He had black messy hair and piercing red eyes. He wore ombre armor underneath a black overcoat that fell to his knees. A dark slim sword at his hip, his clothes and sword bore a certain insignia of three leaves.

His dark boots clattered across the floor as he headed towards his destination. He passed by several agents, his eyes sharp and deadly as he gazed forward. On the signs he passed, the letters A.M.G were engraved across them.

Arriving at the door of his destination, he typed in the password and completed a retinal scan before walking into the opening door. Inside was a military office like setting with a stern commanding officer sitting behind the wooden desk.  His head was shaven, his uniform covered with pins and badges of his achievements as his green eyes scanned across the files in his hands.

 Stopping and standing just behind the desk, the commanders eyes looked up to the agent before him as he placed his fist over his heart in respect. 

“Commander.”

“Agent Lorenz, congratulations on another successful mission,” the commander spoke.

“As expected sir, I believe you have another mission for me?” Agent Lorenz responds.

“I do,” the commander responded, throwing several files on the desk.

“Our reports indicate a group of Rouges causing havoc in Cedarwood city. Our intelligence has stated that they’ve taken down several other groups of Rouges that have entered the city in recent weeks. It seems quite clear their motive is to set Cedarwood city as their base of operations as they rise to power, the commander explained as Agent Lorenz examined each of the files. 

‘Mizu Kamiya: Age: 14. Threat level: Medium. Magic type: Water. Has the ability to manipulate water around her. Not a threat outside of a range of a large body of water. Additional Notes: Ejected from an orphanage somewhere in Adansonia for possessing magic.’

‘Kiara Miyasaki: Age: 16. Threat level: Medium. Magic type: Air? Her magic is mostly unknown however it is believed to be air related as she seems to be able to produce powerful jumps alongside the ability to bounce off air itself. Additional Notes: Her real threat isn’t in her magic, but in her martial arts. She seems to possess an innate understanding of nerves and vital points. Her martial arts focus on exploiting the weak points of her targets with quick decisive movements. However, she is weak mentally as she seems to hold honor close to her heart, which can be exploited. Her family dojo burnt to the ground in front of her by other rebellious Rouges.’ 

‘Karla Reyuko: Age:15. Threat level: Medium. Magic type: Fire. Can wield fire magic that is purple in color. She is impervious to fire and appears to have heightened senses. However, does not fight out in the open only in the shadows. Easy to exploit. Additional Notes: Known as the monster, she once burnt down her home village and everyone in it.’

‘Maylene ‘May’ Medallia: Age: 12. Threat level: Low. Magic type: Ice. Can only release a small amount of ice walls before becoming incapacitated, cannot control her magic. Not a threat. Additional Notes: It seems only those close to her are allowed to call her May. Timid and reckless, often getting saved by the other members of the group. Magic seems to harm her more than others. Sister to Rachel Medallia.’

“Our informants gathered what information they could find about each of them, but for the most part, they seem to be under the radar. Most of the information on them is relatively unimportant, but one of them specifically caught our interest. Her name is Silver Luninight.”

Agent Lorenz glanced down at that file in particular.

‘Silver Luninight: Age: 19. Threat level: High. Magic type: Blacksmith. Can form various types of weapons within a blink of an eye. Master of every type of weapon known. Quick, light on her feet with her swordplay. Additional Notes: Second in command general of the Adularia Kingdoms army. Stoic, not able to feel emotions and not fazed by anything. She has been known to effortlessly cut down her opponents with no mercy.’

“According to our information, she is the greatest threat to the people. The others, according to reports are naïve and inexperienced, they should be no trouble for your team.”

Agent Lorenz glanced down at the last file in his hands, the lack of information on this particular file disturbing him for some reason.

‘Rachel Medallia: Age: 19? Threat level: Low. Magic type: Unknown. Believed to be a type of energy manipulation that is seemingly white in color. Can manipulate this energy into daggers, and to summon an owl-like creature. Additional Notes: Ringleader of the group known as Gale Force. Known to taunt enemies and only take down easy opponents. Not a threat. Sister to Maylene Medallia.’ 

He sighed to himself, ‘It doesn’t matter. The commander is right, this will be no problem for my team. We have never failed a mission before.’

“Your objective is simple. Eradicate the group of Rouges known as Gale Force. It is our duty as the Anti-Mage Government to eradicate the kingdoms and all mages for the sake of protecting the people,” the commander ordered sternly, a harsh glint in his hard gaze.

“Understood sir,” Agent Lorenz glared back.

The commanders smiled, “You are dismissed Agent.”

Agent Lorenz bowed respectfully and politely exited the office. As he traveled back to his quarters to meet up with the rest of his team, the sounds of the bustling agents around him blurred with his thoughts. Flashes of various memories crossed his mind; a bloody monster, his parents killed, they’re killers getting slain by that monster, his sister in his arms.

A day he will never forget. Mages. They are responsible for that day of suffering and death. However, the Anti-Mage Government offered him a chance to erase those mistakes from this world. 

