Star Beings

*kill

Natalie is the first to take action, leaping down from the tree and pulling off a three point landing. The rest of us follow, sneaking to the doors of the palace. "How are we gonna...?" Hade motions to a keypad. Nat cracks her knuckles. "Like this." She zaps it with lightning. The keypad crackles, then beeps and dies. The doors slide open. "How'd you know that would work?" Maxine whispers. "I didn't."
We rush inside, careful not to make any noise. One sound could give us all away. We pass room after room, keypad after keypad. Finally, Natalie skids to a stop and turns a sharp left. We follow. At the end of the hall, a grand oak door waits. It's not automated like the others. At least, I don't think so. Natalie opens it. We shuffle inside, Hade closing the door behind them. "Now we wait." Nat says, watching the door to the throne room carefully. There's a giant window behind the throne, about the size of that tree we were hiding in earlier. And the throne itself is ornate, made of what looks like gold. It's twisted and curved, creating a complicated design. I glance back up at the window. The sun is just barely starting to rise. If I didn't know that everything in this place was built off of the backs of others, I might even say it was beautiful here. But the blood of the innocent can always taint even the most beautiful things.
I hear something open. But the other door to the throne room hasn't opened. I hear someone step inside. But they aren't visible. Until Eligio Timor himself steps out from behind the throne.
There's an uncomfortable moment of silence as we stare at him, hearts pounding. He stares at us in confusion. "Who the hell are you?" He asks aloud. I hear the hatch behind the throne open and shut once more. Anai steps out. "As I was saying Father...." Anai trails off as she stares at us. "YOU!!!" "Oh hey bitch!" I flash a wave that quickly turns into the middle finger. Eligio looks horrified. Then a Lang of recognition flashes across his face. "Wait aren't you the one who kicked me in the groin?" "THAT WAS YOU?!?!" "Well.... duh." I say with a shrug. "HADE! LOCK THE GODDAMN DOORS!!!" Nat shouts. "On it boss!" Hade's rocket launcher is in their hands in seconds. They whirl around, take aim for the keypad, and then they blast it. Huh. So it was automated. Nat faces the father-daughter pair. She summons her swords. We all follow suit. "Now.... we have business to attend to."
Anai quickly unsheathes her daggers. Eligio, on the other hand, smiles and reaches out to lower his daughters hands. "Oh come now, this can all be solved through civility." He says with an unnerving smile. My grip tightens on my mallet. "Like hell it can." Natalie growls. "I can see right through you, Natalie Echaggaruga."
"You're afraid your plan won't work and, in turn, that will prove you can't be trusted to be in control. You want to be a leader, but truthfully you have no idea how." Eligio says, that disgusting grin never fading from his face. "Stop it." Nat grimaces, glaring at Eligio. "You're surrounded, you bastard." Hade growls. "Trust me, Mx. Hade Karson, the last thing I am is a bastard. Though I doubt you could say the same. You fear what people would think if they knew your whole story. And why you act without thinking. So worried about opinions.... And you!" He motions towards Caleb, who glares at his extended hand.
"Caleb Alexander. The boy who's trying desperately to change for those he loves. The fear of not being able to radiates off of you, my boy. So unmanly." Eligio laughs. "Oh f-fuck off. The fact you t-think you can decide what's manly just proves you're a-an asshole." Caleb stutters. HELL YEAH!!!! "And that reaction just made you fail my little test. And your brother over here is terrified you'll go back to your old ways. He wants to be accepted, and the chance of not being loved... oh it haunts him." Eligio says, pointing towards Damien. He narrows his eyes at the evil overlord. "Mateo and Karson. The pining is mutual. So worried what the other feels. So worried you're not enough for the person you love. How sad." Mateo and Karson stare at each other in equal confusion. "And Maxine, Gabriel... you both fear the same thing Damien does. Unacceptance. You're afraid that the moment someone decides that who are is wrong, everything will fall apart. And it might!" Eligio laughs. "OK THAT WAS TO FAR, ASSHAT!!!" Lane yells. Eligio looks her up and down before grinning evilly. "Lanett Parker... wow you've got a lot to unpack."
"You're upset, but you refuse to show it. You're afraid of being perceived as weak. You are weak. No matter how much you project as a strong and bold girl, you're still a scared little kid that's too afraid to stand up for herself half the time." Lane recoils. Anger flares up in me. "Shut the fuck up, you motherfucking dickheaded cunt." I growl, full of rage.
No one talks to my girlfriend like that. And even if she wasn't my girlfriend, no one talks to my friends like that.
Eligio glances at me before bursting out laughing.
"Wow. You're even more complicated than your friends, Delilah Jo Murphy. So much anger and rage. You want to be heard. But why is that?" My grip on my mallet weakens before tightening. I won't let him get through to me. I can't. "You're afraid of being silenced. Because if you're quiet, you feel you fade into the background. Like you cease to exist. On top of that, you're willing to give everything to make people happy. You're afraid that you'll be abandoned again if you don't. Sure, you may tell yourself you can take again...." he walks over to me in three long steps. "But we both know that's not true."
I stare into his cold golden eyes. So that's where Anai gets it. There's a challenge in those eyes. A dare. He wants me to attack. To try him. I'll take that wager. "My turn, Eligio Timor." I growl, shoving him away from me. "You're a piece of shit who thinks he owns the world just because he exists. Your entire family, minus your brother, believes that. You think you can read people and know everything within a second. Hell, you probably can. But that doesn't show you everything. It doesn't show what they love. It doesn't show you what they've been through. You know why?" With each word, I step closer to him. "Because all you look for is weak spots. You forget the strengths. And that my friend..." I glare up at him, rage building up into a wild wave in my chest. "Will be your downfall."
Eligio claps, a smirk on his stupid face. "Well done Ms. Murphy, well done indeed. Too bad I'll have to kill you now." "Wait what?" I watch as dark shadows condense into daggers. FUCK HE CAN DO IT TOO-
"DJ NO!!!" It happens in a blink of an eye. In a flash of blue light. Eligio Timor freezes, a blue dagger now sticking out of his chest up to the hilt. "Who did that?" He asks before falling backwards, slamming his head on the marble floor and effectively knocking himself out. "FATHER!!!" Anai screams. I scramble away, my hands still clasped over my mouth. I stare at Nat, who's looking at Eligio Timor with a similar expression. We all are. The bastard slowly opens his eyes. Is it bad that I feel disappointed? "Anaideia, my dearest Dark Star..." Eligio coughs. "Yes Father?" Anai asks quietly, tears pouring down her face. Her dad tucks a stray hair behind her ear. If they weren't both assholes, I might feel bad. "Kill them all." Then the man who's tormented so many people for so long goes limp.

