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Chosen

Season 1 Episode 2

"Temper, Temper"

I strode through the crowded halls with AJ and Bay at my heels. I was hoping Joseph was here already. Thank God, he was.

"Hey, we have problems," I announced as soon as we were all inside the biology classroom and the door was closed.

"Nice to see you, as well," Joseph said without looking up from his books.

"I fought something last night. Something really strong." Suddenly, his expression changed. He glanced from me to the other two behind me.

"Are you certain this is the appropriate time for this particular conversation?" He was referring to my friends.

"Yeah, they already know everything."

"You've told them already?! This is not some high school gossip, Nick! This is extremely dangerous and secretive work."

"I know, but those... things attacked the club and they saved me."

"Yeah, we're his sidekicks," AJ chimed.

"No, they're not. They're just good secret keepers." I threw AJ a glare and he raised his paws in innocence.

"If you are certain," Joseph continued, "what exactly attack you?"

"Um, they were like these weird cloaked guys. All I could see was their muzzle, which is long like a wolves, but ghost white. And when they died they like... went poof."

"Shadows?"

"Yeah, they kept saying stuff about shadows."

"No, shadows are what they are. They are the... foot soldiers, if you will. They aren't exceptionally powerful, compared to you, but they do have several mystical abilities. They feed off of the blood of other beings, much like vampires, but without the hypnotism part and much more threatening. They can transport themselves through various shadows, hence the name."

"Ok, so they're teleporting bloodsuckers, right?"

"Well, they have many more abilities, such as enhanced strength and reflexes, superior nocturnal vision, and immortality."

"They aren't immortal! I killed them!"

"No, you simply destroyed their existence. They never truly die, but they no longer exist on this plane."

"So they go to heaven or hell?"

"It's much more complicated than that. I told you, you have much more to learn before you are able to battle evil."

"Well, I don't think they're waiting for me."

"What about the super bitch? The one that almost killed you?" AJ interjected. He was giving effort to be a part of the group or whatever we were. I had to give him credit for that.

"Yeah, she's like a queen or something. Shadow Queen!" I remembered her voice and it sent chills down my spine. And made my muzzle sore.

"The Queen? You fought the Shadow Queen? My God, You could have died!"

"But here I stand."

"She's killed countless Chosen. She was imprisoned by a sage 500 years ago, but it seems as though something freed her."

"I think they were performing a ritual, but I stopped it. They didn't kill Bay."

"I don't think it mattered. Ms. Williams was their attempt to save themselves, but when you killed them it was enough to bring her back." I contemplated this for a moment. Not only did I fail to kill the super bitch, but I let her free? Go team, go...

"So, what now?"

"Well, I would assume we continue with your training seeing as she nearly killed you without it."

"More training? I don't think magic dummies are going to cut it."

"No, you're absolutely right, but," Joseph opened his desk drawer and pulled out a old leather bound book comparable to three of the final Harry Potter books, "this might."

"Reading?"

"Yes, I suggest you study the various demons you'll be facing and their weaknesses. You may even find something on the Shadow Queen." I sighed and placed the heavy book in my bag. "Of course, we'll start some field training later tonight, but for now class is beginning and I suggest you take your seats."

I tried to read a few pages during class, but the book was extremely dull. I eventually closed it and spent the rest of the day worried about keeping up with my school work. How was I supposed to keep up advanced classes, demon studies, friends, and world saving all at one time? As Paramore might say, I can feel the pressure.

On my way out of the school, I met a girl crying on the staircase, but she wasn't making any noise. "What's wrong?" I asked. The lynx looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. She pointed at her throat and mouthed something. "You lost your voice?" She shook her head in denial. She pointed again and made several motions with her hands. Time to guess. "Your voice is gone?" She nodded. "Ok, well maybe it'll come back. Don't cry." She shook her head again. "Um, I'll see you later." If you never succeed, give up.

"Nick!" I turned to see Bailey running up to me. "Something weird is happening." I started walking and kept my head close to her so she could whisper. "The students in the choir are losing their voices."

"Doesn't that just happen naturally?"

"Well, there is the occasional loss of voice, but today we were singing and three of the girls just stopped. They can't make any sounds except for breathing."

"Maybe it's nothing."

"Maybe, but it feels more... phenomenony."

"Ok, I'll make you a deal."

"What?"

"If you help me figure out this book and my geometry homework, I'll look in to it."

