HOME | DD

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Daniel had returned to Cor Fortium's campus on a whim. He hadn't seen the place in about half a year since his parents had died, and with Drew's idea to use it as an unorthodox safe haven, he felt the need to scope out the area to think of ways to patch any holes inside. The school was already pretty secure in the first place with secular technology, but with the tech Drew left for him to execute his plan, he wanted to look over places that he could place an aura field with his own power. It was purely by chance that he had stepped onto the school grounds and was confronted by none other than Blake herself. He noticed a few changes with his old friend; she looked battle-worn and jaded than he last saw her. That cool look was what always gave her reputation a boost alongside her good manners and kind soul. It used to bug him nightly that his long time friend was an aura-user at birth, a Knight if he recalled correctly. With the information he was given from D's letter, it made sense for his friend to look that way. Perhaps that's why Blake is no longer suited to protect her, he thought, she's already been through so much that she must be exhausted.
"Daniel," Blake kept a level gaze on Daniel's new icy blue eyes, "How did you managed to do this? Gain control of your aura?" Daniel smirked. It was a question he had expected, but he was much more impressed with Blake's composure. It was easily something that would shock someone, yet here she was not questioning his strength or displaying some form of denial; she accepted what she saw and stayed calm.
"A bit of help from a friend, you could say," Daniel replied, keeping vague, "Although that isn't quite important now, is it? What matters is that I know who you are, Blake. Or rather, what you are." Blake once more remained calm with him. Her eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal. Instead of acting shocked, Daniel watched as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Blake remained steadfast. She had an inkling that Daniel would know of it someday ever since Melody's incident at the abandoned building; she just never expected that it would turn out like this. She opened her eyes and moved towards her right arm, moving her white shirt sleeve out of the way to reveal the bandage underneath. This confused Daniel somewhat; it was as though she was getting ready to explain herself instead of calming herself to prepare for denial.

"I guess now's as good of a time to tell you as anything," Blake sighed aloud. She began to unwrap her bandage, slowly and meticulously as she kept her eyes on Daniel. "I'm sure just like everyone else in school that you've been curious as to why I always keep my hand bandaged like it always is," Blake began, "Keep in mind that the amount of people in school that know can be counted on one hand. You will be the fourth." At this time the last of Blake's bandage came undone, revealing the runic tattoo of her Knight heritage. It was Daniel's turn to look shocked, not just at the fact that he hadn't known about it until now but a much more minor detail that nearly went unnoticed. It was as though his friend read his mind; she continued her explanation as if nothing was amiss.
"I am not sure how you knew about my ability to use aura, but I'm sure they haven't told you about how long I've been aware of it," Blake continued, throwing her bandage to the ground, "You know how I never talk about my childhood? I guess this tattoo can help you answer that." Daniel's mind began to recall all his interactions with Blake in school. Not once had she ever said anything about her family. No stories of early childhood memories, no stories about parents, nothing. Daniel placed two and two together and realized that Blake never had a childhood to begin with.
"My mother was killed by beings known as Ires," Blake went on, turning her gaze to her tattoo, "That was when I first got it. When I first saw them. They tore through my mother like it was nothing. I crawled out from under her corpse to find that her backside had been completely decimated. The police wanted to accuse me of the crime against my mother, so I ran away until they couldn't find anything to pin the crime against me. That was when I was targeted by them. I could see them, but I never thought that I could do anything to them until that one day. They had come too close and I thought I was gonna die. I placed my hands out in front of them and my aura blasted them away. Since then, I learned to use my aura to destroy them for days and nights until high school, and still to this day as you see me now." Blake took this time to let her words sink in. She didn't know exactly how much Daniel knew, but she figured that would suffice in explaining herself. Until she had a notion of how much he already knew, she figured it would be best to remain silent. Daniel, on the other hand, looked as though he finally understood.
"I see. From fighting against Ires so long you must be exhausted," Daniel commented. His aura flared even stronger. "Maybe it would be best to leave it to me. Fresh blood for the Ires to face." Blake looked at him with a confused look. Fresh blood? Why did he want to fight Ires all of a sudden?
"Um, Daniel? You do realize they're very dangerous, right?" Blake asked the boy. He chuckled lightly. Figures she would say that, he thought smugly to himself.
"Oh I do," Daniel replied, smiling almost madly, "They were the ones responsible for my family's murder, after all."

