Darkness.

     He had let the word surround him. It was who he was now after all. What else could he do but embrace it?

     Will rolled over in bed and pulled the sheets over his face. He felt way too hot to even still be in bed, but it was the only way to block out the bit of light peeking out behind his blinds, silently mocking him.

     "Stupid..." he muttered to nobody in particular as he rolled over, letting his arm hang off the bed. He lazily reached for his phone, glancing to see if he had any messages.

     "Will? Are you ok in there?"

     Will merely grunted as he tossed the phone aside and curled back into a ball, trying to shut out the noise.

     "It's the late afternoon. Don't you want to come downstairs?"

     Will responded with an uninterested growl as he threw a pillow over his head.

     "Well... at least he's alive in there."

     "Alan, I'm worried," said Mary.

     "He can't stay in there forever," said Alan. "We can just wait him out."

     "I don't like this," said Mary. "This isn't healthy for a young boy."

     "Well he's not going to listen to us," Alan paused for a moment, trying to think before looking over his shoulder at the door behind him. "Maybe he'll listen to her." He turned towards the door, giving it a gentle knock. "Rox, you got a minute?"

     There was a pause before the door swung open and Roxy peeked her head out. "What?"

     "We need you to talk some sense into your brother," said her father.

     "Well, he hasn't made sense his entire life, so I don't think I can make him start now," said Roxy.

     "Roxanne!"

     "What am I supposed to say?" said Roxy. "He's being all mopey for no reason!"

     "Please just try sweetie," her mother gripped her hand and pulled her towards Will's door.

     Roxy let out a sigh as she tried to think of what to do. Truth be told, she was just as worried about Will as her parents were. As exciting as universal magic seemed, it was also scary. So much power inside such young bodies.

     "Will?" Roxy knocked lightly at the door, pressing her ear to it waiting for a response, but none came. "C'mon Will, this isn't helping anything," Roxy knocked a little harder, but still got no response.

     "You know you're being a big baby about this, right?" Roxy shouted. "Dark magic isn't evil. It's just movies and stuff that make it seem that way."

     There was a small pause, followed by the sound of something thudding against the door, followed by more silence.

     "If you don't come out, uh..." Roxy tried to think for a moment, "I'll make Corrin set your room on fire."

     "I don't care!" Will bellowed out before an even louder thud against the door made Roxy jump back.

     "Well, at least he said something," Roxy shrugged, looking at her parents.

     "It's ok sweetie," her mother said with a deep sigh.

     Roxy frowned and turned back to her room, but quickly started to panic when she saw what was happening in her room. "No! Corrin, do not chew that! You'll melt it!"

     ************************************************************************

     Almost the entire weekend was spent in darkness. The few times Will emerged from his room was for food, and he refused to exchange a single word with his family. On Monday morning, his parents were worried they wouldn't be able to get him to go to school, but to their surprise, he emerged from his room fully dressed. He hadn't showered, so his fur was matted and messy, and he hadn't bothered wearing clean clothes. His bandana was also left lying discarded on the floor. Both of his parents wanted to say something, but both opted to just give him space for now.

     Roxy didn't want to stay silent. She trailed nervously behind Will on the way to the bus stop, trying to think of a way to get him to open up. She avoided Serena and Arnold at the bus stop, sitting right next to Will on the sidewalk.

     "Are you ok?" Roxy said as gently as she could.

     Will didn't react, keeping his gaze fixed firmly on the asphalt beneath his feet.

     "You're going to be ok," said Roxy. "Nothing has changed. You're still the same person you-"

     "Hey Rox?"

     Roxy jumped a little inside. She had gotten him to speak. "Yeah?"

     "...Shut up."

     Her heart sunk down in her chest as his words cut deep. She clutched her tail nervously, turning her gaze to the ground as well.

     She was completely out of her depth here. There had to be some way to explain to Will that he would be ok as an Umbran, but she knew next to nothing about Umbran history. She spent the entire bus ride trying to look up as much as she could about famous Umbran's, but all she came up with were research articles and cheap sci-fi movies.

     Things did not improve once they arrived at school. All of this was so alien to Roxy, but all she could do was muse over what little she already knew, but it got her nowhere. She kept her eyes on Will as she gathered her books from her locker, still racking her brain to no avail.

     "ROXYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

     Without warning, an insanely strong arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her away from her locker, causing the contents of her bag to spill to the ground as she was dragged away. Her brain finally caught up with her body to see the assailant was the silver fox Lola from magic class.