"Deal. You know, for a superhero, you're lacking in the hero department."

"Sorry, but I'm feeling really stressed with everything, you know."

"Yeah, I get it. AJ is really eager to help too."

"It's too dangerous for him. I think you should mention that to him."

"You obviously don't know AJ. As much as I could do without the whole fighting evil thing, I would feel even worse knowing you were alone in it."

"Your voice is very mousy."

"Um, I feel insulted."

"No, it's comforting. Most people are loud and a little annoying, but I like the quiet."

"I feel complimented." She smiled at me before ducking quickly. I hit the ground hard as someone pinned me. I started to struggle until I heard my attackers voice.

"You really do need more training."

"AJ, come on..." The Doberman slowly lifted himself off of me and helped me to my feet.

"What time do we meet Dr. Carter?"

"Woah, woah, woah, we are not meeting anyone. I am meeting my guide for training."

"You have to try harder than that, dude."

"Seriously, AJ. I don't even know what's going to happen."

"All the more reason..."

"Noooo..."

"We're just going to follow you until you give up." I sighed and started walking. AJ and Bay weren't far behind. It was dark by the time we got to the address Joseph left on his desk for me. It was a spooky-looking abandoned warehouse. Dusty windows, heavy doors, the whole nine yards. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yeah, it is a little evily though..." I replied.

"Well, you first." I stepped forward and pushed the heavy door open. I was much more surprised by the inside. It was totally decked out to be the good guys headquarters. The walls were still dusty and the floor wasn't carpeted, but lights worked and showed off the neater areas of the warehouse. There were large racks of weapons hanging on the far wall and a shelves of old books like the one Joseph had given me. There was a large brown table with chairs placed around it. Next to that was one of the coolest couches ever that twisted like an s. We also had a kitchen and a nicely sized bed. "Woah, this place is..."

"Totally wicked," Bailey mumbled. I yelped as Joseph clopped down the spirally twisting stairs.

"Nick, I've been up in my office and- oh, you brought friends..."

"Um, I told them no, but they're not really listening."

"Dr. Carter, this is like the bat cave or something!" AJ gawked ignoring what we were saying.

"Actually, it's a warehouse, not a cave-"

"I meant like, you know, batman's cave."

"Bat... oh yes, of course. More comic book references," Joseph mumbled. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Well, since you insist on being here, perhaps you can do some research on the Shadow Queen."

"I thought we were learning how to fight!" AJ whined.

"You will, but not at the moment. The warehouse we are in is not as empty as it seems." Suddenly, the shadows in the corners of the room started to move and drug themselves to the middle of the room. The shadows quickly built themselves into the cloaked figures I had encountered before. I took a deep breath and studied their white muzzles. Definitely wolves. I felt a twinge of fear at the very sight of them. I could feel every wound she every inflicted. "Do not be afraid, they will not attack you until you are ready. I suggest you arm yourself. Mr. Connor, Ms. Williams, please proceed to the bookshelves." I watched AJ and Bay cross the edge of the room safely. The shadows attention did not waver. I heard them growling as I approached the weapons rack. I noticed my mom's sais mounted next to a large axe. I lifted them from their hooks and twirled the blades before turning back to the shadows.

"Nice choice," AJ barked, "you can go all Elektra on the freaks."

"Who is this Elektra I hear so much about?" Joseph asked sounding annoyed.

"Elektra!? The super assassin chick from Daredevil?"

"What devil?"

"Another comic book..."

"Do you children not own a television?"

"Well, they ran out of ideas and now they're making movies out of comics. Circle of life."

"I do enjoy The Lion King."

"I wasn't... nevermind."

"Can we please focus?" I asked. "Why aren't they attacking me?"

"I negotiated with them. I told them if they obeyed my orders for a few moments I would bring them the Chosen One and here you are."

"I grow tired of these formalities, Mr. Carter," One of the shadows declared.

"Indeed, kill him," Joseph said plainly. I yelped as the three closest shadows lunged towards me. I rolled away from them and stabbed two behind them. Not my smartest move, as I was now surrounded by shadows. The two I stabbed collapsed into smoke and the others rushed me from various sides. I kicked one of the shadows behind me in the muzzle, but another clawed my face.

"Joseph, help me!" I cried. I was feeling more scared by the moment. I would land a couple of blows, but they would beat me back down before I could kill one.

"You're holding back, at this rate they'll kill you. Use your memories."

