February 14th; Sun City Mayor’s Office

  During the night of the Valentines Dance, an attack in Sun City Highschool took place. The members of the HISTOREA Alliance defended the school from the Sombras and the Shadowtamer. Uriel and Ian had a one-on-one fight which resulted in Uriel being at death’s door.

  Meanwhile, in another part of Sun City, another event happened in the mayor’s office….

  “EMERGENCY EMERGENCY...INTRUDER ALERT...INTRUDER ALERT....”

  An emergency alarm sounded in the mayor’s office, police agents and soldiers arrived at the place. The menace is not human as it began to annihilate the agents in an instant.

  “STAY BACK...NOOO…”

  (SSSLLLAASSHHH)

  A Sombra that has the body of a Jaguar and the head of a bird kills another officer. In the main hall there are 5 sombras that have the same features.

  Going down the hall there are stairs located at the end of the hall. Going down the stairs, there is a vault that is open. A man wearing a black cloak slowly walks inside the vault accompanied by two Sombras.

  The man walks past the money stored inside; he walks past the gold located at the back. He arrives at the end of the vault; “Here it is…”

  (BBOOOMMM)

  The man throws the money and gold to the floor revealing another secret vault. The man gathers mana on his hand, a golden mana shines illuminating the room.

  (CCRRRAASSSHHH)

  The man destroys the titanium vault with his own fist. The dust cloud slowly disappears, the man walks inside. Inside the vault, there is an object in the middle of the room. It has high security, with lasers and missiles ready to fire to the one who approaches it.

  “Now go…” The man orders the Sombras to head towards the object.

  (BOOM BOOM BOOM)

  The Sombras trigger the missiles and lasers, the Sombras attack the guns and weapons, destroying them completely. Physical bullets do not affect the Sombras meaning that they did not get injured at all.

  The man approaches the object; “Good work, my pets...now be on your guard…”

  (CCRRAASSHHHH)

  The man breaks the glass, he removes his hood revealing his face. The man has no hair, he has pale skin and pointy ears. His face has a scar that crosses his face. He has one white eye and one blue eye.

  The man grabs the object, the object is a green colored gem with a hexagonal form.

  The man smiles and lifts the gem; “Finally, I have waited years and years for this...the gift that God Kukulkan left me to obtain my vengeance...I...the last King of the Mayans...Calakmul...will finally begin my vengeance...against the world…”

  (SSSLLLLAASSHHH)

  The Sombras slowly disappear as they are attacked by El Muerto. El Muerto, who has a red stripe on his mask, slowly walks towards Calakmul.

  El Muerto holds a black lance with a red tip:

  “What do you think you are doing?”

  “I finally obtained what is mine...and you won’t stop me…”

  “You have no right to obtain one of the 16 treasures for yourself...that power will destroy you...put it back where it was, and I promise that I will forget everything…”

  “Hahaha...do you think I will believe you? No... this is my treasure.”

  Calakmul extends his arm towards El Muerto and smiles; “Allow me to give you a demonstration of my new power.”

  His eyes shine in a whitish color, the gem shines and changes color into white; “Behold the GEM OF KUKULKAN”

  El Muerto prepares his lance; “You fool...you made a bad decision…”

  “I think not...now the Legendary treasure; Gema de Kukulkán; Modo Viento,” (Gem of Kukulkan; Wind Mode)

  Suddenly, the gem gathers up wind currents. The currents compress into a small sphere. Calakmul releases the ball with great speed towards El Muerto.

  El Muerto spins his lance as a shield and tries to stop the attack.

  “The air force...it’s too powerful…”

  (BBBBBOOOOOMMMMM)

  The attack was successful as the sphere sent El Muerto towards a wall. Calakmul laughs as he destroys the roof. The place begins to crumble, a small wind current gathers at his feet as he slowly elevates to the sky.

  He sees Darius and screams; “You oppressors will regret controlling me...I will take my revenge on the world…”

  Calakmul disappears into the sky. Darius, who is calm, walks towards the crumbled building.

  (BOOOOMMMM)

  El Muerto comes out of the rubble, he has a pair of black wings on his back. He lands next to Darius and gets into one knee:

  “I am sorry sir...he took one of the 16 treasures...I take all the blame…”

  “Don’t worry about it, if you want to make up for it, then follow him...and take the treasure back...it will be difficult because he will probably head to the south first...but he will return…”

  “Yes sir...I will follow him and look for the chance to take him down…”

  “Excellent...I will head to New Mexico...you will probably need some help...and I know the guy who will be perfect for the job…”

  “Yes sir…” El Muerto spreads his wings and flies to the sky with great speed. Darius opens a portal and slowly walks towards it:

  “It’s time for Coyote to howl…”

  ***************************************************************************

  March 1st; Rio Grande City; Del Valle Middle School

  At a prestigious middle school called Del Valle Middle School, boys and girls have a normal school day. Just like Sun City International Highschool, Del Valle Middle School is one of the most powerful and influential schools in the region.

  The girls wear a dark blue skirt that goes down to their knees, white buttoned shirt, a red ribbon and a dark blue jacket. They can use hair accessories if they want to.

