~A rugged brown cloak dragged againt the cement. Long slivery-white hair bounced against her back. Orange eyes reflected the hussle and bussle of the city. The girl, named Dracia, walked into a medevil-style store and looked around. she saw statues of knights killing Golden red-eyed Lindworms and other dragons with the same color scales and eyes. She looked up at a huge statue featuring a man with green dragon's arms, legs and a tail, screaming in pain as he was stabbed in the heart. She turned and saw somebody from the Drangon Slayers Guild looking at the statue as if it were a good thing,"Ah, yes. You've noticed our collection of wonderful sculptures. And-" he looked at her cloak,"-I can fix that up for you. Follow me." he said, dragging her to the desk. He sewed a patch on the left side of her cloak, on the shoulder,"There you go! Much better. Now, would you like to join the-" he said, but got intterupted,"I don't want to join some lousy Dragon-Hating Guild!" shouted Dracia. She grabbed the scizzors and cut off the patch, running out of the store...

~Dracia ran back to the Dragon's Moon Inn, where she ran into the elevator, but insted of going up, she opened a latch, pressed a button, and the elevator started falling. Although the g-forces made her hair start flowing upwards and her cloak got pulled off, she calmly walked out when it came to a stop, and her cloak fell back on her. The place was dark, and the only light source was a golden lindworm on a throne in the middle of the room. She walked up to him, and curtsyed. He slightly nodded his head and said,"What is it, child?" his voice booming through out the underground cavern. Dracia replied,"Oh, Divine One, thee Slayers are insulting our existance. It will not be long until they find out. I have found some items they used to insult us." she dumped out all of the fighting statues,"Ah, yes. The idiocy of Slayers amazes me. They think that is easy? It would take a millon men to defete me, and yet they have almost a millon women."said the lindworm in a booming voice. "But, Divine One, Secrice(C-ker-is), females may be able to fight well." said Dracia. "That is true, but only when it comes to us. Their females plot, while their males fight, and they do not have many warriors." said Secrice....

Zephinia walked along the path until she came to the opening of the forest. She knew there were all sorts of people that she would not enjoy meeting, but one of her dearest friends had been taken there. She gripped the handle of her sword tightly. Many thoughts raced through her mind. She wondered if her friend was even alive, or what if they had taken her, Karina, just to lure Zephinia in? No matter what it was, courage flowed through Zephinia and she charged onward into the darkness of the forest...

"Halt, stranger! Be known or be foe," Said an unfamiliar voice from somewhere. Zephinia looked around quickly, but could not find anything or anyone. Zephinia called out, "Show yourself, coward!" Suddenly, a man in thick armor jumped out from behind a tree, sword aimed for Zephinia. She jumped out of the way, pulling out her own sword. "If it is a fightyou are looking for, then fight we shall," She told the man. "Hahaha! you do not stand a chance againts me!" "Oh yeah?" She ran at the man, and swung her sword. The man blocked it easily with his shield. Zephinia jumped on top of him and kicked him in the head. The man fell down with a thud.

After a long time of walking, she came upon a small camp area. Then, she saw two men gambling over something in a bag. The bag was moving. Zephinia stepped into view of the men. "What are you doing here?" They both stood up, pulling out small knives. Then Zephinia stood in a battle position, and pointed her sword at them. "I'm not looking for a fight, but if you will not be peaceful..." She looked at her blade, then back at them, "I will kill you both." They did not put their weapons away. "Fine, so be it," Zephinia lunged at them, cutting off an arm. They stabbed her in the shoulder, but not deep enough to cause major injury. Out of nowhere, a sudden darkness swept over the area, with two demon like creatures standing in front of Zephinia. "You dare attack us?! HAHAHA!!" She became very dizzy, felt something leave her, then... Emptiness and darkness...

