[ 26 ] 1990

-

"Look, son. We've had to change the room arrangements several times because that girl doesn't get along with anyone--boys or girls. That was the only room left in the facility, and your uncle Fer and I thought you might be able to handle her since you're so quiet and serious all the time."

-

With his aunt on the verge of death, she had confessed a secret to her nephew Arthur Vega. That they were direct descendants of the original hunters which had been created in Mexico to counter the shifters which had been created in Canada centuries prior. Arthur was at first confused by the information. He had no idea what a shifter was, and now he was being told he was a hunter of them. He had always known he had special abilities, like he could manipulate the emotions of others to his own favor, and he could move objects with his mind among other things. But it was a new development for him when his aunt produced a red velvet box from underneath her bed and offered it to him.

Upon opening it, he found that there were two shiny silver handguns. As he paid closer attention to them, looking from his aunt to the guns in the box first, he noticed that they had names engraved on the side of them. One of them had his own name engraved--Arthur. While the other, looking slightly older than the one with his name, read--Robert. Arthur felt himself suck in a breath in surprise. His father had been a hunter, and that was his gun.

His aunt explained to him tiredly, leaning back into the pillows on her bed. Her chest rose up and down slowly with each breath. It was evident that even breathing was a struggle for her. Arthur wanted to tell her to save her strengths. He could easily ask for the details with his other aunt, or with one of his two uncles. But she needed all the rest she could get in order to get better. "There weren't many shifters in this part of the world when he was alive, so my brother hardly got to use his gun or his powers. And he was the youngest of us anyway, so our older brothers didn't involve him much in the occult family business. They didn't want to interrupt his dreams of becoming a police officer." Gesturing towards the two guns in the box, she continued. "It's called a Diamond Rose. I'm sure Bobby would have wanted you to have his. But I got one made with your name as well. Its used to hunt and kill shifters, and it always works."

"Why are you saying this to me now?" Arthur wondered, not quite completely able to wrap his head around all of this. He had never been a part of that life and now it was suddenly being thrust upon him.

His aunt formed a weak smile on her lips as she replied. "Your uncles are just about ready to retire from that life, and I thought you were the one best suited to carry on the family legacy in honor of Bobby. They agreed with me. You're strong, m'ijo. You can do this. What we do has always been done best by the younger generations. You lot are faster than us old people." 

When her older brothers Fernando and Ernesto informed her that they were on their way to retire from their days of hunting, they also informed her that their own children did not want to inherit the family business. They had absolutely no interest in it, all of them deciding to be normal humans as well. Elenore Vega never married, and never had kids, thus she had no descendants of her own to take over the family business. While Elaine Vega, though she had kids, could not pass on the family legacy to them as the hunter gene was passed on through the male. That was when they suggested that Arthur take over, despite being only eighteen. Their younger sister agreed that he was perfect for the job.

Arthur knelt by his aunt's bedside and pulled her hand into both of his after setting the velvet box down by the foot of her bed. Bringing her hand to his lips and giving it a kiss, he said to her, words full of determination and fervor. "If that is what you wish for me, madrecita hermosa, then I'll gladly do it." Lovely mother, he had called her in Spanish. She raised him, she was his mother when he had no parents. He would do anything for her. 

"Thank you, m'ijo." She said to him with a weak smile. "I will call your uncles tonight. They'll be picking you up tomorrow morning to begin your training. They want to prepare you as soon as possible so that you will be the leader of the hunters."

Though Arthur didn't want to leave her side, he respected her wishes to go through with the training. That night, she called her older brothers Fernando and Ernesto. They lived a few minutes away, and they assured her that they would pick up Arthur early the next morning. They also told her that he would be okay in their hands and that they would make sure he was ready to take over for them upon their retirement. Elenore trusted her two older brothers, but she trusted Arthur as well. 

He was a boy who had a difficult life, never having met both of his parents, but he had a good heart and was always willing to help people. Her one concern in all of it was the fact that being a hunter was a lonely and dangerous life. Arthur had left behind a beautiful girl in Sydney, who had apparently broken up with him and moved on to the next boy as soon as he left. But Arthur still cared for her and he hoped that once his aunt could recover, he would return to see her. Maybe they could talk things out and get back together. With this new turn of events, his aunt knew that would be nearly impossible.

Training time in The Garden was two years of isolation from everyone and everything in the outside world. He would not be allowed to leave the facility until then, under any circumstances. That meant that since he was currently eighteen years old, he would be twenty once he could leave the training facility and take over the organization. By that time, surely his former girlfriend would have found someone else and moved on. It was the natural order of things, as well as human nature to move on from a past relationship.

But Elenore thought that Arthur was a nice young man, and very handsome too, just like his father had been. He could easily find someone else to love. And it certainly wasn't difficult for anyone to fall in love with him either. 

