Category : Stories

Sub Category : Adventure

Adona woke up to see the sun. It hovered just in front of her, denying her it's warmth, as if it was taunting her. She rattled the rusted iron chains and winced, feeling the cuffs bite into her wrists. She was careful not to rub her wrists too much, less they may bleed as she hanged her head and thought about how the sun dared show its face after leaving her trapped for thousands of years, she barely hangs on now. Then it hit her, where there's light, there's a hole, if she could find the hole she could escape, however she first had to break the chains.

Adona brought down her right wrist, and let her left wrist rise as the chain ground against bolt in the wall, sending flakes of rust cascading down on her head. She then felt the bolt shift, 'Finally, if I pull a little harder it'll come free'

Adona then started struggling as hard as she could against the chains that held her for so many years, however by the time the sun left the hole, the bolt only shifted a couple more inches. Adona looked to the hole and spoke in a voice that she hadn't used in many years, "I'll make it tomorrow, see you then." Then, blood running down her arms, she fell asleep.

✦✦✦

The next morning Adona woke up to hear birds singing, and fog creeping into the cave. Then she got to work on the chains. Soon she was rewarded with the bolt falling on her head. 

"OW!", she yelled to the morning light, which had dispersed some of the fog. Then she worked on the iron chains binding her. However in her recent victory she forgot one factor, she was bound with iron that had been infused with dragon blood. She grabbed the chain and screamed, letting the chains fall from her hands. She inspected her hands, seeing the bleeding burns on them, Adona realized she would have to think this through if she was going to escape. First she pulled the cloth of her parka over her wrists so she wouldn't continue to burn her wrists, she'd been trapped so long that her wrists had turned red and the metal quit burning her there. 

She ran her hand through her hair and felt something fall out, as it clattered to the floor Adona got a good look at the kitsune bone, which had been sharpened to a point on one end. Adona smiled, remembering the day she got it. The kitsune that gave it to her told her it could free the bearer from any situation, however it could only be used once.

Adona stuck the point of the bone in one of the cuffs and spoke the activation word, "adiutorium", the bone glowed the faintest blue and of it's own accord started picking the lock, when it finished with one it started on the other, soon finishing its job. It then dissolved in a poof of bone.

Adona stretched and finally walked into the sunlight, red energy starting to swirl around her. Adona spread out her arms and let the sunlight start to replenish her inner energy. "Once my energy's up, I can escape this pitiful excuse for a prison."

When Adona saw the sunset she decided that it was finally time to fly the coop, gathering her energy behind her, she carefully pulled her wings out of the ether. Then with a strong flap she launched herself into the air. When she reached the hole she noticed it would be to small to fly through, grabbing the edge and pulling her wings tightly against her back she pulled herself out of the hole. 

Adona couldn't believe it, she was free. After all these years she could roam the earth once again. Taking to the air again, Adona rejoiced. Then she saw a huge metal hut.Quickly diving into the trees, Adona realized, the earth moved on without her, she was as lost as the day she was banished from her village.

✦✦✦

"Adona, Get back here! What've I told you about playing with those animals. You know the council has forbidden you from creating them."

"But Mom! They're not going to hurt me. The council is just jealous." As if in agreement the phoenix she had just created from her energy alighted on her shoulder like a red ghost.

"Then come in Adona, a representative from the council is here with the results of your trial." The trial was a test that every 8 year old was required to take. When Adona went the council asked if she could produce anything with her energy. Adona had showed them every animal that she could make.

A man in black greeted Adona as she came to the table. "Adona, i've come from the council with good and bad news about your trial, the good news is that you passed with flying colors, the bad news is, with your ability to produce spirit animals so effortlessly at such a young age you'll to go into training as a soldier, but you'd have to pick one animal. So what do you say."

Adona looked at her mother, who obviously wanted her daughter to choose to be a soldier. Both of them knew what'd happen otherwise. But Adona couldn't do it, she couldn't choose one animal, when each had their own personality and had taught Adona so much. "No." She answered simply.

