Visions [The original 7.33 chapters) (Full Version)

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Crimzon5 -> Visions [The original 7.33 chapters) (6/29/2008 8:20:05)

Visions
Comments: http://forums2.battleon.com/f/tm.asp?m=14103588

Chapter 1

Lanceler eyed the terrain carefully but with an unusual familiarity. He saw the signs as he and his friend traversed down into a rather dense forest. Even from a distance, it could've been seen that they were students. Long black pants that reached down to their black leather shoes and a cream linen shirt covered by a black coat was their uniform. Wearing a tie was required, but the pair had decided to remove theirs. Like most of the prestigious schools, wearing a uniform was indeed a requirement; if one didn’t, he or she would be given a strict punishment, usually dealing in the likes of community service instead of attending classes. The student will automatically be marked with a zero on the quizzes and activities that take place on the particular day as an additional punishment. Since they were still wearing the uniform and the day had just recently overcome the night, it was obvious that they were cutting classes.

The brunet, who was leading the way, rested a large four-and-a half-foot in length shovel's fulcrum on his shoulder. The blade was polished clean but slightly rusted on one side. Though polished, a large stain of blood remained on one side. The wielder of this ‘weapon’ referred to that part as the blade, nothing much to be feared. What he held was red as death, but not black enough as sin. He was followed by a blond, appearing to be just an inch taller than him.

“Are you sure about this?” the blond man asked. “I can prove to you that my unreasonably-oversized pickaxe is better than your shovel in treasure hunting anytime but do we really need to cut classes again?” Nature’s silence followed. He heard not a single sound from his acquaintance. While concentrating on their hike, he listened to the sound of water crashing.

The brunet turned around and stared at his companion’s dark eyes. “Lance, it’s first period. We can just say that we were late. Besides, Archeology Class is better done on field than indoors,” he reasoned out with a small smile. A small gust followed, bringing with it fallen leaves, almost brown in color. “Ahh… even the wind is encouraging us to go further…”

Keeping eye contact, his escort drew his pickaxe and held it with both hands. Like the shovel, it had bloodstains on the head. The pointed edge was two feet in length and four inches in width while the length of the handle to the edge was four feet. It had seemed as if it had been used as a weapon before. “Don’t call me ‘Lance’. A name such as that one is simply… too common,” he replied with an esteemed voice.

“Whatever, Lanceler. You should know that are millions of other people with the name ‘Lance’ that appreciate their names!” Not a word was spoken for a while after this. It was common for the two to argue, keep quiet, and then pretend as if nothing had happened. After all, how could two people holding a grudge at each other cut classes together frequently?

The two were already known for this kind of mischief. Some others tried to follow but never had the guts to, while those who did usually dared not to go to locations as far as these two and would usually just hit the mall. Unfortunately for them, the mall and any other nearby hangout was an easy place to get caught in. If a school official were to ask the two where they were that day, they would reply with an unflawed alibi or with the truth which the official, of course, never believed as the things they did sounded too absurd. One time, they cut classes and didn’t return for two days. When they were asked what happened, they said that they were kidnapped. There were also news reports that week about kidnapping and ransoms. When they were further interrogated, about questions like how they escaped, they replied that they were rescued with the other children who were set free. And if one compared what they said to the news, he or she would see a connection. The terrorists in charge of the crimes were caught the same day. The two had everything as planned out. Teachers, and even their classmates, would be stunned by the intricate details of the stories they would come up with. They would map out the terrain, describe the people, and say other things that seemingly one would only know if he was there while limiting the information for it would easily be identified as made-up. The school couldn’t charge anything against them; they passed their requirements on time and quickly caught up with the lessons despite not attending classes regularly.

The two continued to pass through the forest. They could hear the wind whistling in their ears and appreciated it as an encouragement. “Ryan, the other side is like a canyon, right?” the blond asked. “Then should I mine on the walls or should I break down those hard rocks that pop up in the holes you dig?” Neither one of them halted.

“Do whatever you want. But if you want to outclass me right before my eyes, then ‘steal’ the glory from my holes,” Ryan replied as he wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead. Lanceler made no response. Ryan turned is head back to his front.

It was their usual routine to work near an abandoned mine. Ryan would dig outside while Lanceler would go in and use his pickaxe for an internal excavation. But this was different; they decided to unearth buried objects in the wilderness. They wanted to try something new, well, that was what they told each other but actually, the mine had become off limits due to it becoming an active excavation area again.

Upon reaching their destination, Ryan shouted out some enthusiastic words, “All right, we’re here!" He pointed to a spot under an oak tree. "Let’s dig there by the shade,” he continued. He plunged his shovel’s blade into the ground, pressed his foot on it, and lifted the soil. “Hey, aren’t you gonna start mining or something?” he asked.

“Before I do, did you ever wonder why a barren canyon-like place like this would be next to a forest? It just makes no sense. Even I can’t think of any logical reason.” Lanceler spoke while his arms rested on the head of his pickaxe. The other end of the tool was driven into the soil, giving it a firm posture.

“Who cares? As long as we find something, we’ll have no regrets,” Ryan replied as he lifted more soil. "Hey, why are we even wearing these coats anyway?"

The pickaxe’s wielder grinned. "Good point!" The two removed their black attire, folded them crosswise, and placed them on their shoulders. “Hey, want to know why my pickaxe is better?”

Ryan paused for a while. “I was surprised to hear you brag first this time. Tell me, why it is?!” he replied. With a calm face and a small grin, he started to dig again. He was more motivated to find something, and was never less motivated than the day before. Sweat started to drip from his forehead once more. Among the two, Ryan seemed to have showed more interest in their activities. Sometimes, Lanceler would question him, asking him if they were going too far, but Ryan’s recklessness couldn’t be stopped.

Lanceler lifted his tool up and showed its spade-like bottom. “I can dig and break rocks; you can only–”

An interruption, a loud clang, echoed through their ears. The sound the vibration produced by the shovel and by whatever it hit was similar to that of a ringing bell. “Hey, I hit something! If you want credit, make your pointy stick help out. Shovels rock!” Ryan bragged as he plunged his shovel on the ground and rested his right arm on the handle to recover from fatigue.

“Deep breaths, my friend, deep breaths. I’ll take over,” suggested Lanceler.

“No way,” Ryan exhaustedly argued. “I’m not done yet… most of the credit is going to be mine!”

