Chapter 1

Sometimes, the greatest stories can start in the most ordinary of places. Other times, they can start at another story’s end. But the most worthwhile adventures start without any warning at all.

This story starts off with a young woman at the beginning of her last summer before she becomes an adult. With an endless amount of frustration, she throws a copy of a once dearly beloved book series straight at a wall from her bed, watching as it hit right by her mirror. The sound made a small cat with tabby patterned fur and green eyes jump up and dart underneath her bed.

“Stupid Ren Takahashi,” she growled out as she grabbed a green laptop and opened it up. “I can’t believe he would end it like that! How could he do something like that?!”

“Wow, you’re not even subtle about your hate for that ending, are you Maddie?” She turned around and saw her twin brother, Evan Sangster, with a smirk on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. “Magic Blood is one of the highest rated mangas of the century. How could you possibly be so mad with the ending?” She glared, looking back and forth between the book and her brother before huffing and going back to angrily typing.

“If you really want to know, it was very cliché and cheesy,” she said, trying to calm down and failing to do so. “He did things in a completely idiotic way.” She started to move her hands as she spoke, flitting them and throwing then to emphasize her emotions. “He tried to make things end neatly by making Mere be Ceteha, using her powers to send Damien into oblivion, and then she just conveniently broke the 100 Year Seal as well as convinced Constantalia, and later the rest of Adulia, to not only allow magic by proving it was a gift from Ceteha, but also to abolish the law that condemns any human creature hybrids to death. Also, because he heavily hinted at romances without making them canon, he has probably frustrated many of the people who’ve read it. Going strictly by how he wrote it, Sialei should’ve ended up with Kozui, Leo should’ve ended up alone, and, contrary to what many people believe, not with Astarias. Lastly, Ceteha should’ve been a character heard of but never seen. Or, if Ceteha had to show up, it should’ve been done in a much more mysterious manner. Almost all of the interesting things about her are gone now that we know exactly who she is. And, her goddess-like powers make her even more boring. Okay well she is a goddess so I guess that makes sense, but there was so much buildup with the prophecy and how to awaken her and bring her return, it all just seemed pointless that when Mere was in any real danger suddenly Ceteha reveals herself and everything is fine! It’s so anticlimactic!” He laughed as he watched how passionate she got about it.

“You are terrible at staying calm,” he said. “I bet you scared Barry right under the bed when you threw that volume.”

“… maybe.”

“I knew it.” She rolled her eyes, going back to typing on her laptop.

“Whatever. What do you want Evan,” she asked in hopes that he would go away.

“I just wanted to see my baby sister.” She glanced at him for a moment.

“What do you really want,” she asked with a frown as she sat up and away from her laptop. “I’m more likely to do what you ask if you’re honest. You don’t want to spend our last summer break with me being mad, do you? After all, it only started a week ago. We’ve still got well over two months of it left after all, before school starts.” She looked back down at her screen and worked on her computer again. “And then all your free time will be making up failed tests and missing assignments. It’s a wonder you haven’t been kicked off the team yet.” He frowned, looking away and pouting slightly in that immature way that brothers do when their sisters show them up.

“Leave it to Miss Smarty Pants to take everything I do and relate it back to my education.” He stopped pouting and started running his fingers through his red hair. “Look, my friends and I want to head to Rocking Waves this afternoon, but Mom says I can’t go unless I clean my room.”

“I know,” she replied, not even bothering to look up this time. “Mom told me about it last night. She also said that I wasn’t supposed to help you out unless you volunteered to take care of my chores. I went through a list of ones I thought were appropriate, and she approved of a few of them. They would be, walking Winchester for the next three weeks,” she pointed a thumb at the big German Shepard laying down and sleeping behind her on the bed, “cleaning up his poop for the next month, cleaning out the cat box for the next three weeks, doing the dishes for the next two weeks, and doing the floors for the next three weeks. Mom said you had to pick two of them.” He stopped and processed the list of chores before his mouth hung open in a mix of surprise and anger.

“Two of those?! Are you serious?! Helping me clean my room isn’t worth that much!” She stopped typing and looked him dead in the face, an annoyed and slightly disbelieving expression on her face.

“Evan, your room is filled with nasty clothes, rotting food that you hid in here that Mom and Dad don’t know about since we’re not allowed to have food in our rooms, old homework that you were too lazy to throw away, and probably some pee and poop because you refuse to let Winchester out when I’m incapable of doing it and he’s made that his spot now since he’s done it there before. Not to mention, it smells like something died in there. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Tweetums came back and crawled under your bed to die.”