  For the boys, they wear a formal pair of dark blue pants, a white buttoned shirt, and a jacket with the school logo. The school logo consists of two mountains with a river and the sun coming out, representing a valley, and the Borderland.

  It's been two weeks since the incident on the Valentines dance, people live their normal lives without knowing what exactly happened...All they know is that there was a gas leak which caused the explosion…

  “Hey Mariana, did you do the homework for this class?” A group of girls talk to Mariana, one the nuns from the Mission of San Juan.

  Mariana is a young girl that has white skin, light blue hair, and light brown eyes, unlike Abril she is very shy.

  “Y-y-yes...do you need to copy it?” Mariana nervously asks, the girls nod in agreement. “Me too....me too…” Abril, who is Mariana’s sister, also runs towards her.

  Abril is a young girl that has brown skin, black hair, and light brown eyes. She has a thin, not so developed body, and she is always hyperactive and smiling.

  “O-o-okay…”

  (PPPUUUMMM)

  Another girl slams her desk with anger, she looks at the girls; “Leave Mariana alone, if you have time to copy someone's homework, then you have time to do it yourself…”

  “F-F-Fabiola…” Mariana and Abril say with fear. -TCH- “Whatever...we’ll ask someone else…”

  Fabiola is a young girl that has white skin, blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She acts more mature despite her age.

  Fabiola looks at Abril; “Abril, you must also do your homework, don’t depend much on Mariana, and Mariana, learn to say “no” once in a while.”

  The both sisters look down and apologize; “We’re sorry…” Fabiola looks at the door and thinks to herself; “Where could he be now...class is about to start…”

  Abril notices Fabiola looking at the door and makes a smug; “Ooh…worried about Daniel?”

  “What” Fabiola turns around as her face turns red; “N-N-No…I am not…”

  “Then why are you looking at the door?”

  “B-B-Because I feel like it…it’s not as if I’m worried about him…” Fabiola turns around and sits on her desks; “I could care less what happens to him…”

  “Hehehe…you’re obvious sister…” Abril chuckles as she goes with her friends.

  The three sisters' surname is “Rossi” which is Father Clemente’s last name, since Father Clemente is the legal guardian, the girls use his last name as part of their identification.

  The three sisters attend this school as part of Class 2D, in the Mexican Educational system, just like almost all the world, the students have a classroom assigned and are divided into groups. The professors are the ones who change classrooms and not the students...

  “Aww man, this is boring, how about we ditch school guys…” On the other side of the classroom, a group of four boys hang out.

  The group of boys call themselves the “Chuco Clan '', the self-proclaimed delinquents of the school. Apá (Diego), the leader of the group. A tall young boy with light brown hair, white skin, and brown eyes. He always has his shirt unbuttoned with a dragon shirt below, he is the one who gives the orders.

  Tito (Victor) is the brains of the group, he has brown skin, long black hair and bluish eyes. He always wears glasses and has a lollipop on his mouth. He is known as the brains because he always finds a way to escape school but not from education.

  Bofo (Adolfo) the brawns of the group. He has dark skin, curly hair, and brown eyes. He is the tallest and the strongest of the four, and the dumbest who has the lowest grades of the group.

  Chuy (Jesus) is the extra of the group. Because there is always someone who is extra. He has long blonde hair, white skin, and green eyes. He always wears a hood, and he is always sleeping.

  “Yeah, let’s go Apa…” Apa wakes up, Chuy and the boys stand up.

  “There they go again, the group of delinquents make believed delinquents who want to ditch school, I don’t know why they come to this prestigious school.” The other students begin to whisper, and glare at them.

  Apa notices that; “Let’s go guys before the bell rings…”

  (GGGYYYAAAHHHH)

  Suddenly, girls scream; “He’s arrived…gyaahhh”

  (PPUUMMM)

  The girls from the classroom run towards the door pushing the Chuco Clan away.

  “What the hell...why are they going crazy?” Apa asks his group.

  “It’s probably because he is coming, Apa…” Tito replies, Apa gets angry; “Him huh….that pretty boy…”

  Walking down the hallway, a young boy walks towards the classroom where the Chuco Clan and the Sisters are located. He is yawning as he woke up late once again, he is a very lazy guy.

  Fabiola comes out of the classroom and exclaims; “You’re late Daniel…”

  Daniel Di Fiore, the popular transfer student who began coming to school one week before. He has white skin, reddish hair, and green eyes. He wears glasses and has his backpack in one of his arms. He is still that typical teenage face that doesn’t care about a thing.

  “Yeah...yeah...I was sleeping but the alarm went off…” Daniel responds as he passes Fabiola. Daniel enters the classroom and sits at his desk. His desk is located at the front of the class.

  Daniel puts his backpack on the floor and takes out an Advanced Technology book and reads it in a calm fashion.

  (GGGYYYAAHHHH)

  The girls scream and begin to try to speak to him. “Good morning, Daniel...want to eat lunch together...can we hang out…”

  Daniel makes smiles at them and politely; “Girls please, you’re distracting me from my reading…”

  “GGYYYAAHHH HE’S SO COOL!!!”

