Note: Sorry this took so long! I had exams, blah blah blah, anyway - my bad

Chapter 15 || Darkness Calls

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- Iris's POV -

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I couldn't remember much from yesterday. I did know, however, that Kai had been a reckless, absolute idiot.

Yesterday, I'd stalked off somewhere to brood, trying desperately to suppress my unreasonable anger at everything, after I'd left Kai with Eve. I found that, even if the people around me were acting bright and happy -- as Kai almost always was -- all I could feel was dark. Sometimes I sensed a void in my mind -- not at the back of or in the centre of, but just there, haunting and silent. I didn't know how to escape it or destroy it. It was always there, some way, somehow, whether it be occupying my thoughts or making my hands shake. I hated it.

And I'd been trying to get rid of it when Phoenix approached me, purple eyes -- the colour was awful and painful to look at -- glinting with sharp worry. "Iris," he said, and I hated the way my real name sounded on his tongue, "Kai -- Something's wrong with Kai."

Strange that they weren't together. They were almost always together recently. "Where is he?" I asked, failing with an attempt to put some care into my attitude. I was still feeling overwhelmingly dark. It made every action more difficult.

"He ran off down the street," Phoenix fretted. "He ignored me so I thought -- I thought you could help more. Please, Iris."

I closed my eyes. "Don't call me Iris," I said.

I glanced up at Phoenix again. He looked at me with disbelieving eyes. "Kai could be in trouble!" he said, voice loud and subtly angry. "Why aren't you caring? Iris, please help --"

"I said," I interrupted, standing and staring up at Phoenix's violet eyes, feeling my mind snap back to painful memories, "Don't call me Iris."

His face and tone turned frustrated and bristling -- it was completely uncharacteristic of him. It kind of shocked me. "Fine," he said. "Don't help him, then. I'll find Kai myself."

He swung around and started storming off, but stopped in his tracks suddenly. He turned back to face me again. His face was open and his voice was clear. "You know, I'm sorry about what happened to your parents. I never had parents, so I don't really know what it means to lose them, but I'm sorry. It must be hard for you."

Shut up, I hissed. Shut up. You're the ones who killed them. You with your damned purple eyes. I didn't say anything, and so he left.

What about Kai? whispered the voice in my head. He's my friend, isn't he? Why aren't I helping him?

More and more voices circled and circled and circled and it was so hard to listen to them all. If Mum and Dad were here, I thought, they'd help me with my choices. But they're weren't, and now, I didn't know what to do. I never knew what to do. I never knew any of the answers.

Why was everything so unclear?

I suppose there was one thing that wasn't: that Kai was my friend, that we supported each other. That's what he'd been doing ever since two months ago, when the Child took everything away from me. He'd taken care of me.

He'd taken care of me before then, too. Ever since we became friends all those years ago he'd done nothing short of being my pillar.

I needed to do the same, even if the darkness in my head was relentless. Notch, if I only had a torch. All I needed was a little clarity, a little light, a little hope.

Maybe that was why I followed Phoenix? I wasn't sure. I couldn't remember much from yesterday.

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- Kai's POV -

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I wish for the Dark Blade.

There were endless seconds of silence where nothing happened and even my heartbeat seemed to still. Slowly, sound began to return; I could hear the sharp whistles of Phoenix's sword, the hissing of lightning striking the pavement, the bellows of anger and hatred from everyone fighting.

Then I heard something else; a whisper. It didn't seem to come from anywhere and yet it sang loud and clear, and it wasn't made up of words. It was like a sighing breath of someone finishing a story.

There was something cold in my hands.

I glanced down and I saw my fingers curled around the dark metal hilt of a bright blue blade, whose edges bent and fractured the light that hit it. It shone and glimmered even under cloud cover and dark haze. It seemed to burn itself into my palms and as I lifted it up to my face, I saw my reflection glinting and staring straight back at me, eyes flared up orange.

Kill everything. Destroy the world.

"Kai," called Mum from below me; she was sitting up and more healed than before, but she was still clutching her shoulder in pain. "Drop that sword, now!"