✦✦✦

Adona peeked out from behind the tree to the huge metal hut. Then she saw an alleyway to the right of the building. Returning her wings to the ether she ran into it. Seeing a couple boxes she managed to build herself a shelter and she went to sleep

✦✦✦

She was back in the forest, she was surrounded by all her spirit animals, Malia, the dragon, Reganold, the phoenix, and countless others. Malia stepped up and said "Adona, it hasn't gone unnoticed how you've watched us as we fly, and Reganold told me that you have devoted yourself to how we fly. Therefore we've all worked together and made you a pair of wings for your own use. That is if you accept."

Joyfully Adona accepted, and her fall red energy started swirled around her, some came and solidified into iridescent white wings.

✦✦✦

Adona woke up to a guys face near her. Acting on instinct she immediately threw a punch at his face. However, when her fist made contact, it felt like stone. Scrambling backwards, she was suddenly glad for her high pain threshold. She hadn't met one of these creatures since the Renaissance. The gargoyle apparently hadn't met something like her either. It shook its head in surprise, then called out in a gruff voice, "Guys, down here." 

Adona knit her eyebrows in concentration, wondering what the gargoyle meant, as gargoyles often hunted alone. Then 3 more people, one male, and two females came down the alleyway. One was a japanese woman with a slender build, the other woman looked to be of irish heritage and with a stout build, while the male reminded her of her old Native American friend, Ahanu, who had made her life bearable for a while.

"Really Bones, you call us in this alleyway for some homeless girl." Native American told the Gargoyle.

"Come on, don't you find it a little strange that some homeless person is sleeping in an alleyway in the richest part of town."

"Well, they have gotten a lot of the homeless folk off the square so they can clean it up for the fall festival."

Bones replied, "With that state of clothes, she might be working with the man that's after us. He's sent innocent looking people at us before."

Irish jumped in the conversation, "For once I agree with Bones, it's strange that someone like this is in financial district where we just happened to be patrolling."

Adona scooted back some more and felt a wall at her back. As she attempted to stand she cut her palm on a piece of glass. She winced a little as her flesh was still raw from the dragon blood chain. She saw the Japenese girl notice the blood, and then her wrist, which bore the impression of the chains.

"Guys, I don't think she's ok." 

"Why?" The gargoyle asked, concern showing some of the french blood he inherited from his ancestors.

"Look at her hands, I think she's been through the ring before."

As everybody's eyes turned to her hands, Adona did her best to hide them from view, however the Japenese girl walked forward and grabbed her cut hand. When Adona tried to pull away she took an even more firm hold on it, then Adona felt a cooling sensation climb up her arm. When the girl finished, Adona saw a ghostly impression on Japanese of the burn and cut, then it faded. When Japanese motioned for the other hand, Adona obliged.

"Thank you," she muttered.

"No problem, you'll still have scars though." She looked disappointed.

"Just another reminder of what's happened to me."

As Japanese backed up, Irish came forward, "Well, what happened for you to get so messed up?" Adona knew she wouldn't get sympathy unless she deserved it from this girl.

"I trusted someone I shouldn't have." Then Adona turned to the ground as the memory flooded over her.

✦✦✦

Adona was leading her rebel group out of the bunker, she'd just seen a familiar jade green hue at the entrance, blocking the main escape route, telling the others to take the secondary one, she and her two lieutenants walked up to Kamren.

"Kamren, come on. The empire's coming after us. We need to evacuate!" Kira yelled, nervous, she was always a worrier.

Kamren smiled smugly, a sinking feeling settled in her stomach. "Correction, they're already here."

Adreon's sky blue energy exploded into an eagle around him, "Traitor!"

Kamren's cougar took on a wispy shape, and he let Adreon approach, then he stabbed him through the heart with a cleverly concealed blade.

Adona let her fall red energy spring up around her at the sight of Adreon's broken body, her energy formed around her into armor, pulling her daggers she leapt at Kamren. Blocking his first attack with the daggers, she twisted in midair and stabbed at his back. He nimbly dodged to the attack, but was still scraped by the blade. They began an intricate dance of mortality, for each knew that while no normal cause could end them, their opponent held the means of their destruction. Then Kamren slipped and fell to the floor and Adona didn't waste any time pinning him down. Before she could deliver the final blow, someone clapped a cuff on her wrist. It drew in her energy, and Adona fell, screaming in pain.

