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"Letting go is hard, but latching on is harder."
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Seto's head pounded once he used the teleporter, he groaned, his hand touching his head as he stumbled back a few steps before he caught himself. He let out a deep breath. His tense muscles relaxing once the pain was gone. Normally, he wouldn't use teleportation magic if he has a head injury, but he can't wait for the two-day trip to make it here. Seto looked around seeing destruction, evidence of a magic battle everywhere as there were holes in the ground, giant boulders that here and there with spots of dead or blacken grass with trees fallen over. Seto walked a few steps, seeing injured people everywhere.

"Seto, there you are." A voice spoke behind him. He turned halfway, seeing Adrian coming up to him but slows down to a stop seeing the bandage covering Seto's eye. "You okay?" Seto nods.

"Yeah, where's James and Phil? And Ashton?" He asked. Adrian walked pass Seto.

"Follow me." He said. Seto followed him, his eyes looking around at the destroyed camp.

"How many did we lose?" He asked fearing the answer.

"13 killed, 20 injured...1 missing," Adrian said catching Seto's attention. He looked at him.

"Missing?" He questioned. They walked into a big tent, Seto stopped at the entrance, seeing a man sitting on the floor, tied up with magic chains, Ashton and James in front of him. Seto walked up to them.

"Did you take his staff?" Seto asked. Ashton nods.

"Yeah, we did," Ashton said. Seto looked at Wag, seeing Wag's fists clenched, looking mad. Seto looked at the man. Seto lightly kicked their boot.

"Hey," Seto said. The man's head picked up, their eyes flickering to Seto which they automatically chuckled, looking away.

"Of course they call you." They said. Seto crouched down in front of him.

"Micheal, you okay?" Seto asked making Wag scoff at him.

"Why are you asking him that? He's clearly fine!" He snapped angrily. Seto looked over at Wag.

"I'm asking because he looks like crap and he was on the receiving end of your rage. People tend to stop living when they are on that end." Seto said. He looked at Ashton. "Where's Phil?" Ashton motioned to Micheal.

"Ask him because the dark mages kidnapped Phil. That's why James was mad at him." Ashton said. Seto paused for a second, staring at Micheal.

"That true, Micheal?" He asked. Micheal shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you see Master Phil anywhere?" He asked. Seto rolled his eyes. Micheal smiled a bit. "You asked the dumb question, Master Harvey. Nice face by the way, did Aaron or Audra do that?"

"Audra," Seto said. Micheal smiled a bit.

"Oh right, she was so happy she did that to you, but yet again you are still here so she doesn't have much to cheer about." He said. Seto stood up straight, looking at Ashton and Wag.

"Can I talk to him alone, please? I can't talk to him with you two breathing down my neck." He said. Ashton nodded a bit, he looked at Wag.

"Sure, Harvey." He said before he grabbed Wag's arm, dragging him out. Micheal watched them leave, leaving the two alone.

"Shouldn't have done that--"

"Micheal, why in the nether are you in this war? I remember talking to you and you said you don't want any part of it, so why are you a part of it?" Seto asked him looking at him. Micheal looked away from him.

"I honestly don't know, I had no choice. I guess when your magic is already considered dark magic, people automatically brand you like a dark wizard." Micheal said. Seto sat on the floor in front of Micheal. Micheal looked at Seto. "I'm not gonna tell you where they took Phil or why--"

"Why not? I'm honestly surprised you even care, I thought you only cared about becoming an Elite wizard like James and I, so what changed that goal? Why are you working for Jandine now?" He asked. Micheal sighed, looking at the floor. He chuckled to himself lightly.

"I thought I knew what an insane person looked like, then I met your x-girlfriend and she's on a completely different scale. She has this obsession with the Fyre Brothers that is disturbing. She despises you by the way in case you were wondering." Micheal said making Seto tense up, looking away. 'Damn, that's probably why they took Phil, but why...wait...she wouldn't be...' Seto thought before his eyes widen for a second, he looked back at Micheal. He stood up.

"I'll be right back." He said before he left the tent, looking at Wag and Ashton, but mostly at Wag, about to speak when he didn't. 'And James is the worst person to ask, I need to talk to either Thomas or...I need to talk to Thomas.' He thought.

"What? What did he say, Harvey?" Wag asked. Seto looked at Ashton.

"I think she's trying to conduct an Athar Ritual." He said to him. Ashton stared at him, his eyes glanced at Wag and back to Seto.

"Wait, can she actually do that?" Ashton asked. Seto shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, I don't know much about athar magic since I never cared to look into it," Seto said. Ashton shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know anything about it either, I need to talk to Thomas. I'm taking Micheal with me, I'll let you know what I find out." Seto said before Ashton nods. Seto went back into the tent, he looks at Micheal, walking to him. He cuts Micheal's bonds, grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet. "Come on, we're going to Fyre Academy."

"Is it smart to take me along?" Micheal asked. Seto looked at him.

"Your magic is useless to you without your staff, and if you want to run, be my guess, I don't need two eyes to catch you," Seto told him. Seto and he left the tent, Micheal rubbing his wrists where his bonds were, while he has bandages that cover his hands and wrists, his wrists still felt stiff from being tied tightly to one position for a long time period. Seto stepped onto the teleporter, Micheal standing beside him.

"Teleport, two, Fyre Academy," Seto said before they both disappeared.

Seto feeling his head pounding again when they appeared in Fyre Academy, he stumbled a bit, Micheal grabbing him when he stumbled into him, Seto touching his head as he winced. Micheal looked at him.