Make it all succumb to the darkness.

I gripped the hilt tighter and I could feel my knuckles turn numb but I knew that if I let go, if I relaxed for even a moment, I wouldn't be able to control my actions anymore. So I held on tight and looked up, away from the dizzying reflection in the blade, to where Phoenix was still fighting the Child.

And he was losing. She was too strong, too powerful - Phoenix was stumbling even though he was fast on his feet, and I -- I had to do something before he failed!

My hands were shaking with effort to keep the sword out of my mind but I took a step forward and when I did, power rushed through me; it raced through my bones and muscles and veins, coursing into every fibre of my being and igniting something big -- something uncontrollable.

I lurched forward so fast that everything around me was blurred and I stopped between Phoenix and the Child. I swung at the white haired girl with all the speed and force I could muster and suddenly she was the surprised one, the one who had to stumble backwards in order to avoid my weapon. When she looked up at me there was confusion in her eyes.

I swung again but she moved away. Then she was there again, behind me, aiming a sword at my back, and I turned to deflect it. Destroy everything you can touch. I realised that my whole body was shaking. I couldn't tell if it was the energy the sword gave me, or something else.

Our blades crossed and with one shove I pushed her away, causing her to stammer backwards. In her shock she hissed and readied her blade again, launching back at me with inhuman speed, the edge of her own manifested sword glinting with malevolent light.

I met her blade with mine in loud clash, sparks flying. She was shorter than me and her face was so close, swords crossed between us, that I could see every detail of her purple irises, every inch of her inhumanly flawless snow-pale skin, every white eyelash and hair. She gritted her teeth and shoved me away but my recovery was quicker than her's had been before and in a millisecond I was fighting again.

My blood felt like it was on fire. I had the energy and power of a thousand suns. When I attacked I could have cut through stone.

But at the end of it all, the Child was still standing. She seemed withered and out of breath but stood her ground on firm feet. Her lips quirked cruelly, eyes cold. "If this is all the ability the Guardian has," she said, voice smooth and uncracked as a frozen lake, "then I implore the dragon's victory."

"You've haven't won yet," I hissed, and our blades met again. We fought and my muscles were on fire and it wasn't my fire, it was something else, something foreign, but something intoxicating nonetheless and I could hardly stop myself from moving.

The sword was more comfortable in my grip now that I'd let go a little. My knuckles weren't white anymore.

"Kai!" Another voice. It might have been Iris. "You won't beat her with a sword! Let's go!"

I rolled my eyes; a scoff broke the stilled air. I answered by lunging forwards towards the Child again. I could see her weakening. I could see it, I could see it, I could see it, I could see it, I could see it . . .

"Stop, Kai!" The voice was closer to me now. "Look at me." It was Iris, and her eyes were as blue as ever. "Let's go."

DESTROY EVERYTHING.

Maybe I would have listened to her, but right now my sword was light and my body was lighter and stronger, and I could feel what the blade wanted: blood. I didn't think it cared whose. I supposed it would be better to finish off the fight with the Child before starting another.

So I pushed her away and faced the Child again and this time there was fear in her eyes; raw and unclouded, radiant as the summer sun. Her arms were shaking. Her teeth were gritted. She looked tired and scared. I would finish her --

But in a moment, she was gone.

In a soft flash of violet she disappeared alongside all the darkness that had plagued the air around us. But I still felt it. It was everywhere, infecting the trees, infecting the ground, infecting the atmosphere and I would destroy it, I would destroy it all. My head was aching. My body was alight.

The girl with blue hair was there again, shouting something. Destroy it all. I put my sword through her shoulder.

Damn it, missed the heart, I cursed, wrenching out the now-bloodied blade and aiming for a better second thrust. Then I was shoved in the back by a heavy weight, and when I whirled around to knock it off, there was a boy with brown hair looking up at me with wide hazel eyes, sprawled on the pavement.

He looked terrified.

