*(Is this all we see?)*

~*Chapter 49*~

**Mentions of Self-Harm**

Nick brought Midnight home after they went back to pick up his washed clothes. He seemed quiet. Nick usually was quiet but this time it was just odd. Especially after everything he told him. Nick waved as he left and immediately started to drive back home. He was probably busy. He might have still been working on moving.

Midnight opened the door to his house. Leah was by the doorway with Lilly and Fawn on the couch. "Welcome back." Leah mumbled while quickly looking at him, but back at her friends on the couch. "You're back in time too."

"What's going on?" He asked. Midnight made the rest of his way to see the living room. Lilly was holding Fawn in between her legs. She was crying and she looked like she had been for days. Her hair was in a messy bun. "Mom is everything okay?" He hung in the doorway. Leah shook her head. "Sit."

"Wh—"

"Sit." Leah repeated

Midnight didn't bother to argue. He sat on the chair next to his mother. "So...something happened. And we're glad you're here..."

"We thought it was you! We thought something happened to you." Lilly snapped. "You hadn't come home so we thought something happened when you were training."

"I didn't go to training today."

Fawn was biting at her lip. "It was Zara again. She killed some male guardian on the outskirts of the base. We thought it was you." Fawn held her head in her hands. "I was so scared."

Midnight rolled his eyes. "Well I'm fine."

"The battle is near." Lilly mumbled. "More the reason to train and be in guardian school." She grumbled, with Fawn almost agreeing.

"What?" He edged in his seat. His nerves came back and his leg started to bounce with his quivering fingers. He made a breath filled chuckle. "What are you trying to say right now?"

"That maybe you should transfer. You would have more time to train." Lilly held her head high, like she was above him. Midnight swallowed his pride. "I don't want to transfer." He said calmly and questionably. "I'm happy where I am." 

"You don't seem to be. Why do you cut yourself? Why do you come home with bruises?" Lilly was edging at his anger. "This is the exact reason we want you to transfer."

"And you think transferring me back to where I was threatened with death? I would want to kill myself even more--" he stopped. The look his mother was giving him was painful. She looked shocked. Tears dropped down her cheeks. "Midnight—"

"Look. You've been threatening me with transfer back to guardian school since I even transferred to normal school! I like—I am fine where I am. It's the only sense of normality I can get with this—speciality thing. Whatever, I am meant to save the world, do you think I want to?" He paused to stop himself from breaking out into tears. "You guys treat Dawn like she's an innocent child and I'm the fucking disappointment. You push me into this training so I'm like a test subject to see if I can do it." He stood. His legs shook at the pain of his own words. Of course he was being dramatic about it. He couldn't help that it was all true. "Midnight." Lilly interjected before Midnight could start. "You know that's not true. Cedar had a vision, you had a vision. You're destined to do this. You're destined to save us all." She helped Fawn out of her lap. "It's more than honorable to have such an important son." Her hands placed on his shoulders.

"Don't touch me." He grumbled, rolling her hands off his shoulders. "I'm not your son."

Lilly put her hands back to her sides. She let out a deep sigh. "Well if you won't listen. At least meet Cedar at the border. She needs your help to investigate."

"What--"

"Please go." Fawn sniffled. "You might be able to find something." He itched his nose quickly. Looking at Leah, who nodded, he sighed angrily. "Fine. I'll go. But someone has to bring me."

~~~
Midnight didn't appreciate the idea that Lilly was the one to bring him. Leah was going back to lead, Fawn was too upset and Dawn had gone to train herself. Lilly wished him good luck (which was probably fake) and left to follow Leah in the Hierarchy base.

When he got to the borders it was fenced off with a magic shield. The warped film flowing like water. He sped up.

"Glad you could make it." Cedar made a nod. "I contacted your mother and she said you were not home. I assumed you might have been with Nick." She didn't smile at her slight comment. She turned back towards the shielded area. "He was so young. Your age."

"I feel like it's partly my fault for not coming early enough."

Cedar huffed. "You probably couldn't have stopped her. She wasn't alone. We didn't find Zara but her minions. She had vanished when we came." Cedar scanned along the carnage. "The guards had found traces that she was there so we knew." She looked up at the tall trees. She looked to be listening. "The battle is coming. I can feel it."

"Everyone seems to say that." He said grimly.

"Well they're not wrong. You need to train your powers. Your powers are strong Midnight but not strong enough until you know how to use them. If you don't learn something could happen and you can't do anything about it."

"I can control my visions easier."

"And teleport?"

Midnight nodded. "Better. I can't control it completely." He leaned his arms off of the fenced area. "I usually can only sparkle when I'm angry."

"That's how I was Midnight. It's always a reaction from anger. It's when your powers are at their strongest." She backed away from the fence, pushing him back. "Okay. Back to why you are here so early."

Midnight followed her to the other side, where a small door was connected. She opened it to lead him in. "Since you can somewhat control your visions. I have something I need you to do." She closed the gate behind them, swirling her hands at the place. They were trapped inside. Even if Cedar was trustworthy he still felt a tingle of panic at being in a tiny room. The body was in front of them. Square in the middle. He looked like he had been stabbed in the chest, by someone. 'Zara.' He cleared his throat. "So what am I meant to do?" He asked while trying not to look too afraid by the body. It looked like him. Curled hair. Brown, much lighter brown than his. His eyes were shut. It looked like a surprise attack. He straightened his shoulders. Cedar knelled down. "Get a vision from him."

"What?"

"You heard me." She tilted her head towards the boy. "Get a vision from him." She paused, standing back up to look down at her side to see him. "You said your visions are mostly controlled correct?"

He sucked a thick part of air and nodded. "Yeah but I don't think—"

"Midnight you could save lives if you can just touch something and summon a vision." She made him face her with hands on his shoulders. "This is part of your training."

He blinked his eyes once as a sort of 'yes. I'll do it.' Even if he hated the idea of having to quote on quote "save the world" or "save lives". He knelled down next to the body, putting his first two fingers on the cold skin of the boy. He was freezing like he had been dead for a while. Midnight didn't feel anything yet. Just the skin to skin contact. Cedar breathed. "You have to want to get it Midnight. It won't come to you."

He did want it. So he could help; and get all of the business he was involved in over with.

Suddenly a wash of no control smacked him. The control of his body was gone, and now he was in the dark, quiet dark.

'Where am I?'