Violet adjusted the strap of her mask as every step of the plan ran through her head. She was jittery with adrenaline, even before their task had begun.

"Are you ready?" Bishop's voice drifted in one ear and out the other as she picked up her bows and arrows. She was ready to fight, ready to kill.

But standing at the edge of the mural, she knew she had to control her impulses. Their target was a child, and an innocent one at that. All they needed was the information inside her head.

"I was born ready." She grinned, bouncing on her heels with excessive energy. Every cell in her altered being was poised for war.

"Well I know you are." Bishop rolled his eyes, the only visible part of his face from behind the mask. Gesturing to the blonde boy stumbling through the door, he hissed the words. "I'm more worried about him."

"Em?"

Normally, Violet would have protested and described every one of Em's impeccable skills, yet Bishop seemed to be right for once.

Half dressed and frantically stumbling through the door, Em was a disaster waiting to happen. His belt hung loosely at his waist while he yanked a boot on with a hop. With hair tossed up and eyes darting in every direction, his mask was pulled down to his neck as a dagger clattered to the ground. He was hardly functional enough for the mission.

"What?" Em asked as he felt the weight of their gaze. "I swear I'm fine. Perry cleared me for fieldwork."

"...well, yeah but..."

"My mind's clear." He grinned one of his million dollar smiles, although it was only to cover up the fumbling of his weapon. "No mind reader's getting in my head again."

"This is an easy mission." Violet clarified, trying to convince herself that he was a decent soldier. "All we've got to do is bring that Sharise girl back. We're going to a school. It's not exactly the most deadly place."

Bishop pondered the idea for a moment, but eventually realized he had no control over the situation. He sighed and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Okay, so this paint was invented by some Alfheinian citizen. It works as a portal and should drop us off in the lower levels of Doba Škola. Once we're through, we wait for the bell to ring and Vi and I will clear the halls. Em..." he hesitated as if he could suddenly change his mind. "You'll be in charge of finding Sharise. She's carrying valuable information about Alfheim and the figure we met in the woods. We can't allow this information to leave our cities. Do not hurt her. I cannot stress that enough."

"Grab the girl, Don't scare that kids." Em repeated as he bounced on his heels just like Violet. "Got it."

Turning her attention back to the mural, she took in every artistry that the image held before plunging in head first.

Heat prickled Violet's skin like a thousand needles while air burned her lungs. She was being strangled, starved to death by the painting. It ate away ate her and pulled blood out of her veins like a long string...

She gasped a breath of air as the a dusty room met her eyes. Dozens of desks filled her vision. The empty classroom was a step away from being abandoned, used more as storage than a learning space. Yet as Em and Bishop appeared beside her, she couldn't help feeling terrified of what lay ahead.

Violet's heart pounded with excitement, each ounce of energy in her specially designed figure urging her to pounce at the slightest sign of danger. However, she knew better than to be spontaneous in a situation like this. Children were fragile like flowers, so much, that even a harsh word could cause them to wilt and dry up in the sun. Her job was to simply pull up the weeds so the flowers could grow without the fear of being uprooted by a greedy imposter.

With a flash of a glance beneath the mask, Violet signaled to the others, their eyes trained on the back door. Each one of them was ready to pounce at a moment's notice, each muscle tensed in preparation for a battle as they slowly watched the lights flicker out. Just as Misha had told them, lights were out and the children were in their classrooms, the perfect circumstances for their job.

"Remember, clear the halls, then find the girl." Bishop signed as she and Em nodded their heads. Although Em was still learning the Guard's unique form of sign, he caught the idea and gave a hasty nod of agreement.

Violet felt her heart beat rapidly as she glanced in his direction. Even though his face was hidden by the mask, she could tell it was bent in a frustrated scowl. Even though he hid it well, he was just as nervous about the the mind reader returning.

"Gentle." Bishop signed in a quick reminder to be considerate of the children. The last thing that they wanted to do was harm the ones they had worked so hard to protect.

Violet's fingers twitched as the last light winked out, and Bishop held his closed fist at his shoulder.

Through the corner of her eye, Violet let her eyes linger on his fist, waiting, twitching, holding her breath in anticipation...the fist fell in perfect time with the bell and Violet pounced through the door.

Immediately, her eyes filled with the grey, drab walls, only brightened by the lingering posters and an abandoned notebook. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, she made her way through the cramped hallways, her footsteps silent as the dead. With the slight swish of air no louder than the turn of a page, Violet knew her partners had turned down a different hallway. She read the doorways she she went.

Professor Marino-aquatic languages and culture

Professor kuchler-special luminescent

Officer Gray Penzig/ Eniko Day

Violet paused in front of the officer's door, a slight hesitation at what may lay behind the thick wood. She had always known that their relationship with local law enforcement was never good. They could never give them enough information, and when they could, they were always told their presence wasn't needed. It was a constant battle of authority, and one neither side had won. Still, she couldn't help wondering if the officer had been aware of their presence, or if he was just as confused as everyone else.

Violet shook her head, her breath tickling the bottom of her lip with untamed energy. She took a step towards the closest doorway and let her ears bend towards the voices inside. They were gentle at first, slowly growing as her imagination took wing.

"...Are you sure this is normal...hold your dragon away from that...someone outside..." each word was whispered tentatively despite the clear explanation that there was nothing to be concerned about. With another soft breath, she stepped away, not wanting to listen to their voices any more than she had to. After all, she still had to clear the hallways before investigating the rooms.

Violet began to move more quickly through the hallways, turning down each one without much more on her mind than her job. She walked silently past dozens of classrooms, each one filled with the haunting sound of children's faint whispers, each one pulling back more memories than she had wanted to.