Zephinia woke up and looked around quickly, she was still in the camp, but no one else was there. She noticed that the moving bag was still there, and ran over to it. Zephinia untied the knot that was holding the opening shut. A flash of dark green and blue showed and then Zephinia was looking at a wyvern hatchling, about 4 feet high and 6 feet long(including tail). She gasped. Who would do such a thing to a dragon? She became angry at the two men who had it trapped in the bag. The hatchling appeared to be injured in the wing. Zephinia pulled out something she had brought when she first set out to go through the forest. It was medicine for wounds. She rubbed the gel-like material on the hatchling's wing, and was surprised it let her do so. It made an odd like "K-wee!" sound that made Zephinia jump. "You're a cute little fellow," She said admiringly to the hatchling, "May I call call you Vrio?" It gently pushed his head onto Zephinia's arm as if saying, 'Sure!'

Vrio and Zephinia walked through the forest. Zephinia was giggling at the funny sounds that Vrio made, and was also hoping to find any sign of where Karina was. "This forest sure is large," Zephinia began talking to herself, although Vrio seemed as though he understood what she was saying...

Night fell upon the forest, so Vrio and Zephinia set up an area under a tree to rest for the night. Zephinia found it hard to sleep, because she heard many odd sounds, and saw many odd things. Despite the fact that she didn't want to, Zephinia soon drifted off to sleep.

The light of the morning caused Vrio and Zephinia to awaken. Zephinia stretched and yawned. "The sunrise is beautiful," She said. The sun outlined the trees in gold, and the birds began singing their songs. Vrio nuzzled Zephinia, and then he looked at the sky just as she was. "Let's go find something to eat, okay?" Vrio gave a little squeak, and Zephinia giggled.

There were all sorts of fruit trees, but very few of them looked like they had edible fruit. "Ah! here we go," Zaphinia said as she picked some familiar looking fruit off a tree. They both turned around to go find a good picnic place, when they heard a voice behind them say, "And just where are you going with that fruit?"

Zephinia jumped in surprise. "I said,Where are you going with that fruit?" The man seemed very unpatient. "I was going to eat them in a clean area," replied Zephinia. The man laughed and told her, "Well, that fruit there is MINE!" "This forest belongs to the wild, it does and should not belong to any person," argued Zephinia, she was growing annoyed with this person. The man persisted, "But I live on this land, so I own it!" He started twitching. Zephinia opened her mouth to speak but Vrio jumped in front of her, then pointed to the man with his head. The man was now staring into thin air, and twitching madly. She backed away from him, "Sir?" Then he began to yell, just yell at nothing, and then stared at Zephinia, "AAAAAAARRRGGHH!!" His eyes grew red, and he grew claws and wings, and fire erupted from his head, arms, and legs. "RRRRRUUUUN!" Was the last thing Zephinia ever dared to listen to before she actually did run. "He's mad!" She ran faster.

She came to a stop, panting. She had successfully escaped the mad demon-man. Zephinia looked around, but she was alone, "Vrio?!"

Fifty years ago, a horrible earthquake shook the Earth to its core. Major tsunamis wreaked havoc among the cost line. Many cities, both major and minor, were totally decimated. And a chunk of land broke away from the main land and became its own island. Several years later, when the economy started to recover, many teams were sent to the island and made a startling discovery.

The humans on the new island survived the break off, but the most amazing thing were their children. Some of them had animal-like qualities, like tails, wings, and fangs. These amazing creatures have been labeled “APAGE”, standing for Abnormally Powered And Gifted Entities. After the government found about the APAGE, they passed a bill saying that they were not human and had no human rights. Then, things got ugly.

The other countries wanted to build cities on New Island, but they were concerned about the APAGE. So, the other countries made a police force to help control the APAGE. Since they have no rights, many APAGE were put into labor camps and killed. Even then, the crime rate keeps increasing and the APAGE were the ones being blamed. Then they went drastic.

