Lost and Found

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap................

BOOM.

The sounds of frantic running and labored breathing could be heard down an alleyway in Los Angeles that sunny day, only a few blocks away from UCLA. It had been a beautiful, peaceful day, but that had all ended when a certain female student at UCLA took one step outside her dorm. With that one step, she had set all hell loose. And it was coming to kill her.

Mia Parker burst out of the alleyway and onto the street with a gasp; a monster machine gun with a white dragon printed on either side in her right hand. Behind her, a giant bear-monster was attempting to force its way through the alleyway to catch up with her. It howled and roared, tearing  up the walls and concrete as it tried relentlessly to free itself from the tight jam it had wedged itself into. It appeared as though it wanted to rip Mia apart like a peice of paper, and judging from the amount of damage it had caused to the areas it passed through, it would have no trouble doing so if given the chance.

Mia hadn't even stop running when she hurriedly came forth from the alleyway. She just kept running, as she had been for hours now, trying her best to escape the bear-thing that wanted her dead. Mia had been through ordeals like this, so she naturally had the stamina to run like heck for hours and hours without getting tired, but even now she was begining feel the strain this was putting on her body. She was getting tired, but her phone was dead so she had no way to call for help. Her only option was to keep running, running......

"Oof."

Mia had been watching out behind her for her attacker and hadn't noticed the long-haired red-headed girl leaning leisurely on her motorcycle right ahead of her, and promptly plowed into her. 

"Hey! Whaddya think your doing, Speedy Gonzales?" the red-head demanded, stoping Mia from going any further. She seemed to be totally oblivious to the gigantic machine gun Mia was hauling around.

"I don't have time....... I'm going to be killed...... That thing, over there......" Mia panted frustratedly, and as if on cue the giant bear monster burst from the alleyway with an infuriated roar and began charging Mia without missing a beat.

"Woah-ho-ho; that's some freaky bis, brah." The red head commented. Mia raised her gun and aimed straight for the beast's head, pulled the trigger, and sent a barrage of bullets blasting for the creature. Only, they weren't normal metal bullets; they were bullets made of light. Mia kept the onslaught up, not missing a single shot. Only a few shots did any actual damage; however, and she only managed to slow the monster down. "Here, lemme help out." the red-head commented. She reached down and touched the ground with one hand; causing huge metal restraints to shoot up from the concrete around the monster and pin it down to the ground. Mia could only gawk at the spectacle, while the redhead pumped her fists in the air. "OH YEAH!!! Just wait until I shove THIS in that pond scum's face!" she exclaimed. "Hey you; need a lift? I'm getting a vibe that that that thing doesn't like you, and it probably ain't too happy with me, either. We should probably get outta here before he breaks free." she commented, grabbing a black helmet off the back of her bike.

".....One question. What did you say your name was again?" Mia asked, turning to look at the girl, who grinned widely.

"Name's Juliet Winthrop; time-traveler and Alchemist Extrodinare! Pleasure to meet you." she responded in a loud tone, and with that she slipped her black helmet on.

"Mia Parker; Mage. Good to meet you, too." Mia replied. "I'll sit backwards and fend the Gail off from the back. No helmet." she added as she took a seat behind Juliet, who had already climbed into place, on the motorcycle. 

"Sounds like a plan." Juliet nodded. "I'm assuming that a "Gail" is that thing." she observed, shooting a glance over to the creature. Mia nodded "yes" in response, and with that, Juliet gunned the bike and the duo sped away from the struggling Gail, who had already broken a few of the restraints.

Mia held her gun at her side as she and Juliet practically flew away from the scene of the attack. She knew that she had almost no chance of beating this Gail by herself, and where there was one, there had to be more. She knew she had to warn the other mages, but with her phone battery being totally drained she had no way to get the word out. She sighed and then nudged Juliet, wanting to make use of the short time they had before the Gail decided to strike again.

"Hey, do you have a phone on you that I could borrow?" Mia asked. "I need to make a call and mine's dead." 