There was another shove and a hand on my sword - Who the hell was touching my sword - and I think I heard voices.

I shook them off easily enough but they just kept on coming and coming. Ugh, talk about a buzz kill. My head was pounding and my heart pulsed bloodlust. These people were nothing but livestock for the blade in my hand. They gave blood and the darkness would grow bigger.

The darkness called for their deaths.

SO I WOULD GIVE THEM TO IT.

I could see the blue haired girl a few blocks away, staring at me with a face of pure FEAR. She was covered in BLOOD.

There was a tug at the WEAPON in my hands. And then another. I hissed and pulled back but there were PEOPLE all around me and they were all fighting back. KILL THEM ALL. KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM BUT THEY WON'T LET GO KILL THEM USE THE BLADE USE THE BLADE KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL. KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM KILL THEM BUT THEY WON'T LET GO KILL THEM USE THE BLADE USE THE BLADE KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL KILL THEM ALL I'M LOSING MY GRIP KILL THEM ALL DESTROY EVERYTHING DESTROY EVERYTHING

I lost my grip on my sword.

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- Unknown POV -

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"What was that," the General was panting, looking more furious then I had ever seen before. She slammed her fist against an obsidian tower and the whole of the realm seemed to shake. "What was that?"

"My guess is that it was the Dark Blade, General," I said, standing a fair distance away from her fuming form.

"I know that!" she roared. Anger made her hands tremble slightly. "How is it so powerful? He could have killed me with one more flick of his wrist."

I didn't answer her. I feared she might kill me if I said something wrong.

Her fuming voice continued. "How can I take it from Kai if it gives him that kind of power?"

Be optimistic would have been the perfect advice in this moment, but I withheld from saying so as the General most definitely would have beheaded me. "He is young and vulnerable," I said, noticing how wounded the General was. "He will likely bring his own end somehow."

"I cannot wait until he does," the General spat. There were grazes on her arms. "The Dragon calls for freedom now."

"At least you know the identity of the Guardian now," I noted.

She glared at me. "Yes, and it's the very same boy I must kill in order to remove my brother's taint on the Dark Blade."

"Two for one," I said.

Her lip quirked slightly but within a moment she was stone again. "The goal first is to rid ourselves of Nya, and then Iris and Kai. Her death will make it easier for us to destroy the others." She sighed slightly and stood up taller. Her eyes did not betray the pain her body must have been feeling.

"I will see the Dragon," she stated. "And I will assure him that our aim is clear, and that I will formulate a plan of action. Until then we will wait."

"Will you lead an army against them again?" I asked - I hoped not.

She turned away from me and spoke over her shoulder. "Unlikely. Our numbers must regenerate from the last battle."

Then she walked away, headed for the Dragon's lair.

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- Ember's POV -

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When you get a call from your brother saying that he just saved a friend from committing mass murder, it's generally a message you have to acknowledge.

Phoenix had a habit of getting too caught up in the world of humans, a world that was not his, which meant that he was always encountering problems that usually I had to fix. Ember, sheep won't ever let me near them. Ember, did you know that fishing rods hurt? Haha. Help me. Ember, I accidentally set this bookshelf on fire, did you know flint and steel could do that?

This time, it was Ember, Kai just tried to kill us all. Could you come over?

When we got to Kai's house, where Iris was healing and Kai was passed out, Phoenix had the audacity to greet me with a smile. "Hey!" he greeted cheerily as if this wasn't a huge damn deal. "How are you?"

"I leave you alone for one day, and this is what happens?" I fumed. Kylie stood next to me with her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.

Phoenix shrugged of my concern with a laid-back smile. "It's okay, no one got too badly hurt. Well, I mean, Iris got stabbed and all, but luckily Nya had a potion of healing on her," he chimed. His eyes were bright and optimistic.

I wanted to choke him but I withheld myself. "Don't make me worry again," I said, voice stern. "And where's Kai?"

Phoenix's expression grew darker. "He's resting."

I narrowed my eyes. "I swear, if he even touched you, I will kill him." I knew this had all been a bad idea.

