A Hidden Past

*********** A long time ago/ Pippa's POV***********

"Come on Harry! We can't be late!" A girl's voice called.

She was outside on a dirt road, in front of what looked like an ancient version of today's high rises. The walls of the building were a clay orange, in the midday sunlight they looked warm and inviting. The little boy, who couldn't be older then nine years, poked his head out from a gap in the building, where in modern times a window might've been. His hair was a golden brown, his eyes a shining green with hints of gold. His eyes....so much like his mother's....

"Coming Pip!" He hollered at the girl before darting back inside.

Even from here, the girl could here his pattering footsteps. Like usual, the boy was taking them two at a time. He was a little too short to being doing that with ease as of yet, but he did it anyway. It was what his father did in their house, and the boy wanted to be just like him. When the young child finally reached the girl, she gave him a glare.

"Pip? Really Harry? You know my name is Penelope." She glared at him. Harry was dressed as he normally was: casually. It used to bother her. Nowadays, she just let it go. There was no point trying to tame the wild child of the family.

"Oh come on Pip, you let Da call you Pippa all the time! And you didn't have a problem with it when I was little." He whined, leaning on her arm.

As he was small, Penelope could bare his weight with ease. As Harry was the youngest sibling, she like all the other siblings felt responsible for him. He doesn't exactly keep us from worrying...

Every other day, Harry was a walking accident just waiting to happen. Just the other day, he'd almost fallen off a cliff. He said his mind had been elsewhere so he didn't know where he was going. She could relate to that in some way. Like their mother, Penelope was an artistic type. She was always creating new things, new art.

And when she wasn't, her thoughts would drift to what she should make next; the world filled with so many possibilities. That didn't mean; however, that she didn't have some awareness. Some times, her brother was just too much of a moron for her to handle. This moron was currently giving her the puppy eyes. Puppy eyes, were one of the few things she couldn't resist.

"Ugh, fine....but Pippa, not Pip. Call me Pip again and I'll throttle you." She shoved him gently off of her. The push held no malice to it, so Harry only staggered a little before regaining his balance.

"Okay sis! So, where are we headed today? I've been dying to stretch my wings!" He said excitedly.

As if to demonstrate this, he let his wings phase into view. The soft bronze feathers flapped up and down, making her brother rise in the air about a foot or two. Pippa rolled her eyes at him, unimpressed. Harry never understood the importance of being careful about when he should let his wings show.

For the most part, people couldn't see them unless they wanted them to be seen. That included when they were phased into this reality plane as well. Their father had been very firm about exerting caution regardless, saying that there were a select few individuals who could see their wings if phased. A select few of those individuals were bad...and would want to cause them harm. Pippa shuddered at the thought of any of her family getting hurt because of something so integral to them.

Harry didn't notice her fear. Instead, the young boy was preening his feathers. Harry's wings, like his hair were a sparkling golden bronze in color. Here and there were flashes of white amidst the bronze, like little pieces of star. Her wings, were different then her brother's. In fact, all her siblings had different wings. Father said that was because they are different people, each special in their own way. Their wings reflected that difference.

"Father wants us to meet him at the High Grounds. Did you tell mother where you were headed?" She queried. Mother didn't often make the trek to the spot they practiced flying. As she was the only wingless one of the family, it was hard for her to get to such an enormous height without assistance.

Father never minded carrying her up there, but she didn't like to burden him. Mother always said she had things to do anyways. And she did have a point; they'd moved into the new house a few short months ago. There was plenty of things to do, many of which involved the upkeep of the place. And anyways, she could see them in the sky regardless, her eyes enlightened to see through glamours father put in the sky. As it was, she still liked to know what they were doing. It gave her peace of mind to know they were safe with their father.

"Of course! Mum told me not to bring home any more birds and to be back by sundown." He told her. Pippa nodded, that sounded right to her.

"Alright. Come along then! I'll race you!" She sprinted a few steps before leaping into the air, her wings allowing her to soar into the sky.

Pippa's were described as a vibrant fire, the colors of burgundy and orange and yellow and white and even the faintest pinkish blue all melding together to create them. Like her brother Harry, her wings weren't dissimilar to her fiery red hair.

