Summer came around and the old Pestilence Company crew was looking forward for their full time jobs. Willis and Alma picked up Erika and Kenji from their house and they sped off back into the city, the place where they wanted to be. Willis and Erika were finally out of high school and they couldn't have been anymore happier. Willis was going to move to Boulder in August while Erika planned to stay in her home city. There was no reason to move away from two loves; San Francisco and Cid Ferguson. Mya was planning to move to Boulder with her boyfriend in hopes of starting a family someday.

Pestilence Co. seemed to be different today, it didn't have the same luster it did everyday. In fact, as soon as Willis parked the car, a body flew out a side window. Flames flared out the windows as armored forces appeared. Men in strange armored suits surrounded Erika and co. and one man in a business suit parted through them. He was a tall, thin man and had fancy hair as Erika would have said. His secretary who was being shadowed brought him a clipboard.

???: "So we have E. Haruno, K. Haruno, W. Illumina, and A. Illumina. Take them to the brig."


---


All four were contained in a cell with other fellow members. They were being watched by cameras and armed men. Finnigan wondered why they were in here. Erika looked at Kenji then Willis, Mya, Alma, Alice, Pepper, Lannie, Finnigan, Dastun, and Tetra. They were all kids, no adults. Alice seemed to be crying the most, Erika scooted towards her and put her arm around her shoulder.

Erika: "What's going on Alice?"

Alice: "They killed Dusty. He was trying to reach for a tissue when I sneezed, and they shot. Erika, I thought this job was legal."

Her eyes opened up, what did she mean by legal? Thoughts came through and she now believed that Pestilence Company was some illegal organization.

Erika: "What do you mean?"

Finnigan: "All the older workers were sent to jail for conspiracy of taking over the city. Jane was shot several times because she spoke for the rest of us. She was left bleeding on the floor."

Tetra started to cry too, Alma tried to comfort her, but it was useless. The youngest of them all, had sensed something awry.

Tetra: "They killed Buster. I was on the same floor when they entered. They shot him out the window."

None of them knew exactly what the heck was going on. Pestilence Company never tried to tamper with the wellfare of America. Suddenly, the members were being branded as terrorists and being executed on spot. Lannie added that Dana was facing charges of helping other countries by providing information in foreign codes. Some of these people in the interrogation rooms were also retired soldiers.

The man who imprizoned them, the one with the fancy hair, stepped into the cell and gave each and everyone a stray look.

???: "You are all released, but on one condition, you must never remember what you've done for Pestilence Company. Those who have graduated high school this year are lucky. I've sent over a thousand members to jail. Forget what you've done for this company. Remember: it brought you into this cell. Erase all memories of PC or we'll have to. To make sure that you won't say a peep about what happened today, you'll all have to sign a release form."

Kenji: "You can't do this!"

Erika: "Kenji, shut up. We understand the conditions."

All eleven were silenced from saying a single word of what happened that day. For some, six months never happened, and for others, years were deducted. They were being stripped away from who they were and where they came from. They weren't Erika Haruno or Willis Illumina, they were automatons serviced by the government that had information extracted.


---


Erika: "Who are they to take away my memories? I will always be Erika Haruno, the child of Reiko Haruno, the older sister of Kenji Haruno. I've always lived by the Marina. I previously worked for Pestilence Company under the man they call Mr. Pestilence. Though I don't know who he exactly is, he is in a way, my benefactor. I cannot thank him for what he has gave me; the sense of adventure and journey. I believe him to be my father, someone who has been there. My childhood died that day when the business was confiscated."


Kenji: "No more fun. No more good times with friends. No more adventures that risk my life. What am I to do now? I'm nothing without going on some crazy adventure. To think about it, I never filled out a resume for this company. What's life supposed to be without endangerment of one self and the excite. My spirit is impaired."


Willis: "Confidence, something I lack...a lot. Have we been stripped of something more than a job? I can't have anything without my sister there by my side to ask for me. Is this the entrance exam to manhood? If so, I should just drop out before things get worse. I don't think I can separate from anyone. I need someone strong to help me stand. Every great man has a great woman. Am I dependent? A burden on others?"


Alma: "I can't say much. I think my love has died for Kenji. We were happier when things went wrong. He's not the same boy I met. I should let go of this love before it expires. I think this unemployment thing is getting to Kenji. Yeah, it's definafly him, not me. I'm not the most attractive girl out there. In fact, I feel average. I just ended up getting with a goon with a handsome face. Is this event another chance of finding the right man?"


Tetra: "They killed my Buster. To my friend Buster Dunlap, who didn't deserve what he got, I keep you in my prayers. I will never, ever forget what you have done for me. You're my guardian who's always looming over my shoulder, protecting me from whatever is aloom. I get this strange reason that you're not dead yet. In fact, your spirit will always be treasured in my heart."


Mya: "It was like a home to me. Possibly my third home. It kept me out of trouble, gave me a chance to make money, make myself feel better about myself. Before I met my love, Willis Illumina, I doubted myself as a woman. A woman isn't someone who gets bossed around or cooks for her man. A woman is someone who can stand for herself and ground rules. I feel empowering when I know I can have some control. No one can take that power away from me anymore, no one."


Alice: "Why does life take innocence and the innocent? As I watched them killed Dusty, horror ran through my mind. No one has the right to take lives. Fate is against us, the world doesn't care if you do good or bad. Why do those who kill play into Fate's hand? There's no point in killing people, no one benefits from the results."


Pepper: "I could've taken everyone down in that room. I didn't though. What I didn't want to do is ruin someone so small and petite like Tetra. She doesn't have to follow this road that I've been traveling. In fact, I am ashamed for my past actions. No one should suffer what I have gone through. I've always fought my opponents physically. There was no room for thinking things over."


Lannie: "Knowledge doesn't bring anything good to the table if you misuse it. Technology is going to be our downfall. Being advance does have its downfalls. Be simple, cut the rest of the middleman out. I will never choose the chance of gaining knowledge over friends and family. I'm even considering not going to college to stay close to Erika."


Dastun: "Whatever happened to freedom of speech? Now what seals our mouth is a piece of paper that will probably be forgotten until some militant personel uses it against us. If we call them an idiot, we'll face assault. Is the greatest nation in the world flawed?"


Finnigan: "This isn't the end for Pestilence Company. We are the future. It has made us what we are today, human. Humans are allowed to make mistakes. We are allowed to take one step back. I will continue to write for the sake of the future. The world will depend on us to aid them when they are senile. We make the future. I read that written agreement. Nothing is mentioned about writing about the experiences."

Pepper: "This is Pepper, what do you want???"

Tangy: "Pepper! They took Alma! They took Alma!"

Pepper rose out of bed in a hurried motion. It was six in the morning and a Saturday. Not a very good way to wake up on a weekend.

Pepper: "Who did? Where are you?"

Tangy: "I'm at the hospital where Mintz is and some men in black masks kidnapped her! We were walking outside when these men grabbed us from behind. I managed to escape. Right now, I'm in the supermaket on Coroner St."

Pepper: "What direction were they heading to?"

Tangy: "I don't know Pepper, I was really scared and I ran as fast as I could. You have to save her!"

Pepper: "You hurry up and get yourself back to your house and stay locked in. I'm going to call everyone else."

This was possibly the link that could connect the gunfire massacre, Pepper sprang out of bed and threw on her leather jacket. She ran out of her house in a flash. Jumping into her car, she dialed up Lannie.

Lannie: "Yah?"

Pepper: "I've found our killers, they've just kidnapped Alma Illumina."

Lannie: "Oh my-You want me to alert the fam-"

Pepper: "No! We don't need to start getting people riled up. Call up everyone and tell them to go to Portia's house. We'll briefly meet there."


---


Lannie: "Hello Mya."

Mya: "Lannie, I'm on the other line with Ramona right now. Her sister Lisa was nabbed this morning."

Lannie: "I need you to...what? Are you serious?"

Mya: "Yes, Ramona is on the other line right now."

Lannie: " We need you to distract Willis, his sister is reported to be kidnapped. You can't tell him this though. I don't want him to be worried."

Mya: "I'll patch you in with Ramona."

Ramona: "Please find my sister! She was outside drawing on the sidewalk until a car stopped in front of her and picked her up. There were gunshots! Gunshots! I beg of you to find my sister safely."

She was crying, her sniffling was loud and real. Ramona wanted her sister back even if it meant that she had to kill herself to see her sister alive. Lannie comforted her until she had to drive up to Erika's house.


---


Everyone rushed to Portia's house except for Erika, Jet, Pepper, Lannie who seemed to have been absent. Everyone panicked and pointed in every other direction. Pepper wanted to go and find Arcinio, she wanted to believe that he was up to it so she could fight him by herself. There was nothing right now that she wanted to than to rip him limb by limb. Matt brainwashed Portia and Wolfgang that it was the kids from Santa Teresa that plotted this whole thing. The uproar in the house exploded into arguing, but Portia silenced them all as she opened her cellphone

Lannie: "QUIET! I just got a text from Lannie that our "lead" that goes to Arcinio's school. Her name is Rin Xiaoyu and she explains that her friend was also kidnapped. Right now she's at Cassidy High and she spotted Shao Long carrying her friend along with three others."

Cid: "The Dragon brothers! I knew it all along! Let's move out!"


---


Erika parked her car three blocks away from Cassidy High School so it wouldn't have been spotted from any sentry unit. Jet wrapped his hands in tape prior to hearing that one of his friends had been kidnapped. Lannie kept an eye out for anyone who spotted the three. She hoped that her group wouldn't get into any nearby trouble, and she depended on Erika to be the main force that took everything down that got in the way. She hadn't personally hanged around Jet nor saw any of his skills. Like the rest of the formed group, she doubted anything good could come out of Jet Heart.

Jose: "Hold it!"

Lannie didn't bother to check behind her. Jose, Michealo, and Jonas took the chance of a surprise and ran for her. Erika and Jet ran in front of Lannie and started to fight the three stooges.

Erika: "Lannie, hide somewhere while we take care of these idiots!"

Michealo swung his rusty chain in Erika's direction, but she ducked, jetted forwards, and slowly in a womanly way, smiled. He froze when Erika landed a devestating right hook to his left cheek. The knockback wasn't far, and Erika grabbed his shoulders and kneed him ten times in the stomach before moving on to the next victim. Jet moved his head to the left as Jose missed a straight jab. The boy in black grabbed Jose by the side and drove him back into a tree. The opponent formed his hands into a hammer and hammered down on the small back. Unable to give up so soon, Jet held his position for five minutes. Jonas went straight for Lannie who was helpless in a real fight. Her long ponytail was yanked and she was thrown to the ground. Erika lunged in front of Lannie and jabbed Jonas right in the face. Fearfully retreating behind another tree, Lannie thanked her friend who saved her from peril. Michealo brought out his pocket knife and went straight for Lannie. Erika ran for the thug swiftly, but was then halted as she was tripped by Jonas. Jet let up as Jose threw him to the side. Lannie was vulnerable and prone to any attack heading her way.

