Chapter 20

He picked up her pistol and fired swiftly, as the assassin grunted, confirming the hit. She was about to make yet another attack, when Zack burst in and tackled her.

"Don't move." Zack ordered. He noticed the bullet wound on her shoulder and was glad that the gunshot he heard wasn't fatal to anyone. The assassin suddenly became still and for a moment Zack thought she either died or was playing a trick. But then he noticed the rise and fall of her chest. Before Zack could say anything else Elisa burst into the room with the three sisters right behind her. 

"That is enough!" Zack looked at Elisa in disbelief.

"Isn't this the assassin that you were worried about? The one that has been killing off political figures?" Elisa sighed. 

"Of course not! And she is also my responsibility. I would greatly appreciate it if you unhanded her." Zack and Yu felt like they were hit with a brick. Either Elisa was crazy or she had to be under some kind of mind control. The assassin suddenly disappeared in a form of thin black smoke and then reappeared next to Elisa. Yu stepped forward but Elisa put an arm in front of the assassin for protection. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Yu asked. It was obvious the Elisa he looked at now was not the same woman that he knew several years ago. "You invite us down here to simply kill us?" Elisa shook her head. 

"This is a misunderstanding. She only knows of the stories she's heard about the Guardians. She doesn't think there are any Guardians that seek justice." Elisa looked from Zack to Yu. "I meant to talk to you about what was going on later but i'm sure you would like an immediate explanation. Meet me down stairs. There is much to discuss." Elisa and the female assassin left the room leaving Zack and Yu. The three sisters arrived in wondering what the commotion was.

"Did any of you know about this?" Zack asked pointing at Elisa walking down the hallway with the girl and the three sisters simultaneously shook their heads.

Zack and the others were soon down stairs and found Elisa and the girl waiting. They were sitting at one end of a large coffee table. Everyone else took their seats silently before Elisa spoke.

“Before I begin I guess I should allow my daughter to introduce herself.” Elisa turned to the girl and asked her to remove her hood. The girl did so but her hair still covered her eyes. She then reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a rubber band and tied her bangs back. Keytara gasped and Yu looked on in disbelief.

“My name is Lilliane.” The girl said. “And I’m sorry for attacking you both. And I'm really sorry Yu. I didn't think it was actually you.” It was said that Lilliane was missing and later pronounced as one of the many dead at the Ergon incident four years back. There was one other student that was also unaccounted for as well but Faith told everyone that Lilliane had defected to Ergon. Faith had killed her before joining up with the others to take down Ergon’s leader, Evelyn. Or at least that's what everyone was told.

“I’m sure Keytara and Yamase remember Lilliane.” Elisa said.

“You say Lilliane is your daughter.” Yu said and Elisa nodded her head.

“Not by blood but I took her in following the Ergon incident. You see, Lilliane is actually a real life mage and is the only known one here in this realm. Ergon were the only ones to find out and thus promised to train her to utilize her powers to their full potential. Lilliane knows how rare mages are and that it is impossible to find anyone that can train her here on Earth for that has been a recorded mage in centuries. Of course she confronted Faith and they fought for their beliefs. That is what war is. Lilliane was killed but as we all know Faith is a vampire. Faith probably couldn’t live with the guilt of killing her childhood friend so she used her venom to bring Lilliane back.” Elisa pause as Lilliane handed her mother a cup of coffee. Elisa took a sip before placing it on the saucer Lilliane put on the table. She then continued.

“Faith brought Lilliane to me and asked if I would take care of the poor girl. I agreed of course. I had to raise Lilliane in secret and teach her to use her abilities. Lilliane is a quick learner and was soon mastering her abilities on her own.”

“And what about making her the assassin that everyone fears?” Zack asked. Elisa stood and started pacing.

“The fight against Ergon didn’t wipe them out. Actually, a great deal of them escaped. Guess where they escaped to?” Zack knew it was a rhetorical question. And he knew what the answer was as sickening as it was. He also had an idea what Elisa was going to say next. “When you last walked down the sidewalk did you take a moment to think about who you were passing? We can’t even tell who is Gifted and who isn’t just by looking at them. The thing is Ergon wasn’t the only place that was invading Earth Realm. We know that the Void Realm has been having rifts open on Earth. They know what Earth is and they know how to take it over. They have done this method for other places as well. But by the time it’s realized it is too late. Luckily, for us we have someone that can point out who is who just by looking at them.” Elisa sat back in her seat and nodded her head towards Lilliane to continue.

“I can see auras.” Lilliane glanced at Yu. “Just like you can. But I don’t get blocked out. Back then there was a girl named Rebecca that was able her hide her aura quite well. Even you couldn’t sense who she was, but after I learned of this ability I could easily see who and what she was. I told Elisa and Faith that when I saw the news on with political figure heads having debates I could tell that they were not human. In fact, the auras held nothing but darkness and the intent to destroy. It turned out that my sight was right on when Elisa invited one of them over for an interview. It was then we realized that all this time while we were worrying about the Void realm invading, they already had and were planting seeds. We can’t just let them take over so Elisa had me get rid of some of them. No one knew I existed and I could never be caught.” Zack scoffed and Lilliane put a hand to her shoulder which was already bandaged. “At least until now. I just kind of panicked and attacked without looking at your aura.”

“So you can’t see auras all the time?” Yu asked and Lilliane shook her head with a light smile.

“Goodness, no. If I could I’d have headaches all the time due to the variety of colors. I’d feel like I was in a twenty-for/seven rave party. I have to concentrate in order to see auras.” Zack thought for a moment.

“So what did you need us to come out here for? Seems like you already have plans going on in that brain of yours.” He said looking at Elisa.

“We need to gather the Guardians and tell them what is going on. Right now no one has a clue besides us and Faith. And we can’t say nor do anything ourselves because we don’t know how far the Void Realm’s seeds have been planted here. All Lilliane has done was slow down their progression and put them on edge. They still don’t know if their plan is being foiled or if Lilliane is just a terrorist.”

“And what would gathering the Guardians do?” Zack asked.

“Give Earth Realm the protection it needs and the strength to fight. I need to you at least tell the other Guardians what’s up so they can know what’s going on and to be on the lookout. And keep a close watch on their actions. I need you to do this as soon as possible and I need you to take Lilliane, Kani, and Kanna with you. You will need all the help you can get."