Author's Note: 

Hi guys I just had to stop and take a moment to say something we writers rarely say. This is my favorite piece of writing I think I have ever done, and I think it's important that we acknowledge these moments because that is why we do what we do, and we should never be afraid to celebrate it when it all seems to come together. I hope you like it as much. If you do please comment at your favorite parts. You guys are the best. 

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Inside Ray's quaint little home she could hear a man with a thunderous voice bellowing in what she guessed was Japanese, but before should could ask about it, the lights on the poles started exploding up and down the street. When the porch light above their heads exploded all three of them took off like a shot towards the adjacent park with Ray at their heels. They only stopped when they found a convenient cluster of trees to hide behind. Lauren's eyes were darting this way and that trying to discern the threat. Her heart was hammering in her chest when she turned to Ray and said:

"What the Holy Hell was that!"

"Sorry guys," Ray winced saying apologetically.

"I told Dad this morning that you were coming to ask him about the council. I thought it would be better if I told him at breakfast, my mistake. He had a conniption fit."

"Okaaay, why?" Lauren asked incredulously.

"I don't know. All I know is when the God of Thunder gets angry then shit happens."

"But why is he mad?" Quinn asked.

"Apparently, in not discussing it with him first before telling you guys you could come over I've made it so that he can't not talk to you without disgracing the family. "

"I don't understand," Zach said.

"Neither do I," Ray whined, "but he's been ranting for hours now and mom said the last time he was this mad he caused the blackout of 1998."

"H-h-he what?!" Lauren stammered.

"I don't even think he was this mad back then. Mom said someone backed into the car and he lost it. Guys this is so much worse. Dishonoring the family is major." Ray cringed when another streetlight exploded.

"Wow they must have done some real work on the grid since 9-11. I think he is defiantly madder now." Quinn joked, but no one was laughing.

"Well were going to go," Lauren said, as she grabbed the guys and tried to slink away.

"Oh my God! You CAN"T! Please don't do that." Ray voice went up a whole octave in his hysteria and he was clutching at them like they were his last lifeline.

"You've got to talk to him now," he pleaded, "there's no way out of it."

"Ray I think you're over . . . "she was about to say reacting when the power went out all up and down the street. Judging by the number of horns honking and people that came out of their homes it looked like it might be a major brownout.

Lauren laughed nervously when Quinn said:

"Naah! I'm not going near your father, dude. That guy is seriously dangerous?"

Funny how Quinn's voice had started out at a normal level, but as he'd continued to speak it had gotten markedly higher with each word; until it ended on the shrillest of notes.

Quinn in his terror was a danger to glassware everywhere.

Zach turned out to be the voice of reason surprisingly, saying, "If it can't be helped, then we might as well have our lunch and wait for your father to calm down.

He wasn't wrong; so they took a seat on the steps of the gazebo and watched the kids playing on the playground. Turns out that a power outage is a great way to get the entire family out of the house on a Saturday and the park was packed with locals.

It wasn't long before a short Japanese woman exited the quaint little house a few doors down and made her way delicately to their spot on the steps of the Gazebo. Lauren had to guess she was Ray's mom.

She was a very petite pretty woman with long black hair that was tied up in a neat bun at the nape of her neck and her clothes were stylish and well kept. All and all she was a rather attractive person that looked like she had a quiet demeanor.

When she stopped in front of her Lauren felt the need to bow with respect. She did not have to be fae, or even magical for that matter, to see she was from a different time, an era that did not broach disrespect to one's elders. She was a throwback to a time that you did not speak unless spoken to, and you said please and thank you, and excuse me, and everyone was sir or madame. 

Lauren decided it was time for them all to revisit the bygone age of gentility.

So she bowed to Ray's mother and said," Good afternoon Mrs. Ryu. My name is Lauren Nash, and these are my friends Quinn Walker and Zachary Reis," she pointed at them and was relieved to see that they bowed too.

"We're schoolmates of your son. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zach interrupted and bowed himself for good measure.

Mrs Ryu bowed back and said, "I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. I apologize for my husband's anger. We have not been gracious hosts, please come, we will have a cup of tea and have a little talk." She extended her arm towards their house in a follow me gesture.