  -TCH- Apa gets angry once more and sits on his desk which is located at the back of the classroom; “That idiot...I hate him...he only came to steal the girl from us…”

  “Hey Apá, weren’t we going to ditch school?” Bofo asks Apa, Apa reacts and stands up; “That’s right...everyone let’s…”

  (RRRIIIINNNGGGGG)

  The bell rings, and the teacher enters the classroom; “Alright class...settle down...Diego, please take a seat…”

  Apá (Diego) is left standing frozen as he thinks; “Damn you...Daniel…”

  Like any school, the classes ae divided by periods…the first class is spanish…as always there are students who put attention…and there are those who get distracted easily… of course…the Chuco Clan is no exception…their focus is more on trying to bully Daniel…

  During the class, Apa begins to chew a piece of paper and takes out a straw. His group looks at him and smile; “GO FOR IT APá.”

  Apa chuckles; “Let’s see how cool you will look Daniel when you have a piece of paper in your neck…”

  Apa spits the paper towards Daniel. Daniel, who is still reading his book, slowly moves to the right, the paper ball passes him and lands at the professor’s back.

  “Uh-oh” The boy says worried.

  “He dodged it, how did he know?” Apa thinks to himself as he is in shock. The professor turns around angry at them, he raises his voice:

  “WHO DID THIS?”

  He looks at the Chuco Clan, and Apa still has his straw, the professor gets angrier and shouts; “DIEGO, YOU HAVE DETENTION AFTER SCHOOL!”

  “But Professor…”

  “NO BUTS, YOUR GROUNDED!”

  (HAHAHAHA)

  The whole classroom laughs at Apa, Apa gets embarrassed and notices Daniel not even putting attention to him.

  Apa squishes the straw with anger as he looks at Daniel; “Daniel...I hate you....”

  **********************************************************************

  During lunch time, students have the liberty to eat at their cafeteria, at their classroom or outside... Daniel, just like Alejandro, managed to go up the ceiling because he likes to be alone, as he lies on the ceiling, watching clouds...Daniel remembers the conversation he had on February 14th…

  February 14th; Sun City International Highschool

  After the Valentine’s dance, Uriel and Ian had a death match which caused Uriel to be gravely injured...This is what happened after Uriel passed out…

  “UUUURRRIIIEELLL” Alejandro runs towards Uriel who is covered in blood.

  “He needs medical attention, we must hurry…” Kasumi also runs towards Uriel.

  Suddenly, a red barrier appears in front of them.

  “Stop right there…” Kasumi and Alejandro around and see Daniel with his hand extended.

  Kasumi begins to shout; “What are you doing? Uriel is badly hurt...if we don’t do something...he will…”

  “He will not die…” Daniel and Valerie walk towards him, and soon, four transparent walls form around Uriel, creating a forcefield. Valerie looks at Uriel with tears in her eyes; “Big Brother...you over did it again…”

  “Daniel, what’s the meaning of this? Don’t you care about him, he is dying…” Alejandro exclaims as he screams with anger.

  “To be honest...I don’t care about him...however, Valerie is sad, so I will take him home...”

  “Take him home? Don’t you see the state he’s in…he will die…” Alejandro exclaims as he hits the forcefield.

  Daniel chuckles; “You think you know my brother, but you know nothing…”

  Kasumi gets angrier and makes a katana appear, she walks towards Daniel and points at him with her Katana; “I’ve had enough, Daniel and Valerie, you claim to be his family, but I don’t think I can trust you...how can a family doesn’t do anything to help him...he is dying and you act so calm?”

  Daniel calmly looks at Kasumi; “Ms. Miyazono, you are pointing your sword at a young boy…”

  Fabiola runs towards Daniel’s side and exclaims towards Kasumi; “STOP IT, TRY TO STAY CALM! YOU WON’T HELP URIEL LIKE THAT!”

  “I don’t care...Daniel, you will give Uriel to us, with our technology, we will save his life…”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible...you see, my son doesn’t need any technology...he only needs time…” Kasumi and the others hear the voice of a woman, they turn around and see a beautiful woman with a black dress and red hair.

  Daniel and Valerie look surprised; “Mother, why are you here? How did you get here?”

  “Wow, what a babe...she’s Uriel’s mother?” Carlos looks at her with heart-shaped eyes. -PUUM- Chelsea hits Carlos’ stomach with her elbow; “You idiot…try to read the atmosphere here…”

  “Right…sorry…” Carlos apologizes as he grabs his stomach, feeling pain.

  Maria walks towards Kasumi, she smiles and puts her sword down. “Kasumi, my girl, please don’t make things more complicated, my son is going to be fine...I can see that it was a long night for everyone so let me give you a gift….”

  Maria lifts her right arm; “Oh Dios, sana la fatiga de tus hijos…” (Oh lord, heal the fatigue of your children…)

  Maria shines with a golden light, the golden light expands covering everyone. Soon everyone’s wounds and fatigue disappeared.