“Mr. Tweetums flew away nearly five years ago,” he said defensively.

“And why should that make it impossible for him to be dead under your bed,” she asked in return. “He could’ve come back last week or two months ago. Canaries can live for up to 20 years. So, pick. Do you want to clean your room yourself, or do you want to pick some of those chores to do and let me help you? Although, another reason why it’s such a steep price is because usually, when I help you clean, really, I just end up doing all of the work. But, pick now. As soon as I’m done with this, I’m going to head to the library.” He sighed in defeat. He knew he would lose no matter what.

“Fine, I’ll clean my own room,” he grumbled as he started to walk away. “You and Mom are such slave drivers.”

“Oh, boo hoo," she mocked, having absolutely no sympathy for her brother's whining, "Mom wants you to not be a slob and be responsible for yourself. So sad that she puts so much work on a first string varsity linebacker for the Creekson Timberwolves,” she said, emphasizing his sports title. “It’s so tragic to have responsibility!”

He glared at her one last time and left, going straight to his room and slamming the door shut. Maddie sighed in relief and smiled as she posted a review for the final volume of Magic Blood. She knew it would probably get horrible reviews from the diehard fans, but at the moment she didn’t care. It felt better to type out that anger and post it. The comments bound to come didn’t even worry her. All she thought about was grabbing her bike and bag, heading to the library, tossing that volume into the donations and never looking at it again.

Greeting Maddie at the library when she walked in was an elder woman with brown hair slowly turning to white, olive skin, and bright blue eyes. She smiled at the woman as she went up to the counter, placing the volume on top.

“Morning Mrs. Thaece,” she said with a bright smile. Mrs. Thaece looked up from her work on the computer with a warm, motherly smile.

“Good morning Maddie,” she said as she moved away from the computer and moved over so she was standing in front of Maddie. “How are you today? You look a little upset.”

“Eh, got disappointed by an ending,” said Maddie with a shrug. “Happens too often, but I guess I should stop expecting everything to be wrapped up in a pretty little bow without being rushed. Regardless, I have a new donation for you.” She held out the volume with one hand, waiting for Mrs. Thaece to take it. “I finished the final volume of Magic Blood this morning.” Her eyes filled with excitement as she pulled up the thin, gold-framed glasses hanging from a matching gold chain on her neck, flipping through the pages to read it.

“Oh, this is wonderful! These popular mangas are always hard to get a hold of when they first come out since so many people want them! Not to mention they’re not fond of us buying them, says it’s a waste of government money.” Then, she started flipping through the pages, frowning as she went further. “This is very strange. Nothing in this seems right, nothing at all!”

“I know, right,” said Maddie, excited that someone else saw how bad it was. “I mean, it ended so badly! Too many clichés, and no real tension! It might as well have been a gag manga!” Mrs. Thaece shook her head.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Uh,” Maddie looked at Mrs. Thaece with her mouth hanging open slightly, dragging the sound out, “what do you mean by that Mrs. Thaece?” She looked as if she realized something and smiled at Maddie, shaking her head and waving her hand.

“Oh, it’s nothing." She closed the volume. "I just expected more out of this young man. Anyway, I’ll go process this. It should be on the shelf in the next few days.”

“Well,” said Maddie slowly before flashing fingerguns at Mrs. Thaece, “I’m gonna go to the manga section and check out the first one. It’s fun to go to the beginning and see how everyone started out.” She nodded, her eyes focused on the manga volume.

“Alright then. Don’t get lost,” she teased. Maddie walked off awkwardly while Mrs. Thaece went to the back to register the book.

Maddie settled her stuff down at a reading desk before heading towards the tall shelves, full of different mangas. They weren’t all complete series, and some had several chunks of volumes missing, but it was a familiar sight to her. The one series they did have the full version of was her formally favorite. Maddie brought her attention to the large section with the blood red spines that said, in golden letters, Magic Blood, with a character’s head at the top and the number of the volume at the bottom. She smiled at the fact that all 58 previous volumes of it were on the shelf, remembering the day she first saw that first volume on the shelf and decided to pick it up. She pulled off the first one and looked at it fondly, with Leo, Sialei, and Kozui together, traveling on a road as they search for a way to find their true freedom. She focused on the shelf again, looking back and forth until she saw the one with Damien’s face on it, Volume 36, where he was first revealed. She reach for that volume, but another guy who I didn’t see before and seems to have come out of nowhere reached for it and their hands touched before both hands were quickly pulled away.