A car sped up from down the street and skidded in front of Michealo's way. Out stepped Pepper ready to knock some skulls into place. First, she started with Michealo, the knife wielder. She dodged all his knee-busting, throat-slashing attacks. The next attack he threw was a thrust which left Pepper to snag him by the arm and throw him over her shoulder. Before she did anything else, she chuckled. Pepper planted her boot onto his chest and then delivered a damaging punch to the temple. Pepper slid on the hood of her car and executed a vixen-like sex kick, something out of the ordinary for Pepper, to Jonas' stomach and face. Jose ran with his knife extended, and sliced the tip of her leather jacket. Passing her by, her arm grasped onto his hand with the knife and condemned him to stab himself in the theigh.

Pepper: "Everyone 'kay?"

Erika dusted herself off, Lannie cried out Pepper's name, and Jet stuck his thumb up.


---


Not going for the right approached, Portia dropped off Cid, Matt, Wolfgang, and Garet in front of the school. While Cid, Wolfgang, and Garet went ahead into the front, Matt stayed back for a while to chat with his belove.

Matt: "If I don't make it out sexy, I want you to know that I'll always love you."

Portia: "And I will always love you too."

Portia leaned out the window and kissed passionately with Matt one more time before he headed back to war. He looked back one more time to see her face, and then forward to see his men standing. Portia drove off and cried. She would do anything for Matt Luchesi. Matt looked forward and saw Arcinio and his gang. They seemed to want to brawl even more than the men outnumbered. Cid seemed to be less enthusiastic to fight, he wanted to save his friend's sister and bring the Dragon Brothers to justice.

Cid: "Why?"

Arcinio: "It a reason to get rid of dat ho Pepper and get back at dat jailhouse who expelled us. We also into street cred. We take you down, dem Dragon boys spread rumors 'bout us. Dey also pay us well to beat you all to a pulp."

Pepper: "Halt, mother f***er!"

Pepper and Jet arrived from behind the school to keep cid and co. from dying earlier than expected. Arcinio roared into battle and turned around to strike a mad dashing Pepper in the gut. Jet ran past Pepper and Arcinio and immediately punched a foe straight to the ground. Garet and Wolfgang took on four by themselves and held them back from ganging up on anyone else. Matt grabbed on to someone by the waist and german suplexed him. The struggling strained his back causing him to react slower. Jet was jabbing the fiend Damon at a distance, keeping him at bay. Cid was thrown to sidewalk and was elbowed in the chest. Garet went down after taking two of his own. The bear Wolfgang flung his of his ruffians into the other knocking them both down. Matt was down on the ground, dazed and dehydrated, he couldn't see anything. Before, Tyriquel could punt Matt's head right off his shoulder, Wolfgang tackled Tyriquel to the ground. Cid tried to fend off his attacker, but Wolfgang went berzerk and got rid of Reggie.

Wolfgang: "Go on, I'll take on the rest of them!"

Cid ran to the front entrance and tugged on the handles. It was locked. He ran to the sides; locked too. Cid ran faster than the wind, hoping that it wasn't too late for Alma. Erika and Lannie met up with Cid after they had sucessfully hid Pepper's car. Cid ran for Erika, hoping to kiss her before he would pass out. Erika seemed to gleam brighter than before, he was desparate for her touch. They both ran for each other, looking for the light inside both of them. It was unfortunate for Cid, Qing yanked him by his leg and threw him across the yard. A tree broke Cid's landing and Qing made sure that Cid was his prey. Cid wanted to prove to Erika that he was worthy of fighting. Erika ran for Cid, but he yelled out.

Cid: "Erika, go on! Save Alma!"

She felt warmth forming around her eyes. Erika wanted to cry right now. Lannie tugged on her and both of them entered Cassidy High.

Qing: "Ha! You think you have what it takes to fight Qing the Iron Bear!? From the looks of it, I lucked out on a worthy challenger."

Cid got up and held his stance strong. There was no way he would survive Qing's mighty throws and attacks. He ran forward and strifed around Qing hoping that his stamina would die out before his. Qing punched straight for the rat, but Cid dived to his left causing Qing to shatter the bark on the tree. Rolling back to a stand, Cid threw several punching combos into the stomach area. Seemingly uneffective, Qing grabbed Cid by his head and punched him into a tree. The Marina high school student wasn't going to see the light of tomorrow. The scene started to blurr, and the white light started to fill in. The Iron Bear pulled his fist back and struck the tree, missing Cid. With the chance of seeing Erika again, Cid ducked down and jumped onto the broad back of Qing. He wrapped his legs around the abs and his arms around his neck. Not able to beat a single muscle with brute force, he would have to choke his adversary. Qing reached for Cid, but his size altogether brought him down in the end. Thirty seconds later, Cid flew to the ground lifeless. Qing landed on Cid, passed out from the lack of air.


---


Chan: "I don't know why Jiang, looks to you as a threat. I, Chan, the Bamboo Monkey shall show you my skills!"

Erika glinted her teeth. The luster that beamed out of her seemed almost like an aura protecting her.

Erika: "Lannie, you have to avoid Hwang at all costs. Go forth and save those girls."

Lannie sped off out of the hallway and onto the first to second story staircase. Erika and Chan looked at each other with animal instincts. Chan made the first move by running on the walls like if it was just the ground. He jumped off the walls and dived for Erika. She sucessfully used the back hand springed technique to evade the hazardous attack. Chan's hands connected with the floor and sent himself into a front hand spring. The travel of the foot shot Erika in the face and knocked her into lockers. Chan ran for Erika with only her in his vision. He dived forward with his hands extended in front of him. Erika hopped back and snagged his wrist. She commensed a volley of knee strikes, but he seemed to just smile off the malaise. He broke off the connection and booted Erika onto the other set of lockers. His following attack consisted of a flying kick, but Erika circumvented with her throwing him into the lockers. Both backing away slowly, Chan ran at Erika ready to strike her from both sides, but she snagged him into a neck-scissor lock. Then, Erika threw him by means of her feet over into midair. He quickly landed on his toes, but couldn't avoid her flying kick. The impact threw him into a jagged locker with spike belts and little toy trinkets. Erika slammed the locker door shut, and walked away stunningly.


---


As she studied the layout, Lannie paced herself going up to the third floor. Before she could get to the last step, Hwang struck her like lightning. She took flight down the flight of stairs and landed into a pallot of bookshelves. Before she could regain sight, Hwang jumped from the top of the staircase and down onto Lannie. She couldn't feel anything, everything went numb after the loud crash happened. It had a bone-crunching sound to attribute. Lannie readjusted her thick framed glasses and gasped in awe. Kenji Haruno appeared from dust and blocked the shot.

Kenji: "Why are you even here? You can't fight Get outta here!"

She shuffled out of the books and climbed the stairs. As she looked back, Lannie could see a mighty man taking on Hwang the Cave Snake. Kenji grabbed Hwang by his foot and started to swing him round and round. The animation in Kenji's spirit climbed to a buoyant level. The revolutions increased as the velocity traumatically increased. The time to let go struck, Kenji flung Hwang through the giant window in the staircase hall. The force sent Hwang into a tree. His tenement was intangled and snared in the prickle branches and twigs. His lifeless arm swung to and fro as leaves gracefully glided in the nimble wind. Kenji peeked out the window and fell back on his butt, exhausted.


---


Willis was back at home unaware of what was going on. He didn't know that his sister was gone. He didn't know that his girlfriend was coming over to seduce him. Willis woke up at eight o' clock in the morning and went through his usual routine. He woke up and scratched his scruffy chin, went to watch Action Zero with a bowl of Crunchy Crabs at his side, and went to take a shower.

Falco Illumina answered the door when there was an urgent knock on the wood. Mya smiled and Falco welcomed her in. She asked where Willis was, and Minerva said he was taking a shower. Mya cackled like a witch, and sent herself upstairs saying that she'll wait for Willie in his room. As she made herself upstairs, she heard water running in the bathroom. Willis was in there bathing, the beauty thought it would be generous to service her prince. The door creaked open and Mya creeped in.


---


Lannie made her way to the fourth floor and she flipped out as she saw more thugs from Ozwald making there way into the school. If she got caught in the flurry, she would have been finished off, done for, nothing left. It is this situation where Rin Xiaoyu pops from behind. Lannie didn't know if she should flee and embrace this new person. Keeping her distance, Lannie held her fists up.

Lannie: "Friend or foe?"

Rin: "We're on the same side! I'm Rin Xiaoyu, the one who's friend was kidnapped. I see that you've seen the massive crowd that's going to be up here in minutes. I'll lead them off somewhere else, the room hatch should be one more floor."

She ran down the stairs. Rin didn't seem to be bruised and hit at all. Lannie wondered how she wasn't cut up at all. The thought of her as a spy wasn't one to ponder about. Lannie continues to scale up the school even in a weakened state. Hwang's kick enfeebled every bone in Lannie's body. She made it to the hatch and opened it. As she looked around, she saw the Dragon Bros. withholding four lovely girls torn and tattered. Lannie could see Alma, she looked like she was deprived of sleep. Lisa was badly beaten as by the look of the blood dripping from her mouth. Two other girls seemed to be along with them. One was Mina LeFlore, Rin's friend, and the other seemed to be from Cassidy High, Amy Yasuraga. Lannie stepped onto the stage, but was jump kicked in the chest by Shao. He laughed at the fact Lannie came as she slid across the floor.

Shao: "Is this the best a retrival team can get? They sent some woman! A woman!"

Erika: "They didn't just send one, they sent me."

Kenji: "And me!"

Jiang smirked at the sight. The famous Harunos of Marina.

Jiang: "How did you get past Qing, Hwang, and Chan? You defeated my guardians?"

Erika: "My boy Cid took care of Qing, so there's a chance that there's one still alive. Chan is locked in some jagged edge locker, so he lucked out."

Kenji: "And I threw Hwang outside into a tree. He wasn't so quick on his feet."

Erika: "Lannie, I'll advise you to get away for a while. These guys use the whole stage."

Jiang and Shao fought in sync when paired up. Shao was to follow parallel to Jiang's style which they were both taught. Erika and Kenji didn't use synchronizing skills, but Erika was known to toss her brother from time to time. The fight soon started as the brothers stood side by side. They both ran at Erika with accelerating speed. Erika grabbed her brother Kenji and tossed him into the air. She then grabbed both of the brothers punches with her hands and stalled them long enough for Kenji to free the damsels.

Erika: "Go now!"