-

He packed a small bag with a few belongings to put in his new room at this place called The Garden that his aunt told him about. She said she had only been there once, since her powers hadn't completely developed like those of her brothers, and so she decided not to train to become a hunter. It was a place camouflaged deep in the Australian Outback, which had been built by the Vega family and a few hunter contributors. The Vega family had always known they had special abilities. But somewhere along the way, knowledge of what those powers were for got lost. 

During the time when Ernesto and Fernando Vega were teenagers, they had met a man who had tracked the family all the way from Mexico. He explained to the at first reluctant teenagers that their powers had been given to them by the Aztec gods in order to counter what had been seen as an evil that had been created in the north. The two brothers were hesitant to believe in the man's words, they thought there had to be some truth to them, since they did indeed have supernatural powers which defied an explanation. He further provided them with information, showing them books in which legends had been written about the people with special abilities. With that, he had also offered to help them build a training ground, where they would hone their skills to go into their lifelong battle.

Now it was Arthur's turn to take over the family tradition that was more than four hundred years old. His uncles arrived to pick him up at dawn and the drive to the facility was three hours, since it was deep in the outback. 

Upon arriving, they showed him around the facility. It was equipped with a dining area, a rec room, training rooms, and dorms. Another thing they had explained to him on the way there was that there would be other teenagers training with him. Not many, only about five to six of them.

Since hunters died relatively young, they usually left behind their children with no protection whatsoever. The brothers had taken in hunter children with abilities and trained them so that they could become hunters as well. Arthur didn't quite understand how that worked, and he wondered why they would want to go into the same profession that got their parents killed. But maybe it was the only life they had ever known. It was comfortable for them.

When they showed him to his dorm and left him at the door, walking away afterwards, Arthur heaved a sigh. It pained him so much to leave his aunt behind. But this was the life she wanted for him, and he would grant her that wish. His hand reached for the doorknob and he pushed the door open, walking into the room tiredly. Except he stopped dead in his tracks as he shut the door and saw there was someone already in the room

That hadn't been his surprise though, as he almost expected to have a room mate. What he didn't expect was that his room mate would be a petite girl with blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail, dressed in a white spandex jumpsuit. Her green eyes narrowed into thin slits as she regarded the boy who had just entered the room. "When the bosses told me I was getting a room mate today, I didn't expect it'd be someone so...old." She crinkled up her nose in disdain as she called him old. 

She herself seemed no younger than fifteen. But even so, he was eighteen and he wasn't that much older than her. 

Arthur Vega wasn't much for words. He heaved a sigh, muttering something under his breath. "For fucks sake."

He didn't even try to get settled. He turned and exited the room, Checking the plaque next to the door to see if he had the right place. Perhaps his uncles got confused and led him in the wrong direction. As he stood there outside, leaving the girl in the room by herself, he saw there were two plaques with names next tot he door. One on the top, and one on the bottom. The one on the top read, "Michelle Jenner, January 1990-January 1992." It was already April, which meant she had been there three more months than him, and the dates on the plaque were a statement to the amount of time she would be training, two years.

Underneath was another plaque, which he assumed had been either added last night, or that morning. "Arthur Vega, April 1990-April1992."

But he was not ready to accept that outcome. He didn't feel comfortable sharing his room with a girl, especially not when she was seeming like she was going to make his life hell. 

Arthur instead went to go find his uncles. 

He peeked into one of the training rooms and found his uncle Ernesto standing in observation as one of the other teenagers was getting a lesson on shooting. The older man turned his attention to Arthur as he saw him enter the room from the corner of his eye.

"Do you need something, son?" He asked his nephew.

"Actually, yes, uncle Ernesto." Arthur started with a nod of his head. He didn't want to seem ungrateful that they were giving him a place to stay and were essentially going to mold him so that he could become a good hunter and a good leader. The last thing he wanted to do was complain, but he didn't see how his current situation would work out. "There's a girl in my room, and she says we're going to be room mates. But I'm not comfortable with that."

Instead of sympathizing with him, his uncle let out a deep chuckle. "Don't tell me a sixteen year old girl scares you."

"That's not it." Arthur quickly said.

With a sigh, Ernesto Vega started to explain the situation. It immediately seemed like it had been something they really gave a lot of thought into. "Look, son. We've had to change the room arrangements several times because that girl doesn't get along with anyone--boys or girls. That was the only room left in the facility, and your uncle Fer and I thought you might be able to handle her since you're so quiet and serious all the time."

So you're basically sticking me with her, Arthur thought to himself. But instead of saying what he was actually thinking, he said, his voice sounding burdened. "I guess I'll try not to fight with her. She's a kid anyway." 

With that, he decided to head back to his room and just ignore the sixteen year old girl dorming with him.

-

before we get to the arthur michael confrontation, i thought we might have one or two flashback chapters from arthur's life. 

these will also be posted in harleen and arthur's story "in another life", but they will be posted after i post additional chapters for that story. please enjoy the update and let me know what you think.

i'll try really hard to have another chapter posted for you all later tonight.

have a wonderful day!

-clary