Impure: The Protectors of Astromica

3

The end of the school day was signaled with a final ring from the class bell. The University of Astromica taught hundreds of students, starting at 12 years old up until they graduate at 20. Every day after school, the front lawn was littered with groups of students talking, playing, and flying all over place.
It was normal for the students to hang around after the day, some of them even stayed until sun started to go down. The sky is too dark to fly safely at night, so sunset is when staff comes out to shoo away any stragglers.
The truth is, a lot of students went home to loveless parents and homes with no emotional enrichment. They stayed at school for as long as possible, spending time with their friends and significant others because they most likely could not do the same at their own homes.
Although the University of Astromica taught the new generations to be kind and understanding, the older generations were not as welcoming to inter-species friendliness. Younger generations fought for the new world order, which was difficult to accomplish due to the fact that some species could live up to 500 years or were just immortal. The older generations have the most say on counsels and boards, so the younger generations had to threaten a rebellion simply to get the school to integrate into one instead of factions by species.

A few minutes after the bell, Atticus walked out of the school building with Ja'far. They walked out from under the shade of the school and let the sun pierce their eyes as it descended blindly from the sky.
"Look! It's a good day for flying, man. Cheer up!", exclaimed Ja'far, grabbing Atticus's shoulder and shaking him lightly.
Atticus peered up at the sky and looked directly into the sun. "It really is...", he said with a little smirk, "This is honestly the highlight of my day."
"Damn...it went that bad with Lily?", asked Ja'far with an apologetic tone.
Atticus sighed and tore his eyes from the sky. He looked at Ja'far, "She's coming over tonight to "talk"."
"Well, talk to her dude. You can't get out of it just by avoiding her, you know that won't work. That's girl is insane.", he said, "I mean that in the best way possible of course. She's a great person, just, you know..."
"Yeah, I get it, but she's not crazy. She's just...hurt. I keep hurting her.", sighed Atticus.
"True. Honestly, you do kinda suck.", laughed Ja'far.
"Shut up, man. Don't rub it in.", said Atticus, cracking a smile.
Even though Ja'far said it in a joking tone, Atticus knew that he was dead serious. He did suck, he never denied it, but Ja'far always believed that Atticus was worth supporting. That's a big reason why Atticus was so loyal to Ja'far, he literally could not push him away if he tried.
"There it is! There's my boy!", said Ja'far , "I knew I could get a laugh out of you."
Atticus turned away from his best friend shyly and pulled out of his phone. He opened his texts and sighed again at the amount of missed called from Lily.
"Tell me, I'm the funniest guy you-"

"What?", said Atticus, turning around to face Ja'far again.
He looked around in confusion.
Ja'far was suddenly gone, as if he just disappeared into thin air.
While Atticus still processed his friend's sudden disappearance, a voice called out his name.
"Yo, Stone.", said Bellamy, walking up to him from one of the picnic tables nearby.
Atticus rolled his eyes and met his eyes.
"What do you want, Bellamy?", he said annoyed.
Bellamy put up his arms in a shrugging manner.
"I'm just looking for Bianca, man. Where's Lily? She's usually glued to her.", he asked.
"I don't know. Go find her or something.", replied Atticus.
Bellamy smiled deviously.
"I bet you don't even know where your own girlfriend is, do you?", he asked smugly, "What? Did you two fall out again?"
"That's none of your fucking business, bro.", Atticus snapped.
"Oh, but it is.", he snapped, "Whatever your girlfriend-I mean, my future wife does is going to be my business for the rest of our lives. You know, it's a really good thing that she has all of eternity to choose who she wants to be with, romantically anyway, because honestly three with you was probably already long enough.", laughed Bellamy, "She'll be done dealing with your shit soon and you know it. Who do you think she's gonna run to? Like she always does."
Atticus balled his fist and clenched his jaw, trying not to allow Bellamy to get him worked up. Unfortunately, he was already boiling with anger.
"Watch it, you fucking creep.", growled Atticus, "Yeah, you and her will be married on paper, but you know just as well as I that marriage has nothing to do with who she shares a bed with." Atticus grinned smugly, "I hope you're okay with her being away often because after advancement I'll have nothing but free time and let's just say...she's my favorite distraction."
Bellamy scoffed and spit on the ground in front of Atticus. "Listen to yourself, you don't even fucking respect her! If she were mine, I would treat her as the royal blood that she is! You are unworthy of her affection."
"Unworthy? You know, sometimes im blown away by the fact that your race managed to spawn a girl like Lily. She's nothing like you, she's pure.", sneered Atticus. "She knows I'm what's best for her, she belongs with the angels!"