Kenji sprinted for the girls and tried to rip the tape up. Shao and Jiang broke off their attack on Erika, and focused on the new target, Kenji. They both slid on one knee then brought up the second leg to kick Kenji into the sky. In air, Kenji couldn't control where he was going to land, but the Dragon Bros brought him back down to Earth with a double side-spin to the stomach. He crashed back down to the roof with pain rushing up his back. Erika flew into Shao and grabbed his shoulders. She did a handstand off his shoulders then threw him back into the air. It was a general rule to the Dragon Bros. to go solo if one was unable to act. Jiang elbowed Erika's back causing her to fly forward. Her brother rose from the ground, pulled Jiang by his shirt, and punched him in the back of his head. Erika reversed her step and then jabbed Jiang into the throat. Kenji then rabbit punched Jiang's kidneys which thrusted him forward. Erika jumped forward and hi jump kicked him right in the chest pushing him backwards. He was being pummled like a ping pong ball in an endless game. Kenji finally broke the chain and threw him across the floor following up with him stomping on his body while Jiang's body was sliding. Shao punched Erika in the side and threw her aside. He lifted his giant foot and stomped on Erika's arm. She shouted for her brother's help, a feat not really associated with Erika. Kenji used his palm to push Shao off Erika, and Erika jumped back up and backhanded the Dragon Brother several times before he landed on the floor. Lannie freed the girls and they all ran down the hatches scared for their lives. The Haruno siblings tied up the Dragon Bros. hoping that their reign of terror would cease. Before they could escape the dungeon, Jiang snickered.

Jiang: "We did shoot your friends."

Erika: "Why are you telling me this?"

Jiang: "I'd tell you anything you wanted to know if you defeated me. It's honor and a code I follow."


---


Rin: "Erika."

Thirty minutes later after the brawl, Erika made her way down the hatch. Rin Xiaoyu looked at Erika as if there was something uncanny about her.

Erika: "?"

Rin: "Thank you. I'm hoping we can be friends in the near future...cousin."

The older Haruno froze from what she heard. Rin walked away not looking back on her friend's rescuer. Did Reiko leave some history of the Haruno's out? If so, how did Rin find out Erika was her cousin? Erika pondered this over and over, even after her straining her back carrying her unconcious boyfriend back to her car. How?


---


Sunday came long and it was confirmed that everyone except for Pepper made it out of the giant kidnapping. Erika had gave her bed up for her unconious Cid for seven days and did all his homework as lovers would do for their loved. Willis was not informed about his sister's kidnapping, but was content with Mya's "message". Kenji, Jet, Ray, Mintz, Alma, and Tangy all hanged out hoping that the rest of the school year wasn't as hectic as the whole week. Portia, Matt, Garet, and Wolfgang separated from the rest of the group to continue with their regular lives, avoiding this whole situation. Amy continued to live her life only a little more lighter. Her friend Britt was avenged for her death. Ramona was glad her sister was back, and Lisa was crying after Harrison decided to date her after on. Pepper was the only one who didn't have a happy ending, she was usually the one who lucked out. They found out that she was fighting and dared not to say a single word about who was all involved. She was in jail for three days, and she almost faced expulsion from Marina High. Arcinio and crew, the three from Santa Teresa High, the three guardians, and the Dragon Brothers were all sent to prison for the twenty-one murders exactly a week ago.


---


<<Not the finale. More to come.>>

Friday stolled on by as with the rest of the week. Cid was strained from all the fighting and interrogations. Nothing seemed to go his way, he was in a web of deception that seemed to never stop. He had three schools to choose from, and even his own. No one wanted to confess to the horror scene. Was this one case impossible for Cid to solve? Lannie seemed to call everyone to Portia's house for a quick meeting before the another dispatch. She felt like the direction was all wrong.

Lannie: "Before we do go back to those schools, we're going to have to go over our approach. We've been acting like meatheads the whole time. Sorry if it's your way of knowing people Matt, but we need to get into serious gear if we want to solve this case. It was a nice try though, Garet. Now we have Santa Teresa, Ozwald, and Cassidy. Our main suspects and possible leads: Harrison, Lisa, Shao, Jiang, Arcinio. Now from the reports that you've all filed, I've decided to split the work into two groups. We're leaving Cassidy High last as we don't have anyone connected to there. Erika, Jet, Garet, and I will go to Santa Teresa as there won't be much trouble there. Now I've heard something that wasn't supposed to happen before we got here. Cid would you like to explain?"

He whistled and avoided eye contact with the girls, especially Erika who seemed to be very interested in what he did. Unable to stand the guilt, Cid sighed and then planted his bum on a nearby couch. His girlfriend looked away in disgust.

Cid: "Okay the, but don't give me that look. Yeah, I seemed to have went on the wrong road to Santa Teresa and ended up in their parking lot. Harrison was there, and he seemed to have gotten in the way of my fist."

The real story was that Cid punched Harrison in the face for giving them such a hard time. Harrison explained that the Dragon Brothers did it, not them. Luckily, Lisa wasn't there to see the confliction or she would have blown a gasket. The growing anger for Harrison surged through Cid's body, and he wanted to do something more to him, something he would regret. He was thinking about killing someone, and if he did kill Harrison, he would go to prison for the wrong person.

Lannie: "Now, I decided to send Pepper, Matt, Cid, and Wolfgang to go back to Ozwald. Pepper is excellent at keeping Arcinio's men at bay unlike some goons who couldn't take them down be themselves. I mean, how do you expect one girl to take on a squad of rough thugs? Well, in my opinion, men are just as useless as a scientific calculator in English class. Our objective is to side with Harrison and make amends with him. If somehow he decides that he'll help us after what Cid has done, we'll have double the workforce. Our main reason is to find our men, not make more enemies from heating tensions. Pepper, I've heard that two girls from Ozwald were talking about a murder there. It's your objective to find those two girls, and extract any sort of information that might be useful to us. Actually, that's a job that Matt, Cid, and Wolfgang can handle; Pepper is there to protect them from any harm that might get in their way. Portia, if you seem to have any leads on this, please phone me or Cid ASAP."



---



Erika and co. arrived at Santa Teresa, but it didn't seem the same. Lisa and Harrison were together and conversing like human beings. Harrison peeked out of the side and spotted Erika. He quickly let go of Lisa's sweet fingers and smirked as she approached him. There was something different about him. It was like he was being a different person. Erika in her sweetest yet cruel voice, began deal. The tune she sang began as a soft melody that turned bittersweet yet colorful.

Erika: "Hi Harrison. I've came over to, you know..."

Harrison: "Oh, so you finally ditched the ding-dong?"

Lisa's eyebrows rose; she was interested in where this conversation was going.

Erika: "Actually, no. He's my pet, and I was here to ask you to help me to help him. We need your help."

Entered: Lisa, the foulmouthed brat in love with everything Harrison stood for.

Lisa: "Excuse me, but Harrison doesn't need to help you with anything."

Harrison ignored Lisa, only interested in Erika's eyes that gleamed ophidiously. Not knowing exactly what she was up to, he seemed to already been bound by her mysterian magic. Every minute she's around her prey, they begin lack charisma and air. He began to studder as Erika pulled in closer eventually placing a fingertip on his chest.

Harrison: "Uh, what ex-actly? What exactly do you need?"

Erika: "I'm announcing a truce in exchange for your help in finding whatever I need. This will include you, Lisa, Suzana, Alfie, Luke, Ramona, and Mya. Of course, in order for this treaty to work, you guys will have to try your best in helping us finding these murderers."

Harrison: "Ah-ah-of course."

Lisa watched as Erika sealed the deal with a hug and a kiss to the cheek. She broke inside. Harrison was supposed to be hers and only hers. No other woman could have kissed Harrison before Lisa. Erika was digging her grave deeper, Lisa was infuriated. Before Erika could turn around, two other boys in the parking lot were fighting. She broke off the hug and steadily made her way to the boys. Lannie, Garet, and Jet got out of the car to see what was going on. It seemed that it was one boy was teasing the other. They called the little acrobatic soccer player Giacomo Marcuzzo, and the kid in the black long sleeves and chains Jake Byrant. Lannie rushed her way up and ran past Erika. She shouted at Giacomo to stop, and it brought memories back to her. These memories that flew through her were ones of Erika and Alice and how they protected her from everything. Lannie was always the different girl from the rest of the group. She wasn't as attractive as Erika, nor the shining goddess of Marina.

Lannie: "Stop it!"

Giacomo paused in his frenzy and looked at Lannie. His head tilted towards his right shoulder and laughed maniacally.

Giacomo: "What are you going to do, four-eyes?"

Even though not a fighter, Giacomo felt the mightiness of Lannie's slap. He froze, and his face started to water. His eyes melted into puppy eyes and he snickered no more while she was around. Her attention was to Jake, an outcast of this school. She could clearly see that he wasn't part of the schools higher standards. He was on the ground dusting the gravel and dirt off him when Lannie offered a hand to help. His loomy eyes, shifted away from contact.

Lannie: "Are you okay?"

Jake: "I don't need your help, filthy Marina trash. Ha, you're the guys who are looking for those murderers. Let me tell you, your friends-"

Lannie punched Jake in the face and regretted even helping the punk. She tried helping those in need, but those who decline her aid in a distasteful will suffer more than they did before. Lannie usually didn't punish physically, but in any other way she could do so. As she walked away, three more students from Santa Teresa blocked her way from the rest. Michealo Malano, Jose Sants, and Jonas Campella, rejects, came to teach Marina trash a lesson. Lannie backed herself away from the group only to hit a lamppost. She was cornered, three to one, nowhere to go. Mya shouted to get their attention. The ceased to be a threat to Lannie. Mya and Erika made their way to Lannie and picked her up from her squander.

Mya: "Sorry Erika for the trouble, but they dislike your school a lot. I have to disagree with them, I'm in love with your school (especially Willie and his sexy...)."

Erika: "You don't mind if I start to question them. I do find them...fishy. Garet, Jet, take care of the others in the parking lot."

She pointed to the far corner of the parking lot towards a couple that was kissing. Erika smiled as she formed up all the men in one line and the girls in the other. Lannie started with the women, and Erika's appeal with the men. She laughed as she looked at each of their faces; Luke, Alfie, Harrison, Giacomo, Jonas, Michealo, Jose. She dismissed Jose, Michealo, and Jonas right away after she killed their manhood. They couldn't have formed a group smart enough to follow complex tactics. She riddiculed them in front of the girls who seemed to be done with their test. After the first cut, she decided to use own style of cutthroat.

Erika: "Okay potential daters, if you were taking me out on a date for three hours on Monday and another date on Tuesday for five hours, what kind of ice cream would I like?"

Luke: "Um...chocolate?"

Harrison: "Whatever you want."

Giacomo: "Lame."

Alfie: "Seeing that your a woman that finds flavor a virtue, I'd say double dipped chocolate."

Erika: "Did you kill my friends? What do you all know about the shooting?"

Luke: "No. I don't know anything relating to the shootings."

Harrison: "Yes! I killed my frickin' toad when I was young! I admit to it...oh. No, I didn't kill anyone besides my toad, Mr. Shadwick. I still believe it's the Dragon Brothers because they're the only one smart enough to do so. I'm too good to get myself into pointless gang fights."