✦✦✦

Adona tugged away from the memory, knowing what came next. She saw the group starring at her, Adona lifted a hand to her face and felt tears, tears for Adreon, tears for Kira and the others, tears about the life she lost.

Native American came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Come on, we have a place you can stay. What's your name."

"I go by Adi."

"Well Adi, i'm Alo, the Irish one is Aideen, and the other one's Cassandra. You've already met Micheal, although he goes by Bones."

✦✦✦

Adona looked around the... trailer, they called it? It looked a lot cozier than the bunker, then Adona saw a calendar on the wall, according to the calendar it was September of 2017, which meant she'd been trapped for... 410 years. Adona double and triple checked her math, but it was always 410. She'd always known that she'd grow to an extreme age, as she was immortal to everything except the blade, but now she knew why everything looked so different. Alo squeezed into the trailer behind her. 

"Well do you like it?" He asked nervously.

"It's a lot better than places i've stayed before." It was nicer than any place she'd ever stayed but she wasn't about to let anybody know that.

"Well it's your's. Dad collects these things, he never takes them anywhere. Besides he gave me the key and told me this junkyard was mine."

Adona spotted a book in the corner, "What's this?" she asked as she picked it up.

"Oh, it's a must have you have powers."

"Why."

"To see what's what and sometimes what you are. The author, Kira, was a genius when she wrote this."

"Kira?"

"Yeah, her picture's on the back cover." Then someone yelled from outside to Alo.

"Well, I gotta go, see ya, Adi."

"See ya." After Alo left Adona looked at the back cover of the book, and saw a familiar pair of green eyes staring back at her. Her appearance changed, and her eyes spoke of loss. She had her arms around a child with startling blue eyes, just like Adreon. Adona suddenly realized why Kira ran away that day. She was pregnant, and she wanted to save her child.

✦✦✦

Adona turned the page in Kira's book and looked at the next passage in the book, she had read about three quarters of the book, then she saw what the passage was about. It was about her, it was about the Vis.

The Vis are ancient beings that can control the energy around them. Believed to be immortal unless they're stabbed. The only currently known way to identify them is a haze that forms around them, visible in the light of the full moon. The only known Vis was Jetta, who committed mass killings at nightclubs in the 1950s. Survivors of the incident recalled seeing a mud brown creature running at them before they passed out in fear. Jetta was killed in 1961 by the hunter Jem, he's infamous last words were "There are many like me, who want to eradicate your pestilence on this earth. Too bad for you, we managed to capture your protectors."

No one knows what Jetta meant although many believe that there's good Vis somewhere that have been captured and need to be freed. Current evidence leads to the Vasco caves in Byron, CA.

Adona turned to the back cover again. She looked into those sad eyes of Kira. "Kira, I know you can't hear me but i'm gonna find you, and then we're gonna show the empire what happens when you can't cage a tiger." As if in response the wispy form of a tiger appeared beside her bed.

✦✦✦

Adona leaped over the top of the trailer, she was racing Aideen to see who could get to the skyscraper first. Alo and Cassandra had led them to two different points of the yard and told them to use any means to get to the skyscraper. They were using this as an exercise to increase speed and agility. 

Alighting on the top of another trailer Adona saw Bones at the base of the building. She launched herself at the skyscraper, pushing off it when her feet met it, and landed behind Bones. She slapped his hand, much to his surprise.

Aideen then burst over the top of the trailer as a dragon and landed in front of Bones, causing him to stumble backwards.

"I wish you'd stop that, with the both of you combined, everyone would be afraid of you."

Chuckling, Adona went to join Aideen, who changed back into human form. "Well, you did say any means."

"I meant to get here, not scare my pants off." He said, gathering up as much dignity as he could, not noticing Alo and Cassandra having a giggling fit behind him.

Then they heard the gate open.

"Hide." Bones said before falling into a pile of well, bones.