Bellamy advanced on him until they were almost nose to nose.
"Well, like it or not, she's not. She doesn't wanna be either. Lily is happy in the underworld, and she will be happy with me as her husband. After all, we've only got a year until the wedding, I'll send an invite to Stone tower for you,", taunted Bellamy.
"Shut the hell up...or I'll show you what real power is.", said Atticus, not wavering from his stance.
Bellamy raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I'd like to see what you mean by that.", he replied.
Atticus cracked a smile.
"You know...I will always beat you, Bell. There is no demon on this earth who can best me. Maybe not even Persephone herself.", he said firmly.
"You angels are always so fucking cocky, tell me, when was the last royal battle between races? Wasn't it like, a thousand years ago? Angels' strength hasn't been tested in quite some time, but demons...we test our strength every fucking day! We work and work until there's nothing left! We are superior in every way possible and im not gonna let some rigged match from a millennium ago dispute what I know to be true.", Bellamy said, pushing Atticus hard.
Atticus pushed back, letting his reflexes kick in.
Bellamy threw a punch and Atticus dodged it effortlessly. He tripped him and he scrambled to get back up.
Bellamy threw another punch, this time sloppier but with more power, and Atticus avoided him again. He sized him up and put up his arms to defend against Bellamy's tail. They stood there for a moment, both breathing a little more heavily than when they started.
Bellamy had a strong build with tan skin, standing at almost the same height as Atticus. He was slim but fit, like an Olympic runner, and dressed in gothic clothing as most demons do. He also had thick horns that stuck out about 3 inches from his Sandy brown hair, which was cut short and shaved off on the sides.
Although Bellamy was not as physically strong as Atticus, he was smart and cunning. The way Atticus dodged only appeared to be flawless because he didn't get hit, but truthfully, Atticus only was able to avoid Bellamy's attacks by a hair.
Atticus breathed heavily and scoffed. He backed away from Bellamy but stuck his chest out. "You know what? You're not worth it. Fuck this, man."
He turned around and began to walk away.
Before he could get out of range, Bellamy whipped his thick tail at Atticus's left wing and sliced him. The sound echoed throughout the front yard and alerted other students to the altercation. Heads turned almost simultaneously and they stared in silence, waiting to see what would transpire.
Atticus winced and grunted loudly. The black feathers that made up his wings ruffled aggressively as he took in the pain. His left wing began to drip tiny dots of blood onto the concrete.
"You motherfucker!", he shouted. He quickly swung his right wing outwards and struck Bellamy hard across the face, leaving a 6 inch long cut across Bellamy's right eye.
Bellamy stepped back a few feet, pushed back by the force of Atticus's attack.
He covered his eye with his hand and groaned in agony. A rune-like tattoo on his hand glowed and smoke began to trail from the wound.
He held his hand there for a few seconds, screaming all the while.
Suddenly, Bellamy's body language relaxed and and he started smiling again. He uncovered his right eye and opened it, revealing a brand-new scar going across it.
Atticus was taken aback by his new healing ability. In the past, the only thing Bellamy was able to do was scare people with poorly shaped shadow-creatures. The power he felt radiating off of him was brand new, almost like it wasn't his to begin with.
"Okay, Stone. Let's fucking do this!", Bellamy shouted with a grin. He said something under his breath and his eyes began to glow crimson. "You do know...", he started, "Once I become Lord Vain, I will inherit my fathers power. Do you remember what he can do?"
Atticus watched him closely, upping his guard more and more by the second. "I don't fucking remember...Something about shadows", he responded.
Bellamy held out his hands as if he was praying and closed his eyes. "He is the King of Shadows...", he said firmly. Bellamy stood there, surrounded by a black aura. He swayed back and forth as he called on whatever entity he was apparently trying to summon.
Atticus watched him, still recovering from Bellamy's previous blow. He was sure that he could beat him, but Bellamy was right. The strength of races hadn't been tested for a while and no one new who was strongest now.
For a while, it was the Angels. Then another year, the Dragons came out on top. After that, for 300 years in a row, under the leadership of Hades himself, the Demons were almost unstoppable.
The Demons won the royal battle and then proceeded to lay waste to the weaker monarchies like the Elf and Shifter kingdoms. It was a loss to the rest of the world as well, given the fact that most resources come from the "weaker" nations, it caused a famine through the region.
The Demons overrun Astromica, basically turning the entire land into the Underworld 2.0, which forced the other species to train harder and be more creative to take back control. It took a while, but in the end Archangels and Dragons teamed up to fight back the Demonic forces and send them back to the Underworld.
