Vanished and Fought

Chapter 1(but better)

 Arsene jumped over another fence. It was an easy feat due to his tallness. The guards, though moving significantly slower than him, were still pursuing him after running around 10 blocks. Arsene dipped into an alley and created a distraction to lead the guards on while he slipped into the sewers.

"Well, that was easy." He said, walking away from the manhole cover and deeper into the tunnels. He knocked the secret code on the wall and the wall opened up to his hideout. "Home sweet home." He groaned, flopping on his couch.

"I can't believe that took so long," Arsene said, pulling his hair back. "I've had to fight 8 guards in 20 minutes." He looked down at his arms. He had a bruise from where one of them hit him with their magic. It was turning black. He shrugged it off and walked into the bathroom. Once he shut the door, he hopped on the counter and began healing his arm.

"God damn if they're gonna put magic users on the guard, they should at least train them right." He muttered, rolling his shoulder. "This isn't how my day was supposed to go." He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a snack to counteract the tiredness caused by his magic. He ate two cookies before an origami bird materialized and landed in his lap. It unfolded to show a message. It read:

Arsene expect trouble, Elliot is traitor.

He sighed. Arsene had somewhat expected this. "Well, I guess I better get going." He said rushing out of the topside entrance to his hideout and then climbing onto a roof. He began jumping from roof to roof.

He landed in an abandoned alleyway. His breath heaved out of him in heavy pants, the air smelling heavily of moldy garbage. "Okay, I have to get to the meeting spot." Arsene sat down against the wall, tired. He looked behind him and saw a shadow looming over him. He glanced up and screeched, jumping off the floor.

"Who are you!?" Arsene said, summoning his sickles from his tattoo. "Wait! I mean no harm." Out of the shadows limped a dude with green hair. He seemed extremely hurt, bleeding heavily. There was a large gash on his leg, causing him to limp. His nose and eyes were bloodied. He winced as he limped towards Arsene. He dropped his bag next to him. He fell to his knees and Arsene rushed towards the boy. Arsene knelt down and helped the dude. He was shaking violently. His eyes glazed over as Arsene examined his wound. "It looks pretty deep..." He whispered, looking at him. Then he noticed something else. "You're bleeding from your nose." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief.

"Hold still," Arsene said, using his power to heal the dude's deeper wounds. As he finished, Arsene began shaking again, and he started breathing hard. His head dropped to his chest and his breaths became shallow.

"Whew, that was a lot more energy than I thought," Arsene mumbled, pulling out a candy bar. He began eating it while bandaging up the guy's minor injuries. After he was done with the minor ones, Arsene stood up. "Alright, let's go."

The boy groaned quietly, then lifted himself and stood on shaky legs. He stumbled slightly when he tried walking on shaky legs but managed to hold his ground. Arsene wrapped his arm around the boy to keep him steady.

"So, what's your name?" Arsene asked. "Alfie." The other boy said sharply. "The names Arsene." He said, moving his arm to better support Alfie. It was a little difficult, due to their height differences. "I have to get someplace very soon, so I hope your okay with me dragging you along," Arsene said. He glanced at Alfie and sighed. "Come on." They began to walk. They stopped in front of a house. "We're here."

Alfie looked at the place with awe. The house looked fairly old, its walls worn down and covered in ivy. The windows were all broken and there was graffiti written on the brick facade and roof. The yard was mostly overgrown with weeds.

Arsene helped Alfie up the stairs towards the door. Just as Arsene reached for the doorknob, a hand darted out and grabbed them. Both men turned quickly to see who it was. A girl stared at them. She had short blond hair and her skin was light brown with light freckles scattered across her cheeks. Her eyes were a striking green color. Her clothes consisted of a blue vest over a white shirt, black ripped jeans, and black boots.

"Amira! I-" Arsene started but was interrupted.

"You idiot! First, you worry me and Lainey out of our minds and then you show up late with some stranger!?" Amira whisper-shouted, jabbing her finger into Arsene's chest. "What were you thinking?"

Her tone changed to a softer one. "You know, I'm just glad you're alright." She said, reaching out to hug him.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure." He said awkwardly, hugging her back. She released him and stepped back to look at Alfie. "So who are you?" She asked.

"Ah. Um... My name is Alfie," He answered sluggishly, leaning against the wall. "I found him in an alleyway and he was hurt badly," Arsene said. Amira sighed. "Well, as long as he can pull his weight once he's better, he's welcome to stay."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Anyway, Lainey's in the other room." Amira said, pointing behind her. "She's been waiting for hours." Arsene began helping Alfie to the other room, where a girl with curly brown hair and horns was sitting in the corner. She was knitting something. Amira left them alone. When she did, Lainey jumped up and threw herself at Arsene, knocking him over and hugging him tightly.

"I was SO WORRIED!" She cried. "If you ever worry me like that again I swear-" She trailed off and sniffled loudly. Arsene smiled softly, patting her head.

"Aw, come on, it was only a few hours," He joke

Lainey puffed her cheeks out in a frown before she hugged him again. "Don't ever scare me like that!" She said, letting go of him and wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. Lainey turned and noticed Alfie, who was staring at her in horror. "Y-you, you're a demon!"

"Um, no, I'm an elf," Lainey said, crossing her arms, and her tail swishing. "If I was a demon, I'd have some crazy neon markings going on and would be taller than Arsene. Also, who are you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arsene walked in between them. "So, this Alfie, and if you didn't notice, he needs some rest. So let's let him lay down for now." He said, gesturing towards the bed and putting Alfie down.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realize." Lainey said, stepping aside.

Alfie laid down on the bed. "I'm sorry Arsene." He said groggily.

"For what, making me late? It's not a problem, don't worry about it." He said, sitting down on the bed next to him. Alfie rolled over on his side and curled his hands under his pillow. Lainey sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. "Hey, don't stress too much. You'll feel much better once you're healed up." She said, trying to comfort him. After a while, he fell asleep. The sound of his soft snores filled the room.

"So, where'd you find him?"

"In an alleyway on my way here," Arsene replied. "Scared the shit outta me. He had a huge gash in his leg, and his face was busted up too." He shook his head. "I didn't want to leave him out there on the streets all by his lonesome."

"Was anybody else there?" Amira said, poking her head into the room. "Nope. Not that I know of."Arsene said, crossing his arms. "Good." She said, nodding and walking into the room. "Well, we should probably start planning what to do next. We can't hide forever." She said, sitting next to Lainey. "Who all was caught?" Arsene asked solemnly.

"Almost all the regulars at the Shakey Broomstick, including Sollux, Doubles, and, I'm sorry Arsene, they got Toybox."

"Shit.... Do you think we could ask Erza to help us out? We're gonna need some help."

"Uh, well..." Amira said, fidgeting slightly. "I don't think I trust Erza anymore." She said slowly. "I mean, after what happened with Dareth she doesn't speak a comprehensible sentence. There's not that many people left, and I doubt a lot of them are willing to venture back into the public. We'll have to come up with another plan."