A couple months later, everything had returned back to normal. Or at least, that's what Ace and Spark thought. Their fight had been forgotten. Others had come to take its place. But the friendship remained, as it always did. Bumps on the road were expected between men who were as close as brothers.

"Hey," Master Zo called over his shoulder, as Ace and Spark made up heaping plates of random snacks. "I want you guys to be careful. There are some weird things happening in the world right now. Don't want you two getting caught up in it."

"What do you mean Master?" Ace asked.

The two joined him in front of the tv, as Master Zo sat watching the news. It was a UGN government broadcast.

The broadcast was discussing the new "monsters" in society. These monsters were born out of the meteor catastrophe, and they were going to destroy the human race. Since the monsters could camouflage themselves to look like humans, the only way to tell them apart was by a particular shard on their body. The shards came in different shapes and colors, but each one reflected light like a diamond would.

The broadcast continued with a video clip that showed a vehicle getting pulled over. After the vehicle came to a complete stop, the officer got out of the vehicle and went to speak with the driver.

"Do you know how fast you were going," the officer asked.

"No sir. I'm sorry, a coffee spilled in the backseat and it distracted me."

The officer glanced in the back where two friends huddled together, coffee dripping on the seat neither was sitting on.

"It's law now that I have to inspect everyone I pull over," the officer said. "So, I'm gonna have to ask you to step outside the car so we can talk.

The driver slowly got out of the vehicle. He looked young, couldn't be older than sixteen. Face pale, eyes wide. The officer noticed a light glow from his ankles.

"Don't you move!" The officer said, as he pulled out his gun and aimed it at the kid. "I got you now." He tossed a glance at the two women in the backseat. "Don't you traitors dare move either. I'm going to have to take all you monsters down to the station for some heavy questioning."

The women froze, both looked stunned. Terrified. It was horrible to watch. ​

"Leave!" The driver yelled. "He wants me, not you."

The officer fumbled his gun, clearly not used to such confrontations. The driver used the moment of confusion to shove the officer to the ground, giving the girl in the back-seat time to jump up front.

She drives off as fast as possible.

The driver looks at the officer. "You almost got me," he laughed.

His laughter is cut short as a tranquilizing shot hits him right in the chest and he falls to the ground.

Two pictures of the supposed accomplices take his place on the screen. The message, "If found, Contact Emergency Services Immediately" flashed below the pictures. The last known location was mentioned before Ace turned the TV off.

"Does this make us monsters too?" Ace asked, fury hardening his words. Spark shook his head in disbelief.

"We have to help the two women that escaped," Spark said.

"That's extremely dangerous," Master Zo warned. "You could get caught by the UGN and who knows what they'd do to you."

"I don't care," Spark said, as he stood and looked at Ace. This was the first time that they'd heard of other energy shard users, and he needed to know more about them. He already felt a bond to these strangers, and he knew Ace was the only one who'd really understand.

"I am going to find those two women in the broadcast, and I am going to find out more about what happened to us that night. Are you coming with me Ace?"

"You already know I'm not letting you go alone," Ace said, an adventurous smile on his face. "I'm definitely going with you."

At first, Master Zo insisted that they did not go. But he had always been an empathetic man, and after the boys explained how much this meant to him, he relented. They weren't children anymore after all.

He even agreed to lend the boys a helping hand. Master Zo reached out to some friends and arranged for Ace and Spark to fly to the city closest to the last shard sighting. Ace and Spark quickly got ready and left for the small airport nearby.

After the plane landed at its destination, one of Master Zo's friends arrived to pick them up. Garrett looked to be about middle age, with a bit of grey scattered over his brown hair, but a friendly smile that was ageless. He was rather muscular, but not in an intimidating way. More like the kind of guy who left the country for the city, but had never quite completed the transition. He helped load the boys' things into his suv and took off to the city.

"Zo told me about your trip," he said, as the boys drank in the sights. A far cry the wilderness they'd grown up in. They were both grown men, but they felt like children here. Thankful to have someone to help along the way. "It's a pretty intense mission you have on your shoulders."

"Yeah," Spark said. "We're one of those "monsters" too, so we have to help them."

Ace wanted to punch Spark, but Garrett didn't seem surprised. Of course, Master Zo probably told him all about it. He wouldn't send them with someone he didn't trust. But Ace had always been a bit more reserved than Spark was.

