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Blake couldn't believe what she heard. How would a normal person (well, someone who used to be normal) know about Ires? They, as well as those with active auras, were invisible to the human eye save for the select few who were able to see them. For the time that Blake had known Daniel she was sure the boy had no clue about them at all. At least, that was until now.
"Killed by Ires? How are you so sure?" Blake asked Daniel, "If you're aware of them now, I can understand it. But not any normal human can see Ires. The only ones capable of seeing them are-"
"Guardians, regular people born with the ability to see them, and beings like you. Knights, if I recall," Daniel finished her statement. Blake blinked. So he does know, Blake's mind concluded, and from the looks of things he may know more.
"There are also those who are gifted with the ability to see them even without control of their aura, but apparently cases like those are far and few in between," Daniel continued, "And I am also aware that you've been doing the city a great service by fighting these Ires for years now. I must say, I never took you to be quite the hero type, Blake." Something in Daniel's tone with her left Blake on edge. It wasn't something that raised alarm for her, but for some reason it unnerved her greatly. Blake's mind clicked immediately; that was how he knew that Ires were responsible for the death of his family.
"Okay, so you do know," Blake concluded, eyeing the frost surrounding Daniel, "But no one is just granted the ability to use their aura. How did you manage to do this?" She felt as though she knew the answer, but confirmation was needed to be certain. And by how Daniel smiled calmly at her, he knew that his display of newfound power was enough.
"A friend. Drew was his name," Daniel explained simply, letting his aura dance around his hands, "He helped me prepare my power after I confronted Melody about the truth on Ires and what had happened that day. When all three of you got hurt while I was safe but unconscious." Blake didn't quite know what to be shocked about first, the fact that Drew helped Daniel become the way he was now or the fact that Daniel had been one of the last people who had known Melody to be alive. Not to mention that it was through her that Daniel became aware of Ires this way. Thousands of questions raced through her mind yet her mouth remained shut and her expression pensive. She didn't know what to do or say.

"Just let me help you by letting me protect her instead," Daniel kept talking, his aura flaring for all to see. Blake took note that Daniel's aura was making the school immensely colder. So much so that a white mist had formed all around them, obscuring the school buildings surrounding them. He's got full control of it too, Blake realized, that's why he was missing for so long; it was to prepare himself for this. Blake took in a deep breath and calmed her mind, keeping them closed. That was when Daniel stopped grinning as he watched the Knight's tattoo glow brightly. A shadowy mist began to surround her as she kept her aura close to her. The mist took form hugging her figure, hardening into what appeared to be armor. Daniel's left arm began to tremble at the display as he held it tightly. So this is the might of a born Knight, Daniel's mind concurred. He had never seen his friend look so intimidating before, yet this was a form he knew that he wasn't capable of seeing until now. Blake's aura-made armor had a slight glow of crimson red, added to the red lines tracing all throughout the chest piece, arms and leg gauntlets; the appearance of a Knight in the truest sense.
"I suppose you understand why I've used my aura, Daniel," Blake opened her eyes once more, and Daniel's eyes widened slightly at the surprising transformation from brown to red eyes. Blake now looked to be a very worthy opponent, a definite veteran in what she did. How she had managed to do this for so long without people noticing anything suspicious was impressive indeed. It also made him feel honored to feel such intimidation; Blake found him to be someone worth being wary of to the point where she activated her aura.
"I do. And I hope I don't have to feel your wrath anytime soon," Daniel replied calmly, "So long as you agree to my terms and let me protect her in your stead. You don't have to fight anymore."
"Tempting, but I think I'll decline," Blake remained pensive, "And who are you talking about exactly? It can't be me since you are apparently aware of me as a Knight. Mind letting me know who?" Daniel's smile went away. He began to approach Blake, aura flared even stronger than before. Blake's aura flared back in response; she wasn't going to be intimidated like this.
"You mean to tell me that you put her in harm's way intentionally?" Daniel's tone was cold and low. This was no longer the tone of a friend. Blake shifted into a fighting stance with both fists raised. Daniel stopped right in front of her, boring his icy blues into her flaming red eyes.
"You let her fight. Even if she can doesn't mean you let her," Daniel continued, gripping his own fists, "How could you be so cruel as to let her get hurt like that?! What kind of a person are you?!" Blake's mind came to a halt. She knew that the one Daniel was talking about wasn't her but that left two options: Layla or Amber. However, she couldn't figure out who he was talking about. Obviously just asking wasn't going to cut it, and in Daniel's mental state at that very moment, she knew that the point of trying was going to be moot unless she calmed him down. And with an aura-user who can freeze his surroundings on provoked emotions... yeah, the situation wasn't worth prolonging much further.
"I am in no position in stopping her if she chooses to fight. I am a Knight," Blake stated, clearly provoking Daniel, "And I can only do everything in my power to support them so that they are as safe as possible." She knew that it wasn't the best choice of words, but she knew that she needed to subdue Daniel's anger as soon as she could. And at the moment, provoking him to fight in order to do so seemed to be the best move at the time. It worked well as Daniel yelled out in rage and began rushing towards Blake with a bloodthirsty conscious.