Giacomo: "Lame. I prefer to pummel my foes with my mighty monkey fist!"

Alfie: "I'll do anything for you-"

Erika: "Okay, none of these boneheads did anything."

Lannie wasn't sure how Erika concluded to the point, but she went with the idea anyway. Jet and Garet returned with nothing. The couple in the parking lot said that it was some horrible accident that shouldn't have happened to anyone. Lannie was getting frustrated, nothing seemed to lead to any sort of ending. She began to feel like the answer was not going to pop out of thin air like she wanted it to. The only lead she had was Lisa and Harrison.


---


Arcinio: "So, dat tip about the two tricks who knew who shot yo boys led you to here? That's gettin' me weak already. Yo whack source was wrong, all I had to do is pay some b****** money to sound like dey know what dey were talking 'bout."

Pepper: "If you done with talking crap, put yo fists up and get ready to get yo ass handed, AGAIN!"

Cid, Matt, and Wolfgang were ready for the second round. They were actually racing to get a go at another try with Arcinio. The brawl commensed and the tangle became one heap of junk. Pepper and Arcinio went hand in hand with Pepper landing most of her back hand punches and stomps in his face. Cid took three guys at once and was overpowered when the fourth and fifth tackled him from behind. Severely outpowered and outnumbered, Matt and Wolfgang pulled out Cid before he was gone. Pepper grinded her teeth as she retreated, it was her first lost in leading a group of men into battle. They sped off in hope of getting revenge, Cid was humilated, and deemed himself "unfit for Erika".

Matt: "Dude, you sound like a total crackhead. Your mother must of dropped you when you were little."

He triggered the anger within Edwon, and before anyone knew what was going on, they were duking it out. Arcinio's group crashed into Cid's posse. Jarael's jaw was dislocated when Wolfgang set him up with fierce uppercut. Marco, Damon, and Reggie all went for Cid who was already knocked to the ground by Tyriquel's punch. Jet moved as fast as he could and jumped into the fray to pull Marco and Damon off his ally. Matt tackled Arcinio to the ground, and Garet jabbed Edwon's giant forehead. The force of the punch knocked Edwon so far back that he landed twenty feet from where he first stood. It appeared that Cid was winning the battle, but Arcinio came back to win the war. Before Cid or Matt knew it, Arcinio's crew had them both pinned to the ground with knives at their skinny necks.

Arcinio: "Yo crackah. Don't try to mess with the hood, you'll end up gettin' shot."

Pepper: "Hold up, Arcinio!"

Pepper flew from the first story of the school building and delivered a devestating right hook to Arcinio's face. He fell to the ground from the blow and the fear of his old rival, Pepper Jackson. She banished Arcinio and his crew from Marina High, and she alone took them all down. All of Arcinio's men backed away from Pepper, fearing that they would be finished this time. Cid and his friends all recovered and planted their feet weakly on the ground. Matt believed that none of the men were as effective as Erika or Pepper. The girls have been saving them in the past.

Pepper: "Now, do any of you know about the shooting that occured last Friday? You know, the one where they found twenty-one people dead? I want to know what you know about it."

He was getting nervous now, he couldn't seem to keep in fear of Pepper in any longer.

Arcinio: "Those Mexicans, dey da ones who killed your homeboys. I've heard dat it was dat whiteboy Harrison who hired a few of his thugs that went to his dirty school. Ya might wanna check wit 'em. We only trying to protect ourselves from the otha' gangs."

Pepper: "If I find out that you're lying, I'll beat you to a pulp."

Her threat was taken serious. There was no chance that Arcinio nor anyone else in the crew would be foolish enough to attack her.

The boys had to rethink their approach to the whole murder case. They were on their third school, and Cid thought they needed to find the real location of the gunners before they were reduced to mince meat. If it wasn't for Erika stepping into the brawl, they would've been wiped away from the earth. Jiang Long felt her surging power, and knew that he would've been strained and at a disadvantage inside the gym. Cid wanted to gather up most of the boys before the trip to Ozwald High, the school of thugs and gangsters all alike. The majority of the class were students expelled from the first or second high school they attended. This was the high school where Pepper banished her primortial rival, Arcinio.

Cid and Matt stood in the Marina High School parking lot before the rest of the men arrived. Wolfgang and Garet walked out the gymnasium exit carrying sporting equipment. Aparating from nowhere, the gloomy Jet walked slothly towards the Cid who was leaning on his red car. Cid wasn't too sure about Jet's prowess on this mission, Matt had already gave hope on Jet. No one on the team seemed that Jet would pull his weight and be active. The five boys looked at each other with a slight idea in each hand.

Cid: "Alright ladies, we're about to be pulled into Ozwald. I'm sure the Dragon Brothers aren't telling us the truth and they want us to travel there. Some of us might get shot, some stabbed, others hung. How do you think we should run into this situation?"

Garet was the first to imput. His lack of confidence at first in his idea made Wolfgang distrust him a little bit.

Garet: "Ozwald High is noticed for gang activity...and the increasingly violence. Well, we should split up into three groups and look around the school. It's not much if we all come there ablazing. We'll...um...get shot, or stabbed, or hung. Hummph...we have to...uh...utilize our skills as individuals. Jet...is well...uh...a perfect agent. He's antisocial, dark, and...he doesn't annoy people a lot. I can-I can persuade others to help, as I'm-as I'm not as loud or scurvy or rowdy as any of you guys. Wolfgang, Matt, and you Cid can be in the frontlines as you guys are already distractions to girls and other buff men. We'll take two cars up there. I'll be in one with Jet, we'll split up. Since no one at Ozwald is filled with happiness, Jet will blend in with the group. I'll make my way and start conversing with people. I'll pick up rumors. Cid, Wolfgang, and Matt: it's your part to get in there and get whatever information Arcinio is holding if I'm not able to retrieve any of the sort. Remember to get him away from the rest of his posse, or try to limit them around. Too many gang members around, and there's not a chance you can squeeze in. Gosh, I haven't been this excited since our last basketball game. I'm fired up and I haven't been in the field at all."

Cid nor Matt or Wolfgang expected the quiet and reserved Garet to speak and share his idea. Cid favored the idea already, and he was going to use this as the basic plan. There wasn't even need of a plan B. The redhead althlete did have a knack of genius. His family was quite famous for being out of the ordinary. His grandma was even a great cook around her neighborhood. His father, August was a world renowned translator who could translate in seventy-two languages and over three hundred different codes. His aunts January, Febuary, March, April, May, June, and July were all nuns of their own Catholic sect in New York City.


---


A blue car sped down the freeway until it pulled off into an exit leading to Ozwald High. Garet held the clutch tightly and began to sweat tiny beads. Jet leaned his chair back and chilled for the duration of the long, and boring ride. He wasn't going to get himself riled up. Jet Heart had the easy way out. It was in his own environment that he was in, he blended in with the ghetto urban vibe. The car parked across the street and Garet checked everything before he looked to Jet. He fixed his rear-view mirror, turned off the car engine, adjusted his side view mirrors.

Garet: "All right get ouuuut."

Jet left the car five minutes prior to Garet's perfection. He was already out on the field playing the game. He stood in the square of the school, the place where everyone meets together and chat about their day. Most of the troubled kids around here were black or mexican. A few white boys were seen hanging around with the big black boys who had their pants below their waist and sporting the wifebeaters. In ten minutes or so, Garet was going around playing the cool guy. His first two pieces of help were Latisha and Shaniqua. Shaniqua was a short, squatty girl with tons of attitude. She butt-bumped Garet into the wall and had pleasure laughing at his misfortune. Latisha was just loud and obnoxious. Many of the people here though had accepted her. Their sence of fashion and men were subpar to other schools. Both seemed to be interested in Garet.

Latisha: "Look dis' white boy. He soooo tall!"

Garet: "We..lll yeah..."

Shaniqua: "Tisha, you be jocking on him! He all mine though, you don't like white boys."

Latisha: "Stop tryin' to be a bobbleheaded ho."

Shaniqua: "Who you callin' ho?! Who?! Who?! Dat's what I thought! We all know what you've been doin' with Arcinio! Uhh-huh!"

Garet: "Arcinio? What's he been up to?"

Shaniqua: "I can tell you what Tisha been doin with Arcinio! Ohhhhh!"

He wasn't getting anywhere with these two squabbling chickens. They weren't giving him time to get in and ask where they were. Garet would have to get more assertive if he wanted to accomplish anything.

Garet: "You know where he's at?"

Latisha: "Yeah, he behind da' school prob'ly smokin'. Call mah number white boy!"

Garet sped off to find Arcinio. He called Cid and told him to get on Ozwald school grounds as soon as humanly possible. Noises came from the corner; Garet knew that there was more than one. He threw his back to the wall and eavesdropped, listening intentively to whatever he could hear. None of the conversations seemed to be be anything relating to shooting or killing. Did the Dragon Brothers dupe Cid? Cid's car soon pulled up in front of the Arcinio, and all three boys popped out of the car.

Cid: "Arcinio, I would love to talk to you right now. You have some explaining to do."

Arcinio. He was the sharpest thug at Ozwald. His poofy afro bounced as he turned his head in laughter. He was surrounded by his posse; Reggie, Marco, Jareal, Damon, Edwon, Clint, and Tyriquel. All jacks of trade, but none masters of skill. To be in Arcinio's crew, you must fight a candidate and win. After that, you have to fight off more than one person that's already made the crew, and get the majority of the votes. After you join, you have to work your way up the ladder. From robbing pharmacies to stabbing someone on Willa Mae Rd., Arcinio's crew is no good violent ruffians.

Arcinio: "I don't like how this white boy thinks he can get away speaking to me like dat. Dat ain't friendly. Reggie, you think dat these crackahs should be talkin' to me like dat?"

Matt: "Ey! We're not trying to start a fight. Hold your horses or we'll beat them."

Edwon: "Whutuf datef whiteef say, nuf. I'maf gonnaf shoot datef whiffeef, nuf."


---


<<More to follow in the morning.>>

Wednesday strolled on slowly, it was raining not so forgiving. The gales brought blurr on the road and it wasn't helping the driver. Cid, Matt, and Wolfgang decided to get down to business quickly, and left Erika behind. Cid always thought Erika should've stayed behind in the first place, it was only acceptable if the man of the future household should do all the manual labor. Lisa Santos sang like a robin. Matt obtained all the information he dared to contain within his cranium. He was immediately interested in what she had to say when she blurted out, "Dragon Bros."; a San Francisco ledgendary name very familiar to Marina High School. They were notorious twins recognized for their terrible fighting style and the executions. Shao and Jiang Long were the murderers as told by Lisa. Cid suggested that Lisa used the brothers to save Harrison. She seemed to stoic afterwards as if something was biting her from the bottom of her stomach. There were times in her nervousness where she seemed to wanted to throw up.

