The Raven opened his eyes as he felt the sun's light land on his face. Then, he took a deep breath and slowly sat up, and turned his head to a window on his left. It has been a year since the Raven was found by Scott and his team. A year since he decided to leave the town and come with them to Morningstar City. A year since he chose to become a Slayer to prevent other tragedies. A year since Cody died. A year since the Raven ate him and physically became Cody. A lot has happened to the Raven this past year and it had been what humans liked to call a rollercoaster.
When the Raven was first brought to Morningstar City, he was immediately overwhelmed by the new environment. The sounds of honking cars and the large crowds of people frightened him to the point where he wanted to go back. However, Scott and the others consoled him and brought it upon themselves to make sure he was emotionally well. But since it was the Christmas season at the time, the city was decorated with beautiful and colorful lights and a tall tree that stood at the center of it. The Raven found comfort in those as well as the upbeat music being played and the delectable treats sold in the streets. There was even a moment when he got separated from the group of Slayers, but they eventually found him standing near the big Christmas tree, as it was called.
For the time being, Scott decided to be the one to take the Raven to his apartment, where he was currently settled. While he lived there, Rich and Heather would be the ones to educate him while Evan, Mia, and Scott trained him in combat. From Rich, the Raven learned how to read, write, and speak while Heather taught him math and basic manners. Evan would take him on weekly jogs around Morningstar City and Scott and Mia would take him to the gym. During those times, the Raven adapted quickly to everything from his new home to all that he learned from the five Slayers. He was even able to transform both his hands into talons thanks to them.
As soon as the Raven completed his education and combat training, it was time for him to register into DEA Academy, a school established by DEA to train the next generation of Slayers. However, he needed an identity to get in, so Scott asked him questions about who the Raven devoured when he was an Eldritch. With his new ability to verbally communicate, he told him about Cody and explained their friendship back when he was alive. Once he was finished, Scott suggested the Raven to take his late friend's name so he can honor his memory. And thus, his new human identity, Cody Byrd, was made.
Suddenly, the Raven--no--Cody Byrd was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.
"Cody, time to get up! Today's the big day!" Scott's voice was heard from the other side.
Cody raised both his eyebrows and he yanked the blanket off his body. After all, today was the day he would go and attend DEA Academy. Once he exited his bedroom, he made his way to the dining room, where he found Scott placing a plate of food on the table. It wasn't long until the blue-haired man looked up and noticed him standing far from the dining room.
"Morning, bud," Scott said with a grin. Then, he gestured at him and continued, "Come and sit down. I made breakfast."
Cody obeyed and sat himself down to find a plate of scrambled eggs and three strips of bacon in front of him. Picking up a fork, he stabbed at one of the bacon strips, breaking a small piece off it. With a grunt, he used his fingers to hold the small bacon piece and popped it into his mouth. Cody chewed on the bacon piece and swallowed it before he stabbed at the eggs with his fork. Meanwhile, Scott joined him at the table with his respective plate of bacon and eggs in one hand and a mug of hot coffee in the other.
"So, how did you sleep?" Scott asked as he sipped some of his coffee.
"I slept well, I guess," Cody answered. "Though, I did see another memory last night."
"The real Cody's memory?" Scott put his mug down and began to eat his breakfast.
"Yeah."
One time, Cody asked Heather about what happens after the Turning. She answered by telling him that Eldritch who experienced the Turning will slowly obtain the memories of the human they ate. While living under Scott's roof, Cody had been seeing recollections of his late friend's childhood. One by one, he learned more about Real Cody as well as the names of the orphans he lived with: Porsha, Nina, Hunter, Matt, Arlene, Jake, Emir, Sierra, Tammy, and Bobby. Seeing those children in Real Cody's memories made the Eldritch-turned-human feel as if he knew them as well.
"Do you want to talk about it?" the blue-hair man asked after swallowing.
"It wasn't that big," Cody began. "The real Cody was taking a walk when he bumped into this girl."
"Was the girl holding anything?"
"She was holding a basket and inside it were colorful flowers. Because Cody bumped into her, some of the flowers spilled onto the ground and the two worked together to pick them up. Of course, he apologized and the girl forgave him. She told him she was delivering the flowers to a family who was throwing a party. Cody wanted to help her and she accepted. When they arrived at the party's venue, they gave the flowers to a couple who was celebrating their daughter's birthday."
"Ah! What happened after that?"
"I'm not really sure," Cody said with a shrug. "The memory stopped right there."
The two suddenly heard a knock on the door, and Scott stood up to answer it, leaving Cody at the table. Once he reached the door, the blue-haired man opened the door to see Rich standing outside his apartment with his hands behind his back.
