***NEED WORK

Grisavaille...

The name echoed in my head as I flipped the silver mission card in between my fingers.
It has been hours since I had left Ava's dwelling quarters with the new assignment. The night sky had already cascaded down across all of Galiasis; the city of Stranaglastre now glowing warmly under the light of the bright street lanterns.

I was sitting alone by the window in my own quarters looking down at the scenery, thinking of nothing in particular.
Well, I guess that would be a lie. Because there was one thing that was on my mind repeating itself over and over again.

Grisavaille.
An old city occupied by 75,262 human civilians. Historical society structures and a small community. And one of the cities mostly targeted by Dark predators.
The one city that made me who I am in the Four Gates Union.

The silver card continued to turn in my hand, catching the cool moonlight as it lightly flickered through my fingers. The Grisavaille Scandal, the event that took place almost 15 years back, replayed over and over again in my taunting mind.

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

When I woke up from my restless sleep, morning light had already filled the space of my room. I got up and dressed into my regular uniform, and headed out. We had all agreed to meet down at Thya's Unit for a final briefing, before setting out to our individual missions.
"Lower Levels: Advanced Technological Research Unit." I commanded into the teleportation crystal.

My thoughts still bothered me as the whiteness took over my senses. I felt myself land on my feet on the cool marble floor. I waited patiently for my senses to return. My hearing came back first, and then my vision slowly returned to its regular shades and colors. I found myself in the same enormous hall we walked yesterday. I started to walk down towards the hidden door, my footsteps echoing and bouncing back to me.
The wall hiding the entrance had come into my view, when I saw a figure leaning against the opposite wall. Ava stood with her back against the wall and her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking relaxed and casual. I noticed that she wasn't wearing the sling on her arm anymore. She looked up and smiled slightly as I approached. I grinned back. She looked so much better; almost back to her normal self.
"Hey," she called to me softly.
"Hey," I said back. "How are you feeling?"

Ava lifted her right arm up, curled her fingers into a fist and opened her hand experimentally.
"Much better; I could fly," she admitted.
She looked down the hall to where I had just come from.
"Zavius and Sarvwen went to go get Darvien and Zeik. They should be back anytime now," she said.
"Wait, Zeik is coming too? Why?" I asked her.
Ava sighed, looking a bit exasperated.
"He got himself involved, didn't he? And he said he 'really wanted to help out.' Though, all he would be able to do to help is stay with Zavius and the monitors." she said.

Hmm...Well, I guess he can't do any harm.

Gusts of air pushed on my back gently with a soft swoosh. I turned and saw Zavius and Zeik, both bent over and heaving. Zavius abruptly stood up straight and looked around squinting. Then, slowly, a childish grin cracked on his face.
"YES!! WE WON!!" he yelled, punching the air in triumph.
Zeik looked up from the ground, his eyes wide.
"We did?" he said, confused.
Then he gasped.
"Deus, I'M BLIND!!" he yelled, falling back on the ground.
Zavius turned around and started to laugh, pointing at Zeik.
"Relax; it'll go away!!" he gasped out.

I just stared at the two idiots in front of me, not knowing what to think.
"What the---" I turned to look at Ava, for some sort of explanation.
She was still propped against the wall with her arms crossed. Her brows were scrunched together and her mouth was small, almost pouting. She looked like she had a huge headache.
Apparently, she didn't know and didn't want to either. There was another swoosh, and a lot more yelling as Sarvwen and Darvien arrived on the scene.
"Cheaters! Cheaters!" they yelled in unison. "That was unfair!"
Zavius laughed, forgetting about Zeik rolling around on the ground.
"It was perfectly fair; we only did what was needed to win." he protested.

There was a whole lot of yelling and laughing that seemed to have taken all the air space, Ava and I obviously forgotten.
"Wow...I'm friends with total idiots." I muttered.
“Just the way we like them.” Ava added dryly, before going over for assistance.

I watched as Ava went over and kneeled in front of Zeik's squirming form. She waved a hand in front of his eyes as she murmured something. Zeik sat up and blinked, startled at Ava's closeness. He started to blush.
Awww...how cute.
Ava said something to Zeik and he nodded. She patted his shoulder and stood up. She turned to the hidden door, and saw that the hologram had already been dispelled. A thin line sliced down the smooth steel surface. There was a loud clang as the locks and bolts slid out, echoing deeply before the steel doors split apart.

