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Chapter Two - Unity: The Finding of the Star

Phonis awoke to the sound of his alarm clock droning on at him to get out of bed, he wished he could have just five more minutes to dream about a certain someone who he had just recently befriended. Alas he thought to himself, it would have to wait until the darkness of night once again cloaked the light of the day... the last thing he wanted was to be caught day dreaming. He quickly readied himself for another monotonous day of learning, oh how he wished it was Friday so he only had to get through one day before he would meet the mistress of his desire once again... shame it was only Wednesday and had to suffer through three days of agonising torment... well torment to his mind right about now, normally he'd be indifferent to the mid-week mark. He also couldn't shake the feeling he'd started experiencing the night before, a feeling that bore into the back of his mind, like when you think you've forgotten something but you don't know what. It had been eating away at him all night, he'd managed to block it out... mostly... with visions of the stripey seductress easing him back to the tranquility of sleep. When he finished getting ready he headed downstairs for breakfast, his older brother Teak and his father Torjin were already sat at the table, well he said they were his brother and father, which in essence they were... Phonis had come to live with them a few years back after living on the streets. He couldn't remember anything about his real parents or any family he might've had, he just remembered that Torjin had taken him in when he could've just handed him over to security for trying to break into his garage. Thinking of this made Phonis smile, no matter if they weren't related by blood, this was his family and he wouldn't trade them for anyone. He sat down across from his father and grabbed a slice of toast and munched on it while the feeling of wrongness swept back into focus which he attempted to mentally smack with an imaginary Baseball bat.

"You look like you've just gone thirty rounds with an imaginary Mike Tyson." Teak said noticing his somewhat distracted yet tired look,

"Funny to see a youngster such as yourself tuckered out by a night on the town." His father chipped in with a light-hearted chuckle,

"I'll get used to it i guess." Phonis said devouring the last of the toast,

"What could possibly wear out an energetic kid like you?" His father asked,

"Ever danced non-stop for twenty minutes solid?" Phonis said propping his head up with one hand,

"In my day probably, i'm not as young as i once was." His father chuckled,

"Aha, which can only mean one thing." Teak chipped in, "No one dances that long on their lonesome i'm sure."

"Oh, was their a young lady involved in this marathon session." His father grinned suddenly even more interested,

"Maybe there was..." Phonis started while instantly regretting his decision,

"Little Phonis with a young lady, what will the neighbours think." Teak said comically pulling his long ears over his face to hide his amused face,

"Is it that hard to believe Teak?" Phonis said with a slight scowl directed at his brother,

"Not hard to believe at all my boy, after all you take more after me than your brother does." His father laughed,

"Hey, i do well enough." Teak shot back feeling his abilities were in question,

"It's expected of you Teak... you're a Tobai, but i also have high hopes you Phonis, you'll do well i have no doubt." His father said patting his shoulder as he walked past.

With all the talk over breakfast now out of the way Phonis picked up his stuff and headed off to school. As he walked he could feel the unshakable feeling following him again and wondered what the hell it was that had suddenly come over him, whatever it was it was starting to give him a major headache. And speaking of major headaches, on cue entered Brish and unlike himself was as perky as he always was in the morning, and probably wanted to find out more about what had happened between him and Betinya last night.

"Morning buddy, whoa you look rough... might wanna go easy on the late nights for a while heh." Brish said comically wincing at Phonis' tired features,

"It's not last night that was the problem... i've had this feeling since yesterday and i can't shake it, kept me up most of the night. Enough about that though, hows tricks?" Phonis said almost yawning mid-sentence,

"Same as usual bud, Had to rush cram for my biology quiz this afternoon only to find i had a full section missing, i guess that was the one i loaned you last week right." Brish asked,

"Oh yeah, i almost forgot about that, thanks for reminding me." Phonis said as he went digging through his bag for the notes.

As he was rumaging for the notes something fell out of his bag which Brish retrieved from the floor. He stood looking at it a moment as Phonis finished fishing the notes out. As he took them from Phonis he handed the box back to him which Phonis puzzled over for a moment as he struggled to remember what it was he was holding.

