"Yo! Aaron! Can you take this stack of papers to Artyom? You know where he is." The teacher called out to the half-asleep student. Aaron jumped and frantically looked around, looking to see what time it was in case he had slept for too long in class. "Huh?" Aaron said in confusion. "I said," The teacher, Mrs. Howser, pulled out a large stack of papers out from her desk. "Can you take these papers to Artyom? You know where he is." Aaron didn't complain, he simply got up, grabbed the stack and left the classroom. It seemed like 2024 only lasted a couple of months, but as always, Aaron spent the first few minutes of the new year in his room. Winter froze over the are of Brooklyn, New York. But, the president had made an outrageous claim. President Magnum had made the claim that he was planning to send a nuclear bomb to North Korea and start World War Three. The worst part was that after a law was passed all young men Aaron's age were to sign up for the draft. "Where did he live again?" Aaron asked aloud. "Oh yeah, up on the hill." It may have been a little chilly at school, given the air conditioning, but once he stepped outside, it was a different story. The wind felt like it was blowing 100 miles an hour when in actuality it was only about five. The young man kept the stack of papers close to his chest and shivered. Tiny flakes of snow fell onto the rough concrete and slowly created a blanket of snow. He slowly trudged through the snow and up the hill towards Artyo's house. Despite knowing Artyo for many years, Aaron always forgot where he lived. If Aaron had to describe Artyo, he would describe him as a very buff Russian guy. He was a foreign exchange student, as Aryo put it. He actually was a refugee from some war in his home country. Aaron smiled and remembered the first time he met Aryo. Aaron went to Sheepshead Bay for the day and saw a large boat slowly pulling into the harbor. He sat on a nearby bench and watched. Everyone else at the bay was busy doing daily tasks, such as shopping or just having a good time. No one else sat down and watched. It was almost as if fate forced Aaron to sit down because he saw a young man walking off of that boat. He looked as if her was in his late teens. Aaron was twelve and didn't have many friends so he saw this as an opportunity to make a new friend.

"Excuse me, do you know how to go to hotel?" While Aaron had been lost in thought, the young man had approached him. His accent seemed European or Slavic and caught Aaron off guard. "E-excuse me?" He stuttered. "Hotel. Let me repeat myself." Aaron shrank back into the bench. The young man was rather large and strong looking. "Oh. Am I scary?" Aaron stayed silent. "Let us start over. My name is Artyom." Aaron didn't even know how to pronounce it. "Artyo for short. I come from Russia and I look for hotel." Aaron pointed in the direction of the hotel but Artyo looked confused. "Can you take me?"

"S-sure," Aaron stuttered. Artyo wasted no time and grabbed Aaron's arm to yank him from the bench.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aaron shivered and stood at Artyo's door. He had already rang the doorbell but there was no answer. "Artyo?" Aaron called. He sighed and looked back and forth. Aaron stepped back and away from his house. Suddenly, he jumped and shoulder-rammed the door, sending it spiraling into the darkness of Artyom's house. The darkness of his house took Aaron by surprise. He could barely see three feet into the hallway! Aaron reluctantly stepped into the darkness. In front of Aaron was a staircase and a living room to his right. The living room connected to the kitchen. Beyond the staircase was a bathroom. All the lights were shut off except for one faint light in the kitchen. Aaron slowly moved toward it and into the kitchen. The fridge was flung open, tray and bins scattered across the floor. One piece of paper remained on the kitchen table. It was a letter. It had a red wax seal depicting an eagle holding an olive branch and a bunch of arrows. Aaron gingerly picked up the paper. He felt the blood drain from his face as he read the letter. The letter read:

Dear Artyom, We have noticed that you know too much. I'll keep this letter short and sweet. Expect someone to appear at your house in the next few days. I don't know how you managed to find out about this but I can't afford this information to be leaked and shared to the public. And if you attempt to share this information, I'll know. Yours Truly, President James Magnum Aaron dropped the letter and shakily stepped back, pressing himself up against the kitchen counter. There was only one question that Aaron thought about. "W-what did he do?" Suddenly, thoughts flooded into his mind and he needed to get out of there immediately. Aaron rushed out of the kitchen and saw a shadowy figure in the doorway. "Get out." There was no doubt about it. That was Artyo. "I know why you're here." "A-Artyo..." Aaron squeaked. The two stood opposing each other. He didn't hear Aaron. Suddenly, the door slammed shut and the only light there was the light from the fridge. Artyo pulled something shiny from his pocket. The only thing Aaron knew about it was that it was sharp because of the light reflected off of the sharp edge. Artyo threw the object at Aaron. Aaron raised his hands to defend, but in the process, the object cut the entirety of his palm. He held his hand and recoiled in pain. "AAARGH!" Blood gushed from his hand as Artyo stepped toward Aaron. "Symphony," Artyo said quietly. A large figure emerged from Artyo and touched a flashlight resting on the table. A small spark could briefly be seen from where it had touched the flashlight. Without warning, Artyo and the transparent figure rushed toward Aaron. Artyo held out his pointer and middle fingers at Aaron, he was aiming for his eyes. Aaron was helpless, all he could do was cower in fear as his best friend tried to kill him. "D-Dry Hands!" Aaron shouted. He didn't know what overcame him but he had shouted that as if something would happen if he did. And something did. As Artyo was about to shove his fingers into Aaron's eyes, a large shield blocked the attack. The two looked up in astonishment and saw the thing that had blocked Artyom's attack. A large knight in shining, silver armor held out the shield to protect Aaron. Aaron was the first to speak. "W-what is this thing?" He asked. "So," Artyo started, "You do have a stand."