Ch. 10 *Elian*

It wasn’t long before my head hit the pillow that I had to bring it back up again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my alarm clock that had woken me up, but rather the building’s alarms shrieking throughout the entire complex. The auto-generated female voice soon came over the PA system alerting everyone to obey Protocol 3 procedures as soon as possible.

With grogginess looming over me, I found it hard to pull myself out of bed. But as soon as the words “Protocol 3” were announced, I began to pay attention. I didn’t know what was going on, but I quickly grabbed the blanket from my closet and took the emergency pod down to floor zero. As soon as the pod began to descend, I could feel a small jolt from above, alerting me that the chute I was dropping down had been destroyed and closed off.

Within seconds, the pod made it to the basement floor. Before removing myself from the pod, I folded the small frog blanket and placed it into the inner pocket of my jacket. I stepped out of the pod and glanced around me, feeling extremely overwhelmed by a number of creatures in one single space. Everyone seemed worried or hyped up to battle, but no one knew what was happening. Without much thought, I instinctively faded into my ghost form to remain hidden from the crowd until the chaos died down.

As I floated around everyone, I tried to keep an eye out for Azaiah. He was the only other LYS member I sort of knew, and being around an experienced fighter would have been rather comforting. However, before I was able to locate him, a high pitched silencer alarm went off. The voices around me died out rapidly as everyone turned to face the middle of the room where the five chiefs stood on an elevated platform. I remained ascended in the air just so I could hear what they were about to announce.

“It has come to our attention that there has been an Aejin particle infestation in our facility,” the Rookie Chief spoke first. This statement was followed by an outburst of gasps and worried cries from the children huddled over in the corner. I blinked a few times, confused as to what that meant. What was an Aejin particle, and why did everyone seem so frightened? I felt helpless being just a rookie with no previous knowledge of what appeared to be common danger to everyone else.

“But we are the League of the Young and Supernatural!” the Silver Rank Chief butted in before the children became hysterical. “We do not cower in the face of danger. We are warriors, and we will not let this issue overcome us.”

“How are we certain that Aejin particles have infested?” a random member asked.

“What about the Buigel leads?” another member inquired.

“How long will it take to wash it out?”

“Who will be the ones to help out?” someone else questioned.

“Please!” cried the Gold Rank Chief. “As long as you all remain silent, we will answer your long list of questions.”

“One of our members brought a blood sample to our lab this evening claiming it was of Aejin descent,” the Bronze Rank Chief began to explain. “But it had not been tested, so we kept it in storage until better evidence led us to try anything with it.”

“However, while contained in its test tube, it disintegrated the glass and contaminated all of the contents in lab storage. By the time one of our scientists discovered its leakage, it had already evolved into its particle state. This discovery was made just moments ago,” the Gold Rank Chief added. “Luckily, the particles did not spread much further than the lab space, but the more time we give to them alone, the less protected we are. Our top Elite Members that are currently present will be assisting in washing out the particles. If not enough are present, we will accept Gold Rank volunteers. Until this issue is resolved, everyone must remain underground for safety precautions. If you have smaller questions, please direct them to the Rookie or Bronze Rank Chiefs. Thank you.”

I floated aimlessly for a few minutes, trying to process all of the information that was just thrown at me. Their explanation of events seemed to add up, but it was still a lot to take in. I didn’t know much about Aejins but trying to piece this together was helpful in trying to make the situation seem less surreal.

Before I could spin my thoughts into further confusion, the presence of glimmering golden locks caught my attention. I glanced to the left of me and focused in on the shimmer. The hair dropped down to this girl’s shoulder blades. As my eyes wandered, I noticed something around her wrists. Were those the same glowing rings from before? The same bracelets that wizard was wearing? I drifted closer to get a better look at her. She was walking alongside two other members, as if they were a team of some sort. One of them looked like a gothic hippie girl from the back. Her hair was long and raven, extending all the way down to her tailbone. It flowed parallel to the silky, navy gown she was wearing. The other teammate looked a little like me. He had scruffy grey hair that couldn’t really decide which way it wanted to sit. His physique was covered up by the baggie maroon cloak that surrounded him, and around the back was a dangling hood with a silent bell hanging off the end of it. Were they some sort of wizard clan?

