There's a soft blitz sound behind me and I jerk around to the portal that Mark had ripped open. I take a step and feel something grab my wrist, "Ethan wait!" It's Hailey.
"Let go! They'll kill him!" I urge.
"They could kill you!"
"Let go!!!" I jerk my wrist. My heart quickens and my head spins. I hunch over and nearly vomit.
"Ethan please! We have to think this through!" She begs.
Every second wasted here is a second he is closer to death.
"FUCKING LET GO!!!" The bile builds in the back of my throat. I can't catch my breath.
"Ethan, you are already injured! Jumping into battle is going to get you killed!" Hailey wraps her other arm around my waist, tugging me away from Mark's portal. My leg gives out and I drop to the floor, "TYLER!!!"
He will die.
I jerk my elbow back into her stomach, "LET GO OF ME!!!!"
She winces but refuses to let go of me. I jerk my elbow back again, "LET GO!"
My voice cracks. My heart skips a beat and I cough as my stomach churns. I push against the floor, struggling to drag Hailey to the portal. Rose rushes over to me and pushes back against my shoulders, "We can help him but we can't dive in without being shot down!"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
They were stronger than me. My heart quickens again and my body begins to shake under the stress. I try to gulp down air but I feel like my throat was closed off. I feel like someone had covered me in gasoline and set me ablaze. A searing pain rockets through my skull. I bare my teeth and then sink them into Rose's shoulder.
"Ah-!" He jerks back and rolls away from me. I snap my head back and my skull collides with Hailey's face. She shrieks and releases me. I thrust myself forward and roll through the open portal.

FUCK, I CAN'T FLY!
I flail my arms uselessly. Mark's portal had been ripped open in the sky, between a couple of skyscrapers.
I swing myself around wildly, trying to reach out for anything to slow myself.
I'M GOING TO DIE!
Suddenly I crash into something and then skid down until I hit the ground.
I gasp out. What th-? The towering stone makes me feel a slight glimmer of hope. Tyler managed to break my fall.
Tyler! I jump up and race off to the crowd. I climbed up several overturned cars until I reached the top of the smoking pile. I spot Tyler immediately in the midst of the humans. His stone skin is covering half his body. Blood is pooling underneath him. We need to clear the area! The transformation swiftly overtakes my body and I leap up into the air before crashing down nearby. My fists hit the ground, shockwaves violently quiver the earth beneath me.
I straightened my stance.
The cops all jerk up and point their guns at me.
"FIRE!"
Bullets begin to ripple past me, shredding through everything! My leg throbs and I grip my shoulder as it starts to bleed. These people are going to kill me. I hiss and then bring my hands together in a massive clap.
The remaining bullets drop to the ground! How is that possible!
Fight now, talk later!
Right! I duck down and grab the closest pieces of debris. I chunk them at the closest officers, "Fuck off!!"
One man drops to the ground and the others jolt forward to grab him and pull him away from my assault. I hurry forward and make my way to Tyler's side, "Ty!"
"Ethan, what are you doing?"
"What am I-? What the hell are you doing!"
"Get out of here!" He grumbles.
I bent down and pulled him up, his body was heavy; almost dead weight.
"Look out!" I try to shield him from the wave of bullets. I tense as the bullets ricochet all around us. I feel a couple of stinging bites across my body. I jerk my head back at the crowd before I lean over Tyler. His face is extremely pale. His skin is sweaty to the touch. He's losing too much blood. I need to get rid of these fuckers! I carefully lay Tyler back down on the street, "Hang on, just a second." I rest my forehead against his, "Just hold on, my love," I stand up. His hand weakly grasps mine but he doesn't have the strength to stop me.
"Ethan," He takes in a short breath.
"No, no, don't speak. Save your strength." I pat his hand and then place it back down next to him. What happens if I give you full control?
Please do.
There's a strong bubbling in my chest of excitement. I feel a smug grin etch itself across my face. Do whatever you wish, we must keep him safe.
I feel my consciousness slip back and something more powerful steps into place. My heart jumps erratically in my chest. We turn around and face the crowd as they start to reload their weapons. I need to clear this space.