Cid: "Matt, we're not going in there to bust heads, yet. We need to know if they did it at first. That's our first priority. Secondly, we need to know what we exactly did to provoke them. We cannot put them into their rightful place if we don't ask them what triggered them. If they prove to be the killers, we'll jump them on their own grounds. This seems to be second dangerous situation I've been in this year."

Matt: "And I would know the first."

He looked to Cid and smirked. They both knew what each other was talking about, but they didn't want to discuss it directly in front of Wolfgang. The crew finally found Cassidy High School. Wolfgang remarked that the school looked like a tower withholding a fairy princess. It was five stories tall and cryptic with old taggings and iron artwork in the front. Trees hovered covering students from the heavy rainfall. The three men all ran into the front entrance with stiffness. The rain chilled Matt and Wolfgang's firey tension, and the school sent them into a freezing state. To their left, a girl in pink attire stood their emotionless, almost as if she was awaiting her time to die. Matt took a chance at her; he approached her slowly and then looked her dead in the eye.

Matt: "You know where I can find the Dragon Bros?"

She turned away and looked at the other two boys standing by the door. She turned back to Matt and then spoke in such a dreaded voice. She was previously crying beforehand.

Amy: "You three look worthy enough. Follow me."

Her name was Amy Yasuraga, a freshman who went to Cassidy High School. She didn't know how exactly she got involved with the Dragon Brothers. She was an eternal slave to them, and she lost everything of her previous life to the horrid fraternity. Amy had a dear friend by the name of Brittney who never seemed to come back to school after she displeased the woman-hating Shao. Many students and teachers at Cassidy High School believed that the demon Shao severed Britt's head with a dao and burried her body in an empty grave.

Cid, Matt, and Wolfgang followed Amy who was bringing them up and down the dim hallways, grueling staircase by grueling staircase until they reached the fourth floor gym. Inside, five Chinese boys stood there telling humorous stories of their wildest fights. Two of the five Chinese men stepped forward. Both, thin, gaunt, well built fighters; they looked hungry for another fight. The one with the longer black hair smiled at Amy and dismissed her. She ran out of the room and peeked from the holes in the doorway. Jiang Long smiled until he spoke.

Jiang: "i've heard of you two. Cid Ferguson, Matt Luchesi. Two white boys accompanied by their crew. What can I help you with?'

Cid represented the group. As soon as he stepped forward, the remaing three Chinese boys stepped in front of Jiang. Jiang told them to step aside and let the thug from Marina talk.

Jiang: "Speak or hold your peace."

Cid: "Jiang Long, are you responisible for the deaths of Beal Knight and Sloan Faust?"

His opponent smiled and appeared to try to play dumb. Jiang Long was the smarter, more tactical fighter of the two brothers. His techniques were refined traditions; not much of his own to call. His slyness appeared to be transparent to all, he was a mastermind of untwisted plots that brewed up misery and shame.

Jiang: "I don't know of a Beal Knight nor do I a Sloan Faust. Are they friends are yours?"

Matt exploded.

Matt: "Stop acting stupid you ass or I'll have to beat you to a pulp!"

Shao: "Jiang, allow me to take care of this bastard who insults our family."

Shao Long was a force that couldn't be stopped in battle. Though being trained under the same wing as Jiang, Shao's moved seemed more aggressive towards his opponents. His fists did the talking for him, and his brutality was a normality. He tended to finish off his opponents the first minute because Shao believed that the enemy should be able to stand up longer than five minutes if he's strong enough.

Jiang: "Let us leave this to our friends. If they can manage to get to me before they are knocked out, then I'll tell them whatever they want. Qing, Hwang, Chan."

The Dragon Brothers' Elite. The first one that seemed to make any motion was Qing. Qing was a bodybuilding Chinese who proved to be very strong in his form of fighting. His style seemed to be a mix of wrestling and judo; the stances seemed to be firm on the ground and very slow. Qing ripped off his white tanktop and fiercely stared down Sergei Wolfgang. Wolfgang returned the favor by locking eyes onto him, the two were in a serious staredown. Wolfgang didn't seem to have any stratagy except tackling his guy to the floor. He did as he thought, but Qing seemed to predict the linear attack and counterreacted by throwing him over his shoulders. Qing dropped to the ground fist first into Wolfgang's abdomen. The impact nearly knocked him out of concious. Wolfgang quickly returned to his feet and tried to rapidly rush Qing one more time for the the undoubtly knockout. Unfortunately, Qing jabbed Wolfgang in the jaw, knocking him upwards. The Chinese bodybuilder then grabbed his ragdoll by the arm and once again threw him over his shoulders.

The second behemoth fighter on the Dragon Brothers' Elite was Hwang. It was not the muscles that brought his fellow turkies down to their abated knees, it was the alacrity. Hwang's style was based on quick jabs, not power kicks or punches. His feet did most of the moving around the stange while his adversaries stood still taking his lightning speed pokes. Matt was quickly made into a heaping pile of waste when his foe made no use of his arns with the meteor mashing punches. Numbed and shocked from the attack, the Marina student tried his best to guard from all the jabs. Before Matt could land a punch, Hwang encircled him. The flurry of attacks placed Matt's back onto the back of the gymnasium wall. Hwang struck with full force and left Matt weakened.

The final smasher of the Dragon Brothers' Elite seemed to be Chan. Chan didn't rely on strength or speed. His body shape was normal; the skills were superb. The dim Qing and the loquatious Hwang praised Chan's fighting style, and Jiang favored him amonst the group. The style consisted of swift limb movements and intense acrobatics. The unlucky Cid had trouble keeping up with his comely tenor. Chan broke into the air and his feet hammered hurriedly, beating down on Cid's arms. Cid backed away and took a few good swipes at Chan before he started another sequence of impossible moves. Chan barreled, sailed, and punted Cid up and away. His body stayed in the air for a few moments before a great THUD! Shao laughed as he made his way towards Matt. His smugged face seemed to enjoy the pain he was going through, it was amusing at most.

Shao: "Maybe we didn't need all three of them, right Jiang?"

Jiang stood still as a figure had their palm on his back. The figure seemed to be drenched in a shabby, wet gray raincoat, and ready to be dangerous with anyone. Jiang sighed, then smirked. The raincoat person uncloaked herself. It was Erika.

Erika: "Well. Looks like you're going to have to tell me what I want."

Shao: "A no good, woman! You should be playing with dolls you mutt, how dare you touch my brother, you b****."

Jiang: "Enough."

Shao: "I will personally get rid of this tramp, let me have-"

Jiang: "Enough! There's no point in fighting such a person such as her. We're on the same plane. Now Erika, I'm assuming that you want to know who killed your friends, right? Funny story. It isn't us."

After school on a windy Tuesday, Pepper's crew was on their way to their first clue. Cid drove through the city to get to the other side of San Francisco. Their target wasn't just one person, it was a whole school. The school was around the Italian district where most of the rich kids and Mexicans went to. It was much different from the school Cid came from. They weren't as divided as Cid's and they all seemed to get along with each other. Along with Cid, Erika and Matt accompanied him. Erika received the rumor from Mya that someone from their school might have done it. Mya Oliveira longed for her Willis, but she had to suffice at her own school, alone in the dark. The pulchrious Mya was considered top tier Queen of Hears of the school. She was unmatched in the art of male eyecatching. Everything about her body made her become a living goddess in human guise.

Cid arrived at the parking lot at five o' clock awaiting the sight of their informant. Matt kept an eye Erika while she kept an hawk's eye on the crowd right next to Cid's car. They all seemed to be harmonious in their voice while their words they uttered were digust. There was two men and three girls. The tallest female around shoved the girl behind and started to yell at the other three. Her tight apple-bottom jeans hugged her giant waist and her buttox. Her long black hair flowed to her ever so slightly arched back. She seemed to have had everything in order until the boy with the very short blonde hair barked back in his slight British accent.

Harrison: "Move outta' the way Ramona! Lisa can't always be protected by ya!"

Ramona: "I sware by mi abuela's nombre, I will, and I mean I will, kill you if you eveh, and I mean eveh touch one hair on Lisa. You think I'm not playing with you, chulo?"

Erika's eyes stided off the quarrelsome group as Mya and another man hanging on her drudged on by. His hand was on her waist, and her hand wrapped around his. Erika didn't know how to take this; Mya was cheating on Willis with another man. The sole love of Willis was with another man! Erika walked up to Mya and looked at the couple. It digusted her severely. Feverish ague ran down her spine triggering anxiety.

Erika: "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Mya: "I'm Mya! C'mon Erika, don't you know me?"

She didn't know what to do with Mya. The man on her waist let go of her and stepped forward.

Alfie: "Who does she think she is? I bet she hasn't met the famous Alfie Limberg. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am quite busy with my schedule right now. See my gal over here is waiting for some friends to arrive here. I'm surely hoping she's not speaking of Marina trash. It is sad to hear though that a few of their kin had to say goodbye. Ha! Serves them right."

Erika: "You shouldn't say things like that in front of us Marina trash. Maybe the boys are useless, but you don't have a single idea of what a reaaal woman can do."

She steppped forward with her black boot exposed. Erika Haruno was going to show her new friend Alfie Limberg a thing or two about beating the life right from the fruit. Not many men could stand around Erika and mess with her. She was a machine of war. A daughter of a natural born assassin, she inherit the habit. Too bad for Erika, Mya stepped in and laughed as if it was just a joke between friends.

Mya: "Erika, don't pay attention to Alfie. He's just a rude manwhore."

Erika: "How can you be around him and still be in love with Willis?"

Mya: "Oh! You think that Alphonse and your lovely vuluptuous Mya are seeing each other behind Willie's back? A very sexy, broad back if I don't say so myself. Willis knows about Alfie, and they're acquaintances. Nothing is special between friends."

Mya ran up to her friend Erika and tightly squeezed chests together. Alfie smiled sheepishly to watch the girl-on-girl action happening. Erika jumped as she felt a tight grope on the bum. She turned around and saw nothing in this dimension around her but people walking up to Cid and Matt. It was the group previously arguing about Lisa, the little Latina. Mya and Ramona briefly exchanged genial faces across the circle. Ramona Santos was Mya's friend, and her little sister Lisa despised the bond between. Lisa disliked Mya and how she was always so flirtacious.

Ramona: "So this is Erika Haruno? You didn't tell me that she wasn't so...pale."

Harrison: "Marina trash, eh?"

Cid and Matt weren't familiar with the lingo around these parts of San Francisco. Matt wanted to punch Harrison in the face, but he thought it over. He'd smash his face into his knee and then punch him in the face. Harrison was a forward in soccer during the fall and then all star hitter in baseball when spring pranced along. He was dubbed "hottest athlete" around his part of town by the ladies. Teachers hated the kid because he was too good for everything.

Cid: "It seems that we have a cast of jokers here this evening. The name is Cid Ferguson and I'll be your waiter today. You know, the kind of waiter that waits for what he orders."