Atticus strategized in his head, but was ripped out of his thoughts by a loud cracking sound.
Suddenly, dark clouds began to form over the University of Astromica. Thunder rolled loudly and Bellamy began to speak under his breath again. His feet lifted from the ground slowly, and his body rose higher and higher in the sky. Grey smoke pooled from his nose as he breathed, as if he had just lit a fire inside of himself.
"Vain!", shouted a professor from the from the entrance of the school, "Cease this, immediately!"
Bellamy was unfazed by the professors command and continued to chant.
Atticus stood tall and readied his position.
He knew Bellamy wanted to test his strength. Ever since they were kids, Bellamy wanted to know who was stronger. Atticus always assumed it was because of Lily, after all, Bellamy was already deathly in love with her before she even met Atticus. In the past, he picked fights in front of her to try to make him look weak, but Atticus always came out on top and he just ended up embarrassing himself. This time though, things were different. Lily was nowhere to be found and Bellamy was leveling up with power none of the other students had seen him use before.
"Stone!", growled Bellamy, hovering above Atticus in the sky. He opened his eyes to reveal blood-red irises and looked down on him. "I brought the fight to you this time, no need to "stoop down to my level" anymore."
Atticus threw up his hands in a plea.
"Come on Bell, we're at school!", he gestured his hands around to everyone, "Look around! There are people here who could get hurt."
"Face me, coward.", replied Bellamy, unwavering from his stance. "Come up here and face me!"
Atticus shook his head and stretched his wings. He pushed off the ground with incredible force, leaving a slight indention in the ground.
He met Bellamy face to face and fluttered his wings to stay steadily in one spot.
" I don't want to do this. Don't make me hurt you.", said Atticus as a warning.
"How are you still so fucking cocky!?", asked Bellamy, lashing out a wave of dark power. Atticus put his arms up in an "X" position, attempting to defend against the blast.
A giant dust cloud formed and blocked the sight of everyone in a 500 foot radius.
The dust began to clear and the students gawked when they looked up into the sky.
Atticus flew steadily in the same spot, not harmed by Bellamy's blast at all. He waved his hand in front of his face and fanned away some of the dust.
"That was impressive Bell...", he said, genuinely, "You almost managed to put a scratch on me."Bellamy stared him down in anger and blew more smoke from his nose.
"Now...I guess it's my turn.", said Atticus with a smile. He brushed some dust off his shoulder and rolled his shoulders back.
Quickly, he grabbed a hold of Bellamy's neck and took off upwards with a force that shook trees and knocked students over. He kept going up, still holding onto Bellamy who he assumed was in shock from the take-off. They passed the clouds, until the sunset-sky turned to black and starry space.
Atticus stopped suddenly and levitated in that spot, holding his opponent by the throat.
"Atticus, don't fucking drop me!", shouted Bellamy, under the force of Atticus's hand.
"If you attack me like that at school again, I will. Tell me Bell, a demon can survive a sword to the heart, but can they survive a 64 mile drop?", he asked. "I know that you would reanimate in the Underworld, but how long would it be until you get seen for judgement? Years? Decades? Just how long is the Ferryman's line for souls?"
"Atticus! Please...okay. I'm sorry, I won't do it again, just please don't drop me. It would take forever to get back to Earth, man. You don't understand-"
Atticus chuckled and relaxed his grip on Bellamy's neck.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to drop you.", he said reassuringly. He paused for a moment, "Unless...you just slip out of my hand and...", Atticus let go of Bellamy.
He watched him fall from the sky, screaming all the way.
He counted down in his head, "10, 9, 8, 7..." and then stretched as if he had just gotten out of bed.
Atticus dove downward, restricting his midnight colored wings to increase his speed. He watched as Bellamy's body spun through the air like a broken clock and reached out his arms to grab him.
Atticus got ahead of Bellamy and stopped his out-of-control decent by extending his wings to slow down and catching him in midair.
Bellamy screamed still with his eyes closed, not realizing he was safe in Atticus's arms until they were a few hundred feet from the ground.
Students had cleared a path for staff to get through and Atticus met the ground to an army of them including Professor Snow and Levi.
"Do you two want to explain to us what the hell you were thinking?!", exclaimed Professor Snow, with an unamused look on her face. "A full fledged battle on the school's front lawn?! Are you kidding me?!"
Bellamy jumped out of Atticus's arms, finally, and put his head down.
"Me and Bellamy were just having a little fun, kidding around. Isn't that right, Bell?", said Atticus, putting his arm around Bellamy's shoulder.
