Chapter 15: The Mystics

Takabi placed a hand against the metal door of the structure. His eyes glanced all around the clearing. Wet grass glistened like stars under the shining sun. Grey clouds overhead remained still, but gave a strong relaxing feel to nature. He liked it here.

"Is this the place?" His hand moved for the rusty handle and turned it, but the door wouldn't budge. Placing his hands on his waist and stepping back, he tapped his finger against his hip before turning around and taking a few steps forward. Snapping around, he ran and leapt at the door, landing a heavy kick on the metal. Despite its rusty look, the door held firm under his foot, which left Takabi actually stunned.

"This thing is pretty damn sturdy.." He craned his head to the left, before once more placing his hand against the metal and closing his eyes. Exhaling, he willed the power inside to his palm, feeling the magic energy leave his body and move through the door, unlocking it and letting it creep open. "Okay, I'm really starting to get the hang of this magic thing."

His foot slipped inside, pushing the door open more as he gazed at the darkness that swallowed the staircase. He closed the door, and began to descend the rusty steps, making sure each step was very slow and careful. He wasn't sure if it was the right place, but he couldn't think that there were too many other buildings in the rainforest. When he reached the bottom, another metal door stood in his way, this one with an orb in the center and a small red light inside.

"Please identify yourself, sir." The robotic voice was feminine.

"I… uh… Takabi."

"Please identify yourself, sir."

He touched his chin, then leaned forward and held his left eye open. A small red light scanned his eye, before the door slid open quickly. A long hallway, and a bunch of men and women of all ages looked at him. Any conversation they were having went dead as he walked past them, a growing uneasiness settling in his chest. "Hey there…" He said quietly, trying to avoid being rude. Their lack of responses and unwelcoming gazes told him to stop trying.

Takabi opened the door at the end of the hallway, eyes falling on a massive space full of computers and people in the center. To his left was an open room, large enough to be considered a gym full of exercise equipment and black mats. To his right was a library, from which he could tell, was full of important documents and texts. There was a set of stairs leading up to his left, and a set leading down to his right.

He moved up the left stairs, spotting another room full of computers and buttons. Bright lights hung high overhead, and as he approached the room of computers, Nana's head popped up from behind the glass, and she leapt through it, shattering the window carelessly and hugging him tight. "THANK GOD YOU'RE OKAY!"

"Whoa! Take it easy! Why wouldn't I be?" He asked, trying to pry her off of him. "I thought of it like you said. Once it registered in my mind that it was training, it was easy to get through it all. Granted, I am a little pissed that you basically kicked me off a plane without my stuff."

Her right eye twitched and she looked up at him. "Right.. Sorry about that."

The sound of clicking filled their ears. Turning, Shink offered a smile at the two, more specifically Nana. His eyes held a devious gaze that read, You were wrong.

Realizing this, Nana pulled herself off and turned her back to Takabi, leaving the boy more than confused by her change in attitude. "Congrats, my boy. To be honest, I wasn't too sure if you had enough skill to make it this far."

"I wasn't too sure myself. It all kind of just came to me in the moment." He looked at his hand and balled it into a fist, flames erupting around his knuckles. "I have much better control over my powers from that one fight… It's insane."

"Ah, yes. We saw that. Quite impressive stuff, to say the least." Shink slowly made his way towards Takabi, holding out his free hand. Taking it and shaking hands, Takabi gave a smile to Shink and asked, "So what is this place?"

"A home for people like you. People who have the ability to tap into magic, or to say the least, are not human." He looked over the railing, eyes falling on the group of people below them.

They were sitting at multiple tables, eating and laughing, pushing away the world from their minds.

"We've dubbed ourselves The Mystics. A simple name, but one that speaks such a complicated story. Every one of us here have had struggles in our past, from no home to any of the worst possibilities you can think of."

"Is that so," Takabi asked quietly. "Like what?"

"Shunning. Abuse. Rape in most cases. Blackmail, and hate. All types of negativity from the human side of the world. Kids, teenagers and adults all seen as monsters for their gifts. Poor Nana here, after your accident, faced many of those things herself," Shink said.

Takabi quickly shot a gaze at her, face pale with worry. "Wait, you were-"

"If you're going to say raped, no. I wasn't. I came close but…" She tapped the center of her head. "All those guys got a sharp cut down the center with a sudden wind. Mom and Dad made sure I knew how to defend myself after all."

Badass. "So, people like me. Meaning no one here is a human. Vampires? Werewolves?"

"Almost any inhuman creature you can think of. From Minor mutants to creatures many would herald as Gods. Ah, right on time." Shink's eyes looked behind Takabi.

The boy and Nana turned, Nana's face turning to one of disgust and hate. A girl approached the three, her long black hair hanging down to cover her backside. She was dressed in a skin tight suit that hugged her curves perfectly. She was a bit taller than Nana, and her thighs were a tiny bit bigger, but everything else about them looked essentially the same. Her face was a bit more toned, with a noticeably bigger nose and scar on her cheek.

Takabi glanced down, noting a black tail with a heart shaped tip hanging behind her. Her heels clicked against the floor when she stopped in front of Takabi, eyeing him up and down and licking her lips.

"He's definitely a looker. You weren't lying, Nana."

The Angel turned her head and crossed her arms. "Do you need something, Raia?" Her tone was full of irritation.

"I came to drop off the documents Father needed." She raised her palm, a stack of papers appearing in her hand in a puff of light smoke. Shink took the papers, eyes skimming through them and he nodded. "Thank you. Raia, this is Takabi. He's going to be here with us for a little while."

"Oh, is he? Well then, nice to meet you, handsome."

Takabi felt his cheeks heat up, but nodded and shook her hand. "So, not to be rude, but what exactly are you?"

