A new day has come but the feeling of melancholia stayed the same. From their original number of over almost two dozens, it dwindled down to just ten of them in just one tragic day. The Professor, the two mentors, the Student Council members and Sprite were the only ones left. The confirmed loses were only Pixel and Mimic and the rest are believed to be missing. The surviving members ought to find the rest of them in any way possible.
"Good morning to my beloved guests! Do enjoy our breakfast in the orphanage's very rich garden." Tabitha greeted them. "Ms. Sullivan, is everything prepared?"
"Yes, Madame." Ms. Sullivan responded and gestured to some other attendants and the were carried out to the garden one by one.
As their meals were flawlessly prepared, they finally dug in and enjoyed it. They couldn't argue that all the food they got are overflowing with great tastes that it reminds them of Lilith and the Banshee Sister's cooking. No one still has the will to open up a cheerful conversation. Glass is trying to elate the mood once a while but his efforts are almost always running down in the drain. It's a good thing Calcipher's quirkiness grew on them so he's become everyone's happy pill that he even makes Beast slightly smile in some of his banters.
"I almost forgot!" Tabitha exclaimed. "I'll you kids head to the Hill House to meet my treasured kids later this morning. I really think you all will get along so well." She said.
"The Hill House?" Glass asked in confusion.
"Yes, the Hill House. Just head to the forest and you'll see a valley beyond that forest. Then, follow the path in the valley to reach the lake. Beyond that lake, you'll see the Hill House." Tabitha explained.
"Will you not lead the way? Or at least someone who already knows where that Hill House is?" Glass asked.
"Unfortunately, only I, Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski know the way. The Professor and your mentors already know as well but I need them here for some important stuff. Ms Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski will be out to fetch some groceries for the entire week with the help of some of our other attendants." Tabitha replied.
"What if we get lost in the way?" Medusa asked.
"Don't worry. I memorized the directions. We'll get there." Reaper said.
"Nice one, Reaper!" Surge commented.
"We're really going there then." Beast said. "Such a drag." He muttered to himself.
"Meeting new people wouldn't hurt us, would it?" Pandora responded.
"I'm done eating." Sprite announced. "Can I roam around the garden?" She asked.
"Sure thing, little miss. Feast your eyes with these beautiful plants." Tabitha responded cheerfully. Sprite then excitedly roamed around the garden.
After their breakfast and before they separate ways, Tabitha let the Anomalies interact with the orphans. They played a few games of tags, hide and seek, hopscotch etc. Medusa had to set up a little fashion show and Surge set up a friendly sparring matches. The children were so full of positive energy that the Anomalies unknowingly got infected by this happy virus. It felt like they went back to being little children as well. Fun and laughter filled the entire orphanage because of them.
"Children, it's time for our big brothers and sisters to go!" Tabitha announced. "Go hug them goodbye."
"Can't they stay a little longer?" One kid with pigtails and a bunny rabbit for a stuff toy asked.
"Yeah! We want to play with them more." A kid with a scar in his forehead said.
"I want to eat the rest of my candies with them!" A chubby blond-haired kid exclaimed.
"Children, we have to go but we'll be back soon. We promise. Right, guys?" Glass said and the rest of them nodded happily in agreement.
"We'll be back before you know it, our precious angels." Medusa said. "Just make sure to follow what Madame says and surely come back."
"Yes, big sister!" All of the children said in unison.
"Thank you, Medusa." Tabitha said. "Now children, say goodbye to them."
After all the farewells from the children and the rest of the orphanage's attendants, Tabitha instructed the Anomalies to finally head to the Hill House. Reaper confirmed that he still remembers the directions Tabitha gave them. As he lead the way, the rest surely followed. Tabitha and the rest of the adults went on to do their thing as well. Although they feel anxious as to what lies ahead, they don't have any other choice but to face it head on.
"Don't you think we're spending too much time walking through this creepy forest?" Surge asked.
"I agree. I know it's still morning but it's pretty gloomy in here." Medusa commented.
"It feels like we're being watched." Pandora said.
"Do you sense anyone?" Beast asked.
"No. No one at the moment." Pandora replied.
"P, I suggest you minimize the use of your Anomaly. You haven't fully recovered from the last time you used it." Medusa suggested.
"I can't. I have to continue sensing our surroundings. We can't afford to be ambushed." Pandora responded.
"We're in a safe place now, Pandora. Rest easy with your Anomaly. The rest of us got this." Glass said.