  “Incredible…this mana…is so warm…” Shion and Jairo stand up as they see Maria. Jairo chuckles: “So this is the power of the Scarlet Maiden…I never thought following the path of God can give you this power…”

  Fabiola looks at Maria and feels motivated; “I wonder if some day…I could be just like her…”

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Well, that should do it…” Maria walks towards Uriel, she puts her hand on the barrier; “Mi hijo, reckless like your father…”

  “Valerie, Daniel and Fabiola time to get going.” Maria says to the three of them. Valerie looks at Alejandro and winks at him:

  “Thank you for the dance…it was fun…and don’t worry…my brother will be okay…”

  “But Valerie…” Alejandro takes a step forward, Valerie hugs him; “Don’t follow us…we’ll be fine…”

  Valerie, Daniel and Fabiola get behind Maria; “Oh before we go…one last thing…”

  Maria looks at Kasumi; “Kasumi, don’t worry about him, he will be just fine...one more thing...the next time you point your sword at any of my children...You will receive divine punishment…”

  Maria looks at Kasumi with hollow eyes, Kasumi gets nervous and bows multiple times; “Right...I’m sorry...I’m sorry…”

  Maria waves at Yggdrasil; “BYE BYE!”

  A powerful wind current blows, creating a small sphere engulfing Maria and the others, soon they disappear in the blink of an eye. Leaving the members of Yggdrasil and Alejandro looking at the sky…

  ***************************************************************************

  Present…

  “niel...Daniel...DANIEL!” Daniel comes back to his senses, he looks at a girl with her arms crossed; “What do you want, Fabiola?”

  “Why do you always come here? This is a prohibited place you know…”

  “So what? I don’t bother anyone, and I don’t want anyone bothering me…”

  “Class is about to start, your mother told me to look after you…”

  “Yeah, yeah, but remember that I am coming here for another reason, not for school…”

  Daniel stands up, both of them start walking, Fabiola looks down; “You’re here, because you think that someone from our school has connections with the Shadowtamer right?”

  “Bingo...and that’s why I am searching for him or her...” Daniel takes out his cellphone; “You see…I decided to investigate a little…and I found out that there are similar mana spots located throughout the city…”

  Fabiola gets close to him feeling intrigued; “Oh wow…you can detect mana with your phone?”

  “I modified it…using Yggdrasil technology…I am able to detect mana patterns all over the city…with the Mission of San Juan being the highest mana source here…but that’s now the point here…” Daniel shows Fabiola a map of the city. The map has multiple circles that represent mana concentration; “Here is the map of Rio Grande city…I managed to save the mana emitting from the Shadowtamer on the day the Chupacabras attacked…”

  “I see…” Fabiola gets even closer to him and puts her hand on his arm, and her head on his shoulder. Daniel zooms the image:

  “Now then…the big purple spot is the mana that the Shadowtamer released. After analyzing the patterns, there are several spots I’ve been going to…” Daniel shows Fabiola the spots; “Unfortunately…I only found Sombras there…but not the Shadowtamer…”

  Daniel points at the school; “Now then…it’s been strange…but here is the Shadow tamer’s mana…and it’s located here in this school…”

  “Wait…are you saying the shadow tamer is a student here?” Fabiola lifts her head and looks Daniel in the eye. She immediately separates from him blushing; “Sorry…”

  “There might be a possibility, but I don’ know for sure…unfortunately…I can’t scan the mana from all the people here…and because the mana I detected is faint…impossible to perceive it like us…I don’t think even Uriel can detect it…but I will keep investigating…”

  Fabiola plays with her hands as she slowly asks; “Is there anything I can help…”

  “No...this is my mission, it’s better if you don’t get involved…”

  Fabiola lowers her head; “Oh...okay…”

  As Daniel and Fabiola walk down the hallway, as they are about to make a turn, an arm pulls Daniel and slams him in the wall.

  “Daniel…” Fabiola says with a worried face. Bofo from The Chuco Clan grabs Daniel’s shirt neck and lifts him to the point that his feet do not touch the ground.

  “Yo, Daniel...we have a favor to ask you…” Apa says with a sinister smile.

  “DANIEL!” Fabiola looks nervous at Daniel. Daniel calmly looks at Fabiola and sighs; “Fabiola, go back to class, this has nothing to do with you…”

  “But…”

  “You heard her missy...unless you want to get beaten up as well…” Tito loos at Fabiola, Fabiola nervously nods and continues to walk to their classroom.

  “Now then, what do you want? Judging the way, you are holding me Adolfo, you want something that I would likely say no, right?” Daniel says calmly, Apá begins to laugh:

  “Wow. you sure are smart, well you see...we need the answers of the homework that Ms. Gutierrez gave us...we didn’t do it because we were busy last night…”

  “Let me guess, you were slacking off at the corner of a street acting all high and mighty right?”

  “What did you say?” Apá gets angry,Bofo lifts Daniel more; “Hey, Apá asked a favor, it would be wise for you to say yes…”

  “Yeah, we need to turn in that homework, or we will fail….” Tito says to Daniel, Chuy who is falling asleep laughs; “Guys, I am so tired right now...that I could fall asleep standing…”

  “You already are an idiot…” Apá exclaims to Chuy who has sleepy eyes.

  “Alright, you convinced me...here…” Daniel takes out his homework and gives it to the Chuco Clan. Bofo lets go of him and the four of them copy Daniel’s homework.