Aideen took the form of a songbird and flitted to the top of a trailer, Alo and Cassandra melted into shadow, while Adona flipped up beside Aideen.

"Guys, i'm telling you I heard voices over here." A brunette in a pink shirt and black leggings ran up to Bones pile. 

"Maria, are you sure, all i'm seeing is a pile of bones." A guy with golden eyes with a red shirt and exercise pants come towards her. Then for some reason Aideen decided to fly in front of the guy's face. Supernatural like, he reached out and grabbed her. His eyes took on a feral look as he raised a struggling Aideen to his face. 

"Jack, let that bird go. You don't know where it's been." Another boy with platinum blonde hair, and striking blue eyes, wearing jeans and a lime green shirt came out of the shadows.

"Yeah, like you could Leo." Jack grinned.

"I could, you know that. Now let it go." He then tensed up and started looking around.

"What is it Leo?" Maria asked, looking around too.

"We're not alone here." Then in one smooth motion he threw a knife in Adona's direction, unable to back up, she leaped over the side of the trailer and rolled onto the roof of the next trailer, jumping to the ground she saw Aideen flit ahead of her. Aideen dove through a window of a trailer that Adona realized was the one that they used to store weapons, and came out with Adona's whip, dropping it in her hand, Aideen gave two chirps and flew off.

Adona unfurled the whip as another knife embedded itself in the trailer, inches from her head. Adona whipped around cracking the whip. Leo was just out of range of it, and he didn't even flinch with the proximity to his face.

Turning to face him, she cracked the whip to her right. Turning towards the grunt that followed, she saw Maria trying to sneak up on her. She turned and saw she was cornered by Jack. Jumping up on the trailer she summoned her daggers and her other whip from their usual places in the weapons trailer under her. 

Leo's companions then threw him up on the roof. Adona cracked the whip in his direction and he slipped, grabbing onto the side of the trailer before he fell to the ground. Deciding against the warrior within her Adona reached down and pulled him back up on the top of the trailer. Then a scream came from across the compound. Giving the group a look that said "Later" Adona tucked in her whips and ran towards the scream.

✦✦✦

Adona jumped off at the base of the skyscraper, while Aideen became human to her right. Running up, she saw Cassandra leaning over Alo trying to heal him, but she was so scared that she kept fumbling.

"What happened?" Aideen asked.

"Bones, Bones attacked us."

Adona twisted around as the group of kids came into the clearing. Then a familiar figure sprang up behind them. Bones grabbed Maria and tried to drag her back into the shadows, but Jack transformed into a chimera and attacked Bones, just as Leo ducked under him and dragged Maria from Bones grasp. Leo started backing into the clearing as a jade green cougar jumped on them. A beam of iridescent blue blasted from Leo and threw the cougar against a trailer, dissipating the energy. Adona tracked the energy to a space between two trailers. Using her supernatural speed she attacked the person the energy was drawn too. Soon she pinned him down and brought him into the clearing. Adona gave the 3 note hunting whistle that she'd taught the rebels back in the day. Kamren started wiggling underneath her, trying to escape.

"Et tu, Brute." She told the person responsible for her imprisonment. For a little extra show she let her parka slid up to reveal her discolored wrists.

Bones slammed into her side, forcing her to free Kamren. She nimbly rolled onto her feet, just as the two traitors ran into the tower. 

Adona began to run after them, but the leader in her told her to check on her friends, so she turned around to check on the others.

Cassandra had managed to heal Alo, and was trying to get to Maria, who was bleeding from her temple. However Leo, and Frank the chimera blocked her way. 

Adona walked up just as Leo said, "Give me one reason to trust you."

"Because you owe me for saving you." Adona interrupted.

"The fall wasn't life threatening." Leo retorted.

"Neither is this." To show she wasn't kidding she drew herself to her full height and stared him down.

Leo stared at her back, so she turned to the chimera. It growled at her to back off, she growled back, and took a stance that demanded respect from the chimera. The chimera backed off, and Adona went over to Maria while Leo and Cassandra began fighting again. Adona noted the blood at the temple, and the knife stuck in her shoulder. She recognized it as one of Leo's and concluded that she must have fell on it when the cougar attacked.