“I’m sorry,” she said, not looking, “I’ve read it already, you can have it.” She didn’t try to look him in the eyes, but did look at the rest of him. He was tall, broad shouldered; muscular, with thick black hair and bright blue eyes. Maddie couldn’t help but feel like it was a little strange for him to be there during summertime. He had a kind, playful look as he swiped his hand in the air in an “it’s okay” kind of gesture.

“Naw, that’s okay,” he said, smiling at her. “I’ve actually read it already too. I just wanted to reread some of them since it ended. Volume 36 is actually my favorite.”

“Are you serious,” she asked in disbelief, leaning forward and staring right at his nose. Not that there was anything wrong with his nose, she just didn’t like eye contact. “That’s the volume where Damien reveals himself after having done such horrible stuff from behind the scenes! He’s a monstrous psychopath created by that nutcase Adrian!” He laughed a little.

“You seemed like you were trying really hard not to swear there. But, I do like Damien’s appearance. It adds so much to the story. I mean, any good story worth telling needs an opposing force, like a villain or an internal struggle. But, most of all, it needs a point, and Damien represents that point.” She raised an eyebrow.

“How on Earth could Damien represent that point,” she asked. “The point is that the C3 and anyone else with creature’s blood, or magical abilities at all, are condemned to death. Almost everyone who’s ever read it agrees that it’s supposed to represent hatred towards others just because they’re different.” He nodded.

“Well, yeah, but Damien represents the bad views everyone has. He has the blood of every magical creature, from fairy to phoenix. And, he’s also evil, which makes people’s fears even worse. But, he represents a part of a group that actually fit in with every stereotype about them. Like in our world, people assume that if you’re part of a certain group, then you have these traits just because that’s how you’re born. Sialei, Leo, and Kozui, who just want to get rid of that stigma placed on them, fight against him. He represents the reason why they have to hide their true selves, and the reason why they’re condemned to death if the government ever finds out their lineage.” Maddie opened her mouth to try and give him a rebuttal, but then couldn’t find anything to prove him wrong.

“Okay maybe you’re that Damien does that but it doesn’t mean Damien actually represents that,” she said. “Sometimes, a villainous character is a villainous character. Damien has a believable background for how he turned out the way he did but that doesn’t mean he serves to illustrate a point. Characters are just that, characters.” He nodded, pulling out Volume 36.

“Yeah, but sometimes, a character is there to prove a point too.”

“Maybe,” said Maddie with a shrug, “but I still think you’re reaching.” She grabbed Volume 1 and a few of the following volumes, sitting down at the reading table. After a moment she pulled her laptop out of her bag, checking the reviews on her post and groaning. It had been flooded by the die hards. The guy peered over my shoulder and he looked surprised.

“Wait, you’re Analysis-Review-Queen? That’s one of the most popular manga review blogs!” She rolled her eyes.

“Of course,” she said in a fake happy voice as she shut her laptop, “I only ever review manga. I absolutely never write reviews for things like written books, or TV shows. And obviously, those things totally aren’t a majority of what I post. Nope, I just write reviews for manga.” He just smiled and sat on the other side of the table.

“I know that you review more than just manga. That 50 Shades of Gray analysis and review was pretty powerful. You didn’t deserve the shit you got for being right.”

“You took the time to read the replies and the reblogs,” she asked a little suspiciously. He shrugged.

“Hey, sometimes, the stupidity of others is very entertaining. A majority of the world is full of stupidity, and they thrive only on the good will of those with common sense, who pity them too much. The truly intelligent, however, know that they’re hopeless, and have stopped trying.” That practically made her gag as she shut her laptop, standing up.

“Wow, you’re a bigoted asshole,” she said as she put her laptop in her bag, grabbing her books to check out. “Even if you’re right, “stupid” people can’t help the way they were born. Just as much as a trans girl can never be a boy, a “stupid” person can’t help being “stupid”. And even then, your measure of stupid doesn’t work against people who can’t function the same way you do. As Einstein so wisely put it, a fish will forever think it can’t do anything if you tell it to climb a tree and it can’t. Only monkeys can climb trees. So, basically, fuck off.” He laughed again, making Maddie glare at him.

“That was a quote from Damien, not long after he was revealed. Remember?”