I fought back harder and managed to kill another two. I was still feeling trapped. There were so many shadows. I threw one of the sais into the muzzle of one that was about to rush me. He collapsed like all the others. The others held off for a moment. I spun the sia and looked for the next attacker. I was getting better at reading their movements. One tried to rush me from behind and I spun the sia across his cheek. He growled in anger before I plunged the blade into his chest. I randomly picked the next shadow and swung the blade at him wildly. He tried to dodge, but I had him cornered. I kept slashing until I finally nicked his throat and his form billowed into smoke.

I elbowed another shadow before slashing at different one. The one behind me wrapped his arms around my throat and I used the leverage to kick the other one away. It seemed like there were hundreds of them, but I only counted five. The shadow tightened his arms around my neck and my vision began to blur. I found it harder to breathe and felt my mind slipping away. I stabbed the sia into his stomach and he released me. I fell to the ground and tried to catch my breath. They didn't wait for me to regain any ground. The first shadow tried to stomp his foot into my chest, but I caught it and pushed him back before the other two kicked my ribs. I rolled away, but realized I didn't have the sais anymore. I grabbed the closest shadow and broke his neck with my paws. I cursed under my breath as the other shadow returned with a flurry of kicks. I blocked them with my forearms before finding his ankle and used it slam his head against the brick wall behind me.

There were only two left and I was beginning to feel a lot more comfortable. One charged at me and I snapped his neck with a roundhouse kick to the muzzle. The last one rushed forward so I dodged and took his legs out before slamming my sneaker against his windpipe. As soon as he turned into smoke, I fell to the floor and took in huge gulps of air.

"Good, now we have a safe base of operations," Joseph chuckled.

"What? All of that for nothing?"

"No, of course not. We needed a safe place to work and you needed real training. Now we have both." I gently touched the wounds on my face and staggered to my feet.

"Dr. Carter, I have a question," BayBay said timidly.

"What?"

"Do you know any... demons that steal voices?"

"Bay, that's so Buffy the Vampire Slayer," AJ complained.

"No, it's really happening! But it's only happening to the choir, which I happen to be a part of."

"I've never encountered any demons that need voices. Perhaps, it's just a virus or bacteria."

"Viruses usually don't discriminate and the infected can usually make basic sounds, but these kids can't even make that nasty sandpaper sound that you get when your sick. It's just not there."

"Well, it does seem unusual, but we have larger concerns. The Shadow Queen, for example," Joseph continued. I plopped down in a chair next to Bay and buried my muzzle in my arms. They must have landed more hits than I realized when the adrenaline was pumping.

"You look really tired," AJ whispered while Bay and Joseph argued over viruses.

"Yeah, I'm really stressed out. I should've done a lot better. School, friends, this, and my dad."

"Oh and soccer try-outs are like next week."

"What!? Fuck it, I'm not even going to try."

"Why not? You need a stress release."

"Yeah, but right now? It'd probably just get in the way."

"Come on, I'll try out if you do. I don't even know the rules."

"We'll see if things slow down a bit."

"Hey, Buffy did it and so did every other superhero with a secret identity."

"They weren't real..."

"Point taken. Do you want to spend the night again?"

"I guess. I won't be much fun."

"It'll just be me and you tonight. It'll be fun."

"If you say so," Joseph slid a book across the table to me. I groaned and flipped the cover open. The next three hours were spent collecting information on various demons. I read about one that feeds on the semen of virgin males. I'm in trouble with that one. Some demons are telepathic and can only communicate through their thoughts. That led me to think about the choir students losing their voice. Maybe there were some kind of demons that fed off of strong voices.

I completely lost that thought when I found a passage on shadows. They aren't all wolves, but simply appear as wolves. Shadows aren't born either. They're made. A shadow can sleep with a mortal and then drink their blood until they die. Once they're dead, the transformation begins. Note to self, never sleep with a shadow.

"That's impossible! You can't just kill something a bring it back to life," BayBay snorted.

"I'm afraid there are many more possibilities in the mystical realm than you realize," Joseph explained.

"I understand that, but if they exist in our realm the laws of science still apply! Gravity still effects them. Magic has to have some basis in science."

"Well, you cannot create or destroy mass, but transform it into something else."

"Right! That means other laws apply as well! If I could study a shadow's biological structure maybe I could find a way to beat the Shadow Queen or at least weaken her."

"You'd never accomplish that. Without a willing shadow, there is no way to restrain them long enough to get a decent sample."