"Keep your voice down!" The harsh whisper reached Violet's ears before she had a chance to fully react. With a swift, silent movement, Violet pressed herself up against the wall, every inch of her tingling with adrenaline as she waited for the voices to grow closer.

"The lights here are always finicky. It's no big deal, really." A second voice cut in, this one stronger and more confident than the first. "Full light outages happen like, every other month. It'll probably be over in five minutes or so."

"Look, we're supposed to be in botany class right now." the first voice piped up again. "If we get caught out here, we're going to..."

Just kids. Violet felt the tension in the air begin to ease up as the threat faded away. Slowly, she pulled herself away from the wall.

"Get lectured a bit, but we have an excuse. it really won't be that bad." Taking a step forward, she positioned herself in the middle of the hallway, prepared to block the students as they came around the corner. Every inch of her was prepared for a fight that wasn't going to happen. Still, she held onto the tension in the air, ready to defend herself and the kids if necessary.

"I still don't..." the kid's words faltered as they rounded the bend, and Violet stared back at two students, just as shocked as them. The first boy seemed ordinary enough: strongly built with short cropped hair, dark skin and piercing eyes that matched her terrifying gaze. He was just like every other student, but it was the second boy that startled her.

His hair was a silvery blond with soft hints of red, and his eyes the color of the sky before a storm. His pale face was splashed with a hint of freckles and held thousands of memories that weighed him down. shrinking before her, he wrapped his arms around himself as if to protect himself from a blow that would never come. Terror welled in his eyes as his mouth gaped in empty words, finding that his voice had faded away.

"Em?" She breathed the name softly, hardly even sure what she was asking as the boy shrunk again, his breath quickening at her words.

"You shouldn't be in a school." The first boy spoke up, although his tone trembled in her presence. Finding her strength again, Violet tore away the confusion and stared at the boy through the mask.

"And you shouldn't be in the hallways." She stated firmly. "I'm going to need you to come with me. For your own safety."

"I am perfectly safe, thank you." He spoke up again although he was clearly more timid than before.

"What...who is this?" The second boy shook with fear as Violet let her vision snap towards him. He was curled around something -an egg- as if his fragile life depended on it. He hardly had enough of a body to cover it, yet he seemed prepared to throw himself between Violet and the egg if necessary.

"Remember all your fairytales?" Violet spoke with a tilt of her head. She never knew how to communicate with children.

The teen shook his head, terror strewn across his face. "I don't...I wasn't raised here..."

"Maddox," The first boy spoke up in hardly a whisper, but Violet stiffened up. "These are... this is the Guard. They aren't supposed to be seen."

"We... make exceptions in extreme situations." She corrected, although her mind was millions of miles away. Her ears were created to be perfect, yet she couldn't believe what she heard.

The name, the appearance, and fledgling egg; it was all too much to be a coincidence. She was staring at Em, but a weaker, more fragile version. His eyes held the same kindness and his voice the same curiosity. He was an exact copy minus the enhancements the Guard added to Em.

"I'm sorry," Violet shook her head, losing her edge of control. "Did you just say your name was Maddox?"

The boy's face grew pale in response. "I...uh...well, it's Maddox Magick, really..." He was stepping backwards, preparing to bolt. "...and I'm not uh...really from here..."

"I think you're going to need to come with me Mr. Magick."

"Wait, You're just going to take him?" The first boy piped up again, filled with fear at Violet.

"Technically, I'm going to take both of you downstairs where it's safe," She stated, although each word sent adrenaline through her pounding heart. He had Em's name. He had Em's face. There was something wrong with the kid that she just couldn't ignore. "But I will be taking him back to The Guard."

"But you can't do that!" He was determined to defend the copycat, face growing ravished with fear. "He's new here! He didn't even do anything wrong!"

"As far as you know."

"Kat..." Maddox was holding the egg in front of him, yet Violet hardly paid attention. She couldn't let the boy stand in her way.

"As far as I know?! He's my brother! He's basically incapable of surviving here on his own! I'm literally always at his side!"

"I'm sure you trust him, but..."

"Hey Kat..."

She tuned Maddox out, heat burning in her words. "I wouldn't recommend disgracing The Guard, Kat."

"Well, I don't want to, but you're threatening my brother!"

"Do not cross me!" The calmness had left her voice as terror leapt into her words. Even though the copycat was plain and weak, he terrified her just the same. He was never supposed to exist. "I have the authority to kill you and no one would question it! Now head downstairs or I will pick you up and do it myself!"

Violet heaved a breath, but she hardly got further in her rant. As the copycat screeched, an eggshell clattered to the ground and a flurry of wings filled the air.

"Dragon!" He squealed, but all Violet saw were the wings. Flashes of silver battered her face while shards of egg coated the ground.

"Phoenix!" She couldn't stop the world from slipping from her lips. Her senses were muddled by the insistent screeching. She couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't breathe...

Violet attacked the air with everything in her being, screaming for the death of the fledgling. Her fist flew, words cursed, arms bent in pain. She wanted the dragon gone.

Her fist closed around a tangle of silver scales. Staring back at the beast, she forced the adrenaline rush to calm as the newborn squealed.

A nordic firescale nipped at her fingers, screeching with everything in its tiny being. Covered in slime and sporting one enormous baby tooth, the little lizard was hardly a threat. Only the size of her palm, it was nothing more than a distraction.

Violet narrowed her eyes as she realized the boys had fled. The hallway was empty except for some silvery eggshells and abandoned school supplies, but she couldn't waste any more time. Letting go of the fledgling's fragile wing, she sprinted down the hallway. If she couldn't even keep the halls clean, then she might as well help Em track down the girl.