Although Mrs Ryu sounded perfectly nonchalant about the chat she suggested, Lauren couldn't help but feel like they'd stepped in a hornet's nest and would regret very deeply the brash decision to come here.

The kids entered the house after taking their shoes off at the door. Lauren noted it was silent as the grave and twice as eerie. It was also neat as a pin. It would have felt warm and inviting given the amount of light that flooded into the cozy little sitting room from the bay window if it wasn't for the electric smell of ozone in the air and the residual electric buzz of it that played across her bare skin.

Every ounce of her fae being was screaming 'Danger Will Robinson, Danger!'

Mrs. Ryu lead them past the living room to a small hallway that lead to the kitchen stopping in front of a sliding door to slide it open and reveal a dining room with no chairs only a squat table in the center surrounded by cushions. A collection of candles were the only light that illuminated the room.

Inside the room sat three people waiting. She presumed these were Ray's father and grandparents. When Mrs. Ryu introduced them to Mr. Ryu she couldn't help thinking that he looked like a slightly sexier Grant Imahara from MythBusters. And if she could keep the image of that lovable geek in her head she might be able to stop shaking in her proverbial boots.

He was already seated at the small table as he gestured for them all to join them. By them, she meant: he and what looked to be Ray's grandparents. Ray's grandfather looked a bit like Mr. Miyagi from the Karate kid and his grandmother had so many wrinkles she looked just like a granny apple doll. They were both so tiny and frail Lauren thought that a good stiff wind could blow them away, but immediately thought, don't let that fool you. They were both fullblood Gods of something. She could feel their power emanating from across the room.

Ray and Zach took the opposite side of the table from her. It was rather comical to watch Zach try to fold his long frame between the wall and the table. Needless to say that image helped her relax a bit too.

She bowed to each of them before taking a seat next to Quinn.

Mrs. Ryu said, "Excuse me while I make some tea." And promptly left the room, but not before closing the door on the awkward scene. It would seem awkward was the theme of this so far very long day.

The silence was deafening. When it struck her that it would be a neat trick to make tea without electricity. She went to break the ice by asking about it when Ray mouthed gas stove from across the table. Oh, she thought, that makes sense.

More awkward silence, Quinn was starting to fidget beside her and she could feel his nervous tension. If someone didn't say something soon, which he could make a stupid joke out of, he just might explode. SO she reached out her hand to his twitching one on the table and rested it gently on his. He looked up at her with those gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and gave her a stunner of a smile. She blushed. She couldn't help it.

When she glanced away her eyes caught Zach staring at her before he quickly looked away. Suddenly the clock on the wall held a great deal of interest for him, but apparently he was pissed at it because he was clenching his jaw again.

Mrs. Ryu returned with a large tray in her hands which she balanced deftly while sliding the door open. She placed the impossibly overloaded tray in the centre of the table before taking a seat beside her husband. From there she began to pass out the beautiful set of china cups as she poured tea for everyone. On the center of the tray sat some very delicious looking Onigiri.

She passed around small plates and chopsticks to everyone and then she gestured for everyone to dig in. Lauren thought with a shrug -- as everyone obediently picked up a rice ball and placed it on their plate -- well, I guess were eating first.

Great more awkward silence while they nibbled and tried not to slurp their tea -- Oh God would this day never end?

When everyone was done with lunch Mr. Ryu began to speak and his voice was cultured and deep and authoritative. It rumbled like the sound of thunder in the distance, and she thought this guy could give Morgan Freeman a run for his money, before she lost herself in the story.

"I am Raijin God of Thunder. These are my parents Izanami and Izanagi they created Japan.

Lauren had to close Quinn's mouth after that statement. Ray's father continued.

"My beautiful wife is not a God she is human, but seeing how much I loved her, my parents granted her immortality, but at a price. If we wish to have children we can only do so each one hundred years at the change of the century. And none of our children will be immortal. We can only have them for the span of a human life."

"Thus our son Rayden was born in 2001, but he is not the only child we have had."

Ray's head swiveled madly back and forth between his parents. If it weren't for the serious topic it might have been comical. He looked like he was about to say something though until his mother lifted her hand to signal him to wait. He bowed his head in submission and waited. Lauren couldn't help, but think that this was a very strict household before being drawn into the story again.