A chuckle escapes our mouth before we leap forward with speed I didn't know my body was capable of.
Striking the first man in the face and he flies backwards! We bring up our arm to block the second man's attack. His dagger slices through the tar protection layer and it draws a hiss from us. "I have sharp weapons too." Our free hand slashes across his chest. The dagger claws shred through his body armor. His face morphs into pain and he struggles to hold his dagger up. He stumbles slightly and we swing around, kicking him straight into the chest! His body flies several feet away! There's a soft click behind us and I briefly take control to drop us to the ground as a wave of bullets fly over us.
Fuck, that was close.
Staying close to the ground, we crawl back a few feet and grab a car door to bring up as a makeshift shield.
This isn't the best cover, we need to figure out a way to get behind them and take them out. One wrong shot and we die. Their weapons are quite loud. What are they?
It's called a gun. It comes in many different forms. They sling out flying hot metal that will kill you if they hit on any vital points.
Gun. Hm, interesting. We shift back and then jump behind some concrete as a safeguard. We glance out of a hole to get a peek at our enemies. A couple were attending to the two that we sent flying. Three were reloading. And two more were making their way over to Tyler, who was passed out on the street. Tyler!
Don't worry, I have a plan. We stand and then shake our hands for a second then leap up to the top of the concrete block. We crouch. I can feel my muscles ripple beneath my skin. My tail swings out to the side slowly. Keep in the back of your mind about the three reloading. Right. We shift forward slightly to peek out. The two checking on Tyler aren't paying attention to us, that's what the three in the back are for. We glance up at the area around us. Nothing that could give us enough cover. Fuck. We don't need it. We leap off of the block and tackle the first guy that bent down to check to see if Tyler was still alive. He let out a startled yelp, which caused the second guy to jerk around. He swings at us! We sway to the side to avoid his attack before standing on the first guy. The second guy charges and hands grab roughly at our shoulders. He jerks to pull us off balance. Our leg starts to shake and then we have to step down roughly to regain our balance. We jerk the second guy forward and crash our skulls together. A hiss makes its way out of our mouth, "I'm going to kill you!" Claws deep through his armor. He yells out but refuses to let go of us, "You need to go back to hell where you belong!" Spit flings from his mouth. Something makes contact with our left leg and it gives out. A screech leaves our mouth as we tumble sideways and then collide with the street. Our ears ring and vision blurs. Fuck fuck! Get up! We tumble roll out of the way of an attack and then crab crawl backwards. The splitting pain shoots up through our leg each time it's bent and another screech reverberates throughout our chest. We stand shakily, leaning heavily on the right leg. This isn't good. Without a stable leg, it has slowed us down immensely. Wiping the spit from our mouth and gasping out. The three in the back jerk forward to join the fight. Shit, we are outnumbered!
Let me focus on the fight, you focus on stabling our leg.
What do you mean?
We duck to avoid another dagger strike.
If you focus on keeping the pain down, I can properly focus.
We jolt forward and our fist collides with the man's face. His head is thrust to the side and I hear a sickening snap. His body immediately drops to the ground. Right right. I'll do what I can. I focused my attention on the leg injury that was slowing us down. I wasn't sure how to actually do this. Our psyche hasn't merged together. Our pain receptors might be different.
A gun in our face jerks me out of my individual thoughts and I bare my teeth at the man as he cocks the gun. His boot was resting on my chest and he leans his weight down on top of me.
What happened!
E-earth, is draining me. I can't keep this up.
"Get off of me you slimy pig!" I spit, I dig my claws into his leg. He doesn't even flinch. He leans down and I cough at the weight on my chest.
"I'm going to send you back to hell." There was a look in his eyes. He was serious. My death wouldn't bother him one bit. I squeeze my eyes shut.
This is it!
There's a gurgling sound and then the weight is lifted off my chest. I peek open an eye, "Felix!"
He holds out his hand to me, "Quit gawking and get up!"
I grab his hand and he hoists me back to my feet. His wings are different.
He spreads them and then swings them forwards. Something flings past my head and I hear more people drop behind me.
"You need to focus." Felix crosses his arms over his chest.
"I'm doing the best I can." My leg quivers as I stand.
