There was a park not far away from Emily's school. It had a playground with swings, benches, climbing frames and all sorts of other things, making it a popular hangout spot for the younger kids, whereas the older ones usually played soccer once school was out.
"Ergh, isn't this a weird place to discuss things?" Red Sunn asked as he looked at all the little kids and mums around. "Don't you guys have your own place? You know, a regular hideout spot like an abandoned warehouse or something?"
When Sunn had followed after Daniel he had expected to be led into that type location. Instead they had gone to this park and on their way a beautiful girl with gold and brown hair had started tagging along. The outfit made it obvious that she was part of Daniel's school, but so far she hadn't even said a word.
"Nope, don't have one of those yet." Daniel replied matter of factly. "Come to think of it, I didn't really have time to fill you in last night. Oh well, no better time than the present. Right now there's just you, Midnight maiden who you've already met and this here's Amy, or Arietta is the full name."
For the first time Daniel seemed to acknowledge the girl's existence, who in turn just smiled. Sunn wasn't sure if she was just shy around him or if she might be mute. Red Sunn's mouth opened wide in disbelief and he slapped his forehead.
'I thought he looked like someone who knew what he was doing. Was I wrong about him? Is he just some rich vampire who has too much of daddy's money and decided to create a gang after all? Heck, can we even be called that? Right now we seem more like a group of friends if anything. And why did he exclude himself?'
"Don't worry." Daniel spoke up with a smile on his face. "Every prominent gang started out just like us. I promise you that as long as you stay with us you won't regret it. Our group will be one that focuses on quantity over quality, so you should be proud that you even qualified."
Hearing Daniel's arrogant tone wasn't making Sunn feel any better about the decision he had made. Talk was cheap in his opinion, but as long as the money would continue to flow he wouldn't complain.
***************
At the same time, Emily and willy were both busy walking down the street heading the same way home. The skyline deep with shade of monochromatic blue, with electricity pulsing through the air as the neon lights of the towering skyscrapers reflected off the wet pavement. Emily wore a black and red leather jacket, her hair styled in a sleek bob_ she bought the jacket @ 120 credits.
Willy rambled on about the many abilities that Emily possessed as a ghoul. Emily listened half-heartedly, rolling her eyes at Willy's excitement.
"You know, Em, you've got so many cool powers," Willy said, his voice thick with enthusiasm.
Emily sighed, knowing that this was going to be a long conversation. "Do we really have to go through this again, Willy?" she replied, her eyes scanning the area around them for any potential threats.
"What? I'm just saying. You've got superhuman strength, you can be invisible, you can regenerate your limbs if you lose them." He paused for a moment, before adding, "And you can eat people."
"That's not something to be proud of, Willy," Emily said with a shake of her head.
Willy shrugged. "I'm just saying, it's pretty cool."
Emily snorted. "You have a weird definition of cool."
Willy chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I do." He paused for a moment, before adding, "But seriously, Em. You ever thought about using your powers for something other than just surviving?"
Emily stopped walking, turning to face him. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, like, you could do some good in the world. You could help people, save lives," Willy said, his eyes shining with a genuine excitement.
Suddenly, Emily's ears twitched and she heard three sets of heartbeats approaching them from an adjacent alleyway. In a flash, she turned to Willy But he was too slow, and the group of smiling teenagers emerged from the shadows, one of them striking Willy from behind with a blunt object, and knocking him out cold.
In total, there were four guys all wearing the Heaven Dune High school uniform. Two of them had wooden planks while the others looked to be unarmed. However, it was just as possible that their weapons were concealed.
[ New Quest›› Defeat the group ]
[ Quest reward ›› 50 Exp ]
Emily stood over Willy's unconscious form, her chest heaving as she glared at the group of teenagers who had attacked them.
The leader of the group approached her with a smirk, his cronies flanking him on either side. "Oh, it's a girl," he said, looking Emily up and down. "Leo won't mind if we have a little fun."
Emily's fists clenched at her side, her eyes blazing with fury. Without a moment's hesitation, she launched herself at the leader, throwing a punch that connected with his jaw and sent him staggering backward.
The other teenagers rushed at her, but Emily was swift and powerful, her fists flying as she dodged their attacks and struck back with deadly force. She took down each of her attackers with swift, efficient strikes, quickly overwhelming them with her superior speed and strength.
The scene was a blur of movement and action, with Emily darting and weaving through the group of teenagers, her blows landing with brutal impact.
Finally, the last of her attackers fell to the ground, his face battered and bloodied. Emily stood over him, her fists still clenched. "I suggest you leave now," she said, her voice low and dangerous.
The teenagers scrambled to their feet, running off down the street, their tails tucked between their legs. Emily watched them go, her body still buzzing with adrenaline but she had controlled her strength so she didn't punch more than what was humanly possible.
Willy stirred next to her, groaning as he sat up. "What the hell happened?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"We got jumped," Emily said, helping him to his feet. "But I took care of it."
Willy looked at her adoringly. "That was amazing," he said, a grin spreading across his face.
Emily smiled, feeling better than she had in a long time. "Yeah," she said. "It was pretty amazing."
[ Quest reward +50 ]
**********
The next day Emily woke up and was heading to school as she did every day. After going home, she hadn't received any texts from Daniel. On the one hand, she was glad not having to fight after her earlier underground scuffle, on the other hand the scuffle almost cost her death.
When arriving at school, Willy greeted her as normal and asked her a hundred questions about how she was feeling and more. Of course Emily replied she was feeling Okay.
"They're seriously going that far just because of a some stupid high school sports event. I really don't understand people." Willy said, shaking his head.
"Anyway, that's two reasons why you should leave the Aerion football team now. Let's tell the coach today during club practice. You can still play Aerion just not be part of the team."
"Don't worry, I won't be going to Aerion football practise today." Emily replied. "I need to go to another club instead."
*************
When school ended, Daniel was out on the rugby field, looking for Emily, but she never turned up.
"Where is that damned little snow white?! I've already told her that we have a game coming up soon! Does she want to set a record for fastest player to be kicked off the team?!" Mrs. Ava shouted.
"Coach Ava, most players ran into some kids from Heaven Dune High yesterday." Daniel reported. "They also wanted to jump me, but they weren't so lucky enough. I assume they are still recovering from that."
Looking at Daniel's face which was an obvious contrast to the bruised face of most student, Mrs. Ava didn't need any more proof. Despite her appearance and her tendency to yell at her students she nevertheless cared about their well-being. Unfortunately, she knew about the special relationship Heaven Dune enjoyed, being sponsored by country Cyopollos which meant that there was nothing she could do about it.
"Alright, I'll let her off with this once, but make sure to tell her this is an exception. I don't need her getting a big head and think she'll get any special treatment. As for the rest of you, let this be a lesson! Although they went for players yesterday, they might go after one of you as well. Make sure to go home in pairs!" Mrs. Ava ordered.
**********