"Yeah, we got you! If anyone dares to harm us, they won't know what'll hit them." Surge commented.
"It's great and all that we're prepared for battle but aren't we a little lost? We've been walking through this forest for who knows how long now." Beast complained.
"You're just scaring yourselves. Let's trust Reaper with the directions. So long as he says that we're on the right track, we're on the right track." Glass said.
"It's true but I didn't figure that the forest is this vast." Reaper responded.
"I have an idea." Sprite shyly commented.
"Oh, so you talk?" Surge asked jokingly.
"Stop it, Surge. Go on baby sister." Medusa said.
"I'm just thinking. Why don't we use our Anomalies to go through this huge forest? It'll be much faster to get out of here if we do that." Sprite suggested.
"I agree. I was thinking about it as well for quite some time now." Reaper said. "But not everyone's Anomaly is suited for travelling. Take my Anomaly for example."
"Finally!" Beast exclaimed. "Someone thought of something logical." He said.
"So, it's Reaper, Pandora and Sprite who can't use their Anomalies for travelling." Glass said. "I can carry one or two of you with my glass platforms. Medusa, can you take the other one to tag along with you?"
"Sure thing!" Medusa agreed. "No hard feelings P but I'll go and take my baby sister with me."
"None taken. I guess I'll be going with Glass and Reaper." Pandora said.
"Wait!" Surge shrieked. "What about me?"
"What about you?" Glass responded. "You're Anomaly is good for travelling, isn't it? You can just propel yourself with some of your energy shockwave however it works."
"That's the thing. I don't have any stored energy in me." Surge replied.
"Beast, do the honors." Glass said. Though Beast is visibly reluctant, he walked in towards Surge and stood in front of him.
"What are you doing, man?" Surge asked even though he already got the idea of what's about to happen.
As Surge expected, Beast suddenly transformed arms into his trusty gorilla arms and started punching him. It happened so fast but he was able to safely guard himself. Since he doesn't have stored energy, all he can do is be on his defensive stance and take all Beast's blows head on. Surge's body is filling with energy from Beast's every punch. The girls find it a little cruel so they had to look away but they can't deny the fact that it's very effective. Thanks to Surge's enhance durability, he didn't get hurt much from the dozen punches he got from Beast.
"You good now?" Beast asked.
"Yeah, all thanks to you my good friend." Surge sarcastically responded.
"Are you hurt? We can have Sprite heal you for a bit." Pandora commented.
"Thanks for the concern, Pandora my angel." Surge replied. "I'm good. No need for that."
"He's strong, P. He won't die by some few punches from Beast." Medusa said.
"Am I dreaming? Medusa my swan thinks highly of me! Beast, beat me up more often will you?" Surge exclaimed.
"I'll beat you up myself." Medusa responded.
"Much better!" Surge shrieked in excitement.
"Alright, enough of that. Surge is charge up now so we can finally get out here. I will have Reaper and Pandora with me. Medusa will take Sprite with her. I assume that Beast will swing his way out of here and Surge will propel himself." Glass explained.
"See you on the other side, guys." Beast said and instead of transforming into some kind of monkey to swing his way out of the forest as everyone assumed, he transformed into his falcon form to just fly above the forest and somehow still enjoy the scenery.
"Hey, man. Wait up!" Surge exclaimed then he quickly followed Beast by propelling himself into the skyline. "See you on the flip side, folks!"
"We best we going as well. See you guys later." Medusa said. She then gently wrapped her blonde hair to Sprite to carry her out of the forest. She happened to be the one who had to swing their way out of the forest.
"It's our turn to take off. Are you two ready?" Glass asked. "You sure don't have any choice, do you? Just step on the platform and imagine yourself surfing."
"But I haven't surfed before." Pandora responded worriedly.
"Me too." Reaper seconded.
"How about skateboarding? You surely have done that before." Glass said but the two shook their head in disagreement. "Really? Well, that's a bummer. Just step on it and try to not move too much so I can easily maneuver them. Copy?" He added then Reaper and Pandora agreed then they stepped on the glass platforms.
Glass made the three of them flew above the forest so the can enjoy the view as well. They can see the ocean from the distance, the huge mountains up in the distance and the city from behind. They can also see Beast and Surge ahead. Medusa's blonde hair can also be seen moving swiftly from above the forest. Not too long after, they finally got into the valley's opening. The valley looks so beautiful that they got excited to go pass through it.