"We can talk later." He turns his head to watch as more people race towards us. His eyes sharpen in his normal glare.
"Ethan!"
I jerk my head to see everyone pouring out of another portal that opened nearby. Wade races forward, immediately sending smaller rocks flying at inhumane speeds towards the people racing towards us.
"We need to get Tyler out of here!" Bob waves me over. I hobble as fast as my legs would carry me.
"It's about time you arrived!"
"Look, it wasn't easy. London's agents made it hard for us to get out after you jumped through." Bob explains swiftly. He grabs Tyler by his upper body, trying to pull him up so he can drag him out of the fight. I grab his legs and then have to set them back down.
I collapse to the ground.
My limbs fell heavy, like they had turned to lead. My body shakes, "I'm so exhausted."
"Ethan, you have to get up." Bob urges.
"I don't think I can..." I push myself up.
What is happening? Why am I suddenly so weak??
It takes a lot of energy to switch places. I'm sure it can be done with proper training but your body is not equipped for it.
We can't stop now. Not in the middle of a battle!
"Ethan, come on!" Hailey grabs my arm. She jerks me up to my feet and I sway.
Hailey steadies me.
"FIRE!!"
"GET DOWN!"
I jerk Hailey to the ground, just as a figure soars over us. "Hurry! Get out of the open!" It's Rose. He stands between us and the soldiers racing towards us. He grabs a wire that was sticking out of the split asphalt beneath his feet and then his body grows larger, turning into nothing but electricity!
Hailey jumps up and grabs my arm, dragging me back to get some more cover before racing out to help Bob drag over Tyler. They struggle with his dead weight before wedging him between me and the concrete.
"What's the plan?" Hailey glances at Bob.
"Join the fight." He grabs a piece of broken steel that was sticking out of the concrete, "This is war, we can't just sit back. Ethan, you stay put." He backs up and then runs out to join the battle. Hailey looks at me. She looks so frightened. She's shaking.
"Hailey, take a breath."
Her eyes land on me. I can see where the back of my skull had injured her face. Her eyes then slip to Tyler. She touches his face, "He's so pale."
"He's bleeding out."
"I'll get a medic!" She glances around, "Where would I even find one??"
I shrug my shoulders, "Out here? I'm not sure. The soldiers might have a medic. They wear a sort of first aid symbol."
"I'll bring one back!" She sounds a little bit more determined, "Guardian has done so much for me! I can't allow him to die!" She peeks over the concrete, "I think I see a medic, I'll have to sneak around the backside."
"Be careful, the medics are trained to kill as well." I warn her as she disappears in the opposite direction that Bob went.
I glance at Tyler. He looked so sickly pale. My heart wrenches. I lean over to him, placing my hand upon his cheek, "What were you doing out here? Alone?" I lean over so my head rests against his chest. His heartbeat is slow and weak.
"Please," I feel the tears welling up, "Please, hold on, my love. Without you, I fear I am nothing."
A clicking sound makes me jerk up. There in front of us is a soldier.
His weapon is primed.
"Don't even think about calling for help."
I bite my tongue, "Please just leave us alone."
He scoffs, "Leave you alone? You're the ones that came to our city and destroyed it!"
"We were being controlled!"
"Lies!"
"I'm not lying!"
"And why would I believe something like you?" He takes a step forward, "Anyone would lie to save their own skin."
My eyes widen, my heart hurts, "Please sir, find mercy."
"Mercy? Like the mercy you showed those children!"
"I swear we had no control over our actions!"
"You better start praying to whatever God you believe in."
I raise my hands "Please..." The tears roll down my face. My chest constricts.
I can see his finger twitch and then he squeezes the trigger!
I slam my eyes shut!
There's a horrid scream!
I peek open an eye once I don't feel any pain. Am I dead?
There's an arm blocking my view. I hear labored breathing in my ear and I jerk my head to see Tyler! "But-?"
He leans heavily against my back, he is glaring at something I can't see, "I could hear your heart beating erratically. It makes my ears ring." He shifts his face into the crook of my neck, taking in a deep, solid breath. He shoves himself up and stands. There's that unfamiliar glint in his dull eyes.