"Chains?"

"Woah, BayBay, I had no idea you were into that stuff," AJ joked.

"No, I mean, couldn't we use chains to restrain them?"

"No, shadows can pass through solid matter at will."

"Oh," she whispered to herself, "that's impossible too..."

"It's getting late. The three of you should get home before your parents worry. Meet me here again tomorrow after school." We said our goodbyes and I followed AJ to his house. His extremely nice house. Once we were in his room, I collapsed on the bed and started to fall asleep.

"You're going to bed?"

"I told you I wouldn't be much fun."

"We don't get a lot of alone time though."

"I know, but I like Bay, she's really funny in her own super smart way."

"I love BayBay too, but I want to get to know you better."

"Well, you already know my deepest darkest secret."

"Do I?" I glanced up as the Doberman mounted my waist and pinned me to the bed. His muscular frame hovered over mine. "You're a very... surprising husky."

"What, um... what are you doing?" AJ placed a finger over my lips.

"Helping you with your stress." His paw slid over my chest and down to my naval. I grabbed his paw and shot him a serious look. I tried to control myself, but I actually liked the idea of AJ sitting on me. A lot. "I get it. Your nervous. It's not like I can hurt you."

"No, I don't want this, AJ. Let's just stop now and act like it never happened."

"Um, I realize you're saying no, but the hard part I'm sitting on is saying yes." AJ pressed his muzzle against mine. His other paw caressed my thigh and I shivered beneath him. His tongue fluttered in and out of my mouth filling the space I tried to close. His tongue dove deep into my mouth, causing me to moan in pleasure. I knew this was wrong, but I wanted it just as much as he did. I pushed him back and held him there.

"Stop, now."

"Nick, it's ok. I've never been with a guy either, but I want to try it with you."

"Yeah, well I've had boyfriends and starting out like this never leads anywhere."

"So, you're experienced?"

"No... I mean, I've been in a few heated situations, but I've never done anything sexually."

"Because you wont let yourself?"

"Because I don't want to." He sighed and looked away.

"Ok, so it's not that you don't like me then, right?"

"Right, you're cool, but I think we should just take things slow. You know?"

"Ok, but when we're alone we can act like we're together, right?"

"Um," I hesitated to answer. I would technically be in a relationship with AJ, but secretly. More stress? "I don't want to, you know, be in a relationship right now, but we can talk and just see where things go."

"Sounds good," he rolled off of me, "how about a friendly back rub?"

"If you keep it above the waist." I rolled onto my stomach and flashed a grin at him.

"No promises," he chuckled. His paws squeezed the muscles around my shoulders and I moaned. He was really talented at the stress release massages. Every ounce of pressure gained a low purr from me. His paws worked at my lower back intensely.

"So how long have you... you know."

"Oh, I don't usually go for guys, but something about you caught my interest."

"I think Bay likes you."

"Bay?"

"Well, yeah. She's just too shy to say anything."

"I like Bay too. She's very pretty in a weird way, but I'd much rather be with you."

"We'll see how things go. Who knows what will happen?"

"Right. I'm cool with that. Shadows are kind of sexy too. In a mysterious kind of way."

"Dude, I was thinking the same thing!" I laughed. "Maybe we'll meet a good one or something."

"Red herring. Or what is that called?"

"I'm not sure. Foreshadowing?"

"Yeah!"

"I doubt it though." I murred as his paws reached my waistline. I felt his thumbs working at the top of my butt causing the front of my body a lot of pleasure. Every time he applied pressure my member rubbed against the fluffy mattress. Soon his paws were fully working on my bubble butt with great force. Instead of fighting him, I closed my eyes and let him do what he pleased.

"Are you falling asleep?"

"I will be in a minute."

"Well, get comfortable first. How do you normally sleep?"

"Um, naked, but I don't think that would be a good sight for your parents to walk in on."

"My parents wont walk in and I'm not going to try anything you complain about just get comfy and I'll massage you to sleep." I sighed and took off my shirt. My flat stomach and muscular pecks shivered in the sudden rush of air. "I'll even close my eyes for the next part." I removed my belt and stripped off the jeans before dropping the yellow boxers next to the bed. I felt a nervous knot in my stomach as I noticed my pink member was dripping small amounts of pre-cum on the bed. I quickly pressed my front against the bed and made sure he couldn't see anything.

"Ok, happy now?" I moaned.

