Ordinary Revolution (UnOrdinary Chaos Gacha)

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Cecile was head of the school press. She actually loved reporting the news. If there was anything she hated, it would have to be the current people in charge. The Royals of the school were far too authoritarian. She could understand their end-goal, but their methods were always to act with force, and she found that unnecessary. Sure, force went a long way, but what moved people was information.

Cecile couldn't forgive Arlo after he banned her from publishing her story on Remi. He went to her office right as she had gotten the news and banned any reports on it. Of course, that didn't stop Cecile from simply posting about it in school forums and chat-logs. Cecile had a deep seated anger against Remi ever since she defeated her for the title of queen of Wellston when Seraphina backed down.

But now, now Arlo wants her to publish a story to make the Royals be looked at in a positive light. She'd interviewed several rioters telling her that their motivation was the transfer student, Vritra who had transferred in a bit over a month ago. She didn't want to publish anything that made the Royals look remotely good, but if she didn't, Arlo's temperament would get the better of him and he would surely make her step down and put someone else in charge, some fool like Isen.

So, in light of this rocky situation, Cecile chose the other party of inspiration for the riots. A smaller inspiration, but one that she found more interesting. Azazel Wodime, the man who defeated Remi. She found him in the outside of the male dorm rooms doing weighted push-ups. His form was perfect, but she did feel like he was doing them with too much strain.

Sweat covered the ground, and soaked his T-shirt, showcasing that he'd been there training for a long period of time. He didn't look angry, or happy, simply there. She approached him with the intention of publishing an Article that would make Remi look bad, and Arlo good. He noticed her immediately, shifting his gaze to her before going back to doing exercise.

"Do you have time for an interview?" Cecile asked while crossing her arms. He stopped what he was doing and got up.

"More useless flies, get out of my sight," She stopped and knit her eyebrows. She understood why they were attacked so often – before the hit was put out on them by Arlo of course. Cecile was a High tier, and the boy in front of her was a low-tier. He had courage to speak to her that way. "I'm not in the mood for your questions."

"I am writing a paper on your defeat of the Queen of Wellston and about your history." Cecile pressed him, grabbing a pen and paper to jot things down. She could always get secondary accounts from other people, but that research was not as satisfying as first hand accounts. Any low-tier would say that the fight was easy, and she could write that down in the article to drag Remi's reputation through the mud despite it clearly not being true… after all it'd be his account.

"Yeah, I defeated her. You high tiers said it was trickery and underhanded tactics," he moved on to do a bench-press. Why did he bring all of the equipment outside anyway? Cecile looked around, there were a lot of boulders and debris that were not supposed to be there. Were those the reason why? "I don't care, a win is a win. Now leave." His attitude was infuriating.

"How did it feel winning against the Queen, and then losing to the King of Wellston?" She got angry and asked him something with a little jab to it.

"I DID NOT LOSE!" His voice was laced with anger. He stopped doing the bench-press and tossed the weights to the side. "I did not lose." Despite sounding more composed, his eyes told a different story. They looked into the horizon, past Cecile. "I don't lose."

She was interviewing a crazy person. A delusional person. He went up to the boulder and grabbed it from underneath. Was he crazy? His frame was small, and his muscles, although defined, weren't much in the strength department. Still, he lifted it barely by activating his ability. That was information she didn't have. So his ability also enhanced him while weakening the enemy. She jotted what she saw down.

"Accounts say they saw Elaine and Remi carry you and your accomplice Vritra to the infirmary." She continued the questioning despite his clearly unhappy attitude. He shook from lifting the bolder before putting it down and lifting it again. "Arlo defeated you, does that mean your limit is high tiers? Or do you think it was a mismatch?" This scrawny boy defeated Remi? Cecile couldn't believe it. Sure he had an enhancement ability, but what stopped Remi from electrocuting him until he was knocked out?

"I didn't lose!" He delusionally yelled again. Letting the bolder fall on the ground, he placed both hands on his ears like a child. Looking at the ground. Cecile walked to see the expression on his face. He was sweating, and he had gone pale. He looked worried and angry. "I am absolute, I don't lose! I never lose!" He wasn't trying to convince her, but himself.

This is the person who defeated the queen of Wellston? Maybe it really was a fluke like the rumors say. "Very well, what are your next steps?" As if he'd become someone else, his body straightened up and he looked at her blankly without emotion in his face. Now that Cecile looked closer, he had large bags under his eyes. She got information that he had left the infirmary yesterday… surely he hadn't spent the entire night training – She looked at the outside again, it was all damp –surely he hadn't.

"I will defeat Arlo." His declaration made Cecile smile, even if he lost she had something interesting to write about. "Today… I am defeating him today…"

"Don't you think you need rest?" Cecile jotted down a few more ideas for the story from what he had told her. His gaze was penetrating, they felt like daggers piercing her heart. She wasn't sure why he was staring at her as if he wanted to strike her down, but he did.

"Rest? No… no… the more I rest, the more time I waste. I see it now," he was talking to himself, again, "I didn't train before because I didn't think it was worth an effort…"

"So you think Arlo is strong enough to make you put in effort?"

"What?" He knit his eyebrows, confused at the notion. Did he not understand what he had just told her, or was he so delusional he blocked off that trail of thought? Cecile couldn't tell. The person in front of her was a deeply perturbed individual. He turned his body away and continued training. Cecile had what she wanted, now she had to interview a few of the low-tiers that participated in the riots.

---

Seraphina stared down at a beaten Azazel. He'd bled out until collapse again. He challenged Arlo and had an even worse showing than before. This time she witnessed it out of coincidence as she walked through the halls. Azazel challenged him to a match, but he looked defeated from the moment he got there. To begin with he couldn't move his arms very well, she could tell that he'd trained too much before fighting and tore his muscles training. Elaine had to heal him and drag him to the infirmary again as a bloody mess.

The riots had stopped for the most part and things were evening out in Wellston… except now, any time a low-tier rioted they were met with groups of Elites or Mid-tiers, which meant there were a lot more casualties on the lower-tiers side of things. To think this whole mess started because of a bad conversation on the school roof.

"Seraphina if you could make your way to the principal's office."

She knew what it was about immediately. A few days ago, John had lent her his copy of UnOrdinary, an illegal book that had inspired the rise of many vigilantes – illegal enforcers that were being killed by a group named Ember. Unfortunately she left it unwatched for too long and Elaine, her roommate saw it on her bed when she went in to give her some food.

She was then forced to burn the book before anyone could find it. This call to the principal's office was surely about that. She walked to the principal's office with a lazy stride. She could take her time to get there.

An explosion to her right made Seraphina sigh and turn her head. Vritra, who had somehow gotten free of all his restraints was beating up Gavin, a mid-tier.

One hand gripped Gavin's collar. The other, explosions cracking on it and wind around it. "I promised I would only strike you once. So grit your teeth." To anyone but Seraphina, Vritra's fist would have looked like a blur as it dug into Gavin's stomach. The loud sound of something going off was all the warning anyone got before Gavin was flung to the wall. His shirt was ripped and singed, his stomach gaining a blackish-blue look to it and the surrounding location was lacerated with winds. "If I catch you bullying anyone else, it won't end with one punch. so pick yourself up and go to the infirmary. Bitch."

Did he have to talk with growls? It felt as though his teeth were constantly clenched and he couldn't separate them fully so he growled to give emphasis. What made Seraphina widen her eyes as she passed by was the fact he defeated Gavin so easily, the only way one would be able to achieve that was if they were in the Elite category… but for him to have reached elite in under a month should be impossible.

"Well, not my fight…" Seraphina walked away with her hands in her pockets. She opened the door of the headmaster's office and stared at Headmaster Vaughn's eyes. He had his signature smile and neck-beard. Sitting next to him were two members of the authorities, no doubt. Their clean attires and formal vestry could only lead Seraphina to think so.

They stood up and stared at her with seriousness. One of them was a truth-teller, but then who was the other? One had mint hair and yellow eyes whilst the other had salmon pink hair and blue eyes.

"Ah, Seraphina! Please sit." said the headmaster. He kept composure and smiled as usual. Seraphina did as he asked and sat down comfortably. She had prepared beforehand because she was aware Arlo would pull off this stunt eventually, even still she felt uneasy. "No need to look so tense. You're making me nervous."

His happy-go-lucky attitude and closeness made things a lot more comfortable, but it also felt prepared and artificially constructed – as if it'd been in his best interest to research applications and methods to ease others.

"This is MIss Nadia. She's here on behalf of the Authorities and she is going to ask you a set of questions." He signed over to the mint-hair woman that had stood up. If she was the lie detector what was the salmon-haired man next to her for? He stood there with his arms crossed. Nadia put a recording device on the headmaster's desk and pressed record.

"This is an official interrogation. You are expected to answer all questions with honesty. Any false response you provide will be detected, and will result in immediate expulsion from Wellston Private High School. Is that understood, Miss Seraphina?" The recording device was always something they used during interrogations like these. Seraphina had heard rumors that Authorities could provide false testimonies and use them as legitimate evidence because their word was worth more than who they interviewed.