They made another police force, a special one. The members of this one, up to their leader, were all APAGE. Their job is to hunt down APAGE renegades and mercenaries and either train them to become members or destroy them. The name of the organization is AMRSO, short for Anti-Mercenary and Renegade Special Ops. They rule with an iron fist.

And now, fifty years later, the first woman reporter is being let into New Island. Her name is Mia Evangeline and this is not only her story, but also the story of those around her and those whose lives she changed forever.

I stared out the window of the plane and down at the wild forests below me. I was nearly shaking with excitement. Not many reporters, especially 18-year-old female ones, got to travel to New Island. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. As he plane started to come down toward the runway, my heart started to beat faster. Who knows what I’ll come across during my stay?

As I stepped off the plane, I adjusted my knee-length buckskin skirt with black lace around the hem. My shirt was short sleeved and slightly low cut and matched my skirt. I took my knee-length black hair out of its ponytail and shook it. I flipped through my notebook and felt around looking for a pencil. I couldn’t fine one. I sighed and walked over to the conveyer belt to pick up my luggage.

As I exited the small airport, my arms were shaking with anticipation. I looked around and found it, the limousine with the chauffeur in the red coat and black pants. I walked up to him. “Hi. I’m Mia Evangeline...” I said, extending my hand for him to shake it. He shook it like a dog. Then he opened the door to the limo and we were off.

It was still late at night...or early morning? I couldn’t tell. “Hey, chauffeur?” I said, leaning forward, “What time is it?” He glanced at his watch. “It’s 12:32 AM, Miss Evangeline.” He said. I blinked. I had no clue it was that late. I looked around the spacious limousine and all the things in it. There was a TV, two bottles of Champaign (event though I was too young to have any), a mini fridge, a microwave, two phones, and a CD player. “This is pretty ritzy.” I said, looking around again uncomfortably. “Yes, that said only the best for you. You’re a world class reporter at such a young age, that’s some major talent you’ve got there.” The chauffeur said, sending me a smile over his shoulder. I blushed slightly.

I decided to roll down the window next to me and look out at the dark forest whizzing by. It sounded like it was Cricket City out there. Every now and then I’d hear the call of an owl or the flapping of wings. It had been a long time since I had been out in nature like this. I took a deep breath of the cool night air. Something was going to happen tonight, the feeling was almost tangible.

I saw it in the distance, the main building for the police of New Island. I would have preferred to have stayed at the AMRSO headquarters, but I was told this was not a good idea because I would be the only human in the building. The New Island police had a nice building, but I’d seen better. It was plain and grey with an iron-gate around it. The limo stopped and the chauffeur helped me get out. “Thank you!” I say as he takes my luggage out of the back and wheels it to the front door. He waves, then takes off.

I walked up to the gate a pressed a button. There was a click sound as the speaker next to it came to life. “State your name and business.” A detached voice said over the speaker. “My name is Mia Evangeline and I’m the reporter from the continents...” I said in a dry voice. It felt like I’ve told everyone in the whole word my name by now. “Oh yeah, come on in.” The voice says as the gates unlock. I enter.

A man with short brown hair in a black uniform greets me at the door. “Hello Miss Evangeline, we’ve been expecting you.” He says, smiling and saluting me. I stood there feeling stupid. “Come on inside, we have lots to show you. Even some renegade APAGE we caught earlier.” He continued, opening the door. My heart leapt into my throat. I was going to see some real life APAGE! He led me through the lobby and down into the jail. I gasped.

There were three APAGE in the dirty cells. One of them was a female fish APAGE with long blue hair and a fish tail. Her whole torso was covered with scales. Her human legs were tinged light blue. As I looked closer, I saw that she was pregnant! The next one was a female golden eagle APAGE. She looked like the mystical harpy with taloned hands and feet. She had golden feathers on her arms and legs and a pair of wings on her back. She was nursing a cut and bleeding arm. But it was the last APAGE the broke my heart.