"It's not about me this is about you." His paws ran through the fur on my back before returning to my butt to massage more. I moaned quietly at the combinations of pressure. His fingers traced the insides of my thighs and squeezed them gently. I whimpered into the pillow hoping he couldn't hear me. "Feel good?"

"Uh huh," I moaned struggling to fall asleep. His talented fingers found the sweet spot behind my ball sac and applied a slight pressure. All I could do was hold my breath and struggle not to move.

"My paws are getting kind of tired. Are you ready to just go to sleep?" No. Hell no.

"Yeah," I whispered. I couldn't take much more teasing anyway. I heard him strip his clothes off and I moved slightly so he could pull the covers back. Once we were both snuggled in he turned the lamp off and snuggled close to me.

"So what's it like being all chosen and what not?"

"At first, fun, but now... a little stressful." I felt his paw slid between us. He was positioned just right to touch my throbbing member with his wrist. I tried not to think about it. I knew this was all part of his plan. No, obviously wasn't going to cut it.

"Still worried about soccer?"

"Yeah, I just don't know how my time is going to be spent yet." AJ moved his paw and replaced it with what felt like a thigh. I tried to shift a little, but it only worked to his advantage. "You know... I can feel that, right?"

"I figured, but it doesn't feel like you're complaining."

"AJ, please don't push it."

"I'm just teasing you, Nick. It's not like I can't wait. Besides, you have a big mystery to solve tomorrow."

"Yeah." I listened to AJ talk about different kids before I finally drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly behind the soft brown curtains. AJ was snuggled tightly against my back with an arm around my stomach. Kind of cute, I guess. I could feel every inch of his body locked around mine in a very inappropriate way. AJ was one of the sexier Dobermans I'd met though. I slowly climbed out of the bed and put my boxers on. Then I saw the alarm clock. "Shit! AJ, get up! It's twelve!" My dad was going to kill me for missing school. I was going to kill me.

"It's cool, let's just hang out here," he moaned.

"No, we can't do that! Let's go!"

"Fine." He rolled out of the bed and got dressed on the opposite side. I did steal a few glances at his sharp naked body. When he was finally ready we took off towards the school. AJ was not a morning person, well I wasn't either, but more than him.

We arrived just as everyone was going out for lunch. We found BayBay at our usual spot. "Hey Bay, what's up?" The malamute shot us an annoyed look. "What? What did we do?" I continued. Bay pulled a notebook from her bag and a pen and started writing on a piece of paper. She spun it for us to read.

While you two were skipping school, I was getting my voice stolen by some creepy demon that lives in the attic!

"Oh, sorry. How do you know they live in the attic? The school doesn't even have an attic." AJ pointed out. She scribbled again.

It's not really an attic, it's like those panels in the ceiling. I saw one of them move and then my voice just quit working.

"No one else saw it?"

No. But there are other voices gone.

"Maybe, I should go talk to Joseph," I suggested.

I told you. Go get my voice back. NOW!

"Yes, ma'am!" AJ said with a cocky salute. "What should I do, Nick?"

"Um, look in the books for demons that need voices. I'll go see Joseph and see what the best method of action is."

"Sir, yes sir!" He said with another salute and as I turned away I jumped at a sharp pain on my butt. I looked back to see AJ grinning mischievously. I shook my head and continued on my path to Joseph's classroom. The halls were fairly empty and made it much easier to navigate quickly.

"Joseph!" I called as I entered the classroom.

"It's Dr. Carter at school, Nick."

"Bay has lost her voice. She said she saw the ceiling panels move before it happened. I'm going up there."

"You have no idea what your up against! These aren't simple shadows. We need to gather our resources and make sure you can face them."

"I can't wait! They could run and I'd never catch them! We have to move now!"

"Fine, I will accompany you. Grab a weapon from the closet after you close and lock the door." I did as Joseph asked and picked the sais from the closet. Then Joseph stood on his desk and pushed one of the panels away. I jumped onto the desk next to him. He placed his paws in a position to boost me. The attic was scarier than I thought. I was surrounded in complete darkness and it felt like I could fall through at any minute. I was clenching a steel beam for support.

"Um, we need flashlights. I can't see anything." I heard Joseph climb off the desk and suddenly a small flashlight flew through the hole we'd made. Once I had the flash light I could see my surroundings better. It was dusty and there wasn't much room for maneuvering. There was a small walk way though and I carefully made my way to it and heard Joseph climbing up behind me.