     "Oh my gosh! I am so glad I found you!" Lola said excitedly with a massive smile across her muzzle. "I spent all weekend trying to find you on social media! You have to give me your info!"

     "Huh?" Roxy was still trying to catch up. "But I don't-"

     "Doesn't matter," said Lola, not letting up on her grip. "After last week, I decided that the best thing for us is to become BEST FRIENDS!!!" She was becoming more manic she spoke.

     "What?" Roxy didn't know how to respond. "I don't think-"

     "Nothing to think about!" said Lola, leading her away from the lockers.

     "Wait, my shoes..." Roxy tried to turn back to her stuff, but Lola held her in place.

     "Now I know things got a little awkward last week," said Lola, ignoring her plea. "But I promise, you'll never regret knowing me."

     "Can I just get my-"

     "Here, let's make this official," said Lola as her prosthetic arm pulled Roxy close and tightened around her shoulders. All Roxy could do was sputter and struggle uselessly as Lola held her in place and snapped a photo. "Perfect!" She said excitedly, giving Roxy a large enough hug to lift her off the ground and remove any remaining oxygen left in her lungs. "I will see you during free period!"

     Lola dropped Roxy back on the ground and ran off, waving over her shoulder as Roxy stood dazed in the middle of the entrance hall, still barefoot, and wondering if anyone had caught the license plate of the truck that had just hit her.

     ************************************************************************

     "Is that him?"

     "Careful, don't make eye contact."

     "He could vaporize you with a thought."

     "Is it even safe for him to be here?"

     "He shouldn't be allowed near us!"

     The words cut deep as Will drifted through the day, unable to focus on anything but the whispers he could hear about him. Everything felt hazy and half-formed. Not even Forerunner studies could break him out of his funk. He wished the darkness would just swallow him once and for all.

     He eventually found himself at lunch sitting at a table by himself staring blankly at a tray of food. Tolbin and Roscoe hadn't even tried to speak to him, so he had resigned himself to solitude, interrupted only by Roxy joining him.

     "Are you feeling any better?" she asked sheepishly.

     Will ignored her, not even looking up.

     "Will, please..." Roxy pleaded. "You're overreacting."

     Again, Will stayed silent.

     "I mean... I know how you feel..." Roxy said nervously, clutching her tail.

     "How I feel..." Will muttered. "Tell me how I feel..."

     Roxy jumped a bit. "Well... you're scared about your power-"

     "Scared?" Will snapped, slamming his fists on the table as everyone in the vicinity jumped. "If you ask me, it's everyone else who's scared!"

     "That's not true..." Roxy whimpered, the grip on her tail intensifying. "It's just-"

     "Don't lie to me!" Will shouted, jumping out of his seat. The entire room went near silent as his tray of food clattered to the ground. "I'm the big bad wolf now! Bringer of nightmares and destruction!"

     "Please stop..." Roxy said meekly as she tried to shrink herself into her chair.

     "That's what you all decided, right?" Will had now turned his shouting to the entire room. He angrily kicked his chair away, sending it crashing along the floor before hitting a wall as he jumped up onto the table. "Then I'll give you what you want!" He reached down deep inside himself for that terrifying power he knew he had as the entire room watched in nervous apprehension.

     And as quickly as it began, it ended as Will felt every muscle in his body tense up and freeze. He fell forward, toppling off the table, but stopping an inch before hitting the floor as someone grabbed him by the back of his collar and force him to his feet, leading him quickly out of the cafeteria. He didn't have to look to know he was being escorted by a school guardsman, and he'd be brought before the principal. It didn't matter to him though. Nothing mattered.

     Will was slumped down in a chair outside of Malego's office as the guard went in and explained the situation to him. His mind remained distant, ultimately uninterested in his fate as he was brought before Malego, the guard exiting to leave them in privacy.

     "So, do you care to explain yourself?" Malego's voice was reserved, but an undercurrent of fury sent a chill down Will's spine. He remained silent, folding his arms and turning his gaze to the floor, avoiding his piercing gaze.

     "Because I'm very curious to know why you just threatened the entire student body!" Malego's voice started to raise. Will flinched in his seat, but kept his gaze planter firmly at the floor.

     "I have been at this job long enough to know that there will always be students who get too enthusiastic with their newfound power," Malego lowered his voice a bit, but was still clearly enraged at Will. "But that is no excuse to cause such a scene!"