Mya: "Would everyone state their first and last name for Mr.Cidolpholas? Maybe sex, age, grade, and some background. Mya Oliveira. Yes, of course. Seventeen, senior, and I'm the hottest Brazillian Bombshell you'll ever be with, cha!"

Mya blew a kiss at Erika so playfully and slid her way behind her friend. Moving with such celerity, Mya creeped out her victim with an ever so slightly whisper.

Erika: "Erika Haruno. Do I need to show proof? Eighteen, senior. I love Cid Ferguson, quite found of white people, not a big fan of cartoons unless it happens to be on Cartooncompany. I also happen to love walks on beaches and-"

Erika stared at Matt. She knew the whole time he was staring at her. Matt knew that she knew. He figured to say something rude to her, but then he had more important business to take care of.

Matt: "SHUT THE F*** up, it's my turn! Matt Luchesi. I'm in a relationship, so no. eighteen, '08 baby! I'm here to find out who killed my friends. If any of you-"

Matt's first suspect pointed to Luke who looked forward to get out of this stareout.

Luke: "The name is Lukey-Luke Hoffman. I go by Luke though. I'm not a transvestite, seventeen, and I'm going to graduate next year. Do I have to talk about myself? "

Luke was a popular junior around his school and he was eyecandy to most like Harrison and Alfie. They picked him up after they both knew that they wouldn't be running the school after the year they graduate. They needed fresh blood to take over. It was a very popular ritual they did at their high school of famous traditions. Luke was tall, blond, and lame. He wasn't that exciting when he first started out as a freshman, but he grew to fame as he hanged with the upperclassmen.

Alfie: "Alfie Limberg, the ladiesman. Of course, sex. I'm a sexoholic. I couldn't stop if I tried. I'm just...you know...too good around the block. Eighteen and been around before I was legal. I'm dubbed the sexiest man alive."

Alfie didn't give a hoots about other men other than Luke, the young fellow who was to pick up from him. No one knows how Alfie got around, but it seemed that everytime you heard his stories, he was with a different girl. He befriends Mya and Suzana so he can get into their beds. Unfortunately, Mya leads a clean life with her one and truely Willis Illumina. Alfie and Suzana's relationship vary between the long, grueling days.

Harrison: "Harrison Forge. Whut? Seventeen, do I look olda'? This year I'm graduated, probably top of the class. I'm not saying anything."

Harrison didn't care right now who the heck they were, he was just hoping that little Lisa Santos would keep her mouth shut for the sake of him and others.

Suzana: "Name: Suzana Yucca. Sex: female. Age: eighteen. Graduation year: 2008. Background: Mya's my friend."

Suzana Yucca was the second prize winner of Santa Teresa High school. She was all about business and nothing else. Her least favorite person was Alfie who seemed to get on her nerves most of the time. Being a stunning Mexican, she was oftenly praised by cute guys, but never was she interested in meeting them for their looks. Men had to have brains for her to even consider.

Ramona: "Hi everyone, Ramona Santos. Of course, but I'm still a virgin, ha! I'm sixteen years old and I'll graduate next year. I totally dislike people who are pale and too skinny."

The elder Santos sister. She is nothing short of snappy. Ramona and any other lady of Santa Teresa knows that she was firey. She was interested in Luke, a fellow graduate of the next new year. Lisa was her only problem.

Lisa: "I don't like half of you people here. I graduate 2010. I have already turned fifteen this year and I'm not looking forward for another year of school. I'm cute, but I wouldn't go that far for sex. My name is Lisa Santos, Ramona's younger sister."

Lisa was the loudest, freshman. There was a wonder why Harrison didn't already beat her down. Lisa was in love with Harrison though and she would do anything to save him from harm's way. She never let him in on the secret though, she was still shy about love.

Matt: "Who wants to start talking now?"

Harrison: "Yah, like you'll get anyone of us to talk, Marina trash."

Matt grabbed Harrison firmly by the red and white polo and knocked him into a nearby jalopy. He rose his fist and as he was about to sock Harrison sqaure right in the jaw, Lisa shrieked for a halt.

Lisa: "THE DRAGON BROS.!"

The nightmare of the weekend brought tears to the entire school that Monday. No one would have thought that one simple party would turn into a massacre. The bloodshed was spread throught the whole school, and no one could avoid in the hallways. In every classroom, there was always one student describing what he heard. Many believed that they were too drunk and they shot each at another. All the frightful freshmen thought it was a senior prank. The sophomores feared that they were be potential targets from whomever caused the mourning. Juniors wanted to fight anyone that got in their ways. Furious with infinite fire, the seniors were wet with warm tears trickling down. Their school was their sanctuary, a home where they were safe. Everyone was closely knit within their groups. Even those who didn't particularly like the jocks and princesses felt remorse for those dead. The artistic children in black did always wish for them to die in a horrible car accident hoping that the pretty girls (especially Portia) had their heads decapitated. It wasn't the kids at this school who did it. They weren't that too terrible of children. The planning to kill everyone at that party was handled perfectly. It would've spread thoughout the community before going into action.

Time had flown by, and Erika and Kenji met Cid in the parking lot. Matt, Portia, and Sergei Wolfgang stood there talking Cid. Wolfgang who was a broad fellow on the football team shouted in Cid's face. Cid's face stayed calm, and fixed his eyes on Wolfgang. Erika, who was displeased with someone spitting in her boyfriend's face, walked up to the group with strife. Portia rolled her eyes at Erika. The two young ladies had a personal vendetta against each other. Portia heavily disliked Erika because of her getting back with Cid. She also detested her being so pure and less provocative unlike the rest of her lady friends. Kenji sat on the hood of Cid's car and then blinked at Cid and Matt.

Portia: "What the heck is she doing here?"

Kenji murmured under his harsh breath.

Kenji: "She's Cid's girlfriend you two-bit broad."

Portia looked at around to see where the voice had came from. Not noticing what direction it came from, she hugged on tight to her Matt grasping tightly. If there was anyone else she hated, it was Kenji Haruno. Her hatred for the younger Haruno blazed with umbrage. To wring his neck and pounce on his thin torso was her blest vision. Rich with the thought of superiority, Portia wanted to eliminate the whole Haruno family tree. They were her self-proclaimed enemy. Ever since Erika and Kenji walked on the school grounds, Portia wanted them to exist no more. She believed that they shouldn't even be buried on this very Earth. Her aspirations as an old woman was two see both of them be scalded in a infernal conflagration.

Cid: "Whoa Erika, nothing to worry about. We're just actually planning on forming a group to find our gunmen. It sounds like a crazy idea, but Matt and I need to do something for the community. We have to make whoever pay for their action. I've lost friends in the gunfire. Who says this is the last time they'll shoot? I'm not going to risk you Erika. I want you to be happy and you out of the crossfire. Nothing bad is going to happen to you as long as I'm around. Erika you should-"

Erika: "Well then, I'm in."

He couldn't believe that she didn't hear a single word that came from the truth. Worried for Erika's sake, he wanted to keep her and Kenji far from what these four were going to do. They were going into the depths of San Francisco to find the scoundrels and then wreak their vengenge upon them tenfold. Cid begged Erika to stop her dangerous mission, but she merely laughed like he was loon.

Erika: "There's more than you know Cid Ferguson. Solving delimas is my specialty. Haven't I told you the time I vaquished a demon lord who ruled over vampires? Or the time I survived my mom's meatloaf?! I'm sure I told you about that. I even saved my brother from that catostrophe. I am more than some average schoolgirl. I am superwoman. I have accomplished feats that even my own boyfriend couldn't believe to dream up."

There was no chance in pulling her out of her ambition. Erika had fought her way into the group. The first five of the group talked about where to exactly start. Kenji desparately tried to pry his way into the conversation and he claimed that he was in the group, not Wolfgang. He had a chance to break away from his sister's shadow. He wanted to fight to stand out, be heard, not be the younger Haruno. He was basic to the seniors and juniors, the freshmen and the friends around him seemed to be the only groups like enjoyed his company.


---


Matt: "So you Garet, you willing to join us?"

Garet West was the tallest junior at the high school and was popular with the senior jocks. His skills in basketball dominated middle-upper tier players on his own team. Matt and Wolfgang desired Garet to help, if not with the beating, the gathering of information. At first, they didn't believe that they could catch up with Garet with the busy schedule he was runned on. His parents wanted him to grow up to be a professional athlete, straying away from his older sister's sucession in the music business. He was the perfect child that didn't do anything wrong. His grades were above average, but it was the stide to be a NBA basketball player.

Garet: "Uh, well, uh...I guess."

Matt and Wolfgang turned to each and smiled. That was one more in crew. Cid interrupted their celebration early to another problem. He explained that they needed a doublespy. They needed someone to stand out of the group, the sore thumb in the crowd. The only one he could possibly end up turning to was the slacker, Jet Heart. He despised how things worked in the world, and wished that everything could work in equality. He never put himself first in the long list of people to care about. Jet was third on his own list to take care of. The first two positions were blank spaces, nothing. It didn't matter what happened to his enemies, friends, nor his own family. Vesta Heart wished that her family could've lived more lively, but her dreams seemed to be hopeless aspirations.


---


Jet: "You're asking me to help you guys? I have no reason to help you. I have no reason to even talk to you. I'm just getting through life as it coasts on; there's no point to going on a wild goose chase and getting shot at. I've dealt with enough morons as it is. Cid, your a fool for trying, and when you die, I'll certainly have no pity for your death and your dead hopes. Those drunk idiots probably died because the Fates ended the pointless. I am not risking myself for your own personal gain."

Matt: "Why you ungreatful ba-"

Wolfgang and Cid held Matt back from doing anything that he would regret. Even though Matt Luchesi could have Jet dead with the powers he was bestowed, Cid wanted to have faith in Jet Heart. He knew inside him that Jet wasn't getting the drive. Jet wasn't a necessarily a bad person, he was just hiding from who was to become. Cid thought he could not be at his fullest if he was not pushed. Jet started to walk away, but Cid hollered.

Cid: "What's wrong, you scared?"

Jet: "Whatever..."

He shrugged off the petty insult like it was a feather passing by. Jet wasn't going to join them, he had already decided.


---


Erika and Portia had luck recruiting more people to help. If they were the only two people Erika could depend on, she would be in good hands. Lannie and Pepper lounged back in Portia's so called "mansion." Portia didn't want to to even invite the two over alone have Erika in her presence. Lannie and Pepper right away joined the crew. Lannie was their tech specialist and internet jockey. The bright child pushed up her thick black glasses up her nose and smiled.

Lannie: "Oh Erika! I'm so glad that you came to me."

Erika didn't have any problem with Pepper joining the crew. Pepper was a different woman. She could take any man foolish enough to take her on. She needed no assistance unless they were on the other side. Pepper was queen of wrestling and an artist in the matter of streetfighting. Appearing to be a stereotypical black gangster, she didn't hang with that group; she knocked all of them out and sent them to the other side of San Francisco. Weapons were not used in any of her fights, and when odds where heavily against her, Ms. Jackson was a megaton. It was Lannie and Portia who she was concerned about. Lannie had no experience in fighting, she would probably get knocked out in no time. Her skinny, frail body appeared to be uncanny. Portia was a target according to some people. They say that whoever did do the shooting was trying to kill all the rich students. Erika brought the two over to speak with them. She wanted to know how determined they were.

