Sideways Before

I nodded. "Alright then, hit me."

I chuckled. "That won't be necessary." Then I hoved my hand just a few inches over his eyes. "Now sleep."

And once again, I was out.

**********

I awoke to find myself in the familiar alleyway in which we made our "home". I sat up and looked around to notice that no one was there yet.
Odd, I thought. They're not back yet? Hm, oh well. I just hope they're okay.
A howl could suddenly be heard in the distance, and I turned to see Zanzibar, Rusty, and Skipper round the corner in their wolf forms, Rusty holding a sack of food in his mouth. I turned into my own wolf form, stood, and approached them. Zan dipped his head, and I nodded back.
"Were you guys successful?"
"Obviously. What about you?"
"I ate before I came back," I half lied.
Rusty and Skipper went to the end of the alley to open the bag and dig through its contents. Zan followed as well, as did I. I waited until they were done, then leaped onto a trash can and lay down. The others settled down as well, but suddenly Zan's golden eyes were on me.
"Hey, Seth."
I turned to him. "What?"
"What's that thing on your ear?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing. Just a little something I picked up on the way back."
"What do you intend to use it for?"
"Um, nothing, really. Just thought it looked kinda cool."
Zan blinked, and I knew that he didn't believe me. But I could tell he was too tired to argue, and so he let it go. I knew that I'd have a lot to explain after shcool tomorrow...

OOC: Pft lol! Good one Seth. just thought it looked cool...lol

I watched the pack from atop the rooftops a little longer, then took off in one direction, getting ready to transform and head back to the Keep.
Hey, Storm.
I paused just a moment.
Yeah?
You remember that guy you wanted us to check out?
Yes, what is it.
Well...he wasn't there.
I faltered and skid to a stop. What?!
Butch wasn't there. His goonies were, as was his scent, but not him.
I punched a pole, deforming it. "Damn it!" Did you find any trail?
No. The freshest scent was on the spot you set him down after erasing his memory.
I sighed, calming down. Now wasn't the time to lose cool. Then there is definitely something with a purpose that's using him. Did you let Darren know?
Yeah, he's already looked into it. But...where did you go?
I didn't answer, trying to think. I'll tell you later.
Bro--
I cut the line, taking off into the skies to head for the Floating Keep. Butch had been going after obsidian again, probably to make more weapons from it. Was that just his precaution from our previous encounter? Or has something got him on the hunt for dragons?
Either way, if something doesn't happen to stop this our cover could be completely blown.

OOC: Hey, just fyi, I'm switching to third person, since I'm going to enter Eddie soon. Also, sorry to change them yet again, but Seth and his friends are actually already Shapeshifters. Basically, this takes place after the defeat of Sevukon.

Seth awoke slowly, his eyes still blurry from lack of sleep and last night's meeting with Dreyden. He felt the earpiece almost immediately, and he leaped onto the ground and stretched, trying not to flick his ear so the earpiece would stay on. The black wolf then turned into human form and looked at his friends who were still asleep.
Best not wake them up. Zan'll probably continue to badger me about this stupid earpiece again.
So, as quietly as he could, Seth left the alleyway and headed in the opposite direction of the school, debating whether he should go or skip today.

The sky began growing light outside from where I was above the clouds. I didn't sleep again, though I had a different reason this time. Butch had to be getting help from someone from our world; it was the only thing that made sense. That or he had an alternate personality from Istel, not impossible but highly unlikely. The question was who and how, and more importantly why he was trying to expose us and how do we stop him. I had already talked to Darren about this and he's got the other divisions on the lookout. At the moment there was still nothing we can do.
I hadn't told anyone about Seth just yet. It was best to leave him out of this as much as possible but his distance from us was exactly what I could use. He'll be able to get to place I wouldn't be able to. Whoever is doing this knows I'm onto them, but he won't be able to suspect Seth.
I sighed, breathing in the cool morning air, and then felt a twinge and a throb in my chest that made me flinch. I don't think it will try anything today, but...I better go to Darren for another dose just to be safe.


