A huge explosion rocked the ground in front of us, and hot air blew my hair back as it heated my skin. I squinted and saw a Fire Manipulator and a Super Strength stumbling away from the area of their attack, with a ruined mess of black flesh pooling blood around it at the center. Flames crackled along the crater, almost like they were laughing at the destroyed body.

"W-what is this?" Liz cried.

"There's no time to talk, Liz. Just go and help." My twin brother ran into the fray, pulling out a gun from his waistband as he disappeared. He had no other way to use a weapon, so we had simply gone to the basement of the academy.

Chrissy gave Liz an apologetic look and quickly left, aiding a Nature Amplifier nearby who was slowly losing her advantage.

I turned and gave Liz a look. She stared back at me, and I saw the barely veiled fear in her eyes, pleading with me to not make her go.

"Come now, Liz," I said heavily. "We can't stand here. The academy's barrier only guards us for so long."

She flinched as something thumped against the barrier and tried again with a screech. I turned around and shot it, kicking the body away in midair as it fell.

"What the fuck! What the fuck, fuck, fuck..." Liz kept repeating it as she followed the Fear's descent with a horrified expression.

"Come now."

I kneeled and pressed my hand to her leg, slowly beginning to heal it. Blood dribbled out a little as the slash began to close from the inside, and the skin that grew over it turned from a bright pink to Liz's normal pale tan in a few seconds.

"What the fuck," she mumbled again, looking down at me.

I stood up, and straightened my back, looking deep into her eyes.

Then I gave her a good, hard slap.

She froze, and blinked hard, once, twice, before she weakly hefted her scythe.

"Right. Let's go fight."

don't you want to hide?

Liz ran at full speed behind me as we reached the front of the battle on the campus. A familiar figure caught my eye as Austin quickly jogged over, abandoning the small wooden spear he had been trying to fix.

"Bella, there's...there are living people. Ability users." He ran his hands through his messy hair, his amber eyes landing on Liz before returning to me.

"Really? That's actually weird."

He stared at me. "Of course it is. Jesus. What do we do? We only know how to deal with Fears, not actual living things."

A loud roar boomed from the middle of the grounds, and I glanced back to see Leon transformed into his namesake, leaping up high to snatch a Fear from the air. It let out chilling shrieks as it was dragged down, and I sensed Liz shiver behind me.

I sent a look towards Austin, and his attention snapped back to me.

"Deal with them how you would with a half Fear. Be careful. You know what they can do. The people from the city should be here soon. Just...do what you can."

Especially if Gabriel has anything to do with this...

His expression darkened and he nodded, striding back to the front. Immediately, I felt a small bit of his influence crawl its way on my skin, attempting to find my weaknesses.

I deployed No Limits into my surroundings, and my lips twitched with satisfaction as people regained a little bit of energy.

"Bella?" Liz was calling me.

I frowned at the fear in her voice. "Give me the scythe, please." She followed me again as I began to walk, but kept the scythe hugged to her chest.

"Bella, this is my heirloom, I can't just give it away."

"Fine. Deal with the shots then."

A strange kind of apprehension was on her face as I pulled out my gun again, digging my heels into the ground as I used Ultimate Defense.

Several Fears sensed me and came flying, their mental assault immediately beginning as their bodies started to change.

There's no point in doing this, Bella. You can rest now-

The growling voice that came from my former friend ended with a horrifying gurgle of blood as I shot the Fear. Liz was trembling behind me.

"Work, Liz," I snarled in irritation. "You're a fucking Leandro. Act like one."

"B-but!"

"Shut the fuck up." Another Fear fell, its face a blurry hybrid of what it had been before. The three others thumped against the shield, and I forced myself to take a step forward to push them back just a little bit.

I heard a scream, my head whipping around as I spotted a tiny boy furiously defending a little girl with reddish brown hair. I aimed towards the Fear attacking them, whispering as it striked once, twice...

And then I was promptly slammed down into the bloody grass, the weight of the Fears I had been facing before pounding into my back. My mind temporarily went blank for a second as a sharp nail jabbed at my neck. It stabbed again, and went through, the Fears on top of me screaming with delight at my apparent demise.