“That’s not how it went,” she said harshly. “You must be going off a scanslation. What he said was “the world is full of idiots, and they only live because of those with common sense. However, their true purpose is to serve the intelligent, because they understand the hopelessness of their existence, and are the only ones who can give purpose to them” and that was said after Astarias made the mistake of triggering a death trap that killed an entire village. Although, it was set up perfectly, so that only Astarias could trigger it. He knew she thought she was stupid and would blame herself for that village’s death, and knew that the weakness would allow him to use his will destruction spell on her in order to have control over the person in the guild with the strongest amount of creature blood, and the greatest amount of brute strength. I’m done talking to you.” She went to leave, but he quickly got up and stood in her way.

“Aw, come on, you’re just gonna leave?” She glared at him, not afraid of the much taller male.

“Yes,” she asserted. “I am going to leave, and if you don’t let me, I’ll scream. I know every single person in this library, from Mr. Rodriguez, the newest librarian, to Mrs. Thaece, the head librarian. If you don’t let me leave, I will scream, and they will come running. If they can’t help me, they will call the police.” He held up his hands in mock surrender.

“Hey, I’m not gonna make you stay! I just want to know your name. My name’s Robert Damon.”

“Why would I give my name out to a guy I’ve just met who’s managed to piss me off repeatedly,” she asked with a mix of confusion and annoyance. He gave her a smiling, yet somehow pouting face.

“I’m not trying to,” he promised. “You seem like an interesting person, and I wanna get to know you better.”

“And how old are you?”

“I’m a senior in high school this year.” She tried to walk around him.

“Wow, same, we must be identical,” she said in a sarcastic tone. “Just perfect for each other am I right?” He stepped in front of her again.

“I’m not hitting on you. I’m trying to be friendly. Come on, just a name? I swear, I won’t even ask for your number! I just want to know what to call you.” She sighed in defeat. She knew he wasn’t going to lave her alone.

“Fine. My name is Maddie Sangster. And yes, Evan Sangster is my brother, so if you don’t want a linebacker beating you up, let me go.” He nodded.

“Alright, alright, but let me carry your books.” She glared at him once again.

“I don’t need you holding my books,” she yelled as she held her books closer. “Just leave me alone! That’s all I want!” She quickly went around him, going as fast as she could to the checkout counter, getting her books, and biking away as fast as she possibly could.

Maddie found herself stopped at a crosswalk with little to no traffic. She was ready to cross the street, but then she heard arguing, which was unusual for the middle of the day in a suburban neighborhood. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she looked around the corner of the crosswalk. Three teenagers, about her age, were arguing with each other. There were two guys and one girl arguing with each other in a foreign language, at least from Maddie could tell with her eyes. One of the guys, a dark skinned man wearing an orange wig with black tips, was yelling at the other guy, who wore a dark green wig. Then, there was a girl with extremely long violet hair in a braid. The first man weas dressed in a simple pair of beige pants and green shirt with a brown vest, while the other guy was wearing something that looked like Asian style attire. The girl was dressed in something like what a Navajo woman would wear, with a bag that went over her shoulder that matched the whole look.

At first glance, they looked like cosplayers. Really good cosplayers. Maddie found herself moving to get a little closer to them. Something about them looked, felt, familiar, and yet Maddie couldn’t place her finger on just how they felt that way. She never noticed how strangely quiet it was, or how empty the streets were as the boy with orange hair looked at her, first in surprise, then with a look of determination. He nudged the other two and pointed at her. They, in turn, all looked surprised, and came towards Maddie. The orange haired guy spoke first, but she couldn’t understand a word he said.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, a little weirded out by the group, “but I don’t speak whatever it is you’re speaking. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get home.” He growled at her. It didn’t sound like an imitation, but like that of an actual animal. The girl stepped forward, speaking as well as she placed a hand on the man’s chest, most likely to keep him calm. “I don’t speak your language, I’m sorry, please let me leave.” She smiled and touched my forehead, closing her eyes. “Hey, what the hell are you doing?!” She started glowing with a golden light. She then opened her eyes, which were also glowing with the same golden light.

"Sharasi canio mila naya sey."

“What the hell did you just do?! Was that magic?!” She then looked panicked and afraid, her eyes darting around as she took a defensive position.

“Is magic illegal here too? I thought that it was safe to use magic here!” As soon as she said that, Leo and Kozui took defensive positions.

“Sialei Natani. Leo King. Kozui Serpentine.” Sialei looked at Maddie in surprise mixed with concern and a small hint of fear.

“I never said our last names.” Maddie shook her head.

“You didn’t have to. You’re the C3 from Magic Blood.”