Raia giggled a little, then said, "I'm a Succubus."

Takabi snatched his hand back fast. "YOU MEAN ONE OF THOSE DEMONS THAT SEDUCES MEN FOR SEXUAL ENERGY?!"

She winked. "Bingo. Don't worry though, I have enough control over myself to not feast on you." Her eyes glowed dimly, and she looked down, scanning him. "Then again… With a body like yours, I may reconsider."

"Raia," Shink warned, and the girl shrugged. "Relax, Father. I'm just teasing him a little. Making him more comfortable around here."

Shink had his doubts, but waved it off. "Raia is indeed a demon. However, my history with her is personal. Like Nana, she's also a daughter to me. These two will look after your needs here, so don't hesitate to ask them." Grabbing his cane tightly, he coughed a bit and exhaled. "Raia, show him around. Nana and I have business we must attend to."

"Right, Father," Raia said, glancing at Nana.

She was glaring hard at Raia, but scoffed and walked away with Shink. Raia placed a hand on Takabi's shoulder, muttering in his ear, "So big boy. Shall we go to your room?"

He felt his eye twitch, but he slowly removed her hand and said, "I think you showing me where to go is enough."

"Oh, I can't wait to break you." She licked her lips, but smiled and began walking down the steps he came up. Takabi followed her as she started talking, "That room that Nana came from is the communications room. We send many of our own people out to look for others without homes and bring them back here. Obviously, we don't bring humans here, because that would cause issues upstairs and downstairs."

"Up… You mean Heaven and Hell?"

"Exactly. Big guys don't like us interacting too much with humans, in the sense of involving them in things beyond their knowledge. It can cause serious issues on Earth, and in the rest of the universe." She shrugged.

"So you guys are like their private army?"

"No," She replied. "They know we exist, as many other Angels and Devils do. In fact, it was their choice to have many of us gather. Sort of a peace treaty between the two since the last war." Raia stopped walking for a moment and pointed to the gym.

"That's our exercise and simulation room. We use it to train and control our powers, as well as work in various different conditions to improve our physical capabilities. For example," She looked down into the cafe below them and yelled, "Someone toss me a cinder block!"

One of the larger and more burly men jammed his arm into the wall and ripped out a piece, just about the size of a car, then tossed it into the air. She placed her foot on the metal railing, bat like wings shooting out her back as she jumped forward, fist slamming and smashing through the block as if it was a simple piece of paper. "Like tha- OH CRAP! MIA!"

A purple haired girl looked up, her white eyes wide at the massive piece of block rushing toward her head. Raia moved after it, but stopped in shock when her eyes spotted Takabi moving in a blur. Arriving between Mia and the large pieces of cinder block, He swung his leg in a heavy kick and smashed the block into a cloud of dust. He landed on the table, careful to avoid the food that was sitting there. He gave Raia a thumbs up, "I got it, you're good!"

All eyes were on him, which made him a little nervous as he stepped off the table. That was until a large man placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and laughed. "Well damn, Kid! I've never seen anyone move that fast before!" He had black hair, shaved at the sides, and two ears on his head. Large fangs hung from his mouth and golden yellow eyes watched him. "I'm a werewolf, and even I had trouble keeping up with that. Aren't you winded, even just a little bit?"

"Not at all. In fact, I felt like it was moving too slow."

"Here for five minutes and the kid already beats most of us in speed. That's something." His grip on Takabi's shoulder grew tighter. A thumping sound filled their ears from the man's tail slamming against the top of the table. "I'm Beowulf. The girl you saved from getting smacked in the face just now, that's Mia."

Takabi looked at Mia and smiled. She stood, placing the book in her hands down and bowed to him. "Thank you for saving my life."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Takabi rose his palms defensively and shook his head. "No, no, I was just passing through. It's no big deal, really."

Mia cracked a slightly bigger smile, raising her head. "Still, I very much appreciate it. What's your name, if I may ask."

"Takabi," He said thinly, feeling multiple eyes gazing at him. Some held approval, others held dismissal. One of the disapproving pairs of eyes was a boy with dark purple hair and pure black eyes. He exhaled, a small cloud of black exiting his throat as he stood and approached the group.

Raia landed, her wings retracting into her back. "I'm sorry, Mia!"

Mia just laughed it off, and Takabi gave a hearty smile, until the boy stepped up behind him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey. You."

Takabi looked back at him, directly into his eyes.

There was a strange flash, Takabi's mind filling with a faint image. A young boy in the rain, crying hard. Two dead bodies he couldn't make out, and black feathers falling from the sky. "Listen, and listen well because I'm only going to say this once. You're not welcome here."

"Hey, don't be rude, Riki." Raia looked into his dark eyes.

"I just thought I should make the rules around here clear. Nana told us about you. We don't care about you, your powers, your past or what you are. If you don't pull your own weight, we'll stomp you out." Riki scoffed, eyes flicking to the doorway and back. "I bet you noticed those guys staring at you when you came in here. They're like me. They hate Fallen Angels with a passion, some even more than I do."

"Hey, look I don't want any trouble. I just want to look for my sister, and Nana said she could help. That's all." Takabi said.

"Oh yeah, and before I forget," He said, knee suddenly slamming into Takabi's gut.

The impact was charged full of magic energy, enough to toss Takabi across the cafe and into a metal pillar, denting it in and bending the frame before he slid to the floor and coughed madly.

"Keep away from my girl. She helps you with your little pointless search. That's all." He turned on his heel and walked off, Raia and Mia racing over to help Takabi stand. Beowulf eyed Riki, but soon joined them.

Takabi's eyes were wide. He had a feeling he wouldn't exactly be welcomed, but the intense hatred he sensed with that simple contact was enough to make his stomach twist endlessly.