That fact made the hair on the back of her neck stand on their ends. If Nadia were to say she was a vigilante, there was nothing Seraphina could do but let herself get expelled, because her ability was lie-detection she could claim Seraphina was lying and that was it. Seraphina had to believe they wouldn't lie for her to get out of there, and that realization made her palms sweat.

"Well?" Nadia took Seraphina out of her stupor, and made her lower her head as she stared Nadia in the eyes.

"Yes."

"Let's begin," her eyes began glowing, indicating her ability had been activated. "We were informed that you had ownership of the book UnOrdinary. Is that true?"

"Yes." All Seraphina could do for now was to tell the truth. She first had to gauge how Nadia's ability worked. Did she read memories or the mind? Did she detect lies? Or did she detect deception? Something can be true but a deception, or they can be false because one can't recall. What if one couldn't recall what happened?

"For how long have you had this book?" This was a simple question, but Seraphina couldn't answer it straightforwardly.

"I can't remember when I've had it exactly," she observed Nadia's reaction. She narrowed her eyes. It was not a lie, she didn't know the exact date and time she received the book from John. If she could see deception, read memories or surface thoughts she would be caught. If she couldn't, then her ability was less fearsome and could only detect blatant lies. If the latter wasn't the case, Seraphina had a few more answers to narrow down her ability to better adjust her answers to not incriminate John.

There was no change in expression. Did she know? No, she would have certainly told Seraphina to leave Wellston if she could tell Seraphina was lying. It was risky, but the odds were on her side so she decided to take the plunge. Besides, Seraphina was a High-tier, one of the strongest in the country, if she were expelled from Wellston she would simply move to another school with just as much or similar prestige.

"And where did you get this book from?" Seraphina didn't want to implicate John, so she took a small pause while leaning back. She sighed to dissimulate that she was annoyed at these questions.

"Last Saturday, I was walking home from Kovoro Mall. Suddenly I noticed I was being followed by someone invisible and fought them off, ran. By the time I had gotten back to the dorm, the book was already in one of my shopping bags." Seraphina looked at Nadia, observed her reaction, she nodded and put down the files. The other man next to her took a deep sigh of displeasure, he didn't want to be anywhere near here and it showed in his impatient foot-tapping.

"Where and when did this incident take place?"

"The bus stop near the park around 8 PM, I think."

"Who else was with you at the time?" What kind of question was that? How did she know there was someone else with her during the attack? She never mentioned her friends? Had she asked to see her reaction? Seraphina wasn't sure, she had been stumped.

"Now now, Miss Nadia. My students are all very busy people, especially right now." Principal Vaughn was getting tired of the questions, he stared at Nadia with the corner of his eyes in displeasure. Did he have a past with the authorities? He was smiling, but his eyes told another story. Did he save Seraphina from that question because he knew it might implicate more trouble for Wellston's image? Or did he do it out of kindness? She couldn't tell. "Please respect their time by asking questions that are relevant to the topic at hand… I am sure your partner is getting tired of waiting as well."

Her partner leaned onto the headmaster's desk and practically sat on it while crossing his arms. Vaughn didn't seem to find it amusing, shooting some glares at the back of his head, but ultimately didn't say anything.

"Yes, apologies." She was very respectful to Vaughn, it was most likely because much like Seraphina, he was a High-tier. "Where is the book now?"

"I destroyed it."

"Did you read it"

"Yes, I did."

"Did you share the book or its contents with anyone while you read it?"

"I did not."

"Final Question. What are your thoughts on the content of UnOrdinary" For whatever reason the face of Vritra, then of the bloodied Azazel came to the forefront of her mind. Seraphina drew parallels between them. The main differences were their tiers, how they acted too… Well, the only similarities were some of their actions and how both of them inspired idiots into rioting for more rights for low-tiers.

Still, Serahina grinned, thinking back of her conversation with John where he had asked her something similar.

"I thought the idea was absurd." She shared a high-tier helping low-tiers out of the goodness of his heart? What was the point? Nothing would ultimately change. Why should she go out of her way to help people who would never thank her? It'd be useless.

Nadia sighed and smiled, dropping her hard-boiled detective persona. All of that tension because of a book, the authorities must be running out of things to care about.

"That's a relief. Now if you could step out for a moment." Nadia turned her head to the Headmaster and nodded.

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Gregory and Nadia had been called for two different tasks. The first was to assess the risk of UnOrdinary contaminating the minds of the youth in one of the most affluent schools in the country. The other was a less concerning issue but still quite intriguing. Gregory was the Authorities number one pick when it came to measuring the levels of others. He had a reliable ability, and he was devoted to the Authorities wholeheartedly despite not having a combat-oriented ability, much like Nadia herself.

As Seraphina walked outside the room, Nadia released a sigh of relief. When high-tiers were exposed to UnOrdinary there was a chance they would begin Vigilantism. It was a low chance,but much higher than anyone might like. Her truthful answer when Nadia questioned what she thought of the book's message was comforting. If a precious high-tier such as her was lost to vigilantism, then society would suffer quite a loss.

The principal sighed and put both his hands together; he was very composed throughout the entire questioning until Nadia pressed further than she should. Was he protecting another student? It was hard to tell.

"The easiest part is now over," he told Nadia and her partner.

"What do you mean by that?" Gregory stood up from the headmaster's desk he was sitting on. Vaughn looked at them both out of the corner of his eyes and curled his lips upward in a small smile.

"I suppose you will see." He opened the drawer on his desk and pulled out a microphone with a button on its platform. Pressing it, Vaughn began communication with the school. "Could Azazel and Vritra please come to the principal's office?" Vaughn pressed the button on the microphone again, turning it off before putting it back.

Now all they had to do was wait for those two students. The second task they were given was to assess the levels of those two students and ask them a few questions. According to the report filed, they were both late bloomers and problem children that leveled up unnaturally fast and began lashing out. If Nadia found them to be too troublesome, the Readjustment Division might have to get involved.

Vaughn stood up from his chair and walked toward the entrance.

"Where are you going?" Gregory asked.

Vaughn turned, and with a smile on his face, he answered, "I am getting some coffee and cookies; would you like some?" Nadia looked at Gregory, then back at Vaughn.

"Shouldn't you stay here to greet the two students?" the two questions. Vaughn looked at the clock on the corner of the room, then at the exit.

"Something tells me they'll be a little late; if they are not just show them in and if you'd be so kind as to wait for my return, I'd appreciate it. Now if you excuse me." Vaughn stepped on the other side of the doorframe and closed it behind him. With another glance at her partner, Nadia knit her eyebrows and tilted her head in the direction of the closed door.

Gregory shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, weird guy. That headmaster is quite unusual, there aren't a lot of people who are willing to speak up against the authorities."

"Well, he is a high tier, so there's that. Beyond that, he seems to really care for the school." Nadia explained, looking at her watch. Seraphina took around ten minutes to arrive; the school was big but not large enough to warrant that amount of time,it was probably an important class, or she had been doing something with friends and had to excuse herself. According to records, she was a straight-A student for the most part.

"Sure." Gregory looked bored; he was devoted to the authorities but also seemed to be of the childish sort. The kind that couldn't stand still for too long without doing something. He stretched, putting both his hands up, then pulling them up as he could, arching his back. There were audible cracks from it. Nadia sighed and looked at her watch again.

As time began to pass, she began getting bored. Gregory had begun pacing around the room, then sitting down, standing again, stretching, and going back to sitting. He couldn't sit still. Phones were for company use, and that typically meant you couldn't install games or use them for private use. Gregory seemed like the type of person who would install a lot of games to entertain himself while he waited.

Nadia checked her watch. She wasn't hallucinating things; thirty minutes had passed already. The headmaster was still not back from his coffee break, and they had been left inside the room without anything to do. Just how busy were these students? Nadia began suspecting foul play. Then, the door opened.

Vaughn had come back with a tray filled with biscuits and three cups of coffee. "Sorry about the delay, the line was full." He put the metallic tray on his desk. "As an apology, I brought you some coffee alongside some snacks. The Doc's coffee is just superb; he's had time and practice to hone this craft, you see. The biscuits were gifts from one of the students, Roland,it's his hobby. He's quite a kind student."

Nadia grabbed the mug with coffee the closest to her and took a sip. Her head moved back as she looked at the coffee she was drinking from. It had a rich and dense flavor and was neither too bitter nor too sweet either. It was also very aromatic and fragrant. It was brewed by an expert in the craft. She took a bite of the biscuits and they were perfect.

Gregory grabbed the coffee, and if he'd been restless before, now he was far too energetic. He began shaking where he stood like a leaf in the wind.

"Why are they taking so long?" Nadia shot the headmaster a sharp look, activating her ability to ensure he wasn't lying to her. The Headmaster, unfazed and with a smile, took a sip of his coffee, a bite of his cookie, and then looked back at her.