"Rayden had a sister, one of many, she was born in 1901. She was a bright beautiful child full of life and wonder. We loved her very much -- especially my wife. They went everywhere together. She had a quizzical mind and was always wandering off to explore."

Lauren noticed Mrs. Ryu clutch the edge of the table when he said that until her husband tenderly placed her hand in his.

"My wife would go to the market in Chinatown each morning before breakfast to purchase fresh produce and fish and it was one of Aiko's favorite activities. That Wednesday morning was no different than any other. They left before the sun came up while I still slumbered in my bed."

Lauren heard his words hitch and watched his wife squeeze his hand. She looked over to Ray to see his eyes locked on his parents, but still he said nothing. Mr. Ryu continued.

"In San Francisco at that time it was not uncommon if you were a young man, especially of immigrant descent, to find yourself shanghaied after a night of heavy drinking in a local pub. In fact, that was the means in which the crimpers, which is what we called the abductors back then, secured their labor for the thousands of ships that docked in the bay each year. There was a severe labor shortage of sailors at that time so the government turned a blind eye to the practice. The poor souls would wake up in a drunken stupor the next day on a ship that had already set sail for England or some other far off exotic locale. But they didn't only steal young men. If they had the opportunity to steal a child; they would put them to work in the galley cooking the sailors' meal and cleaning up after them."

Lauren watched as Mr. Ryu clenched his hands into fists angrily.

When the story sputtered to a complete stop his wife jumped into the conversation, "If only I had been watching her more closely, but she wandered off, and I could not find her."

Lauren saw tears form in the corner of Mrs. Ryu's eyes, before her husband tenderly wiped them away, and she thought: they may be a strict family, but there is love here.

"My love, it was not your fault."

Mr. Ryu turned his anger towards them and the air began to crackle with electricity.

"You see," he shouted pointing an accusatory finger at her and her friends, "this is why I am so angry. They have no right to dredge up the past when it hurts you so." A clap of actual thunder punctuated his words.

Lauren ducked instinctively so did everyone else at the table.

"Hush now, "Mrs. Ryu cajoled, "you're scaring the children."

Yeah Ray's dad stop scaring the children she thought as a nervous shiver ran down her spine.

Mr. Ryu breathed in deeply and shook his entire body before continuing. Hopefully, he wasn't doing this to release the energy he intended to use to smite them, she prayed that wasn't the case.

"Aiko, as a child of our union, would be considered today a halfblood , he began, "although that term was not common back then. And like many of our children before her, she had not yet come into her power. She was only 5 years old. Our children never demonstrated their magical abilities until puberty, not unlike all Halfbloods, but she was terrified by the men that took her. She was desperate to get away. It triggered her immense power. In the end it would seem she was indeed more a child of mine than her mother's. A Demigoddess of thunder had awoken with no idea of how much destruction she could unleash. "

Mr Ryu's story started to gel in Lauren's mind. His daughter was born in 1901, she was five years old, she was a thunder god, and a terrified one at that. What would a terrified god of thunder do? When it dawned on her she was almost too frightened to ask, but she had to know. 

"Mr Ryu are you saying that your daughter caused the Great San Franciscan Earthquake of 1906?" Lauren asked in shocked awe.

Every kid around the table took a surprised intake of breath when she said that.

"That is exactly what I am saying."

The silence crept back into the room then, no one knew what to say. They all just sat there taking it all in. They'd studied the event in history class. And thanks to her dryad abilities and her steel trap of a memory she knew everything there was to know about the event.

It happened on a Wednesday at 5:12 in the morning on the 18th of April, 1906. It was a foggy spring morning which isn't uncommon at all in the Bay Area. It was so early that most people were still in their beds and that was where they died. Devastating fires broke out all over the city afterward and it had taken them weeks to put them out. In the end approximately three thousand people had died and over eighty percent of the city was destroyed. To this day it remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in the history of the United States.

Lauren took a shuddering breath and gulped nervously before saying, "Please tell us what happened afterward."

She didn't know if she really wanted to know, but she knew they had to know.

"We were fortunate," he continued, "our daughter had survived. At that time we lived on Jackson Street in Little Tokio. The neighborhoods radiating out of Chinatown were completely destroyed. When they were finally able to get the fires under control we came back to collect all that remained of our belongings and move out to a refugee camp on the outskirts of the city.