"Bella!" Liz let out a horrified squeal, and automatically thrust her scythe at the Fears.

"Sixth Life: Anger!"

Cruel, rotating jagged blades extended from the scythe as she swung, and they tore through the Fears as if they were passed through meat grinders. Ribbons of dark, rotting flesh and congealed blood sprayed over the area, and one boy shouted in disgust as he jumped away, interrupting another behind him.

"B-bella! Oh my god, she's dead."

Liz crouched down, and I stared at the little kids nearby, the boy slowly losing his strength as the Fear relentlessly attacked. He was still too young to have a stronger fear than a common one of spiders or bugs. He was in luck.

"Bella. Hold on." My brother came out of the crowd, and hastily shot a few Fears before reaching me.

I stopped him as I talked to him telepathically.

Michael, the kids over there. Help them.

His head swiveled towards where I was looking, and he positioned himself. He silently counted just as I did, and then shot the Fear twice, gunshots ringing loudly over the sound of turmoil. Liz jumped a little in response, but kept her eyes on me, her expression just a little bit crazy.

The Fear fell, the body turning into a dark puddle on the ground, and the little boy looked at us before giving us a tiny grin and ran away with the girl, who glanced back once more before leaving.

Michael dropped his arm and returned his attention to me, crouching down and pushing Liz away.

He probed my neck with his fingers, slipping in the constant stream of blood stemming from it. I twitched as he poked around, then found what he was looking for.

"Here. Liz, squish it or something." He held the parasite out to her, and she stared at him.

"O-okay." She hesitantly took it, and used her finger nails to cut through the tiny body. It let out a tiny flow of dark fluid over her skin, and I felt No Limits begin to take action, quickly knitting my neck back.

I moved my fingers, and then a cold chill threaded my body, signaling the return of my senses and motion. Carefully, I propped myself up on my hands, then scrambled up.

"How are you still alive? Did you use a regenerative ability or something?" Liz was looking at me with a bit of surprise.

I thought about it, shrugging. "I guess."

"Bella, they said they're on their way. The city people will be here in a few minutes. What do we do until then?" Michael was studying my face for a response.

I pressed my lips into a straight line, then spoke. "Tell everyone to retreat. Pick up any wounded. I don't think there should be any dead people, but if there are, take the bodies. Search for the wound, and remove the parasites. Keep a few. I'd like to do something with them. Go and take them inside. I'll cover everyone."

Michael nodded, and his voice amplified as I used Amplification on him.

"Silver, retreat!" He sounded like an announcer, and yet I had no desire to laugh at how strange it was to see someone so small with a voice so big. In this type of circumstance, there was no joy.

Everyone hastily began to retreat, and I used Ultimate Defense, carefully casting a tiny shield over everyone as they ran. It was hard to keep them over moving figures, but I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, ignoring the Fears that immediately pinpointed me as their target.

They screeched and screamed and laughed, eerie voices like the sound of nails down a chalkboard.

Won't you play with us, Bella? The Fear imitating Lot stared at me with bright eyed and a twisted smile. Lot's pink cheeks were distorted, and I stared at them, momentarily caught off guard before shaking my head.

"Flames that dance, strike as a lance."

Heat began underneath my skin, growing to a burning, painful sensation as my skin glowed red. Tiny red pinpricks began to bloom, sprouting into long spears of fire that paused at the barrier protecting me. I saw the last person enter the building through watering eyes and red ribbons, the doors shutting as gray walls slammed down over the building, encasing it in a metal prison.

The twenty or so Fears that had been left behind ignored it, their faces misshapen versions of the people I knew. Some were of Samantha, some of Lot, some of Mother, some of Father. Some were Michael, and others were Blue.

The red spears awaited my order, almost seeming like they were trembling in excitement.

Was it me, or the bloodlust?

"Please dance for me," I said quietly.

A/N: I do feel like this was a bit threadbare. By the way, I'm tired of seeing italics, so you won't get much insight on the thoughts in Bella's head.