"Hey! No fair you got a head start!" Harry shouted somewhere below. She could here his rapid wingbeats as he tried to catch up to her. Pippa tilted her head back, letting out a raucous laugh. Days like these were always her favorite.

********Time Skip********

Pippa was panting by the time Harry and she landed in the grassy clearing of the High Grounds. Her wings were more developed then her younger brother's, as she was twelve but they still weren't fully developed. As such was the case, it was harder for her to fly as fast as her older siblings Daniel and Sara. They are the oldest of the bunch, being fifteen years old a piece and their wings were both almost fully developed.

Father had told them that they'd each reach full wing maturity around 17-20 years of age. Sara said it was a reminder of all they had to look forward to. Daniel remarked that it was how long they had to still wait before being able to fly as well as their father could. The two twins were opposing mirrors of each other, something Pippa had learned over the years. Sara saw the glass half full, Daniel saw it half empty. Both could be viewed as true.

"Dan Dan! Sar!" Harry cheerfully exclaimed when he saw them, just about crashing to the floor as he landed in a tussock of grass. The terrain was spotted here with springy tussocks. The ground that wasn't covered in grass consisted of scattered clay along with a chalky substance from the pillars. A cloud of dirt puffed up as he did, gray brown dust spritzing into the air, making Pippa sneeze.

Daniel and Sara were chatting amongst themselves near an old stone pillar. The High Grounds were an abandoned construction site. A school was supposed to be built there, overlooking the city below. This was how people in these days often constructed things, as education was to be the highest point of every town. It was one of the highest of principles, education.

This school however was never completed, and likely never would be...at least not any time soon. The construction workers claimed it was too dangerous for young students to learn at a place so high up. Pippa supposed they had a point. The High Grounds had several sheer cliff faces. The drops were so deep that if anyone fell off they surely would die. It was one of the reasons their father had kept all his children far away from those points when they were little, making sure they stayed safe.

"Harry, Penelope, about time you arrived." Daniel commented, his blue eyes fixed on her. The boy was pale skinned like his father, his hair a jet black.

Daniel was at the age where he wanted to seem tough. That facade failed him most times though. It failed him now too, as one of his hands was combing through Harry's unruly locks. The nine year old was hugging Daniel; the little child was a clingy octopus whenever he got someone underneath his grasp. Sara and Pippa would shove the boy off nowadays, leaving Daniel as the only sibling who'd let Harry do what the boy termed his 'koala hug'.

"Yeah, that couldn't be helped. Har here was taking forever to get out of bed." She told her older brother. Sara laughed at that, Harry just let out a complaining whine. Sara was tan skinned unlike her twin, her eyes a gentle hazel. These eyes sparkled when she laughed, the multiple colors shifting through them. She shushed the young boy by stroking one of his wings with her own.

Sara's wings were mostly a pearlescent white, with brown, blue, and yellow feathers woven in here and there. Sara's essence was a brilliant silver. Her wings were opposite of her twin's. Daniel's wings are a sleek black, with deep blue hues around the edges. Every once in a while Pippa would spot a glowing white in his feathers. In those moments, Daniel's wings would look like a gorgeous night sky. In parallel, Sara's wings were an early dawn.

"Well, you're both here now. Let's get some stretches in before Da shows up." Sara told them. The other siblings agreed to this, arcing out their wings to warm them up for today's training. Besides flight training, their father trained them how to fight hand to hand and with weapons. Their father understood the importance of being skilled in a great many things; that included being able to protect yourself.

A flutter was heard, like the flap of a bird's wing. "No need to wait for me." A familiar voice called from behind. Pippa and her siblings turned to see their father standing behind them, his wings curling up in their usual spot behind his back.

"Da! Yay! You're here!" Harry called darting over to hug onto his waist. If there was one person Harry would always break away to hug, it was their father.

The man was well over 6 feet tall, a giant amongst mortal men quite literally. He had pale skin that somehow never burned, blue eyes that shined like stars, and soft black hair. To many outsiders, their father is an imposing man. A man not to be trifled with. To her, he was just Pippa's loving dad. A man that would do anything for his family.

"Hey Da." The twins greeted in what was almost unison. They told her before that they weren't telepathically linked, that they didn't have some magical twin bond, but in moments like these she decided they must be wrong.