"Both students got into an altercation with the King of Wellston and were sent to the infirmary. They are receiving treatment and will be with us shortly." He was being truthful. So that was why it took them so long, and most likely why Seraphina took so long as well. The fight happened in one of the hallways, making it harder to go through and walk to the principal's office. Now, they took a long time because their injuries had to be treated.

"The Royals in Wellston must be quite busy." Nadia commented. She deactivated her ability and took another sip from her coffee. "I heard that you encourage your students to resolve their matters on their own. Do you not think that they should appeal more to authority and that you should act more as a mentor and guide them?"

"Well, it is my thought that students ought to learn autonomy and how the world works by witnessing it themselves. Interfering in their firsthand learning process detracts from valuable learning experiences and moments. When things do get out of hand, I get involved, but everything seems to have worked out up until now." The headmaster took a sip from his coffee.

"That just sounds like an excuse to not do your job." Gregory put down his coffee and looked the headmaster in the eyes. "Was the reason we were called here not that they kept going against the authority of the Royals and were causing too much trouble to other students? Their sudden growth is worrying; is that not why we're here?"

"Well, isn't that an oxymoron?" The headmaster looked at Gregory; his ever-present smile felt eerie and confrontational now. "Challenging the authority of the Royals is not only something that should be expected, it is something that should happen if they hope to grow. The king is challenged by prospects, and the victor is crowned. Is that not how it has always worked?" Did he willingly not address the second part of the question?

"That may be so, but what of the other students caught in the crossfire? They are late bloomers, yes? Potentially hiding their levels in order to catch others off guard and beat them beyond the permissible point. Shouldn't you be calling the readjustment division instead?" Gregory gripped the cookie in his hands too tightly and cracked it in half. Vaughn activated his ability and prevented crumbs from falling on his carpet. He made them float to the tray and hummed at Gregory's comments.

"I will assure you, I had a level gauger assess their levels when they entered this school. Level 1.4 and 1.3 were the levels that were recorded. The reason you were called was because students witnessed them defeat mid-tiers and elite tiers in combat as of late." The headmaster took another sip of his coffee. "If you do not wish to be here, you do not have to. I am not forcing you to stay. I will say this with my full chest and with every bit of intent until the blood in my body runs cold and my body is buried, none of my students need readjustment classes, nor will you ever get approval from me to receive them." A great pressure came over the room, making it tremble.

Nadia gripped the table wide-eyed. The headmaster looked at Gregory with his smile but glowing eyes. His activated ability was what shook the room. He was pressing down on them.

"This is my school; until you retire from your job and become a headmaster yourself, I do not wish to hear any criticism from either of you on how I run things. None of you are qualified to reproach my methods."

---

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The first of the two came in, according to the papers, his name was Vritra, and his last name looked unpronounceable. He was tall, much taller than what Gregory was expecting. One thing was seeing 7'0 on a sheet of paper, seeing it was a whole other. Nadia looked nervous, clenching her clipboard while sitting down on the chair provided by the chairman of Wellston. The atmosphere that they had left with wasn't the greatest, and this didn't help either.


Gregory was the first to get up. Vritra stayed standing. It was menacing, and a clear challenge of his authority… that or he simply didn't care for his presence. He didn't say anything, simply stood there with his eyes fixated on the chairman, who smiled back at him.

"Well then, you must be curious as to why you've been called here." Vaughn's smile didn't appease him, there was no change in attitude. He tapped his foot lightly on the ground, impatiently waiting for the principal to elaborate. It was clear he didn't want to be there.

"We've been called here to assess your level because we think you might be lying." Gregory took over, Vaughn was taking too long to answer, and the boy in front of him gave him a bad vibe. Vaughn scowled at the interruption, but let him continue nonetheless. "We've also heard you've been fighting the royals."

"Huh?" Vritra's eyebrows knit together, his nose scrunched and his mouth moved down on one side only. A look of total disgust and disdain. "Isn't that the whole point of the royal system? To challenge it?" he spat.

"No, the point is to compel students to respect the authority hierarchy formed. Challenges to the royals should only happen by those who are close to the top." Vritra clicked his tongue and looked down at Gregory.

"I fought that clown of a king, so what? I did some damage and got close to beating his ass," Vritra leaned forward to get closer to Gregory. Now that he noticed, he wasn't a lanky build of person either, he was muscular, and looked more like a wild bear from that angle than he did human. "What do levels have to do with anything? It's all about ability match ups."

Wasn't he closer than that? Gregory thought to himself, then he noticed he'd taken two steps back without thinking. He looked toward Nadia. She was sweating.

"I-If I were you I'd keep my distance, disrespecting the authorities is not a smart move." Gregory cursed himself for stuttering. The pressure he felt while Vritra was there was suffocating. He was no low tier.

Vritra's eyes narrowed. "Another person telling me how to live my life. I might fucking lose it."

A wave of green light almost blinded Gregory as Vaughn used his ability to push a chair on Vritra's back, making him sit down. "Now, let's not delay this any further. There's another student waiting outside after all." He was using his status as a high-tier to pressure them into acting again. That old man would get what was coming for him one day. One day someone would get tired of him and he would be removed from his position.

"Activate your ability," Gregory ordered, regaining some confidence.

Vritra leaned back further, resting his leg on his knee. "No."

One second. Silence. Two Seconds. Silence. Three Seconds. Silence.

"Excuse me?" Nadia had been the one who broke the silence, because Gregory was still baffled that someone this stupid could exist.

"The rules of the school say I can't use my ability in enclosed environments." There was no chance the boy sitting in front of Gregory respected the rules of the school. He knew from first hand experience that school was a battleground. All he could do was glare at Vritra. "Weren't you criticising me for not following the system or whatever? Now you pluck me out of class and ask me to break the rules?"

Gregory might have almost broken his teeth from how much force he used to press them against each other. He could barely get a sentence out from his clenched jaw. "Don't get smart with us kid–"

"Don't get smart? Am I not in school to learn? First you tell me to break rules, now you're telling me to ignore my teachers? The authorities must have things backwards. Do you know multiplication, did you learn to add and subtract?"

Gregory slammed his hand through a table while glaring at Vritra, who leaned forward, his sneer transformed into a serious expression. "Go on, Salmonela, make my day." Gregory rolled up his sleeve and glared at him.

Pressure pushed both Gregory and Vritra down to their seats, as a blinding flash-bang of the color green swallowed them both for instance. Vritra did not seem happy with the arrangement, glaring at the principal, and yet he didn't activate his ability – was he being serious, or just petty?

"Vritra, the longer you take to use your ability, the longer they will be here, and the more likely you are to get in trouble for defying the authorities." His smile was nauseatingly sweet, almost certainly fake.

Vritra's nose scrunched up, and the glare switched to Gregory. Almost as if he was spitting the words out, he spoke. "Wich. One."

Gregory froze, what did he say? Which one? He must mean which application of his ability. "The simplest one." said Gregory, with a sigh adjusting himself on the seat to be more comfortable. What an odd wording.

Vritra's eyes began to glow, and with a swipe of his hand the table was sent flying. Wind ruffled Gregory's hair and clothes.

A dense black aura with a red outline covered his vision. It was not blinding – well, it couldn't be considering the fact it was dark. It was odd, it flickered in different shades of red like a kaleidoscope. A multifaceted ability for sure.

"This has to be a joke," Gregory's eyes widened. This aura was not close to a low-tier. "Vaughn, did you lie to us about his level?!" It was denser than expected, and it felt… angry.

"I did no such thing," Vaughn assured, letting the desk fall next to his own with a splittering thud. "You've read their records yourself. What motive would I have to hide his level to begin with?"

"This man's level is Elite! Around the middle of the ranks!Between 3.8 and 4!" Gregory broke out in cold sweat. The only way this was possible was if the boy in front of him was utilizing some kind of booster to their ability. It should be impossible to increase your level this much in such a short period of time. As if to rub salt in his pride, Vritra's level was higher than Gregory's.

"Did you have fun? Can I go now?" Vritra looked at Vaughn instead of the two members of the authorities again. Vaughn nodded, Vritra stood up and began walking to the exit.

"Wait! What is your thought on Vigilantism?" Nadia found enough courage to scream out, she stood up to do it. Vritra stopped one step before the entrance, turned around and looked down at her.

"Don't waste more of my time with stupid questions, I don't care for idiots." Vritra opened the door, and began walking out. Gregory looked at Nadia, she nodded and Gregory sighed. At the very least he was speaking the truth. He slammed the door behind him with little regard for its frame. He was undeniably an issue that the school would have to steer into another path.

"That was odd, I was under the impression that Vritra's ability was draconic in nature." Vaughn's one sentence made Gregory's blood run cold. Was this one facet of his ability, or was Vaughn just exaggerating. "Or was that the other one? I always seem to get them confused." Gregory hoped that was the case. The implications of having more than one ability… then again, it could always be a more complex composite ability.

