Key Whitefield sat in Griffith College's coffee shop. She watched the condensation roll off the barely drunk Pepsi bottle, still cool from the fridge. She sank into the G.U hoodie, the people chatting until closing time, the hiss of the coffee machine and the bad mashup music from Sour Sugar all blended into one background sound.

The mashup today was some mix of Simon and Garfunkel and Chelsea Wolfe. She didn't know this because of some knowledge of music, in fact, she had never heard of these people, but she could see the word file.

Key saw the data of the file fly from the routers to their phones. She could see what type of file, the saved title and every word written. That is how she found out the song they were playing on Friday night.

She had been seeing data, in bright neon blue light, ever since an all nightery on Tuesday. She had been coding and suddenly she stopped typing but the code was still appearing. The code was written flawlessly, happening as soon as she thought it.

The bars of the internet filled her head, webpage upon webpage ran through her mind. Everything, the whole wide world of data, all its knowledge and power was at her fingertips. Every nerve in her body was part of the web which connected everyone.

Then finial it landed on golden quest marker.

Complete the Tutorial the text under it read.

She woke up on her keyboard, she saw blue strings of data, like a spider's web made of numbers, attached to her computer. On the soft glow of her monitor, there was a girl, she had purple hair in a ponytail. The ends of the hair seemed to fade into floating neon blue pixels which disappeared into her wallpaper. This effect happened just below her knee as well.

Her eyes intensely looked at Key. She had purple eyes but her pupils where the standby symbol, a straight line going into a broken circle. Key jumped back; her head hummed with an electronic buzz.

"Hello, Key. It's good to see if you're awake." The girl said. Her voice was sweet and cheery. The girl explained she was a program that Key had made. She said was a self-aware artificial intelligence and that the internet was much deeper level than she ever knew. Key had apparently "awakened" to this deeper connection to the internet.

She could use a computer with her mind, sometimes. If people where around it wouldn't work, and she would get a headache. Sometimes certain people would send a shiver down her spine and make her skin crawl. Sometimes in her peripheral, they would even glow different colours, though she didn't even know if that was trick of her mind.

There was one of the people like that in the café, she wore a red jacket and was talking to someone. She looked up to see streams of internet travelling towards the two of them. Ones, zeros, words, and links.

Key felt a sinking feeling in her gut. She should tell the guy he might be in some danger. What danger though? She had no idea what even why her mind was on edge. Key let out a sigh and just watched the two.

Key's fun beeped, she flipped it over to see the purple-haired girl. Much small then she was when on her monitor. Her pixels floated off the screen long before they disappeared. She seemingly could get to any device that Key had used since that Tuesday night. Key had called her Project.

"You're in danger." Project said using a notification.

A black van pulled up into Griffith College's car park. Its drive Elizabeth Katherine Branch Von Feuerschwinge bani Flambeau, eyes of the sliver comet, holder of the fiery wings, the ashen one. She scrolled down the window lighting a cigarette. Her red and black suit stood out compared to the normal clothes of the late-night students.

"You sure this is the place?" She said between drags.

"Do you doubt my reading of the strings of fate?" The man next to her asked. He had short sharp ebony hair. He was checking his revolver, loading in the bullets in a slow ritualistic fashion. Each cap was in graved with a skull and some words in ancient Greek.

His name was William Jackson, a death mage. He also wore a suit, but unlike Elizabeth's, he didn't secretly sew symbols into them. The only member in the car who wasn't finely dressed was Tom Donaldson, he simple wore a hoodie, jeans and no shoes or socks. He did have blue tattoos peaks up from his collar. He sat in back as he dug the dirt from under his nails with a combat knife.

"I asked the spirits," Tom said in a thick Scottish accent. "They did say something happened here on Tuesday night. They also told me about the use of magick in one of the dorms."

"I don't doubt ever of you," Elizabeth said. She flicked her cigarette towards the bin. "It's just that if this isn't anything important the Council will have our, MY, ass. If it is something, then Technocracy would have noticed as well."