“Okay, I’ll just watch and–”

“Oh, no you don’t! I can see right through you; you want me to excavate this thing by myself! Get your pickaxe and start digging!” Lanceler shook his head, sighing. While digging, his upper arm was leaning on the perfect curve of his pickaxe with the spade-shaped bottom acted like a shovel. Ryan would tend to act all crazy and greedy when they hit something.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (6/29/2008 8:21:43)

Continuing to move from the east to the west, the sun scorched them as they made each scoop of dirt. Even the slight displacement caused their shade to be obsolete. Regardless of the heat, they continued to dig as the visible layers of their ‘treasure’ began to grow larger and larger.

“Time sure is going fast,” said Ryan as he wiped his sweat with the black coat on his shoulder. “We must be having fun, then.”

“Then what about classes?” said Lanceler with a seemingly calm expression, but one in which Ryan could pick up the ‘panic’ in Lanceler’s thoughts. The expression of blankly looking at space with either of his hands or head slightly shaking was already considered panic for him.

“We can–” Ryan stressed out his last word as he lifted a heavy scoop from the hole, “–worry about it later.” Despite his strength, the long walk and his heavy tool had taken much out of him.

The hole dug was about three meters in diameter. A large stone pillar with unreadable inscriptions was left half-buried.

“Lanceler, let’s lift this thing up. We won’t be going to school today–– not at this rate.” Lanceler eyed the pillar with interest; a suppressed excitement was evident to Ryan. Each of the two struck the pillar, giving it a dent for them to hold on to. But they before hauled it up, Lanceler unearthed it some more, allowing it to be pulled out with ease. Releasing the stress with a “whew”, the two lifted it, and then Ryan thrust it to the side of the hole as he waited for Lanceler to squeeze himself under it and push it from the bottom with his palms.

“‘Worry about it later?’ Easy for you to say,” replied the blond. The force he exerted on carrying the weight caused him to stress out each word as well. “Unlike me, you don’t have a guardian who’s responsible for you; I’ll be in serious trouble. Who knows? I might never be able to play chess ever again. How would you fell if you lost your right to do something you always wanted to?”

Blood rushed into his head, amplifying his anger. Trying to hold himself back, Ryan remained silent as he left the hole and dragged the stone from the edge of their excavation site. Trying to mask his annoyed and troubled emotions, Ryan gave his companion a small smirk. “Don’t worry, my friend. This thing is gonna be worth it.” Ryan took his shovel from the small pit and examined the artifact.

Next time, I’m going to bring gloves. I don’t want tetanus… Hmm… maybe I should remove the rusts, Lanceler said to himself. “I’m too tired to look. Check it out for me,” requested Lanceler as he bent his legs and rested from fatigue. His exhausted lips started to thirst, but despite it, he chose to quench his thirst later.

“Heh, weakling. For a ‘cool’ nerd… you better get physical as well,” teased Ryan.

Lanceler replied by saying, “Physical? If I’m not physical then I don’t know what is! You only say that as if you’re the top athlete in school. One doesn’t have to be like you to be considered fit, ‘ya know. Besides, only the worthy have the right to brag.”

“Oh, there you go again with your ‘Only the worthy’ phrase... ” Ryan placed his hands on the pillar’s inscribed side. He examined it as he bent his legs to match down to its height. As he moved his hand from one part of the pillar to another, the excitement on his face turned to utter disappointment. “What a waste! A piece of junk!” he shouted. He had to let it put on something… or someone.

“Oh, by the way…” Ryan stood straight, turned his body to his left, and pointed the shovel’s blade at his companion. Ryan stared at his companion's eyes with a cold, harsh look. “Don’t mention my parents’ death or anything that leads to it ever again. I just wish that I could find their killer and deliver judgment on him.” Ryan, being tempered, couldn’t restrain his anger. He tried to, and succeeded for awhile. After all, not getting mad in less than twenty seconds after getting annoyed was an accomplishment for him.

Lanceler approached him and slowly pushed the tool downward. “If someone points a sword at you, you should expect that he’ll fight back. That shovel of yours is sharp, you know? Sharp, wedged, and long…” The two turned to silence for a few moments without making any eye contact. Breaking the stillness, Lanceler said, “Junk eh? I wouldn’t say that just yet. This is actually…” His tone sounded as if he was unsure of what to say next. Unfortunately for the two, they failed to realize the important of ‘useless’ but ancient artifacts that can bring the past of Magnagon closer to the present.

“Nothing,” his friend finished off, seeming as if he pretended to have already forgotten about their conflict. Ryan leaned on his back with the pillar as support. “I just wish that I had a vision of this happening…”

There was a flash. The next thing that the brunet noticed was that he lay on the ground and that the relic had disappeared. He turned his head to his companion. Lanceler’s mouth was open, as if he was about to say something. However, he wasn’t moving; it seemed to Ryan that he had been frozen in time. His chest wasn’t even moving; he wasn’t breathing.

He heard a dialect he was unfamiliar with, yet, he perfectly understood it. How this came to be was completely unknown to him. Time has stopped. It will resume if you solve the puzzle or choose to back down…from the power to make your wishes become more than just fantasies. The ominous voice seemed to have belonged to a woman.

“Who’s there?” Ryan scanned the area, moving only his eyes from left to right. He noticed that even the birds flying in the sky were frozen in place. He turned his attention to the nearby forest and observed it. Leaves that should have landed on the ground hung suspended in midair. “What the heck?!”

Time has stopped. It will resume if you solve the puzzle or choose to give up. Begin the puzzle by turning and twisting the rows and columns of the cube located at your left. When finished, six pictures will be seen on each side. Somehow he understood the new words that echoed from all over the place.

“Heh, I’ve solved the Rubik’s Cube thousands of times. So, is it gonna be five rows and columns or—” The exhaling grin on his face dissolved to a dropped jaw as his head turned. What was caught in his sight was a 20x20 square cube. Each square, however, did not contain a color; it had odd symbols, possibly to form an alphabet or perhaps a picture. “Dang…” Ryan stood up and walked towards the cube. He picked it up and started to turn its columns. Each square was half an inch in length, one thousand cubic inches in volume. He arranged the cube through impulse for an hour, or so he thought as time itself had stopped. He was about to give up… but remembered what was promised by solving this almost unsolvable puzzle– the power to make his wish come true. He was even more driven to solve it, but it was inevitable for him to realize the futility of his actions. But somehow, his instincts told him that this wish was about avenging his parents.

