He was happy to be home. He opened the garage door remotely and rolled to a halt inside. Once his bike was off, he dismounted, removed his helmet, and left it on the seat. 

Once inside, he went straight to the kitchen. The smell of dinner filled his nostrils. He looked over to the stove to see steam coming off a freshly-baked meatloaf, a large bowl of mixed veggies, and a pot of rice. He was just in time.

To his dismay, he heard the news playing on the television in the other room. He followed the sound and found his mother sitting in their recliner, watching the news with an expression of concern. The news crew was broadcasting footage of the Seirei Jin teen being knocked out and bound by the Advent Guard. Kevin watched with a growing feeling of despair. A couple of Advent Guards placed her on a stretcher and wheeled her into a transport vehicle. Then, the camera panned to a young man wearing a dark stone grey trench coat over a lighter toned three-piece suit with matching fedora, who was watching the Jin. 

Kevin's eyes widened. . His mind raced back to his vision in the mall: the Advent Guard separating him from his parents, his father on his knees... the Agent. Seeing it again caused his body to shake once more. As if things couldn’t get any worse, pondering the visions ignited a burning sensation in his face. He clutched his scar and groaned. 

Kevin's mother heard her son’s groaning and looked back to see Kevin, hand to his cheek, in pain. She hadn’t even realized he was home. She quickly switched off the television and ran to her son. 

“Kevin? Kevin, what's wrong?” she asked frantically.

Within seconds, the pain subsided. As he lowered his hand, his mother reached for his face to examine him and check for something wrong. She couldn't see anything. 

He lowered her hands and offered a half-smile. 

"I'm OK, Mom. There was just something in my eye.”

She looked unconvinced, but she offered a half-smile in return. "OK, then go wash your hands, while I get the others to come down for dinner, I don't want my hard work to get cold." 

— ✧ —

"Another Class A Seirei Jin," the young Agent declared as he stepped out of the lead van’s passenger side.

Behind him, the back doors opened. Advent Guards wheeled the unconscious and bound female Seirei Jin from out the back of the van. The Agent approached the Guards and examined the girl. 

"This is the third Psychic Type this month,” he muttered under his breath. Then, he glanced at the Guards, who were awaiting their orders. "Put her in with the others, I'll sort this out later."

"That won't be necessary, Agent Thomas."

The Agent turned toward the source of this deep chilling voice and was met with an older Agent who approached the scene.

"Agent Reynolds?" Thomas said, confused. "I thought you were assigned to Washington's district?"

"I was,” he said, with a snide tone. “But the executives wanted me to visit my old stomping grounds and check on a few things."

Reynolds then looked down at the girl. There was a white plastic hospital band around her right wrist, which displayed her information: "SJ ID: 00037846, Name: Fujiko Shiru, Class: A, Type: Psychic.” 

He smiled and chuckled to himself. He then looked up at the Guards. 

"Take her to Section 18,” he ordered. “They will take over from there." 

The guards stood straight, saluted Reynolds, and wheeled the female Seirei Jin to her new destination. 

Agent Thomas watched, befuddled as they obeyed Reynold's orders over his. It made sense that they would choose Reynolds over him, due to the older Agent’s experience, but it was still uncomfortable. 

"Section 18?” Thomas asked. “We don't have clearance for that." 

Reynolds ignored him.

 "Now, I'll take charge of capturing the Seirei Jins for a while, Agent. I already had the two other class A psychics taken off your hands. In the meantime, why don’t you catch up on your reports.”

Thomas looked at Reynolds, stunned. 

"You can't do that. This is my district."

"If you have a problem, take it up with the chain of command," Reynolds replied. He didn’t even look back as he followed the guards on their way to Section 18. 

As he watched the Agent walk away, Thomas yanked his hat off and threw it to the ground.

— ✧ —

"Lua! Where are you?" 

Deep in the forest that the Taisen Tribe called home, Tobé searched high and low for his fiancé. He checked every tree, every bush, every little hovel that hid little creatures within. He’d been searching for hours. The sun was almost set now, and the colors faded to a warm orange and purple. Two moons, one large and one slightly smaller, were beginning to show themselves above the trees. 

"It's almost dark,” he muttered to himself. “Where is she?"

The next time he called his beloved’s name, he heard a low chuckle somewhere behind him. His ears perked up. 

Someone was trailing him, following him. The chuckling stopped as quickly as it came. The forest’s more common sounds returned: critter skittering about, the singing of wind through trees. Yet, as he continued to walk further into the forest, the mysterious follower peeked out from the bushes. Moving again, the being stepped on a twig, the young man spun around and drew his dagger from his side. 

"Whoever you are, come out and fight me."

Tobé could tell that this brought the mysterious being to pause. He stood at the ready, waiting for what he assumed would be an attack. 

But then, when the being emerged, he recognized its face: his fiancé, Lua. But her skin was paler than normal. The color in her eyes was both more saturated and covered in a pale glaze. She stared at Tobé, expressionless at first. Slowly, she smiled.

"Tobé." 

Tobé looked at her closely. Despite her pale complexion, she did look just like his lost beloved. She had returned. He felt relief wash over him, as he dropped his weapon and ran to embrace her.

"Lua, my love, thank Artimaeus."

Lua froze for a moment when Tobé barreled into her, but after a moment, she reciprocated and embraced him in return. She buried her face deep in her lover's chest. Tobé squeezed her middle for a long, long time, clearly unwilling to let go after the scare. 

"Where were you?" he whispered, gently stroking her hair. "The villagers told me you were gone for hours, so I came looking. I was so worried."

Lua remained silent. Tobé figured that she must’ve gotten lost and was still shaken from the experience. As he held her, he couldn't help but notice how cold to the touch she felt in his arms. Not to mention, there was so much moisture, now absorbing into his hands and clothes. 

"Darling, did you fall in the lake? You're so cold, and your blouse is soaked."

Tobé lifted his right hand to readjust, but when he caught a glimpse of it, his eyes widened. His hand soaked in crimson. 

"Lua, you're bleeding!!"

He released her and took a step back. The blood seemed to be spreading by the second, staining her blouse in every direction. Yet, she looked so unconcerned? He looked down at his own shirt to see red splotches of her blood beginning to grow there too. There was so much blood, and it seemed to be leaving her at an alarming rate. Frightened, he grabbed her arms, but Lua looked at him calmly, still smiling softly.

"How did this happen? Were you attacked? Who attacked you?"

He was about to pick her up and begin their return to the village for a doctor, but she stopped him with a simple wave of her hand. She began to glide forward, closer to him. 

"Tobé…my love," she said softly.

He was full of concern, but he remained still, jarred by Lua’s actions. Her movements seemed off, even as she continued to get closer to him. She placed her left hand against his face, followed by her right which she placed close to his heart. He knew his heart was beating fast, his mind racing like a rabbit’s. His blood rushed to his head. He simply didn’t know how to feel.

What’s going on? he thought to himself. Why is she so calm?

Lua leaned forward, growing even closer to him, and her expression was such that he wondered if she could hear his thoughts. She stood a little higher on the tips of her toes, until her lips were just next to his ear. Each breath she took brought chills through his whole body.

"The one you call Lua. she whispered. No longer exists." 

Tobé's eyes widened, and his body froze with fear. "Who…are-"

Before he could finish his sentence , something cold and sharp pierced his chest. The taste of iron filled the back of his mouth, as he coughed up blood. Lua lowered to her heels and watched his pain with a smile. Blood began to trickle out from the corner of his mouth. Her gentle smile curled to an almost inhuman grin as the muscles stretched farther than they should.