"Morning, Scott!" Rich said with a wide smile.
"Morning, Rich," Scott replied. "Did you bring it?"
"Yeah, I brought it."
"Good." Scott moved so the purple-haired man can walk into the apartment.
Meanwhile, Cody heard the door close and he looked up to find Scott walking back into the dining room. Accompanying him was Rich, who he couldn't help but smile at. "Rich! Good morning!"
"Morning, buddy! I got something for you!" Rich walked up to the table and pulled out what looked like a package wrapped in plastic from his back.
Cody watched as the purple-haired man placed the package on the table. He looked at it closely to find that it was a teal button-up jacket set with a white long-sleeved button-up shirt, a dark blue tie, a brown belt, blue pants, and brown loafers. Cody raised an eyebrow at it before looking back up at Rich.
"What's this?" he asked.
"Your school uniform, size medium," Rich answered, giving him a wink.
"Uniform?" Cody repeated as he looked back at the clothes. Picking it from the table, he said, "No one told me about uniforms."
"Oh, yeah. I was meaning to tell you about it, but I kept forgetting. Sorry." Scott smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Is this what people wear at school?"
"Well, not all schools require uniforms, but it's mandatory to wear one at DEA Academy." Rich lightly jabbed Scott in his side. "Scott and I would know."
"Huh."
Scott walked back to the table and picked up his plate to eat up what is left of his bacon and eggs. As soon as he was finished, he turned to Cody and said, "Finish your breakfast and get changed. Rich and I will wait for you in the car."
In response, Cody nodded as he watched Rich and Scott walk out of the dining room and heard them open the door. After listening as they left him alone in the apartment, he gobbled up the remainder of his breakfast. Once he was done, he stood up from the table and brought his plate and utensils to the kitchen to wash and place them in the dishwasher. Cody exited the kitchen and grabbed the uniform from the table as he made his way to the bathroom. There, he brushed his teeth and changed out of his pajamas to put on the uniform. As he did, he rolled up the sleeves of both the shirt and the jacket; it was a habit he picked up after learning from Real Cody's memories that the latter used to do the same thing.
After he finished putting on the uniform, Cody looked at his reflection in the mirror. He had slightly grown in height due to Scott, Mia, and Evan's training; he also learned that Real Cody drank a lot of milk as a child and wound up doing the same. His dark brown hair was also shorter and reached his nape, for Rich took him out to get a haircut last week. As Cody examined his face, he reached for his cheeks and pulled at them for a second. Then, he released his face and exited the bathroom, knowing he shouldn't stay there any longer.
~~~~~
Outside the apartment complex, Scott was with Rich in the latter's car, waiting for the boy to come out. Everything was quiet aside from the sound of the purple-haired man's finger tapping the steering wheel. But then, the silence was broken when Rich turned to the blue-haired man and asked, "Scott, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you make that choice back then, to take Cody here and train him to be a Slayer, I mean? What gave you that idea?"
"I thought Cody would be the key to finding the cause of the Turning, that's why," Scott answered.
"And what if he's not?" Rich raised an eyebrow.
"Then he's just another step to finding an answer." Scott looked out the window and grinned before saying, "And here he comes now."
Rich turned to where his friend was looking and chuckled as he found Cody making his way out of the building. The two men watched as the boy approached the car and once he got closer, he opened the car door and went inside. Closing the door, Cody sat himself down and locked himself in with a seatbelt.
"Ready to go?" Rich asked as he looked at Cody in the rear-view mirror. Receiving a nod in response, he started up the car and said, "Alrighty, let's go."
With that, Rich drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. As they drove, Scott switched on the radio, and pop music played as Cody leaned against the car door. The Eldritch-turned-human looked out the window and watched as the vehicle passed by people and buildings. As the drive progressed, Cody found himself on a highway that led him, Rich, and Scott to the rest of Morningstar City. The city looked the same as when he first arrived: tall skyscrapers, loud noises, and the streets bustling with cars and people. There were even bright signs that displayed advertisements for restaurants, insurance companies, theme parks, and upcoming movies.
After what felt like a long drive, Cody, Scott, and Rich finally reached their destination: DEA Academy. It looked like any other school: a giant building with a large campus that was surrounded by a barred fence made of metal. Hanging on the front of the structure was a teal flag that had DEA's lion-like symbol with two swords crossed behind it. However, the only thing that caught Cody's attention was the people who were walking up to the academy. He instantly realized they were all students, for they wore the same teal uniform as him, but the males wore pants while the females were wearing skirts.
