I am not averse to people coming from a parallel universe, but not if two of them looked exactly like my little brother.
My name is Zayn Rain (Pronounced as Zion Rayin), born as the daughter of Jade and Carter Rain and the first of two children. My little brother came when I was three.
We were a happy family until that fateful day when everything went wrong. That night, we had just had dinner when I felt something was off but I couldn't put my hands on it.
My parents were the ones to know what was wrong, carrying I and Casey (my little brother) into my room and bolting us in.
All i heard was the sounds of metal clashing, furniture moving and screaming, essentially the signs of a struggle but there was nothing I could do to help them except calming my brother's hysterics.
Some time later, we suddenly couldn't hear anything else apart from laughs and muffled groans and then I felt the air suddenly become hotter even though it was the middle of winter.
The smoke came in, seeping through every open space in the house and letting me know that the house had been set ablaze. I immediately rushed out to find my mother's body sprawled on the ground.
Her clothes were torn from her body and suspicious white fluids covered her body, especially her mouth and genitalia. "Those f*ckers actually had the gall to defile Mom's corpse" I wondered but the smoke was getting stronger and I couldn't do anything but try to save my brother's life.
I ran back to the room where Casey was lying, looking like he was choking while I pulled him away from the smoke. I was looking for a way to leave the house and get to safety when I saw that we were blocked in all directions by flames and that the place we stood was the only place untouched by the flames as far as I could see.
The frustration I felt caused me to start crying as I waited for my death along with Casey. I held him even closer and ruffled his hair for what I thought would be the last time when a tear fell from my cheeks to his face.
His brown eyes, which was bloodshot from the smoke suddenly turned an unnatural shade of blue, almost like someone condensed the colour of the sea into his eyes and it suddenly started raining, quenching the fire while leaving me drenched and surrounded by the ruins of what used to be a magnificent house.
The following weeks were somewhat challenging for me. Taking care of my little brother who is also an Irregular proved to be beyond me as he would suddenly replicate whatever he saw, especially when he was emotional.
Some time later, about four weeks after the attack on my parents, we were visited by a guy that called himself "Anchor". He said he was a member of an organization for Irregulars.
He offered to take Casey off my hands, promising to take care of him, and most importantly, help him learn to control his abilities. I barely had the time to reply when Casey accepted to go with him.
"It's for the best" he said "Big sis, you very well know that you can't take care of yourself, much less I who is an Irregular. It'd be best if I join them, I would at least be able to take care of myself and with time, be able to take care of you".
Albeit reluctantly, I allowed for him to go with Anchor, but not before receiving assurance that he would be well taken care of and an allowance to visit him, at least once a month.
We left together, going to the location of the organization which gave off the vibe of a boarding school. I didn't have much to worry about since the place gave off a reassuring vibe so I left after Casey was registered.
I kept my promise with Casey, visiting him at least once a month when we would share our experiences during the month and encourage each other.
We were the only one the other had and we lived as such but as with all good things, it wasn't bound to last. A year after he joined the organization, I began to notice that Casey was beginning to change. His attitude towards me had become colder and more detached.
I tried to understand what was going wrong but I wouldn't find out until another year had passed. I went to see him at the organization and while we were speaking about his potential return home, we had a disagreement when he said "You don't expect me to sincerely believe that someone who can barely take care of herself can take care of me now, do you?" I slammed the table we were seated at when he said "What? Did I hit a sore spot?"
I made to give him a slap when he blocked my hand, hitting me with such force that I fell down. He brought out a dagger with which he stabbed my hand.
Just before the weapon pierced my hand, I felt something click within me and the nature of the dagger seemed to be unraveled to me. The moment my blood spilled out, I saw the dagger replicate itself, made out of my blood.
I picked it up while he made to stab me again but I barely blocked the blade while I moved away, launching myself at him but he conjured a wall of ice using the dagger.
I, already knowing everything the dagger was capable of doing, had understood that it was attuned to ice. I released a barrage of ice spikes, sacrificing the durability of the weapon for overwhelming power. Knowing there was no way I could reason with him while in that state, I ran away, promising myself to make Casey come back to his senses even if it kills me.
I spent the few following weeks understanding the scope of my new found abilities while scouting their organization, putting my plan into motion.
Casey and a few others were going somewhere, like they were on a mission while I tailed them. I followed them, noting how they treated other people like they weren't supposed to exist while they coerced Irregulars to join them, either through force or by making hostages of their loved ones.
At that point, I could only feel hatred at the organization, for brainwashing children into thinking that power is the only prerequisite for survival, and at myself for being so weak that I could only leave Casey to these beasts in human clothing.
There and then, I made it a priority to sabotage their missions, at least those I could follow. By fighting against their operatives, I was able to get valuable experience and a better understanding of my abilities.
I continued like this to the point I became a high priority target codenamed "The Blacksmith" for the organization after I managed to kill two of their high-ranking members. I made myself a few hideouts that looked exactly like my parents' house before it was burnt down so it was harder to find or capture me. I never stopped trying to convince Casey to come back home with me but he wouldn't listen. Every one of our meetings ended in a duel that I mostly survived because I retreated.
Fast forward three years later, I was resting after a successful sabotage when I suddenly felt uneasy. I went out of the hideout when I suddenly saw a portal opened up and I saw a single guy come out of the portal.
This guy was a spitting image of my brother with the only difference between them being his pale white skin that made him appear more handsome than he already was. He looked at me for a second and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. I didn't think much about it and went back inside. I had not laid down for five minutes when I suddenly felt the same sensation again. I wasn't going to check it out but my curiosity got the better of me and I went out.
Four people came out of the portal this time, one of them with the same looks as that of the person that came out just prior (in other words, looking exactly like my little brother) along with three girls. The thing was that while two of them looked like people that followed Casey on his missions for the organization, one of them looked exactly like a girl that helps me on my sabotage missions and also serves as my information broker.
Immediately he saw me, the boy appeared shocked and suddenly started crying. The only thing I could make out of the gibberish he was speaking was something he repeated over and over. It sounded suspiciously like "E-ru-sa".