"Sure! Just hang on a mo." Juliet responded cheerily. She pulled her own phone out of the breast pocket of her black leather jacket and proceeded to check it. She had one missed call, but she wasn't to worried about it; mainly because of the person who had called. "I think I only have enough battery left for one call, so have at it." she told Mia, who carefully took the phone from Juliet. She took a deep breath and started punching in a few numbers.

---------------------

Dylan Frock sat alone that day in his living quarters on the 20th floor of Hydra Airlines Headquarters; high above the streets of New York City. He was only 20 years old and already held the very high-ranking job of CFO at Hydra, which meant that he was generally busy most of the time. He had finished most of his paperwork for the day, however, and he was now sitting on the couch, unsure of what to do with himself.

Dylan sighed. Ever since his girlfriend had moved to LA, his life had been incredibly empty and quiet. She had recieved a full-ride to UCLA and he couldn't blame her for taking it, but now they were so far apart that it was practically killing them both on the inside, despite the fact that they managed to keep in decent contact. He had managed to visit her about two weeks prior, at which time he had been introduced to her wackjob roommates, but now he just missed her even more. Dylan sighed again, put his head back, and began to let himself relive all the wonderful memories he had shared with his girlfriend before she had gone away. He was jus just beginning to lose himself in his memories when his cellphone began ringing; jolting him back into reality. He answered the call and held it up to his ear with ought even looking at it, followed by a disgruntled, "Hello?"

"Dylan?" a female voice which was slightly being drowned out by the sound of a motor in the background responded.

"Mia! How are you?" Dylan exclaimed, happy to hear her voice again. She always seemed to somehow know when he was thinking about her. He hated the fact that she was so out of reach, but he was happy that she kept him updated. He looked at the number on his phone and immediately realized that she wasn't calling from her phone, however, which was odd for her. "Hey Mia, whose phone is this? And why do I hear a motor in the background?"

"My phone died and I'm in no position to charge it right now. I borrowed my new 'acquaintance's' phone." Mia replied over the din of the engine. "I need you to listen to me, I'm in a lot of trouble-" she began to explain, but she was cut off by a noise that Dylan could hear faintly in the background.

"Mia, he's coming back.........." another female voice could be heard warning.

"Mia, what's going on? Who is that with you?" Dylan questioned suspiciously, beginning to grow worried for her safety.

"I can't talk much longer; I need you to listen to me just in case I don't make it. You have to warn everybody that they're back. Call Henry, call Wolf, call Jeremy and Iruu..... YOU HAVE TO WARN THEM!!!" Mia rushed to explain. She seemed out-of-breath and frightened, like something had been chasing her down. "Dont come looking for me. Just please, tell everyone they're back and stay on guard..... I have to go. Please, please just tell everyone what I told you!"

"Where are you?!? Don't you hang up!!! What's going on?!?! Who's 'they'?!?!?!? ANSWER ME, MIA!!!!" Dylan demanded frantically. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get any answers.

"I'm really sorry, and I just want you to know that, in case I don't see you again-" Mia began to say, but she was once again cut off by the noise, now sounding much closer than it had been. "-I LOVE YOU."

"MIA, IF YOU DON'T SHOOT THAT GAIL IN THE FACE WITHIN THE NEXT TEN SECONDS WE'RE GOING TO BE SO DE-" The second female voice screamed frustratedly, the last word of her statement cut off as the line went dead.

"Mia?!? MIA?!?!? MIA!!!! ANSWER ME DAMN IT!!!!!!!!" Dylan screamed at the top of his lungs, but he knew in his heart that she couldn't hear him. The call had ended, and for all he knew Mia could be..... No. He wasn't going to even think like that. This had to be a prank of some sort... But, what was that the second voice had said? He closed his eyes and thought back....

"...IF YOU DON'T SHOOT THAT GAIL..."

