***NEED WORK

Mivian's POV

What happened to me? Where am I? ... Wait, am I dead... again?!

Questions after questions reeled inside of my head in an incoherent cloud as I tried to make sense of what was going on. 'Confused' was just not covering what I was feeling right at the moment. I just sat there, taking up space in--- where ever the hell I was. I felt groggy, stiff, and numb.

And that pretty much was enough for my frazzled mind to come to a conclusion.

Oh shit, I really did die for the second time!! Am I in hell? And I'm NUMB!

That panicked thought really did the job of shooting me out of that drugged feeling. Good; it was starting to feel like it was suffocating me.

I was only starting to feel better, when I started to fall.
I just dropped from the suspended position I was in, and I was free-falling. That heavy lump formed in my stomach as I dropped through nothing, going deeper and deeper...

Then my back came in full contact with something solid, but soft enough to give way and support my weight. I stiffened and kept my eyes shut, not daring to move.
NOW where the hell am I? I thought as I felt the air around me change into something more livelily.

Hmm... livelily...
I probably would have taken this as a good thing--- if only the numbness had stayed put.
Because within seconds, I was wishing I was dead.

I woke up in blistering pain, with a head-splitting headache.
Slowly, I cracked my eyes open.
And oh, how much I regretted THAT smart move.
The light practically burned my eyes the moment of exposure. Frantically, and I can imagine, quite pathetically, I flailed my arms to shield my face.
Not good--- this was not good.

Things couldn't get much worse...my ass.

I would have most likely eventually recovered just fine if I didn't hear a voice I wasn't exactly welcoming at the time, snort and let out a snigger that sounded more like a dying animal.
An annoying dying animal, and if only it really was dying...

"HEY! AVA, IT'S ALIVE!" Zavius hollered right behind my head.
He sounded very pleased with himself, and that knowledge did little to make things better.
Dammit, that bastard probably knew I was in severe pain; he must have seen me flapping around like a lunatic.

With a pathetic roar, I blindly swung my leg around in the general direction of where I thought that idiot was standing--- and my foot connected with something very solid and hard.

And it sure wasn't Zavius's head, or anything else I had hoped to have hit.

Screaming and yowling in pain, I curled back into a ball, hugging my pulsing leg to my chest. I remembered I had done something very similar in Elder's Hall sometime recently with that geezer Ravador's desk. I looked over through tearing eyes to see that the only thing I had hit was the bedside table, without doing much damage.

Now my head and my foot was throbbing painfully; Zavius seemed to have found this amusing and was choking with laughter.
I, on the other hand, failed to see the comedy in the whole shameful display.
"Vardavit, just vardavit!" I swore more to myself.

Zavius howled wildly with laughter. I ignored him by focusing on rubbing the pain out of my foot.
"Welcome back to Galiasis, Miv! And you thought you died..." I heard him snigger.

That certainly got my attention.
"WHAT?!"

That set him off into another fit of laughter.
"'Oh shit, I really did die this time,' Miv, may I say you lack imagination?" he wheezed out, the words rushing out in between gasping laughs.
He had echoed my words, word for word.

Oh yea, I forgot. He could read minds, that annoying, son-of-a-bitch.
"Ava! Get him away!" I yelled, swatting my hands behind me dismissively at, I think, Zavius.

"Zavius, enough," came an exasperated sigh from somewhere behind Zavius.
I glanced past the big dolt and saw Ava walking into the room. She gave me a small smile and approached the bed I was rolling around on.
"How do you feel?" she asked softly, perching delicately on the edge of the bed.
I groaned miserably and sat up.
"I wanna die," I responded flatly.
A look of warm relief seeped into Ava's small smile.
"You'll live," she said, getting up and starting towards the window.

She grabbed hold of the thick curtain and pulled it aside. Light poured into the room, brightening the room instantly. My eyes prickled slightly but recovered fast.

One glance around and I immediately recognized my surroundings--- I was in my own dwelling quarters in the Paramount Towers, in my own bed. The sight was welcoming; the bright, spacious and slightly messy room brought me the comfort of security.

As I looked around, something about the details nagged me.
Subconsciously I took another searching glance around. Everything looked in place, nothing changed. No, the surroundings was fine; it had nothing to do with the actual room.
I glanced at Zavius. He was scowling slightly, his brows scrunched in a thoughtful expression.
He must have noticed something too.
He was staring forward, studying whatever it was that he was looking at. I followed his stare and was surprised when my own eyes landed on Ava.
Ava hadn't moved away from where she was leaning against the wall beside the window, calmly gazing out. I studied her, trying to pick out anything out f the ordinary.
She was not wearing her uniform trench coat and instead was wearing a black training gear that fit her upper body tightly. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, her long bangs hanging loosely around her face. Her dark eyes were piercing but gentle at the same time as she continued to gaze outside. The bright stream of sunlight touched her skin, making her seem like she was glowing.
But there was something about her that was off. In her sharp unique features there was something that clouded her beauty. It was bothering me more than just a little bit. She seemed a little bit sickly, something that was impossible; we Immortals couldn't get sick.

Silence had fallen thickly over out heads, weighing heavily on my shoulder. It was awkward, and I had to speak out.
"Um... so, what happened to me?" I asked.