"Tyler-?"
He jerks violently towards the battlefield.
I grip his leg, "Wait! You can't be serious!"
His eyes meet mine. He doesn't speak but something compelled me to let go of him. He takes massive steps forward. I dragged myself forward to get a clear view of what he was planning on doing. How is he possibly moving around?? No one with any amount of blood loss, should stand. He couldn't even do so once we left the auction!
He spreads his arm out so it's horizontal. The ground begins to shake violently before it splits open! Similar to the hospital escape, ginormous stalagmite stones shoot up! They shred through everything in their path.
Buildings, debris, soldiers. Nothing stood a chance against them. The ground shakes again splitting open wider.
"EARTHQUAKE!!"
"IT'S GOING TO SWALLOW THE BUILDING!!!"
"GET AWAY!!"
Everyone scatters like ants running from a flood. And in a blink of an eye the government's command center was swallowed by the Earth herself.
Helicopters swarm in and agents hit the ground. Just barely do I recognize the NWO logo.

I wince as the bright lights feel like they are burning my eyes. I rub them, "Ugh, does it have to be bright in here?"
"Yes." The agent says.
"What the hell is this for again?" I groan.
"The interview is for the case."
"Case? What case?"
"To prove your innocence to the public."
"Oh yeah, my innocence." I scoff.
"Ethan, please don't make this difficult. You literally started the fight with them." London's voice comes from the doorway.
"It was defense! They were going to kill-"
"I know, but please calm down. The faster you answer, the faster you can get out of this room." She reassures me.
"I'm getting sick of answering questions." I rest my head against the table.
"State your name." The agent says.
"Ethan Wright."
"Age?"
"26."
"And when were you kidnapped?"
"I was kidnapped in June..."

~Flashback~
"Yeah, yeah, I'll be here. You guys enjoy your evening." I switch my phone to my other ear as I begin to stir my pot of noodles. "No, no, it's perfectly fine. I completely understand. I'm sure if I had a partner, I'd be reminding them of our anniversary too." I chuckle lightly. "Dude, it's fine, I swear, but you owe me a beer." I mess with the knob on the stove, "Okay, okay, I'll talk at you later. Mmph, bye." I set my phone down on the counter and then turned to the TV, "What movie should accompany me tonight?"
After a while I was snuggled up onto the couch with a hot bowl of noodles resting next to me on the arm. My favorite musical playing on the TV.
This is the life. Comfortable spot, warm belly, and the best show ever.
A knock at my door startles me. Strange. It's almost 2 in the morning. Did Austin forget his keys?
The knocking comes again, this time a bit more intense.
"I'm coming, I'm coming, hold your horses." I set my bowl on the nightstand next to the couch and made my way over to the front door, "Geez Austin, it's almost 2 in the morning-" I choke on my words once I see who is standing there. It wasn't Austin but two burly men dressed in black from head to toe.
"...uh...can I help you?"
"Ethan Wright?"
Panic builds in knots in my stomach, "Yes?"
The man lunges forward, gripping my shirt collar. I stumble backwards, jerking out of his grasp. He lunges again and I step to the side, turning to race into the kitchen. I open a drawer, scrambling to find something as a weapon. A knife, a knife, I need one! A strong hand grips the back of my shirt and slings me over the island. I hit the floor rough and coughed as the wind knocked out of me. Immediately the second man is hunched over me, gripping my wrists, bounding them quickly.
"HELP, SOMEONE HE-"
A fist to the back of my head cuts me off and I nearly lose consciousness.
Everything after is in a strange blur. I can't understand what they say as their voices are muffled. They drag me out the front door and then down the outside steps, my feet bouncing off each step. Roughly flinging me into the back of their creepy van.
Oh my God, I'm being kidnapped! I blink to clear my eyes and wiggle around until I have positioned my feet to kick at the door. If I make enough noise, I should get someone's attention! I get a couple of kicks in before the noise attracts the men back to the van.
"If you don't quit that, I'm slitting your throat." He drags the back of his blade against his throat and I shiver.
I don't wanna die!

