Early the next morning, Arlin stood in front of a large mansion with an elegant floral display out front. The door opened. An older gentleman (Adrian Arwel) in a slick suit answered.

"Is Alex awake?" Arlin asked. The butler nodded.

"I will call on the Young Master at once, please come in." He gestured into a large sitting room. Arlin took a seat on a luxurious sofa. A few minutes later, Alex came out dressed in loose clothing that he'd slept in and his hair tied sloppily back.

"Yes?" he rubbed his eyes, still half asleep.

"I'll do it!" Arlin resolved.

"Excellent!" Alex howled in gratification. His tired expression vanished and was replaced by elation. He walked back down the hall he came from and came back with the pouch. "You'll be needing this." Arlin took it and looked inside.

"Neat!"

After Alex got dressed for school the pair headed off together.

"So our target." Alex started to explain. "Is Sharpe Kid from our class."

"Wait, what's so special about him?" Arlin looked over slightly puzzled.

"I'm not entirely sure myself." Alex shrugged, "We'll find out more once we deliver him to the Master."

"And you think I can do it?"

"You're probably the only one who can." Alex patted Arlin on the back. "Syrus doesn't trust me, he would never allow me to get involved."

"He's in this too, huh?" Arlin uttered in a depressed tone.

"Of course, you didn't think he was being so secretive for fun, did you?"

"Right..."

They arrived at the school. Alex looked around then nodded.

"It's best if we keep this to ourselves to not draw suspicions our way." Alex whispered.

"Un." Arlin nodded then looked around, Syrus hadn't arrived yet.

"If you ever have any questions you know how to reach me." Alex jingled a chain in his pants pocket. Arlin nodded then sat at the empty table he was at the day before. Alex walked into the administration building in preparation for the announcements. Arlin opened his backpack and looked in. His eyes glistened as he spotted the item from the pouch Alex had given him. He grasped it then stashed it in his pocket. Loud voices could be heard engaging in some sort of discussion.

"I can't believe that guy!" a familiar voiced girl whined.

"I know, right?" another agreed. " 'This has absolutely nothing to do with you or any of us!'." she quoted mockingly. Arlin turned to the voices. The Kouki twins. "What are they talking about?" A faint glow emanated from his pant pocket. At the edge of his line of sight, something dark appeared to move in a dark hallway. Arlin turned to the object. Entranced by what he saw he failed to notice Syrus arrive and had sat next to him.

"Equus." a name he'd never heard before came out of his mouth on instinct.

"What are you going on about?" Syrus asked, perplexed as he cocked his head to the side.

"Ah!" Arlin jumped. "When did you get here?" he asked frantically. Syrus gave him an irritated look. Arlin, remembering what he saw in the shadows, turned back to the darkened hall, but it was empty. He sighed in defeat while Syrus looked on, utterly confused. After they sat there in awkward silence, Syrus shifted his attention. Arlin looked in the same direction. Rage consumed him. Kelly.  "What does she have that I don't?"  he asked himself. Unable to bear it any longer he got up and stomped off.

"Huh?" Syrus turned to look at him. "Arlin wai-" he tried to call out but Arlin was too far to hear him. When Arlin finally collected his thoughts, he looked around. He had wandered off without an intended destination, so he was at a loss for where he ended up. Laughing. He turned around to find Anya and Kid talking, assumingly waiting for Skai, as the 3 of them were normally inseparable. All the anger left his body, replaced by joy. "Perfect!" he beamed, unable to contain himself. "Syrus will finally appreciate me if I can get my hands on that guy!" He started calculating a plan as he ran toward the classroom. Nothing of note really happened during class. The popular girls gossiped about the latest celebrity drama. Syrus's gaze was, for the most part, fixed on Kelly. He occasionally glanced at Kid every now and then. Arlin tried to not let it get him down as he thought of how he could get his target alone. He wished to avoid meaningless conflict but resolved to take out any who stood in his way. Thinking back to that morning, Arlin recalled what Alex showed him. How to use his new possession.

