"Lieutenant Phoenix!"

The sound of his name ruffled his mind. The name he was given by his mother. The lieutenant was at war with the cases over flowing his desk.

He groaned at the cases that were presented to him. People have gone missing, others have left this world.

"Yes?" The bird asked sternly. His back leaning towards the chair the grown man stretched.

The man in front of him dropped a folder full of papers. The bird leaned forward and starts flipping through. "I would like for you to go over this case." He closed the folder gently and placed it with the rest of his hordey mess. The man looked down at him. "Thank you."

The bird turned his chair over to the computer. The screen glistening to him.

He looked down at his work. He looked over to the clock that was showing the progress of the day. It was almost time for him to go home. Great.

For a second he closed his eye.

The clock rang heavily through his head. As quick as the mind can think was as fast as the clock tuned it's song. He quickly packed his bags and walked to his vehicle. His day was a usual one, to do paper work.

The cars engine was the only sound heard in the dark.

He was the only figure walking out of the light.

But this was his home. A quiet town that knew nothing of who he really was.

Phoenix sighed as he grabbed the knob, he was quiet tired. Opening the door he sighed. "Hello Phoenix had a stressful day at work?" The robotics voice echoed around the home.

"Claire play 'Spring'" slowly flowing out the speakers around the home a few bird chirps, wind rustling, and small animals were heard. It's just the sound of nature or a collection of them at least.

The man yawn. "Tired?" Followed the voice behind him.

"Yes. Very." He dropped his sweater on the couch, his black turtleneck being ruffled a bit.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" He thought for a second.

"I'm quite fine thank you." He said taking a step on the stairs. He held onto the railing and walked up the stairs slowly.

"Going to sleep already Phoenix?" Called the small robotic voice. Phoenix continued.

"Yes, it's been a long day." The turning of the gears were heard from the ceiling.

"Alright would you like me to turn on your humidifier?"

Phoenix reached the platform that lead to the next set of stairs. "Yes please." Phoenix continued to the next set. "Lavender please." He stated quietly.

"Right away."

Phoenix groaned reaching the last step. The rooms along the hallway were empty except one, his. The house it's self was empty had no life it was a tombstone of silence.

Walking along the huge passage and reaching his room he opened the door. His room was a safe place where no one could get to him, were he was free to be himself. As he opened the door the aroma of the lavender calmed him down, he sighed. "Life here doesn't change, does it?" He smiled as he closed the door behind him. He looked at his room, nothing special. The only thing important there was the picture of him and his family. As well as the ankle monitor from the last universe he lived in.

As he walked past the picture frame, he glared at it for a moment. How he dreamt of returning. He laughed, this lavender is really getting to me.

Phoenix yawned. And I'm also very tired. He removed his shirt and tossed it to a bin in his closet. He took his belt off and placed it on the floor, his pants also went in the bin. He walked to a drawer and got some pajamas. He put them on as he took a seat on the bed. He glanced at the picture again. Glancing a little closer he saw a shine on the corner of the glass. He squinted his eyes, seeing that the shine was a reflection of light. As his mind trailed on of what this could mean, he got it.

Sh- his thoughts were trailed off as heard glass break, he jumped back. His soul popping out of his body, he quickly brought it back knowing the dangers it can lead.

An arrow hit the picture. Right on image of his father. He looked back but didn't see no figure. He ran over to his night stand and opened the back side that held his gun. Swiftly and quickly he put the code and took the gun out of the secret area. I get it people want to kill me but damn, why so late.

When he peeked into the balcony nothing was there. He quickly came back inside. "Claire, set up emergency blockade." He whispered. The robotic voice beeped setting down metal gates around doors and windows. Phoenix quickly relaxed. He again looked at the photo. What the hell? The arrow that shot the picture down was gone. And more suspiciously, it was pointed at him, his father. Phoenix looked away. He clenched his teeth. He tossed his gun onto his bed. He marched to pick the photo up. The cut was clean almost as it was burnt. A perfect round circle. The image itself was burnt at the corner where his father's face lay. He flipped the frame forward letting the image kiss the drawers wood. He sighed. He already knew what this was. He wasn't happy about this at all. It was getting late and he needed to sleep. He went in early tomorrow and shouldn't waste anytime staying awake. He walked over to his bed. The cool mattress welcoming him. He cuddle into the blanket and soon was fast asleep.