And behind the three doors stood Thya, leaning her shoulder casually into the inner gateway.
"Morning, ladies and freaks." she said.

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

"Sarvwen, Darvien, all I need for you to do is to confirm the status of the environment and check the existing society. Though this isn't a hunt, be on guard." Ava commanded authoritatively, standing in front of a 3-D holographic map of Sylersland.

We were in the departure sector of the Unit, reviewing the assignments. Mine was relatively a simple command; track the target, hunt it down and erase all evidence of its existence. High-rank, but clear-cut.
Ava turned to Sarvwen.
"The monitoring team will be supervising your status and Energy level every step through your mission. It's like any other mission, so don't treat it lightly." she said. Sarvwen nodded.
"Then I should probably go get my Keeper wired up to the system." he said, turning away.
Ava looked up, a sudden realization coming across her face.
"A Keeper...right." she said.
She took a step back away from Sarvwen and Darvien.
"I'll be right back," she said and flashed out of sight.

Sarvwen looked down at his mission card, looking through the provided information.
"Sweet; a High-level." he said in a satisfied tone.
I sighed heavily, unsure of how to feel about my assignment. Sarvwen noticed my dark mood and came over.
"Mivi? What's wrong?" he asked.

I didn't answer. With another sigh, I handed him my silver mission card. Sarvwen gave me a quizzical look.
"Your mission? What's wrong with it? You love---" he broke off as he looked through the info.
"Oh." he finished.
He looked back at me with worried eyes.
"Are you sure about going through with this?" he asked.

I stood up from where I was sitting and plucked the card from his hand.
"It has been almost fifteen years, Sarvwen. I gotta face it some time." I said exasperatedly.

Sarvwen didn't say anything and lowered his gaze. Darvien came over, looking curious.
"I know this is personal and a sensitive topic, but is your mission located in Grisavaille?" he asked cautiously. "If it is, why does it---"
I bristled a bit and Sarvwen gave him a wary look.
"Um...I think that's a bit..."

"Sarvwen," I spoke out, cutting him off. "Um...If he wants to know, it's fine. I'll tell him."
I sat back down again and motioned Darvien to do the same. He, too, looked surprised, but hesitantly approached and sat down next to me.
"So...what do you want to know?" I asked, trying to lighten up the mood.

I watched as Darvien thought hard, trying to choose the right words. Finally, he turned to me with a determined look.
"What happened in Grisavaille? What was the whole scandal about?" he asked, straight forward.

I forced a smile, trying to hide my discomfort. He must have read it as a grimace, because he went on hastily.
"I mean, don't answer if it's not something you really want to address, or anything---"
I held a hand up, motioning him to stop. His words halted abruptly, looking at me tensely. I took a deep breath, and turned to him face him.
"No, you're right. It is a bit uncomfortable to talk about, even after almost fifteen years. But it's okay. What's done is done." I murmured.
I closed my eyes, the memories flooding back like the night before.
"It's funny how humans can grow and heal over a short period of time, even if it was the deepest emotional and mental scar. While we Immortals are blessed with such great memory...I mean, I remember everything that happened when I first arrived to Galiasis. How many centuries ago was that?" I laughed humorlessly.
I gave up trying to lightening the mood and sighed.
"Just imagine how vivid my memory of that one night is, just 15 years back? What is that to a century?" I said sadly.
It was silent for a while, as I tried to organize my thoughts.
"That night..." I started.

The words started to flow, weaving the memory by itself. I was swallowed up into my memories as the word came to life, reliving that night...

It was a regular night, like any other night in the middle of winter.
The assignment was simple; only intended to be a regular low-class patrol. I was walking in one of the main streets in Grisavaille, Erasing all traces of my targets. I was on my last section of the town when I heard a scream ring out from somewhere out in the woods. I went straight in the direction from where I heard the scream, thinking it was an attack. I ended up at an old farm house, isolated from the rest of the town. From that point on, everything went downhill...

I paused, a bit overwhelmed by the memory already. Darvien was still, waiting for me to continue.
"'Downhill?' What happened?" he asked.
I glanced at him warily before answering.
"My first offense," I said.
"I engaged into physical contact with the humans."