“Man, this impossible! I wish I was able to view how this thing was broken and then just reverse the steps.” After releasing those words, the essence of a yellow flame ignited in his eyes.

The Vision of Genesis is yours. You have the power to revive any action from the existence of the forgotten… Now finish what was started.

”What?!” A vision of the original form of the cube flashed through his mind. “All right, I can do this.” Though, from his angle, only one side could be seen; the picture was a golden eye. His vision then shifted to a different time. He saw his own hands holding the cube. However, his actions were in reverse order. “Heh, I’ll just copy what I see, then…” Ryan turned the middle column once, the fifth row twice, and turned the first three columns twice. The puzzle was now how it had originally appeared to him.

“Okay… now what?” The young man rubbed his head and concentrated. A vision of the puzzle in its current form appeared. However, it was turning and rotating on its own. “I hope my powers aren’t limited to seeing the past backwards… ” he thought. “Hey, too fast!” Many alternating twists were done on the column and sides. After twenty minutes, Ryan deactivated his Vision and wiped the perspiration from his hands on his uniform. He lay on his back and breathed heavily. “I’ve already gotten something out of this. I might as well give up…” He stared at his left hand which was holding the puzzle. “No! I won’t give up. If I give up on a task with limitless time… how will I expect myself to accomplish my revenge? It could take years!” Shaking his head, he got up and activated his Vision. Again, he imitated the actions done. After fifty-seven turns... light enshrouded the area. It was too sudden for him to realize that he had finished the puzzle.

“Too bad wishes don’t come true,” replied a familiar voice. Ryan’s eyes subsequently became heavy. His body dropped on the ground; he was unconscious.

He woke up in the middle of the night. Lanceler was leaning on a tree, keeping watch. The melodious sounds of crickets and owls surrounded the area. Their only source of light was the reflecting moon and the millions of stars in the night’s sky. As he got up, he sensed that he was carrying a necklace with a yellow stone, colored to match the hue of his left eye when his Vision was activated. He didn’t care to think about it at the moment, though. What mattered to him was what had happened as the time passed by.

“I… I have the power,” breathed Ryan as he stared at his right palm and held his wrist with his other hand. He shook his arm, feeling power flowing through him.

“What are you talking about?” Lanceler asked with a curious yet assuming tone. Lanceler was curious to find out what had happened to artifact, but forgot about it as his friend reached a critical state. What further sent the topic away from him was Ryan’s strange behavior. Fortunately, Lanceler kept hold of the remains which were dented off by their gear.

“I… now know the answer to my parents's death! The power to make my wish come true!”



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (6/29/2008 9:21:23)

“What do you mean?”

Ryan’s eye glowed yellow. “I have the Vision to see the past.”

Lanceler took a few steps back. “Enough of this nonsense. Let’s go!”

“Believe me or not, I don’t care!” shouted Ryan. His companion paid no attention to him and kept on walking.

The chilling breeze swept through the lush forest. The two decided to wear their black coats to help tolerate the low temperature, and so they did. The trail they walked on wasn’t a compacted layer of soil anymore. Instead, it was the natural lush-filled ground. To lessen the wind, they walked on the forest path, covered by the forking branches of the oak trees. With the burden of the dark skies, the illuminating stars' light that pierced through small holes left by the branches enabled them to keep track of the original path as they walked beside it from under the canopy.

“G-grr…” shivered Ryan as he wrapped his arms around his chest. “H-how ma-many steps i-i-issss it t-to town?”

Lanceler took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. Again, one of them would just start to talk after the cold silence left by the aftermath of an argument. Unlike Ryan, he was more used to the cold. “Just a few more— if you’re comparing steps to the points in a video game. At this rate, we’ll be there in—” A deep, low pitched growl startled him. They turned their backs and caught sight of a dark beast behind them. If it wasn't for the cold wind, Ryan would've shivered in fear.

“Uhh…Lanceler, wh-what’s a bear like this do-doing here in the middle of the night? Hmm… let’s just play dead.”

“I don’t know… but playing dead is a bad idea. Being awake at a late hour like this would mean that it’s hungry. It might just add humans to its diet,” replied Lanceler in a worried tone. “But, my pickaxe could use another workout.” The two lifted their ‘weapons’ and held them in a reflective position: their arms grasped on their weapons’ handle as their bladed parts were ready to block any physical blow. “Once it moves its biceps backwards, get ready to block an attack. After that, expect it to release a frenzy of scratching blows. As it does that, it’ll give us enough time to flank it from two sides,” he ordered.

“What are you talking about…?! Wait! Y-your eyes are glowing?!” panicked Ryan. His eyes were then concentrated on his target’s paws as he struck them with his shovel for his counterattack. In pain, the bear gave out a loud roar. Angered, it attempted to slam Ryan with its head. Trying to outdo Lanceler with a stunt, the brunet took a few steps back, avoiding the blow, charged towards the beast and took a huge leap. In midair, he curled up into ball, releasing his legs with a kick on the beast’s back. Retreating back to Lanceler, Ryan gave the bear a chance to get up.

“I have a confession. I have a ‘Vision’ as well. Our powers work differently though.” After staring at empty space as he talked, he focused on the beast. The beast was about to strike. Swiftly, he pushed Ryan out of the way and parried the blows with his tool. “When I say ‘go’, move to your left. I can see him move slowly; so just follow my orders.”

“So, you can stop or slow time or something?”

“In a way, yeah,” replied Lanceler. “Yet, my movements are affected by it as well. Though when my power is activated, I can only think and see at forty times faster than the greatest athletes’ and geniuses’ capacity–– Now go!”

Ryan slid to his left. His clothes barely touched the nails of the ferocious beast as it unleashed a barrage of continuous slashes. As his legs flounced through the grass, he held his shovel and bashed it on the right leg of the predator with immense speed. The bear gave out a strong cry and rolled 180 degrees to its left. Feeling more curious about Lanceler’s prowess, he asked, “So… you just have a slow perception of time?”

“If you mean that time seems slow for me, then yeah.”

Getting up and staring at the crippled beast that had caused them to nearly lose their lives, Ryan said, “Let’s finish it!” His shovel was ready to stab through the furry skin.

