(Thanks for 30k reads!)
(If you put Someone Named Xelqua and and the universe shifts next to each other, would you say I copied atus? Would you say I stole their plot/story line? Their ideas? [by the way i got an idea for the mask grian received so thats going to change soon when i feel like changing it])

[Death and blood.]

A group of students and instructors were gathered in the courtyard. Yavin was speaking to them, fists clenched and eyes narrowed to barely slits. I put a hand to the pillar, lowering myself to a crouching position. Yavin paced back and forth, arms crossed tightly.

"So... how dramatic do you think I can make this?" I asked, sensing Quinn's magic behind me. He leaned against the brick wall, tilting his head silently. We entered at different times and different ways to lower our chances of getting caught.

"Whatever floats your little boat, Xelqua," he said in a low voice. Mumbo and Iskall joined us, prepping their weapons. Iskall's eyes swept over the courtyard. In his off-hand, he held firework rockets, ready to launch into the sky. He and I shared a look, nodding at each other. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the shadows, hiding myself from view. Moving behind the pillars, I eventually got close enough to hear what he was saying.

"-ere is one... Watcher... you must be wary of when we destroy that Notch-forsakened server. I hate to admit, he's the strongest Watcher I have ever seen in my entire life," Yavin spat, a sour expression on his face. It looked like he took a bite out of a lemon. It took every ounce of my willpower to not laugh. It must have pained him to say that. "Stay. Away from him. He killed another student without remorse." My eyebrows formed a v-shape as my lips curved down into a confused frown. That did not sound correct. I quietly scoffed, running my hand over the easily accessible items I had on me.

"I never want to see that monstrosity of a Watcher ever again. Those two blasted Watchers are pains in our-" Yavin cut himself off, realizing he was running on pure fury against EX and I. He took a deep breath, calming himself. I chucked an ender pearl and landed in his field of view. He stumbled back, holding a startled yelp in. I waited until we made eye contact.

"Hi," I said in the most calm voice I could muster, running a hand through my hair as dramatically as I could. Yavin's eyes widened as he started to sputter. The group of students sat stock still, watching in terrified fascination, though I could only see them in my peripheral vision. The present instructors were stunned, but didn't do anything. Both groups surely recognized the robes.

"Wh-how- w- how are you here?" Yavin demanded, voice shaky as he stood up straight. His little world must still be shaky from Quinn's betrayal. In response, I hooked my thumb around my belt, leaning on one leg and tilting my head.

"... I mean, portals are a thing, so is teleporting, and-" He sent purple magic at me. I deflected it into a wall with a flick of my hand. "Now see, that's just rude."

An arrow soared and whistled past my ear, impaling Yavin in the chest.

"Also, fact check before you rant about someone. You got your facts all wrong." Yavin sneered at me, plucking the arrow out of his chest as if it happened everyday. After exchanging a few unclean words and rude gestures, Yavin sent the arrow back at me, sick of my stalling. I hissed as it impaled my arm, drawing blood. The other Watchers snapped into action. They pushed the students back and focused on me.

I nodded my head to myself. Good. They're doing what we expected. At least six streams of magic were directed towards me as I mused to myself. I smirked and released a pulse of gold magic, knocking those who stood to the floor. A few blocks in front of me, a figure dropped from the sky. Tucking their wings in, they glared at Yavin's fallen form with blazing eyes.

"Did I hear someone talking crap about me?" EX growled. I downed a healing potion and pulled the arrow out, snapping it under my feet. Xisuma landed behind EX, and the twin brothers stood back to back. X's arm's flashed with the telltale sense of admin magic, repulsing most Watcher magic. Even EX staggered slightly.

Iskall and Mumbo jumped out of the way as the area they were just in blew up with a purple explosion. Quinn stalked out of the explosion with his hands tucked behind his back, robes billowing. He glared at the instructor who caused the explosion.

Iskall jumped to his feet, shooting the rockets and sniping Watchers from the air. He sometimes shot through the glass windows, breaking them with a satisfying shatter.

"False, Joe, and Doc clearing the building?" I called over my shoulder. X nodded, turning to pick Mumbo off the floor.

"Get rid of the admin, he's the one that will be more of a hindrance to us," Yavin snarled, pointing towards Xisuma. Before I could react, five streams of Watcher magic shot towards Xisuma, whose back was still turned. Someone jumped behind Xisuma, taking the hit for him. They fell to the floor as the admin turned, ducking another stream.

"AhH that hurt," EX said in a shaky voice, clutching his chest. Xisuma pulled his brother off the ground, twisting out of more Watcher magic. He lightly slapped his brother on the side of the head.

"Don't do that, I can't afford to lose you," he scolded, grabbing EX's hand and pulling him into safety. I smiled at the brotherly behavior before magic slammed into my body. I gritted my teeth, grimacing as I was blasted into a hard surface.

"And that's a pillar," I muttered to myself, dropping to the floor as magic flew over my head. "And that's magic. Who knew?" I moved behind the pillar, peaking out cautiously. Xisuma was holding his own with EX. Iskall was still successfully putting arrows in the instructors while avoiding the beams. Yavin and Quinn were long gone, presumably engaged in a fight of their own. Mumbo was setting traps off all over the place.