"GAIL?!?!?!?" Dylan thought frantically. Gails meant death to mages like he and Mia, especially when they were alone. Gails were creatures who were supposed to kill off magicians in order to preserve balance in the world, so they meant trouble when they came around. However, it had been a long time since any had reared their ugly, bear-like heads. "She wanted to warn me..... To warn everybody....." Dylan muttered in shock. If Mia was being chased by a Gail, it would very much explain most of the phone call he had just received. He quickly stood up, knowing that he had to go help her, even if she didn't want him to. He could easily send messages to the other magicians later; to warn them about Gail attacks. For now, there was only one destination Dylan had in mind. Using a talent both he and Mia referred to as "Shadow Travel" (since they both had Shadow Magic, they could both use it; however, Mia's couldn't reach more than a fragment of the distance Dylan's could and was mostly used for offensive purposes), Dylan prepared to send himself to the only destination he had in mind: Los Angeles.

---------------------

Derek Blarot shuffled down the streets of LA alone, keeping an eye out for a certain fiery female coworker of his. He sighed as he walked along, occasionally taking a quick glance at his phone. He ran his fingers through his mussy silvery-grey hair and sighed. "Why did she choose now, of all times, to take a random vacation? And to LA of all places!" he groaned to himself in his head. He looked up into the midday sky and found himself worrying for her slightly more than he felt he ought to be, but ignored the notion and carried on with the search.

It had been hard for Derek to not notice that certain hard-headed coworker of his missing, especially when he had woken up to complete and utter silence the preceding morning; and now Chronos, their boss, had tasked him with tracking her down.  In all reality, Derek would have most likely gone looking for her on his own accord, so the order from Chronos was more or less a formality.

Derek took another glance at his phone. He had called the energetic ball of spazz earlier, but she hadn't picked up. He now  began to wonder if her phone had maybe died, or if she was just ignoring him as usual. He really wished that she wouldn't do that. He considered calling her again, but before he could make up his mind he heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle engine approaching from just down the street...

"Ah, good; that must be her now." Derek sighed, immensely relieved that he had finally found who he was looking for. It was short-lived relief, because not two seconds later he heard somebody shouting, "..., IF ...OU DON'T SHOOT TH............ FACE WITHIN TWO SECONDS ......ARE SO DEAD!!!!!!" within the same vicinity. Derek couldn't quite make out every word that was shouted because of the overpowering engine noise, but he felt certain that it belonged to the person he was looking for. And then, as if on cue, the black motorcycle turned a corner and headed straight for him. The rider's face was covered by their helmet, but the telltale streak of red hair flowing out of it banished every doubt Derek had. This was indeed who he was looking for.

And then, he heard the gunshots.

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked frantically at the oncoming motorcycle, but the driver appeared to be fine. He waited until it was only a few feet away from him, then cupped his hands over his mouth and took a deep breath.

"JULIET!" Derek shouted as the cycle approached him, but the driver didn't seem to react much more than shoot him a passing glance. She and her passenger sped right past him..........

Wait. Passenger?

Time seemed to slow to a stop as the motorcycle rode past him, giving Derek a good look at the duo on the vehicle. The first was a young, natural redhead girl with a black helmet. There was no doubt in Derek's mind that this was Juliet Winthrop, the girl he had come searching for. The young girl sitting backwards on the back of Juliet's bike was a new face to him, however. She had light-brown/blond hair and she was holding a huge, nasty-looking machine gun, from what he could see. Time then seemed to suddenly speed up again and the motorcycle charged forward, made a hard and precarious left, and then disappeared from view; leaving Derek behind to wonder what in the heck was going on. As he did, a huge rush of wind that couldn't have come from the cycle blasted past him suddenly, leaving Derek even more confused.

---------------------

*RATATATATATATATATAATATAT*

"Did you hit it?!?!" Juliet shouted at Mia behind her as they rushed up the street, the Gail hot on their tracks. Mia, who still had her gun pointed in the direction she had seen the Gail coming from, returned her gun to one hand and sighed.

"I think maybe once or twice, but he went invisible on me and fell back." Mia growled. "It's a defense mechanism, like an advanced form of a chameleon's color change. Keep your guard up, cause now we can't see him." she cautioned, throwing a quick, malicious glance at her surroundings.

Not too long after that, Juliet heard a familiar voice calling out to her.....