The ride was long. I had no idea how far they had taken me as I had no view of the outside world. The van comes to a stop, brakes squealing. I hear them put it in park, followed by the doors slamming shut. Their feet against the gravel before the van door is jerked open. I blink in the light that pours into my dark abyss. The man doesn't speak but pulls me out by my feet, hoisting me up on his shoulders before my head smacks against the ground. I glance around, trying to make out where I could possibly be and looking for any escape. All that I could make out in the darkness was a forest. One I didn't recognize. That's it. I'm dead.
They carried me into this building and then we went up probably a million stairs. They set me down in an empty room. There's tile on the floor and small drains here and there.
Once they unbound me, they demand that I remove my clothes.
"Everything." He growls once I give him a puzzled look. Out of fear I began to unclothe, trying not to show that I was shaking. I could hear my heart beating like a steel drum in my chest. I back against the wall and cover myself with my hands.
"The necklace too."
"What? But that's my mother's-"
"I don't give a shit if it's the Queen's, take it off." He growls, holding out his large calloused hand. My hands shake causing me to fumble with the tiny hook.
"Now!" He shouts and I fumble even more, "I'm trying!"
He reaches forward and rips it off my neck. His force causes the chain to snap and then he tosses it somewhere on the floor. He steps back and then the second man steps forward, "Now hold still." He's holding something but I can't make out what it is.
"Turning on." I hear a voice and then scream as I'm blasted with freezing cold water. I try to block it away from my face as the man moves the hose up and down to get my entire body, "Turn around."
I spin and they spray my back down as well. I'm shaking violently. It's so cold! Why are they spraying me down??? Are they going to sell my organs??? Are they going to sell me to a trade!?
"Turning off."
Finally the water isn't stinging my body and I peek over my shoulder to see what was going to happen next.
"Put this on." The man tosses a hospital gown at me. I catch it and stare at it with confusion before swiftly putting it on, not wanting to make my capturers mad.
"Follow me."
I step in between the two men and follow the first out of the room and down the hallway. It's all white, much like a hospital. The floor was cold under my feet and I rub my arms to regulate my body heat. We walked a couple of doors down and led into another room where there was a woman waiting. She had a clipboard in her hand. She smiles softly at me, "Hello."
I just nod my head at her. She seems awfully nice and calm for someone in a kidnapping situation. Is she supposed to make me put my guard down?
"Take a seat." She gestures to the chair across from her. I look at her and then the chair. I get a shove forward and I stumble before quickly taking a seat.
The two men leave and shut the door.
The woman rolls her eyes, "Men. Am I right?"
I give her a look and she chuckles awkwardly, "Anyways,"
She begins to run regular physical tests. Taking my blood.
Checking me out all over.
Asking health questions.
I answered because what was I supposed to do? Not talk and then the men come and beat it out of me??
After what seems like forever she leaves the room. I glanced around. It's a normal doctor's room.
Okay okay, there has to be a way out of here, right?? Maybe if I catch them by surprise? They are huge, probably can't run super fast.
The door creaks open and there they are, like two stone statues. I stand and slowly make my way towards the door. I shuffle my way through and then glance at the men. They look rather bored. I take a slow breath. It's now or never. I break out into a full sprint down the hallway.
"Hey! Get back here!"
I huff as I slip around a corner and then burst through double doors. I keep running. I have to get as much distance between me and them! Where in the hell am I even going?? I don't know this layout! Is there even an exit?? I puff a bit and then swing around another corner.
"Gotcha!"
My focus jerks back in front of me but far too late. The man clothesline me and I hit the floor with such force, I fear I cracked a rib.
"Going to have to do better than that if you want to escape." They chuckle at me as they drag me down the hallway and place me into another room. This one was freezing as well. They removed my hospital gown and strapped me to a metal slab.
~End Flashback~

I blink as a hand is waved in front of my face. I look up to see Felix. He gives me a bit of a solemn look. He hands me a glass of water. I take it from him and give him a nod of thanks. The room was nearly silent, if it wasn't for the medical equipment beeping. I down the glass before placing it on the little end table. My gaze drifts back to Tyler. He was laying in the hospital bed once again. An IV was sticking in his arm, slowly refilling his blood. The color had barely returned to his face. His right shoulder bandaged up from where his arm had been ripped off. He had completely drained himself with that stunt he pulled during the fight. Felix moves over to lean against the wall. He seems like he had something to say but didn't open his mouth. I look him over. He had a large burn mark that swallowed the right side of his face. It traveled down his body, disappearing under his shirt.