"Nadia, go tell the next student to come in," Gregory grabbed the file he'd been given. Azazel Wodime was next, he put his hand over his face – wasn't that illegal? A level 1.4 when he entered Wellston. A disgrace, for such a prestigious school to admit someone as subpar as a level 1.3 and 1.4 made Gregory's blood boil. When he was enrolling he remembered there were level requirements for schools of this kind. If you weren't at least a mid-tier you couldn't even get in, and even then the chances.

---

---

Nadia opened the door and after a pause told the next student to come over.


The door opened and Vritra came back in. Gregory thought he might be shorter, but it must have been the wind, or the distance, or something else.

"Huh? Get out, we already talked to you." He waved dismissively.

"Wai –" Nadia was interrupted by Gregory who raised his hand. As her subordinate she had to listen to what he said, and he didn't want to waste any more time on an interrogation if it meant getting thrown through the window by the headmaster of the school.

"Ok," His voice was different. Before it was deep and gravely, like a monster's almost. Now it was higher pitched, more normal for a high-school student.

"What a waste of time. Nadia, tell the next student to come over." As Gregory spoke, the door was shut closed by Vaughn.

"Now, now Azazel, you shouldn't mess with the authorities." He sounded almost happy.

"What now?" Gregory asked.

"That's what I was about to tell you, he was the only other student outside." Nadia looked at her clipboard, "He must be Azazel Wodime."

"..." Vritra… or Azazel rather, turned around and tiredly walked to the chair in the middle of the room, then kicked it to the side while staring at Vaughn, ignoring both Nadia and Gregory.

"Are you sure this isn't the same person?" Gregory asked, Vaughn nodded. They had the same hair, the same eye color, face shape, hair length and even a similar rebellious look… Though, now that he looked closer, the differences were plenty, they included height, posture.

The person in front of Gregory looked more battered and tired… but aside from that they were the exact same person… basically. "Twins?" Vaughn shook his head, "Brothers?" Vaughn shook his head again.

"..." He continued staring at the headmaster without saying anything. The malicious gleam in his eye made Gregory think he was thinking of ways of beating all three people in the room… but he couldn't prove it. He would glance at them, then stop, close his eyes, then glance back again as if he was simulating everything in his brain… It was unsettling.

"Would you sit please?" Nadia asked, feeling equally uncomfortable by his posture. It was on guard, and yet tired… like he'd just gotten out of a fight and was looking for another one… If Vritra looked perpetually angry and pestered, then Azazel looked like a tired military soldier.

"No."

"... Could I ask you why?" Nadia asked politely, but Gregory could see a bead of sweat fall from her forehead. She was speechless when Vritra was here, and yet she had enough confidence to speak back here. The difference in presence was clear.

"Only those on my level get to look down on me." Azazel's arrogance was that of an undisciplined, spoiled brat. Gregory could tell this would be a difficult one to interrogate.

"Where do you find these miscreants? The gutter?" The instant Gregory said that, he felt a chill go down his spine. When he turned his head he saw a chair, floating in front of his face with a flash of green. When had he thrown it? How had he thrown it without making a decibel of sound? Those were questions running through Gregory's mind.

"Azazel! That was a part of the authorities! If it had hit him he could have put you in corrective facilities!" Vaughn, despite sounding mad, let his face rest into a smile, Gregory couldn't tell if he was upset or not. Still, even with that warning, Azazel's stare remained one of rebellion, his eyes sharpened and his nose ever-so-slightly scrunched.

"Little mutts meddling about things they have no right sinking their teeth in are bound to break their canines." Gregory hated his kind the most. A late bloomer who read Shakespeare and would speak in elaborate sentences for no reason other than to say "I'm better than you".

"That's because I am." Azazel answered.

"Did I say that out loud?" Gregory looked to Nadia, who shrugged quizzically.

"No, but it was obvious what you were thinking from the expression on your dull-witted face." Azazel still refused to look at Gregory, he kept his eyes focused on Vaughn.

"How about we calm down," Vaughn used his ability to put the chair back in its place. "Azazel, if you wish to leave, then all you have to do is show them your ability. They will leave you alone after." Azazel's eyes trailed off to Nadia, then to Gregory, he looked at him up and down, then back to Vaughn.

"Did Vritra do it?" Vaughn nodded. "What did you see?"

"He blew back the desk with his wind ability." Vaughn answered, Azazel put a hand over his mouth as if to think things through – though, because Gregory had leaned back on his chair he could see through the gaps of his fingers that he was sneering.

"Very well," he took the hand off his face, showing a composed expression before extending his hand. There were a few seconds of nothing happening – that was what most would see. Instead, Gregory saw a burst of Crimson smoke with black edges. His ability was some form of enhancement? What did it do? What was he showing him? It was like a thick malice stuck to his skin.

"What does your ability do?" Gregory asked, he wasn't going to make the same mistake as before. With Vritra he was too shocked to ask much of anything.

"That is none of your concern. You asked me to use it, not to explain it to you. Don't push my boundaries. You must be the catastrophic result of the love life between a half-melted troll doll and a bottle of Pepto-Bismol."

"Half-melted – what?" Gregory didn't know what it meant, and maybe that made it feel worse. He felt like he had insulted more than just his appearance with that statement, but he couldn't prove it.

"I thought I was here to show you my ability, not to make a power-point presentation on your several inadequacies. But if we're going there, your professionality leaves much to be desired, and for someone whose ability is reading power, you aren't quite aware of your surroundings." Azazel Wodime had an interesting secondary ability, and it had to be to provoke ire. Vritra's imposing presence made him shake in insecurity – whether he could beat him or not – Azazel's made him shake in aggravation.

"... Oh yea…mind elaborating for me?" Getting those words through his teeth was difficult. Gregory held on to a pen in his pocket, and could hear the plastic crack as he exerted more and more force on it the longer he looked at Azazel's arrogant crimson eyes.

"Wretches such as yourself should know to hold your tongue in the presence of their betters. Typically I'd say you're not worth the dirt I walk on, but I am unsure if I can even say that to someone of your stature. Perhaps maggots below that dirt should be treated better, after all they aren't curs wasting my time with little tests. Even those ill begotten insects only rise when a carcass hits the earth. That is why you should remain quiet, lower your tone, and keep your head down, for people like you will never even look at the summit."

The pen in Gregory's pants snapped in half. He could feel his eyebrow twitching, and yet he didn't dare to fight him – Gregory could tell, he was of a higher level. 'Does this brat think he's better than me?'

"I know I am better than you, Gregory." Once again, he'd predicted what he was thinking, "Useless things like yourself should know that. It's engraved in your bones, that is why you do not fight back." Azazel leaned forward, keeping himself above Gregory while both his hands slammed on the armrests of the chair he was on. "Are you done, or will you keep wasting my time? My precious time."

"Before you leave…" Nadia voiced, she was met with a death-glare immediately, and her breath was caught. There was something odd about this kid. His arrogance was real most definitely, but it felt as though he was instigating them, waiting for them to swing first.

"What do you think of vigilantes?" Gregory continued Nadia's question, since she was clearly intimidated into silence.

"Tch," he clicked his tongue. This brat was blinded by anger the instant he entered the room. He almost hurt the authorities, and when he noticed it'd get him nowhere to swing first, he instigated them instead… that way he could claim he only fought back. What a rotten kid. "Wasting my time with trivial questions. Why should I care for Vigilantism? What do I gain from it? When has helping others ever helped one-self?" Azazel got up, then turned around, walking away with both hands in his pockets.

"..." Nadia wanted to ask something, it was clear from her body language, but she stayed quiet, too scared to get a chair to the head most likely.

"No. After all, helping others only brings misery." He shut the door behind him, and immediately, they heard screams come from the corridor. Gregory opened the door and saw students crushed against the walls, knocked out and bleeding, with Azazel nowhere to be seen.

"... Seriously, where do you find these rapscalians?" He turned around and looked at Vaughn, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, if that is all I hope you leave. I am expecting a good friend of mine so we can play chess, you see? He's hoping today'll be the day he beats me… I think I'll let him capture a few pawns before my checkmate."

'This whole school is bonkers.' Gregory couldn't help but think.

"Oh most definitely." Vaughn answered, making Gregory close his mouth to stare him in the face.

"You should steer away from Poker if I were you Gregory, your face is so very easy to read."

---

---

It had been four days since Arlo took down Azazel and Vritra, Elaine still had to work overtime because of those two. Rushing through corridor after corridor, acting as a war-medic to heal all these people who she barely knew. The doc barely had time to sleep, and if she stopped the amount of victims would simply pile up, and she would find a mountain of e-mails, letters, and possibly fax somehow at her door begging her to come back and help him.

She cursed herself for showing him she could help out. It was meant to be a small group of elites taken out through deceptive tactics, then it turned into twenty low-tiers who didn't respect the hierarchy, and now it was more injured than a war.

She'd gotten so used to checking pulses, and corneas, she had to stop herself from lunging her delicate fingers into someone's eye during a greeting. It gnawed at her during after-school as well, not letting her go shopping, or coffee shops. It loomed over her like a sadistic ghost, telling her there was one more person she had to help today.