"It wasn't long before we were visited by six magical beings. Almost as powerful as myself. They explained that they were the newly formed M.A.G.I.G council and they had come to protect the non-magical world from my daughter's devastating powers."

"You must understand," he continued with tears in his eyes, "at that time I was still in shock. We all were. I never would have let them do what they did to her if I wasn't still feeling guilty about not being there to protect my family, and now so many humans were dead because of it."

"but those . . . "

He said something in Japanese that she was sure would be beeped out on primetime television as his eyes began to glow and his body began to shake.

His wife reached out to him to sooth him.

She continued, "At that time they had not yet perfected their ability to strip a child of their powers. So instead they took our daughter away. She was raised in magical captivity until she reached adulthood. She was released then but she was never the same again. They had convinced her she was a monster. She came back to San Francisco without our knowledge and became an opium addict. "

She lived in Chinatown in a dirty dingy back alley laundry where she worked and did her drugs in secret. It wasn't until the clearance of Little Tokio in 1942 due to order 9066 that we found her. All the people of Japanese descent from San Francisco were sent to the same internment camp in Oregon. It was a miracle that I found her. There was an uproar one night in the woman's barracks about a sick and dying woman in the lady's latrine. A healer went to her aid, but before she did, she asked me as her bunkmate to help her. I found my daughter on the floor of a filthy bathroom stall dying from her withdrawal. She never made it through the night. My husband never got to see his daughter because he was locked up in the men's barracks. " Her voice cracked then as a tear spilled down her delicate face.

"I am ashamed to admit she was so changed by her addiction; it was her that recognized me. I never would have imagined that my beautiful little girl could look like that"

Mr. Ryu took over for his distraught wife.

"If we knew they were going to do that to her we never would have let them take her. After her death I lobbied the magical community to ensure nothing like that ever happened again. WE made it so it would be illegal for them to take one of our halfblood children.'"

"But many blamed what happened on her mixed blood," he continued, "there was a great deal of discrimination against halfbloods at the time and because of that fullbloods relinquished more and more control to the council. Eventually the council moved into San Francisco and took over the hub. Your school was constructed in 1908 and the council made it illegal to have a halfblood child without reporting it, or to send them to school anywhere else in North America but here, it wasn't until much later that they started conscripting your kind to their guard. It was a slow erosion of Halfblood rights and liberties which then carried over to the fullblood community, but by that point it was too late. They had perfected stripping magical creatures of their powers and everyone lived in fear of their wrath."

Every kid in the room sat in stunned silence. Lauren didn't think she could form a sentence if she tried, but she had to ask."

"Did they ever break the law? Did they ever take a child again?" She had a niggling feeling she already knew the answer to her question, but why was she so certain?

"Yes, they have. They took a Halfblood Tuatha child ten year ago from Seattle. He was teleporting out of control and they sent him to a magical dark zone, another dimension that is impossible to teleport out from. I do believe he was the same age as Aiko at the time. Fortunately, there have never been any other children that have demonstrated their powers that early."

Lauren couldn't breathe, and the room was spinning out of control, she wanted to ask if they knew the child's name, but she couldn't form the words. She was crying silent tears and she could tell that someone was holding her in their arms rocking and stroking her hair and asking her what was wrong. How could she explain? It was like a barrier was crumbling in her brain.

The facts just kept ramming into the wall in her head.

A boy

A five year old boy

A Tuatha Boy

Ten years ago

From Seattle,

Her home town.

Her twin brother was five years old, ten years ago, he was also Tuatha, and had lived with her and her mom in Seattle until his untimely death of . . .

A mental wall imploded inside her head and she screamed before passing out entirely.

********************THANKS FOR READING***************

If you liked this chapter Vote, Comment, add, this book to your reading list, or suggest it to a friend. Lots of friends.

A/N I'm looking for a name for a Were bar for the magical shifters. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. And for those that are wondering what name was chosen for the magic shop run by witches. It turned out to by Bats, Brooms, and the Great Beyond . . .

Best suggestion gets a virtual hug.

I want to start recommending books that I've found that haven't got a lot of reads yet and truly deserve it. So here it goes:

Earth Warriors by LuisPetrizzoRengel

Not A Super Super Hero by RainyDaysLikeThese

True Power of The Occult by _EuronymouS