I found myself naturally gravitating towards them in my translucent form. It wasn’t until a passerby phased through me that I shivered and dropped down to the ground where everyone else was scurrying around. I shuffled forward with the lack of balance from my landing and stumbled into the raven haired woman. I floundered back to regain my stance as she turned around to glare at me. Looking up, I cowered at her black piercing eyes beating down on me. There was no white to them. Just pure, dark ovals that were angrily aimed into my soul.

“I- I.. I’m so sorry. Someone knocked me off balance in this huge crowd and I- I didn’t mean to bump into you like that. Please forgive me,” I stuttered in the most awkward demeanor.

This woman’s hair began to rise all on its own as if she were a descendant of Medusa. It snaked around her neck, slithering around like slender angry reptiles. I took a defensive step back, preparing myself for the worst to come. It wasn’t until the male of the group placed a hand on her shoulder that she was able to revert back to a state of tranquility. I ceased my frightened demeanor to try to mediate the situation.

“You are forgiven,” the woman said solemnly. I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or not since her voice had little inflection.

“She doesn’t mean any harm, she’s just very uncomfortable with physical touch,” the male explained. I stared at him for a moment, too entranced by his face to actually interpret the words that came from his mouth. He had these illuminated sunny irises that completely caught me off guard. Why were they so pure and intriguing to stare at?

Wait, didn’t he just put his hand on her? How did that make any sense?

“So what’s your name, kid?” the stranger asked. The way he used the word “kid” made my teeth clench. This guy didn’t look much older than I did, but I guess I was a rookie to the organization after all.

“Elian… Elian Kyo,” I muttered, wondering if it were a good idea to give him my last name. Azaiah didn’t even know my last name, and he seemed more inviting and trustworthy than this guy.

“Never heard that name before… are you new here?” the golden-haired wizard woman interrupted.

“Yeah I.. I just started about a week ago.” I was surprised that this woman didn’t recognize my face from the day before, since I certainly recognized her. “You’re.. Uma, right?” I inquired, wondering if it would spark her memory. “I saw you yesterday in the rookie/bronze office talking with one of the chiefs,” I clarified, hoping she didn’t think I was being creepy for knowing who she was.

“Oh, uh… yeah, that was me. Sorry, you had to see that interaction…” she said and shied away suddenly. “I don’t know if you really heard anything that was going on in that conversation, but… I believe that this whole infestation thing is that bronze chief’s fault for not believing me. If he would just listen to me for once, he-”

Uma was caught off by the male’s hand blocking her mouth. “Uma, watch yourself. The chiefs are 15 feet away from us.”

“You’re right… I’m sorry. I’m just very irritated by the current situation,” she muttered, miffed by the way she was so rudely cut off. From the looks of it, the male appeared to be the leader of this group. Or maybe they were just all good friends, I couldn’t really tell.

“Are you all Elite members going to investigate?” I asked, half angry with myself for not just wrapping up the conversation there and leaving them alone. But the other half of me wanted to know what Uma knew about these “Aejins,” and understand why she was so irritated. I was a rookie here, so no one would give me any important information due to my lack of experience. So maybe this wizard would fill me in. After all, she was only bronze ranked, if I recalled correctly.

“Nocte is Elite, but I’m just a Bronze rank. Miyo here is Gold,” Uma explained as she gestured to her friends. “Alone I wouldn’t be able to do much. But ever since Nocte took Miyo and me under his wing, we’ve been able to take on Elite leveled missions without concerning the LYS chiefs.”

“It is our responsibility to protect the planet, and therefore must assist in this Aejin incident together,” Miyo stated. I cocked an eyebrow at the lack of emotion in her voice once again. Why did she speak that way? It seemed to unnatural for a living being.

“So… the chiefs don’t know that you’re allowing them to do Elite leveled tasks?” I directed my question towards Nocte, the supposed leader of them both.

“I mean… technically, yeah. But it’s no big deal. Everyone should be given a chance to prove themselves. I personally think that this ranking system is ludicrous. It’s just another way to put us in a hierarchical order, as if the humans that live on this rock haven’t shown us how unsuccessful that turns out,” Nocte gave an annoyed smirk towards me before shoving his hands into his cloak pockets. “But hey, why don’t you come with us?”

I stared at him blankly, confused by his proposition. “What?”

“C’mon, it’ll be fine,” Nocte grinned, clearly enjoying the reaction he was getting out of me. “This’ll be your chance to prove yourself,” he said before winking at me. I reciprocated with a befuddled look of confusion.