Lanceler remained silent while he mercifully watched a tear glint in the beast’s eyes. He slowly approached the beast and pierced its back with the tip of his pickaxe. In effect, the bear's arms which struggled with such pitiful movements landed on the ground. “Its spinal cord is broken. If you paid attention to our lesson about the nervous system, you’d know that it’s incapable of moving and feeling now. And remember, I don’t need to listen to classes to know that. We’ll let the forest rangers take care of it. That or other carnivores will feast upon it.” The blond rested his tool’s hinge on his back as we walked away.

Ryan disappointedly lowered his weapon. “Hey, wait up,” he called out. “Why didn’t you kill it?” Lanceler ignored him and continued walking. Hearing silence, Ryan felt a bit guilty. He realized that his question may have sounded stupid and was in fact inhuman.

Lanceler felt disappointed with Ryan. Breaking the solemn moment, Lanceler asked, “We’re headed to your place, ‘kay?”

“Sure. Just guide me as I walk while I try to concentrate. Once I find out who the killer is… I’ll… I’ll-” Lanceler noticed the blood thirst in his eyes. A bit fear struck Lanceler, so he tried his best to calm Ryan down.

“Think about what you’ll do next later. Try to understand your power, its weaknesses and how to use it,” interrupted Lanceler.

“Will do.” Ryan touched his forehead with his right index and middle fingers as he closed his right eye. His left eye emanated a radiance of yellow light. “I… can’t see it. No people… just the forest.” He rubbed his head as he tried to concentrate more. “Remind me to go back here and dig for fossils, will ‘ya? Now time to check a different time era! Hmm… okay, a little bit too much in the past,” he complained.

Lanceler paused for a moment. His chin rested on his right thumb while his second finger was placed between the tips of his lips. “I speculate your power is effective only in a given radius, which would be your limitation. For you to relive what happened to them, you’ll need to be at the spot of their deaths or at least have it in effective radius.”

“Now that you mention it, everything I saw was influenced by my location. I can find all sorts of treasure like this! No more digging empty holes! Who knows? I might actually find more powers similar to ours!” replied Ryan. His juvenile attitude made him stiffen his arms as he lowered his elbow towards his body.

“What a trivial use for a power such as vision,” remarked Lanceler. Impressed and a little bit envious with Ryan’s Vision, Lanceler raised his palm open.

“Lanceler, where did my parents die?” he asked rhetorically.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (7/3/2008 7:44:25)

Chapter 2

The two arrived at their town as the sun rose. There wasn’t much though. Crammed houses, small clinics, a tavern, an inn, a chapel, and a school were the only buildings available. There were a few trees, about two in every corner of the street.

The two started to walk but their rivalry tempted Ryan to run and have a race. To make things interesting, the two tried doing stunts like pillaring their bodies with their arms on vendor stalls and benches as they lift their legs to the other side.

Upon reaching the block where Ryan’s house was built, the pair noticed two females conversing in front of his neighbor’s house. A brunette, who was nearly the same height as the two men, leaned on a lamp pole. She was wearing a checkered skirt of dark green and red, a blue blazer. She appeared to have red eyes although they were just contacts. She also wore a small red fiery gem around her neck that embellished her appearance. The expressions on her face and the words that could’ve been read indicated that she was struggling to prove something. The other woman was an adult. Her uniform had a badge attached to it with the letters F, B, and I inscribed.

“I told you already! It wasn’t me!” the girl struggled. It would’ve been embarrassing on her part if any by-passers saw what was going on. Luckily, not too many people were awake at that time.

“A katana was found piercing her heart. And guess what. The only finger prints on it were yours.”

“Hey, Dee,” Ryan called as he waved his right arm from left to right. “What’s going on?”

Danielle opened her mouth but before any word came out, the officer spoke, “She has committed a homicide.” The FBI agent folded her arms and spoke with a deceiving-like yet confident voice. As she answered him, Ryan didn’t look at her. His attention was focused on two people carrying a white coffin from the house.

“I didn’t do it. Trust me; I’m telling the—” the brunette interrupted as she straightened her standing position.

Cutting off her words, the officer shut her mouth with her left palm and then spoke. “Prove it! All evidence in the crime scene leads to you: A grudge on your mom after an argument a few weeks ago and your finger prints.”

“Proof? I… I don’t have any… I can’t prove anything,” she sobbed.

“But we can!” interrupted Lanceler as he immaturely jumped and extended his right arm upwards. “Ryan, follow me.”

“Huh? Why?” he replied.

“Your power… we can use it to save your friend,” he whispered back. Facing the grownup woman, he said, “Umm… I’m really good in finding and analyzing clues. I even have an IQ over 250.”

“In that case, I’ll give you four hours to prove her innocence. Until then, I’ll stay here and keep watch on her,” she replied.

They were about to enter the house, but then Ryan noticed the flag on his mailbox. “I’ll just check the mail…” Upon reading the letter he had received and scanning through the words, Ryan said, “My uncle is giving me the option to live with him. But I’ll have to go out of town. Oh well, I’ll write back to him later saying that I’ll stay…” Offers such as these gave Ryan a reason to think if his relatives wanted his wealth. By law, the legal guardian of any minor is to inherit the ownership of his or her dependant if the dependant were to die. As long as he didn’t have a guardian, all Ryan’s possessions would go to the persons written on his will. However, the list was kept in a small wooden chest, only to be opened if he were to die. The key to the said box was attached to keychain mirror which Ryan had attached to his belt strap.

“Hello? Are you done talking to yourself?!” Danielle shouted. “You have my innocence to prove!”

“Oh yeah, okay,” Ryan replied. Ryan followed Lanceler as he entered the door.

While waiting for the young men, Danielle and the agent made no eye contact; they were just staring at the surroundings. “You’re always up to no good. If not mistaken, you even killed your sister. You know… your mom was my best friend… and rival as well. We both loved your father. Did you really have to kill her? I know the two of you didn’t get along but—”

Danielle interrupted, “I told you, Officer Pheona, I didn’t do it! I haven’t killed anyone in my life!”

After ascending the stairs and entering the Master Room, Ryan concentrated his Vision. Lanceler, who seemingly couldn’t do anything at the moment to help, analyzed what Officer Pheona had said. “Ryan, don’t you think it’s strange for the FBI to know that much. I mean, it’s not like the whole world knows when a mother and daughter have an argument, right?” There was no reply though. Ryan can’t hear the present when his Vision is active. Instead, he sees and hears what happened in the past.