"Ah, I guess I should tell you how it works." Alex said, gesturing his hand. "First, it has to be on your person, whether you wear it or not doesn't matter." Arlin nodded. "It might be a little hard at first but you'll get the hang of it." he assured him. Arlin's eyes lit up as Alex continued. "First you need to clear your mind, focus only on calling for the power within." He deeply inhaled after he finished speaking. As he exhaled he was engulfed in a crimson light. Once it faded his clothing had changed and, in his hand, lay a peculiar 2 pronged blade. "Like so."

"Woah!" Arlin gasped. He hesitantly reached to touch the tattered scarf that was a part of Alex's new ensemble.

"Yours will be different of course." Alex inspected his gloves. Underneath the leather bindings lay a layer of coral snake patterned scales. At the tips of his fingers were thin metal claws affixed to the gloves. "It helps if you try envisioning your animal." At this piece of advice, Arlin leaned to one side.

"Anim-." he started to ask but cut himself off. His eyes widened. "OH, right!" at this, Alex laughed.

"If you get really good you can even call your weapon without transforming." He said proudly waving his blade. “If you even have one.”

The bell dismissing them for lunch called Arlin back to reality. He placed his hand in his pocket and started to leave. Alex gave a haughty smile and Arlin winked back.

"Any ideas?" Alex walked up next to Arlin amongst the crowd.

"I might have something." Arlin put on a devilish smile.

"Wonderful!" Alex gave an open smirk exposing a pair of broad fangs. "Let me know if you need my help, you have my number." He waved as he sauntered off. A little ways back Mini tugged at Jem's sleeve.

"Did you see that?" she whispered to her sister.

"Yeah." Jem answered.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Follow ponytail and see what they're scheming?"

"You know me so well!" Mini gleamed in elation. From the back of the crowd, Syrus spotted the twins celebrating to themselves.

"Eh?" Syrus's eyes sparkled with mild interest. He picked up his pace until he was a couple feet away. His eyes grew wide. "Them too?"

In the dining hall Syrus looked around his usual spot for Arlin. "He's not here yet? Weird he left first." He pulled out his packed lunch and sat alone. Arlin, having snuck away using the cover of the crowd, sat in the far corner hidden behind the masses of students. He pulled out a crudely drawn map of the school and notes Alex had given to him. He began marking routes on the map all leading to the south exit in different colors. After he finished the final one a devious grin crawled across his face.

"Perfect!" he declared and started giggling. The bell called everyone back to class. Syrus looked up from his seat as Arlin was one of the last to return. He gave him a dubious look. Arlin shrugged back nonchalantly and took his seat. Alex, seeing this, gestured to Arlin. He gave a concealed thumbs-up then looked back to Syrus, who hadn't noticed. In the last class before gym, Jem and Mini communicated through a code of gestures. Before the bell they nodded and continued to monitor the three.

In the locker room the popular crowd made a commotion as they dressed. Aren stood there flexing with his shirt hanging on his arm. Sal gave a sour look and walked out. Some of the other guys laughed as they followed. Under his gym shirt Syrus wore a long sleeve turtleneck. Arlin gave Syrus a troubled smile. They and the rest of the guys left, leaving Aren by himself, somewhat offended. Out of the gym the boys met up with the girls. The coaches instructed everyone to run the track before the activities began. There was a distinct difference between those who were athletic and those who weren't. Aren led the pack with the rest of his jock friends. Sal looked surprisingly pained after he finished. All the way at the end was Arlin and Alex, who kept up but by merely walking.

"God!" Arlin gasped for air. "You could at least act like you're trying!" Alex held back laughter. "You're making me look bad!" Arlin continued to whine.

"Nah, you're doing just fine on your own." Alex mocked playfully.

"You're so mean!" Once they made it in, Arlin collapsed.

The coaches began separating the class into teams for dodgeball. The twins high fived after being called on the same team. Anya waved as Kid and Skai were called to the other team. Syrus and Alex didn't seem particularly happy with their arrangements either. The coaches began tossing balls out randomly. Most students caught them without issues. Aren thought to blindside Alex only to be surprised by his quick reflexes. In awe, the distracted Arlin got pegged in the stomach by an incoming ball.

"Ack!" He cried out and he bent over clutching the ball to his stomach. Alex giggled under his breath.