"I thought you were finished with your deliveries last night?" Brish asked a little confused,

"Yeah i was, on my way back from my last job i ran into someone... he dropped this and took off, thought i'd take it to Ketrell today to see if he could find the guy and return it." Phonis said examining the box over again,

"Any idea what it is?" Brish asked curiously,

"Not a damn clue, and i'm not into opening other peoples packages... could be something private. That and i have a sworn duty to deliver my packages untampered." Phonis mock saluted as he spoke,

"Fair enough, anyway... how'd you enjoy yourself last night, you and Betinya seemed to get along quite well." Brish grinned,

"Quite well... i suppose it's hard to say quite well when you've got someones tongue stuck down your throat." Phonis grinned back,

"Alright bud, working that... what was it..? 'flair for swaying the females' as i recall." Brish said,

"What can i say, i'm a player. Chicks dig me." Phonis said,

"It's gotta be the ears... you Animorphs have it easy." Brish said mock pouting,

"I dunno, there are some attractive qualities to humans." Phonis said,

"Now that is definitely true, being the superior practicioners of passion that we are." Brish said putting on his most obnoxiously posh voice possible,

"Oh are you now." Phonis grinned.

Phonis grabbed hold of Brish in a loose headlock and began to ruffle his hair until it appeared as though he'd spent a few hours with a Tesla Ball. After letting him go and laughing for a few minutes they set off back to school. Phonis sat almost in a bored stupor for most of the day a combination of boredom, waiting intently for the coming weekend and that damn feeling that still wouldn't leave him the hell alone. There was still a little buzz about the incident that had happened yesterday, but now seemed to be a backdrop to most other high school gossip. Phonis knew that people who showed talents in magic were taken to a special school where they were taught how to use their power more effectively and to the benefit of all, but still knew in order to do this they had to give up all they knew including family and friends... it was not a life he wanted for himself or wished upon anyone he knew. As school finally finished and everyone poured out and headed home Brish caught up with Phonis who felt as though he just wanted to disappear under his duvet and sleep for the rest of his life. Brish caught wind of this from the look of his friend and told him they'd meet up tomorrow as usual and he should rest up. As he carried on walking he decided to cut through the park thinking that spending a few moments in a more or less tranquil place would alleviate some of the feeling gnawing away at the back of his mind. He dropped his bag on a nearby bench and sat down letting out a long sigh and closed his eyes. The feeling stopped plaguing the back of his mind which he found to be a relief... instead it was if it bore into the side of his skull. Thinking a quick 'what the?' he looked to his left and it seemed to shift to the front of his mind... he stared at his bag as if it were the source of everything. A moment later something clicked in his mind, maybe the package he'd picked up was behind everything... like a bad luck charm or something. Rummaging in his bag he picked up the black box, he held it in his hands a moment trying to stem his curiosity, as much as he should really just take it to Ketrell and have done with it he really wanted to know what it was that had been giving him hell since he found it. The box had a single gold band around it keeping it closed and a small latch on the front. He took the band off with surprising ease and undid the latch on the front and opened the box, inside was something he couldn't fathom. It was a fairly small crystal star with seven points it seemed to shimmer slightly as he looked at it. Unable to resist he picked it up out of the box and held it in his hands.

"Funny how something like this has been such a pain in my a..." He bagan to say as he suddenly found himself somewhere other than the park.

_He looked around frantically wondering where the hell he was, it looked like Space but he knew it was some kind of illusion or such. Magic... it had to be, he knew nothing good could come of this, as he looked on he could see a white doorway coming closer and closer until it passed through him and he found himself stood in a cavern of crystal, a waterfall cascading down to his left and in front of it was a pedastal formed naturally by the cavern it seemed, and resting upon it was the seven pointed star he'd been holding. He raised his hands to see he was no longer holding it and returned his gaze again to the sight before him. An aura seemed to be eminating from the star itself, it glowed faintly in multiple colours and he was captivated by the sight, it was a sight beyond beautiful and made him feel peaceful until the feeling of wrongness suddenly washed over him again but this time it was followed by everything getting darker until it was pitch black and then followed by an ear splitting shriek, a cry of something most unholy. He dropped to his knees and wished he was anywhere but here and as he opened his eyes he was greeted by and old lady and her dog looking him with a questioning look. _