“What? Nocte! You’re already risking so much by taking Miyo and myself along. Now you wanna take this rookie under your wing too? You’re insane!” Uma exclaimed. She clearly must’ve been the rational one of the group.

“The probability of successfully investigating the Aejin infestation without being detected for ranking fraud is 41%,” Miyo stated.

“We have less than a 50% chance of not getting caught. I know you make the shots, but just think about it for a second. Plus, we don’t even know this kid!” Uma brought up a good point. They didn’t know me at all. I honestly had no idea why this guy was taking a keen interest in me. I wasn’t all that great of an agent. I had a week’s worth of practice under my belt.

“I didn’t know you when I took you under my wing, Uma. Same goes with Miyo. I don’t see how this is any different,” Nocte retorted.

Uma and Miyo glanced over at each other for a moment, then back to Nocte. I couldn’t tell what they were thinking, but I could only assume that Nocte had just won their little dispute. I clutched onto the blanket in my pocket, waiting for someone to say something next.

“C’mon, come along with us. We don’t have much time left for chit chat. This might be your only chance to do something Aejin involved, and I can assure you that no harm will come to you,” Nocte explained, trying to coax me into his plan.

“I, uh…” I stammered a bit, just to give me a few more seconds to think.

Nocte claimed that I wouldn’t get hurt even though there was a 59% chance against us. I also had my meeting tomorrow to think about, and my blanket. What if that got ruined by an Aejin? Whatever an Aejin was… And what if I never made it back in time to actually meet up with whoever sent me that note? How long would this even take? How could Nocte assure me that everything would be alright when he didn’t even know that himself?

“Alright. I’ll go with you,” I said, despite all of the burning questions drilling me in the head. I ventured into the LYS out of curiosity, and I really wasn’t planning on staying all that long, but maybe this was the path I was always meant to go down. Or maybe I just thought Nocte was kind of charming. Who knows.

“Good answer,” Nocte replied with his smirk still plastered on his face. I inhaled deeply just to prepare myself for what was to come. This might have been the dumbest decision I’ve ever made, but at least I was breaking out of my awkward, introverted shell for once.

Uma and Miyo glanced at one another after hearing my response and seemed a bit concerned. Well, at least Uma did. The three of them turned around and made their way to the front of the room where the other Gold and Elite Ranks were gathering. I quickly scurried after them, hoping I didn’t look like a complete outsider amongst all of these mighty warriors.

The Elite chief paced across the line of Elite and Gold members, preparing them for the mission to come. She stood much taller than everyone else, making her gaze rather intimidating. I shuffled back behind Nocte and tried to act casually as she walked by. As she moved on, she signaled the line to follow after her. I didn’t really know what was about to happen since no one was speaking anymore. Why wasn’t there a plan of action discussed? What was I getting myself into?

The chief lowered her head down towards a metal scanner which casted a light upon her left pupil. She stood back and waited for the wall to open, allowing us all inside. As I stepped in, I noticed that we were standing in a huge platinum protected transport pod that would soon bring us back up to the 17th floor. As we all packed ourselves inside, Nocte made sure to keep me hidden from everyone else. He glanced down at me and winked, which embarrassed me for some reason.

Without any warning, the pod shut tight and shot us all upwards towards the top of the building. I clutched onto the side of the wall to avoid falling back into Miyo again. However, the pod stuttered to a halt a few floors before the 17th. The chief stepped to the front of the group and pushed open the pod doors by force. Everyone shuffled out and proceeded to split off into different teams.

Nocte motioned for the three of us to follow after him as we all scurried along. I kept close to Miyo and Uma since Nocte was speedier than the rest of us. He jumped up onto one of the tables near the edge of the room and pushed open the ceiling panel directly above him. My eyes widened at the sight of his hands as they began to glow a brilliant pink color. He motioned downwards towards his feet, and the pink light began surfacing onto the table. Uma and Miyo propped themselves onto the table and stood over the growing pink circle of light. Hesitantly, I climbed up and stood next to the three of them, confused as to what was about to happen.

Once the circle fit the four of us, Nocte rose his hand into the air which motioned the light to physically lift us upwards. We passed through the ceiling and pushed up to the 16th floor before stopping. Nocte let us down safely, and the light dissipated from his hands. As I glanced upwards, I noticed that the ceiling above us appeared to be sagging inwards towards the middle. The center was fading into a dark charcoal color, and small dust particles were seeping through and sprinkling onto the floor. One of the other elite member teams was already at the scene trying to contain all of the powder in some sort of magic locked barrier. I turned to Nocte, wondering what we were supposed to do. How did everyone know what to get involved in when nobody had said a word to each other?