"Is this right, Vain?", asked Levi.
Bellamy hesitated for a second and then responded, "Yeah, things just got a little rough. It won't happen again ma'am and sir."
The professors looked at eachother and talked among themselves for a moment.
"Alright, Stone and Vain, your punishment will be community service on Saturday morning.", said Levi, "Since you two don't care about the work that the Headmaster has put into maintaining these school grounds, it will be your job to help repair the damages."
The two boys groaned and sighed.
"Or would you like to be suspended? I could make a phone call to each of your fathers right now if you would prefer-"
"No!", said the boys in unison.
"Yard work is perfectly fine.", said Bellamy, nodding his head.
"Yep, that works for me.", said Atticus.
"Alright then, that's settled.", responded Levi with a smile. "Oh and your brother is looking for you Atticus, you know it's your job to make sure he gets home. I need to see more responsibility from you."
Atticus raised his eyebrows in fear. "Fuck! I forgot about Damien.", he exclaimed, immediately looking around the yard to find him.
Atticus jogged across the big green field and looked for his brother within the groups of students he passed.
Finally, he located him sitting under a tree on the other side of the school.
"Fuck, man! I'm sorry.", yelled Atticus, running to him.
"It's okay...", responded Damien, "What was that loud bang back there? It sounded like an explosion?"
Atticus slowed down as he got closer to him and examined his face.
"Hey, what happened to your face?", asked Atticus, grabbing Damien's chin and pushing it up to see his face better. The sunlight revealed a black eye and busted lip, just as Atticus thought. "Who gave you that?"
Damien snatched away from Atticus's grip and put his head down quickly. He thought for a moment then glanced back up at Atticus and squinted, "Answer my question first."
Atticus hesitated for a second and then answered, "I got into a fight with Bellamy. He was...pushing me.", he put his hand to the back of his head and ran his fingers through his black curls. "Then, he had this like, weird new power...I dunno. I had to resort to...extremes."
"Extremes? I thought...well, dad always says-"
"I know, angels are stronger. I mean, his technique is still weak, his attacks weren't enough to actually do damage but there was something different about him..."
Damien furrowed his brow and Atticus broke eye contact.
"Anyway, it was just a stupid fight though. I've got community service on Saturday with the headmaster.", sighed Atticus, leaning up against the tree.
"Oh, dad is gonna be pissed.", laughed Damien.
"No he's not because he's not going to know.", threatened Atticus. "If you mention it, I'll give you more than a black eye."
Damien rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I won't. Just promise me you'll tell him I got the black eye in combat training."
"Do you wanna tell me how you really got it?", asked Atticus.
"No. I mean, that's the truth, combat training..."
"...okay. If that's what you wanna go with.", he responded. He walked a few feet ahead of Damien and stretched his wings. "Alright, let's go home, I guess."
Damien got up from the ground and handed his backpack to Atticus, who then put it on his back instead. He got in front of his brother then put his arms out slightly.
Atticus, taller than his brother by a foot an a half, grabbed onto him tightly and locked his fingers across Damien's chest. "Alright, brace."
"I'm braced...like this isn't embarrassing enough.", he said under his breath.
"Well, it doesn't really make me look cool either.", scoffed Atticus.
"Are you kidding? You fly your disabled little brother back and forth from school every day. Girls literally eat that shit up.", he responded.
Atticus lifted his head and looked around. He made eye contact with a group of angel girls and they smiled and waved at him.
"Yeah, you might be right about that one bro.", he said, bending his legs. He tightened his grip on his little brother, "Three...two..."
He took off like a rocket towards the sky, spinning in a spiral as he gained speed. He fell backwards and then glided north smoothly, like a jet through the sky. His dark wings beat every once in a while, propelling them upwards with strong gusts.
"Woohoo!", screamed Damien, while holding tightly to his older brother.
Atticus smiled to himself and carried them all the way home. It took just a matter of minutes, due to Atticus's superb speed, but the sky was completely dark but the time they landed on Atticus's balcony.
He let go of Damien once they landed safely and let him walk ahead to go through his room to his own.
Once Damien was halfway in Atticus's room, he paused.
"Oh, hi Damien!", said a familiar voice.
Atticus slowed his steps and listened closer.
"Hey Lily!", responded Damien cheerfully.
A put formed in Atticus's stomach and he froze with fear entirely. He forgot all about the conversation with Lily, and she was already in his room.
He lowered his head and entered his room slowly.
He made eye contact with his lover and she smiled at him innocently.
He knew that smile though.
She was going to eat him alive.