"Good Lord, this is extremely dangerous."

"That's my job, right?"

"Indeed." I helped Joseph onto the platform and led the way through the cobwebs and dust. The platform seemed to never end and branched out into different areas of the school. My knees were starting to get sore.

"Which way is the choir room?"

"We'll take the next left and it should be about fifty feet after that."

"Oh and here I thought we were getting close."

"Nick, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"Are you entirely certain that these friends of yours can be trusted with the importance of our mission?" I stopped crawling and turned to face him.

"Honestly? No. I think they are looking at it as a club or a TV show, but they already know so much. I have to keep them close. If only for their protection." This work was too dangerous for them. If the Shadow Queen could do that to me and I had super powers, I didn't want to imagine what she could do to them.

"Well, your concerns are admirable and understandable, but you are the first Chosen One not to work alone."

"I'm just breaking all sorts of traditions, aren't I?"

"It would appear so." I continued crawling and we eventually reached a small door to the side of the crawlspace.

"I bet they're behind the door."

"Well clearly, they-"

"I was being sarcastic."

"Oh, I see." I pushed the door open and crawled through. I could hear Bailey's voice speaking to other voices. This room was big enough to stand in and we saw a large table with a few silver crystals scattered across the table. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind us. We spun around at the same time to see the demons we were looking for.

They weren't as ugly as I expected. They were shorter than me and covered in bright red scales. Their teeth were long, jagged, and yellow. Big black eyes examined us. They didn't have tails or muzzles. I wasn't really sure about how to describe them, but they weren't the curly horned demons I'd expected. "You must be the voice-stealers."

"Stealers?" Bailey's voice questioned, "We have stolen nothing."

"Ok, then why are you... borrowing voices?"

"We have every intention of returning the voices."

"Yeah, but the people you took them from kind of need them."

"They have voices everyday. Strong voices. Our voices... cannot be heard."

"They must communicate telepathically," Joseph whispered. "I don't think they will cause us any harm."

"Sure..." I continued, "you still haven't told me why you need those voices."

"Our people are suffering. The only race that can help us cannot hear our voices. We are silent to them, but they hear your voices. Your voices are strong and loud. We can use them to negotiate with Ancient so they might help our people."

"Why couldn't you just borrow one voice or maybe ask first?"

"Our voices are silent to you as well. We could not simply ask your permission. We needed many voices to find the right one. We now have the perfect voice and we can move on."

"Bailey's voice?"

"Yes, the pretty one who is quiet."

"Yeah, I can't let you leave with her voice."

"My people are prepared to kill you if need be. We would prefer not to resort to violence, but our people will not suffer."

"Maybe you should let them go," Joseph suggested.

"How do I know you'll bring the voices back?"

"We will leave our sacred crystals as insurance. We must have them to distribute the cure and once we have attained the cure, we will return the voices and retrieve our crystals." There was a bright flash of light and suddenly, they were gone.

"Um, yeah, I guess that works."

"Well, it would seem that we have no more choice in the matter." We grabbed the crystals and made our way back through the dark crawl space. Once we were back in the classroom, we hid the weapons and the crystals and I ran back to Bay and AJ.

"Nick, I can't find anything!" AJ whined.

"It's cool. I talked to them. They are borrowing BayBay's voice for a cure."

Don't you think I would have liked to have a decision in that? Bay looked very annoyed.

"Well, I wasn't going to let them leave, but they kind of teleported. They'll be back soon."

How do you know?

"We have their crystal thingys."

"Oh, because we've never heard that one before..." Bay spoke before she realized she could.

"Ah ha! See! I knew what I was doing. Chosen One, remember?"

"Yeah, but you technically didn't do anything."

"I allowed them to leave so they can help their dead people or something like that. It happened faster than I thought. They can teleport though. I guess that helps."

"Another mystery solved..." AJ added.

"This is the first one. The shadows don't count because they were all ritually and sacrificey. Does sacrificey have an e in it?" Bay asked.

"I'm not sure, but Nick has soccer try-outs Monday."

"What!?"

"Yay, Nick!" Bay exclaimed.

"I thought you said next week."

"Traditionally, Monday begins the new week," AJ explained.

"Right. Fuck my life." I did feel better though. If all of my Chosen cases were going to be this easy, I'd be golden. That had to be worth what... 25 experience points? 750 to the next level.