Soon enough, Rich parked his car and after he turned off the engine, he, Cody, and Scott were free to step out of it. Upon exiting the car, the boy became nervous due to the crowds of students before him.
"There are so many people here!" Cody exclaimed, wrapping his arms around himself as he shook.
"Nerves, it happens on the first day of school." Scott placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's always like this, but you'll get used to it the more you come here."
"I suppose you and Rich went through the same thing when you first attended DEA Academy."
"We did, so it's safe to say that we get it," Rich replied. "Now, come on! We wanna introduce you to someone!"
Cody, Scott, and Rich began to approach the building, passing by other students as they did. During their walk, Cody looked around and was enthralled by the trees that stood before the school. Under those trees, he found others students sitting below their canopies either by themselves or with groups of people. There were even benches that were empty or occupied by a person or two; some students were on their cell phones or reading a book. But it wasn't long until he, Scott, and Rich were inside the academy building. Inside, the hallways were filled with students walking back and forth and the walls had corkboards that had papers on them.
As Cody kept looking around, one of the students caught his attention. Far away from him, a boy was leaning against the wall of the right hallway. This boy had short light purple hair that faded to light blue at the tips. He wore a DEA Academy uniform, but the pants were ripped at the knees, the teal jacket hung over his shoulders, his shirt wasn't tucked in and its collar is left open, his tie was missing, and he wore dark blue sneakers instead of loafers. All Cody could do was stare as the boy looked down at his hands, which were concealed with dark blue fingerless gloves with white wrists. Suddenly, the boy turned to his right and looked his way, revealing a light blue left eye and a dark blue eyepatch over his right one. In response, Cody froze, not knowing what to do.
But then, the Eldritch-turned-human flinched when he heard Scott shout, "Cody!" Cody turned his head to the left to find the blue-haired man and Rich standing with another man. Like Rich, this man had dark skin, but his hair was chin-length and brown with a red gradient on the tips. He wore a gray collared shirt under a maroon button-up jacket with a bright red collar, dark gray pants, and brown boots with red trim, laces, and soles. Cody looked at the trio of men for a moment before turning back to the hallway on his right, only to find the eyepatch boy missing. When he turned back to the men, Scott gestured at him to come over and he did.
Once he got closer, Cody asked, "Scott, Rich, is this the guy you wanted me to meet?"
"That's right." Scott folded his arms and nodded.
"Cody, this is my big brother, Xander," Rich said, gesturing to the new stranger. "He's the current headmaster of DEA Academy."
"Your brother?" Cody turned to look at the man called Xander, who brought his hand to him.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Cody," the man in red said with a warm smile.
"Uh, likewise." The dark-haired boy grabbed his hand and shook it.
"Scott, Rich, and the others told me everything about you. They told me you're one of those late-bloomer cases as well as a fast learner. The more they spoke about you, the more I wanted to meet you in person."
Cody hummed with confusion when Xander mentioned late-bloomer cases, which he learned were rare according to DEA. When he turned to Scott, the latter winked at him and the boy realized he kept his promise to hide his identity as a Turned Eldritch. Because of this, he decided to play along.
"Yeah, I didn't know I had an ability until I was fourteen," Cody lied, scratching the back of his head. "You know, when I first met Scott and the others, they were looking for a Scissor Eldritch and I helped them find it. When they finally found it, my powers manifested and my body just moved on its own."
"I remember my brother telling me that story and it was only last year!" Xander chuckled. Then, he placed a hand on Cody's shoulder before turning to Scott and Rich. "Don't worry, you two. I'm going to make sure Cody has a good time here at DEA Academy."
"We know you will, big bro." The purple-haired man brought up his fist, getting a fist bump from his brother in response.
"Wait, are you two leaving?" Cody asked with a frown.
"Yeah, sorry, bud. Duty calls," Scott answered.
"What he said. Morningstar City's DEA agency needs us, so we can't stay for long," Rich added.
"Oh, that's too bad, I guess." Cody looked down at the floor with a sad expression.
"Hey, don't look be glum, kiddo! We got you a cell phone so we can keep in touch. Remember to use it whenever you think about calling us, okay?"
That uplifted Cody a little, so he nodded. With that, he bid Scott and Rich farewell and watched as they left the building. Once those two were gone, he was left with Xander.
"Now that that's over with, come on, Cody," Xander said as he started walking with the boy following him.
"Where are we going?" Cody asked with curiosity.
Xander turned around to face him and answered, "The entrance ceremony for DEA Academy freshmen."
With wide blinking eyes, Cody uttered, "What?"