She pulled her own dagger, but Leo grabbed her arm before she could extract the knife.

"What are you doing? Trying to kill her while my back's turned?"

"No you idiot, one of your knives got stuck in her shoulder and i'm trying to remove it. Now if you don't let go, you'll find how serious I am."

The sun blinded her as light bounced off a nearby trailer. However she managed to pull away from Leo and begin work on extracting the dagger. She carefully cut a wider slit in Maria's shoulder to make pulling out the knife easier. She also sung one of her native songs under her breath as she worked, to calm her down. 

"Cass, be ready to heal this, Leo hold her hand, this is going to hurt."

"How'd you know my name's Leo?"

"Your group should be careful about how often you throw your names around."

Leo glared at her but did as she asked and gripped Maria's hand. Cassandra held her hands over her shoulder, her powers just under the surface. Adona grasped the knife and pulled it out, rewarded by a scream from Maria and a grimace from Leo as Maria grasped his hand, hard.

After Cassandra healed Maria, Adona turned her attention to the locked door of the skyscraper. 

"Aideen, could I borrow your bobby pins?"

"Why"

"I'll pick the lock on the door."

✦✦✦

Kamren paced the length of the passageway they'd boarded up in. Bones was hovering in a corner, trying to hide from the formidable presence Kamren cast. Suddenly Kamren turned towards him, eyes blazing, not matching his business suit. 

"Why didn't you tell me she's here!"

"Who?" Bones said, trying to appease Kamren.

"Adona, the red warrior, spirit of fall, the lone wolf!" Kamren told him, using some of the nicknames Adona had picked up over the years.

"Do you mean Adi, the one with the white parka, jeans, and knee high black leather boots." Bones asked with a small smile.

"Adi, so that's another one to add to the list." Kamren's eyes sparked jade green. As his energy started swirling around him, he approached the cowering Bones.

"Kamren?" Bones asked, trembling.

"Well Micheal, you failed to inform me of Adona, you also failed your end of the bargain, you needed to kill one of your friends in order to regain a normal life. Now your only use is my protection."

Bones eyes widened in understanding, "No." he whispered, paralyzed, as Kamren dissolved into a green haze, that flew down Bones throat, and took over his body. Kamren felt the familiar struggle of a soul before it tired and fell into a subdued sleep.

✦✦✦

Adona finally picked the lock on the door, and turned to her friends "Lets go"

As they started to walk into the building the group of kids tried to follow them. Alo moved to intercept them.

"No way, no entry past this point."

Leo stood up and said, "Yeah, and who's gonna stop us, certainly not you."

As Alo was about to go at him Adona butted in, "Let them come, who knows they might be helpful in finding Bones and his friend." Adona didn't reveal how nervous she was about Kamren, as while they had bad blood, she was worried about what he'd do to their group.

They made their way up to the 10th floor without any problems, then they came to a locked door. "Alo, what passage is this?" Adona asked.

Alo was still sore about a comment that Frank (in human form) had made about him on the 5th floor. "Building controls." He muttered, trying to be as vague as possible.

"Aideen try to pick the lock. I'm going to see if there's another way in." Adona announced moving into another corridor.

✦✦✦

Aideen felt the lock click. As she turned the handle, the door opened suddenly and someone grabbed her and dragged her in. The others came rushing in after her, as they saw Bones standing in the middle of the corridor. As he gave a victorious grin, his eyes flashed green. Then his face contorted with pain and he fell to the floor. "Go, before he gets you too." He whispered hoarsely.

Then another voice interrupted from the same windpipe, "It's too late for that."

Frank turned into a chimera, while Aideen became a dragon. Alo and Cassandra revealed they were Nephilim, Maria channeled the electricity of the tower into a narrow beam, and Leo summoned his iridescent blue energy. As his eyes glowed the same color, he said, "Try us." 

✦✦✦

Adona pulled open a door that led into the locked corridor, and felt the activation of many powers at once, creeping down a passage she summoned a bow out of her energy, as an arrow took a wispy shape she heard Leo say "Try us."