"What happened to you?"
His eyes lazily fall back to me and then he closes them, "...just a side effect of traveling through time."
"Why did you leave?"
"It's kind of blur." He rubs his eyes, "I roughly remember London telling me about Maria and then it gets fuzzy."
"And your wings? I don't recall them looking like that." I lean back in my chair.
"Hm? Oh, the feathers, I'm not sure either." He shrugs, "Probably another side effect."
"Did you try to save her again?" I ask him and I can see his body stiffen.
"Mr. Wright, it's time for your medicine." A nurse walks over and I roll my eyes, "Why do you insist on giving me this? I've told you before that it doesn't do anything."
She ignores me, handing me the tiny plastic cup with some pills and then another glass of water. I take both, and begrudgingly, take the pills so she'd leave.
"I thought I could." Felix whispers.
He's staring down at his hands, fiddling with something. "...I thought if I tried one more time, I could bring her back." He closes his eyes again, "But, I can't have both."
Both? What does he mean-
"...Hailey...?" I whisper and he nods to confirm my suspicion.
"If Maria was to return with me, I would lose Hailey." He glances at me. His eyes showing his exhaustion. His heartache over the decision, "I'm sorry I wasn't back sooner to help you."
"You got back just in time."
We fall into another brief silence.
"...we learned that the Songbirds were creatures kidnapped through a wormhole. Placed inside us as hosts to keep them alive."
"Of course the government would go that far as to hurt not only us but another species entirely." Felix huffs.
"London says that it's going to take a while but the NWO is taking over as the government. Also they are trying to clear our names with the public." I fill him in. He pushes himself off the wall and then makes his way in front of me. He gestures to me to stand.
I push myself up out of the chair, grunting at my stiff leg. Once I'm standing, he pulls me into a tight hug.
"Oof- Felix...?"
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you like I said I would." He utters.
My eyes widen slightly before I bury my face into his shoulder and hug him back, "It's alright brother, I know you were going through something."
"It's not alright. Look at you, you're seriously injured." He pushes me away to get a better look at me.
"It's just a leg, I'll be okay." I try to reassure him.
"You nearly got yourself killed." He frowns, "I shouldn't have left. I could have prevented something."
"Please stop fretting. I'd gladly do it again if I had to." I glance over to Tyler and then back to Felix. "Some things are worth dying for."
"No," He shakes his head, "Those things are worth living for." He pulls me back into a hug, "Promise me that whatever happens, you will live for as long as you can."
I hug him back and close my eyes, "As long as you promise to look towards the future."
He chuckles softly, "I promise."
And I smile "I promise, too."
"Dad!" Hailey's voice pulls us out of our brotherly moment and nearly tackles Felix to the ground. She hugs him tightly, sobbing into his chest, "I thought you were gone forever!"
He hugs her back, "No, no, I'm here to stay. You mean everything to me."
"You mean it?" She looks up at him and he gives her a gentle look, "I promise, I'm here to stay until the end of my days."
"Psst, Ethan!"
I turn to see Rose standing in the doorway. He waves me over. I wobble over to him, "Hey, Rose, why are you hiding in the hallway??"
"Ah, well, about that..." He gives me a bit of an uneasy look, "...can I ask your advice on something?"
"Uh, sure?" I'm confused by his actions.
"Well um, you see..." He taps his fingers trying to figure out how to tell me, "...where do I even start?"
"YOU WHAT-!"
Felix's shout comes from the room and Rose's face pales, "Uh? That's my cue." He turns and races down the hallway.
"Your cue-?"
"ROSE!!!!!!!" Felix storms out of the room and then glances both ways down the hallway before charging straight for the younger man.
"Felix???" I peek back into the room to see Hailey. She looks just as baffled as me, "That's not the reaction I thought he was going to have."
"Reaction to what??"
"Oh," She grins brightly, almost glowing, "I'm pregnant."