"Headaches and teleportation magic don't mix well, Master Harvey," Micheal said. Seto grumbled under his breath a bit, he stood up straight, walking off the platform, Micheal following him. Seto's hand dropped from his head, his headache settling down, they turned a corner, stopping as they almost ran into Taralynn. Seto's eyes widen a bit, remembering. 'Oh no, Phil's gone, her graduation!' He thought as Taralynn spoke.

"Jade said you had to go to the front lines since something happened, is everything okay? Is Phil okay?" She asked him. Seto stared at her as Micheal smiled, pointing at her as he looked at Seto.

"Is this Phil's apprentice? She's graduating tomorrow, right?" Micheal asked Seto. Seto looked at Micheal as Taralynn nodded.

"Yeah, I am. Who are you?" She asked Micheal. Micheal looked at her about to speak but Seto grabbed his arm, yanking him back from her.

"Don't you even think about, Micheal." Seto snapped at him. Seto looked at Taralynn, his eyes softening. 'Lie or truth...She's gonna be upset if I tell her the truth.' He thought. He forced a smile and nod.

"Phil is fine, he took some hits but is healing right now, he might be late to your graduation tomorrow but he said he was gonna make it there as soon as he could." Seto lied making her smile at him.

"Thank goodness, I was really worried there. Tell him to not overdo it, if he is late because of injury, I won't be mad at him. I rather he is okay then have him hurt himself." She said. Seto lost his smile a bit.

"Yeah, I-I agree with you there, where's Thomas or Matthew?" Seto asked.

"Master Tom is teaching a class right now, Master Matt is in the courtyard, last time I saw him that is." She said. Seto nodded.

"Okay, thank you," Seto said before walking past her, dragging Micheal behind him by his arm. Micheal looked at Seto, watching him, wondering how he knew where to go. 'Hasn't he been at the front lines for a long time? How does he know where he is going? I guess he was a teacher here for a long time, so he would know where everything was.' He thought to himself. They went upstairs, going down the hallway and stopping at a door, he looked at Micheal.

"Don't speak, okay?" Seto asked. Micheal nods, Seto opened the door, seeing students at the desks, writing something. Seto and Micheal went down the rows of desks, Tom looking up from his seat and at them. Tom's eyes instantly narrow.

"What is he doing here, Harvey?" Tom asked. Seto stopped in front of him.

"Can we talk in private?" Seto asked him quietly. Tom looked at Micheal, Seto moving in front of him. "He's fine, I'm keeping an eye on him...literally. But I really need to talk to you out of earshot of the students." Tom looked at him, curious now.

"About what?" He asked. Seto crossed his arms, Micheal looked at the students, they are all watching them, trying to hear what they are saying. Seto whispered in Tom's ear, Tom's eyes widen a bit and nods.

"Students you are dismissed. I expect to see this on my desk by the end of the day today. You may do this in groups, but I want a copy from each one of you. As always, come to me if you have any questions." Tom told the students. Seto noticed Micheal going toward the door, he grabbed his arm, yanking him back beside him.

"Yeah, nice try. You are too old to be a second-year apprentice." Seto said. Micheal looked at him.

"You never know. I could be--"

"Don't be a smartass, this is not the time for it," Seto said. Once the apprentices were out, Tom closed the door, looking at Seto.

"Are you sure she is after Athar magic?" Tom asked. Seto nods.

"I'm sure of it, she was obsessed with it when you and your brothers came back after the ritual happened. She studied it for a long time, for about two years and it warped her mind." Seto said. Tom put his hand up to him.

"Wait a second, you told me that she was looking into black magic but why didn't you tell me that she was looking into athar magic?" He asked. Seto shrugged his shoulders.

"I saw it as a dead end, athar magic isn't new but not much is known about it, I thought she was just gonna hit a dead end and get over it but she didn't. I should have stopped her right when I knew she started, I never told you guys because I didn't want to freak you guys out. I tried my hardest to keep her away from you four, but...from what Micheal says and Phil being taken by dark mages, she might have found a way to get the magic without going through what you four went through." Seto said. Micheal rose his hand up halfway.

"Question. What's so special about athar magic? Because I don't get what's the big deal about it." Micheal said. Seto and Tom looked at him. Tom crossed his arms, looking at the floor.

"It's a magic type that is not fully understood, you can't teach it and the number of people who have had it is in the single digits and those people usually end up letting the magic take over their body and mind, changing their hearts stone cold and their ideals twisted. We acquired it when we stumbled upon the ritual site, we weren't going to take it but..." Tom trailed off, going silent. Seto looked at Tom, not expecting him to finish the sentence when he already knew what he was gonna say.

"Do you remember where the ritual site is, Tom?" He asked. Tom stared at the floor, not speaking. 'If she's after the athar, the four of us are the only power sources of the athar. As long as we are here, the academy is no longer safe for the students.' Tom thought. Seto took a few steps towards him. "Thomas!" Tom flinched, his eyes flickering up to Seto. Seto's eyes soften a bit seeing he's unsettled. "You okay?" Tom nods.

"Y-Yeah, if she is after the magic, the students here are in danger. They would be morons to go after James next, so they would be going after Matthew or me." He said. Seto nods, understanding now. Tom looked at the door. "I...We...We can't protect them all, there are too many." Tom looked at Seto, staring at him. "And shutting down the academy--"

"What do you want more, Tom? To keep the apprentices safe or to stay in business? The apprentices' safety should be your top concern, sure, it will be hard to continue the academy after this but I'm more concerned about keeping them safe. They aren't safe here anymore. I know a lot of people are gonna get fired and lose their job, including me, but it's better that way instead of having them get hurt or worse." Seto said. Tom nods, agreeing.

"You're right..." Tom mumbled.

"I'll help you, come on. Shutting down can't be that hard. Let's just get this over with."