She picked up her pace just as she saw the team get attacked. They worked together well, just like the rebels did after Adona had trained them, she still cherished those memories. However Bones threw them back with strength that wasn't his. As Adona lowered her vision to the level that a Vis' aura showed up, she saw Kamren's aura surrounding Bones subdued one. The team was thrown against a wall and jerked Adona back to reality. Calling the hunting whistle she released the arrow. It flew like a red dart towards Kamren. However he turned and the arrow shattered harmlessly against a wall. He summoned the cougar which tried to attack the others, but was held back by something. Smiling to herself Adona let her energy form into a blazing phoenix, gathering her wings from the ether, she jumped into the air and snapped her wings open, the phoenix copied the movement, and Kamren fell to the floor in awe of the creature. Not for long however as she pinned him down, he turned and tried to stab her with his knife. Pulling her wings into the ether, her energy shifted into armor as he got on top of her. Slipping her feet under him, she used their momentum to kick him down the passage, while landing her on her feet at the same time. Her aura shifted back to the phoenix, that flew down the passage and picked up Kamren's spirit and dragged it out of Bones. Kamren materialized in the phoenix's clutches, twitching fiercely. Adona leaped up and cut his side again. Then the phoenix let him go. He exploded into energy again and possessed Bones, but with the brief relief from Kamren, Bones could take some control of his body.



"Adi, give me your dagger. I can only hold him so long." He whispered fiercely. Then he fell to the floor seizing as he tried to contain Kamren.  However, Adona didn't feel it as she handed her dagger to Bones, as he plunged into himself, it entered the ether and only stabbed Kamren. As he was dying, Kamren took on the form of his cougar and slashed out violently at Adona. As Adona fell to her knees, mortally wounded, she saw Cassandra coming to heal her. 

"No, Cass." she managed before she lost consciousness.

✦✦✦

Adona woke up in the war trailer. Aideen was talking to Leo, Frank was trying to comfort a grieving Alo. Maria was helping Micheal in a corner. Remembering the battle Adona grasped her midsection. She felt scars there. Which only happened when Cassandra healed a major wound. The she saw the sheet covering something in the corner.

"Where's Cassandra?" She asked, a sinking feeling already settling in her stomach.

"She didn't make it." Aideen came over.

"I told her not too. Why'd she do it?" Adona felt the grief hit her. Cassandra had sacrificed herself for Adona.

"She had cancer, it was too severe to treat. She would've died in a couple weeks, she wanted to do something useful though." Adona walked over to the sheet and pulled it back. Cassandra was held in death's clutches but it hadn't taken her sweet exposition. Silently Adona placed two fingers to her lips and placed it on Cassandra's collar bone. She channeled her energy and gave Cassandra the only thanks she could, she gave her the mark of a warrior. She had given to all her friends within the rebels the mark, and Cassandra was closer, she was family.

Micheal called her over to the corner where he was recovering and whispered in her ear, "I wanted a normal life, but I realized you can't give up on family. they'll never trust me again, but you have a chance. Lone wolf, these people want to be your pack, but you'll have to be open to them." 

Adona nodded, "Guy's, there's something I should tell you." She turned to the rest of the group and sat down on the bed.

"What?" Alo asked.

"Well, it's a very long story. I want to make sure you guys didn't have anywhere to go."

When all of them said no, she told them the entire story. She finished with, "I'll understand if you want me to go. Just know I trust you guys more than I have ever trusted anyone before."

Cries of "No way!" met her ears. Adona smiled, rejoicing with the family of friends. 

"Wait, does this mean we'll be doing more of this stuff together?" Maria asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Then we need a symbol, something that tells that we're together. Any ideas."

Many flew around, but they decided to honor Cassandra, and soon each bore the warriors mark.

Finally they turned their attention to Mark. Adona stepped forward, "Bones, you betrayed us. However you sacrificed yourself to save us. Therefore, i'll give you a choice. You can either join us, or go on your own path."

"You guys will never trust me again, i'll just go on my own path and see how it works."