"You're gonna wanna be careful," Garrett warned. "Don't go talking about your mission to just anyone. That kind of thing can get you killed."

Ace gave a satisfied smirk at Spark's confusion.

"How will we find them, then?" Spark asked.

"I'd start with Kevin, a local bounty hunter. He hangs out a bar called The Hunter's Den. Keeps tabs on everything in this city."

Garrett filled the two in on the essential things they'd need to know when exploring the city for the first time, and gave them his number in case they needed help. Then, he dropped them off close to The Hunter's Den and wished them well.

"This is incredible," Spark said, as he hoisted his backpack on his shoulders.

"Yeah," Ace replied, with less enthusiasm. "I've never seen anything like this before."

Spark took the lead as Ace grappled with a situation that was beyond anything he'd ever had to deal with before. The crowds of people started to overwhelm and he bumped into a few people on accident, while his eyes shifted, trying to take in everything.

Spark grabbed Ace right before he almost walked in front of a moving car.

"Careful, Ace," he warned. "Stay close. We're almost there."

Moments later, Ace and Spark walked down a flight of stairs into an underground, dark bar. Wood furnishings and a red and brown interior made it look like something they'd find back home, rather than in this big city. Muscular men dressed in dark clothing sat around their beers.

"It looks like a lot of them are bounty hunters as well," Ace whispered. "How are we going to find Kevin?"

"We'll just ask someone," Spark said.

"We can't just..."

Before Ace could voice his full protest, Spark was talking to the bartender.

"I'm looking for a man by the name of Kevin," Spark said. "Is he here?"

"There's a lot of Kevins in this world," the bartender scoffed. He looked between the two. "I guess it depends on what you need him for."

"Garrett sent us," Ace said, his face much darker and more serious than Spark's was. "He told us Kevin was the right guy to see if we wanted to hunt something."

"Oh really?" The intimidating man held Ace's gaze, then shrugged. "Who am I to get in the way of Kevin's business? Let's go find him. He can figure out what to do with you."

They followed the man past the bar, the dance floor. A drunk man started to spin in circles and fall on people's tables. Spark watched, fascinated. But Ace wasn't even paying attention.

The man spun and spun and bumped right into Ace.

"Hey buddy," Ace grumbled, startled. "Watch where you're dancing. You almost spilled your booze all over me."

The guy was too in tuned with the music to hear a word Ace said.

"Oooo," he crooned. "I just want to make thiss rightttttt. Oooo I'm just in it for the hunt of the night."

"Hey drunko, did you hear me?" Ace asked, his face twisting in a way Spark had only seen a few times before. "Don't make me have to teach you a lesson now."

The drunk guy jumped into the air, using his booze bottle as a guitar. Booze began to spill over everyone in the vicinity, including Ace.

"I'm going to end you!" Ace yelled.

Spark jumped forward to calm his friend as another guy went to control the drunkard. Before anything more could be said, a tall man with scars across his weather worn skin and cold, steel eyes stepped next to the bartender.

"So, these are the two troublemakers looking for me," he said, half smiling. It made him appear just a little less intimidating. Only a little.

"Who are you?" Ace spat, still riled up from the fight.

"I'm Kevin," he said, offering his hand out. Ace paled as he realized his mistake. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Spark said, covering his friend's blunder with a smile. "I'm Spark, and this is Ace. We were hoping you could help us track some people."

"We pay well," Ace added, as he got his bearings together. Master Zo knew enough about the world to send the boys with plenty of money.

"This kid speaks my language," Kevin said. "Come with me."

Kevin led the two to what looked like a broken bathroom door. Ace gave Spark a warning look, but Spark followed Kevin inside anyway so Ace had no choice but to follow. Kevin opened another door in that room, which led to a secret room with a desk, a round table, refrigerator, mini bar, a couple of computers, and tons of maps.

"What can I do for you?" Kevin asked, as they sat at the table.

"We're looking for the two women who were caught with the shard carrier."

"Who isn't?" Kevin scoffed.

Ace took it from there. Telling Kevin of his connections to Master Zo and Garrett, and of course offering plenty of money. He knew just how much to offer, and when notto budge. Finally, Kevin pulled out a map.