Weiss rushed to Layla and Amber's room and knocked on their door frantically, trying her best not to shout for their attention. She had woken up at midnight to use the bathroom and found that Blake wasn't in her bed. Not only that, but she had noticed that Blake's pajamas were left on the mattress and her white t-shirt, black pants and socks missing from her open closet. Please tell me she just went to see them, Weiss prayed. Usually something like this was left alone, but Weiss had a feeling that tonight would be dangerous. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Weiss heard the familiar click of a door unlocking and took a step back. Amber was the one she noticed first as the tired girl opened the door.
"Weiss? What're you doing up so late?" Amber mumbled softly, still waking up. Weiss took a breath and gently pushed Amber back inside the room, shutting the door behind her. Amber rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned, shuffling her way over to the couch while beckoning Weiss to follow. Layla had just emerged from their bedroom as well, surprised to see Weiss wide awake and looking frantic. Thankfully for Weiss, Layla woke up much faster than Amber after sensing something was amiss with the poor girl. She motioned for Amber to get a couple of mugs of hot cocoa as she took a seat on the couch next to Weiss.
"What happened? Why are you up so late?" Layla asked in a motherly voice. She only used this voice when Amber was feeling down in the dumps, but found that it was necessary right now for Weiss as well. Weiss was still in her pajamas and clutching herself to stay warm, and if the wet spots near her collar meant anything, the girl had been crying earlier that night. Weiss tried her best to calm her panicked breathing and didn't speak for awhile until Amber returned with three mugs of hot chocolate on a tray for each of them.
"Have some. It helps to warm us up when we're awake at night," Amber offered Weiss, giving her a soft smile. Weiss smiled in thanks and took a mug, sipping the hot drink to warm herself. After a few more sips in silence, Weiss finally felt calm enough to speak.
"It's Blake. She's gone," Weiss explained as calmly as she could. Even after taking so much time to calm herself down, Weiss felt close to panicking again. Amber and Layla exchanged looks at one another. It wasn't strange for people to go out on nightly walks away from the dorms. They would hear many girls return late from parties all the time.
"Is that it?" Amber asked a bit bluntly, earning a solid slap on the chest from Layla. Amber mouthed a silent "ow" at Layla as she rubbed her now sore chest as Layla questioned, "What do you mean by Blake's gone? As in she's not in the room?"
"No, she isn't," Weiss' breathing quickened now; she wanted them to take it seriously, "I would leave it alone but somehow I have a feeling that tonight isn't a good night. At all." Amber gave Weiss an incredulous look, but Layla seemed to sense that Weiss was serious. She herself didn't believe that Blake being out so late was anything new, but Weiss was a very special girl to Blake. There would be no way that Blake would just leave without saying something to her, and that thought seemed very unlike Blake.
"I'm sure Blake's fine. She's a tough gal," Amber dismissed it, "I'm sure she can handle whatever tries anything at night. Besides, she's got the experience to back it up. Come on, Weiss." The white haired girl really wanted to believe Amber's words, and she did, but tonight just kept on rubbing her the wrong way.
"I know, I just... Please help me look for her at least?" Weiss pleaded them now. She wanted to do whatever it took to make sure Blake was truly safe tonight. Amber groaned slightly at the idea, but Layla looked pensive. Amber looked over to the girl and waved a hand in front of her to get her attention. Layla did snap out of it, but quickly made her way into their bedroom instead of answering. Now Amber was the one looking confused.
"Layla? What's up?" Amber called out. No response from the bedroom. A few moments later, Layla emerged again, this time fully clothed and equipped with a new capsule belt she had delivered from Drew. "Layla?" Amber asked, "What's with the get-up?"
"Amber, get dressed. Now," Layla ordered in a low voice. Weiss looked on in bewilderment as she watched Amber leap from the couch and scramble to their bedroom in a flash. Within seconds, Amber burst out of the bedroom standing as straight as a soldier at attention fully dressed in casual clothes. Weiss opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Layla looked over to her. I guess somethings are better left unknown, Weiss figured.
"Come on," Layla calling both Amber and Weiss, heading towards the front door, "We're going to go find Blake."
"Layla, not you too," Amber groaned normally, although she went back to standing at attention when Layla glared back. This little interaction both scared and amused Weiss, and from Layla's silent warning she opted not to question it. Layla sighed as all three girls exited the dorms.
"I just think that since Weiss didn't know Blake left in the middle of the night that Blake must be doing something that she didn't want her to know about," Layla explained to Amber. The Guardian scratched her head, pondering the statement for a bit, before nodding in understanding.
"Oh, that's right. Blake wouldn't just leave us hanging if she had to go somewhere, would she?" Amber finally understood, "That is strange. If anything she could have left a text or something."
"That's why I think Weiss may have a point about tonight," Layla continued their conversation, "And that's why were gonna go look for her."
"Where should we go, though? It's not like Blake would randomly go out to a bar or something. She's not that type of person," Amber asked. Even Layla seemed stumped here, but Weiss didn't have that problem. Instead, she grabbed both girls in each arm and tugged them towards the school campus.
"Weiss? Why are we headed towards the campus when it's supposed to be off-limits?" Amber asked suspiciously. Layla gave Weiss a questioning look as well. Weiss did not seem like the type to be breaking school rules, or so it would seem.

"Just trust me; I think I know where she could be," was all Weiss could say, "And if my thinking is correct, I also think I know why."