"Alright everyone, remember what I said."
Once the younger kids were asleep, the others gathered outside to see Rollo off. Setsuna and Effa were crying, while the boys looked on with grim expressions.
"What's wrong," Rollo said, smiling. "It's not like I will be gone forever."
Kevin ruffled his dirt blond hair. "Yeah, that won't make us worry any less." He heaved a sigh then smiled as well. "Don't keep us hanging for too long."
"Well, if they don't let me out by the time you are a respectable Valkyrie, you can always come and save me."
"The hell you mean by that!" Kai bunched him on the shoulder, but then his expression became serious. "Hold on, all Valkyries are female, right? Don't tell me..."
"We have awakened boys, though." Out of nowhere, Juni barged into their conversation. "Oh, and there was this boy from the other world. He was the same age as you, I think."
Her explanation gave them a moment of relief, but then they turned their eyes to her.
"Say, can you put in a good word for him?" Kevin said. "I don't know what he did, but... Rollo is a good guy..."
They all saw how Juni warmed her way into the hearts of the kids. Valkyrie or not, they knew she was a good person, and she surely would help them if they asked. As they looked at her with anxious eyes, Juni glanced at Rollo then at the other kids, a cheerful smile spreading on her face.
"Don't worry!" She held a thumb up. "Doctor is a good guy as well. I will tell him to go easy on him."
"Really?" Setsuna asked.
"Yeah! Doctor owes me a reward so I can always ask him for a favor."
"Well, if mister 'I got in trouble with the Resistance' told us what he did, maybe we can help him better."
Rollo went stiff and from behind him, Ingrid appeared. The others noticed it before but they didn't pay it much mind.
"Please help him if you can," Effe asked with tears in her eyes.
"Sorry, no can do." Ingrid shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm a Nephilim, after all."
There was a moment of silence, then the kids went so pale they seemed about to pass out.
A long sigh escaped the youth and he turned to his friend whose skin was much darker than his. Antony was standing behind the bar, polishing a whiskey glass as he usually does. There was one difference, however. A large photo hung on the wall behind him. It was one of many he took when the alien girls visited his humble nightclub.
That photo alone would be a great attraction, bringing in customers other than the local gang. It was for that reason why the owner printed it out and put it in a frame. He was a businessman, after all. Of course, he would use anything that would allow him to gather customers.
"You have got this wrong, everyone." Having adjusted to the rowdiness of his companions, Simon let a smile form on his face. "Only one of them was a Valkyrie. The other was a Nephilim."
His words brought in a moment of silence to the bar, but then the rowdiness returned. Even Antony was wide-eyed, and his skin seemed to lose all the melanin turning him pale white.
"No need to worry." Simon walked toward the counter. "It's not like she would just go berserk and start killing people. She was just a kid, you were able to tell that much, right?"
"Riiiight..." Antony was sweating, but then his expression brightened as if he remembered something. "I remember hearing something about the only Nephilim left being those who opposed the war."
"Exactly. Now get me a beer. I need to celebrate surviving an entire evening with two aliens."
The crowd laughed and drinks were served. Simon then went on to tell them about his experience with Juni and Ingrid, and how the former was easily able to blend in with the children. He also told them about Sara and the tour she gave the two girls.
"I can't say it's believable." Said Antony. "That... girl... Juni..." heaving a sigh, he gazed at the glass in his hands. "She... I can't believe she fought in the war. Powerful or not, it pains me to think she had to face all those horrors..."
Antony could remember the first days of the war with vivid details. He survived the first wave of attacks and served in the Resistance before the Valkyries were introduced; because of that, he knew all too well the kind of despair Calamities brought, and he didn't think a cheerful young girl such as Juni deserved to have the fate of humanity forced on her shoulders.
"Having second thoughts?" Simon placed his bottle down.
"About what?" Antony raised an eyebrow.
"About little Callie," Simon replied.
There was a pause and the bar seemed to be engulfed in silence. Antony opened his mouth to answer-
"I-"
The sound of bullets cut him off. The music was off and everyone was silent. There were a few more shots then screams soon followed. It all sounded quite far, but firearms weren't a toy anyone could just get their hands on, especially not in the poor side of the city.
Simon was about to give orders when he heard an explosion. He hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth.
"Everyone! We're moving!" He yelled. "I don't care who they are! Make sure to get all of them!"
The authorities didn't pay much attention to the old city, that's why the residents had to take peacekeeping into their own hands. The Black Panthers were a gang, true, but when it came to protecting their territory they never held back.