The night before, her mother called to ask how school was, and when she said tiring, her mother insisted in giving her a sermon that slacking off was unacceptable.

But today would be her last day, it didn't matter what tactic the Doc used to get her on his side today! She would announce to him that she was out of time for studies, and had to leave all the healing to him.

She stood behind the door of the infirmary, with lines of injured people being carried, or walking in make-shift crutches to ask for help. Their eyes lit up to her appearance, it almost made her heart feel heavy. But she'd steeled herself for this moment. So she opened the door.

She wasn't sure what she expected on the other side. Maybe messy papers everywhere, a panicking Doc scrounging for chemicals to heal the children. Patients everywhere, almost piled. Last time she was there, the beds were gone and patients were on futons, laid down on parallel.

Doc, shaved, shining, almost sat down on his chair, with one leg on top of his knee, with a stethoscope as he looked at an adult in the room with him. It was a tall woman with Aqua blue hair. She nodded while sitting down in front of him as Doc let one of the kids into the room. He looked far more handsome than normal, as if he was trying hard to keep his face in one particular shape. This had to be some kind of dream, or illusion, or an ability at play.



"Oh Elaine, you didn't tell me you were acting as an apprentice to this brilliant doctor." The woman with aqua blue hair turned around, it wasn't an illusion, or a dream… that was her mother inside the infirmary.

"Oh yes, she's been so incredibly helpful these past few days. Volunteering to help the students that get hurt oh so often. I think it's great for her experience, and for her future."

"You don't say! I thought you were slacking off when we talked on the phone yesterday, but you were just helping the staff. Why didn't you tell me?"

"N-no, wait –" Elaine was cut off immediately.

"I hope you don't mind me keeping her from class here and there, I'll make sure she keeps up by having other students bring her notes, and helping her with homework." Doc bandaged a student and sealed her fate simultaneously, all while staring at her with a smile that could only belong to the devil himself, the incarnation of evil, the lord of slave labour.



"Wonderful! Wonderful! Good luck Elaine, I'll be back home, text me if you need anything! And don't slack off! You have a wonderful superior!" Elaine's mother left like a hurricane, and Elaine was left there, mouth agape.

Doc put a stethoscope, and a first aid kit in her hands.

"Welcome to the team, my young apprentice!"

"NOOOOOO!" Elaine was trapped, like a mouse in a cage. She felt less royal, and more like a servant. Running back and forth in the infirmary to grab him things, bandage people, use her ability to heal them.

Once the first round of injuries was over, she sat down on her little stool with no backrest, or armrest and stared at her worst enemy in the eyes. She very rarely hoped something bad would happen to others, but in that instance, if the Doc could suddenly collapse so she could slack off, it would be a gift from heaven.

Three knocks on the door told her god was dead, and she worked for the devil. She put her forehead against both her hands and wondered, why had she let it come to this?



Then the door opened ajar, and she saw her second mortal enemy be dragged in. With bruises, cuts, and a bone puncturing through his arm. Crimson eyes, out of it and staring at the ceiling as a hoard of low-tiers preciously put him on a bed. Black hair, soaked in blood, and a tall posture that didn't fit the bed in the infirmary. Her worst nightmare, the maker of her hell. The demon torturer of purgatory.

"Azazel" She whispered with venom. The doc looked at him, closed his eyes and took a sigh.

"That one's all yours!" Doc shoved the bed on wheels her way, and opened the door for another patient. He'd given up on Azazel entirely. He'd been in the infirmary every single day since he lost to Arlo. So for three days, four with today – and sometimes twice a day. He was the most frequent visitor. An unrelenting idiot.

She grabbed his arm and set the bone in place, then used her ability on him. She could only really heal most surface wounds, any deeper and she would exhaust herself… Besides, it served him right for constantly getting himself in this position. If she didn't know any better she'd think that he was trying to reinforce his skeleton by breaking it, then healing it repeatedly.

She shoved him to the back of the room in case elites came by. If they did, all they would do would be an attempted assasination. That would cause ruckus, and ruckus means Elaine has to break up fights, and yelling matches… This must be why all doctors go to heaven, or at the least don't care if they don't. They're already used to hell. The door was banged on, and Elaine's attention shifted to it. That was a violent way of asking to come in.

"Great, an asshole… come in!" Before she could take a seat, the doctor told the next person to come in. "What is it?"

A loud crash followed by a blur that went past Elaine and the Doc made her eyes Widen. Something crashed through the door, breaking it down and leaving only a hole in return as a person tumbled back into a resting position. From the smoke, a tall imposing figure walked in… Her second worst enemy's twin – Vritra.

"You're kidding me! Vritra! You know the rules of this place!" The doc yelled out, and before he could activate his ability, Vritra used both of his feet, while half of his body was covered in scales, and drop-kicked her into the wall next-door, interrupting the chess-club's activities.

"..." Elaine took a deep breath of despair as yelling and wailing drowned out her sanity, with motes of collective rainbow hair making their escape from Vritra who grew taller as numerous lacerations on his back, chest and arms healed themselves.

"That's for Ventus!" The blur that had crashed through two walls stood up with a broken arm. Her burgundy mop of hair, now a mess with its tips scorched – not from fire, just the friction of her face being dragged through the floor mind you – made itself visible.

"So… Arlo sent you to finish the Job." Slowly cracking his neck, green scales began to slowly creep across face before receding, his eyes flashing gold but just as quickly returning to their usual red.

Elaine sighed, bandaging another patient… What Vritra just said was unlikely to say the least. Arlo had his hands full dealing with the numerous rebellions on campus. Even Zeke was helping, and he barely ever does anything productive.

With a stomp of his foot, ice began trailing behind Vritra's form. Wind lashed through the infirmary, knocking bandages, stools and some patients alike into disarray. Meili's knees buckled as the gust lifted her off her greet, dragging her across the floor tiles.

Vritra's eyes glinted as he crouched, letting the storm settle briefly, then surge again around Meili's head. Each breath he took seemed to pull more of hers away. His scales began to spread further across his arms and chest, red and black crawling up his neck and face, faint embers of flame escaping through his nose.

"You really think you alone can challenge me?" Vritra's voice was low and questioning as he looked at the girl gasping for air she could not get. Ice gathered around his finger tip creating a sharp nail that he trailed across her cheek. "Why do you all keep testing me? Why do you make me do this?"

With no warning, the giant slammed his fist down at the girl's head, before beginning to yell. "WHY DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO TAKE WHAT IS MINE!?" He all but roared, picking the girl up by the throat and throwing her across the room. The effect of his wind dissipating, along with the large inhale from Meili. "Arlo, Isen, BLYKE! CREIG! ABEL! YOU! FUCKING VENTUS!" With every name, he took a step, until he stood in front of the gasping girl. The large man held his head as he roared. "FIRST YOU TAKE JIN! YOU TRY TO TAKE ROLLAND FROM ME! THEN YOU TRY TO TAKE AZAZEL!?"

Vritra's size surged as he began kicking and stomping Meili down, Ice encasing and shattering in quick successions. Wind lacerating the girl, as she could do nothing but sit there and curl up in a sad attempt at protecting herself. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ATTACK ME! HUH!? WHY DID YOU TRY TO DO THIS BULLSHIT! WHY DO ALL OF YOU MAKE ME HURT YOU!?"

Vritra raised his fist, then waited for a second. Elaine wondered what he was waiting for – but hoped someone would step in to stop him. She turned around, and there was no one to do so. The Doc was too busy helping people out of the rubble. Elaine wasn't going to risk it either.

Something brushed against her, and the shadow of a barely alive Azazel appeared next to Vritra, putting his left hand on his forearm. His right arm was inside his pocket, despite not bleeding, or having anything outwardly wrong with him, Azazel still had several broken bones and moving should be agonizing. He tapped Vritra's forearm twice again, then used his hand to put his index finger on his lips.

Vritra stopped and lowered his own arm as Meili's arms fell next to her with her face down. She collapsed from blood loss. Elaine moved quickly and recovered her body from the ground. She was cold to the touch, and had several lacerations and cuts all over her body. It wasn't life endangering with her around, but if there were no capable medics in the school… Elaine doubted she could make it.

Simultaneously, Vritra helped Azazel get back to his bed. That's when Elaine realized she hadn't heard him move. She knew he did, because he brushed against her, but to move without making a sound… it sent a chill down her spine.

Elaine went back to healing people. She spent the entire day healing people as a matter of fact. Until sun-down. She was tired, exhausted, and out of aura or energy. When she got home, she would love nothing but to collapse.

If she was thankful for something, it would be the grateful low-tiers that offered her their homework for helping them out first. As a capitalist-blooded medic, Elaine took their prioritization in stride. Vritra didn't leave Azazel's side during the after-math of his fight. The Doc was so mad, he made Vritra apologize with his head down, and it was such a rare sight, she doubted she'd ever see it again. A positive of Vritra being there would have to be how quiet the infirmary was afterward.