Sprinting into the halls, I turned and traveled through the maze of halls. Now that I've seen it from the outside, it's more than just a maze. A labyrinth?

Luckily, I hadn't run into any Watchers on my way to the control room. Some windows I passed were shattered with a trace of blood on the walls. Occasionally there was an arrow in the wall, so I took it and stored it in my inventory.

I turned the corner and met with Quinn and Yavin fighting in one of the larger hallways. Ducking back, I breathed a sigh of relief. Neither saw me. Poking my head around the corner, the hall was stained with blood. The walls had scorches of magic, and part of it had crumbled. The window was shattered and the bench in the hall was split in half.

Yavin had the upper hand over the kneeling Quinn. The latter got to his feet, but was pushed back down with a shove. Yavin bent down and whispered something in his ear as he tried to get up again. His nails dug into Quinn's skin as he grasped his shoulder. Why wasn't he using magic against Yavin?

My view was obstructed as they turned, Quinn's back to me. Relatively close to their feet lay Quinn's staff, snapped and splintered beyond repair.

Yavin suddenly jerked his hand upwards, a sharp spike made of Watcher magic in his hand. Quinn flinched in pain, and gasped as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. His blood dripped on his hands, trailing down and absorbing into his clothes. Blood had splattered onto Yavin, but the usually-cold instructor was unfazed.

Ripping it out, Yavin stepped back. He pushed Quinn into the wall with no remorse present on his face. Yavin stared down at him, eyes cold and unforgiving as Quinn sunk lower. Blood smeared the wall behind Quinn. With a twirl of his robes, Yavin stalked away, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.

I dashed forwards, putting my hands on Quinn's shoulder to keep him upright. He grasped my robes as he fell onto the floor. He dragged me down with him. He tried to get up, but his leg gave out. Quinn's lip quivered, chest shaky with sporadic breaths. He tried to speak, but no words came out.

"Quinn- no- don't waste your energy," I whispered, holding my place. He tightened his grip, wrinkling my now bloodstained robes. Quinn finally laid on the floor, defeated. His arms were shaking madly. The only reason they were still up is because of the vice-like grip he had on my clothing.

"I'm not dying," he insisted, wincing as he spoke. I nodded, pressing on the wound as hard as I could. He yelped, his grasp on my shoulder and back tightening. I winced as his nails dug into my skin. I'd be surprised if they didn't break my skin yet.

"I-It hurts," he weakly groaned. My hands glowed with healing magic, but to no avail. I grabbed a healing potion from the back of my inventory. It didn't help either.

He weakly clawed at me. Quinn's sleeve slipped down, revealing ropes similar to the ones used on me when I was kidnapped. I fumbled with the knots, wasting too much time trying to untie them. Dropping them to the side, I expected his magic to come back in powerful surges. If anything, the golden magic in him decreased.

I propped him up slightly, grunting as I tried to not disturb the wound. Quinn looked at me with eyes glazed with pain. He slowly moved his hand up, breathing slow and ragged breaths. His hand brushed my jaw, smearing blood onto my face in thin lines.

"Fi-nish... the... pl-an," he managed to gasp out. "Pl-please." The magic started to fade from his body at rates too quick to comprehend. Was he giving up? Oh goodness no...

My heart pounded against my ribs. It was the only thing I could hear. By this point it was too late to save him. He's lost too much blood and magic.

"No no no, Quinn!" I cried out in a lower volume. A ghost of a smile graced his face as my eyes widened with fear and horror. I choked back a sob as his eyes started losing the life that shone brightly any other day. With a bloodstained hand, I brushed his blond hair out of his face, met with emerald eyes weakly piercing mine.

"It's- been a p-pleasure wor-" His breath hitched. "-orki...ing with... you, X-Xelqua Grian." He exhaled his breath fully, and I realized he was never going to take another one again. Quinn's hand limply fell onto his stomach. His head fell back, eyes clouded and lacking the energetic life they used to have. I lowered his body to the ground, drawing in a shaky breath. Tears clouded my sight, but I could feel the last traces of magic leave his body.

A strangled sob escaped my lips. I covered my mouth with my wrist, trying to not get more blood into it. My hearing clouded. It was like someone put pillows against my ears, muffling the sound. My chest heaved with quiet cries of the loss of an instructor and close friend.

Getting a foot under me, I pushed myself to my feet. They felt as heavy as lead... I could barely walk.

I turned, only to be hit in the back with what felt like a large branch of wood. Crying out, the blow to my back knocked the wind out of me. I fell to my knees, dragging myself away from the attacker.

Yavin towered over me, eyes glowing their dark blue as he strapped his staff to his back. He wrapped his fingers around my neck and squeezed. I choked, clawing at his hand. Lifting me off my feet without any effort, Yavin's lips curled into a cruel sneer. I kicked and struggled, but he stood his ground, ignoring my weak kicks.

He slammed me into the wall with such force there surely is a dent. Yavin took the conjured spike and drew it back. Blood splattered to the floor as he moved the weapon. Quinn's blood. I clenched my eyes shut and braced for pain as he stabbed me in the stomach, a white color flashing in my eyelids.

But as soon as the bloodied spike came in contact with my body, it shattered into a thousand pieces.