Before I could even ask anything, Nocte was on the move again. I hurried after him as he made it to the corner of the room. He placed his hand on the wall to set up a magic lock barrier of his own. The walls were then coated in a faded pink color, and the ceiling began to straighten out and revert back to normal. However, the same greasy black color was still stained in the middle. Once every inch of the room was covered in pink, Nocte released his hand from the wall.

Meanwhile, Uma was helping with the other group’s particle problem, and Miyo was focused on the ceiling. It seemed like everything was under control and very stable. I didn’t understand why Nocte wanted me to come with when everyone seemed to be doing just fine.

Nocte suddenly tapped me on the shoulder and leaned in towards me. “I want you to bring me up to the 17th floor,” he whispered nearly inaudibly. I turned towards him and stared at him dumbfoundedly. Why the hell would we go up to the 17th floor if these supposed Aejin creatures were being successfully trapped through these barriers?

“What? Why?” I murmured softly.

“Just put your trust in me, and I won’t let anything happen to you,” Nocte replied, clearly avoiding my questions.

My cheeks flushed a bright red color before I grabbed a hold of Nocte’s arm and made an attempt at pushing us both into translucency. Maybe it was the adrenaline pulsing through me, or the nervousness of potentially getting attacked by some common evil that everyone was afraid of, but my powers were suddenly strengthened. I stared wide-eyed at the sight of Nocte in his own kind of ghost form as he did the same. Before I could flip out and mess this all up, I pulled the two of us up through the magic lock barrier and into the 17th floor. Immediately I was shot in the chest by a stream of fast moving particles. I let go of Nocte’s wrist and smacked my head against the hard tile floor, not knowing what hit me.

Nocte had flipped over and landed on his stomach as soon as I let go. But before I could stand back up to help him, he was already back on his feet shooting spells at the snaking line of black glowing particles. I dizzily stood back up to assist in taking this beast down, but Nocte was already strangling the creature with what looked to be like blue rings of magic. The thing thrashed back and forth in an attempt to fling Nocte off of it, but those rings seemed to be holding him in place. As the long line of angry particles came flailing towards me, I crossed my arms over each other to throw up a dome of plasma protection over me.

The snake deflected off of my force field, causing Nocte to lose his balance and fling from the beast. Luckily he was able to regain his stability by using some sort of hand spells to keep him levitating. I released my shield and phased into transparency once more, but this time not as a defense mechanism. As Nocte lured the Aejin particles in his direction, I darted towards them and phased into the darkness.

Normally, when I took control over a body, it was blinding and cold at first until I grew comfortable in the host. However, possessing an Aejin, or Aejin particles or whatever, was much different. Everything was scalding hot, and I couldn’t see what I was doing. I didn’t know where I was, or how to even release myself. I felt enclosed in a boiling void of nothingness. There were no emotions to sense, no memories to understand, not even a place to see where I was going. I felt empty.

From the inside I could feel Nocte beating against the Aejin, or me. I couldn’t quite tell the difference, really. I wasn’t even sure if I had successfully possessed this creature. All I could feel was a sense of losing balance and control. I tried to steady myself, but there was nothing to do that with. It was only after a few shakes that I began to see something above me. There was a crimson glowing light twinkling dimly overhead. If I hadn’t been so disoriented, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it. I reached up to touch it, but no matter how far I stretched, it always seemed just out of my grasp. Before I could attempt to grab it again, a huge jolt had knocked me out of the beast and back onto the tile. I skid across the ground and tried to adjust my eyes back to the bright room. The Aejin strand hissed at me before attempting to smother me, but fortunately Nocte was able to shield me from getting trampled by using some sort of light screen.

“Do you have anything to slice this thing with?” I asked before placing my own shield bubble around the two of us for extra support.

“To slice the Aejin?” Nocte asked in a baffled tone.

“Yes, the Aejin.”

Nocte looked around for a moment before pointing out a large wedge of glass over near the shattered window. “Would that work?”

I nodded in agreement before releasing my plasma-dome and pulling Nocte out of the way of the Aejin’s attack. “Take it and slice it towards the upper half!” I yelled as I leaped out of the Aejin’s way. I baited the creature to follow me, allowing Nocte the window of opportunity he needed. However, I didn’t really estimate the size of the room very well and found myself cornered by the wall. The stream of particles rose up and smacked down on top of me. Despite my instinctual habit of phasing into translucent form, the black, dense molecules still managed to burn me. I began to phase through the floor beneath me to escape the pain, and fell back down to the 16th floor.