Ava turned away from the window and looked at me. Her eyes were still studying me as if she was waiting for me to collapse back into unconsciousness.
"Side-affects, really. You regained most of your Energy at an alarming rate and was fully revived, but your body couldn't keep up with the sudden change." she explained. "It's like getting an extreme Rush, and then crashing."
I just nodded, understanding.
"You weren't the only one suffering side-affects, though." Ava went on. "Valton, on the other hand, was in worse conditions."
"Worse? How so?" Zavius asked, stealing the question right out of my mouth.
Ava lifted herself off of the wall and took a few steps back towards the bed.
"He was showing many signs of anxiety caused by the strain of holding the trance he had on Mivian. Extreme temper, mood swings, weak points, and so on." she said naming a few. "On top of all that, Mivian's Energy he absorbed was not compatible with his body; it was practically eating him alive."

Again I just nodded, remembering without trouble his violent mood and power swings. I brought my knees to my chest, resting my chin on them. Ava had analyzed the whole situation completely and thoroughly... as usual. As expected from the genius.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Zavius shifting his weight forward on the chair he was sitting in. Something was definitely bothering him.
Ava folded her left arm across her abdomen, tucking her hand under her right forarm.
"But his enormous ego has nothing to do with any of the side-affects. He was just an inexperienced, overly confident and arrogant pain..."

She broke off, her attention back on the window. She turned, striding over and swiped her left hand over the crystal panel. The window slid away, letting in a cool breeze. Along with the breeze came a small, silvery orb, flowing lightly into the room.
It landed softly in Ava's open palm where it pulsed vibrant light. The vibes hummed dimly before she closed her fingers around it.
"Mandatory order of Summons from the Counsel..." she murmured, deciphering the code quickly. The orb dissolved into light dust, revealing three silver mission cards.
"For all three of us," she said.
"All three of us?" Zavius echoed.

It was rare; three of us to be Summoned all at ones. I was a regular for troubles I was involved in, but this was a wholly different issue.
Ava flicked two of the three cards our way and we both snatched one each out of the air. I flipped mine over in my hand. And surprise, surprise, my name was there in neat runes right above the specific orders issued. Nothing about me being in trouble, angry commands to immediately report the Elder's Hall, or threats of being deranked.
Oh, that reminds me...

"An Aequitas Summoning orders... hmm, unusual, isn't it?" Zavius mused.

Ava was studying her card with a slight frown. I looked down at my own card a bit sheepishly.
Mine, of course, didn't have that order. Well, I can't, not with the deranked status, anyway. I completely 'forgot' about telling them...

"But in any case, a Summon is a Summon. We'll all have to go." Ava said with a sigh, stepping away from the window and heading towards the door.
Zavius got up and grabbed his trench coat from the back of his chair. He whipped it over his back and shoved his arms into his sleeves. I slid off of my bed and stood there awkwardly. Ava was already at the door of my bedroom when Zavius noticed me not following. He raised an eyebrow questioningly, looking at me straight in the eye.
"Miv, you coming?" he asked with a smile.
Ava looked back at me with the same questioning look. I couldn't meet their gaze; this was too humiliating. Zavius's smile seemed to freeze on his face, and Ava frowned.
Oh, why didn't I just die and burned in hell?

"Mivian, what's wrong?" Ava asked me softly.
Zavius came over and pat my shoulder encouragingly. I hung my head even lower.
"I got deranked." I mumbled quietly.
"Come again?" Zavius said, his voice taking on a strange tone.
I looked up and winced when I saw Ava do a one-eighty and her unreadable expression. With a few graceful strides of hers, she glided over to where I was standing.
"You got deranked?" she said in a low voice, sounding incredulous.
"Yea," I said shrugging, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
I failed epically; my voice came out in a miserable wail.
"But why? That's shit!" Zavius cried out.
"That's what I said before the monitors at the Center put a temporary restraining order on me," I sniffed.
"Mivian," Ava said, as if the news surprised and appalled her.
"I didn't hurt him," I said defensively.
But Ava shook her head, looking a bit exasperated.
"No, Mivian. Why didn't you tell them it had to be a mistake?" she demanded.
"I did! And they kicked me out for it," I cried.
"No, you demanded an explanation and cussed the monitor out." she corrected me.
I winced. Ouch, she's right...
Ava huffed out irritatedly, shaking her head.
"No matter, we'll straighten this issue out along with whatever errand Ravador wants us to take care of," she said.
Suddenly, the situation looked much better.
"Really?" I asked.
Zavius clicked his tongue.
"Duh, this is part of our job description since our occupation is listed as 'Mivian's friend'." he joked.
"Cheer up, this isn't something you deserve."

I couldn't help it. I just started grinning happily at Zavius for no apparent reason. I looked at Ava and she sighed, shaking her head with a tired smile on her face.
"Let's get going, shall we?" was all she said.

Still grinning like an idiot, I grabbed my trench coat from the floor and joined my friends as we headed out of my dwelling.
"Hey guys, I know this is weird coming from me but have I ever told you---"
"Yea, yea, we know." Zavius brushed off.
He glanced down and winked at me.
"I'm asking for a raise though," he said.