Scott Tyler

While steering the car, Alicia began to explain John's movement to everyone in the car, "John will be heading to the town called Auburn, it's an old mining town. It got big in the gold rush days, when the mine was a big hit for the country. John was born there and today it's his fiftieth birthday, so they're giving him a parade."

"We will have to reach there before it starts" Angelica muttered while glancing out the window, there was no need for them to rush since it will only be happening later the afternoon. However, she still had to mention that they had to move fast.

"We will reach there within the hour," Alicia said with a reassuring voice, she did not know that Angelica was still down due to losing the lead on the Cannibals. And even if they knew Nightrise was part of the Old Ones, they could not recklessly move without evidence due to Khaos Brigade or Hades who might use the chance to form an alliance with this corporation.

The crowds had started arriving early for the birthday parade and by eleven in the morning there were about two thousand people lining the pavements, with more spilling out of their cars every minute. Alicia parked her car along with the other cars, Angelica, Jamie and Everest were the first to exit the car in a hurry.

"We need to find Scott, use rough methods to subdue him if necessary" Angelica ordered the girls before she moved on her own moving like a snake between the people.

"Is it necessary to hurt him?" Jamie asked with an uncertain tone,

"If Scott had been 'brainwashed' we will need to" Stephani explained, "because we can't risk peoples lives to persuade him, so it's best to knock him out and then when he wakes up. You can speak to him"

"I understand," Jamie said with a nod, following after Everest walking in the direction he sensed his brother.

There were dozens of police officers on special duty making sure that the people were not getting out of hand, and the secret service had gone in the night before and sealed off the area where the parade would take place. While the local residents slept, they had discreetly swept the entire town, using dogs to sniff out any trace of high explosives, installing security cameras, identifying the rooftops and the second-floor windows that might provide a marksman with cover.

There were two quite separate parts of Auburn. The modern section that was not that much attention-grabbing due to the structures being similar to what one could find at any modern town or city, a couple of streets that met at an angle with the usual assortment of shops and offices.

What made this town unique was the Old Town, as everyone called it, had been almost perfectly preserved, a living echo of the nineteenth century and the gold rush that had created it. The main street swept down and then split into two, each side curving round like the two halves of a horseshoe with an open area, like a town square, in the middle.

It was the buildings in the middle of the square that was the town's pride and joy. One was an old post office, the other a firehouse, which looked like an oversized toy with its pointed roof and red and white stripes.

The statue of Claude Chana stood next to the cedar tree. The parade would come this way and then it would turn off past the main shopping parade and make a complete circle behind the cedar tree before stopping once again at the bleachers.

There was a platform, a row of microphones, an area for the press. The mayor would make a

speech welcoming John Trelawny. John Trelawny would make a speech thanking the mayor. Then

everyone would have lunch.

At midday exactly the parade began. The local high school marching band began walking ahead, their flashy costumes giving them the aura of liveliness as they began to play their trumpets, and a young boy carrying a big drum strapped to his chest. Following after two baton twirlers marching firmly according to their rehearsed steps

Music in the background began to play with a roaring sound, with people singing a rap song while sitting back on an open-top Cadillacs. And it did not take long for the open-top car that John was driving to appear, and the people began to cheer like a massive group of crazed fans, there were even some inappropriate contents that were shouted out but was effectively ignored.

As the procession made its way down the hill, two latecomers slipped through the seated dignitaries on the bleachers. One was a middle-aged woman with short grey hair, a thin neck and glasses that were slightly too big for her face.

The other was a teenage boy, rather strangely dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, open at the collar. The boy was very pale, his eyes were empty and his face was devoid of expressions. The woman muttered her apologies as the two of them took their places in their reserved seats. Susan

Mortlake and Scott Tyler had arrived. Now they sat and waited for the man they had come to kill.

"Found them" Everest muttered,

"Let's go!" Jamie cried out following after her, the two of them pushed through the people while heading as stealthily as fast they could.

His car had almost completed its circuit around the bleachers and any minute now it would stop and he and the mayor would get out. The speeches would begin.