Phoenix awoke to a loud buzz. He groaned and looked at the time 5:30. He yawned and stretched. The only light being the lamp on his night stand. Phoenix looked at the window, which was covered in a metal gate. "I think you over exaggerated Phoenix." He told himself. You can't exactly die. He thought to himself. "Claire disable the blockade." He said softly getting out of bed. He grabbed his navy turtle neck and some black jeans. "Today should be an easier day." he told himself.

"Good Morning Phoenix." stated the robotic voice. Phoenix yawned again.

"Good Morning." he said putting on his socks.

"What would you like to eat this morning?" asked the robotic voice as the voice trailed off into the kitchen. Phoenix hummed to himself.

"Anything would be fine." He got up from his bed and looked down. "Everything is fine." he told himself. He looked to his left at the shelf. The picture was still there. The corner was still damaged. And the arrow disintegrated. He told himself. He walked away. It can't be her, can it? He walked over to the shelf. He opened a cabinet under the photo. Inside was what looked like a Doctoral degree and a few more Degrees. He picked them up and looked at them. Phoenix L/N, read all of them. One was a doctor, veterinarian, business, engineering, environmental studies, chemistry, and a few more sciences. As he flipped and looked on, he knew he didn't have one, astronomy. He sighed and closed the cabinet. Guess I never had the guts to do study that, since...

He shook his head. You have a job Phoenix. He looked at the picture one more time. The events of last night crawling through his mind. My soul. It reacted. I really hope no one outside from here noticed. He thought to himself as he held his chin. Let's hope.

He moved away from the picture and left the room to head to the bathroom. He cleaned up before leaving the bathroom. His hair up in a bun with one curl hanging in front. He walked towards the stairs and headed down downstairs. The light of the sun starting to shimmer on the wood of the stairs. He sniffed the air as the wood tapped under his feet. "Pancakes? No, chocolate chip pancakes." As he reached the last few steps he felt this presences. He stopped and looked at the door. He looked away and walked to the kitchen. "Claire, can you bring the monitor over, and pull up my report for the day." he said taking a seat at the table.

"Already on it." The mechanical gears turned a little through the ceiling. A small monitor appearing in front of him. He started to look through some of the cases. He read through them carefully as the robotic voice spoke. "Already working?" Phoenix looked up from the screen.

"I never stop." he sighed as a plate with pancakes slid over. Phoenix's face lit up.

"Just the way you like them." Phoenix grabbed his fork and ripped pieces out. "If there is anything you need don't hesitate to let me know." The robotic voice stopped and left the room. Phoenix once again looked down. Phoenix looked at the time of the monitor. 6:02. Phoenix huffed, I could really go for a pack of cigarettes right now. He sighed and shut the monitor off. Cutting off a piece of the pancakes and shoving it into his mouth. It was her, my magic only reacts to hers. He cut another piece off. She was being careless, she made my soul appear. He pouted. He took another bite. I should hurry up I'm going to be late. He thought getting up and walking to the kitchen. Shoving the last few pieces of the pancakes he set the plate into the sink. He walked out the kitchen and to the living room. He grabbed a coat and turned off the monitor. He opened the door and headed out. He got into his car and drove off. He backed up out of the driveway onto the street. He continued and headed to the station.

Quickly he parked and headed inside. Arriving to his desk he set his coat on the chair. He eyed the pile of papers. He should probably get started on those first. Grabbing the first file he opened it, reading it throughly. As he was trying to read it he felt this jolt from the ground. He looked around. Seems like no one else felt it. He hummed to himself continuing to read it. His eyes were glued to the paper he didn't sense the person behind him. "Hello, hello, hello!" chirped a voice behind him. Phoenix sighed.

