Just as she finished saying that, she felt a hand grab her hair... roughly.

"Shut up." they hissed.

"You think you can compare genetic mistakes such as yourself to them?" they asked.

"You shouldn't even exist." they told her.

"Even as a Fyrane, you shouldn't be around others." they went on.

"Don't even know why you were allowed in the school at all."

".....she'll be after ALL of us..." the hesitant one commented.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt us." another responded calmly.

"It's simple. This one disappears without a trace. And it can't be linked to us." they explained.

"Nngh." the other voice grunted nervously.

"Just stop being a baby." the first one snapped.

"We got work to do on the speedy little fire hatchling." they chuckled darkly.

"....indeed." they replied.

"I DO remember that." they said.

"However, I fail to see how this will help you in your current situation." they told her.

"I'm REALLY starting to think we shouldn't have done this..." the uneasy one commented... just before there was a flash of electricity, and they fell to the ground.

"Ugh, just be quiet." one of the other captors mumbled.

"The water's not just to give the birdy a bath." was the response she got.

"And cowards will not be tolerated." they hissed, before she was drenched again.

"Now..." the muttered as she saw the glint of a blade.

"Let's get started with the fun, shall we?" they asked.

"Anything you want to say?" they asked her.

"...not that it matters." they added.

"Uh-huh." the leader replied.

-Some time later-

"....oh, what the hell?" one of them asked angrily, as they threw their blade off to the side.

"I have to admit, you've got more stamina and stubbornness than expected." they growled at her.

"I was hoping to have some fun with you before getting rid of you, but nooooo..." they went on, growing more and more frustrated.

"Guess we'll just end this NOW." they said further, before they all felt an ominous presence around them... but for Sammy, it wasn't nearly as frightening.

And it became clear when a familiar voice spoke.

"This WILL end now, yes."

"Who the hell is-" one of them started to ask, before they were thrown into their comrade, sending them both crashing against a nearby wall.

"...I knew I smelled familiar blood." the voice commented, before the figure it originated from stepped closer.

"I wondered why you didn't show up for our tutoring session." he said. "And nobody had heard from you. Which made it even weirder." he continued.

"So I went out and started looking and snooping around, going to your usual places and such. Then I happened to catch a whiff of your blood." he explained.

"I suppose I should thank my parents for my highly attuned olfactory glands." he chuckled.

The figure nodded, and stepped into the light, revealing himself to be Darrel McCormick. He sighed and smiled at Sammy, before kneeling down and lifting her up in his arms.

"Let's go." he said.

"What did they do to you to suppress your mana?" he asked.

"I mean, I know it's still developing, but I assume they negated it, somehow."

"........" Darrel was silent, before walking over to the two people that had been thrown into the wall, and were still splayed out on the ground.

"Spill." he told them.

"We'll never tell-" one started to say, before Darrel put his foot down on their throat.

"Every second you don't tell me is another second I crush your trachea." he hissed.

The person flailed about, choking and hacking, before they pulled an empty syringe out of their pocket and threw it to the ground. Darrel stepped off the person, setting Sammy down on her feet, but letting her use him for balance, and picked it up.

"Might need to take you to the hospital." he told Sammy.

Darrel was silent for a moment, and then sighed in response.

"Very well." he responded.

He then looked at the two that were there, leaned in close, and smashed their heads against the wall... just hard enough to knock them unconscious.

"There." he said.

He then created a black hole in the wall, and looked at Sammy.

"Let's go." he said to her.

"You okay to walk?" he asked.

"Gotcha." Darrel responded.

With that, he helped her through the portal, and they emerged in her bedroom.

"Glad I got security privileges since becoming your tutor." he commented, closing the portal behind them.

"I'm going to go find your Mom or Dad." he told her.

"Maybe you should lay down in bed." he suggested.