The car slowed down and stopped. Warren Cornfield was the first out, his hand resting on the car door, his head swivelling to take in the crowds. His eyes glaring at the surroundings searching for any possible threats, it was his responsibility as the one in charge of John Trelawny's safety.

About fifteen metres away, in the middle of the bleachers, Susan Mortlake leant over and rested her

hand on Scott's arm. "All right, my dear, it's time. Do it now." She whispered in his ear

"No he won't" Everest muttered softly before Susan could say anything her neck was gripped from behind while Everest suppressed her vocal cords with her dragon aura. "Because you will die here"

"Brother" Jamie called out,

"J-Jamie?" Scott who had been tortured mentally for days regained a lustre in his eyes looking at his brother who was alive and well. He instinctively opened his mind to confirm if the boy in front of him was Jamie, and it was only when he confirmed he felt relieved. His entire body shudders before he fell in Jamie's arms fallen asleep.

"Now do you wish to tell us more about Nightrise?" Everest asked with a soft tone, yet before Susan could say anything her body shuddered causing Everest to let go of her neck in haste watching the ladies body was covered with a faint black smoke dying almost instantly before the smoke evaporated.

"She died?" Everest muttered, but she was experienced, She grasps Scott into her arm while dragging Jamie to follow after her with her other hand, "Move" She said with a stern voice.

Jamie nodded as he moved along with her moving swiftly, it did not take long for a woman to discover the dead Susan Mortlake and screamed, alarming the authorities and surrounding people. A Massive commotion shook the entire town, Warren immediately pressed John who was about to climb out of the car back inside.

"Drive!" Warren roared his order at the driver, and the car sped away from the town hall, it was only then John took out his phone to make phone calls he saw the message Alicia had to send him. He immediately closed his phone and placed it back into his pocket not saying a word about what he read, yet Warren noticed this action.

The once birthday that was planned to be a big success became a massive chaotic scene, yet it did not stop there. The country became even more chaotic when the news of Charles Baker echoes throughout the nation, he was killed in his room buck naked. The strangest thing was that there was no physical harm, nor any substance in his body.

At first they thought it was a health reason, yet after investigating his body they realized that he was as fit as a horse. How did such a man die? And followed with John Trelawny's parade becoming a chaotic mess the professionals concluded this as a conspiracy theory, of rival candidate possibly trying to kill one another. Except that one succeeded.

"Sir..." Warren spoke to John when they safely arrived at a safe house designated to keep John safe in case such situations occurs, and now Warren wanted to clarify his suspicions.

"Yes, Warren?" John said appearing to have aged a decade, his face filled with worries for his hometown that experienced such a disaster feeling that he was responsible for it.

"Your phone, did someone text you?" Warren asked,

"Yes, it was Alicia," John said with no intentions to hide it, in fact, such an achievement should be recorded. It was just a shame he did not read this message on time, or he could have prevented this from happening.

"What did she send?" Warren asked with a suspicious gaze, he was certain Alicia must have sent a message in regards to this incident from the looks on John's face.

"a Warning, that I am a target for assassination," John said nonchalantly, feeling numb at the feeling that his life was in danger ever since he began fighting for candidacy to become president.

"WHAT!?" Warren cried out,

"Also, they will be coming. So be sure to receive them and bring them to me immediately" John said with a stern expression.

"I would do so, but I wish to be here as well," Warren said with a stubborn expression that showed that he would not take a no for an answer. So John could only reluctantly agree.

>\/<

"You really came" Warren spoke with a stoic face, but his eyes were conflicted. Because this lady could have saved John if she was nearby instead of being on the move searching for her son, but he will never voice it out since he secretly admired her to decisively leaving everything behind to look for her son.

"Yes, since after all it was Angelica that wanted to meet him," Alicia said with a wry smile, she could understand Warren's feelings knowing that she warned John but it came too late. At least Everest and Jamie moved fast enough to save Scott and took care of the woman.

"Angelica?" Warren glanced at Angelica since he was introduced with a different name for this girl, he was now certain that they were indeed on a mission which was why they used false names and spoke with John who had the power to influence certain things.