"How are you Alexis." he said looking over.

"Hey, I said you can call me Alex." He said taking a seat next to him. "Where were you the other night. Didn't show up to the part-tay." Phoenix laughed.

"I have better things to do than show up to some rookies party." Alex gasped.

"I'm slightly offended, my poor feelings." Phoenix shook his head lightly. Alex leaned in to talk to him. "Did you see the report this morning?"

Phoenix nodded. "Yes but, I didn't finish looking at it." he said looking down at his paper. "What happened." he asked, hoping he'll fill him in.

"Well many families have gone missing since last night." Phoenix cocked his eyebrow. "Oh now I got your attention." He leaned in more. "Well, apparently they've been coming from the north area of the city, and most have been, of the poorer class."

"You say that as if it's a good thing." Alex moved back. "Is that everything?"

"The gist at least." Alex eyed Phoenix. "You okay? You seem very tense." Phoenix shook his head.

"I'm al-" An alarm went off, red lights flashing like crazy. Everyone looked up, many out of their seats.

"What's happening?" Phoenix got up and looked at Alex.

"An emergency." Phoenix grabbed his coat as the T.V. volume increased.

"These creatures have been storming the north side of the city. Destroying homes and businesses as they come through." Phoenix looked over to the T.V. People running and screaming, crying for help. The creatures approaching as a group. A few crawling up ahead, trying to get those few people. Phoenix squinted his eyes.

"Nightcrawlers." He whispered to himself. He looked at Alex. "Alex, go get your family get them out of here." The alarm blarred again as a speaker screeched from outside. Good they're evacuating the city. Phoenix quickly ran to his car. He turned it on. He quickly drove off. "God damn it Jupiter! You really had to show up now!" he continued until he reached the end of the city that was blocked by a bunch of cars. The city was completely surrounded. They were like rats in a maze with no escape. Phoenix got out of his car as people started to huddle together. Phoenix looked back at the streets. The army getting closer. People crying and panicking. I'm going to have to defend these people. The army stopped moving, they were quite close. Phoenix snarled lightly. No one moved. Everything was still. "Show yourself you coward." Phoenix whispered lightly.

The nightcrawlers gurgled quietly. A bright blue eyed shined amongst them. He stepped forward as an arrow bolted down in front of him. A figure standing on a building. The figure wore a black cloak and a blue and pink plague doctor mask. The figure looked down at the creature. The skeleton just smirked. Phoenix looked up at the figure then at the skeleton. The skeleton looked at the arrow as it disintegrated. Immediately the skeleton vanished, so did the figure. Phoenix panicked slightly. The figure appeared in front of Phoenix. They held onto Phoenix and teleported away.

They reappeared in a grassy area. Phoenix shook his head from the nausea. He looked up at the figure who was holding onto him. "You okay?"

Phoenix stood silent, before fuming up with rage. "Am I okay? You just jeopardized my home!" he stood up. "You fucked everything up!" He grabbed her mask and pulled it off. The cloak's hood came down too. "You left those people defenseless."

"Actually-"

"How can you be so careless!" He yelled pointing at her.

"Phoenix!" She yelled pointing behind him. He looked back. They were here, everyone. "I wasn't being careless." Phoenix looked back. Then back to her.

"Than why did you show up? Why did you lead him there."

"I didn't, he already was coming over I did my best to get as many of you out." Phoenix clicked his tongue. "Midnight and Comet are already aware that you're here." She looked on to the crowd. "You're going to be a leader here, may as well start acting like one." She brushed past him. She stood firm and looked at the people.

"I know that many of you are scared and confused about what just happened." She paused. "But I can reassure you that you are safe here. This is the Oasis, a sanctuary for those who have also lost their home. Here we stand together! Here you will be safe! Here you can start new! Here you can live without fear, welcome to the Oasis."

Sorry this is so late! Some things came up today but I still wanted to put something out and here it is! Hopefully it'll be worth the wait ;)

~The OreoCookie

Word count- 2566