As I regained stability, I stared up at the face of Miyo. She was staring back down at me with a blank expression, yet offered her hand to help me up. I returned to my normal human state and took her help to stand back up.

“Take me back up there with you,” she said with a hint of concern in her voice. I was confused as to why she needed me to get up there, but as I glanced up at the ceiling, I noticed that Nocte’s spell lock was still in effect.

I didn’t really want to ask her any questions about her intentions to avoid making her angry, so I simply nodded and pulled the both of us into a ghost form and back up through the ceiling. To avoid repeating the same mistake as last time, I shot up in a zigzag pattern to prevent being attacked by the stream of Aejin particles. Before I could release Miyo safely onto the floor, she pulled her wrist from my grasp and flung herself at the creature. I stared wide eyed at her hair extending and transforming into some sort of sentient thing itself. It wrapped around the Aejin beast and managed to cut through the black specks and sliced the snake in half. Miyo managed to flip over to land successfully on her feet before the particles collapsed beside her.

Nocte stared at her, seemingly annoyed that he hadn’t sliced the beast before she did. He outranked her, but I don’t think that mattered to him anyway. He was just trying to impress me, maybe. Either way, I rushed towards half of the particles and phased into it again. This time, the space I had entered was much smaller than before, nearly cramped. The disorientation resumed, but I managed to calm myself down quicker than before. However, this time there wasn’t any crimson light in any direction. This half was composed of pure darkness.

I phased back out of the dead half of the Aejin creature only to find that Miyo and Nocte were both preoccupied with the other living half. Nocte’s rings were already gripped around one side while Miyo’s hair was wrapped on the other. I took the opportunity to phase into the exposed middle section and gain control of the beast. This section was much less enclosed, and above me was the sparkling crimson light. I attempted to reach for it, but with nothing to push off of or move with, I was kind of stuck in place. The Aejin seemed to sense this as well, and ceased its movements immediately. I could hear Nocte and Miyo talking with one another on the outside.

“Did it die? Did that kid really manage to kill it?” Nocte asked, a bit confused as to what just happened.

“Negative. An Aejin dies when its soul orb is shattered. This Aejin is still intact,” Miyo explained.

I couldn’t really tell what was happening between them after they stopped talking, but I suddenly felt movement again. The shifting from the outside allowed me enough momentum to tumble forward towards the illuminated orb. Once I was finally able to wrap my fingers around it, I yanked it from its stable position and crushed it with my palms. The sphere shattered into millions of tiny, glowing pieces before the darkness around me began to dissolve. I didn’t even have to phase out of the Aejin, since there was soon no Aejin left to be found. I faded back into my human form and plopped down onto the tile floor. The tiny black particles began to sizzle and disintegrate in front of me.

“Way to go, kid!” Nocte laughed as he pulled me up from the ground. My face flushed in embarrassment as I dusted myself off.

“You were excellent in battle,” Miyo added as she patted me on the head.

I grabbed both of their wrists before phasing through the floor beneath us and returning to the rest of the elite members. Nocte released his spell lock as he landed safely on the ground so that everyone could disburse efficiently. As soon as each team reunited, every group headed back towards the platinum pod in the corner of the room to descend back down to floor zero.

As we all stepped out of the pod and back into the crowd of terrified people, all I could hear was excessive yelling. Most of it sounded pretty happy since everyone had returned unscathed. We all marched over to the chiefs to report each course of action we took, and to give a status report of the building. Nocte took the lead of our group and managed to explain our plan of attack using only him and Miyo in the situation to the Gold Chief.

Pleased with the results of our mission, the chiefs then congregated back into a circle on the risen platform to discuss how to address the rest of the LYS members. In the meantime, we all made our way back into the crowd to blend in amongst everyone else.

“May I have everyone’s attention?” the Elite Chief announced as she stood in front of the rest of the chiefs.

The chattering immediately died down as everybody turned towards the front of the room. The Elite Chief seemed to have some sort of higher respect compared to the rest of the chiefs since no one dared to talk over her.

“The Aejin particle infestation has been taken care of thanks to our top members,” she began. Before she could continue explaining the situation, hands were thrown up in the air and clapping vigorously. I watched as the chief rose her own hand and ceased all celebration abruptly. I fidgeted in place, hoping that she wasn’t angered by everyone’s lack of respect for her presence.