"JULIET!"

Juliet only threw a quick glance at the "200-Year-Pond-Scum", then switched into a higher and faster gear to pass him by.

"......Do you know that guy?" Mia questioned as they made their way past the silvery-grayish haired youth. 

"That is not a 'guy'; that is pond scum. Unfortunately, I work with him." Juliet sulked, making a pouty face behind her helmet visor as she veered left. "Of course, I just knew he'd have to show up and try to drag me back. Why aren't I surprised." she snarled in her head. Juliet wasn't a huge fan of things she didn't understand, and Derek Blarot happened to be one of the things she understood the least.

"Ah." Mia responded. She was keeping a dedicated eye out for their pursuer, who was definitely taking its time in revealing itself.......

---------------------

Dylan appeared just outside a specific dorm located within the East Wing of "Building A", located on the UCLA campus. This was, in fact, Mia's dorm (which he had visited two weeks prior), and he hoped that the three other inhabitants of this room might have a clue as to where his Mia had gone. He shivered as he thought back to his visit and the unpleasant encounter he had with Mia's three off-the-wall roommates. Just being in the same building as Mia again had been totally worth it, but those three girls were not easily forgotten once met.

With a deep breath, Dylan finally brought his hand up and gave the door a good knocking; to which, at first, there was no reply. The door finally opened slightly to reveal a sliver of the face of Rhea Fuery, who was absolutely the dominant female in the dorm. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "What do you want?" 

"Just lemme in. I have some questions to ask." Dylan growled. He wasn't about to take any of Rhea's nonsense at the moment; not when Mia's life could have very well been at stake. Rhea looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then opened the door and begrudgingly let him inside. Once he stepped in, he saw Kate Sterling and Skylar Reed; both sitting on there beds and making an attempt at studying. Kate seemed to have lost all interest in favor of watching a butterfly out the window, and Skylar just seemed more interested in sleeping. They both looked up when he entered, their eyes asking him all the things they were thinking.

"Hey! Mia-Mia's boyfriend is here!" Kate giggled. She had the temperament and personality of a five-year-old, but she was actually quite smart when she needed to be.

"Yeah, what gives? Shouldn't you like, you know, be WITH her or something?" Skylar added, still giving him a questioning look.

"I'd love to be with her right now, but I'd have to know where she was to do that!" Dylan snapped, the torrent of emotion inside of him leaking out slightly with his words. Rhea, Skylar, and Kate both jumped back at his outburst. Normally, Dylan was very calm, and despite how crazy his emotions were on the inside, he was very good at making himself look perfectly alright in the most dire of times. "...I'm sorry. I got a call from Mia and I'm a total wreck at the moment." Dylan sighed apologetically.

"WAIT; MIA-MIA IS MISSING?! YOU LOST HER!?!?" Rhea cried out angrily, looking about ready to kill Dylan where he stood. Rhea thought of all her roommates as family, especially Mia (Rhea thought of herself as a sort of "father figure" to Mia).

"You don't have any clue where she is?!?!" Skylar exclaimed, also looking like she wanted to murder Dylan. Kate sort of just sat in a strange position on her bed as if she couldn't comprehend what was going on here; her facial expression one of shock.

"If I did have a clue where she had gone, would I be here right now?!" Dylan exclaimed defensively, slowly approaching his last nerve.

"SHH, guys. I'm trying to call her." Rhea hissed as she punched the speed-dial button that she had Mia's number set to. She held the phone up to her ear, but it wasn't long at all before she let it fall from her face. "Dead. It has to be, she never turns her phone off." she muttered, he face in complete and utter shock.

Dylan thought back to the phone call he had gotten from Mia. "My phone died and I'm in no position to charge it..." 

"That's right. She told me that when she called." Dylan growled frustratedly, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. "She called from someone else's phone.... And there was another female with her. I think they were on a motorcycle." he added, trying to wrap his mind around the situation. "You guys have been living with her recently; do you have any clue of where she might be going?"

"Hold on. You're telling me she was on a motorcycle?" Rhea questioned with an eyebrow raised skeptically.