Danielle’s mom was sound asleep. Wind blew from a window left open that night as the curtains danced. A hand then gripped on the window’s edge from the outside. A woman dressed all in black that blended with the shadows lifted herself up. She was holding a katana which she then used to stab her victim’s chest several times. After that, she left the corpse there with the weapon piercing two inches of her body and exited.

“Ryan,” Lanceler called. “What do you see?”

“The culprit was wearing a mask. But Danielle didn’t do it,” replied Ryan. The two returned to Ryan’s neighbor. “We know exactly what happened. An assassin did it. Besides... Danielle isn’t that mean.”

Pheona pushed her long strands of hair back to the rear of her head. After that, she shook her head. “I heard that the two of you cut classes and didn’t come back that night. There was no way that you could’ve seen what happened.” Ryan tried to answer back but was stopped by the officer’s continuation of words. “If a foolish story was all that you could think of, then you just wasted your four hours. Danielle, you will be put to court in three days. Don’t even bother of getting a lawyer; you’d just waste both of our time.” After those words, she turned her back and slowly left the three in despair.

Again… she knows too much. I’ve never met this person before but she knows that I cut school, Lanceler spoke in his head.

Ryan tried shouting, “Hey, fingerprints are nothing! People have gloves, ‘ya know!” The officer opened her mouth, almost saying a word but gave no response. If Ryan had seen her face, he would’ve known that she couldn’t answer him back. Instead, she ignored him, hiding the fact that she really couldn’t use her evidence as legal proof. If in court, she used the fingerprints as her main piece of evidence, Danielle’s defendant, who would most likely be Ryan, could just say that she was framed. Thus, embarrassing herself to a seventeen-year old. In disappointment, thinking that Officer Pheona had all the facts she needed, Danielle retreated to her room, sobbing as she ascended through the varnished stairs.

As she reached her room, she turned the knob, entered, and locked the door behind her. She tried to force herself to land hard on her bed. Hating her day, she covered her head with a pillow as tears poured from her eyes. “Why am I always blamed for everything?”

Strange… I wonder why she’s trying to make Danielle look bad. I doubt any other FBI agent would agree with her. I mean, seesh! What kind of evidence is that? Lanceler thought. As Ryan, who was heading back to his house, crossed him, Lanceler turned around and followed.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (7/7/2008 8:43:22)

Senate Officer Joseph Shadebainer has yet again made thousands of lives happy. By visiting the town of Ashfall, a town by the outskirts of this region, and throwing money he earned from his past business, he made them feel that the government cares for them, irregardless of where they are.

Ryan grabbed the remote from a nearby table and hardly pressed the off button. He calmly returned the device to the furniture. A small grin occupied his face after he heard the not-well-delivered yet informative report. “How could’ve I forgotten what happened?! When I was playing hide-and-seek with my mom, I hid behind the door. The door then burst open; an unmasked man entered and shot them. How could I have forgotten what he had looked like? His name… my father yelled it out. ‘Joseph Shadebainer’. How did I forget it? He was a rival candidate to my father." Ryan paused for while. Letting out a bitter laugh, he continued, "With my power… I was able to revive that event from oblivion!”

“Did you really want to remember what happened? Why not just let go of the past?” argued Lanceler. The two had already removed their uniforms and wore the clothes of their preference. Lanceler wore a black jacket with a yellow trim for his top and green shorts with pockets on the front sides that reached down to his knees. His hands were equipped with black gloves though the end of his two pointing fingers (one on each hand) and his entire thumbs were exposed. His shoes were white and made of rubber. Those were the same ones he wore during gym class.

“Because… I loved my parents.” Lanceler remained silent and turned the television on. “Turn that dang thing off!” shouted Ryan. Lanceler ignored him. “Turn that thing off!”

Starting to get pissed, Lanceler fought back. “Shut up!”

“Make me!” Ryan noticed Lanceler’s eye glowed yellow. From his pocket, the blond took a black chess piece. “Oh, how scary,” he sarcastically spoke. Lanceler grinned. His thumb touched a small switch at the bottom of the piece. The king’s crown extended to a hilt and blade. Lanceler grabbed Ryan by his yellow shirt and pulled his body near to the tip of his weapon. “Na-nanobots? You… actually made them!”

Lanceler grinned but the sense of irritation filled his eyes. “Be quiet. If you want to kill him, find his whereabouts. Look.” Lanceler pointed at the screen.

The senate officer has agreed to stay in town for two days. He will stay in the grandest suite our inn has to offer!

Lanceler pressed the off button on the remote. The two stared at each other with a small smile. Without any words, Ryan took his shovel which was leaning against the wall and rushed out of the room. Lanceler stopped him. “I thought that we were thinking of the same thing. Don’t you ever plan out your actions? This is a senator, with body guards and most likely the inn has taken heavy precautions to ensure his safety. First things first, we have to get you some equipment…”

“Nah, if our tools can kill a beast, what can’t it?”

Awhile later, they entered the lobby and fell inline for the elevator. Danielle… do you have a Vision? Lanceler thought. After a few minutes, the two entered the elevator. Scanning the buttons, Ryan lifted his finger until he saw and touched a circular one with the number seven inscribed on it. It was a practice for the inn to place the best rooms in the seventh floor. While waiting, Lanceler heard people conversing in whispers about the shovel Ryan was carrying. They were most likely wondering what he was doing with it and complaining silently about it.

Ting! The door opened. Acting normal, the two walked calmly turning their heads as they observed the room numbers. Ryan activated his Vision in front of each door, examining if Joseph had entered. 725, 727, 729… 731… there they were. Unfortunately, a well-muscled bodyguard, wearing shades and clad in a black coat, blocked the entrance. The two approached him. “What do you want?”

“We’re here to see Mr. Shadebainer,” replied Ryan.

“He is a very busy and tired man. He has no time for brats like you, now shoo!” The guard flicked his hands.

“But-” Lanceler tapped Ryan by his shoulder.

“Let’s go.” Ryan prevented himself from talking back. He was able to tell from the expression on Lanceler’s face that he was up to something. The two turned tail and left. As they descended through the stairs (Ryan’s shovel would’ve annoyed the other civilians), Lanceler discussed his plan. “We’ll need Danielle’s and your powers. I believe that she has a Vision. Somehow, she can identify if I’m lying or not. Whenever that happens, I feel a cold breeze passing through my body. I believe that she obtained her Vision from the candle that mysteriously disappeared from the museum during our fieldtrip. Who else in class was mischievous enough to ignore the rule about no touching? Anyways, in ancient time, when two people had opposing evidence of one’s innocence, both were made to hold a candle. Whoever’s candle would die first would be the one telling a lie. That means—”

“Danielle is a human lie-detector,” interrupted Ryan.

