***NEED WORK

"Vardavit! D'hardehrat!" Ava swore angrily as she watched Zeik fall.

Why couldn't people stay calm and listen?

Ava grasped the tsuka of her katana and slipped the thin blade an inch out of its saya. Then she disappeared into thin air, not making a sound.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Darvien’s POV

Holy shit. What just happened?

One moment, I was just readying a parry against Zavius’s coming attack, when I heard someone yell out my name from somewhere above my head. I turned to look and saw Zeik, freefalling from 50 yards up, his face hard in an angry expression. Then I vaguely remember a nagging presence, and something swinging from behind. At the same time, I saw a dark light coming right at me at great speed from the corner of my eye. Everything from that point on happened almost all at once; instantaneously. I didn't even have time to react. There was the sharp whistling sound of something cutting through the air, and a black blur coming close to me.

"Contego!!"
"Kai!!" three layered Voices yelled.

That was the last thing I remembered before I was kicked aside before the explosion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mivian’s POV

I was on my feet and charging before I realized it. I knew the moment that blue-haired kid stepped forward, something bad was going to happen. But I didn't expect him to attack Darvien; and to do so in such an open manner!! And now, I just acted upon instinct. I did the first thing that came to my mind.
I flashed forward, slipping in front of Darvien, blocking him from Zavius's wild blow. I pointed my dagger at the coming attack, my Energy roaring to life.
"Contego!" I bellowed, my Voice syncing with a different set of layered tones.

I knew immediately who it was.
Sarvwen? Where did he come from?!

I didn't have time to look back at him.
"Kai!!" commanded another Voice, coming from somewhere behind me.

I heard a blade whip through the air, and a gruff ‘oomph’ from Darvien. Then there was a loud sound of something crash into the ground with a great explosion, right as Zavius's Energy attack crashed against our Shield Wards.
The force of it all was overpowering.
I felt shock from the force shoot up my arms in painful spikes. I gritted my teeth against the pressure and focused harder.

Soon the clashing Energy died down, easing the pressure and shock from my limbs. But I didn't dare to move. I couldn't see what was in front of me; the air was thick with smoke and dust. Only when I felt Sarvwen shift next to me did I relax my muscles. I turned around to check if Darvien was alright.

"Darvien?" I called out, hoping he didn't get thrown around too much.
"I'm down here." coughed Darvien, who was on the ground a several good feet away from where he originally was standing.
I helped him get up and brush off the dust.
"Try not to breathe in too much dust; it should clear up soon enough." I said.
He nodded.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I was hoping you could tell me," I said, puzzled.

How was he fine and without much harm? I didn't see anyone block the Blue head's attack.
Which reminds me: whoever the hell he was, he just made my 'People I want to Kill' list, right next to Varsalo and right above that dumb blonde I had to deal with.

There was shouting and yelling from the approaching crowd, coming towards us.
"Keep them away, Sarvwen." I said, turning to him.
"Already taken care of. I put up a Shielding Ward around the average battle range while the two of them were fighting." he said. "They won't be able to come much closer."

Then, as if right on queue, a tall figure came bursting through the settling dust, kicking it all back into the air again.
"Darvien!" he yelled, spinning around frantically.
He looked around wildly as if he was lost in the dark. Sarvwen, Darvien and I just stared. Deus, he looked like a madman with his hair standing up like that, and covered in dust.

The kid finally stopped and looked straight forward, which was at Sarvwen.
"Who the hell are you?" the kid demanded.

Sarvwen raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to the side in confusion.
"Huh?" he said stupidly.
"HUH?" the kid echoed back.
The two gaped at each other for another half minute.
"How the hell did you get through my Wards?" Sarvwen demanded.
Darvien spoke up.
"He, uh, fell in, actually. From up on the platform." he said.
The Lost Boy turned at Darvien's voice.
"What the hell? You're alive?" he demanded. "Where's Kaine?"

Kaine? That must be our little blue-headed terror. Coming back to this again, where was he? Sarvwen must have been thinking the same thing, because he wheeled around, his eyes prying and sharp. Then, he focused on one point in the thinning smoke.
"There. Few feet back." he said.

We all turned to the direction to where he was pointing to. At first I couldn't see anything. Then slowly, a big twisted shadow started to emerge, coming slowly into view in the clearing air. I saw a head covered with ridiculous blond streak-on-blue hair, slightly hunched forward.
He didn't move.
"Defaeco," muttered Sarvwen, swiping an arm in the air in front of him.

Instantly, the air cleared of smoke. That's when I saw Ava, perfectly balanced sideways in a catlike crouch---on top of Kaine's broadsword. Her left arm was crossed under her right with the katana in her left hand, the thin blade hovering threateningly at Kaine's throat. Her left heel had shoved the blade deep into the floor while her right knee was positioned over the sword's cross guards, pinning Kaine's hand to it. She had successfully trapped the blade and pinned Kaine to the spot, all in one move.

Ava glared darkly over her right shoulder and right into his face.
"Move an inch, I dare you." she said icily.