"Then let's not waste time," William said. He holstered his gun and stepped out the car.

"Death boy has a point," Tom said leaning between the two front sits.

"That he does," Elizabeth said after a long sigh.

The cabal entered Griffith College heading to the quad, each of them felt on edge. Not for least, they could all see that there were vampires already here. Elizabeth found that them wearing dark suits and one in the black hoodie was cliché for the leeches. Though despite the feel of rage building up inside her, she knew she wasn't here to deal with them, maybe at a later time.

Key burst into the quad. She had put in cheap earbuds when she was left the café, this way Project could talk to her without push notifications. She turned the volume up to max to her Project over the music of Sour Sugar.

"What the hell is going on?" Key whispered into the microphone.

"I-I don't know, it what I heard on the Digital Web." Project said.

"A rumour?"

"Well yes, rumours about people like you being kidnapped by a government force."

"Oh, great conspiracy theo-"

"Ms Key Whitefield." A woman shouted. She was walking from the decoration of the dorms. She was African American who was wearing a three-piece suit and aviator glasses. A tall man, in the same, get up, strode next to her.

"We are just here to talk, please don't do anything drastic." The women started to say. Key felt a sudden force smash against her brain. It felt like she had just run to a wall, with every word it felt like her head was slammed again and again.

Key turned on her heels and ran. She had a gut feeling whatever the women had done while she was talking, she wouldn't be able to stop it. Maybe, if she couldn't hear it, whatever it was, wouldn't affect her. Rushing through the glass doors back towards the café. Key's lungs were already on fire, she cursed under her breath for not paying attrition to in P.E. She heard the door behind her swing up and two sets of footsteps come through.

"Project, play my playlist and find a map of whatever building I'm in," Key ordered.

"Sure thing!"

"And tell me where to go."

The two footsteps came quickly after her. Project shouted over the roaring blizzard of the music. Left, right, left, left, right. Her legs felt like they were going to become jelly, maybe literally with how her week had been going, they would. She still could hear the footsteps running behind her they were getting closer and closer each second.

Her face exploded in pain. She ran into someone, Key stumbled back but hands quickly grabbed her before she fell backwards. It was a woman with ashen white hair, wearing a red and black suit. She quickly looked down at Key then up at her pursuers.

"Are you the mage?" The women asked.

"The what?" She asked back, the exhaustion coming over her.

"She has a pixie from the Digital Web." A man with a Scottish accent remarked.

"Give her over Reality Deviants!" Key's pursuer ordered.

"Tom, take her to the car." The women in a red suit said. She pushed Key towards the Scottish man. Tom gave a nod and started to drag Key down the hallway. Key could hear an argument starting as she forced to leave.

"Don't worry lass, you'll be safe with us," Tom said.

Elizabeth mental counted the steps as Tom and the new mage made their way towards the car park. Elizabeth raised her arm revelling a golden vambrace embroidered with a deep pink gem which glowed dimly with power. A philosopher's stone, not created by her, but a gift from a friend in House Solificati.

William pulled out his revolver and pointed it as the tall man behind the women. The women raised a sliver gun. It looked like a normal gun, but it was slightly slicker in design, too sharp to be made by normal human hands. She guessed it was some sort of hyper-tech, masquerading as a gun.

"Stole that from a museum?" The African American Black Hat asked.

"You wish. R and D's new toy?" Elizabeth said. She placed an index finger on the philosopher's stone. She began to start to trace a triangle.

"Stop with the finger movements or we'll shoot."

"Lower the gun. I doubt the Technocracy wants a firefight at a College."

"And I doubt you want to waste a spell slot." She said with a smirk.

"Your funny, aren't you?" Elizabeth said, not smiling.

"I try to be, it was on my resume after all." The women said, "Now we don't want to fight."

"Neither do us."

"But we are taking the girl with us."