Erika: "Lannie, Portia, I don't want to see you two get into danger without you guys knowing it. Lannie, I have to hear that you are ready to go to the ends to find the gunmen. Portia, we have to settle our differences, work together, and aid our men."

Lannie: "Erika, I have never tried to let you down. I will either suceed in or die trying. We've been best friends Erika, we're friends. I'd help you until I die. I promise, I promise, I promise I will not get into any trouble."

Portia: "Look Erika. I don't like you. I'm not even sure why I'm even helping you all. But if it is for Matt Luchesi, the man I love, I will go to the ends of the Earth and back till infinty for him. I've even put up my mansion for HQ. I, Portia Baleteur am your HQ mom. It's my job to provide information and support them."


---


Later in the evening, Cid, Matt, Garet, Wolfgang, and Kenji all rode up to Portia's mansion to meet up with the girls. Kenji had called Alma on her cell phone and asked where she was. Alma replied to him that she and Tangy went up to the hospital to check up on Mintz. They reported that Mintz would be okay as long as she had plenty of rest and didn't move much. Matt and Portia glomped by the doorway, making a scene for everyone to watch. It all fell apart when a black car pulled up and the windows were pulled down. Pepper ran up to the car with anger and stopped immediately.

Pepper: "Oh."

She back away and the mysterious figure in black stepped out of the car. Jet Heart had emerged from the shell. Vesta Heart had drove her child all the way to the hills for her son to play with the big kids.

Vesta: "Hello Erika! Thanks for inviting Jet to play with you! BYE!"

Vesta sped down the hills and into the vanishing horizon. The sky was now turning into dusk. The sun was retiring from California for the day. Cid asked Erika how, but she didn't respond back.

Jet: "I'm not here for any of you. I'm here to show you all that I'm not some loser, some slacker that doesn't work. I'm here to show you all that I can work."


---


Later that night, the two lead boys had a big dispute. Matt and Cid were both going at each others throats and bickering on who was going to be the leader of the group. At first, it was just play fist-fighting, but then it turned into a scruffle. Cid got Matt onto the tearing his shirt clean off. Portia cried aloud, but Erika pulled her back. Lannie was slightly arroused by the men fighting in the dirt. Matt soon got on top and worked his way into jabbing furiously into the sides. Garet and Wolfgang tried to run to stop them, but Pepper ran past the two. She ran into a jumping elbow drop to Cid's side and knocked the breath clean out of him. Pepper taunted Matt and then booted him to the ground with the thrust kick to the stomach. She stood there in victory as she claimed her position as leader.

Pepper: "I run this, whities! You should know this!"

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Erika: "Looks like we just got our first clue."

Created by Buster Dunlap (Finnigan) 129d 1hours ago. [ ]

Matt Luchesi's parties were nothing short but spectacular. Everyone was there that night, even the goofy freshmen that no one cared for and the foolish sophomores who thought they were all that. His house was located in the rich suburb area where all the fancy kids thought they were posche, top of the line. Most were athletes while others were rich and spoiled. Matt was most recognizable for his facial and body features. His sharp face cut through the crowds as the girls stood back staring awe. Young men despised his body. Matt Luchesi was the talk, even after he was embarassed. He was king of the school and no one could get in the way of what he was feeling, no one. After his incident with Cid and Erika, he had learned his ways of the playboy life. Don't mess with a girl, especially one who is attractive and interested in him. HIs friendship with his track buddy Cid was repaired, and he didn't talk to Erika afterwards. He found her to be a viper not ready to be mangled. Portia Baluteur was his current girlfriend now. After they had both made a fool of themselves, they decided to be together. They were a rich couple, both financially and romantically. Portia didn't change after the incident. She was still queen of the high clique and really snobby.

Matt had two kegs of beer at the party, but neither of the Harunos touched a single drop of alcohol. There was one thing in Miss Reiko Haruno's life, and it was to raise her children to be wary of the consequences of drinking alcohol. She threatened her own son Kenji that she would dump him on the other side of San Francisco if he was ever caught with alcohol and even with the slightest touch came into contact with the beverage. Her harsh tone struck fear into Kenji's eyes. Reiko would not tolerate alcoholics running amuck in her house nor her street. The DaVitas had taught Reiko this lesson; this very same lesson that she had to bear. Kenji cried so hard that day he promised his mother that he wouldn't do such a thing until he was eighteen. Erika didn't recieve the same speech her brother had. Reiko already knew that Erika was her perfect child. Mother and daughter, daughter and mother. Erika was basically a second version of her mother.

Matt: "Hey Cid! Why don't you get your ass over here and start partying! Beal, Sloan, c'mon and get the beer bong!"

Being a partier, Cid couldn't resist. These teen socials could make even the best athletes turn into rotten-teethed alcoholics. Erika disapproved of her boyfriend's behavior so she turned away from the scene to talk to Mintz, Tangy, and Alma. Mya was at the party earlier that night, but she soon left with Willis to take care of "business." Her words were, "Erika, I'm sorry to leave you here with a bunch of losers, but Willis is going to help me with my taxes." Erika then wanted to push Mya down and laugh in her face. She found Mya's jokes extemely dull. The tomboyish Mintz popped in ten breathmints before speaking to her friends. Tangy straightened out her lemon pattern dress. Alma looked for Kenji, but he was nowhere to be found.

Mintz: "I'm thinking about blowing this popsicle stand. All these boys think they're drunk. They're tipsy. One beer is enough for me. It's not even the good kind of beer either. It's this cheap American beer that you get from the ghetto. I bet Matt was too cheap to buy us the real crap."

Tangy: "Mintz, you were drinking alcohol? Did you know that crap stunts your growth? No, you're going to stay short forever!"

Alma and Erika looked at each other and giggled. Mintz was already 5'9". She was was one of the tallest sophomore girls at the school. Tangy watched Mintz for the rest of the night. She wasn't that good at watching her either. Everytime Tangy would be talking to the boys, Mintz turned around and walked to the keg for beef bong fun. Near eleven o' clock at night, she passed out under a table. Minnesota Finch was considered the badass of the three girls. She recieved her nickname from the copious amounts of mints she was seen popping in her mouth in one day. Mintz had once went to the store to buy bananas for her mother and brought along Tangy for fun. Unknownst to Mintz addiction, Tangy stood there in shock as Mintz cleared out all the mints from the vast range of the candy sections. Tangy had always wondered if she had bad breath. Deciding not to confront her about her problem, she kept her mouth shut. Minnesota Finch was one tough cookie to crumble.

Later on while Tangy was getting her chat on with the bright, sunny Ray Emmerick, Erika and Alma stepped into the bathroom together. Erika wanted to know something from Alma. There was something lingering off the branch of truth, Erika wanted to be the one who hears her trial. Erika found Alma to be a slight problem for Kenji.

Erika: "Alma, I'm worried."

Alma frowned. She didn't have the slightest idea what was going on.

Alma: "What's wrong Erika? Are you...well? In need of...help?"

It was Erika's turn to feel strange. She didn't know where Alma was going.

Erika: "No. I wanted to-"

Alma: "To ask me if you needed a tampon?"

Erika froze in place. Her moan echoed in the big bathroom with the large tub. She felt like she should forget about what happened this night, but she wanted to get this over with. Alma giggled feebly hoping that she didn't make a mistake. Both girls were in the bathroom for fifteen more minutes until Erika decided to break the awkward silence. Erika grunted loudly.

Erika: :"Alma, do you happen to lo-have seen my brother lately?"

Alma appeared to speak, but no sound seemed to come out. A loud, repetitive hammering noise kept on clicking. Both girls didn't know what was going until the bathroom lights went out. At that time, Erika grabbed Alma and threw her into the expensive bathtub. Her face was filled with blight stupor as she dived head first to the ground for Alma. The noise grew louder as it came around the whole premises. Erika muffled Alma's screaming and they lay there in the tub in silence. Screaming could be heard from the outside; loud grunts and curdling shrieks. The walls were filled with peeping holes, the floors scattered with metal objects laying on the wood floor, and the grass stained with corpses.


---


Cop#1: "Miss, you're going to tell me what was going on in that bathroom. What did you two hear?"

Alma: "I don't know! My friend and I were in there and before you knew it, she threw me into the tub. I fainted after I cried myself to sleep. See this, I'm not in the mood!"

Alma Illumina sat there by the paramedics while the cop went to investigate the other kids at the party. Her hands were still shaking two hours later. She didn't know why exactly why it took police to sort this out. Someone had gunned down Matt Luchesi's house. Alma wanted to go back to sleep, her brother was to pick her up in an hour. Falco and Minerva were out of town for the weekend. Willis's sister wanted to be hugged by her older brother. Where was Kenji when all this went down? Erika sought out Alma from the crowd and ran to her. She wasn't as shaken as Alma. Running her way through the crowd, Erika grasped ahold of Alma and hugged her tightly.

Erika: "Thank goodness you're alright! Did you check out okay?"

Alma: "I'm fine. What happened?"

Erika: "You're not going to like what I'm going to tell you."

She was furious with the even and she punched the back of the ambulance vehicle. Erika dented the steel inner of the door. Alma wanted to hear the story. The older Haruno was settled down by the riled up Alma. Erika laid Alma's blonde head onto her shoulder and recited the story she heard from the cops, the kids, and the neighbors.

Erika: "The party ended when thugs in black arrived. They arrived in trashy cars from the ninties and shot from the windows. Many of them jumped out of the car and chased people around with automatic rifles and machine guns. People ran in every direction, but it seemed that they couldn't avoid the fire. So far, they found nineteen bodies dead. Sloan Faust was found pinned to a car and then shot in the head. Cid told me that the drunk Beal Knight was fighting off some of the gunners. He didn't stand a chance. Matt, Jet, and Cid went to the police station for questioning. They were caught with alcohol in their system. They haven't found Ray, Kenji, or Tangy yet. Their bodies haven't been seen on the property and I'm (for the first time) scared that Kenji might be in danger. As for Mintz...she's in the hospital in critical condition."

Created by Buster Dunlap (Finnigan) 130d 2hours ago. [ ]

Erika: "I, Erika Haruno, stand here to watch the sun as it rises from the blanket of shadow hoping that one day I will find out what I truely desire. What do I want? What is my purpose to be living on this planet that we call Earth. Is it the love of my man that I truely desire? Or is it set in stone that I must leave him for an ever so distant time. His touch is what I yearn, and he desires touch of a woman: me. I cannot leave him as his spirit is connected to mine as mine is connect to his. Why must March bring unbountiful tides to wash me away from the sandy shore? The life that we bred must stay breathing until the end of time.