‘I will see it through. I will eradicate all mages,’ he thought, hatred burning in his gaze as he gripped his sword tightly. Arriving at his team’s quarters he typed in the password and watched as the door opened before him. His team turned to him as he entered, waiting for a report.

Agent Lorenz studied his team. The twins; Koen Haynes- the team’s weapons and ammunition expert, and Sage Haynes- the sniper. Calen Ramirez- the speedster. Takashi Straun- the close combat expert. Jace Calico- the spy. Hugo Fox- the hacker and tech wiz. And finally, himself, Aaren Lorenz- leader and swordsman. They are one of the AMG’s six elite teams, Team Six.  Aaren’s red eyes flared, as he stared back at his team.

“Everybody ready?” Rachel spoke to the group.

The others nodded, now completely unrecognizable aside from their voices.

“Then let’s head out,” Rachel smiled, unrecognizable as well.

“Take care. We will await your return,” Halo spoke as the others left her and Draco behind.

“Are we sure this works? I don’t feel any different,” Mizu asked gently, feeling the pin on her chest.

“I suppose it would be harder for you to tell,” Hope stated, giving Mizu a forgiving look.

“These pins use a simple magic spell to cast an illusion over us that make us look different. You’re not supposed to feel different, that’s the idea. It’s like wearing a new outfit except one that covers your entire being. I call it my guise jammer!”

“I will say I’m impressed something so small can change one’s appearance so easily,” Kiara spoke as the group walked through the forest.

“Well, they are only prototypes at the moment. They can only change your hair, outfit and eye color and they only have one outfit setting. So, even though we all look like a bunch of twins, at least you guys don’t look like yourselves.” 

“We’ll have to say we are part of a school group or something,” Rachel chuckled.

“Perhaps splitting up may be easier. It would allow us to cover more ground and attract less attention,” Silver spoke up suddenly.

“We could split up for the most part, but I think we should definitely shop for food together,” Rachel agreed.

“Then let’s split up into groups of four and three to get stuff for our rooms, before we meet back at the TITUS in a couple of hours to head back to the market for food?” Hope suggested.

“Works for me!” Karla agreed.

“Agreed. I’ll even pick up some cooking and cleaning supplies. Maybe even some medical supplies as well,” Rachel spoke.

“I can help you with the cooking supplies,” May piped up.

“And I could help you with the cleaning supplies,” Mizu muttered.

“That would be very helpful you two, thank you.”

“I’ll grab some additional training supplies,” Kiara spoke up.

“I will assist,” Silver agreed.

“Hold on, how are we supposed to pay for all of this?” Karla asked.

“Not to worry, I’ve got plenty from the blueprints I sold on the black market,” Hope answered.

“Blueprints?” Kiara questioned. 

“While you guys usually go out exploring, I go out and sell a couple of my old inventions. A couple of little inventions here or there, no weapons, I promise.”

“I also have sold rare medical herbs to nearby hospitals for Petalite as well,” Rachel spoke up. 

Petalite is the currency here in the world of Etherea. One hundred petalite is roughly one USD or one hundred and fifty Yen.

“Then it’s settled then!” Hope spoke up as the group exited the forest.

“I’ll join Rachel’s group, and Karla can join Silver’s. Here Silver, this should be plenty for the three of you,” Hope stated handing a bag of petalite to her.

“We’ll meet back at the TITUS in a few hours. So, let’s go!” Hope cheered.

With that, the girls all went their separate ways, each going around exploring the different shops. Rachel and May examined the kitchenware and spices, constantly surprising Hope with all they would need. Mizu helped recommend great cleaning supplies based on her experience using them, which Hope took note of. Kiara and Silver discussed training equipment, while Karla tagged along curiously.

Each of the girls also checked out the shops of various decor for each of their respective rooms. Rachel checking out a flower shop, Karla getting excited over a bookstore, (specifically the manga section), and Kiara appreciating the Kenzo style décor. It didn’t take too long for everyone to collect what they wanted and to drop them off in their new rooms.

Everyone chose their rooms quite fairly and efficiently, and after Mizu confirmed the signs braille was correct, the girls each hung their room signs beside each of their doors before heading out once more to the market together.  After grabbing some sandwiches for a quick yet delicious lunch, the girls grabbed plenty of ingredients for food deciding on beef stew for dinner. As the girls headed back with arms full of groceries, Rachel couldn’t help but think of how nice this all was.

It may have only been a small outing, but Rachel can see the impact it left on the group. Mages have always had little trust in each other thanks to the war, Gale Force was no exception, the group hardly interacted with each other, unless they had to, and Rachel found that it was usually after her starting the conversation. But looking at them now, it was almost like everything with the kingdoms and mages was just a silly nightmare.

Rachel smile disappeared as soon as it came. If only they didn’t need disguises. If only they didn’t need to hide who they were to interact like normal human beings. Rachel shook her head. One little outing wasn’t going to change everything, she’s quite aware of that. The group still won’t trust each other, and she couldn’t blame them. She didn’t trust them either. However, it is a start, and that’s enough for now.