"This place is so majestic! It's almost like I want to live around here." Medusa connected.
"I miss the Gallant." Beast muttered to himself.
"What's that, Beast?" Surge asked.
"Nothing." Beast replied.
"So, we just need to get pass through this valley and get around the lake then we'll get to the Hill House. Is that right, Reaper?" Glass asked.
"That's right. Let's go." Reaper responded.
As they're enjoying the magnificent view of Mother Nature along the valley, they felt a sudden trembling from the ground. Everyone immediately realized that there's an earthquake taking place. Flocks of birds from the distance started to fly away, trees started to sway violently and the river along the valley appears to be flowing the opposite direction. Before Pandora can even widen her range with her Anomaly, a sink hole opened swallowing all of them underground. The hole vanished as soon as it opened.
"Is everyone safe?" Glass asked.
"I think I fell into something soft." Beast commented.
"Vines? They're vines." Reaper said.
"You saved us baby sister!" Medusa said. Sprite happened to instinctively summoned vines to break everyone's fall.
"It's dark in here!" Surge shrieked.
"It's weird. I can't sense anyone else but us." Pandora commented.
"This isn't in any way natural." Glass said. "What is happening in here?" He muttered to himself.
While everyone is still disoriented, they started hearing crackling sound from afar. Then, a ball of light can be seen from the distance but they can tell it's slowly closing in. Few minutes in and they realized it's a fireball. They then noticed that they're in some kind of a tunnel from the light of the fireball. There are also torches placed on the tunnel walls and they're being lit one by one as soon as the fireball passes them.
"We are clearly under attack! What are we going to do?" Medusa shrieked.
"The fireball is closing in! My stored energy isn't enough to repel that huge thing." Surge commented in panic.
"Glass, do your thing!" Beast yelled.
"Everyone, get behind me!" Glass announced.
Glass immediately created a glass dome to cover everyone. As expected, the dome successfully blocked the fireball. At this point, all the torches in the tunnel are lit up. Then, the trembling came back. They then realized that they had to get out of there quickly. It was initially agreed upon to escape from the opposite side from where the fireball came from but that part of the tunnel started to cave in. It started collapsing and it it's closing in on them as well so they had to run towards where the fireball originated.
"Pandora, do you sense anyone now?" Glass asked.
"Still nothing." Pandora responded.
"Less talking, more running!" Medusa exclaimed.
"I can see the end of the tunnel! Let's hurry." Beast announced.
"Don't look back and just keep running!" Surge shrieked.
They finally got out of the tunnel and it totally caved in as soon as they got out that it looked like there's no tunnel there before. They found themselves stuck in a cliff on a hill at the end of the valley. The lake can bee seen from where they're currently at. Suddenly, the calming breeze from the mountains intensified. The wind became so strong that they all got blown away from the hill and they're seem to be falling towards the middle of the lake.
"Pandora, any news?" Glass asked.
"Still nothing! What's wrong with me?" Pandora responded worriedly.
Their screams are once again can only be heard all over the place. Glass tried to catch most of them with his glass platforms but he ultimately failed due to them wildly flinging in the air and their numbers as well. On the other hand, Medusa was able to extend her hair to everyone making them on hold to it so they can still be close to one another somehow. They then fell hard into the lake making lose their grip from Medusa's hair. Lucky for them that everyone knows how to swim.
"Hey! Is everyone still alive?" Glass asked. Everyone else swam up one by one confirming that all of them are still intact.
A weird current is starting to be felt inside the lake where they're all currently inside of. This made them anxious once again and they had to prepare themselves of what's about to happen however unpredictable it can be. A whirlpool suddenly formed at the center of the lake. It immediately sucked them all in but Glass was quick to think to have them all inside one huge glass ball to keep everyone intact. Medusa's hair acted as cushion for everyone to avoid further damages.
"We're not under attack. We're being played!" Beast said aggressively.
As soon as they got underwater, the whirlpool suddenly stopped. Then, the waters started to act strange once again. Glass' glass ball was blasted out of the lake like they're spitted out of it. Then they became airborne again but this time, they figured out the timing and figured out a plan to safely land on the ground. Glass caught Reaper and Pandora, Medusa caught Medusa and Beast and Surge had to do their own thing.
"That was sick!" Surge excitedly shrieked. "Let's do that again!"
"No, thank you." Medusa responded.
"Pandora?" Glass said.