"Welp, I'll wrap up here. Finish up with your last patient, then go home!" Doc grabbed a couple of papers and a pen-drive, then disappeared home. He moved faster than a lot of Elite tiers with speed-based abilities. A blue-blured speedster. Elaine on the other hand, turned her head at her last patient.

Azazel Wodime. With more injuries than any single person in the infirmary, healing all at once was practically impossible. It made the fact he stood up to stop Vritra all the more impressive… Even more impressive than that was him – she looked at the taller twin – he was able to survive several stab-wounds to the chest, and seemed to heal extremely fast.

As if he'd noticed her staring, Vritra turned his head at her.

"No one left." If anyone else said it, Elaine would have taken that statement as, 'there's no one else in the room'. But because Vritra is the one who said it, it felt more like 'You're next' and she tensed up thinking about it.

The Giant put one arm forward, positioning it to the middle of Azazel's chest. Closing his eyes, Elaine saw him take a deep breath before relaxing into his seat, his aura now visible and glowing a bright gold. A pillar of white gold light slammed onto Azazel.

Elaine was blinded at first, she rushed to Azazel's side and examined him. His ribs, his femur, his fore-arm and fingers. His entire body had been healed in one fell swoop. It wasn't an attack, but rather, another one of his ever-growing sub-abilities. Most people would most likely feel terrified of Vritra, an amalgamation of abilities and ever-growing potential. Instead, all Elaine could feel was rage. Her head slowly turned toward Vritra as her eyes stared at him with barely any light or color. The eyes of a soulless woman, the eyes of your average customer service provider.


"You could heal this whole time?"

"You can go and tell someone, but no one will believe you." That giant bastard had the gall to put a finger in front of his mouth.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HIM! NOT ME! HIM!" She fell to her knees and slammed her fists against the ground as tears rolled down her cheek. How many hours did she spend healing people, and this tall draconic asshole could have done it this whole time with more efficiency. The world was unfair, she wanted a refund! Couldn't she have had a defensive ability instead? The ability to conjure clothing, or cloth, or smoothies! Anything but healing! ANYTHING BUT HEALING!

---

---

The school was in chaos. Despite Arlo's attempts to quell all forms of rebellion, the embers were lit, and the fire would re-ignite at every minor event which might spark any conflict. Azazel's insistence in fighting, and defeating Arlo was one of the main motivators to keep going. A low-tier helplessly throwing himself against the King of Wellston to prove he is someone is the narrative they were going with. Evie knew different. Azazel was a broken person whose ego couldn't allow him to lose.

Vritra was in a similar position. Someone who would fight back against any person regardless of their level or ability. His inability to control himself led to bloody elites and mid-tiers being sent to the infirmary. And those injuries, and fights motivated and stoked the ambers, keeping them hot inside a cooling oven.

In the end, all this movement did was inconvenience life for the quiet low-tiers that did nothing like her. Just the day before, she was shoved down the stairs for merely knowing Azazel and Vritra. She wished they could let their egos go and just admit defeat. She liked the florist a lot, but after so many visits, the florist began liking her a lot more than the other way around, and Evie was running out of money for 'get well soon' flowers and cards.

It was especially difficult for Evie considering she liked the high-tiers. They were the coolest people in Wellston… or so she thought. They were really weird about the system. Especially Arlo. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place where she didn't know for who to cheer for. She did think the low-tiers deserved to get better treatment, but sneaking up on Elite tiers, and hitting them until they couldn't move – a lot of times injuring several low-tiers in the process seemed only counter-productive. Their goal was to make the higher tiers understand what they went through, but all it did was fuel resentment.

She walked with a bag with a 'get well soon' card and several flowers. Inside the bag there was also a 'thank you for your patronage' card from the flower shop. After spending five days buying up almost her entire stock, Evie feared having to get a second part-time job.

She opened the door to the infirmary, it was as messy as the day before. Elaine – who was now proudly resentfully wearing a lab-coat and eyebags, waved her arms around, giving people directions depending on their level of injury. They would go to the right (light to medium risk injuries) or left (high or severe risk injuries) and they would get treatment befitting their case, and as fast as she could work. She had overworked her ability for so long, she could now heal from a distance, and more than one person at once. Though it seemed to have her relapse on caffeine every time she did it. The doc moved so fast whipping up chemical potions it almost looked as though he had four arms.

At the very end of the room lied the cause for this whole mess. Evie moved through the debris, and ignored the giant hole in the wall to her left, and saw Azazel, with both his arms in casts, chained to the bed, with a gag, eye-cover and an IV injection on his right arm. There were chains around the bed, keeping him in place, with a [Do not help] sign to keep others from helping him out. His fight with Arlo happened at five in the morning, he apparently snuck up on him, and attempted to punch him stealthily. Unfortunately for him, Arlo's passive ability made him incredibly tough to do damage – though there were rumors that he made Arlo bleed from the head – and the fight ended by Arlo shrinking his barrier around him until his arms broke.

"When are you going to give up?" Evie sighed while putting the flowers and card on the small – and yet torn in half – wooden night-stand next to the bed. Although all she heard were mumbles, she faintly understood he said the words [NEVER!]... which is probably what he said.

She left the card and flowers, then left. She ignored Vritra, who was sitting down on the chair of the room beside the infirmary – which they had a grand view of because of the hole in the wall. He stared up at the sky with his limp arms next to him, as he waited for something to happen.

Evie sighed, ignored them and grabbed her phone. She quickly typed and asked Roland and Terry if they wanted to watch a movie in the cinema.

R: [Sure, what movie are you thinking of?]

T: [Sorry, I'm busy with the newspaper club]

E: [Damn, they're working you guys to the bone]

T: [It's mostly high-tier propaganda though. Cecile doesn't want the Royals to look bad]

R: [Well, not exactly hard to see why.]

E: [Uuuu, enough talking about school stuff. Let's watch, 'Mansion of Slaughter 30']

R: [Evie… that's a horror movie. I'm not watching a horror movie with you.]

E: [Why not?]

R: [Last time you jump-scared me and the rest of the cinema with your costume. It's why you're banned from the nearest Cinema remember?]

E: [Booooo!]

R: [Let's watch 'Hurry Time 2' . I heard the sequel is good.]

E: [Comedies are boring though]

R: [It's an action comedy]

E: [Fine, whatever. I'll invite some other guys from my part-time job]

R: [Hell no. They're annoying at best and obnoxious at worst, they also can't keep quiet during the movie.]

T: [Guys, move this to DMs, you're blowing up my notifications and I'm mid paper review for the newspaper]

Evie went to DMs and gave him a time before thinking of who to invite. She went to the Wellston group chat and scrolled through her different contacts.


"Ugh…" She looked for more contacts, but none of them seemed on the friendliest terms to really contact at the moment. They were either too high tier to ask to a movie night, or in a rebellious group against the system. Just then, her phone notification blew up. She checked to see who had sent her a message.

Elaine : [I heard from Roland that you're having a cinema outing. I'm in. I don't care who is in, just get me out of this school]

Evie nervously smiled, well that was better than nothing. She gave her the time and address. She wasn't expecting Roland to reach out… He was a lot more direct than she gave him credit for.

Isen (El): [Yo, can I get in on this cinema outing?]

Evie's first instinct was to say no. Isen was part of the newspaper club, and despite having a good reputation over-all he did seem like the kind to prod and ask questions that could make the cinema experience go down-hill. At the same time, so far the only people there would be Roland, Evie and Elaine, and it'd be awkward for Roland to be the only guy in the cinema.

Isen (El): [I'll bring Blyke and Remi along if that's fine with you]

E (૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა): Here's the address and time.

Evie couldn't contain herself. Blyke and Remi were incredibly popular, even with lower tiers. Despite being high-tiers they went out of their way to help out, especially recently, so even if there were a few high-tiers it should be ok for Roland and Evie if they tagged along

---

If you guys have any questions or curious about anything, do comment. It fuels Megumon and I.

---

Remi walked out of her classroom with bags under her eyes. She was on the front lines of Wellston, electrocuting the low tiers and elite tiers that chose to fight amongst one another. She was the greatest defender of peace of the school because she could incapacitate people with a touch, but even still, she tirelessly had to roam the hallways, fight, then go home, and sometimes get a call of someone getting ambushed by low-tiers, get up and go help. It was a never-ending cycle of abuse.

The low tiers got angry that they were treated poorly, rightfully so, so they would group up, wait for a middle tier or an elite tier to walk past, and then they would ambush them, and beat them up. Most times it was an Elite tier that had bullied them, but more often than not it was a random uninvolved Elite tier.

They had gotten to the point in the fighting – in just six days mind you – that their message was getting blurred with vendetta. The line between violence with a sympathetic cause, and violence with an excuse attached was being blurred. The innocent Elite tiers that never interacted with low-tiers were being targeted because they did nothing to help, and some Elite tiers that had just transferred into the school had also been targeted.