It was a small girl, no older than seven. She was a lynx APAGE with large black-tipped ears and her feet ended in paws. She was in a corner by herself, crying. She was wearing a tattered, faded dress. She looked cold and hungry. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that everything was all right. I took out my camera and took pictures. I looked over my shoulder and the room was empty, so I approached the bars.

“Hello there.” I said to the little lynx APAGE. She jumps and looked at me, her eyes filled with fear. “It’s alright. Here, have some food.” I said, tossing some peanuts at her. It was airline food, but it was better than nothing. Her eyes lit up and she picked them up one by one and ate them. Then, one of the police offers entered the room. He was followed by several more. They all had loaded guns. The man that led me into the room grabbed my wrist. “Come on Miss Evangeline, it’s not save here. A renegade APAGE is trying to break in. But his warning came too late.

“Howling Wolf Claw!” A male voice shouts as the wall that I was facing blows apart. I scream as part of the ceiling comes down next to me. I was pinned in-between the back wall and the jail cells! Then I saw him. He was literally glowing with pride from his grey slicked back hair to his pawed feet. He was a wolf APAGE with wolf ears and a tail. He was wearing a sleeveless grey shirt and blue jeans. He just stood there, looking over the situation. “He’s so cool.” I said despite myself.

The police stared to fire at him. He rolled to the side, the bullets barely missing him. “Howling Wolf Claw!” He says for a second time as he pasts about the jail cells and more of the ceiling. A large chunk nearly hit the police, so they scattered. He picked up the little girl APAGE and tossed her up and out of one of the holes in the ceiling. The golden eagle APAGE flying upward. The police started firing again before he could move to the fish APAGE.

He scowls at them and starts moving around, trying not to get shot. I realized that I should escape but I thought I was safer here. Suddenly, I heard him cry out. He got shot in the leg! I felt helpless, so I started to take pictures. He lashed out at the police, then scooped up the fish APAGE and ran off. I got up and moved toward the hole in the wall he made. I kept taking pictures of them four APAGE running off into the night. I zoomed in and got a shocking picture. It was a picture of the wolf APAGE’s face. He was looking over his shoulder with a very sad look on his face, like he was ashamed of what he did. Just then, I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. It was once of the police officers and he lead me away from the wrecked room to where I was spending the night. I felt asleep with my final pictured burned in to my mind...

I stood alone in the parking lot. People were everywhere and I was nervous. After what happened last night, it was decided it was too dangerous for me to stay here so someone was going to pick me up and move me to the AMRSO headquarters. All of the people were taking pictures or repairing the damage. As I looked around, I saw it pull up. A sliver Ferrari. It stopped next to me and a window rolled down. “Are you Miss Evangeline?” A male voice said. I nodded. The door opened and I climbed in.

I stared at the driver. His hair was blonde and his eyes were black. His skin was light yellow with black dots on it. He feet ended in paws. He has two small ears on his head. “Ah! A cheetah APAGE!” I cried with surprise. He grinned at me. “My name is James and yes, I’m a cheetah APAGE. Buckle up, because I like to drive fast.” I, still in a state of shock, buckled my seat belt as his foot hit the gas.

Saying he like to ‘drive fast’ was an extreme understatement. Everything whizzed by at an ungodly speed. “JUST HOW FAST ARE WE GOING?” I shouted as I was pressed back into the seat. “REALLY FAST!” He shouted back. We were entering the city. “SLOW DOWN OR YOU’LL HIT SOMEONE!” I cried in fear. “NO WORRIES! I’VE NEVER HIT ANYONE!” He shouted back. I couldn’t take much more of this. It felt like my body was going to be crushed and my head was going to explode. I tried to open my mouth to shout something when...

Everything came to a halt. I was nearly tossed into the dashboard. He unbuckled himself and got out of the car like nothing happened. I unbuckled myself, but I curled up in a ball on the seat instead. My head was reeling. “Oh dear, did I go too fast?” He said in a worried tone. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “Hey, you have a tail.” I said because I didn’t see it before. He was wearing a boring white uniform with a yellow and black patch on the right shoulder. He reached down and helped me to my feet. I was surprised that I didn’t pass out or throw up. I then look up at the building we were parked in front of.