"Ava," I breathed, and trotted over to help her.
As I drew near, I saw her head nodded forward, her whole frame shaking a little as she heaved for breath.
I slowed down to a walk.
There was something wrong with her, I could tell. But I couldn't think of what it was. It was all morning, she was acting...too calm. Tired almost. And Zavius suspected something was up too...

A deep growl sounded from Kaine's throat.
"You bitch," he snarled at Ava. "Get off of me, now."

Ava didn't respond; her head was still bowed forward towards the ground as she tried to catch her breath. Kaine tried to free his hand, but again, Ava didn't budge. His expression darkened with anger.
"I said move!" he roared in outrage.
He pulled his left fist back and swung down.

A hand from behind caught his fist an inch away from Ava's face. Kaine looked up, half annoyed, half surprised.

Zavius clicked his tongue in annoyance, his eyes practically glowing emerald green.
"I don't think so," he said smoothly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Zavius's eyes were cold, stabbing as he glared at Kaine.
"Move, Ava." he said coldly.
Slowly, Ava lowered her katana and slid off of her perfect balance on Kaine's sword. She flipped the katana around in her hand and slid it back into the saya at her left waist. She then walked over to where Sarvwen and I stood, leaving Kaine to Zavius.

Zavius turned his attention back to Kaine. He dropped his fist dismissively.
"I'll give you ten seconds to disappear." he said coldly.
Kaine smirked back darkly.
"You should teach your girlfriend not to mess with things she can't handle." he said in a smug tone.

He went to go pull his sword from the ground when Zavius's hand shot forward and took hold of his wrist again. With one movement, he whipped Kaine around and pulled his arm up behind him. Kaine grunted in pain as Zavius grabbed the back of his neck and shoved his face towards the ground.
"There are very few things she can't handle. And I'm most definitely sure that she can just about hand you your ass with one finger." he said in a half amused, half annoyed tone.

Ava rolled her eyes carelessly at the display. I, on the other hand, was getting boiled.
Who the hell did he think he was?!
I looked Kaine over, who was under the restraint of Zavius's hold. He wasn't much to look at, with his blonde bangs standing out against the rest of his light neon blue hair. How pathetic. Did he honestly think that he was good enough to beat an Aequitas like Zavius and Ava? Okay, he was taller than both Ava and I, but then again, what kind of average girl was about six to seven feet tall?
I noticed that Darvien and the Madman had come over to us, eyeing Kaine with dark eyes. Kaine scoffed at Zavius's comment.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'll get my ass beat by some chic." he said nodding towards Ava and I.

Zavius scowled. He shoved Kaine's head lower to the ground.
"I believe you owe my friends an apology." he said darkly.
Kaine pretended to think about it.
"Hmm...that's what you believe. What I believe is that I'm not going to be afraid of some weak chic, just because she's a higher rank." he said. “Besides, what can you guys do against me? Attacking an equal comrade is against the Laws.”

That's it. That was the last straw. I growled, stepping forward.

"Okay, smartass, I don't give a damn who the hell you think you are, but I'm gonna---"
"No, Mivian; that's fine." Zavius said, completely expressionless. “He’s right.”
He let go of Kaine's neck and arm. Kaine straightened, triumphant.
"See, you are all cowards. I knew you---"
I felt a breeze against my back as I felt something fly past me. I looked up to see Darvien and his apparent sidekicks, Madman reappear in front of Kaine.
"Eat it!" they both shouted in sync, ramming their fists into Kaine's gut.
He doubled over, before landing in a tangled mess. Darvien turned to Zavius with an incredulous look.
"What?! His voice was starting to piss me off," he said defensively.

Zavius looked like he was fighting to keep a grin off his face.
"Yeah, I know."
The Madman looked down at Kaine with a disgusted expression.
"Aren't we supposed to get in trouble for that?" he asked.
Zavius shrugged.
"Eh, what happened, happened. No blood, no foul." he said.
He patted at his waist, blinking when he didn't find his pockets. He frowned slightly and turned to me.
"Hmm...Mivi? Where's my jacket?"

Oh shit. I forgot. I think I just threw it aside before setting off into a run. It could be anywhere. With my luck, one of his fan girls could have gotten hold of it and...
Sarvwen threw a black bundled shape at Zavius.
"Here; I thought you might want this back." he said.

Ah, once again, Sarvwen proved himself to be amazing…

Zavius shoved his arms into the sleeves of his uniform trench and crisply tugged at the collar. He left the front open as usual before returning his attention to Kaine.
"What should we do with this?" he said nodding towards the tangled form of Kaine.

Kaine twisted and kicked, trying to free himself from the Body Bind.
"You know, this is against the regulations. I can take a suspension order against all of you." he snarled, his face pressed against the floor.
Ava approached Kaine as he squirmed around. She kneeled down to the ground and lightly pushed on his shoulder, flipping him to face up to face her.
"You wouldn't want to do that," she said calmly.