Remi wondered what Arlo was going to do about it. This wasn't the first time he had to handle a situation like this. It was before Blyke, Isen and her joined the school, but she heard it was hell on earth. That first time was when the previous king, Remi's brother, stepped down and gave Arlo the mantle. Dazed and lethargic, she walked through the hallway with her notebooks barely held in her hands, dangling on the sides of her body like rope on a tire swing.

"Remi!" Her name was called on by a boy. She sighed and rushed through the hallway to find a group of low-tiers wielding pipes and sticks beating Ventus, who would use his ability to push them and cut them with his wind, but the sheer number of people would pile up and keep him in check. Remi dashed to his location, then used her electricity to form an arch that tased everyone around her. All around her, the students fell like piles of potatoes. She was huffing and heavily breathing.

"Who called me?" She asked, turning her head. It hadn't been Ventus. She saw a blob of indigo hair walking away from the scene. Her eyelids felt very heavy, she hadn't stopped fighting people for five days, and at night – her only time of rest, she couldn't stop thinking about the helplessness in Azazel's eyes as he collapsed. The name he called out, David, wasn't in the school – there was no David here, which meant this was someone from before Azazel transferred into Wellston.

Remi took three steps forward, then she found something crashing against the wall. Crimson eyes met her Orange eyes, and his messy black hair flowed about. He stepped out of the crater he was sent through. Who could be strong enough to send Azazel flying? It must have been some kind of AOE ability. Remi turned her head and saw…Indigo hair and golden eyes. Skrev? Azazel was getting beaten by a level 2.4? There was no way that was true!

"This is it? I thought you'd be stronger! That was for Crail, you sorry excuse for a person." Skrev's ability was to enhance his kick. Azazel's face morphed into the truest representation of hatred. His face converged as his eyes knitted, his teeth clenched together and his eyes contracted.

"Out of my way. I'm searching for Arlo." Azazel pushed the debris aside and walked toward Skrev. Even if he defeated this mid-tier, he seemed to have a broken leg, and beating Arlo in that state would be impossible.

"Ha! You've lost more times than most people can remember, what makes you think this time will be different?" Skrev leaped into the air and thrusted his foot. Oh, Azazel was simply baiting him, that's in character. Remi thought, but then she looked at Azazel – she looked closer. Bigger bags under his eyes than ever, a paler complexion than normal. Now that she thought about it, he probably hasn't slept. For five days, he's been up, the moment he recovers he immediately rushes to Arlo. His only moments of rest is when he's knocked out or forcibly in the infirmary. How was he even moving anymore?

A sickening crunch took Remi out of her thoughts as Azazel's chest cracked inward. He was sent flying, bending the steel door of the locker.

Azazel Wodime, losing to Skrev? She must be going insane. Remi stepped forward to stop the match, but before she could, something sped past her and crashed into the ground right in front of her feet.

"Move, and I'll kill you." Azazel got up from the locker that was crushed and compacted like it'd been put in a compactor truck. Blood was pooling all over the hallway. The stab wounds from his ribs – which were poking out of his body like a sickening boogeyman monster. Even Skrev had to take a step back from the sight. What kind of body did he have, which allowed for this amount of pain endurance. "Get out of the way before I break every rib in your body." Every time he moved, blood poured out of his ribs.

"Dude… it can't be that serious… just admit defeat and go to the infirmary." Skrev's face went pale, and not a single person in that hallway took a step toward Azazel to help him. Remi took her first step, but before she could, Azazel thrusted his fist on Skrev's chest, right before hitting him – he had somehow misjudged its distance. His blood-loss had to have affected his depth-perception –

A blur of indigo sped past the hallway. It crashed against the wall of a classroom, and went beyond it, sending a body flying out of the school. Through two walls. Skrev was lucky that this was the first floor, otherwise he could have died.

Cyan lines across Azazel's body told her this was somehow part of his ability – how that was a possibility, she didn't know, unless he had more than one. His gaze turned to her, and in gasps, his words made Remi pity him all the more.

"Don't you dare pity me! I won't ever lose." He'd completely shut off his mind to his defeat against Arlo, all of his defeats. Remi grabbed her phone, and asked Elaine to come to her hallways. "I don't lose." He turned his body and began walking through the hallway, dropping pools of blood. "Faster, I have to get there… faster…ᵂᵃᶦᵗ ᶠᵒʳ ᵐᵉ, ᴰᵃᵛᶦᵈ" Remi rushed past him and saw him staring into the distance. His eyes were dilated, he was barely taking steps. It was more akin to sleep-walking than anything.

"You again." Arlo's voice caught Remi by surprise. The Cyan lines around Azazel's arm spread across his body, and he leapt toward Arlo in hopes to defeat him – unfortunately for him, Arlo's flat barrier caught the fist, and broke the little intact bones Azazel still had left, and had him collapse unconscious on the ground –

"ARLO!" Remi yelled, rushing to Azazel's unconscious body.

"Don't freak out, the Doc proved his organs are more resilient than the average, and he has five times the amount of blood. He's not going to die from that." She heard footsteps in the distance and turned around. A tired Elaine was running as fast as she could toward them.

"Still!" Remi positioned herself in front of Arlo to prevent him from doing anything to him. "You didn't have to do that! You could have just trapped him, you used a flat wall on purpose so he'd break more bones!"

"I don't know what you think you know about him, but he hits a lot harder than a low-tier should be able to hit. It's almost like his ability isn't that fog at all. When he hit my barrier back then, it almost cracked." Arlo turned around, "be careful with your kindness Remi, it's only hurting you right now." Arlo was also tired from all the fighting, but he didn't have to do much, his passive made him invulnerable to most damage already.

"You're a jerk!" Remi called out as Elaine finally arrived.

"Ugh! Not you again! This is the third time today!" Elaine yelled, she dropped to her knees and used her ability. The ribs began to retract into his body. "Alright, I fixed the worst part of the problem, but he's still internally bleeding, and his ribs are cracked but not broken. We need to get him to the infirmary ASAP! And we need better locks, and restraints! Ugh! How'd he lockpick when his hands were tied?!" Elaine's rant about security lasted until they reached the infirmary. "Doc splash him with your experimental chemical – the one that makes you itchy after, then bind him with every form of restraint you've got."

"You've learned well, young P." Doc had the medicine ready. Remi got to see a side of Elaine she hadn't seen yet. "Also good luck, because now Remi and I have to leave. You'll have to take care of things here, by YOURSELF for a whole DAY"

"Yeah… sure, have fun" The Doc said… except, he didn't look quite as happy as he probably meant it to sound. His three day stubble was messier than ever, his eyes were bloodshot, and Remi had a feeling that if she put her head against his chest, she'd hear a carnival in his heart. If she cut his wrist, she'd see coffee.

Elaine took a step outside the Infirmary, and immediately took her lab-coat off, and tossed it away.

"FREEDOM!" She yelled, clenching both fists. An injured Low-tier approached her, but she put her hand out and said. "NOT TODAY BOZO! IN THE INFIRMARY!" She yelled with all the energy in the world. "I'M OFF MY SHIFT! WOOOOOO!"

Now that Remi thought about it, she hadn't seen Elaine in class much these days. Was she stuck in the infirmary during class? She was working harder than even her.

"Remember to return as soon as possible!" The doctor yelled from the other side of the door.

"Run before he changes his mind! Run! I SAID RUN WOMAN, RUN!" She was sprinting like her life depended on it. Remi ran after her, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, as she did, she stumbled across a weird scene in the entrance of the school.

Evie being grabbed by Vritra – it looked like your average romance manga, Remi could almost see flowers around both of them. 'I'll never leave you' she heard Vritra say in her mind – she was definitely hallucinating. The lack of sleep was getting to her. She turned her ears on, and finally heard what was actually happening.

"Where are you going." Vritra asked, his voice sounded… normal? Must be the hallucinations again.

"I'm going to the Cinema with Roland and some other friends," Evie pulled her arm from Vritra, "You should get some sleep, but if you want to, you can come with." She offered. Remi would typically be fine with him joining, but this day… not this day. She wanted a day away from Vritra and Azazel, and their crazy antics – as well as a day away from school. If Vritra was anywhere near Blyke and Isen, a fight would surely break out. In other words, Remi begged whatever god existed so he wouldn't accept her invitation.

Vritra's eyes softened at the offer, sending a grateful smile towards Evie. "I would love to hang out with you and Roland, and I am sure your friends would be a joy to be around. But I can't, with Azazel the way he is right now, I need to go heal him, and someone needs to make sure that the Low-Tiers are safe."

Remi continued running to the exit of the school. If Vritra saw her alongside Evie, he would most likely break down into a ball of rage and scales, and fire. The Royals and him weren't on the best of terms at the moment, and he was acting as a herald for the low-tier movement… which meant direct conflict would only worsen the current situation.


"Took you long enough to get here," Roland's audacity knew no bounds. Ever since he began hanging out with Azazel, his ego shot through the roof. At least that's what Evie thought. Contacting the Royals without a care in the world, complaining to them that they arrived late… he was going insane. He was standing there, with a coke in his hands, doing way too much.