"Da, it's so good to see you." Pippa came to her father's side that wasn't being squished by Harry, wrapping her arms around him. She felt his large hand brush down the small of her back, a gesture of affection he performed daily. His hands were calloused from many years of fighting with his prized weapon: the bow and arrow.

"It's good to see you four as well. Now, are you ready to start the warm up maneuvers." At their murmurs of agreement, he led them through the practice rounds. Even though he was a master at flying, their father would also perform these maneuvers too. He said it was always important to loosen up to avoid cramps during flight. Pippa didn't imagine it possible for him to get cramps, considering what he is, but she didn't call him out on it.

After they were done doing warm up laps near the ground, father had them practice flying in tight quarters. In the High Grounds, there was a patch of forest growing around the abandoned school. This was the area that they did tight quarter flying in.

With little space between the pine, willow and magnolia trees-all in full bloom- it was imperative that they used small wing strokes. Strokes that were never fully extended. If their wings spread too far they'd hurt themselves and if they moved too fast they were likely to drop to the floor. In these training sessions, father always watched from the tree tops, assuring his children were safe. On this day, Pippa was glad he did.

*******Harry's POV/Time Skip*******

Finally, it was Harry's turn to practice tight quarter flying. His father had been unsure about letting him do this type of flying so young. Harry was suspicious that this had nothing to do with age and everything to do with the lack of attention he put on flying. Sara had remarked this after he applied the puppy eyes on her. So now he was flying with a steady pace between the trees, doing his best to make everyone proud.

The forest around him was lush with greenery. Wild, springy grass grew rampant all over the place alongside tumbling roots and vines. Low hanging bushes with soft pink flowers grew here and there, spread sporadically amongst the trees. He made a quick banking turn around one of them, snagging up a few of the flowers as he flew by.

He was careful to avoid the many thorns surrounding the prickling stems. Harry had been cut enough times to have learned his lesson. Sara loves these...and they're finally in season! His eldest sister would appreciate having another one of these pretty pink things to put in her hair once more.

His next stop was the small pond at the edge of the forest. The dinky thing was about ten feet wide. As it didn't come from any stream, father had said it was a creation of excess rain water into a deep divot in the ground.

Harry didn't know what a divot was, and he didn't feel inclined to ask the walking dictionary that is his mother about it either. So he resorted making up stories as to how the pond got there in the first place. His favorite was a gigantic meteor falling from the sky and crashing there. The construction workers had hauled the thing away, leaving behind a huge hole in the ground in its place. To fill the void, the workers brought buckets upon buckets upon buckets of water there, not stopping until the hole was finally full of water.

Harry liked this story best because it was the weirdest story he'd come up with so far. His imagination was allowed to roam free at home. His father always told them "all the legends are true" and well, he didn't say made up stories couldn't count, now did he? With a happy laugh, Harry did a loop around the pond, allowing one of his wings to stretch out and touch the water.

Usually, when he did this some of the deep green water would spray up around him. It would be a cacophony of rainbow, very brief but pretty all the same. That was not what happened this time. This time, the water sprayed upwards, something else moving along with it.

A shadow rose up from the pond. It was an oozing black, with tentacles coming from just about every direction. It's face was filled with several beady red eyes. A sharp red beak was under them, with equally sharp tusks protruding from it. What was the worst was it's wings. Massive, blood red and filled to the brim with purple suctions, the beast was truly a terrifying sight.

Harry flew away in terror, letting out a fitting scream as the thing flew after him, sending trails of spewing black poison into the trees. The trees that the liquid did hit withered at its touch, letting Harry know that the sizzling liquid was some form of acid. An acid that would likely burn through him too if he wasn't careful.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAA HELP!" He cried out. A rush of fear gave him the adrenaline to out fly the monster, but he didn't know how long it would last. In his haste to get away from the creature, he forgot how to maneuver through tight spaces, which led to him crashing into a pine tree. His wings hitting the rough bark with a solid thump thump. He scrambled to his feet, turning to see the beast was just a mere three feet away now. Up close, he could see that the creature was well over ten feet tall, it's wings about the same lengthwise. It was lunging at him now, and Harry ducked his head, terrified of what was to come.