Adriane was skipping today, and Rikko had some other business to attend to, so it was just me today. That made things a little easier; I can gauge how much Seth and convincingly act like he didn't know me.
I spotted him about the same time the three top linebackers on the school's football team bumped into me.
"Watch where you're going, punk!" said the one who purposely ran into me.
I just gave him a look and kept walking.
"Hey, Emo-kid! You gonna appologize for that?"
Just keep walking.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" The kid stormed up to me and grabbed my shoulder, spinning me back around. "You know that kind of hurt. I think it may have dislocated my shoulder. What are you gonna do if I can't play?"
I could really dislocate your shoulder for you. Then you wouldn't be exaggerating.
"What's with that grin? You think that's funny?"
I recoiled and mentally smacked myself. Shoot, I was smiling?! That can't be good, that shot was suppose to keep this back...!
"Kid thinks he's a big-shot. I think we should teach him where he stands."
I turned away, keeping both my emotions and my panic levels as non-existent as I could. "I don't have time for this."
"Where do you think you're going?!"
The three circled me and one took a swing. Immediately my instincts kicked in and I ducked and swept his legs out from underneath him. A second roared in outrage and attacked too. I grabbed his arm and twisted it around, very tempted to give it just the right pull to knock it out of place. Then I realized what I was doing and that I had drawn attention to myself. I let go of the kid and let the last one, the boy who started this mess, punch me in the jaw and grab the collar of my shirt.


OOC: wow, that was a long one. ^^

OOC: Nice...

Although he'd followed Drey's advice and pretended not to know him, Seth couldn't help but feel the urge to help. After all, Rusty had been in a predicament like Drey was in before, only the kid didn't fight back like Drey.
The supposed human-wolf hybrid smiled. Sorry man, he thought to himself, but I've always been the type to not exactly follow orders.
Trying to hold back a growl in his throat, Seth walked over to the three boys he'd outsmarted before. "Hey, guys. Nice day for a beating, I presume?"

"Stay out of this scrawny-legs or you're next," the punk growled at Seth.
I didn't even glance at Seth. I was focusing more on resisting the urge to tear the arm that had a hold of my shirt off. I clenched and unclenched my fist, feeling my canines begin to lengthen in response to the dragon urge to fight in me. Just let him get it over with and walk away...don't do anything suspicious...

Seth tried not to let his anger boil. "Hm, and I thought you monkeys went after little weak guys like me."

"What'd you say?!" he turned towards him.
I snapped; I had to get away fast before this get's more out of hand. I did an arm-swipe, knocked my shirt loose from his grip, and for good measure shoved him away...only I shoved him too hard. Not holy-crap-that-kid's-a-freak hard, but hard enough that it wasn't normal for a kid three sizes smaller to even budge a 300 lb line-backer.
I didn't waste a moment more in attention; I ran into the crowd before they could think of moving out of my way, slipping through them with practiced ease and knocking not a single one over.
Get out of there now! I called to Seth. We had to break up the scene.

Right behind you! he answered back, before dodging out of the way and following his... friend? Could he call Drey that? Seth shook his head. It didn't matter at that moment; all that mattered was getting away.
So, what exactly happened, Drey? I didn't catch the whole scene.

Just the usual idiocy, but it had already blown too far out of proportion. Meet me at the abandoned candy-shop on the east side of town. I changed course and began heading that direction as I said it, putting on enough speed to be unnoticeable as I left the campus. I won't be returning today. I'll let those three track me down later and alter their memories of the incident. For now I needed to calm down and push back those urges that snuck up on me.

Alright, see you there.
Although he mostly followed Drey, Seth turned into his wolf form when no one was looking and ran through the various alleyways, trying to avoid his friends and run-ins with other strays.

One clear of prying eyes I jumped back and forth up the buildings of an alley way and continued my way to the abandoned part of the city by roof top.
The air blew stronger up here, stronger still will the speed I was going. I was probably going to receive another principal visit for truancy but that really didn't matter. I still had three more infractions before Darren would be require to step in as my 'legal guardian.' Sixteen more technically, depending on how well I can make those incidents "disappear" without causing suspicion.
I breathed in and slowed to a stop on top of the little warehouse attached to the candy store. I took a few moments to steady my emotions, calming down enough to focus, then slid through an open window into the building.