With a relaxed grin Phoenix put his hand on my shoulder. Seeing him so close, his - his human self - threw me off completely. My brother didn't have blonde hair and tan skin. My brother was an Enderman. So was I.

But I knew we couldn't go back.

"He didn't hurt me," Phoenix said. "He lost control of himself but we recovered him."

"So he's safe now?"

Phoenix smiled again. "Yeah. Everything is fine."

I pursed my lips and glanced away. I didn't like that Phoenix kept involving himself in this danger - I mean, I we left in order to protect Kai Dare but - I didn't mean to risk our safety in order to achieve that, and I certainly didn't want my brother to be under threat.

I looked beyond where Phoenix was standing and saw many others resting, most of whom I recognised from school. Xavier was there, beside Flora and Eve, and Ice was leaning against a bed staring down at her hands, bandages wrapped around many points on her arms and fastened tightly around her right shoulder.

She glanced up at me, expression blank. Xavier was the one to first break the silence.

"Hey Ember," he said, smiling despite the large bandage on his head. "We have quite a bit of catching up to do, huh."

I froze. "How much do you know?"

He grinned, moved and then winced, settling back down. "Well, we were just attacked by a crazy Ender lady and Kai went cuckoo and Iris got stabbed by Kai, and I'm a little freaked out, so yeah, I know a tad."

". . . Okay."

Flora's eyes regarded me with a subtle nervous edge. "What about you?" she asked. "How much do you know?"

I walked over to an empty seat in the corner of the room and sat down. "I can't be bothered explaining."

Crap - more humans knew part of the story. Damn, damn, damn! Phoenix spoke up, bubbly and childish. "I'm really sorry you guys got dragged into this! It's all kind of a big mess . . ."

"I can tell," said Eve. She was gripping her wrist.

Suddenly, Ice snapped. She stood up and stormed her way over to where Phoenix was standing with a startled expression, and she grabbed his shirt collar with balled fists, pulling his face down to her height. "This is all your fault," she spat. "You Ender scum! Stay away from us!"

My head fumed up like flames and I got up to pull her away from my brother but someone grabbed my arm to stop me. I turned around and saw Xavier, hazel gaze a soft warning. Let go of me! I ripped my arm out of his grasp and set my eyes on Ice, storming up to her and shoving her out of Phoenix's face.

She hardly stumbled, and she looked pissed. She glared daggers at me so sharp I thought she might lunge at me, but she just dug her heels into the ground. "You brought us nothing but trouble," Ice said and her voice almost broke. "You get here and then the Child attacks us the next week. You get here and Nya nearly gets killed. You get here and Kai almost kills me, kills all of us."

Then she moved forwards again, and I stood between her and Phoenix. Xavier reached over and wrapped his arms around Ice's, stopping her from getting any closer. She didn't take her eyes off of Phoenix and I.

"Kai lost himself once you got here. You are ruining everything and I'm telling you right now, leave! Before you destroy anything else." When I looked at her eyes, for once I could see something reflected in them that wasn't anger or irritance or boredom, but instead something bold and strong. Something fearsome and desperate and frenzied.

In that moment, she felt dangerous.

Silence stretched out across the room, and Xavier was the one to break it. "Let's stop with the angst," he said, letting go of Ice's arms. "We're all safe now."

But Iris wasn't backing down. "Stay away from Kai," she commanded, "Or I'll kill you."

Red hot fury raced through me and I felt my grip on reality slip just a little bit. Ice lurched backwards suddenly, almost in fear. Her eyes were glinting with wariness.

The anger in my gut diminished as soon as I noticed. When I looked around, I realised that many of the others were looking at me the same way; pupils blown wide in frightened bewilderment, unguarded and raw. What . . .

I glanced at Phoenix, who was regarding me with caution. "Ember . . ."

What happened? Did -- Did I do something? Oh no. "What did I do?" I asked Phoenix. "Did I -"

"Yeah," Phoenix interrupted, softly.