He detailed the roads and trails to take right out to the middle of the woods, just outside the city. He drew a big X.

"This is where you can find them," he said. "If you get there before everyone else does."

"Well that was a waste of time," Spark said, once they were back outside. "He's sending us to the middle of nowhere."

"What else do we have to go off of?" Ace reminded him. "Let's at least check it out."

They called Garrett for another ride and he dropped them off at the edge of the woods. He didn't want to get too involved in the whole thing, so they carried on alone. Down the path Kevin had marked, until they saw the house he'd mentioned.

As they approached the house, they heard a loud scream.

A woman being dragged into a black car by four men dressed in suits. Ace and Spark look at each other. Then Ace dashed straight towards the house.

He jumped over the car and landed in front of the leader of the group. He sent his fist barreling straight into his head, knocking the man out.

His minions were close behind. Ace unleashed an uppercut to the first enemy, moving quicker than any normal human could. The third man lunged towards him, but a swift back kick fueled by the power of the shard kick, sent him sprawling to the ground.

The last enemy attempted to get away and ran towards the car. Spark leapt out from the shadows and delivered a kick that sent the man flying into a tree.

"Are you alright, Ace?" He asked, as he joined his friend.

"I'm fine," he said. "Good fight out there."

"You too."

They walked over to the young woman, feeling proud of themselves. Like real heroes.

"Thank you for saving me," she said, as she brushed a dark curl away from her green eyes. "I'm Erika, it's a pleasure to meet you."

After they exchanged greetings, Erika led the boys inside the house, which was larger than any house they'd been in before. Decorated in touches of gold and silver, among rich purples and reds. It was a far cry from the cabin the boys had grown up in.

​"Diana," Erika called out. "You can come out, everything's ok."

A young woman, short, tiny, and blonde, walked out from a hidden corridor. Her brown eyes were warm and her smile was sweet. "I'm so glad you're safe," she said, as she hugged Erika.

"This is Spark and Ace," Erika said, once they parted. "They saved me from those awful men. Spark, Ace, this is Dianna."

"Thank you for saving her," she said, as she turned to the men. "I don't know how I could ever repay you."

"All we ask for in return is answers," Spark said, anxious to know more about these people like him. "How did you obtain the shards in your wrists?"

Erika looked at her wrists, unsure if she should answer. They had saved her though... She shared a look with Diana. Communicated silently like friends do. Diana nodded.

"It was a dark night," Erika said. "Diana and I were going to meet up with two guys for a double date. They didn't show up, so we walked down a random trail and talked about how awful guys can be.

"Our conversation was interrupted by a bright, white light. I passed out and woke up with two crystals in my wrists."

Spark and Ace looked at each other. Amazed. Delighted.

"We each had a similar experience," Spark said. They shared their stories and talked about their newfound abilities.

"Mine's a little different than yours," Erika said.

She grabbed a gun off the table and it infused with her hand. She could manipulate it in any way she wanted.

"How did you do that?" Ace asked. Erika smirked.

"It's the power of my shards," she explained.

Meanwhile, Kevin was outside plotting how to claim the bounty of the monsters. He had followed the men here. Watched them slaughter his buddies.

He had made some calls to the UGN and soon after, the place was raided. Hundreds of UGN operatives showed up. There were several helicopters and many armored vehicles. The whole place was surrounded, there was no way out.

"I'll take them all on," Spark yelled, still a bit naïve about the true threat they were facing. "We can defeat them."

The UGN crashed one of their armored vehicles right through the front door and threw tear gas everywhere. It put everyone on the ground in under a minute.

The UGN military force threw on their masks and retrieved the people from inside the building, lined them up outside. Everyone was put in handcuffs and the higher ups were surprised and delighted that they had found two additional energy shard users.

"You got us into this mess," Ace said, as he glared at Spark. "You're always so careless!"

"I will get us out of this." Spark said.

A tall, greying, muscular man walked towards them, followed by several high-ranking officials. He stopped in front of Spark.

"Nice to meet everyone," he said, with the fakest smile imaginable. "I'm the head General of the UGN. Now that we have you all here, you will need to cooperate with us. We have some big plans for you, and your lives will be a lot easier if you don't fight us."

The General then made a signal with his hand. Snipers shot all of the energy shard users with tranquilizers. Everyone was knocked out and taken away.