He was wearing a brand hoodie, a matching outfit, and had a flip-phone out. He had his back straight, and a small smile on his face as he looked at the Royals.



"That voice… it was you!" Remi, the Queen of Wellston pointed at Roland, "You're the one who called me to help Ventus."

"... Nah." Roland grabbed his flip-phone, "must've been someone else," he lied blatantly as he pressed buttons on his flip-phone before taking with both hands, crushing it, then pouring the remainder of his cola on it.

"What was that?" Remi asked, staring at the phone he was throwing in the bin.

"I bought several stocks on an offshore account, but since I'm too young to have a bank account I had an intermediary do it for me. Tricks a friend taught me." Evie had the feeling that friend was Azazel.

"You….." Someone dragged their voice to a hitch. When Evie turned her head, she saw red pass her face. She had been pulled back by Roland the last possible second. "Another ambush? Is this what you low tiers do now? Ambushing people outside of school?" It was the Jack of Wellston, Blyke, with a glare so intense it almost made Evie pee a little out of fear. Isen was there, but he took a step back to watch it all unfold… like a starved journalist. He looked the most tired out of everyone, somehow.

"Hey Dickbag!"

"Blyke!"

Roland, and Remi looked at each other after speaking simultaneously. He took a step back and raised his hands, telling Remi to go ahead. Elaine took charge however.

"Blyke if you ruin this vacation for me I will dislocate every bone in your body, then stab every artery in your body with thin hot needles. Do you understand me? I will spike your drinks, and make sure every single bathroom visit is painful. I'll make it so your shampoo makes you go bald, and has the top of your head itch and burn." Elaine grabbed Blyke by the collar of his shirt. "I will rain down Asclepius' hell on you, and make sure you feel the heat of Tartarus. Understood?"

Blyke slapped her hand away, "Are you joking? What else would they be here for?"

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be…" Elaine chuckled in a menacing, and scary way, "I wouldn't buy popcorn if I were you Blyke… you've just made a horrible enemy out of me…"



"Uhhh, you're giving me the creeps. What's going on with her?" Blyke turned to Remi, who was shaking her head.

"You started it, don't look at me." Remi put her hands on Blyke's shoulders, both of them. "We're here to get away from school drama. Away from school drama. AWAY from school drama."

"You repeated that three times…" Blyke sighed tiredly.

"They're the ones who invited us." Isen said he took two steps forward, then tripped, face first to the stone floor.

"Don't mind him," Remi whispered, "Blyke's just had it rough since he's a popular target." Evie understood, of course the lowest ranked Royal – aside from the medic that was helping both sides – would be targeted, it was natural. A lot of the lower tiers were most likely simply looking to gain the Jack title, and were using the rebellion as an excuse.

"It's fine… shouldn't we grab Isen off the floor? Is he sleeping right now?" Evie asked, pointing at the ground, where she heard snoring from.

"Arlo and Cecile had him do a background check for every person involved in the rebellion on both sides, then make reports on each person…so he's a little tired." Evie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Of course, they needed someone high tier they could trust for gathering info, it'd be dangerous if some of it leaked and others began using it to target the rebellion starters by going to their houses, or neighbourhoods.

"Hey, wake up! This was your idea!" Isen was kicked by Blyke so he'd wake up. He pushed his body off the ground and nodded.

"It was Evie's idea actually." Roland stopped everyone, "and I was the one who contacted the staff to pressure your bosses to let you come and take the vacation, so thank us," Roland put his hands in his pockets. Evie wondered how they all managed to skip school, how did he even convince the staff?

Before Evie could ask, Elaine was kneeling with her head down.



"I praise you with all my heart," she put her second knee on the ground and interlocked her fingers while looking up at Roland. "You're a great angel brought from above to save me from the clutches of the devil." She was crying… what was the Doc doing to her?

Isen had both knees on the ground and was bowing up and down.

"Praise him!" He repeated in a monotone voice, with his eyes closed. "Praise. The herald of rest, vacations, and priest of sleep."

"Seriously," Remi said with a smile on her face, "Thanks. I think I was going to go insane." She said, Roland hummed, then nodded, pushing her hand away slowly. Who knew Roland was moving like that.

"We're going to miss the movie if you guys keep acting like weirdos." Roland said, looking at his watch. Was that a Bolex watch? How rich had he gotten in the few months he was with Azazel?

Blyke put his hand on Roland's shoulder. "You ain't low-tier." He shed a tear. "I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm just… exhausted."

"I wouldn't know. I try not to get into trouble. Then again, you guys don't have that option." He turned around and walked into the cinema, leaving Evie there, mouth agape. He was talking to the royals like they were chummy friends from kindergarten.

"Thanks Evie, you're the one who had the idea first, Roland told us you wanted to ask us, but were too shy." Evie blinked, that was just not true, did Roland lie to make her look better? Evie blushed and scratched the back of her head, she wasn't even sure what to say.

"W-we should probably get to the cinema." Seeing the Royals out of the uniform was amazing. They all had great senses of style.

After buying Popcorn – invited by Roland, who was somehow swimming in cash now (he refused to buy her snacks all the time just a few months ago), sat down in some great seats and then the movie started. They went out of their way to change the movie they had gone to watch. It was a full trilogy re-run of the Liege of the Jewellery. It was going to be a long nine hour watch.

During one of the slower parts of the movie, Evie looked to the side and she saw Isen, Remi and Elaine all snoring, sleeping as the movie went on. Is that why they asked to watch the longest movie they were offering in the cinema? They looked so at peace that they looked like angels sleeping. The only person awake during the movie was Blyke, who seemed incredibly immersed in world-building.

When the movie finished, Remi, Isen and Elaine all stood up and began clapping like maniacs.

"WOOOOOOOO! BEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME! THE GREATEST! THE. GREATEST! THE. GREATEST!" The three chanted as they clapped. The whole cinema began clapping as well, but eventually they began to leave, which left the two Royals, plus Isen, clapping like maniacs. Evie nervously chuckled.

"I'm heading to the toilet. I'll be right back, please wait for me." Evie stood up and left. When she got out of the female toilet, Isen was outside, waiting for her. She knew something like this would happen. The bags under his eyes had receded, probably thanks to the almost nine hours of sleep he had gotten.

"What do you know of Vritra and Azazel? You seem close to both of them." Isen asked, grabbing pen and paper. Evie nervously dried her hands on her skirt, then stared at him tiredly.

"Were you waiting outside this whole time?" She asked with a blush, "That's really weird." she whispered. Was Roland rubbing off on her? Why would she say something like that to Isen? He seemed unfazed, and was waiting for her reply. "Uh… I don't know what you want me to tell you, we met during our first year. Vritra was nice to me, Azazel was arrogant, but didn't seem to mind being around other people. He helped us with homework. Vritra helped us not get beat up by high-tiers. It was pretty peaceful until the whole… The fight went down."

"... So the same as Roland then… except with less insults thrown about…" Isen scratched his head with his pen. "Alright, thanks." Evie thought that was it, but before she could leave the corridor where the toilets were, Isen asked something else, "What do you know about someone called Jin, and David?" Evie knit her eyebrows.

"I don't think I've ever heard of them, why?"

Isen shook his head, "Do you think you could ask them about it?" Isen raised an eyebrow, but Evie shook her head.

"Sorry, I don't think they're in the right mindspace to be answering questions… and from the sounds of it, that's a really personal question to ask considering they haven't mentioned those names to us."

"Ugh… the same as Roland, except with less insults."

Roland, why were you instigating Isen? He could fold you like laundry. Almost like a phantom, she could hear Roland's voice in the back of her head. 'It's about the principle' is probably what he'd answer.

"Sorry, they're just so different now, Azazel seems desperate, and Vritra is having a whole anger spat…"

"It's fine… I understand. I wouldn't want to make him mad either."

They walked back to the entrance of the cinema, where Blyke was talking to Roland about the movie, he seemed really into the conversation too. He had been the only one of the high-levels to not fall asleep, and he was really passionate about the trilogy it seemed, because he wouldn't stop talking about it during their trip to the train back to Wellston. Elaine seemed a lot happier.

When they reached Wellston, Blyke stopped Evie by standing right in front of her, he bowed at a perfect 90 degrees.

"Sorry, I was not in my right mind. Thanks for hanging out with us, and thanks for letting us get away from the school for a while." Evie was unsure how to react, she fidgeted, and moved side to side, and looked to Roland for advice, but Roland simply shrugged and walked toward the male dormitories, leaving her alone with Blyke. So she did the only thing she thought she could do.

She tapped him on the shoulder, and begged him to stop bowing to her in front of the school, because it was embarrassing, and it would gather way too much attention on her.

"You don't have to apologize… I under…stand…" In the distance, on the second floor of the school. It might have been a fluke, but she swore she saw two crimson orbs staring straight at her and Blyke. Vritra was glaring down… At her.

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