“However, we must remain on lockdown until further notice,” the chief continued. There were a few murmurings after this comment, which didn’t seem to bother her. “The Silver Chief will remain in control as the rest of us return to the Aejin site with our lab techs to sterilize and repair the area. There is water in the back for anyone who may need it. Thank you.”

Nocte turned back towards me after the chief finished speaking and nudged my forearm with something in his hand. I turned and glanced down at what he was prodding me with.

“Is this yours?” he asked with a smirk lingering on his face.

“Where did you find that?” I asked in return, fumbling with the inner flap of my jacket to find that my note was missing, and instead, was crumpled in Nocte’s hand.

“It was on the 17th floor. I think it might’ve fallen out of your pocket when you phased in and out of that Aejin thing,” Nocte explained as he pulled the note away right as I reached out to grab it. My face brightened to a rosy red color, as I felt like a little kid trying to grab a toy from a bully.

“Heh, can I, uh… Can I have it back, please?” I asked awkwardly. I could feel Uma and Miyo staring at us, and I really didn’t like the attention.

“Only if you let me help you with what’s involved in this note,” Nocte retorted.

I could feel the back of my neck begin to heat up. When did he have time to even read the note? And why would he read it in the first place? This guy was awfully pushy with strangers.

“Wh-what?” I stuttered, not knowing how to respond to him properly. “Look, I took up your offer to lend a hand in this situation, but I think I’m good.”

“C’mon, you helped me, now I gotta help you,” Nocte countered, clearly having no intent on giving this up.

“Really, I don’t need any assistance. That note is kind of personal, and I can handle it independently,” I tried to reassure him, but my attempts weren’t all that effective.

“Hey, let me see this note!” Uma butted in as she snatched the paper away from Nocte before he could even react. As she skimmed it over, her eyebrows lowered in confusion. “I don’t get it. It’s a letter from your mom, how is this even an issue?”

Miyo then stepped in and took the note from Uma’s grasp into her own. As she analyzed it, she turned back to Uma and spoke up. “This letter does not correspond with that of a motherly tone. It is direct and states the point very clearly. It is a setup for a trap.”

“Miyo’s right. Who would write something like that if it didn’t mean trouble?” Nocte added as he took the note back into his own hands. I thought about snagging the paper from his grasp, but I didn’t want to look like a helpless fool. Although, I didn’t really know how I was going to get myself out of this situation without seeming helpless. I couldn’t leave lockdown, so I was sort of enclosed in a basement with the three of them until further notice.

“Okay, so maybe it is a trap! But it’s my own problem, and I really don’t need help with it. I’ll be fine,” I explained.

“Elian, I asked for your help even when I had two other people by my side. Doing things on your own doesn’t make you more level headed or strong. I honestly want to help you out, I’m not just trying to make you uncomfortable, although that is a cute side effect,” Nocte smirked.

“Why do you want to help me? You barely even know me! We met not even an hour ago, and you're willing to lend a hand in a problem that has nothing to do with you!” I exclaimed.

“Isn't that what being an LYS member is all about? Helping people out of situations that don't directly affect you?” Nocte asked.

I stood there for a moment with my mouth open, ready to rebuttal, but no words came out. I had only been a member of the LYS for a week, so I couldn't really say what being a member was all about. But I guess he had a point. I joined the LYS to connect with the people of Earth and helping people sort of went along with the job.

“Regardless… I’m capable of handling this on my own,” I reiterated.

“Everyone that works here can handle things on their own, but that doesn’t mean teamwork wouldn’t be appreciated,” Nocte responded.

“C’mon, lay off of him, Nocte,” Uma interrupted. “You’re making it too obvious that you’ve got a little crush on him,” she snickered.

“Heh, real funny, Uma,” Nocte muttered before shoving her to the side. “But fine. If you really don’t want my help, I won’t force you to accept. But you’re not getting this note back.”

“Fine by me,” I lied before I turned my back to the group. As I walked away from them, Nocte called out to me.

“You can have it back if you let us help!”

“What do you mean us?” I could hear Uma question him.
As the two of them started playfully bickering, I took the opportunity to phase into translucency and disappear from plain sight. Maybe it would have been a good idea to have them all tag along for this strange encounter I had in my future, but this was personal, and I was certain that I could handle it on my own.