"I sense them!" Pandora exclaimed as soon as her Anomaly's range finally widened. "There's four of them. One's at the end of the valley, the next one is at the hill we were blown away from earlier, then there's the one towards the North where the Hill House is and the last one is the bottom of the lake!" She quickly announced to everyone.
Medusa quickly concentrated and threw dozens of dagger-like projectiles from her hair towards the first enemy at the end of the valley. Glass was also quick on his feet as he immediately created his own projectiles with his harp glass discs and launched it towards the one at the hill. Surge concentrated his final shockwave attack into his his right hand and punched towards the enemy at the towards the North.
For the one that's left at the bottom of the lake, Beast sprung into action as he got back inside of the lake. Then, a huge octopus came out from the lake clinging onto some guy. Everyone realized that the octopus was Beast. The guy he's clinging onto is struggling to free himself. He continues to throw water-based attacks to Beast and the rest of them. But before the guy can do any more serious damage, Reaper stepped in and nullified his Anomaly.
"Another sick teamwork from this sick team!" Surge exclaimed. "No one can stand against us!"
"Pandora, status report." Glass said.
"The three enemies from the distance were knocked out. This guy who has the water-based Anomaly is the only one conscious." Pandora confirmed.
"Not for too long he will." Beast commented as he transformed back to his human form.
"I like how you're thinking, Beast." Surge agreed.
"Hold your horses you two. We still need to question him." Glass replied.
"What did you do to me?" The guy asked. "Why can't I use my Anomaly?"
"Don't worry. It won't kill you." Glass responded. "Tell me. Who are you and who do you work for?"
"Please, calm down. I'm Blake. The others are my friends." Blake explained. "We're not working for anyone but if you put it that way, we're under Madame's care. You know her, right?"
"Wait. So, you're the Anomalies who are being kept by Madame?" Reaper asked in astonishment.
"Yes!" Blake responded.
"The ones who live in the Hill House?" Glass asked.
"Yes!" Blake responded.
"This is a mistake. We are so sorry." Reaper replied.
"We shouldn't apologize! They started it." Beast exclaimed.
After establishing that the ones who attacked them were the Anomalies who are being kept by Tabitha, Glass instructed Beast and Surge to fetch the unconscious ones then they finally head straight to the Hill House with the help of Blake who got back his Anomaly after some time. Since Blake was the only one conscious, he took the liberty to welcome their visitors in the Hill House and gave a quick tour specially to their underground den. They also placed Amber, Rocko and Aira on a sofa so Sprite can heal them.
After a while, the other three finally gained consciousness. They were surprised that they're all back in the Hill House and their guests are already in there as well. Blake filled his friends in of what happened after their small test for the Professor's Anomalies. Even though they had the upper hand at the first part of their test due to their surprise attacks, they obviously got overpowered by them eventually.
"We're sorry about that. We just did that to test how well you use your Anomalies." Rocko explained.
"That was so fun! Let's do that again some other time." Aira exclaimed.
"No, thank you. That was so tiring. I knew I should've just stayed here and relax." Blake commented.
"We just went easy on you and that last attack was unexpected. We'll surely win next time." Amber declared.
During their intense yet enjoyable interactions, some of them realized that their faces are somewhat familiar to each other. Surge claims that she doesn't forget women specially if they are as beautiful as Aira's and Amber's but he's not so sure when and where he saw them. Same goes with the rest of them. Glass, Pandora, Beast and Medusa swore they saw either Rocko, Blake, Aira and Amber somewhere as well.
"You didn't know. Some of us met in the past Summits." Rocko pointed out. "There's that time when Blake and I came with Madame and the Professor brought Beast and Pandora with him."
"Amber and I were the ones who accompanied Madame one time and if I'm not mistaken Surge was the only one who came with the Professor." Aira commented.
"Yeah! Now I remember. I knew I saw your beautiful faces somewhere." Surge responded.
"That's right. In the Summit. I also now remember Glass and I coming with the Professor once and we saw Blake and Amber." Medusa said.
"It all makes sense now. This means that Madame is the Gallant Councilwoman, right?" Glass asked.
"Yes, she is." Rocko responded.
"And you just realized that?" Blake asked. "You guys are funny."
"But strong I might add." Aira jokingly said.
"But not stronger than us." Amber commented.
As soon as they all think that everything is going peaceful from now on, a tremendously alarming news came in. Medusa, Pandora and Sprite were watching the television when a Breaking News suddenly got aired. The news claimed that the military are stepping up their game in terms of taking all Anomalies into their custody. The military had to up their game due to multiple and continuously increasing number Anomaly related crimes.