"I don't personally know anyone with a motorcycle here at UCLA......" Skylar commented, deep in thought. 

"I think she said she was being chased by something... Or someone." Dylan remarked in response, trying not to reveal too much about the Gails or Mia and his identities as magicians. "The other girl... I heard her say something like 'He's coming back..........' Do you guys have any clue where she might go if she was trying to get away from something? Was she acting weird before she left?"

"Slow down, pal. One question at a time." Rhea remarked flatly. "I don't know of any specific place in the city where she might have gone to hide..... I suspect she might have been in one of the local alleyways if she was attacked though." she mused in thought. "And you'll have to ask Skylar and Kate about before Mia left. I just got back from a test not five minutes before you knocked on the door."

"She was studying before she left, like she usually is. She was getting frustrated with something, I think, and she told me she was going to go walk it off." Skylar explained. Kate had just been listening to the whole conversation quietly, barely even breathing as she sat on her bed.

Dylan stood quietly, absorbing all this information. "...Okay. I'm going to go start looking for Mia in the streets. You guys stay here and wait to see if she comes back, and if she doesn't than maybe do a sweep of the campus to see if she's there somewhere." he stated as he walked over to the door.

"Right. If you find anything, tell us." Rhea replied seriously with a nod.

"I will; and same to you. Thanks for the help." Dylan nodded back, and with that he opened the door and prepared to go.

"Please find Mia-Mia!" Kate suddenly blurted after all the time she had stayed silent. Dylan took a second to nod at her, then left the room; shutting the door behind him. Once in the hall, Dylan waited until he was alone and the shadow warped onto the streets to be gin his search for Mia.

---------------------

Mia and Juliet were now blasting away from LA at full-throttle, still attempting to escape the Gail. Mia had her machine gun locked and loaded, just waiting for the chance to pump the bear-monster full of light bullets. The Gail had sustained more damage as the duo had led him through LA on a clumsy rampage, and he had fallen back to try and recuperate from his injuries.

"So, I'm going to hazard a guess and say that your in college?" Juliet asked Mia over the roar of the engine. They obviously had a little time, and Juliet wanted to find out a little more about her strange passenger.

"Yeah; UCLA. How about you?" Mia responded while keeping a focused eye out for the Gail. 

"Yale. I live up in that area and that's where my work is. I needed a vacation so I came to Cali." Juliet confirmed casually, brushing some red hair from her shoulder.

"No kidding? Fork me; my home city is New York! I'm here in the West Coast because I got a full ride to UCLA. If all works out, I plan on going home once I'm finished with school." Mia snorted, amused by this little coincidence.

"Alright! East Coast for the win!!" Juliet laughed. "I guess it really is a small world!" 

She paused for a moment. "So hey, what did you say earlier when you called yourself a 'Mage'?" Juliet inquired, wanting to know what that could possibly mean.

"...That's hard to explain. You see, I'm a magician; but I'm not all smoke and mirrors like the fakers you might associate with the term 'magician'." Mia began explaining. "My magic is a real and supernatural power; defined by a certain element. ...Well, in my case two. My element encompasses both Light Magic and 'Dark' Magic or Shadow Magic." Mia continiued.

"Cool; that explains why your machine gun shoots light instead of bullets." Juliet mused. "I sorta know what you mean by Magic; my Alchemy is basically a Magic in itself. I can use it to create things from other similar substances." 

"I can create weapons and occasionally shields or walls with my magic because I have manipulator magic. It works similarly to what you said about your Alchemy." Mia responded. She spotted something out of her peripheral vision as she finished talking and redirected the barrel of her gun towards it. 

"I guess it really is a small world!" Juliet snickered. She opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could she was cut off by the sharp sound of Mia unleashing a flurry of light bullets from her gun and the pained roars of the freshly-shot Gail. "Nice shot!!! You're a pretty handy shot with that big ol' thing, aren't ya?" Juliet complimented. 