I approached the house and looked through the window, looking for anything suspicious. I saw nothing, so I decided to investigate further.
When I was searching around the perimeter, I heard someone cry out again. That time I took it as a call for help and invited myself in, of course, against my higher officer's orders. The moment I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong. The air hung over me with a heavy, crazed static. At this point, I was still thinking that it was a Bloodkin attack, and one of my targets had managed to escape and break in here. I drew my weapon and held it ready as I weaved through the dark halls.
Then I came to a partly open door, the frame and the lock shattered into splinters. Cautiously, I opened the door... And there, in the middle of the floor, was a woman, lying face down in a puddle of her own blood. I rushed forward, sure that she was dead.

But the blood was still warm.
Right as I went to turn her over, she screamed, and her hand took hold of my wrist. She saw me and her glazed eyes went wide.
"A Guardian," she whimpered.

The poor woman was so close to death that she was able to see me. And she was fairly young; in her mid 20's at the most and very pretty. But her grip was tight, as if she was refusing to give up.
"My little angel!!" she was sobbing, shaking was she bled.
"Hush! Calm yourself; your soul is still pure. Your pain doesn't last forever." I reassured her. "I shall grant you a Final Wish before I declare you to your Final Peace."
But she shook her head and cried harder.
"No!! He's gone mad!! He won't stop!!" she cried hysterically. "Save him, save him!"

Her grip grew tighter around my wrist as drew me closer.
"Save my boy from him," she whispered.
"Who?" I asked her, my Voice coming out in its soothing Angel's Lullaby.

She calmed down under the affects of the hypnotic tone and answered.
"My one and only love; my angel's father," she gasped out. “Save my son.”

That was when it hit me--- this woman wasn't attacked by a demon or a Bloodkin of any type. I had now interfered with human affairs, one of the greatest breaches in the Slayer Laws I can commit.
I knew this but I nodded, and took hold of her hand soothingly.
"Your Final Wish?" I asked her.
The woman let out a shaky breath, her body shaking.
"Be sure my little angel...finds his happiness..." she murmured weakly.

I promised her just that before she drew in her last breath.

I mused thinking about what I was commanded at that moment.
"'Leave it be,' he said" I said, a bit disgusted at my mission captain's orders.
"'Humans have their own justice force. We must not throw off the balance,'" I scoffed, the same anger I felt that night returning to me in a rush.
"Then where were they? Why weren't they there?" I asked out loud to myself.

I shook my head, getting back to my story.
"Anyway, a promise was a promise; I went against my captain's order for the second time that night and went to go look for the woman's son." I said, returning to my story.
"I traced a trail that led from the house and into the forest behind the house. There was two, one bigger, and one smaller." I paused, and looked back at Darvien.
His expression was tense with focus.
"Darvien, before I go on, I have to ask: do you know what I have done that had gotten me into so much trouble?" I asked, just out of curiosity.

Darvien looked surprised, and Sarvwen averted his eyes to the ground.
"Wasn't it because you got involved..." he started.
I shook my head.
"That was only my first offense," I reminded him. "What I did after that makes the first breach seem minor as stealing a cookie from a baby,"

Darvien looked at me, mixed expression reflecting in his eyes.
"There's more?" he asked in a shocked tone.

This time I grimaced, hesitating. I couldn't look at him as revealed the truth.
"Actually, there are two more direct offenses I committed that should have gotten me the death sentence."

I continued, determined to keep my eyes on the floor in front of me.
"So, the trail.” I said. "It wasn’t long before I reached a small clearing in the forest a clearing.”
I shuddered involuntarily, my fingers curling into a tight fist.
"And I came to the end of my trail. There was the boy, broken and bleeding on the ground, crying silently. And right before him stood a crazed looking man, with a bloody knife in his hand. He looked like a lunatic; drenched in blood, his eyes had that wild look to it. I was standing right behind him when he raised the knife over his own son's body..." I stopped, gritting my teeth as the dark images floated to the surface of my mind.

I didn't want to go on; that should've been enough.
But the story was still incomplete. The two offenses I have committed that night was what haunts me to this very day, something I wished I could redo. That was what the whole scandal was about.

"What were the other two offenses that you were charged with?" Darvien asked, his voice hushed.

I didn't answer for a while and I couldn't bring myself to lift my gaze off the ground. I shifted uncomfortably, becoming aware of Darvien waiting patiently for my answer.
"I acted on instinct, not really thinking it through. I didn't have time to think; the poor kid was already half-dead. And I did promise..." I babbled and trailed off, running out of excuses.

I took a deep breath and held it, trying to calm myself down.
"I killed the human father in order to save the boy and keep the promise,"