A heavy weight sunk in my stomach and my hands went steely cold. I glanced around at everyone, their shocked expressions and still bodies causing my fists to clench. I hated being here, in the centre of attention. I hated being here, amongst humans. I wanted my life to return to the way it had been.

But I knew we couldn't go back.

They were all still staring. "I'm sorry," I apologised stiffly.

"You . . . You're . . ." murmured Eve. She was shaking. "You're . . ."

"An Enderman," Phoenix stated as if it were the most simple fact in the world. "We both are. And sometimes, when we get emotional, we can - as you saw - drop our guards a bit. It doesn't usually happen, we're sorry, Ember didn't mean to scare you."

"You looked like an Enderman," Xavier said, hand over his mouth. "What the nether?"

"We're on your side," Phoenix insisted. "We betrayed the others."

"Endermen . . ." Flora murmured. She glanced up at Kylie. "Are you one too?"

Kylie's oceanic eyes glinted. "No."

Flora didn't look like she believed her, though. I couldn't necessarily blame her. This isn't how I wanted them to find out -- me bursting with anger. I never wanted them to find out in the first place. This mess was unfixable. We were past the point of no return, and that terrified me. Iris slowly pulled herself off the ground, never drawing her gaze away from me, and then retreated to a seat in the furtherest corner of the room. She gripped her shoulder uncomfortably.

"When did you guys get here . . ?" came a soft voice from the doorway.

Ice's head flicked to its source faster than a redstone current. So did mine and Phoenix's and Xavier's. Flora and Eve's gazes were still piercing Phoenix and I. "Kai," she breathed in relief.

"Kai!" Phoenix and Xavier perked.

Kai smiled and tilted his head against the door frame. "Hi, guys. What . . . What happened?"

"Freaky crap," said Eve. I was aware that she staring at me.

"So we found out that Ember and Phoenix are Endermen, and also that you aren't allowed near glowing diamond swords anymore," Xavier added.

"Oh," said Kai. He shut his eyes. "Oh . . ."

Phoenix was beside him in less than a millisecond. "Are you okay?" he asked, gesturing for Kai to lean on him. He did, and they walked slowly into the living room. Kai looked tired, with messy hair and bags under his eyes. He didn't look like someone who had just tried to kill his friends.

"I'm okay," he stated. "My head just hurts a bit."

After sitting Kai down on a plush seat he stepped back and knelt in front of him, genuine and caring. Xavier walked beside him and put his hand on Kai's shoulder; Eve sat next to Phoenix, being careful not to touch him. "You sure?" Xavier inquired.

"Yeah," Kai replied on a soft breath. Then his expression snapped into one of fear. "What about you guys?"

Flora and Ice exchanged sharp glances and Eve bit her lip. "It could have been worse," Xavier consoled. "Mainly it was just Eve and Ice --"

"-- Yeah, stuff you, I liked this wrist, Kai --"

"-- Who got actually hurt. But everyone else only got a few bruises. Don't feel too bad."

Kai looked crestfallen. "I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry," he stammered. "I shouldn't have -- I was . . ."

Phoenix smiled up at him. He was always the gentle one whilst I held back, stiff and cold. "Like Xavier said, there's no need to worry. Even Iris healed."

There was a flash in Kai's eyes. "Even Iris?" He looked over Phoenix to where Iris was lazily slumped on the opposite sofa, bandages still wrapped around her shoulder. She met his gaze and I saw the realisation cross over Kai's face. Her expression was flawlessly cold.

"Iris!" he exclaimed, wrestling away from Xavier's hold. "What did I do? Did I hurt you badly? Iris!"

Blue hair crossed over her face in wisps. Its turquoise matched her eyes, and the gold in them glinted like an animal's. "You stabbed me through the shoulder," she said. She was also, apparently, not one to sugar-coat.

Kai's mouth dropped open and his face was drawn into the most pitiful and guilty of looks I'd ever seen a human wear. It was . . . strange. "I'm so sorry," he said, and his voice broke.