Anai sits there for a couple minutes, sobbing over her Fathers limp body. "We gotta move." Nat finally says. "Now." I nod, preparing to teleport. But then I'm frozen to the spot. We all are. "You aren't going anywhere." Anai stands. Fuck. Her eyes are doing the thing. "GUARDS!!!!!" Soldiers pour out from the other door. "Arrest them." She growls. Unable to move, or free ourselves from Anai's hold, we're cuffed. I laugh. "You think this will hold us." I bend it in half. Or at least I try to. "Huh?" The metal doesn't budge. "We call it nova rock. It's resistant to any sort of magic. You won't break free if that. Not unless you have the key." Anai glares at all of us, wiping away a tear. "Take them away. And prepare a public execution. I want to see them shot!"

We're lined up on a stage, a camera facing us. I look nervously at Nat. She shrugs. "Welp. We're fucked." "Thanks for stating the obvious Hade!" I yell at them. They shrug. "Just telling the truth." They say. A red light on the camera starts to blink. Anai steps into the room, a firing squad trailing behind. My ex steps onto the stage the rest of us stand on. "Hello. Many of you watching may know me. Many may not. My name is Anaideia Timor. My father was Eligio Timor. And this morning, he was brutally murdered." She allows her statement to linger. "Behind me is the culprit and her co-conspirators. And they are about to be treated as they should. As criminals. Murderers. Traitors to the Luminis Obumbratio and all it stands for. Now, we will watch them fall. One. By. One." She turns to the firing squad. I feel my blood run cold. She's actually gonna do it. "FIRE!"
I duck. We all do, in one synchronized movement. "GRAB THE GODDAMN KEY!!!" I hear Maxine, of all people, yell. I drop and roll, swiping a guard off their feet and whittling around to snatch the key. I unlock my cuffs. "So much better..." I mutter with a grin. "Nat, catch!" I toss the key to Nat, who grabs it flawlessly. "Thanks DJ." She says with a smirk. "CUT THE CAMERAS!!!" Anai roars. "Here, I'll do it for you." Natalie says, tossing her cuffs to the side. "But one little tidbit...." She looks directly into the lense, smirking. "We won't go down easy." Then, she zaps the camera with a flash of blue lightning. It sparks and sputters, then the red light fizzes out. The last person, Gabriel, tosses aside his cuffs. "Well... it's been nice. But I think it may be best for us to leave." Caleb says with a smirk. "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!!!!" Anai screams, freezing us up to our necks. She stomps over. "I'll kill you myself if I have to." She growls getting in Lane's face. "Careful.... I've been told I can be fiery." Lane sucks in a breath and blows fire into Anai's face. She yelps and scrambles away. The ice melts. She lost her focus. "NOW!" And with that, we're gone in a flash.

We all land on a pile on the summoning stone. "Get off!" Damien yells from the bottom of the pile. "KIDS!!!" I hear someone who's probably Elian yell. "Where have you been?" I poke my head out of the pile. "Meh. Here and there. Might wanna turn on the news." I say with a grin. "What did you do?!" Elian yelps. "I didn't do anything... Nat on the other hand..." Natalie pokes her head out of the pile as well. "Just turn on the goddamn news."

Thirty minutes and a long ass explanation later, Elian and Hera have all of us seated at a meeting table. "You're all grounded." Elian states abruptly before walking out. Well that was plain and simple. "What the bloody hell, man?! We killed the bad guy!!!" Hade shouts after him. "You did something reckless that we both specifically told you not to do. You went against orders-" "and we got the fucking job done, Hera!" Natalie shouts, leaping out of her chair. Oh god she said fuck. OH MY FUCKING GOD SHE SAID FUCK. She and Hera glare at each other like sharks circling a kill, daring the other to make a move. "Go. To. Your. Rooms." Hera snarls. Nat scoffs and storms out. "All of you." The mentor glares at the rest of us. We stand and hurry out, too afraid to face her wrath.
That's when it happens.

SURPRISE BITCHES!!! TWO CHAPTERS IN A DAY!!!
Quick warning, shit is about to go D O W N.
Also, I apologize again for the shorter chapter. There's a lot that I needed to spread out and too much room to do it.