It was very tall. It was painted a blue-ish green and it was oval in shape. We walked up to a glass door and it opened for us. I found myself in a nice entrance hall with a balcony over looking it. “Oh dear, you weren’t driving super fast again, were you?” A voice said. I looked up at the balcony. There was a girl on it. She had short brown hair and two spiked fins on either side of her head. She was wearing the same uniform but it had a brown patch on the side. “Well of course I did Umi.” He said, shaking his head, “How else did I get here this fast?”

Umi sighed then walked down the stairs. Most of the back of her uniform had been cut out to make way for her large spines and fins. “That Umi, she’s a Sea Horse APAGE.” James whispered in my ear. I stared at him in shock. “But sea horses aren’t animals! APAGE are part animal!” I hissed back in surprise. “There are insect APAGE too.” He said winking at me. My mouth hung open in surprise as Umi walked up to us.

“Hello, my name is Umi and you must be Mia.” She said, extending her hand. I shook it, glad that she called me by my first name. “It’s very nice to meet you.” I said smiling at her. I saw that someone was walking up to us. My eyes widened as he approached. He had rather short black hair and a huge pair of glossy black wings. His eyes were also black. “Ah, I see the reporter has arrived.” He said, looking at me. I shuttered. There was something about the hollow sound of his voice that gave me the chills. “Oh, hello Reusol.” Umi said, smiling at him. “Would you be so kind as to show Mia around? I would love to, but James and I have a meeting to go to.” I stared in horror at them. Me? Be showed around by him?

“Yes, I will show her around, please follow me.” He said, turning and walking off. I pleaded James and Umi with my eyes, but they walked off. I turned and ran after Reusol. As he showed me from place to place, I took pictures. When his back was turned, of course. I was the first human allowed inside here, so why shouldn’t I take pictures? I also started to plan interviews I wanted to make. I was definitely going to interview Umi, she seemed really nice.

“And this is where you’ll sleep.” Reusol said, opening the door in the long hallway we were traveling down. The room was very nice and cozy and had a huge window the over looked the city. “Oh it’s beautiful!” I said. “You’re luggage will be brought up later today. Do you have any questions?” He asked me. I shook my head. He left and I looked around my room. Suddenly, my stomach told me it was hungry and I realized I didn’t know where the food was. I looked through the pictures in my digital camera, but they didn’t show any eating area. I sighed. “Looks like I’ll just starve...” I grumbled as I sunk to the floor.

“What? He didn’t show you where we eat?” I jumped about five feet in the air turned to see James standing in the doorway. “N-No.....he didn’t.” I said, still in slight shock. He seemed to pop up everywhere. “Well then, follow me. The meeting just ended and I’m hungry.” He said, smiling. I smiled back and followed him.

The dinning area was huge. There were two long buffets on either side of the room. APAGE were everywhere. I was terrified. I turned, but James wasn’t there anymore. “No use just standing around here.” I say as I walk over to a buffet. I looked it over, then got a bowl and dished myself up a salad. I poured some ranch dressing on it before realizing I had no where to sit. I stood there awkwardly, wondering what to do next. “Hey! Sit over here!” A voice calls. I turn and see Umi and James sitting together at the same table.

I sit next to them. “Mia, this is Keika. Keika, this is the reporter, Mia.” I look at her in wonder. She has very long blonde hair with black stripes in it. Her eyes are black and she has two antennas on top of her head. She had two glossy insect wings on her back. A bee APAGE! I couldn’t believe it. “It’s so nice to meet you! I was afraid they were going to send a male reporter over here, but I’m so happy because you’re a girl!” She cries as we shake hands. The two of us laugh. Maybe this won’t be so bad after all...