Ice said nothing back. Sorrow plagued Kai in the most obvious way I'd ever noticed; he was slumped, his eyes were glazed over, his body curved in on itself. Phoenix put his hand on Kai's knee but Kai flinched. Phoenix pulled away.

"Where's Nya?" Flora intervened, hands clasped on her chest.

"She went out to get more healing potions," Xavier answered, squeezing Kai's shoulder before standing next to his girlfriend and taking her hands in his. "We'll be okay." His voice was very candid, very clear and sure, and I saw Kai take a deep, calming breath at its sound. Eve sighed invasively and fell back, lying across the floor.

"Arrrgh," she groaned. "This has all gone to --"

"-- Dog!" Phoenix yelled, scrambling backwards away from the doorway. "A dog!"

Dog? No way, Kai would never . . .

Kai turned around and nodded. "Yes. My dog. His name is Rudy."

It can't be . . .

I stepped to the side and I saw it.

The dog.

Its teeth were like daggers wielded by the deadliest of ancient warriors, pointed sharper than an axe blade, rows of nightmares held by the strongest of jaws and the evilest of minds. Its eyes were black and empty, reflecting the apathetic brutality and endless destruction that was no doubt hidden amongst deceptively soft fur and a wagging tail. Its intentions were known to all as insidious; sinister; the most awful of awful and the ultimate peak of evil; unable to permit mercy even in its most simple forms. It was unforgiving. Unnerving. Unlawfully sinful.

It was a dog.

Also, it was running towards me.

I fell backwards and slammed against the floor, trying to crawl away but stumbling in my attempts. It was approaching fast, so fast -- I had nowhere to go -- Someone stop it --

It jumped on me with the agility of a spider beast, holding me down with its large paws. It barked so fiercely that I had to hold back a scream -- Why wasn't anyone helping me? It was on top of me and all I could see were its fangs, bared and scarring, and it was reaching for me -- Oh Notch -- Phoenix, save me --

It was licking me. It was gross and slobbery and I tried to push it off but it was relentless. Kai started yelling "Rudy! Rudy, stop it, no!" Who was Rudy? Was it this beast? Kai owned such a creature?

But it didn't stop and it wouldn't get off me. It was tickling me, and suddenly I was laughing, desperately trying to reason with it, "Rudy, Rudy, move! Get off me!" But it was too diabolical to listen. In my panicked laughter I managed to realise teleport! and shot away, out of its reach.

I appeared behind Kai and shook myself off, still trembling. I glared at him in hatred. He didn't help me, and besides, what manic owns a dog? "What is wrong with you?"

Kai was staring at me too. He was standing up now, and the dog joined him at his heels. I took a step away, prepared to run. A grin quirked in the corner of his mouth.

"You laughed," he accused. The grin split across his face. I felt heat on my cheeks.

"And I thought you were just a vaguely human-shaped rock," Ice added.

And then Kai started to laugh.

And so did Xavier, and Eve, and Flora. Phoenix giggled, confused but entertained, caught up in the hype. Even Ice cracked a grin, and then she was laughing too; and it was a chorus, a joyous harmony, and I'd never heard anything like it before. Just people being happy together. There was a smile on my lips even though I didn't really want it to be there. The dog was barking loudly and Kai was hunched over in a fit of giggles.

Eve snorted and Xavier pointed at her, laughing silently and desperately. And there was a weird feeling in my chest. Excited and happy and relaxed.

I think it was comfort. It was nice.

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wow okay 5 months that's horrific

i'm so sorry omg i've just been so busy i hope y'all can forgive me

i've come up with more ideas!! i will try my best to make my updates significantly more rapid and this time i genuinely believe i'll be able to do that ^u^

i'm super thankful for you guys who were able to stick through this hiatus!!! i really appreciate it and i want y'all to know that i write for your sake and for the hope that you'll be able to enjoy what i do with words.

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QOTC: Who's your favourite character of this story so far?

AOTD: i really like kai!!

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anyway, see you guys next time! don't forget to vote!!

- Jazz