"Additional details from that news will be given by my partner." The female news anchor said.
"Thank you, partner." The male news anchor responded.
He confirmed that the major move that the military did against the Anomalies are doing alliances with other military forces from other nations. This means every military forces all over the world are going to focus their efforts more in capturing Anomalies. It was also announced that due the legacy and contributions of General Dragunov Galvaki to the force, he was appointed to lead the cause.
One of his many advocacies is to increase the number of platoons and assign one or two of them in each city. Most of the platoons that will not be assigned to a city will roam across every nation depending on the assignment given. The platoons that were assigned to a city are referred to as "Keepers" and the ones who'll roam across nations are called "Sentries". The next big thing for them are mostly kept unannounced they confirmed that they call it "Guardians".
"The military is sharpening their fangs." Glass commented.
"Who would've thought that all nations will team up to eradicate our kind." Rocko said.
"Hush!" Aira said. "They're showing photos of the newly promoted platoon leaders. I'm checking out some cute ones."
"Oh my god, same!" Medusa replied cheerfully then both of them shrieked in excitement.
"Oh, didn't know they appoint woman as platoon leaders and they're quite eye candies themselves." Surge commented.
"They're done announcing the ones in Grand Britain. They're now announcing the ones in Noble Asia." Pandora said.
"Reaper's friend is part of the military, isn't he?" Beast asked. "Don't you think he's been promoted as a platoon leader?"
"He is?" Sprite asked in shock. It's obvious that she got devastated then she opted to walk out.
"Nice one, Beast." Medusa said then she ran after Sprite to comfort her.
"What did I do? It's not my fault you are all keeping her from the truth." Beast replied.
"That's enough, Beast." Pandora responded firmly.
"Fine." Beast said.
The announcements for Noble Asia are about to end and move to New America when they saw Sprite's brother's photo in the screen. Although they expected it, they were still astonished. It was also announced that he and his platoon has been assigned to become Sentinels. Raf's appeared more mature from the limited time he spent being part of the military. Reaper couldn't recognize him as naturally as before all of these happened. Raf gained some scars on his face and his physique improved as well.
"And he was too stunned to speak." Beast commented to provoke Reaper.
"He looked different from last time we encountered him at the Infinity Lounge." Glass said.
"It seemed that he's become a worthy opponent." Surge responded.
"I guess our paths are really in the different ends of a stick." Reaper muttered to himself.
"Do you still wish for him to understand you and acknowledge her sister?" Pandora asked.
"We were best friends since we were wearing diapers. I know he still have a space in his heart for that." Reaper replied.
"Wait. You know someone in the military?" Rocko asked.
"It appears they do but we can't use this Raf dude." Blake said.
"What do you mean use him?" Glass asked.
"See we've been formulating a plan that involves a mole in the military that will work with us." Aira explained.
"Though I'm against that idea because we can destroy the military ourselves, I can't deny that it has potential." Amber commented.
"We'll continue to bench that idea until the odds are in our favor." Rocko responded.
"I like how you think beautiful Amber. Well now, you got us so we'll a lot of chances to win against the military." Surge said proudly.
"Have you gone mad?" Blake asked sarcastically. "Our numbers may have increased but talking about going up against the military here. Not just one military platoon but the entire military force in all five nations."
"Yeah! They're non-anomalies so what are you so scared of?" Surge responded.
"You have gone mad." Blake replied.
"I hate to admit it but it's a suicide mission if you think we can win against the military with just us." Glass commented.
"Unless you want us to all die. We'll surely succeed on that." Beast commented.
"Beast. Hush." Pandora said.
Medusa and Sprite came back in with Tabitha, the Professor, Zythandra and Calcipher. They already knew what the military is up to and they knew that can't just stand idly. They have to do something as well to save themselves and to hopefully save other Anomalies and non-anomalies alike. Time wasn't wasted as they started brainstorming as soon as everyone got into their new roundtable. The Professor and Tabitha are leading the discussion.
There are a lot to discuss about. The events from the Summit, the attack of the Coven, the advances of the military and everything else in between. The Professor and his people doesn't have time to mourn for their loses as they have to focus on stepping ahead as well to avoid any more loses. They have to be prepared of what's coming. It's true that their numbers have increased which means their power did too. But, they still have to be prepared because they will be facing a lot of obstacles ahead of them.