San Francisco, you will always have my heart, but Cid Ferguson is my amorous keeper. Never in any other place will I feel the warm breeze you bring to my face, my hair, my body. I give you my embrace, my body, my spirit, my mind..."

Cid and Kenji watch nearby as Erika chants her prayer to the Golden Gate Bridge. Struck with dumbfound, her boyfriend slowly trudged his brown work boots, and he sealed his arms around her tiny waist. His nose rubbed against her neck as he sniffed her lavender presence. The two became more of a married couple after the trials and time they've spent together. Erika became more lady-like in this transformation. She's never cared more for a human being before. Cid also brought her farther from her mother, Reiko. Their relationship was being pulled to other sides of the map. Reiko couldn't keep up with Erika, and Erika never seemed to cared to keep up with Reiko. Cid brought a mother/daughter relationship to a sudden hault.


Cid: "Something wrong Erika?"

She closed her eyes and let out a faint sigh only heard by those close to her. Erika never had problems until she slowly fell into Cid's arms. He was more comfort to her now fragile body than before. The older Haruno was dependent on someone else, a feat not immaginable.

Erika: "Cid, I'm scared. What if...what if I don't do well on those tests we're supposedly taking for the whole week? I cannot affort to mess up."

It was tests and exams that she was worried about. Being a straight A student, Erika had nothing to worry about; she was already going to become that fancy registered nurse she wanted to be. Cid would follow her to the ends of the Earth if it meant Erika becoming something great.

March was the month were all the high school students were required to take tests that either make or break. They were difficult tests that kept a few students from advancing a grade. Jet's older brother Grant was a perfect example. Grant was a B-C student that failed his exams and kept him away from his freedom.


Kenji: "C'mon, we're going to be late for school!"


A surprise struck Erika and Cid as they turned around to see Kenji speak those words forbidden from his blatant mouth. Kenji jumped into the car and stomped his feet. Truely not one with patience, he was ready to get over with school and these horrid exams that brought certain failure to most students. He was prepared for this feat. He was ready to tackle the problem. Kenji Haruno had studied the past week to become victorious.


---


The week slipped through everyone's fingers. The tests blew over like rain clouds. Everyone relieved and ready to get on with their normal lives, Matt Luchesi threw a party at the end of the week.

An hour passed on, and the Haruno's bell rung at exactly 7:31. The younger Haruno, Kenji swiftly made his way from the kitchen to the front door. Opening the door to reveal the persona behind, Kenji looked at a masked stranger wearing everything jet black. Kenji sighed as he let his fellow hooded friend in.

Kenji: "You should really consider not being some hoodlum in black. People might think you're up to some sort of mischief."

Jet: "That's ironic because I'm not the hoodlum carrying real hookswords in public. We're also robbing children of candy. Candy! I think for a bunch of teenagers, we shouldn't be picking on weak little kids."

Kenji ignored his friend's distress plea and thought of what tonight was going to bring up. He went to his room to change into his red garb and went back out to wait with Jet. Eight o' clock struck and Ray was not to be heard from neither one of the boys. Jet decided that Ray would just make a fool of himself and headed out the door with his companion. Halloween, a day that leaves all humanity left behind in search of sex and candy.

The night trudged on as the two wicked thieves robbed over fifteen victims and over fifty pounds of candy was horded in. It was not until a masked stranger came upon the two. The masquerader trapped the two in an alley staring them down with his gleaming yellow eyes.

Masquerader: "Well, well, well, I think I have myself two no good ruffians. It's not that easy to steal from babies."

Kenji: "Hey! Whoever you are, just mind your own business and we'll be on our way."

The young man in the black flowing cape stolled closer with his rod in his hand ready to beat goodness within the two. Kenji knew what he was ready to do, and he ran first at the man in black with his hookswords by his side. Kenji swiped at the legs, but the offender jumped in time to get in a nasty kick. Kenji fell back, and Jet came in with fists on fire. Jet's jabs missed as the masquerader flew back evading all the blows. Following the specific rhythym, the masked one broke Jet's fierce tango with the top of his ebony cane. Retreating steps back, Jet and Kenji look at each other. The boy in black stepped forward until Kenji called for a time out. The boys huddled up in a quick intermission.

Jet: "This guy is no cake walk, that's for sure. Maybe we should just tag team him."

Kenji: "Duh. It seems that he's been watching the same cartoons as me. No one would think about a dodging a swipe in the first encounter."

Jet: "I'm not playing around Kenji. We should either admit defeat or just get him over with. I say we should..."

The masquerader ran for the candy with madness. He was determine to bring back justice even if it meant breaking a sweat or two. Kenji and Jet clotheslined their opponent and brought him back down. Jet held him down while Kenji punched him several times in the chest. Not noticing the blow, the cape crusader struggled his way out of the hold and pranced around the two.

Masquerader: "Time to uphold justice. Well boys, it's time to meet your end as I finish you with my ultimate move."

Kenji: "Right, what is that, tiring us with your ballet?"

Before the two bandits could get another say in it, the mysterious, caped man dashed for them and clunked them on the head hard thus rendering them unconcious. He left the bodies in the alley and grabbed the bags of candy. Upon looking back on the thieves, he faintly smiled and went on with justice.


---


[Omit Halloween party]


---


[Omit school imput]


---


[Omit Finnigan story]


---


[Omit Tetra segment]


---


[Omit Switchoff]


---


[Omit R+R]


---


[Omit Winterland in San Francisco]


---


[Omit X-mas]


---


[Omit New Years]

It was October 30th, and it was one more day closer to Halloween, the celebration that brought all the grimlins and ghouls out. All the ghosts and the creatures of the night sprung to life for two reasons: candy and tom foolery. The San Francisco suburban area was the place to hit up before going to the city.

Kenji invited Jet and Ray over to the house to discuss the plans that were going on tomorrow night. His face was so tensed up on objectives that he made the Joker look like a amateur in his field of work. Kenji was a big fan of the holiday except that he feared only one costume, Jack of Halloween. The giant pumpkin head with the shady and tattered purple cloak that seemed to always make anyone wearing it float gave nightmares to the younger Haruno.

Kenji: "What are you two wearing?"

The boy had already picked out his choice of a costume; a street thug in red garbs with two hookswords. The two hookswords dated back when he and his sister tag teamed against a demon who controlled a hoard of vampires. Kenji had already plotted out the tactics to reach the most candy. Collect some from the parents that stood at the doorway, and steal all from the kids on the street.

Jet: "I'm going in a black hood and some black pants."

Not much a suprise, Jet blended in with the night except for his cold, endearing face that seemed to be grimmacing all the time.

Ray: "I'm going to go as Action Zero!"

Action Zero was some foolish man in his mid-thirties that was overweight and rugged. He served no purpose to the US children except being a core essential piece to their so called "comedy." The man was dressed in a dinky yellow cape with red spandex and blue outterwear. Why in the world would Ray dress up as some loser? nobody in the whole entire universe knew exactly. To his dismay, Kenji rose above the situation and boomed out.

Kenji: "You're not being something that retarded!"

Ray piped up about dressing about Halloween the whole time he was present. Keeping a straight smile, the young child felt broken down from the inside. His dreams were shattered and then stepped on like glass on the ghetto sidewalk. Jet was going to jump into the conversation but he knew not to cross Kenji and his devious plotting. It was best for everyone to stay clear of Kenji on Halloween. Candy was like priceless gold coins, and Kenji seemed to get more wealth every year.


---


A mustang with a custom verillion paint job pulled up to a burger stand. Three bodies came outside of the car; Willis, Jordan, and Gerald. After sending Willis to fetch some burgers, all three of them leaned on the car and watched the day go by. All three of them believed that life should be spent wisely yet in a playful way. If you couldn't live with anything fitting fitting your fancy, then life would be black and white. This was the last year before they had to hang up their childhood. The young adults were going to venture in the world by themselves after this. Sure, Willis could always depend on his parents, but it wasn't going to be the same afterwards.

Gerald: "We all agree on it then, right?"

The other two heads turned and looked at him as if something queer had happened. Jordan adjusted her denim jacket and perked up her blonde hair before responding to her friend's question. She wasn't planning to go to college at all. Jordan was forced by her own peers to finish high school. Deep inside, beneath the layers of promiscuinity, she wanted to be a mother. Her dream was to pursue a career in getting knocked up by a man on a white horse who could possibly produce a gorgeous baby. While her man went to work, she wanted to take the baby out to the city and teach it things before they could comprehend it.

Jordan: "Of course Gerald-baby."

Her man was Gerald or Willis. She wanted one of the two to father her future children. Gerald was more outgoing, but Willis was calm. No one else could ever change her mind between the two, no one. The seemlessly, hopeless Jordan seemed to hit on her single friend more; Willis was already dating Mya. If those two split for good, the blond one was all over Willis.

Gerald: "How about you Willis?"

He had a different future in the works from Jordan. He was going to travel the world in search for the perfect beauty. San Francisco was only one place out of the whole world. There was still Austin, New York City, Tokyo, Beijing, Brazil, Barcelona, Paris. The list goes on. His wealth would then be dried up, but love wouldn't cost him a thing. Never having a sexual interest with Jordan, Gerald simply thought she was flirting with him. In fact, he believed that she was more interested in Willis because he was the better of the two.

Willis: "Yeah."

After high school, Willis was going to attend the college up in Boulder, Colorado with his girlfriend, Mya. The graduation ceremony would be the last time he would see Gerald's and Jordan's faces. They've done so much for him, and he was planning to betray them in the end. He was planning to escape the hectic life with Mya Oliveira, settle down in a house, and pray for good luck. He would miss life in San Francisco, but there's nothing terrible starting on new ground. Pestilence Co. would never be forgotten and the memories that he withheld.


---


In the evening, Cid came to pick up Erika from her house down on the steep street. She didn't know exactly where she was going, but she entrusted Cid with her security. There was no reason to freak out now, Erika Haruno was safe in her man's hands. Upon parking his car on a hill, Miss Haruno looked down at the houses below and closed her eyes to pray. Her ivory dress flew back because the light squall coming in. The air was crisp, and it felt clean on her skin. Pink strands of hair blew into Cid's face as he grabbed Erika's hands from behind and pressed himself on her. His tight embrace relieved Erika of all troubles. Nothing could harm her when she was fortified in her castle. Taking a deep, relaxing breath, Erika opened her eyes and turned around to see Cid watching the sun set over the hills.

Cid: "When the sun goes away, I feel like beauty left for good. Don't you think that sunsets should last longer?"

She bit her lip in disagreement. Not only would it be physically and scientifically impossible, but it would selfish. Erika didn't know if Cid was just afraid of the dark, it never occured to her.

Erika: "Somethings are worth waiting, Cid."

He chuckled in response.

Cid: "Right...like what?"

Erika: "Like you."

She pressed her body even closer to Cid's, his warmth kept her from getting chills from the moderate light breezes pulling in and out. His arms wrapped aro