Kaine laughed, scoffing at Ava.
"And why not? Are you afraid to have your uniform and title taken away? Anything to protect your pride? Well, here’s a deal---"
Ava’s katana stabbed into the ground, barely an inch from Kaine's cheek. I didn't even see her pulling it out of its sheath. Kaine's expression froze, his eyes turning to eye the sharp blade nervously.
"Now, as I was saying, you wouldn't want to bring out this order of yours, for it will only bring you humiliation." Ava said.

Kaine let out a short, forced laugh and rolled his eyes.
"Humiliation, huh? How is being wrongly assaulted by a group of High-Ranked Slayers going to humiliate me?" he said triumphantly, as if he had caught her at the point.
Ava expression was steely as she kept a firm grip on her katana tsuka.
"Your absurd and reckless actions got you to where you find yourself now, nothing and no one else. Do you realize you could have killed one of your comrades? An equal in strength, flesh and blood?"

Kaine scoffed.
"An equal? Me to him?"
He turned his head and glared at Darvien who stood a few feet behind Ava.
"Don't put me with that as an equal."
"True. How could you possibly be an equal to him when you have lost every sparring you had against him?" Ava said smartly.
Kaine turned back to her with a renewed anger.
"Are you saying he's above me?" he snarled challengingly.
Ava returned it with dark eyes.
"Did I stutter? You can't even beat him once in the set of challenges you have requested yourself."

There was a deadly tense pause. She leaned in closer, her face an inch from his.
"Pathetic." she said, clearly and abruptly.
A look of shock flitted across Kaine's face, before anger replaced it. She released him carelessly and stood up, pulling her katana out of the ground swiftly. She turned to walk away without another look at him.
"Solvo," she murmured dismissively, releasing the Ward from his body.

She took a couple of steps away back towards us, her face expressionless.
"Hey," a voice called.

I looked back as Ava turned back around, though she wasn't given enough time to turn all the way.
I saw Kaine snap up from the ground, grab his sword and swing at Ava's retreating back.
"Ava!!" I gasped.

I took a step towards her to beat the lights out of this kid---
Ava's body twisted in a blur and at what almost looked like the same moment, Kaine was flying back, his arms flailing. He hit the ground hard and tumbled before he came to a complete stop.
"What the---" he gasped, before passing out.

Ava clenched and unclenched her left hand before shoving it in her trench coat pocket.
"Take him away," she said dismissively, as if eveything was okay.

But she wasn't okay.
There was something about her that tugged at the edge of my mind.
It wasn't right...

Ava said nothing nothing else, turning away and back to us. That's when I truly got a good look past Ava's expressionless mask. From an outside point of view, she would have looked normal, still her normal self. But I knew her better than that. Her expression was blank on the surface, but I saw through it and deeper into what the surface didn't reveal. Ava seemed worn and fatigued. Her eyes seemed dimmer, casting her eyes under a dark cloud. Her usual sharp and confident composure was non-existent; she looked like she would be blown away at the lightest breeze.

Worried, I trotted over to where she was. She turned to me with her blank expression before giving me a small nod. Ava looked over my shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"That's right...I see you met Zeik," she said in a slightly amused tone.

I wheeled around and saw Darvien sitting on the ground beside another figure that was sprawled on the ground.
Oh, so the Madman has a name. How did Ava know him?
Then, I remembered that Darvien has yet to meet the Union's first prodigy.
"Oh yeah, uh, hey Zeik… Ava, you haven't met Darvien yet, have you?" I asked, pulling my mind away from my spinning thoughts.
Ava's eyes flickered to Darvien.
"No, this would be the first. Although I was hoping for a less dramatic first meeting." she said. "I should go talk to him---"

"Ava, wait."

We both turned at Zavius's abrupt call.
Ava looked back wearily at him, looking ready to collapse.
"What's the matter?" Ava asked.
Zavius lightly jogged over to us, his face clouded. Then, he smiled widely.
"I really need to blow off steam after that episode. Can you be my sparring partner?" he asked.

Though that statement was a question, the tone he used in his voice seemed to have left no other choice. I glanced to the side to look at Ava's reaction. Ava's eyes were hard, her lips set in a slight scowl.
So she had caught that tone too.
But she knew the reason behind it all.

Ava reached up and massaged her neck with her left hand, sighing.
"You know, I don't think I have time. I have to prep for the other missions Ravador just assigned me." she said, without a trace of emotion in her voice.

I saw Zavius's eyes narrow a bit and flicker as his irises swirled in undecided color.
Ava went on.
"Why don't you ask Sar---" she stopped and shoved me out of the way before dropping down to the ground, just as Zavius's dagger flew through the air.

I hit the ground roughly, shocked.
Did Zavius just attack Ava? I looked around to see Sarvwen looking alarmed, but not surprised. It was as if he was expecting this to happen sooner or later. Darvien and Zeik, on the other hand, looked totally bewildered.
I watched as Ava got up slowly, her back facing towards Zavius. She glared over her shoulder and back at her friend.

Zavius didn’t seem to care.
"Shadow," he murmured, summoning his Shadow Viper back.

The dagger dissolved from the ground it had stabbed and reformed in Zavius's hand. He looked down at it curiously before looking back at Ava, a strange smile on his face.

"Think fast," he said, and disappeared without a sound.