  “There you go, see...I know you were smart, and you avoided a beatdown Daniel…” Apá has a smug on his face, feeling tough. Daniel nods in agreement; “Yeah yeah, come on hurry up before class starts…”

  They continue to copy it, Fabiola who is looking at him as she hides in the corner thinks; “Daniel, why are you helping those losers?”

  ***************************************************************************

  (RRRIIIINNNNGGGGG)

  “Okay guys...please hand over your homework and I will see you tomorrow…” Ms. Gutierrez, the Algebra teacher, announces to the classroom.

  Flor Gutierrez (30) is a beautiful woman with a curvy body, brown skin and long brown hair. She has dark yellow eyes, she wears office attire and always complains of being single.

  Every student begins to leave. Mariana looks at Naomi, a classmate:

  “Hey Naomi, want to go to eat some ice cream?”

  Naomi smiles and replies; “I’m sorry, I have other plans…”

  “Oh, well I will see you then?” Mariana feels down. Abril, along with other girls, get closer to Mariana; “Don’t feel bad sister, I’m sure she will eventually come with us…”

  “I know but she always rejects me…”

  “Mariana and Abril, go have some fun... however, you two don’t stay out too long…” Fabiola prepares her back pack, Abril looks at Fabiola; “You’re not going with us?”

  “I can’t...Sister Carolina asked me to buy some things for dinner…”

  “Okay, we’ll see you…” Mariana and Abril walk away, Fabiola looks at Daniel and asks:

  “Are you going home?”

  “Not yet...I still have some make-up work to do because I transfer late…”

  “Okay then, see you at dinner…” Fabiola leaves the classroom. The Chuco Clan also begins to leave, Apá stops in front of Daniel; “Hey nerd, don’t forget to do our homework for tomorrow ehh...otherwise...Bofo will talk to you…”

  “Yeah yeah, I know…”

  “Come on Apá, I want to go to the arcade…” Tito heads to the door, the four of them leave the classroom leaving Daniel and his teacher at the classroom.

  After 15 minutes, Daniel stands up and hangs out at his work. “Here you go, please check my answers, thank you for your time…”

  Ms. Gutierrez sighs and smiles; “Daniel, I don’t need to check your work, it’s clear that the week you have been assisting here that you are a genius...You can go to highschool and even college if you want to…”

  “Please teacher, I am not that smart…”

  “No need to be humble, but I must ask...Why are you here at this middle school?”

  “Please teacher, I am only coming here because my mom makes me…”

  “Yeah but…”

  “Please teacher, don’t pry into my life...unless you want me to ask why the “World Tree” in Rio Grande City?”

  Ms. Gutierrez opens her eyes widely and she is left speechless. Daniel begins to walk away; “See you tomorrow…”

  “Daniel, wait...how did you know?”

  “I know many things teacher...but don’t worry, your secret is safe with me…”

  Ms. Gutierrrez sits on her desk and chuckles; “I guess there’s no fooling him right Kasumi?”

  ***************************************************************************

  Mission of San Juan

  Daniel walks towards the Mission, the sun begins to set as he looks at his cellphone.

  (BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP)

  “It appears that there is no activity tonight...I wonder when will the Shadowtamer appear?”

  Daniel arrives at the Mission. He opens the door and walks in; “I’m home…”

  Maria walks towards him; “Welcome home my son…”

  “Is Valerie here yet?”

  “Not yet, but she will arrive soon?”

  “And Uriel?”

  “He is still training on the hills at the back of the Mission…”

  “I see…”

  Father Clemente passes by and sees Daniel; “Oh Daniel, welcome back, can you please help me with this paper?”

  “Do I have to?” Daniel whines, Maria touches his shoulder and says with a smile; “Of course you do..”

  “Fine…”

  Daniel sometimes helps Father Clemente’s finance, as they work, Father Clemente asks Daniel:

  “So, Daniel, do you like the school you are going to?”

  “Not really, it’s really easy and boring…”

  “Well, you are a genius, hahaha”

  Father Clemente stops laughing and looks at the wall with the picture of the sisters; “You know, I am really glad you decided to go attend that school. Now I feel calmer because the girls have someone strong who will protect them…I see everyone as my family but I feel that those three are my daughters...”

  “I only go there in search of the ShadowTamer...after that...I will leave the school…” Daniel replies to Father Clemente, Father Clemente chuckles; “I know, I know, but you should consider going to school but I must tell you that you must also act like a normal teenager…”

  Daniel stops writing and chuckles; “Father, that’s impossible for me...if you look around, nothing is normal…”

  “I’M HOME!” Valerie arrives at the Mission; she runs towards the dining hall and sees Daniel with Father Clemente.

  “DANIEL!” Valerie hugs Daniel. Daniel pushes her back; “Valerie…I can’t breathe…”

  Father Clemente stands up; “Hello Valerie, how was school?”

  “IT WAS ALRIGHT!” Valerie smiles as she goes and hugs Father Clemente; “My child, as energetic as always.”

  “WHERE IS BIG BROTHER? IS HE HOME YET?”

