Lucas stood silently in the prepping room before the second mock war. Cornell's voice echoed throughout the room, "Little flies gather around." Silence followed. The students had been at the school for only a year and already they knew exactly what was expected of them. Lucas looked around and saw his sister standing next to Jax and Sam. She was glowing as usual. Lucas stared ahead. He was always taken aback by how different they were. Her hair was a dark raven and his was dirty blonde. Her skin was bright and flawless and his was dull. Her eyes were a striking blue and his were a soft grey. Lucas smiled faintly. They were twins, yet it was Aliana who always seemed to shine. His eyes roamed to the sleeve of her shirt where the intricate emblem sat proudly. It designated her as one of the most dominating magic users in the class. He looked at Sam and Jax's sleeves which were identical to Aliana's. The emblems were customized for them so that they would always stand apart from the rest. Lucas scoffed. They didn't need an emblem for that.
As the rest of them made their way to the field, Lucas caught up to Aliana, Jax, and Sam. Aliana smiled at him, "Lucas! Where were you?" He just looked at the ground as Sam and Jax's eyes turned to him. Aliana hugged him, "We're going to win this war too." He nodded. During the last mock war, they had all been on the same team. They beat the other teams by a landslide. The only things that had changed since then, were the precautions put in place after the coup. No one was sure about what happened exactly, but everyone wanted to ensure that nothing like it would recur. His power was outlawed. The school decreed he wasn't allowed to use it due to the events during the coup. She sighed. Lucas stared as Aliana gently grabbed Sam's face in her small hands. She whispered something Lucas couldn't hear. Based on the relaxing of Sam's shoulders, he was sure it was a reassuring statement of some kind. Lucas could tell something had happened between the two of them by the way Sam stared into Aliana's sharp blue eyes like they were the only thing keeping him floating. Lucas turned his attention to Jax. They had been best friends since Jax arrived. Jax was upbeat and loud, the opposite of Lucas. It was part of his allure. His heart squeezed as he attempted to place the look on Jax's face. He looked painfully dispirited. Lucas walked up to him. He put his hand in Jax's. Jax looked up at him, smiling softly. Aliana approached them and Jax immediately wriggled his hand free, "What are you guys doing? Let's go to our station." Jax put his hands on his hips, casting a false bravado, "I get to use the sword this time since I beat the both of you on the last history exam." Sam smirked at him, "New bet. I can get to the station faster than the both of you." Aliana eyed them both and immediately took off running. Sam and Jax looked at each other and then sprinted after her. Lucas sighed as he made his way to the station alone.
When he approached, they were all laughing and out of breath. Aliana grinned, "I definitely beat you guys." Jax rolled his eyes, "There's no way. You got a head start and we still made it here before you." Jax turned his attention to Sam, "Draw breaker?" Sam stuck out his hand and Jax gripped it tightly. They both struggled against each other. Lucas rolled his eyes. An arm wrestle would just end up in another tie. Whenever Jax and Sam went up against each other by means of strength, it turned into a standstill, because they were perfectly equal. Aliana separated their hands, "Since it was a draw, let's do this. Jax uses the sword first then Sam gets it after." Jax rose his chin at Sam proudly before running to get the sword. Sam grumbled, "Why does he get to go first?" Aliana shrugged, "I just picked randomly. Don't be a baby."
Lucas didn't take his eyes off of the magenta flag that flowed in the wind above him. Sam was supposed to be on offensive while Jax and Aliana were on the defensive. Lucas' job was to maintain a visual on their flag the whole time. They were going to win. He was sure of it. Lucas smiled to himself. He loved winning. It allowed him to share some of the spotlight with his sister. Maybe one day it would make his parents stop comparing them. "Lucas, you should be more like your sister." "Aliana knew the answer to that." "Try harder." He shook his head as an unfamiliar disguised voice came from the intercom, "Let the mock war." An extended pause quieted the field before plunging it into chaos, "Begin!"
Since their team won the last war, students from every group came to challenge them. Lucas watched as Aliana and Jax looked at each other, smiling deviously before focusing their attention to the approaching groups. Jax covered the ground in ice. Lucas knew he did it because he found that it set opponents off balance while simultaneously allowing him quicker movements. A speed tried running on the ice and slipped. Jax laughed heartily. A weak telekinetic tried to use his powers to strip their flag from its post just as Aliana punched him. From behind, someone tried to use ice magic to encase Jax's feet to the ground. Aliana's white fire burst at the same time as Jax's did, creating a blinding flash of light. They both came out unscathed, grinning at each other. A strongarm reached for the flag and before Lucas could react, Jax slashed her arm with the sword. There seemed to be attacks from every side, but Jax and Aliana always deflected them with ease. They moved together fluidly, mirroring each other's movements perfectly. Lucas sighed. They were the embodiment of the term soulmates. Not long after, Sam returned to their station triumphantly displaying the fourteen flags he had gathered. He raised his chin at Jax, "Let's see you beat this." Jax narrowed his eyes at Sam, grinning, "You're on." He handed the sword to Sam as they high fived, passing the baton. Jax ran off and Sam took his place next to Aliana. He nudged her as she set flame to the hair of a particularly persistent shapeshifter, "I hope you didn't miss me too much." She rolled her eyes, "You wish." They fell into step with each other effortlessly. Aliana was every bit as in sync with Sam as she had been with Jax. It was a phenomenon that had never taken place before. From every breath they took it was tortuously obvious that Jax, Aliana, and Sam were all soulmates.
A short illusionist approached their flag before Lucas kicked his feet from under him. He stared back at the flag, thinking. For some reason though, it seemed as though Aliana and Sam had fallen in love long before Jax arrived at school. Lucas felt the slight twinge of pain in Jax's gaze whenever he set his eyes on them. Lucas heard someone calling for Sam and turned his head. He saw a small girl in a black suit like all the rest shouting, "Sam, quick! Jax needs your help." Sam turned his attention to the shouting. Lucas heard a muffled cry. His eyes shot to where his sister had just been standing. A man wearing a black cloak, pressed his hand against Aliana's mouth forcefully. When the man whispered something in her ear, Lucas watched the fight inside of her die. Her eyes seemed to dim. Lucas couldn't remember what kind of spell immobilized a person like that. He began to curse himself. Aliana would know. Lucas shook his head thinking, "This isn't the time." He stared, balling his fist and slowly inching closer to them. Sam's eyes locked onto the man's and he dashed forward shouting a battle cry. In that moment, Jax returned holding up thirteen flags, "Just two more and then I beat you Sam." Jax stopped cold in his tracks. The man picked Aliana up in his arms delicately, as though she would break. At the same time, a wave passed over the battlefield. The hood of the man's cloak wavered for a split second, but it was enough. Lucas gasped. For a moment, everything seemed to halt. The man began walking away with Aliana. Lucas sprinted after them, his feet moving faster than his brain. What was going on? "Stop!" Everything seemed to resume behind him as he heard Jax shout, "You killed her!" Following the thuds of a brawl. Lucas kept running and as he rounded the corner, he bumped into the man. He breathed, "Kai."