"We can't let you do that. William"

William quickly, moving faster then both of the agents could notice, pulled out a small grenade and threw it the ground. A loud snapping sound and exploding of light filled the hallway. Elizabeth turned to run a second before it hit the ground, she assumed their fancy glasses would stop most of the flashbang.

William and Elizabeth rushed down the hallway, there wasn't a gunshot but the ceil tiles above her head exploded. As they ran William muttered words under his breath and flipped a coin. He expanded his Will over himself. Elizabeth placed her index finger on a symbol on her blazer.

"Scutum Martis." She called on her force of her Will and years of hermetic training. With her sense tuned to the forces of the spheres, she saw the symbol of Force, Entropy and Prime appeared around her. Purple glowing shields against the fate of death.

More silent explosions appeared around the two. They busted out toward the car park. Tom had already opened the front door for them. The van was already running. They dove into the car. William scrambling to get into passenger side seat. With the door hanging open she swerved the van out of the parking spot. Elizabeth noticed the agents stop their chase when they emerged from the building. The women held her finger up to her earpiece.

Elizabeth let out a sigh. "Great, the fucking Technocracy. Strap in kid, this will be a rough lesson."

Key had been sitting awkwardly in the car with the strange shoeless man for about a minute. Project had turned down the music, despite her correctness on a conspiracy theory she had no idea who these people were.

"So, what's your name?" Tom asked. He was leaning into the front of the car. He had turned the car on and left the drive side door open. He sat back down in the back.

"Who are they?" Key asked.

"Who's who? Those guys in the suits and the mirror shades? There the Technocracy, they don't believe in magick, and don't want anyone to believe in it either." Tom explained.

Before Key could ask more questions the other two people who had been with Tom rushed towards the car. The man with black hair, despite wearing a fancy suit dove into the passenger side seat. It wasn't as graceful as Key thought he might think he looked.

The white-haired women started driving even before closing the door. This sent Key to hit the side of the back-right door. The women muttered something then shouted into the back seats.

"Strap in kid, this will be a rough lesson." The women shouted.

Key quickly put on the seat belt as the black van screeched into the roads of L.A. The front door slammed shut and quietness fell over the passengers. Key was surprised that even Project was chirping in.

"Do you have a phone?" The women driving said.

"Y-yeah," Key replied.

"Destroy it." The women order.

"There is no need for that, she is a spirit inside that phone." Tom said, "If it's a familiar with its salt it will stop us from being tracked."

"On it!" Project blasted through phones speakers.

"Ok, so I'm Elizabeth Von Feuerschwinge bani Flambeau, eyes of the sliver comet, holder of the fiery wings, the ashen one." The driver said, she pointed her head towards the man next to her. "This is William Jackson Bani Euthanatos, and the guy next to you is Tom Donaldson Bani Verbena." Elizabeth paused. "I just said words you have no idea what they mean."

"Is magic real?" Key asked.

"Yes," William said sternly. "Magick is real."

Key didn't know what to say. Magic was real? She hadn't seen anyone throw a fireball or cast rituals with glyphs and wands. She looked at her phone screen is disbelief; Project just gave a cheerful smile back.

"I don't understand. Who are you?"

"First, what's your name?" Elizabeth asked.

"It's Key."

"Ok Key, you have a self-aware A.I on your phone, doesn't that seem like magic to you? I'm sure you have been seeing strange stuff as well." Elizabeth explained.

"Yeah, I have been seeing strings of data connecting to things," Key said.

"That is magick. You will have to figure out how to do that magick yourself." William said.

Silence fell among the car again as Elizabeth weaved the van through the streets. Key tried to wrap her head around magic. It would make somewhat sense, digital magic, but she had no idea how to do it or repeat the effects.

"It's best if we explain things when we know we aren't about to be killed," Elizabeth said. "William, do you have a safe house around here?"

"Yes. We can use it." William said.

"Key, first I must apologise that you have just become a college dropout but welcome to the Council of the Nine Mystic Traditions."