  “I’m afraid he's still training in the hills…” Father Clemente answers, Valerie puffs her cheeks; “Big Brother is always busy…”

  “I’m sure he will return soon…”

  Daniel looks at Valerie; “Mom said that once you arrive, go help her with the dinner…”

  “ALRIGHT!” Valerie runs energetically towards the kitchen. Daniel stands up; “I’m done…”

  “Thank you, Daniel...as for what we were discussing…”

  “Father, I’ll think about it…”

  Daniel walks outside, he takes out his cell phone, his cellphone has a radar that indicates where everyone is,-BEEP BEEP- Daniel smiles; “So he really is in the back, oh well...I guess I’ll give him some time…”

  “We’re home…” Mariana and Abril come into the Mission. Valerie runs excited; “Mariana, Abril...welcome home…”

  “VALERIE!” The sisters smile at her. She pulls their arms and makes them walk forward:

  “COME ON, I HAVE SOME NEW MAKEUP I WANTED TO SHOW YOU!”

  “Really? Alright…let’s use Mariana as a guinea pig…” Abril reacts with excitement, looking at Mariana:

  “Why always me…”

  The girls head to Valerie’s room.

  “Daniel...could you help me with dinner?” Maria asks Daniel who sighs; “Fine…”

  As Daniel sets up the table, Maria smiles; “I’m glad that you two came...I’m sure your brother feels the same way…”

  “If he did...he would be here, right? He hasn’t come in one week...” Daniel replies, Maria looks at Daniel and chuckles:

  “So, you are worried about him huh?”

  “Of course, not...I’m just worried that you are worried…” Daniel avoids looking at her. Maria goes to the kitchen:

  “I’m not worried, because I know he’s okay, besides I know that he wants to protect us just like you want to protect us…”

  Daniel looks out the window and thinks, “I hope so…”

  “Good evening, Daniel” Sister Carolina enters the dining room.

  Sister Carolina has white skin; she has black hair with dark green eyes.

  “Good evening, Sister…”

  “How was school today?”

  “It was okay…”

  “Good to hear...I hope you are having fun...please try to enjoy your time there, you are only a teenager once…”

  “I see…” Daniel replies as he remembers why he entered that school in the first place.

  ***************************************************************************

  February 17th; Mission of San Juan

  Three days after the attack on the school, Uriel was taken to the Mission where Sister Carolina attached medical equipment in order for Uriel to heal. Uriel with a breathing mask slept for three days until that morning…

  (BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP)

  Uriel slowly opens his eyes, he has a machine that helps him breathe, he looks around the room. He sees Daniel standing next to him, Daniel smiles:

  “So, You’re finally awake...Big Brother…”

  “Da...niel…” Uriel looks around and sees his room. He slowly lifts his body to sit.

  (BEEEEEPPPPP)

  The machine stops working, Uriel takes off his mask and the anesthetic; “How did I get here?”

  Uriel asks Daniel. Daniel, who was reading a book, closes it and turns to see Uriel who is covered in bandages:

  “Well, you were badly injured by Ian Constantine, you almost died…”

  Daniel chuckles, Uriel chuckles as well:

  “I wish that would be true, but unfortunately, I can’t die…”

  “You got a point...but remember, that I can kill you…”

  Uriel smiles: “I know…so what happened to the others”

  “The others are fine...The members of Yggdrasil were unharmed…and Alejandro was annoying as well. The girl from the Ysleta tribe is also okay, but really annoying...she came two days ago to ask about you…”

  “I see, what about Valerie?”

  “She’s alright...worried about you...but thanks to you...she was unharmed…”

  Uriel looks at Daniel, Daniel continues to speak:

  “Now then, Uriel, the girl you saw was a Shadowtamer right?”

  “Nothing slips past you right?”

  “I already did some investigation, and she is here in Rio Grande City.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Well, I did some investigation and that girl wonders in the streets near Del Valle Middle School…at least that’s what the people of the region say...that girl changes locations sometimes...but every time, people comment on seeing a student wearing a school uniform going into an abandoned house…”

  “I see, thank you for letting me know, I will…”

  “You will do nothing…” Daniel points at Uriel, Uriel is surprised and asks; “But why? This is my responsibility.”

  “No it isn’t, at least not anymore…” Daniel stands up, and continues to speak:

  “I will investigate the girl, I am planning on going to that school, that’s where the three sisters go...so it will be easy...I plan to investigate her location and then tell you…”

  Uriel is surprised and asks; “Why are you helping me?”

  “Because...that girl is a danger to the people I care about and that makes me angry...therefore, for me…it’s personal…”

  Uriel chuckles: “Daniel, you really care about people huh?”

  “Of course, I do...she is my family, mom as well and even y…” Daniel turns around, avoiding looking at Uriel.

  Daniel walks to the door; “Uriel, you risked your life to protect Valerie, I may not trust you yet, but I owe you one…”

  “Well thank you...brother…” Uriel says as he lies back down.

  “Shut up...you idiot…” Daniel replies looking away.

  (PPPUUMM)

  “UUURRRIIIEEELLLL WWAAAHHHH” Valerie enters the room and runs to hug Uriel.