“Correct. And this is where you come in; using your Vision, we’ll find something dirty about him to use as blackmail. Then, Danielle’s Vision will be support. I’m not sure how her power works exactly but I’m sure about the lie detector.”

“All right…” Ryan replied. The two rushed as they descended and headed back.

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Knock knock A man at about his forties answered the door. “Yes?”

“Hi, Mister Derem. I heard that you just got back from your business travel. Umm… is Danielle home?” Ryan asked. From a distance, his companion rested his back on a tree and observed.

The man replied with a nod. “But she hasn’t been herself lately. When I discovered blood on my wife's bed, I asked her if she was still alive. Without a word, she ran to her room and locked it. Tell me, Ryan, is she dead?”

“Yeah..." Ryan spoke in a normal calm voice. The lack of Ryan's care and sympathy caused the man he was talking with to erupt in heavy breathing and made his entire body tense.

“W-what? Tell me that this is a joke.” Ryan shook his head. The worrying frown on the man's face turned to an angered stare. “I can't believe that you don't seem to care at all! Can't you see that my wife just died!?"

"I know she's dead. I'm the one who just told you, remember? You asked me to answer your question. What more do you want from me?! Besides... I've already lost more than you have."

"Grr... Get out of my sight!" Danielle's father slammed the door. Quickly, Ryan inserted his shovel in the small remaining gap.

"Taking out your anger on me won't do anything. If you just keep on bringing out your wrath on someone innocent, it will just continue to pour out. Find out who the real culprit is!"

"Ryan, not even revenge will bring the dead back to life."

Ryan withdrew his shovel. "It won't... with the killer out there, more will die. Who knows? The next one could be you." Turning his back, Ryan left.

Facing Lanceler, he saw him pointing to an open window. "If you're that desperate, try climbing using the dents on the walls."

"Maybe I will..." Ryan clutched on the wall with his right hand first, then his left. He lifted his feet to a lower-elevated dent, and reached out for a higher one with his hands. After several repetitions, he entered the window. Danielle’s face was covered by streaks from wiped tears and her cheeks were red. She wasn’t wearing her contacts anymore.

"Hey..." Danielle sadly spoke.

“This is important. It’s about what happened earlier—”

“I will never cut classes again.”

“What? You came all the way here just for that?” Danielle shouted.

“I said, ‘I will never cut classes again.’”

Danielle’s steel-blue eyes turned red. “Yeah right!” Ryan felt a cold wind running through his chest going to his mind.

What was that? Hmm… must be a side-effect of her ability… “Tell me Danielle, have you felt anything different lately?” Danielle stared at the floor and shook her head. “Oh c’mon! Cheer up.” Danielle shook her head again. “Oh that’s it.” Ryan stood up. “There’s this guy I wanna kill," he said, "but he has a bodyguard who won’t let us pass. Now..." Ryan's arm began to shake with anger. "So now, I need your help."

Danielle lifted herself up but made no eye contact. Shadows, an unlighted area of her face covered by her bangs, concealed her eyes. Ryan frowned and had a bad feeling. The brunette raised her hand and slapped Ryan across the face. After she had slapped him, she lowered her right hand to Ryan’s shoulder. “This… this is not funny!”

“I’m serious.” Ryan pulled his small rectangular mirror attached to a keychain. “Look, your eyes are red. And remember, your contacts are over there by the table.” The girl took a glance at her reflection. She took a small step back. Ryan then lowered the mirror. Her eyes saw Ryan’s yellow eyes. Her arms slightly shook in fear while her jaw dropped. “It’s okay. We just have… powers,” Ryan comforted.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (7/26/2008 8:54:50)

Outside, Lanceler impatiently tapped his left foot as he folded his arms. A small black kitten caught his attention. As his eyes followed its movements, he noticed Ryan and Danielle conversing. Both of their Visions were activated and Ryan was trying to comfort her by placing his right hand on her shoulder. I told him not to use the direct approach. He’s such an idiot, he thought. Suddenly, Danielle opened the window. Ryan leaped out from it and landed perfectly on the soft grassy lawn. He raised his hands, ready to catch her. Lanceler widened his eyes in surprise. “You gotta be kidding me!”

Half of Danielle’s body exited the window. She turned her head to scan the area if anyone was watching. As she turned her gaze to the tree were the blond had rested, she saw no one. “Umm… okay, here I come!” The brunette held the edge of the windows and placed her legs outside of the window. She let go. As she was caught, Ryan’s arms supported her on her upper back and behind-the-knee joints. The impact slightly pushed Ryan’s arms downwards.

“Umm… you can put me down now.”

“Y-yeah… sorry….”

Lanceler approached the two from behind a nearer tree. “What did you say to make her agree?”

Ryan smiled. “Two things: We need her help to blackmail the bodyguard who is protecting the guy who killed me parents. And two, I promised to help her runaway.”

Lanceler shook his head. “If that’s what she wants… then we’ll have to do so. Come, let’s go.”

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The three walked towards the inn. When they had entered, Ryan ran towards the elevator and was about to press the up button, but was provoked by Lanceler. He pointed at his shovel, waggled his finger, and shook his head. The brunet groaned and led the way to the stairs. It was obviously annoying for him. The lifting of one foot to a higher elevated step again and again, after which will require one to U-turn and then endure another series of steps.

Finally, they had reached the seventh floor. Taking cover from the bodyguard’s line of sight from a wall near the intersection of two halls, Ryan took a small peek and activated his Vision.

Based on the guard’s watch, it was 10:00 AM, just half an hour after he had shooed the two students. A woman at about her late twenties suddenly approached him. The black coated man greeted her and they exchanged a few words and shared some laughs. It had seemed as if they had known each other.

“Are you still up for our date?” The woman asked.

The man replied with a nod. “My shift will end at noon.”

“Okay then-” Before she continued, she noticed a ring wrapped around his forth finger (the thumb being the first). “You’re married?!” She raised her hand and was ready to slap.

“No-no! Let me explain. I... I lost my wife a few years ago,” he hesitantly spoke.