"Yes, my name is Angelica. And I'm a agent from Hiei, we have been investigating Nightrise who is related to the assassination that almost succeeded today" Angelica said with a stoic face,

"T-This...." Warren stuttered, he was shocked at how easily this girl admitted it. And he knew of this Hiei Company, it was something akin to a Mercenary group and even their government and secret services had hired them to complete various jobs. 'Why is this company getting involved in the--- No way! The death of Charles baker!?'

"We came here to see John, can you lead the way?" Angelica asked, glancing at Warren whose face was a bit sweaty.

"Y-yes of course" Warren nodded as he led the two ladies into the safehouse where John was sitting on a couch drinking coffee, seeing that Angelica and Alicia arrived he finally began to feel relaxed.

Warren said nothing and stood behind John, ready to act if needed. He just hoped his conjecture was wrong, "You wanted to see me?" John asked speaking straight to the point with Angelica, after experiencing something like that he was in no mood to catch up on things.

"Yes, I will simply state the facts. There are no solid pieces of evidence since the people we are dealing with are simply good at what they do, but what happened today was an assassination attempt. We managed to apprehend the culprit on time, but she committed suicide decisively before we could interrogate her" Angelica began to explain,

John's eyes widen but dared not say a thing, allowing Angelica to continue. "We believed this woman was working for Nightrise and wanted to use Jamie's brother to control Warren to kill you," She said while glancing at Warren who shuddered.

"You might not believe me, but those two children's powers are beyond your imagination. So we took the liberty of taking over the guardianship of the children and prevent such a thing from happening again, as for Charles Baker. We had no choice by to assassinate him, we need you to become President" Angelica said,

"How can I trust you won't use those children for your own benefits?" John asked,

"You don't, because even if you don't trust us. We don't care, and simply hope you will become a good president for your people. Otherwise, we will remove you" Angelica said nonchalantly before standing up ready to leave,

"There is a woman named Nathalie, she is the owner of a corporation and part of the group called Nexus. She wishes to meet Jamie and Scott" John said watching Angelica stop for a moment,

"If fate wills it, we will meet her. I just hope it will not be as enemies, we already have our hands full with the Old ones" Angelica muttered causing John, Warren and Alicia to feel confused as they did not understand what she meant, so she added "Nathalie will understand it, so just relay my message as is"

>\/<

"urg.... Where am I?" Scott muttered looking at an amber coloured decorated ceiling, he had a massive headache feeling that something was forcibly removed from his head. Glancing left and right he found his brother sleeping at his side while seated.

"You are in a safe place Scott Tyler" Masaru muttered, there was still some time before the ritual will take place so he took some time to visit the twins whom his girls saved,

"Who are you?" Scott asked with a wary face,

"I'm your ally if that is what you want me to be. Right now, I want to tell you. Focus on recovering and live with your brother. Once I have time I will explain to you what happened, and what I did" Masaru said with a warm smile,

Although Masaru was certain he would never tell Scott the fact he permanently removed the memories of his stay at Silent Creek while he was tortured. He even had Stephani help him heal the trauma inflicted on the boy so he will not be reminded of the time he was brainwashed, Masaru could not allow one of the five children to turn traitor on them.

"When will that be?" Scott asked,

"After I resolved a civil war," Masaru said with a serious expression, "Right now you are in the Belial Territory which I am in charge of, the servants will assist you with anything you need. Also, my girls are here as well, so if you have questions you can speak with them"

"It was nice meeting you, at last, Scott," Masaru said before disappearing.

"Brother" Jamie whimpered before leaping into Scott's arms hugging him tightly while crying,

"Jamie..." Scott spoke with a stuttering voice, his eyes burning hot with tears accumulating at the corner of his eyes.

"Welcome home," Jamie said with a smile despite his face filled with snot and tears,

"Home?" Scott asked,

"Yes, Masaru said he would give us a home. A place we can study, and work when we grow up" Jamie explained,

"Can you trust him?" Scott asked,

"Neither him nor his girls had ever told me a lie while I was looking for you" Jamie answered,

"I see," Scott said while caressing Jamie's head, "I'm back"