_As they went on about their business Phonis sat gasping for breath as if he'd spent a full week in constant sprint, he gripped his chest and wondered what on earth had just happened. Quickly composing himself he looked around for the crystal star he'd been holding but couldn't find it anywhere around him, then he noticed it. It was attached to the leather wrist band on his left arm, he didn't know how it had gotten there, he was also fully aware that it wasn't coming off as he spent the next five minutes trying to do do so. He sat and stared at it for a while and wondered what it was, where it had come from and why it was now practically bonded to him, he also wondered what it was that he had seen, the cavern of crystal was obviously important that he'd been shown it, but where was it and why was it important? He did not know and did not really want to find out, it was trouble and trouble in any form was a bad thing, he'd learned that lesson already and wasn't willing to fall back into old habits. He decided to ignore it all and just go home, hopefully this was all just a really messed up dream and he'd wake up eventually, and nothing would please him more than returning to the dull reality in which he lived. He hurried along trying to bar all the questions his mind was trying to ask and answer along the way and one question was why he no longer felt fatigued, like the figure of speech 'having a weight lifted off ones shoulders' he felt as good as he ever did and that was weird as much as anything else he'd witnessed in the last hour. As he reached the fork in the road he spotted a group of people harassing some young kids in the playground area up ahead. Nothing annoyed him more than bullying, stemming from his time on the streets when people used to pick on him for being destitute he hated to see anyone endure what he had, that and Torjin had always told him to stand up for what he believed in and he believed he hated bullies. After getting a little closer he realised he knew some of them, thinking back to extracting a dodgeball from his face to see a face laughing at him made him slightly more pissed than before. _

"Hey, leave those kids alone will you, what did they ever do to you?" Phonis shouted at them,

The one who seemed to be the leader of the group turned with the rest of them and strode over to him, looked him over for a second and simply said, "Get lost Tobai."

"Get your jollies from tormenting little kids, it's pathetic." Phonis said kind of surprised at himself,

"If it's any of your business Phonis, these kids are playing in MY park and they owe me toll money." He said spitting on the floor after he finished speaking,

"A toll for the park, i'm sure i would've heard about something like that." Phonis scowled at him,

"Hey boss, bunny boy here is in our park too, think he needs to pay up too?" Another of them shouted,

"Beano's right Phonis, you're in my park too... wanna pay the toll too or do we have to extract it?" He said as he turned to his friends, "Shame i don't have any dodgeballs with me, eh boys."

"I'm sure you'll do fine without them boss." Beano shouted back bobbing his head up and down like he was on speed,

"So, is it gonna be the easy way or the hard way?" He asked looking Phonis square in the eyes,

"Hows about you kiss my fluffy white ass?" Phonis said glaring back at him.

Phonis was suddenly picked off the floor by the guy grabbing his shirt, Phonis suddenly regretted his course of action when he remembered why he never stood up to this guy before, he was the schools boxing champion and could definitely rough him to the point of hospitalisation. Phonis tried to break free from the guys grip and as struggled he felt a strange tingle in his left arm and the guys jacket sleeve suddenly caught fire. Panicking the bully dropped Phonis and started to pat out the flames on his arm, Phonis got up slowly feeling both stunned and amazed at what had just happened. After all the flames had died out he stood for a moment in shock and shot a look at Phonis and pointed at him.

"You did that... you cast magic!" He cried in a mix of panic and realisation,

"Wha... no, i dunno what happened... i didn't." Phonis stammered suddenly realising he was in trouble,

"Bullshit, it was you... stay away from me, get the fuck away." He shouted as he and his friends ran off.

Phonis was in utter shock as he realised it WAS him that had done it, he had cast a fire spell to free himself... unintentional as it may have been, he had still done it. He stared down at his hands for a moment as the group of kids came over to him, they looked no more than eight years old.

"That was totally awesome mister, can you really use magic?" One of the kids asked excitedly,

"I... No... i mean is i... i dunno." Phonis said still finding it hard to believe,

"It's the coollest thing i ever saw." Another kid said grinning widely,

"Best to head home kids, before they decide to come back." Phonis said feeling somewhat nervous.

The kids said 'thank you' and all ran off all saying how cool it had been. Phonis was really worried now, if he had indeed cast a spell to free himself, he was now considered a magic user and if found out he would be taken away from all he knew. A sobering thought if he had any at that moment, and with things going as they had been he didn't want to give any of it up for anything. With as much haste as he could muster he ran home hoping that he would be safe there from the world if only long enough to make sense of things, maybe his dad could help him think of a solution... but would it be right to get his father involved in this, would it be best to keep him in the dark about everything. He'd have to think very hard about this, as much as he wanted his dads help and understanding about this, he also didn't want to put him or Teak in any danger if there was any. When he got home, he found the house empty, he guessed his dad had decided to keep the garage open a little longer today and for that he was slightly grateful as it gave him time to think things over without arousing suspicion. There was a note on the fridge from Teak telling his dad that he would be home late so he knew he'd be alone for quite a while, he quickly ran upstairs and turned on his computer, maybe there was something on the net about what was happening to him, something to help him rationalise and get to grips with something, anything. He spent a quick few minutes scanning some random links about magic and causes and effects when his ExtraNet window popped open and Brish was on the other end.