     Will jumped a little bit again, his tail curling and uncurling nervously. Malego seemed to have a unique way of putting students in their place. Still, he remained stone face, gaze planted at the ground.

     There was a knock at the door as it cracked open, Malego's assistant peeking her head inside. "Excuse me sir, but we need you for a moment."

     "Not now," said Malego without taking his gaze off of Will.

     "Sorry sir, but... well, it's relevant," she replied.

     Malego let out a deep sigh, then stood up and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Will was left alone to stew in his thoughts, the silence being more piercing to him than Malego's lecture. He shuffled his feet nervously as he waited in silence, trying to work up the nerve to just get up and leave the room, but his body wouldn't allow it.

     It took maybe only a minute, but it felt like an eternity before Malego re-entered the room. Will managed to turn his head enough to glance at him. He seemed frustrated as he removed his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You'll be in detention today after school." He finally said. "As for the rest of the day, you'll be in study hall in the library. That's all." He replaced his glasses on his face, then motioned for Will to leave.

     ************************************************************************

     It was a nightmare. A literal nightmare. Will had turned both of them into pariahs with his stunt. She was officially living her worst nightmare. Roxy couldn't fix that. Now she had to live with it.

     She sat silently at her desk, avoiding eye contact with everyone else. This was the last place she wanted to be, but all she could do was get it over with. She wasn't alone in the room, but Roxy was completely detached from her surroundings. The sound of chattering just drifted around her, formless sounds drifting in the void.

     "Ok everyone," Maya entered the classroom, looking noticeably more tense than she usually did. "Last week, we ended on a rather interesting note."

     "You mean that freak almost killing us?" a voice piped up from the back of the room. Roxy could actually feel her insides flip.

     "Thank you Miss Parr," said Maya, "But I would like to remind you that none of you were in any danger Friday afternoon."

     "Yeah right!" the cheetah girl retorted. "He could've opened a black hole and swallowed us all. Bet that's why the whiny kid isn't here."

     "I assure you there has never been an Umbran powerful enough to create a singularity event," said Maya. "And... wait, where is Mr. Rose? I wasn't told he was absent."

     Everyone just shrugged in confusion. Roxy hadn't even noticed the desk next to her was empty.

     "Oh well, if he's hiding somewhere, someone will collect him," said Maya.

     "Wait?" The same voice from the cheetah girl pipped up again. "What about her?"

     A knife had been jabbed right into Roxy's spine. She knew instantly that she was the topic of this point, and that all attention in the room was on her now.

     "Miss Skysong is no threat to you," said Maya. "It is perfectly safe for her to be here."

     "Uh uh, no way," the cheetah girl insisted. "We all saw what her brother did at lunch. Get her out of here!"

     Roxy could feel herself shaking in her seat as tears started to form in her eyes.

     "Hey! You leave Roxy alone!" Lola suddenly jumped up in her seat, shouting at the cheetah girl.

     This was not helping. Roxy's hands gripped at her tail tighter than she ever had in her life.

     "Miss Kit, Miss Parr, I need you to both calm down, or I will need to call security," said Maya.

     "Oh sure, the freak defending the other freak," the cheetah girl taunted.

     "You take that back!" Lola slammed her prosthetic arm against the desk, nearly collapsing it.

     "Lola! Don't!" Tony was out of his seat now trying to restrain Lola.

     "Please, no fighting!" Serena shouted at them.

     "No, let them fight!" Roscoe pipped up from the back of the class.

     Roxy was beginning to have trouble breathing. Her vision was blurring, and her limbs felt numb.

     "Nobody is fighting in my class!" Maya yelled.

     "Right, otherwise the freaks will kill us all."

     The world became a blur as Roxy bolted from her desk and into the hallway. She could barely see as she stumbled her way to the bathroom, not even sure if she was being followed or not. She managed to stumble her way into a stall and collapse as she began bawling her eyes out and dry heaving. Thoughts raced through her head formlessly, blaming everything around her for her situation, including Will, her parents, this school, but most of all, herself.

     Roxy struggled to breathe through her hysterical sobbing. She turned and noticed at Serena and Lola had followed her, along with a female guard. She tried to shout at them to get out, but it only came out as a garbled wail through her tears. Serena gently took her arm and tried to help her up, but Roxy just collapsed against Serena's waist. She wanted to pull away, but Serena held her close. Not having the strength to resist, Roxy just gave up and cried into Serena's dress, just wishing she could somehow melt away into nothingness.