Please make note for future references that the primary language the whole world shares is not English. I apologize to not have revealed it sooner, and I know that even in the real world, English is not a language all know. In this world, though, know that it is different from the real one. It has almost all the same history, just that it turned in a different way while the real world went another. A sort of "alternate dimension," if you'd like.

Abilities Used/Mentioned

*Some people are not available to be named*

Alexei Tyro, Bella Uriah - Fire Manipulation: Another Manipulation ability. Manipulation or Creation abilities that concern elemental types of power are completely genetic - at least either the maternal or paternal side must have a pure bloodline of only that kind of Manipulation or Creation. Alexei's paternal side, the Tyros, has a long and very honored line of Fire Manipulators. Fire Manipulators use their body heat and raise it to extreme temperatures to create a blast that can be shaped and aimed with precision. Alexei has been trained to use his fists (he is a Unique Bearer and inherited Super Strength from his mother) and thus his explosion with the other SS was caused from their unnatural strength and his fire. Bella, on the other hand, has trained herself more to use her entire body, and can use any part of it to direct the flames, as well as shape them.

N/A, Bella Uriah - Nature Amplification: Amplification abilities are curiously strange and mysterious, as there are several types of it. Bella uses normal Amplification, which is the main branch that Nature Amplification comes from. The thing that makes them so interesting is the fact that they can amplify almost everything: from your senses to your body's normal capabilities (ex: Michael's voice) to your ability or appearance, or as the Nature Amplifier, parts of your surroundings, many scientists and researchers often have their interest piqued by the strangeness of it all.

Nature Amplification allows the user to amplify the natural surroundings around them. For example, the girl in this chapter amplifies the grasses and their growth, as well as the speed it grows at and the thickness and durability of it. She uses it to encase her Fear opponent, though it begins to slash its way out, which slowly destroys her advantage of keeping it trapped. Nature Amplifiers must also stay within five feet of the area or object they're affecting, and thus cannot run and are forced to stay with the object of focus.

Bella Uriah - No Limits!: No Limits has very little info on it, and as of the moment, I am only allowed to reveal a tiny bit.

No Limits was recorded in *omitted* when Bella Uriah was born and was taken for scientific studies. This was back when *omitted* *omitted*, so many young children were used for studies of the *omitted*. Her true main powers, as of her birth, were recorded as No Limits and Replicate, two of which were completely new and were never seen again in any other child than Bella. She was classified as the the biggest scientific anomaly of all, with her twin brother close behind. The written recorded explanation for No Limits goes like this:

No Limits has only been seen in subject Uriah, Bella. Her status states her as the *omitted*. As a result, studies are limited, but important information was obtained.

No Limits allows Uriah, Bella to suffer extreme conditions and still live. After carefully examining the child, she was slowly poisoned, and quickly tested after each type. Each time, every poison seemed to have done exactly what it was meant to, but after running its course, the effects were shown to have done no damage to her body, and she showed no sense of discomfort. Her body displays the signs of each poison individually, but does not affect her health whatsoever.

A tiny piece of metal was then buried into her body, and No Limits gradually worked to push it out, and quickly repaired the area. Afterwards, her skin and body expressed no sign of having been wounded, and no scar was found.

No Limits is concluded to completely defend Uriah, Bella's body, and the final conclusion is that she can withstand any life threatening wound or damage to herself, as No Limits immediately intercepts the damaging process to quickly recover.

Uriah, Bella is not to be *omitted*. *Omitted*. *Omitted*.

A/N: Quick observatory note after I first revised this chapter. Fire Manipulation can be regarded as Heat Manipulation as well. I was thinking it over and landed upon the fact that the user does indeed Manipulate, but does it with two things: the heat from their body and the fire they can produce from the extremity of it. Fire Manipulation users can accurately be regarded as Unique Bearers, since Heat Manipulation is also a discovered Manipulation ability.

I apologize about the long ability notes as well as my dragging A/N, which altogether took up practically half of the content in this chapter. In September of 2018, there will be no update for two weeks sometime during the end of the month because I will be taking a vacation. Thank you for reading.