“Sure, can I come inside to talk?”

  “Yeah, actually, can we go to my father's study? This is something that I would rather not have Mona hearing.”

  “What are you trying to hide from poor Mona?”

  “I'm trying to hide nothing; it's just that there's something I want to confirm first before I tell her.”

  “Okay then, lead the way.”

  As they walked past the kitchen, they saw Mona cleaning the dishes. When Mona spotted that Mr. Ravenscroft was there, her face lit up.

  “Shane, why didn’t you tell me that Mr. Ravenscroft was going to be here?!” shouted Mona as she went to hug Mr. Ravenscroft.

  When Shane and Mona's father disappeared a year ago, the only person they could trust was Alicia's father, and over that year, he became something of a father figure to them. He was actually their adoptive father because he didn’t want them separated, so he and his wife decided to adopt them and let them continue living in the house where they grew up.

  Whenever there was a problem that Shane couldn’t handle, Mr. Ravenscroft would be the one to step up and help. After their father disappeared, he would always invite them to his family's home to ease the stress they were facing.

  “Hey, now, how many times have I told you guys to call me Arthur. You could also call me Dad if you want to. I do treat you like my children whenever you visit,” said Arthur as he smiled toward the children.

  As Mona went to Shane to hit him for not telling her that Arthur was going to visit them that day, he put his arm out to stop her from hitting him.

  “Hey Mona, calm down, I brought Arthur here because there's something important I need to ask, so we'll be in Father's office. While we’re talking, you can watch TV in the living room. I know the cartoons you watch are on right now.”

  “Oh, Mona, if you want my wife baked cookies today, so if you want some, you can go over and talk to her and Alicia. Plus, there's something Alicia wanted to ask you, so it would probably be good if you went now.”

  “Okay, I’ll go right now,” said Mona as she put on her sandals to go next door.

  As they watched Mona leave through the front door, they started to walk toward Shane's father’s office.

  As they arrived at the office, Shane made sure all the windows and doors were closed so no one would hear what he had to say.

  “Hey Shane, what's so important that you don’t want anyone to hear. Are you having girl problems? Because if so, as your adoptive father, you could ask anything.”

  “Trust me, I wish that were it, but this is something more important, and whenever I think about it, my head just goes crazy,” said Shane, his voice now more panicked.

  “Well, whatever it is you could ask me because even if you don’t believe I think of you as my Son.”

  “Ok. Then, first, do you know anything about my father’s disappearance?”

  “Why do you ask now? Did something happen? I haven’t heard anything about you since he disappeared last year.”

  “Can you please tell me the truth? I saw time stop yesterday, and I heard my father's voice saying that I need to talk to you because you're the only one who could help me awaken some type of power within me!” screamed Shane as he started grabbing his hair in panic.

  As Arthur heard what Shane was saying, his face changed to one filled with concern. He had known Shane for so long and never seen him panic like this, so when he saw him act the way he was now, he was full of concern.

  “Hey Shane, first, can you calm down. I’ll tell you the truth as soon as you do.”

  “Okay”

  As five minutes passed, Shane had almost completely calmed down.

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  Shane was currently lying on the sofa in his Dad’s office, and Arthur was sitting on a desk chair across from Shane.

  As Arthur took a long breath, he said, “Alright, Shane, the truth is I do know what happened to your dad a year ago. I didn’t tell you because he said that you were too young and he didn’t want you or Mona to be involved in any of the mess he was a part of.”

  “Why did he do that?”

  “He didn’t want you to be a part of a war that ended 22 years ago. This war has raged for billions of years, almost since the dawn of the universe. Your father and I were both generals, and we fought together during this war.”

  “Who was this war between?” Shane said, confused by Arthur's words.

  “This was between Angels and Demons. The war only ended twenty-two years ago because the last Demon Queen and Angel King agreed. So during that time, your father and I created families of our own. I never met your mother, but I assume there's a reason your father never told me, so I always brushed it off. But three years ago, they had to step down, and a new Demon King stepped up to the throne. But there was one major problem, and that was that the Angel King didn’t have an heir to take the throne.”