Amber immediately sensed that something about the school was off as she, Layla and Weiss approached. She ran in front of the two other girls and ground them to a halt.
"What are you doing? We have to get inside!" Weiss cried in frustration, "Don't you want to get to Blake? We have to hurry." Layla looked just as annoyed, but decided not to voice her opinion. Instead, she looked into Amber's eyes, searching for a reason. Amber remained silent, trying to calm her mind in order to explain what she was feeling. Something about the school was feeling very off; she couldn't see any differences to the campus grounds, but she knew that there was something different about it that didn't sit right. No matter what, Amber didn't feel comfortable in charging into the suspicious school grounds recklessly. And she wanted to make sure that they weren't rushing recklessly either.
"Can we just calm down for a few seconds to think about this?" Amber tried to placate them. Weiss was in an emotional wreck as she worried for Blake's safety while Layla was trying to read Amber's eyes. Something told Layla that Amber was sensing something but she couldn't figure out what.
"But what about Blake?" Weiss was close to whining at this point. She felt impatient that both Layla and Amber were still despite their situation at hand. The feeling she had about Blake was now growing gradually worse, and she was trying her best not to panic. But it's really hard to keep calm when you feel as though you may not see someone you care for ever again.
"Look, all I want is for us to calm down just a bit. Don't you guys sense that?" Amber finally blurted out in her frustration. Weiss was taken aback by the sudden question and successfully calmed down to find out what Amber meant. At last, she and Layla found themselves growing wary of the dark campus. Something about the school didn't sit right with them; not in a creepy night-at-school kind of way, but more of a danger-imminent kind of way. It was as if the school itself was becoming a dangerous place to be around the longer they thought about it.
"Ah ha ha... the school didn't feel this scary before," Weiss found herself nervously commenting. Layla didn't say anything, but the look in her eyes sounded her agreement loud and clear. Amber immediately activated her aura and took Weiss' hand, circling the pink lights around them. Layla immediately activated her gadgets and revved her own aura to combat readiness. Weiss looked at both girls and found herself in a feeling of nervousness, amusement and confusion all at once. Amber and Layla exchanged silent glances at one another and began to walk towards the school with Layla at point and Amber watching the rear. Both went on high alert, and as they passed the school's security systems, Weiss found herself reminded of when she and Blake entered the same way. Just like the three girls had been telling her, those wrapped in aura could not be detected. They made their way through the school's main hallways with nothing but the dim moonlight outside to guide them. Eventually, Layla stopped them, pointing straight ahead at what appeared to be a frozen area of the hall.
"I don't remember the school freezing over. Even in winter," Amber said aloud, amused at the strange sight. Layla had half the heart to turn around and give Amber a solid whap on the head for joking in such a serious situation. The other half of her heart left her when all three girls heard a series of blasts coming from further in the building, deeper into the frozen part of the hallway. Without another word, Amber's aura flashed brightly until it weaved into a moving whip encircling her and Weiss protectively and the three hurriedly went on their way towards the sounds of the blasts.

Blake was astonished by the amount of skill Daniel possessed. Within the amount of time that he was missing, not only was he in full control of his aura but the way he handled it was as though he was born with the ability to use it the entire time. The freezing gusts that Daniel sent towards her continued to batter her over and over without stopping. Had it not been for her aura armor as well as her years of experience fighting for so long, Blake knew for a fact that she would have died from the freezing cold if not for the attacks themselves. A few glances at the school buildings surrounding them showed just how cold it already was just three minutes into their brawl. The grass beneath them was snow white and ice covered the school as though the two of them had stepped into the Ice Age. Daniel's attacks themselves were no joke either; every time Blake managed to dodge an attack, it would create a blast with shock waves strong enough to occasionally throw her off-balance if she wasn't careful. All Blake could think of was how Daniel had managed such a feat. Knowing Drew, she had only assumed that the equipment he gave to Layla was the extent of his knowledge. With Daniel, it seemed that there was more that he knew but decided not to show. For some reason, Blake found herself partially thankful for that.
"What's wrong, Blake? You've only been dancing around!" Daniel shouted, blood lust in his voice, "Why don't you fight properly?! Come on now!" Blake remained silent, focusing on her own survival. She was right to think that Daniel's newfound power was dangerous, but she didn't expect him to cause this much damage. She wasn't too tired, thankfully, but she knew that he was right; it was time to get serious. As much as she didn't want to hurt her friend after many months of him missing, she wasn't given much of a choice. Finally, after dodging one last blast of freezing aura, Blake charged at Daniel. The boy was caught off-guard by the sudden change from defense to offense and barely managed to use his aura to defend himself against an aura-enhanced punch from Blake. The force of the punch sent Daniel back several feet, leaving a dirt trail from where his heels dug into the ground. Blake withdrew her fist, exhaling to calm her nerves. She was trying her best not to go back to the time where she went berserk. She could feel the adrenaline getting to her mind, driving her mad for blood. She closed her eyes and focused, worried that her blood red eyes were out on display. It was one thing to fight Daniel; it was another to go berserk on him. Daniel panted wildly from the shock of Blake's punch. It didn't connect to him at all; after patting himself down Daniel realized that Blake didn't mean to hit him. Rather, Blake merely showed a display of her power just as he asked. He began to smile, finally understanding who his long time friend was.
"Well now. You've been holding out on me, haven't you?" Daniel sneered, "Don't think that intimidation is going to work on me here. I know you've gotten weaker. You've always hid your pain from everyone, even me, and now it will be here to haunt you. You don't have what it takes to scare me. Not like this." He continued his assault without remorse or even a hint of mercy, leaving Blake breathless without time to think or take a breath. I'm not gonna make it at this rate, Blake's mind screamed. Her heart was beating miles a minute and Blake was well aware that if she continued the way she was going that either her body or her heart would completely give up on her eventually. Still, she continued to endure and evade, trying her best to get closer and closer to Daniel in an attempt to stop him.

And she was close. She nearly made it to him. And then after dodging one of Daniel's attacks, she froze at the sound of a very familiar sound. A scream, to be exact, that she only heard one other time when she held no control of herself.