"Hey Phonis hows tricks... whoa, the hell happened, you look a touch flustered buddy?" Brish commented,

"It's nothing, just ran home..." Phonis answered,

"Didn't think i was that important to you bud, i'm touched." Brish said fanning his hand in front of himself,

"Not like that Brish you muppet." Phonis groaned,

"Awww, just when i think i'm loved." Brish chuckled,

"I'm just all over the place right now." Phonis said trying to breathe normally again,

"Sure bud, take five... i'm just talking to Valentia on the other line. They're looking forward to coming back this weekend." Brish said,

"How're they doing anyway?" Phonis asked,

"Well Valentia is as taciturn as ever but quite looking forward to some barbacued stuffs by yours truly, Betinya apparently is as restless as a chipmunk on speed, seems like you left a lasting impression." Brish grinned.

Phonis wondered if he could just forget about what had happened and carry on as normal, the only witnesses to his feat were less than credible, as popular in school as they were, they were known to embellish a lot of things so most of what they would say would be discounted. Maybe he had a shot at a normal life after all if he could just keep from doing anything else like earlier.

"You okay buddy?" Brish asked,

"Yeah yeah, just thinking of a way to woo my lady this weekend." Phonis lied,

"From the sound of things you don't need to woo her anymore, she's just about ready to jump your bones... i'd stay in well lit areas if i were you." Brish said.

Phonis just raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Or not... just make sure you scream my name when you do." Brish grinned idiotically,

"Thats just wrong in every sense of the word." Phonis flinched as it crept into his mind,

"Just seems unfair that my sausages aren't the only things she'll be chowing down on." Brish practically laughed as he spoke,

"Dear God Brish... show some restraint." Phonis said although couldn't help but laugh a little inside,

"Catch you later Phonis." Brish said as his window closed.

Phonis sat back in his chair a moment, feeling a little more relaxed than he was ten minutes ago. He decided he was going to try and keep what had happened a secret, if he didn't do anything to arouse suspicion no one would know. He knew it only took a rumour to start things off, and if a Vanguard came for him his life would be over, and he'd be damned if his life was gonna go anywhere but where it was headed right now. He decided to carry on searching for answers later, the whole ordeal had left him exhausted and all he wanted to do was sleep, he doubted it would come easily but tried anyway and to his surprise he felt the embrace of sleep come quickly.

He awoke to the sound of his alarm clock, rubbing his eyes he realised he must've slept through the whole night. He felt somewhat refreshed, yet a cloud of worry still hung heavy on his mind, he'd never kept a secret from his father and starting now made him somewhat uneasy, but he agreed that it was the best course of acrtion to protect his family from any re-precussions that could possibly be associated with hiding his abilities. He changed quickly and headed down to breakfast, his father sat drinking his morning coffee and reading the newspaper, Teak was nowhere to be seen.

"Morning Phonis, sleep well?" He asked,

"Pretty good yeah... dead to the world." Phonis replied,

"Thought as much, tried to wake you up last night but you were snoring so loud i just gave up." He chuckled,

"Very funny dad... where's Teak?" Phonis asked,

"Never came home last night, i tell you kiddo these college kids... probably partying to all hours, guess we hit a nerve of his yesterday." He chuckled again,

"Weird him being jealous of me, i'm nothing special." Phonis said trying to emphasize the bit about not being special,

"We're all special in our own way Phonis, i have a feeling you're bound for great things." He said,

"Not if i can help it." Phonis said under his breath as he reached for some toast,

"I have high hopes for both of you. You've got a bright future ahead of you, better than i had for myself i'm sure." He said, putting a hand on Phonis' shoulder,

"You've not done bad for yourself dad, you're a well respected and highly valued member of this District." Phonis said waving his toast in front as he gestured,

"Aye, but you could be so much more... you're still young and already way ahead of myself at your age. I couldn't be prouder of you and Teak... though Teak i sometimes worry will land himself in trouble one day." He chuckled,

"Anyways i gotta get to school, see you later dad." Phonis said as he rose and grabbed another slice of toast as he left.