"Thanks; it took years of practice with handguns. I just recently got strong enough to use machine guns with my Magic." Mia called back with a slight smile. The Gail rushed the motorcycle once again, only to be met with a shower of bullets. Mia had been using a lot of her magic and she was starting to feel the effects, but there was no backing down for her right now. She had to make sure that she and Juliet at least made it to some shelter before she rested, no matter how fatigued it would make her. As she prepared herself for the Gail's next charged, she began to wonder if Dylan was alright in the back of her mind. She sighed. As of now, there was only one thing she knew for certain:

She wouldn't be seeing him for a while.

---------------------

Dylan moved down the street at an extremely fast pace, looking desperately for any little clue pertaining to Mia's whereabouts. The more he found nothing, the more frustrated and guilty he began to feel about this whole mess. "Maybe if I had gone to visit her before she left her dorm..... Maybe if I had been there when the Gail attacked..... Maybe if we weren't so far apart......" he began to think sadly as he marched along. The last thing exhoed in his mind for a bit, but he pushed these thoughts away, as he couldn't let anything distract him from finding Mia at that point. That was all that mattered. 

He was so distracted by his search that he failed to notice the other young-looking male with the oddly colored hair coming towards him; looking a bit distressed.....

---------------------

Derek walked slowly  down the street, trying desperately to figure out what might have been going on with Juliet. "I know she doesn't like me all that much, but she didn't even slow down when she passed me... She didn't even scream something like '200-Year-Old-Pond-Scum!', or something to  that effect. She didn't even stop to throw her jacket al me like she normally does... And who was that other girl with her? There's something wrong here." he thought to himself, puzzling over what might have been going on. He had his eyes on his feet, so he didn't notice the oncoming stranger walking towards him...

*bump*

"Ouch, I pulled a muscle in that shoulder....." Derek heard a voice say after he bumped into another person while walking distracted. The guy he bumped into seemed normal enough. He was tall and slender, had short, _____ hair, and he seemed to be just as distracted as Derek himself was. It took Derek a few seconds to register all this, AND the fact that he had just bumped into this person, before he even made comment or attempted to apologize.

"Oh- Really sorry about that. I was thinking about something and wasn't watching where I was going." Derek sighed apologetically. He really hoped that this guy wasn't some college brawler who was always looking for a fight, or this day had just been made that much worse for him. 

"Nah, it's cool. I wasn't really paying enough attention, either." the other guy shrugged. "If anything, it was my fault; sorry about that." he added.

 "No problem." Derek shrugged. He really wanted to move on so that he could work on figuring out what was wrong with Juliet, and he was about to get on with that; however, it occurred to him that the stranger had come from the same direction that Juliet had been coming from earlier when she had driven past him. Derek began to think that maybe, if he was lucky, this stranger had seen something that would explain why Juliet was riding around with a girl sporting a machine gun on the back of her bike. He opened his mouth to speak, but the stranger began asking a question before he could manage even one word.

" Hey, have you passed a- I mean -two girls on a motorcycle? Like, anywhere around here? Or even anywhere in the city?" The stranger asked. His face appeared calm, but his eyes showed that he was almost desperate for an answer. Derek looked at him. Had this guy really seen Juliet?

"Yeah, they passed me earlier. Why; did you see them earlier?" Derek responded, trying to sound casual and not totally desperate. He didn't want this guy to get suspicious of him, but at the same time he really wanted to know what was going on.

"W-wait. You did?! Did one of them have shoulder-length blondish light-brown hair!?!" The stranger exclaimed. He had lost his calm demeanor somewhat as he waited impatiently for an answer.

Derek blinked. The young man's sudden change in demeanor completely threw him for a loop. Perhaps he knew Juliet's young passenger? Did she hold some significance to him?

"...I have a feeling that we both have information that could be useful to each other,  but I think it would be a better idea if we found a more private place to talk. For safety matters." Derek finally spoke in a serious tone. "Somewhere out of the public eye... Not like a cafe or anything. Maybe an abandoned warehouse or..."