Except the pain never came. Instead, the creature let out a loud gurgling cry before collapsing into to the ground. Harry looked up at the noise, seeing his father flying very fast at the creature. His da had stabbed the thing with a glowing sword that was destroying the monster from the inside out. The creature could do nothing against his father's strong grip, his father's face betraying how he felt.

A cold fury had replace the man's affectionate smile; his fear for his son trumping all else. From Harry's point of view, his father looked like the avenging angel he was always meant to be. The man didn't even flinch as the creature withered underneath his strike before disappearing just like it had come: into thin air. The only sign the creature had been there in the first place being the withered trees and black acid laying in dark puddles on the forest floor.

Harry heaved in an unsteady breath. It's finally over, thank God. His Dad wasted no time rushing over to him, side stepping all the puddles of acid. He took the boy's face in his palms, staring searchingly into his eyes.

"Son! Are you alright? That tentacuflit demon didn't hurt you, did it?" He asked worriedly, searching his body for injuries.

Harry tried to keep his voice steady as he responded. "Y-Yea, I'm fine. Just shaken up..I'm surprised you got here as fast as you did. The pond's on the other side of the forest."

His Da rolled his eyes. "That's what family is for. I'm always going to protect you from harm...even if it's because you went to the pond I told you to stay away from." His Da chided him gently.

"Harry!" Sara shouted. She and the rest of his siblings were flying towards them.

Their eyes bright with alarm as they noticed the signs of the demon's attack. That, and Harry's shaken up form as well as the glowing sword at their father's side. The sword was covered in ichor now, rivulets of the sticky, filthy stuff dripping onto the ground. Normally, the sight of one of their father's many heavenly weapons would've had them all in awe. Now, they just sidestepped it with mild disinterest to reach their youngest brother.

Daniel was first to reach him, pulling the smaller boy into his arms. Harry felt Daniel's fierce hug, wrapping his arms around his brother to return it, albeit with less force. While his rapidly beating heart calmed down, his father explained to Pippa and Sara exactly what happened just moments before.

Daniel was listening too, but his main focus was on calming Harry down. Harry just focuses on the warmth his brother was providing. His heart slowly returned to its normal rhythmic beat. As Harry, his siblings and father are all immortal, their hearts beat differently then the mundanes did. Mundanes, like their mother. My mother, who will someday go where we can't follow...

The mere thought of it made him shudder. He forced the prospect of it a way. There was several years to go before he had to worry about that. Harry forced himself up from the ground, Daniel following him with a steadying hand on the small of his back.

"So, the demon's gone now, right?" Pippa asked.

"Yes. I made sure of that. The tentacuflit demon is now rotting in Edom where it belongs." Father scooped up his sword, wiping the shiny weapon clean of demon ichor on the grass.

"Thank goodness for that! Harry, what were you thinking, Da told you not to go out to the pond." Sara said, her tone reprimanding. Of all his siblings, Sara was the mother hen of the bunch. The rule abider.

Father cut in before Harry could respond. "That doesn't matter now. What's important is that Harry's safe. That, and that I destroy the pond. I wasn't certain, but now it's clear to me that the pond is a well-hidden demonic rift. An entrance to the demon worlds." He told them, rising to his feet.

Father didn't bother flying now. Instead, he allowed his children to follow behind him as he made his way to the pond on foot. The deep green water was the same as it always had been, a few water lilies attached to its surface. The lilies appeared as though nothing monstrous had shot out of the water moments before, only a few ripples spreading across the surface as a frog or toad swam by. The water was too murky for Harry to tell.

"Step back." Father ordered in his all business tone. With this voice, their father was every ounce the primordial being he'd always been. Harry forgot just how powerful his father is some times.

"Okay." Pippa murmured, gesturing for the others to take some steps back until they were amongst the tree line.

When father saw they were safe, he began his assault on the water. Shining white light spewed from his hands, not dissimilar to a warlock's magic. It crackled in his palms, and with a flick of a hand the energy spiraled into the pond.

The disgusting water was lifted into the air and evaporated into thin air. The few frogs and toads that made their home in it were placed gently on the ground. The little amphibians croaked in alarm, hopping away quickly. Once the water was gone, the demonic rift that had been hidden for so long finally appeared. It was a gaping thing swirling with shadow.

