Broken Symmetry (NTB Book 2) (A Socksfor1 AU)

New Beginnings

(AKIK POV)

I lay on my bed and watched as the rain splattered on the window. I saw a flash of light, then thunder rolled in the distance. The heart of the storm was far from us, but one could think that there was a tornado out there. It was a marvel of this world's natural beauty, even with its possible danger.

I got up and decided to see how everyone else was doing. I opened the door to my room and almost ran right into an orange demon-hanger that was walking down the hall at the same time. 

"Oh! Sorry, Dusk!" I apologized.

"It's fine, happens all the time," Dusk said, "Whatcha doing?"

"I was just going to see where everyone else is," I replied, "Wanna come?"

"Sure," he said.

We walked down the hall until we got to the living room, where the others were hanging out. Meme and Nadwe were facing off in some video game - something along the lines of Heroes of the Storm or something like that. I saw Blaza talking in the corner with three people I didn't know - one had brown hair and a mustache, the second was wearing a suit and had some kind of paper mask with sunglasses, and the third had vibrant purple hair with one yellow eye and one green eye. Blaza turned, saw me, and smiled.

"Akik!" He exclaimed. He ran over to me and gave me big hug - he's been doing that basically since we've been safe from the evil demon, Vizor. I'm still on edge about Vizor, since ghosts do exist, and knowing him he's gonna come back to complete whatever goal he was trying to reach, but he's been silent for the three months since I killed him. I wrapped my arms and wings around Blaza, feeling safe in his arms.

"BLAZA, WHO AND WHAT IS THAT?!?" the mustache guy exclaimed from the corner. Blaza turned and let go of me.

"Right... You guys haven't met," Blaza said. "Oompa, Oof, TBVG, this is Akik. Akik, meet Oompa, Oof, and TBVG."

"Hi!" I said, giving them a friendly wave.

"And... What even are you??" The paper mask guy, Oof, asked.

"Nephalem. Long story," I said.

Dusk peeked out from behind me, already a bit nervous about the newcomers. He's not been quick to trust, especially after Vizor died. Vizor was his father, and had misguided him most of his life. 

"AHHH ANOTHER ONE!" Oompa yelled once again. I laughed at his surprise.

"That's Dusk," I said.

"How many of you are there?" TBVG questioned, startled by both Dusk and I as well as Oompa's yelling.

"Just us here, but there are WAY more back on Xero," I explained. When all of them looked at me weirdly, I quickly added, "The planet I'm from."

"You're an alien?" Oof said.

I cringed. "Please don't call me that. I'm a Xeronian. Alien sounds foreign."

"Ah," Oof said, deciding not to elaborate further.

We remained in awkward silence, the only sound in the room being the TV where Meme and Nadwe clashed in the game. Blaza, thankfully, broke the silence.

"So..." He said, "Any luck with Joocie?"

TB shook his head. "No sign of him anywhere. We searched all over, and he's just nowhere."

"Who?" I questioned. Dusk looked equally as confused.

"Right, you never met Joocie," Blaza said, "He was one of our friends. He went missing a while back, and now we don't know where he is. Oompa, Oof, and TB have been trying to find him for months."

"Um... Blaza?" TB said.

"Yeah?" Blaza asked.

"Where are Tbh, Ally, and Dino? I haven't seen them in ages," he said.

Blaza remained silent, a pained expression on his face. They didn't know about Vizor, or the people who died. Blaza was probably just hoping they wouldn't ask.

"Uh... Vacation?" Blaza said, though his voice was definitely lying.

"Blaza, I know when you're lying, and you are," TB said, "Where are they?"

Blaza opened his mouth, about to say something, but just sighed and leaned into me. I saw a tear roll down his cheek, and I wiped it away with my wing.

"They're... Dead," I sighed.

The three stood in shocked silence at the news. "Dead?" Oof said, "What..."

"It's hard to explain," I said, "But they were killed by a demon named Vizor. He came here from my planet to wipe out humans for something they did hundreds of years ago. What that was, I have no clue, but either way, I killed him."

I purposefully left out the part where I killed Tbh and Dino. And the fact that Dusk killed Ally, as well as where Dusk was Vizor's son.

"What about Muffin and Laff?" Oof pointed out, "Are they dead, too?"

"Yes..." I said, "well... Also no. Laff is dead, yes, and is also the reason Vizor was able to hide his identity. He possessed Laff's body when he died. As for Muffin..."

I trailed off, not knowing what to say. I didn't want to give away how Dusk had helped Vizor, even if it was because he had nothing else. I looked at Dusk nervously. He looked at me, just as nervous.

"Well?" Oof said.

I sighed. "Muffin-"

"It was me," Dusk interrupted, "When he died, I took over his body and helped Vizor. He was my father. I'm sorry, I didn't want to do it, I was forced."

I looked at Dusk with surprise. He was looking down, but I could still see a small tear in the corner of his eye. The others said nothing.

"WHY IS HE EVEN HERE??" Oompa shouted, "HE HELPED TO KILL PEOPLE!"

"It wasn't his fault!" Blaza said, "He had nowhere else to go, you don't know how powerful Vizor was!"

"He couldn't have been worse than L4FF!" Oompa argued.

"TRUST ME, HE WAS MUCH WORSE!" I said.

"You don't even know who L4FF is!" Oof pointed out.

"Yes, I do," I said, "Not personally, but I could feel it as soon as I arrived on this planet. The power, although it was fading, still lingered in the atmosphere."

Before anyone could speak any further, Meme (who used stopped playing video games in the heat of the moment) put himself between us and the other three.

"Stop fighting, all of you!" Meme said, "What happened, happened, and we can't do anything about it. Dusk was just misguided, and he's changed. He's with us, and if you can't accept that, then just leave!"

Oompa looked taken aback at Meme's outburst. Oof and TB looked at each other. TB just shrugged.

"You're right, Meme," Oof said, "Guess we all got caught up in the heat of the moment. We're sorry."

"Good," Meme said, relaxing a bit. He looked at Oompa. "Well?"

"Fine," Oompa said, annoyed.

"Alright then," Meme said, "Now that that's settled, who wants lunch?"

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I needed a way to end it XD

AND OOMPA YOU SON OF A YHENJ DONT BE MEAN TO THE POOR CHILD

1102 words