  “How does this relate to my dad’s disappearance?”

  “So, a year ago, the current Demon King declared war against the Angels again. Because of that, your father was called up to participate in the war because he was the strongest of the last generals. The night you thought he disappeared, he came to talk to me one last time, saying that unless you asked about it, I shouldn’t tell you,” said Arthur as he had despair in his voice.

  “Wait, so you're telling me that Mona and I are part Angels. How could none of you have told us about this?” said Shane as he was angrier now that he knew the truth.

  “Wait, I’m not done yet. You said yesterday that time stopped when you were studying with my daughter and your other friends.”

  “Yes, what does that mean?” said Shane as he looked at Arthur with confusion.

  “Since your Dad decided to contact you yesterday, it must mean that he lost to the Demon King and that you were now our only hope of stopping them. You have power that could even rival that of the last Angel King. Because of that, your father didn’t want them to use you as a weapon.”

  “Then why did he still have me train with swords since I was five years old. What is this about me having power that rivals that of the last Angel King?”

  “Your father knew that one day your power would awaken, even if you didn’t know about it, and that you would be forced into this fight, whether you liked it or not. So that’s why he had you train so that you could be prepared for when you were thrown into fighting. The truth is, I felt part of your power yesterday as you headed home with Mona. Even though it was not your full power, it made me fall to my knees,” said Arthur as he began to sweat.

  “If a tiny bit of my power was that strong, then how have there been no other Angels coming here to take me?”

  “That's because as soon as I felt this power, I was able to put a barrier to suppress it. If it weren’t for that, they probably would have taken you and Mona.

  “Wait, why would they take Mona? She's only a child.”

  “They would take her since you two are siblings, so they might assume that her power is similar to yours.”

  As Shane looked up at the roof, confused, he began to process everything he knew.

  “Wow, now I know what Alicia means when she says that she takes in too much information.”

  “Yeah, I know this is a lot to take in at once. I’m surprised that you're taking this so well, even though your entire life was just flipped upside down.”

  “Well, I guess I’m just trying to process everything that I heard. Wait, if you're part Angel, too, does that mean Alicia is one too, and does she know?” said Shane as he began to sit up.

  “No, she doesn’t know. But now that you know our past, I hope you'll tell your friends. They deserve to know the truth; it might be easier if they heard it from you.”

  “Wait, how do they play a role in any of this?”

  “Well, you and Alicia are both angels, and the twins in your group are both demons. So they can support you if you need it. Plus, your other friends are strong in their own ways; you can give them a little of your power when they need it. This is only possible because of your immense power and the time you've spent with them.”

  “So that's why they were in my nightmare today.”

  “Wait, what nightmare?”

  “It was one of the things I wanted to ask yesterday. When I was carrying Mona home, I felt a sharp pain in my arm, as if I had been struck by lightning. Later, when I fell asleep, I had a dream set two years in the future, in a place that looked like Victorian England. What I saw there was the corpse of everyone I care about, and I saw myself out of control, attacking someone that was out of my view.”

  As Shane looked up, he saw Arthur in complete shock, as if he had just been told the world was ending.

  “Shane, you said that was a nightmare you experienced after you felt part of your power trying to awaken. Because that means that it is a possible outcome for the future, and it seems from what you told me that you became a fallen angel.”

  “What’s a fallen angel?” asked Shane as he was confused by what he had become.

  “A fallen angel gives in to despair and lets evil seep into their souls. So that is the last possible outcome you need to fall into. We need to awaken your angel's powers as soon as possible so we can stop the Demon King and save everyone you care about.”

  “So you're telling me I became a fallen angel and possibly hurt my friends,” said Shane as though he was angry at his future self.

  As Shane looked at Athur, determination was written all over his face.

  “Okay, what do I need to do to awaken my Angel side?”