Once there, Seth leaped easily onto the rooftop, although he did stumble a little after landing. He then slipped into the open window, turning into human form once he touched the floor. The Shapeshifter then looked at Drey with a smirk. "Getting in trouble, I see."

I scowled at him. "You should have just left it alone. He would have finished beating me and then I could have remained inconspicuous. Now it's going to take weeks to disperse the attention on me. I thank you for your attempted assistance but neither did I need it nor did it help. I've dealt with thugs like them far longer than you have; I know how to handle them." I turned away and paced over to the wall, wondering if I'm going to regret recruiting this kid.

Seth just blinked. "So you wanted me to just sit back and watch you get beaten to a pulp? I don't see why you couldn't have defended yourself. It's not like fighting back will reveal what you are."

I glanced back him and allowed myself a slight smirk. "You underestimate me, kid. There was nothing that boy could have done to me that would harm me in the least." I walked along the wall, running my hands across them.
"You right that defending myself wouldn't reveal who I am exactly, but it would draw unnecessary attention to us. Those boys are know as the strongest in this school; the one I had sent flying was the undefeated heavy-weight wrestling champion of this semester. Both he and his friends take regular mixed martial arts classes and have but one more exam that would deem them black-belt level. Since the moment I entered this school I've been known and label as a weak, anti-social teenager, no where near strong enough to take on those boys. If I had simply let them 'beat me to a pulp' I would have retained that status quo and continued to go unnoticed. Now I've not only held my own against them but defeated them." I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in frustration. "This is going to take a lot of fixing now."
What I wasn't adding, though, that this really was my fault. If I had been controlling myself better, they would have just beaten me from the beginning and left. Unconsciously I placed my hand over my chest, where an unseen scar was etched in my skin. It hasn't begun acting up like this for thirty years. Why is it beginning to fight now?

Seth saw Drey put his hand against his chest, but said nothing. He could sense a sort of darkness in this kid, but he wasn't sure what it was exactly. He was about to say respond to Drey when something caught his attention. Seth sniffed the air; something not normal was definitely here.

I perked up immediately, sensing something. Sethstone had felt it too. I slunk closer to the shadows, unnoticed and waiting. Something wasn't here yet, but it was coming. Which meant it wasn't from this world.
This could be the mastermind. But why show up now?

However, as the scent became stronger, he relaxed. It was definitely someone he knew. But who-?
"Been a long time since I was on Earth. But it's been an even longer time since I was around mythical creatures like you guys."
Seth turned to see someone, a teenager actually, leaning against a nearby wall, a smirk on his face and his one green eye glowing in the dim light. When the Shapeshifter's eyes met his, he knew instantly who it was: Edwin Douglas, the Phantom Mage who had helped him in defeating Cyrus.
Eddie looked at Seth, then to Drey. "Yo."

One whiff of his scent sent me on alarms; what he said put me on red alert.
Without wasting a second I lunged out for the newcomer, hitting the back of his neck to jar his nerves and pinned him face-down on the ground, one elbow pressed against his neck and twisting one arm back with the other.
"Who are you and how do you know about us?" I growled commandingly. "And speak quickly." This boy reeked of magic, which only made my suspisions even higher.

Edwin didn't fight back, for he could feel the strength from this guy; he was no doubt powerful. "Owowow! Jeez, attack people on first sight because they're a Mage, why don't you?! It's quiet obvious I knew you weren't normal, though. After all, mythical creatures sense each other, right?"
Seth was frozen. He wanted to help but... could he really convince Drey that Eddie was of no threat? Surely the human-dragon hybrid had heard of Eddie's kind?

I growled. "Then who are you and why are you here?" I drove into his mind, probing, testing to see whether his next answer was truth or lie.

He did his best to respond through the pain that began to course through his body. "I'm Edwin, or Eddie, Douglas. I'm just here because I sensed someone I knew..."
It was then Seth snapped out of his shock and stepped towards them. "Drey, it's okay, he's a friend. Eddie's helped me a few times. He might be a Phantom Mage, but he's alright."