shrugged. "Was just a thought. Anyways, thank you for telling me everything. At least I can count on you. Certainly can't seem to do it for anyone else up there."

"Well, you definitely didn't make any friends at the station." Callie said, then laughed. "Oh boy, you should have seen Lumina's face after you left. Later when she thought she was alone she began screaming and cursing up a storm. The police were breathing sighs of relief too, they all knew there was no way they could have taken you down, but the ones in the room were still getting ready to endure an ass kicking."

"Well, points for the balls " I said with a small smile. "But seriously, thanks. I'd like to avoid being a convict if at all possible."

She flicked me in the head . "Stay out of trouble then, ditz" which caused me to groan. After that, I said my goodbyes and made my way home.

Grabbing the clothes and nightwear I'd be needing, I tossed them into a duffel. Then came the snacks and cleaning stuff, then the video games... And that would be it for my normal preparation. For my abnormal prep...

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

I retrieved my gun from it's hiding place, as well as a box of ammunition. Sitting down, I began loading a few extra magazines. Each bullet, I would close my eyes, and channel magic into them. Anyone hit by my bullets would have their neural systems short circuit as my discord ran through them. It could cleanse brainwashed people with a well placed shot. Thing was, they were still bullets. Too well placed of a bullet would still kill. That's why I normally didn't bring this along, but, well, it sounded like I might need this stopping power as a last resort.

I also grabbed a set of knives and their sheathes. When I go out tomorrow, I'll strap these too my arms and make sure I'm wearing long sleeves. Hopefully with all of these preparations I'd be ready for trouble. I prayed it wouldn't come to it.

I sighed. It always felt like the same stuff. Wanting to not worry about things only to end up preparing anyhow. I hated contradictory actions, yet here I was. It made me want to punch something. That annoying line of thought in my head, I curled up on my bed after some TV, and promptly passed out.

No nightmares. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Regardless, I was able to get a relaxing sleep and I ended up feeling rather refreshed. I got up, showered, and even managed to have a decent breakfast! I wasn't due to meet Selene for a few hours, so I checked and double checked that I had everything, and made sure to strap on my weaponry. I definitely felt ready, if nothing else.

Once Selene knocked on my door, it was go time. Unlike me, Selene had bothered to get her driver's licence, so we went for a ride deep into the city, to the tunnel entrance closest to our destination. We arrived at a large staircase, leading under the ground. I clenched my fist.

The Heaven Tunnels were used way back when for transportation of troops and supplies. When the subway became popular most of the tunnels were incorporated. The remnants became walkways, but some... some were abandoned outright. When the Daemon invasion happened...

I steeled my resolve and went down. My body shivered. I knew this entrance. “Go past two turns, then take a right. Past another turn, take a right. Stop halfway and look to the wall. There, behind a fake wall, was my training area. Once my God's noticed my latent power, this was where they ordered me to go. First I had to clean the entire room, filled with heavy rocks and whatnot, but that was a part of it apparently. It was going to be a lot of hard work but-"

My hand was grabbed and squeezed. I could tell that I had been shaking violently, Selene looked at me, worry in her eyes. "Lexi?"

"It...it's nothing." I say, taking a deep breath. I sigh. Dammit. "Just hate tight spaces. I'll be fine when it opens up."

Selene studied me, but she seemed to accept that, and we walked further in. She didn't let go of my hand this time, which I was secretly grateful for. Even a little bit of warmth from a friend helped more than I thought she knew.

We passed two hallways, each about a city blocks worth apart. On the third, we took a right. On one of the walls, near the edge of it was an "A" written in blue chalk. Underneath it was an arrow pointing deeper in. I looked at it, proud of my newest art piece. There, just in case I forgot the way. I doubted I would, but I wasn't about to risk something blasphemous like being late. My job was important after all.

We continue walking. I can hear echoes of footsteps in my head... My footsteps when I was younger used to be like light tapping. Now, hearing the sound of multiple footsteps, like the sound of a typewriter, helped me greatly. It was different. It was a different time. I had friends now. They were gone

We kept going and, thankfully, we didn't go down any more familiar turns. I stuck close to Selene as she followed directions written on her phone. We saw others making their way as well, so we joined up with them. Before long, the tunnels opened up into a large room filled with people. It was just as large as a concert hall, and far in the back I could see a professional music setup, including several dozen large, very impressive speakers. Looks like we were in the right place.

I was grateful for the stupid amount of people that came with a concert. The cacophony of voices drowned out any chance I had of thinking to myself. Selene and I looked at each other and cheered at our success. "Phew... I'm not going to lie part of me thought I was just seeing clues where there weren't any."

"Hey, I had faith." I reassure her. "You're actually really good at puzzles. Better than most."

She beamed at me. We decided to join the crowd and mingled for a bit with some of the other die hard fans. It was always fun seeing the types of people that manage to arrive. Selene seemed to be popular, as she was singled out for many a hello. She was popular around these people, that was for certain.

After about a half hour or so, the lights dimmed and we cheered as a spotlight in the form of the bands logo showed up, and the music began to play. Aria was the lead singer with long red hair, and her outfit displayed her long rose tattoo. That was how Thornmarch got their name in the first place. We followed the movements of the crowd and swayed back and forth, jumping up and down to the rhythm.

Something was wrong. I couldn't place it but. The longer we listened to our favorite music, the more that itch wouldn't go away. I couldn't place what it was exactly.

After the second song ended, the third began in an upbeat pace. And it was halfway through this song it began to dawn on me: the crowd was in sync, not in sync like 'Everyone coordinated doing the wave" kind of sync but "jump at the same time. Repeat at the same time." Like the movements were choreographed before hand. I had found myself doing the same thing without even realizing it. When I looked at Selene, she didn't even register my concerned look. She stared and hopped to the rhythm... I couldn't see anything in her expression. I felt a chill as she didn't even notice when I moved a hand over her eyes.

The speakers. Concentrating my discord through my ears, I almost forgot what I was doing There was nothing wrong here, all I had to do was. Just listen and let it- fuck! Magic!

I felt the singer take a breath and, mid song, I saw her transform. Red hair became blonde. She grew a few inches, and I could feel magic humming. As she sang, I could hear the magic in her voice amplify. I had to quickly block my ears and, hug Selene, making a barrier around us.

"Oh, we have a Sorceress playing with us today." Came a smirk came from the stage as the Singer looked down on me. She had been my favorite singer for years until five seconds ago, and now she hummed with an all too familiar energy. She was a witch- a slave to the Daemons. They were the polar opposite of Sorceress, and their natural enemy. *My* natural enemy. “Fear not Discord, I’ll sing a song you’ll enjoy listening to forever.”