"-How about an old, shut-down storeroom on UCLA's campus? It's been deemed structurally unsafe, so NOBODY goes back there anymore." the young man suddenly cut in eagerly. Once again, Derek was a little taken aback by the other young man's... "enthusiasm", but he assumed he had his reasons. He nodded as his response, but instead of walking off to UCLA, the other young man just closed his eyes. After only a few moments, the shadows surrounding them began to quiver and tremble; becoming drawn to the pair and rising from the ground. Derek could only watch them, shocked, while taking a slightly awkward offensive pose. Whatever was happening, he had no clue how to counter it.

---------------------

Juliet grunted slightly as she trudged deeper into a cave that she had discovered not to long ago; the heavy and limp form of her completely unconscious partner on her back. The time was now 12:30a.m.; and presently she was completely unaware of her location. Typical. The red-head sighed; her lack of a sense of direction really was NOT helping in the midst of the desert wasteland she and her new partner had gotten themselves hopelessly lost in. And that Gail thingy-majig was still hot on their tracks, no less. Mia (the girl now fighting for her life alongside Juliet) a
was the only reason that they had escaped long enough to hide; she had used some sort of cloaking magic or whatever she had said to "hide their magic identities". Or whatever. Not like she could ask about it now; poor girl barely had the energy to breath.

With one final groan, Juliet lowered the unconscious Mia to the hard stone ground of their little Gail-shelter. It was really just some old collapsed mining tunnel sealed up by Juliet herself with a re-enforced steel door about two feet thick. As far as Juliet knew, that spell or whatever Mia had used was still in effect (as she had only just used it around twenty minutes before, and Mia had said something about having a hour and a half or so), so she decided to just slump down next to Mia and take it easy while she could. She looked to her 'cycle, which she had skidded inside on, and then back to the unconscious Mia beside her. Juliet couldn't help but feel great admiration for her; the two had just met and yet Mia was still fighting to keep them safe as if they were blood relatives.

As she got a better look at Mia's face, she was instantly struck by the HUGE scar that ran over the Mage's left eye and all the way down to her jaw. Out of curiosity, Juliet reached over and pushed Mia's bangs up, revealing that it indeed reached all the way up to her hairline. Juliet automatically became struck by how straight-faced and adult Mia looked; almost as if she were a soldier. Yet at the same time, Juliet couldn't deny the motherly aura that emanated from somewhere within Mia...

The red-head silently removed her leather jacket and placed it gently under Mia's head; creating a crude pillow for her. It was the least she could do in return for all of Mia's sacrifices; she decided. Once Mia's head was placed on the jacket, however, she began to move lightly and twitch; as if she were reacting to something in her mind.

Juliet watched curiously. Just what was the mage dreaming about?

---------------------

Mia was standing alone in a seemingly endless black space. In front of her stood a large gate, the doors of which resembling a Yin-Yang symbol turned 135 degrees. Her almost listless gaze was fixated upon it, almost as if she hadn't the power to look away. "It can't be... It just can't be..." Mia thought to herself as she looked on.

All around her, she could feel them. The chains. She had been bound in them by her when she had reemerged, after four years of being dormant and locked up inside Mia Parker herself. 

This was no permanent fix of course, as shown by her escape not five months prior, when she had managed to break free of her dormant state. Mia thought she had at solved that issue again, however; or at least for another decade or so.

And yet, here were these chains. The only explanation of their presence was that she was once again awakening... Yet she wasn't trying to take control of Mia's body again like she had months prior... Was it only a minor surge like the one that had happened two weeks ago? But then, that still wouldn't explain the chains...

That's when Mia heard it. The soft, foreboding chuckling coming from just beyond the gate. She felt herself tense up as a familiar feeling of terror and rage bubbled up into her chest. There was just no way she was already making a return...

"Something's cooooooooming... Something's going to haaaappeeeen...... People are going to die agaaaaaain~~~"

The second the dark voice diminished, everything suddenly vanished. The chains, the feelings... Even the air suddenly got less heavy. It was as if she had been awake only for a moment, then reverted back into a hibernating shell...

"What... What is going on..." Mia whispered to herself. She was beginning to wonder if the recent events were more than just a suprise Gail attack...