Adona felt sorry for him, as everyone deserved a second chance, however she wouldn't contradict his wishes. Grabbing his wrist she burned a small nondescript mark on it. "Well, if you ever need anything, this will lead you home."

Eyes wide with gratefulness Bones nodded, then he left the trailer. 

"Bones wait." Alo called.

"What?" Bones asked, turning around.

"How long were you talking to that person?"

"For a couple months. You don't think..." Bones said realizing what he'd done.

"We'll need to relocate, we have no idea whom he told."

TAdona remembered the project she'd been working on for a couple months. "I have an idea." Waving goodbye to Bones she led her family to a secluded section of the junkyard.

✦✦✦

"Here we go." Adona announced, wrenching up the garage door with a flourish. Inside was a selection of vehicles, most of which she'd been sprucing up.

"Wow, dad told me before he died that he had this cache, i've never been able to find it. How'd you manage to fix these."

"Don't look in the far right corner." Back there Adona had stuffed various car parts from when she was learning how to fix them. She had busted a couple beyond repair before she finally figured it out, and before she found the car manuals in the back left.

Alo raised his eyebrows, "Do I want to.."

"No." She answered, making sure it was obvious that they shouldn't go looking.

"Pick anything you want. Somebody attached the keys to their respective vehicles." She then walked over to a plain black motorcycle she'd been teaching herself to drive for almost as long as she'd been fixing the cars.

"Hey, what does this button do?" Frank yelled from a pickup truck he picked. When he hit it, the car went into an off roading setting.

"This will save us time since we won't be on the highway." Maria said, ideas donning on her.

Soon all had changed into riding gear, set their respective vehicles into off roading mode, and packed up all their stuff from the junkyard. They tossed their stuff in the cabs of the pickup trucks, which Frank, Maria, and Alo had chosen. Aideen picked a Jeep, and two motorcycles went to Leo and Adona. "Where will we go?" Adona asked, suddenly realizing they had nowhere to go.

"Well, there's my mom's place, she knows I do hero work, and i'm sure she'll be happy to see us all. The best part is, it's in the country, so there's not a lot of risk of exposure."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Lead the way."

✦✦✦

They pulled down a quaint little driveway to a small cottage. Parking, all of them went to the front door. Leo knocked, announcing his presence with "Mom, i'm home!"

"Who's with you?" A feminine voice answered in the language of the Vis.

"Friends." Leo answered back, changing languages.

"I sense old power near you." Adona knew it meant her, so she lowered her vision and caught a brief glimpse of a familiar iridescent aura at at a window. Gently pushing Leo out of the way, she knocked out a rhythm on the door.

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

She took her place at the back of the group, ignoring the looks she was given. Her knock was rewarded with the door opening, and the group went on in. They walked into a cozy living room, and while the others sat down Adona stood. When a young looking woman came walking into the room she spotted Adona, "Adona!" she yelled in disbelief, rushing to hug her. Adona hugged Kira back, letting her gaze drop to Kira's collarbone, where she had her warrior mark had faded. She was the embodiment of everything good in Adona's old life. She broke off the hug and explained why they were there.

Kira listened politely to the story. Afterwards she asked, "Kamren's truly dead?"

"Immortal, except to the blade. It wasn't a bodily blade either, it was one cast with the forgers blood, therefore.."

"It entered the spirit realm." Kira finished, having rudimentary knowledge about blade forging.

Kira smiled, and took Leo into her arms, hugging him. "Adona, I think you've already met my son Leo."

"He's the spitting image of his father." Adona said with a smile

Kira looked shocked, "How'd you know?"

"He's on the back of your book with you. Besides, how can you miss his fathers protective behavior." 

Adona then turned to Leo, who had managed to break from Kira's grasp, "Leo, your mother and father were my two lieutenants back when we ran a small rebel group. The day I was imprisoned, your father lost his life. He died protecting all of us. You bear his legacy. Honor it, it'll help you do great things."

Turning to Kira, she said "We have a lot to catch up on."

"Dinner first, after everyone else is in bed, i'll tell you what i've been up to. Deal?"

"Deal."