  “Valerie, I can’t breathe…”

  “Big Brother, why did you do something so reckless...I thought you were going to die…”

  “Valerie, I won’t die so easily…”

  “Valerie, please stand back, this is embarrassing…” Daniel grabs Valerie’s shoulder, she stops hugging Uriel and continues to cry; “I can’t help it, it’s just I didn’t want to lose my brother again…”

  Uriel smiles and pats her head; “I promise you that I won’t die…”

  “Really?”

  “I swear it…”

  Valerie smiles, the other members of the Mission enter the room, including Maria who has tears in her eyes.

  “Thank God, you are alright” Sister Carolina smiles, the three sisters also cry as they see him doing well.

  “Thank God, you’re okay, but Uriel…” Father Clemente walks in the room, he looks with a serious expression and continues to speak:

  “Young lad, what you did was reckless...facing a Ghoul all by yourself without knowing its true abilities...you just make me worried…”

  Uriel looks at the faces of the Sisters, Valerie and his Mother who has tears in their eyes. He then realizes that they actually were worried about him:

  “I’m sorry...I just wanted to fight him because...I felt anger…”

  Father Clemente puts his hand on his shoulder, and continues to speak:

  “Listen boy, it’s okay to face tough opponents, but remember, you don’t have to do this on you own always...you have us to guard your back...”

  Everyone nods in agreement except for Daniel who only looks at him. Uriel sighs and repeats his words; “I’m sorry, I made you worried, I’m sorry mother…”

  Uriel stands up, “What are you doing, you must rest…” Valerie desperately says to Uriel. Uriel puts his black shirt on and his shoes.

  “I’m sorry, but I must go to the hills and train…”

  “Why? You just woke up after three days, why do you have to go?” Valerie once again cries.

  “After facing Ian…I realized that I am weak…I need to get stronger in order to protect you guys, if I don’t...I’m afraid that I will lose everyone…”

  Uriel looks at her and thinks; “I guess...having the feeling of protecting someone isn’t so bad…”

  “But?” Maria puts her hand on Valerie’s shoulder, she walks towards Uriel and with a silent expression looks at him.

  Uriel looks at her; “Don’t try to stop me mother...I need to do this…”

  “I know, but promise me that you will visit once in a while and eat with us...I want to see my son…” Maria smiles at Uriel, Uriel sighs and replies; “Very well...I will…”

  Daniel looks at Uriel and thinks; “Uriel, do you really mean what you say?”

  *************************************************************************

  March 2nd, Del Valle Middle School

  The next day it was a normal day of school...Daniel and the three sisters had normal classes...It was the last period of the school day when an incident happened that triggered a chain of events…

  “Alright guys...I will pass down yesterday’s homework…” Ms. Gutierrez says to the class. The members of the Chuco Clan have a confident face because they know that the homework they turn in was copied from Daniel.

  Ms. Gutierrez passes the homework to each student; “I must say, many of you guys did good, and some did great...Congratulations Daniel, you got a perfect score…”

  The students begin to clap at him and the girls cheer, Daniel with an expressionless face only says ‘Thank you’ and puts it away.

  “If Daniel got a perfect score, that means we will also have perfect scores as well...fufufu” Apá laughs with confidence.

  Ms. Gutierrez continues to speak; “Unfortunately, not all of you did a good job, in fact, four of you got a zero…”

  Ms. Gutierrez hands over the papers to the Chuco Clan. Apá slowly opens his eyes; “That’s a hundred for you….” Suddenly, he opens his eyes wider and screams:

  “WWWWHHHAAATTTT?”

  The homework has the score of an “0” meaning that they failed. Apá looks at his group and everyone has a “0”, Tito and Bofo look worried at Apá, Chuy sleeps once again.

  “Diego, Adolfo, Victor, and Jesus. Please stay after class… I need to talk to you…” Ms. Gutierrez says to the four of them. Apá looks at Daniel with fury:

  “That son of a bitch, he set us up…he will pay…”

  (RRRRRIIINNNGGGGG)

  The bell rang, and everyone decided to go home, everyone except the Chuco Clan…

  “Listen boys, I want to help you but it’s clear that you don’t want to do better in your classes, your parents pay a lot of money for you four to study in this prestigious school and yet you act like delinquents.” Ms. Gutierrez scolds the Chuco Clan, the members only sit there looking down.

  “Diego, you have intelligence and leadership, you must do better in class. Victor, you are the smartest, you should easily get “100” on each quiz. Jesus, you may be a slacker and always sleeping but when you have the determination, you can do anything. Finally Adolfo, I know it’s difficult, but if you let me, I can tutor you and with your athletic abilities, you can easily be a professional athlete…”

  Apá (Diego) trembles as he only thinks; “Damn you Daniel, we will get our revenge...tonight…”

  “You guys may leave, but starting tomorrow, you will be tutored by me after class.” Ms. Gutierrez smiles at them, the Chuco Clan stands up and walks to the hallway.

  (PPPUUUMMM)

  “DAMNIT! FUCK YOU DANIEL!” Apá hits the wall with anger. The other three look concerned.

  “Aww man…our parents will kill us…” Tito scratches his head:

  “What do we do now Apá?”