A burning smell rose from it, smoke rising into the air. Harry and his siblings watched as their father closed the portal with ease, the portal winking shut. It took with it the smoke and burnt smell brought with it. Harry let out a sigh of relief when it was gone. The boy was all for imagination, but that demon had been something out of a horror story.

Father turned to face them when he was done with the portal. "Remember kids, never go near one of these rifts. They're much to dangerous for any of you to handle on your own." He told them, his expression severe.

"Yes Da." Harry agreed, he didn't want to go near one of those anytime soon. Pippa and Daniel also agreed. It was Sara who had a question to ask.

"Will we ever be able to one day?" Sara asked. Father tilted his head in thought. He ended up shrugging his shoulders.

"With each day that's passed you kids have shown me just how much potential you all have to do great things. Anything is possible, but for now it's time to go home. Your mother is waiting for us right now. With dinner too." He added. Harry's stomach rumbled at that. Hearing this, Pippa barked out a laugh, the others joining in.

"Well, I can tell how Harry feels about that." Father said, amusement in his tone. He motioned for them to follow him into the sky. "Let's get going." With shared laughter, the four siblings followed their father home, the monster from the pond left behind in memory.

********Present Day/Daniel's POV********

Three figures stood on the roof of the New York Institute, their gazes focused on the people entering and exiting the building through the doors below. One in particular, had their attention. He was the tallest among them, his pale skin and dark hair making him blend in with the crowd to most people.

But not to them. The three figures could see deeper then mere flesh, and see the difference in this man's soul. The secrets behind hazel eyes that the man had no idea about. Hazel eyes that reminded Daniel of a person dear to him. A person he'd lost a short time ago.

He felt a soft nudge at his elbow. "Hey, what're you thinking about?" A gentle voice asked. Daniel turned to see Pippa's inquisitive green gaze staring at him. He sighed.

"I was thinking about the good ole days. You remember when Harry was attacked by that tentacuflit demon right?" He asked her.

"How could I forget. Mother kept bringing up for the next few years every time we got into a fight with a demon." He dipped his head in agreement.

"What about it?" Another voice asked. That voice belonged to the third occupant on the roof, that being Harry.

Harry had changed a lot since his their childhood days. His sunshine demeanor was a bit more subdued now, his clothing reflecting that. He wore an dark orange jacket, a black undershirt underneath. He wore dark blue jeans, orange and white sneakers finishing off the outfit. It was a casual look for him, one that he often wore.

He was similar to Daniel in that way, though Daniel hardly ever wore color. The blue eyed male wore a black leather with a long sleeved dark blue shirt underneath it. His jeans were also black alongside his combat boots. The lack of fashion on either of the brothers' parts was why Pippa always said it was up to her to bring fashion to the family. Because of they were doing however, Pippa's outfit wasn't too elaborate tonight.

Pippa wore plain forest green dress that went down to just above her knees, the ends of it made of lighter ruffles. Like Daniel, she wore a dark leather jacket. This one hugged her frame nicely just as the green flats on her feet felt nice on her feet.

Around her neck, she wore a silver necklace. Attached to it was a vial filled with sparkling blue energy. Her bright ginger hair flowed behind her, a thick green headband keeping the hair out of her eyes. As she hadn't cut her hair in a while, it pooled down her back reaching as far as her chest. In her ears were pearl earrings, the phosphorescent lighting of the city shading them a dark pink.

"You remember that father told us we're full of possibilities, capable of anything." Daniel said. Pippa nodded, a small smile flitting across her face. Harry became thoughtful.

"He always did believe in us...I just hope that faith wasn't misplaced." Harry replied, referring to what was soon to come.

"You're not wrong about that. I think we can though, we just can't give up once it starts." Pippa told them. Daniel nodded, his expression grim as he stared at the man below.

The hazel eyed man was talking amicably with his husband. With them were the man's siblings, who were also chatting. Outside and waiting for them was two others. One was a short ginger haired girl and a lithe boy with brown curling hair. The group was headed out to some event, if the yellow van parked out front and the tickets in their hands were anything to go by.

"Yes, and it will start any day now." He conceded, watching the group as they drove away in the van, away from the Institute they were leaving behind. Soon, the awakening would begin. Daniel could only pray that it would go well.