“Oh, sorry to hear that… So, we still up for later?”

“Sure.”

Ryan grinned. “Danielle”, he called. “Pretend that you’re running a survey. Ask that guy if he’s married,” he ordered. Danielle nodded and approached the man.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

Heh… he shoos us boys and asks the girl if he can do anything for her. Isn’t he a bit too old to be a playboy?
“Umm…” Danielle bashfully replied. “I’m running a survey about government-related people's status and I-I was wondering if-”

“Joseph Shadebainer is a busy man. But I know that he is married. He has a daughter, you know.”

“No-no, I was talking about you.”

“Me? Well… I was but my wife uh… died.” After those words had been spoken, he felt a cold gust of wind flowing through his body.

“Hmm… thanks!” Danielle gave a big smile and retreated to the boys. “He’s married but he lied about his wife being dead. I wonder why.”

Ryan let out quiet yet sinister laugh. “Yet he has a date with another woman! He must’ve thought that you were sent by that woman to investigate on his status. Danielle, your cellphone has a camera, right?”

“Yeah; when the teacher wasn’t looking, I used it to take a picture of you when the bucket of grape juice I placed at the door spilled on you,” she replied.

“So it was you! You said it was Lanceler. Heh, I guess I shouldn’t have done the same trick on him… NOT!” Danielle giggled and ran towards the exit. Ryan then chased after her leaving Lanceler alone.

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The brunet and blond returned to the bodyguard. “You again?” Lanceler remained silent but waved two pictures clipped in between his fingers. One contained the man dating the woman he had met at around 10:00 and the other showed him and his wife kissing each other in front of his door. Though he had to accompany the senate officer throughout his entire trip around the country and live in an apartment in the Northern region, he has a wife that lives in Ashfall. He would occasionally visit her, during the holidays and special occasions. “H-how did you-?”

“Secret!” replied Ryan. Hehe, by using my Vision, I traced the steps you made to your house and waited for you to return. “We’ll rip the pictures apart, just let us in,” he negotiated.

“Deal.” The man faced the door and knocked. “Sir, two boys are here to see you.”

“Very well, let them in.” The door opened before the two. As Ryan gave a taunting smile to the bodyguard, a figure from the shadows observed them and picked up his phone. When they entered, they saw the senate officer with his back turned on them as he bent to pack his luggage. The room was majestic. It had a fireplace, something not all rooms had because of the lack of chimney space, and several paintings of terrains and mythical beasts. There were also a few tables; each had a vase holding spotless (in this case, “rot-less”) flowers. “Don’t mind me; just tell me what you want to say.”

Lanceler activated his Vision and scanned the area. He noticed a wooden chess board with a complete set of pieces. Each piece was in its default location except the white king and queen were switched. Ryan then punched him with his elbow. Because of his slow perception of time, the pain felt longer. “Sheesh, you don’t have to use your Vision. Turn those golden eyes of yours off,” Ryan whispered. “Anyways, so… you play chess?”

Joseph stood and faced the two. Lanceler noticed that he was wearing a necklace. “Yes. I’m really good at it if I do say so myself.”

Lanceler thought for a while. His right pointing finger was in between the tip of his lips. Each time he does that means that he was thinking critically. “Then I shall challenge you!” Lanceler shouted as he pointed at him.

“Very well then,” he laughed. “Let’s begin.” As he took his seat, he fixed the positions of the two pieces mentioned earlier. “I’ll be black,” he said.

Lanceler shook his head. “No, I’ll be black.” Joseph smiled and let out a small breath from his nostrils. He moved a pawn from e2 to e4. Lanceler smiled and charged his pawn from e7-e5. “Your move…” Shadebainer grinned and moved his queen to Square h5. Lanceler thought for a while and dropped his jaw. He couldn’t think of a counter for that move. The game moves were as followed:

[image]http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m248/blazingmaster/c2.png[/image]

Lanceler was under check. He analyzed the board and rested his forehead on his left palm. His jaw was dropped in the fear of lacking any good moves. His bangs covered the expression on his eyes. Can this guy read minds?

“Oh yeah, before I forget,” interrupted Ryan, “Take this!” Ryan held his shovel with both of hands and shouted as he attempted to strike him. Joseph grinned and pulled a pistol from his sleeves. Without turning his head, he fired a shot blindly aimed at Ryan. Bang! Ryan’s shovel was hit at the fulcrum. The force exerted on the bullet pierced it and left the shovel into two pieces. “How… how did you-?”

He obviously can read minds. He has a Vision!

Joseph laughed. His right eye emitted an aqua blue light. “I know, Lanceler. You suspected me of having a Vision. You were right about...”

“Why?! You son of a—”

“Now, now, Ryan, be careful of your words.” The man grabbed Ryan’s hand and placed an envelope filled with money and locked it in his hands. The door then burst open. The news crew and several camera men flooded his room. “Be careful about that shovel of yours. It has a few rusts. Here, why not have it repaired,” he said out loud. Ryan tried to punch him but the cameramen and interviewers blocked him from doing so.

“I guess someone saw us getting inside and used the same blackmail we used to convince the bodyguard. Let’s retreat for now,” suggested Lanceler. Ryan remained silent but followed Lanceler as he crawled towards the exit.

When they had returned, Danielle approached them. She was about to greet Ryan but noticed his depressed face. Lanceler look at her with a frown. “Let’s play for a while.”

The blond and the brunette were playing chess in Ryan’s lawn while Ryan knelt in front of a small altar in his garden. “Dang! I’m so weak! I’m the worst!” sobbed Ryan as he punched the remains of his shovel. Lanceler pretended to ignore him and continued the game. He lifted his king, which was two squares away from his rook, and made it adjacent to the said rook. If it weren’t for his king… there would’ve been a checkmate. His king was in front of the rook that could’ve checked the opposing king and was next to another rook.

“Check!” Danielle exclaimed as she landed her knight. Her excitement caused her to stand as she lifted her piece. Like many other beginners, a simple check could sound like a great accomplishment.

“Checking is just a mere harassment,” replied Lanceler. “Ryan,” he called. “That man, Joseph… we’ll find him again, and then… we’ll place him in…” Lanceler grinned as he grabbed his king and moved it diagonally to its lower-right. Left to the king was the rook which it had formerly blocked and in front of it was the rook which it was next to in the last turn. “Checkmate,” he continued. Danielle groaned and rearranged the pieces.