  “What do you think we will do you idiot…” Apá begins to walk with the three of them following him; “WE ARE GOING TO KILL DANIEL!”

  ***************************************************************************

  It’s after school, the sun slowly begins to set...Daniel Di Fiore walks slowly down the street, the street has nothing special, only houses and a grocery store. He heads uphill because he is going home. That part of the city is humble, meaning that there are no fancy houses or fancy cars.

  Daniel looks at his phone without any care of the world. Following a few blocks away, a group of four students slowly gain up on him:

  “Ready guys?” Apá and the Chuco Clan prepare to attack.

  “Yeah Apá” Bofo resplies as he and Tito prepare the rope.

  Daniel looks at his phone and smiles; “Everything is set... now it’s time for the show…”

  Daniel stops walking and turns around; “I know you are following me...so come out…”

  -TCH- “He knew we were following him?” Apá thinks to himself, everyone except Chuy comes out. Daniel notices that but he pretends he doesn’t care.

  “It’s you guys...what do you want?”

  “Yo, Daniel...I will need to come with us for only a few minutes…”

  “And if I refuse?”

  Bofo steps forward; “I’m afraid that is not an action…” Tito also steps forward and smiles; “YEAHH”

  Daniel is very cautious; he knows that he is at a disadvantage because it’s three against one. But his disadvantage is that he doesn’t want to show his skills.

  “Daniel...you will pay for what you did to us...NOW!”

  Suddenly, Daniel sees a shadow from above, Chuy jumps from the ceiling, and surprises Daniel; “What the...when did he?”

  Chuy with a more aggressive expression laughs; “I GOT YOU!”

  Daniel avoids Chuy’s attack, but Chuy jumps really quickly towards him, Daniel jumps back, but Bofo and Tito were expecting that.

  Bofo and Tito grab Daniel’s arms, Chuy proceeds and quickly ties his hands with a rope. With an aggressive look similar to a maniac, Chuy begins to say:

  “I GOT YOU; I GOT YOU NOW! NOW I WILL KILL YOU!”

  “STOP CHUY...THAT’S ENOUGH!” Apá walks forward, Bofo and Tito force Daniel up to his knees. Chuy soon changes his expression into a calm and sleepy one.

  “Good job guys, we got him now…”

  Daniel chuckles: “You guys are more sharp than I imagine, I thought you were idiots…”

  (PPUUUMMM)

  Apá punches Daniel’s face; “SHUT UP…YOU SON OF A BITCH! THIS IS FOR WHAT YOU DID TO US!”

  He proceeds to kick him multiple times; “Pick him up, let’s go now...we’re to have a chat…”

  Bofo picks up Daniel on his shoulder and walks with the others towards their hiding spot, leaving Daniel’s backpack behind. Inside his backpack, there was a GPS device that revealed his location.

  ***************************************************************************

  Heading towards the Mission as well...Fabiola, Mariana and Abril walk uphill…

  “School was really fun today...I like P.E. so much, playing handball was fun...right Mariana” Abril, with an energetic attitude comment to Mariana who has a shy face:

  “Y-Y-Yes...but I really don’t like running that much…”

  “I know...I know...but you did well being the goalkeeper…”

  “Yeah...but we lost 15-8...I think I failed…”

  “No sister, you did great…” Abril hugs Mariana, making her feel better. Fabiola who is walking a few steps ahead of the other two days; “Well you two did a good job...however...you must take things more seriously...I really hate to lose…”

  Mariana lowers her head and replies; “S-S-Sorry…”

  Abril chuckles: “Oh come on...you only act like that because when we were playing... your shorts tore off from behind revealing your “bear” panties…”

  Fabiola suddenly gets embarrassed; “SHUT UP...I TOLD YOU FORGET ABOUT THAT…”

  Abril laughs: “Fabiola, you really are an unlucky girl…”

  “SHUT UP SHUT UP” Fabiola sits on the ground feeling embarrassed; “You’re right...I try to act mature but the things that sometimes happen to me are really childish…”

  Abril continues to laugh, Mariana notices something in the middle of the street; “Hey sisters, what is that?”

  The sisters hurry and see a backpack; “That’s Daniel’s backpack, right?” Mariana asks Fabiola. Fabiola examines it and replies; “That’s his alright...but why is it here?”

  “Maybe he dropped it because he needed to go to the restroom…” Abril jokes around, Mariana expresses concern; “That isn’t funny Abril, maybe he is in danger…”

  “Mariana is right...we need to let Maria know…” Fabiola states to the other two who nod in agreement; however, they hear a sound coming from the backpack.

  (BEEP BEEP BEEP)

  “What 's that?” Abril asks Fabiola, they open the backpack and see a GPS device that says Daniel. “That’s one of his weird devices…” Fabiola says to Abril; “I think it’s Daniel’s GPS, is that his location there…”

  “It appears to be...it’s just two blocks away…”

  “Maybe we should head over and see what has happened to him?” Mariana asks worriedly, Abril nods in agreement, Fabiola has her doubts for a second but immediately nods.

  “Okay, but if we see it’s dangerous, we go ask for help okay…”

  Mariana and Abril nod in agreement, with determination, the three sisters head towards Daniel’s location.