Phonis was glad that Fridays were only half days at school, he was going to pay a visit to Ketrell at the end of school, if there was anyone he could trust without putting his family in danger it was Ketrell. As usual he bumped into Brish on the way to school. As they walked Brish began filling Phonis in on some of the plans in place for his party, Phonis was only half listening as he was also running through what he could say to Ketrell that would warrant his help, being a Dragon he was sure Ketrell knew someone who could help him find out what he'd gotten himself into. School went by in a blur, two lessons and study hall were the only things to do that day and even that went by far too quickly, he wished time flew by like this when things had been relatively normal. Since study hall was optional he decided to skip it today but decided to pay a visit to Miss Gardners office, perhaps she knew something relative to his situation. He found her in her classroom with her head buried in books and files as usual, she noticed him in the doorway and waved him in.

"Hello Phonis, didn't expect to see you till next week. I take it then you've got something interesting to tell me?" She asked him,

"Actually i was wondering what you could tell me about magic." Phonis asked,

"Magic... besides everything i've taught you in class... very little else." She said regarding him closely,

"What about magic items... artifacts and such." He said re-evaluating his question,

"Even less i'm afraid, objects of that nature are rare and usually studied by professionals over at the Council Tower." She said looking through one of her files, "If you wanted to know more you'd be better off asking someone with first hand knowledge, expert historians or Artificers." She basically laughed at the last mentioned name, "Why are you interested in magic now?"

"Thought understanding more about it would help me find the Knight Guardian you mentioned before." Phonis lied,

She smiled, "I can't believe your seriously following that up, not that it's completely unbelievable... just surprised you're taking such an interest in something. We'll make a historian out of you yet Phonis."

"Thanks anyway, i think i know someone who can point me in the right direction." Phonis said,

"Have a good weekend Phonis and see you next week." She said as he left.

Phonis decided that Ketrell was probably the only one who could help him now, so he started off towards the Express Couriers Office building. All the way he tried to find the best opening line to make Ketrell believe he wasn't nuts without having to resort to a demonstration, since yesterdays act was unintentional he didn't really know how to cast magic spells. The closer he got to the office the more nervous he felt, he knew he could trust Ketrell to be discreet about this if he couldn't help but that still didn't ease his mind. When he found himself stood in front of the buildings main doors he just couldn't find the strength to lift his arms and open them. Throwing all doubt out his mind he decided to just get it over and done with and pushed the door open and walked in, he was greeted by the friendly face of Ketrell stood behind the main counter. Ketrell had always instilled Phonis with some sense of ease ever since they had met, although his size would be considered intimidating to anyone who did not know him Phonis knew he was a kind and gentle soul. His Dark Brown eyes regarded him calmly.

"Hello Phonis, what a pleasure to see you in here... though i didn't expect you till your shift on Monday." Ketrell said,

"Hi Ketrell, i'm not here about work... have you got a minute to talk, i really need a friendly ear." Phonis said somewhat nervously,

Ketrell smiled and waved him into the back room, "Sure come on in, things are pretty slow today anyway."

Phonis stepped past the counter and headed to the back room where most of the couriers took their downtime between jobs while active, he was glad to see it empty. Ketrell entered a moment later and offered Phonis a seat on the couch across from him.

"Now my young friend what is it old Ketrell can do for you?" Ketrell asked,

"Something happened Ketrell and i don't know what to do... things are seriously messed up." Phonis said,

"Calm down son, just take it from the top." Ketrell said.

Phonis started to explain everything that had happened from when the dragon had ran into him the other day... leaving out the bits that were unrelated of course. He told him of the package, the strange feeling it radiated to the crystal star in the box to the vision he experienced. When he was done talking Ketrell simply sat back for a moment seeming to take in everything that was said, but what was weird was he didn't seem alarmed or stunned, he maintained his calm composure. After a few moments of contemplation he simply sat forward again.

"Do you still have the crystal star?" He asked,

"Yeah, right here." Phonis said holding up his left arm.

Ketrell took hold of Phonis' arm and examined the crystal star closely, after about a minute he nodded a few times and muttered.

"Just as i thought." Ketrell said to no one in particular,

"What is it?" Phonis asked,

"You my boy have just been chosen." Ketrell smiled,

"Chosen for what?" Phonis asked the suspense killing him,

"To be our protector, that my friend is the Unity Star." Ketrell grinned.