“How… he’s invincible! He knows our every move!” Tears dropped from his eyes. “Besides, he’s left already.”

Lanceler activated his Vision to think for a quick reply. He noticed the letter addressed to Ryan on the table. He upended it and read the words it had contained. “We’ll use your uncle’s letter as an excuse to leave the town. Then, we’ll head to our excavation site and cross the bridge that was built over the fissure.”

“And Danielle?”

“She wants to runaway, right?"



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (8/7/2008 5:50:31)

Chapter 3

A short woman, with her hair tied by a ponytail, was seated behind a table, signing papers. Through her transparent glasses, one could easily see that she was a bit annoyed, yet used to what she was doing.

Knock knock

“Come in,” she said. The door slowly opened. The dim light only showed the person’s silhouette. But that was enough for her to recognize the person. “Mr. Kristen, I do not seem to recall calling you to my office. Are you here to confess about cutting classes the other day?”

The figure approached her and was followed by two others. Without a word, Ryan slammed his uncle’s letter at the woman’s desk. For once, they were out of excuses. But they had to find a way for Ryan to leave school. If they didn’t, his relatives would worry. Their option left was to change the topic when interrogated. After quickly scanning it, she pushed herself from her table by kicking it, causing her seat’s wheels to carry her towards her files. Opening the second drawer, she skipped the labels A-J and proceeded to K. “It’s a shame to have you go, Mr. Ryan Kristen.” The principal wrote her signature at the bottom part of the page and offered the brunet a pen. “Sign here… and you’re good to go. Now,” the woman turned her attention the other two, “what can I do for you?”

“I’m dropping out,” replied Danielle.

“I got a scholarship… so I’m going to another school,” replied Lanceler. He was known in the campus to possess superior knowledge among the community, so a scholarship was most likely going to be offered to him. But at the middle of the school year?

“Sorry, Ms. Derem, but we need your parents’ approval for this. And Mr. Vi Ladoli, what school was it that you’re going to?” she asked, thinking that she was finally able to get the two busted. Waiting for a reply, she apathetically continued signing documents.

Strange… Did the news about Joseph delay the report about the murder? Ryan thought to himself. We better hurry then...

Pretending to rest his forehead, Lanceler sealed his left eye with his palm and activated his Vision. “GunBlazer Academy. It’s a top school in the Western region... well... that’s what I heard,” he lied. Deactivating his power, the blond reached into his pocket, trying to find some documents which he had forged.

Though, it was unnecessary. The school's principal had believed him. “Very well, you do seem to possess excellent grades. I’m surprised that your behavior didn’t stop them from giving you scholarship. Very well,” the woman grabbed another paper. “Sign here.” Lanceler took the pen from Ryan and signed.

This is too easy. Why didn’t she ask me for any parental approval?

“Ok, guys, let’s go! Umm… thank you, Miss,” Ryan courteously said. The principal made no response as they left. As the three walked across the hall, they heard a voice similar to the principal’s screaming joyful interjections. “I was… expecting that.” Lanceler was made to believe that the reason for his dropping out being so easy was that the principal didn’t want him to stay. A simple grudge wouldn’t have been the reason though. Maybe his mischievous acts were bad for the school’s reputation. After all, a school often cares more about its reputation than its students and services offered. One time, an excellent teacher was fired for failing to provide the yearly requirement of a new study. It was contracted in the school’s terms and agreements that every teacher and professor must contribute in its growing knowledge.

As they left the building, the three approached a parked black motocross motorcycle. It was chained to a lamp pole with the mirror which Ryan attached to his belt strap. Next to it was a black steed with a yellow saddle. Ryan grabbed his helmet and offered Danielle an extra. “Let’s head off to the fissure now.”

“But, Lanceler, what about Danielle? She needs an excuse, too," argued Ryan.

Annoyed by Ryan’s lack of tactical logic, Lanceler mounted on his horse and patted its head. “She’s running away. As I said earlier, there is no need.”

“But what about you? Unlike Ryan, you have parents who care for you, right?” Danielle questioned. Ryan felt a bit annoyed of her mentioning of his parents. He tried not to show any signs of anger by masking his emotions with a simple sigh. But unlike Lanceler, Danielle was hard for someone to get mad with, especially if that someone was a boy. Most students in their school that hate her have only two reasons: One is that she’s a cheerleader, a cheerleader that attracts most of the guys, and two, because she tends to misbehave at times. But despite her beauty, neither Ryan nor Lanceler got infatuated to her.

Lanceler laughed. “I forged documents about my scholarship and showed it to them. Now let’s go!”

"And... they believed that there was such a school called Gunblazer?"

"You know, Danielle, remember that time when the two of us were absent for two days? We decided to explore the other side of the fissure for once. Gunblazer did exist... but it's not that elite," replied Ryan. Gunblazer was indeed an academy located in the Western region, the land of deserts, gun draws, and train robberies. But as mentioned by Ryan, it wasn’t one of those top schools that only recruited scholars. In the past, the school was only used for the arts of gun-drawing, gun slinging, and accurate shooting. But the demands of its eastern visitors and colonizers forced changes.

“Okay, but before we go, stop by my place first. I need to pick something up there,” Danielle requested.

At the end of day, the three rode to the west, chasing the sinking sun. For her safety, Danielle, who wore two overlapping katana scabbards, forming an X, had to wrap her arms around Ryan. Trying to look at his face, covered by his helmet’s tinted mask, she felt mixed emotions: Shyness about being too close to Ryan, fear of what they were getting into, grief over her mother’s death and running away, and a crush on her companion.

Back at her house, Danielle’s father noticed a letter at his door. It was written with red ink and wet with tears. It was a bit crumpled and nailed four feet from the ground. Upon grabbing it, the man turned his attention to the TV report.

Bernadette Derem, a thirty-six year old woman was found dead this morning with a katana pierced through her heart. Experts believe that the homicide happened last night. Though there was one suspect, not enough information was provided.

"Danielle, I trust you. I know that you didn’t kill your mom but did you really have to runaway? I wonder… where are you now...?"

Danielle's strands of hair danced with the passing winds and the falling sun was the scenery's background. Adding to the noise which the motorcycle had produced, she yelled, "Yee ha!"



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (8/16/2008 8:35:03)

The three had reached the fissure exactly at nightfall. It was a lunar eclipse; the Earth had completely blocked the moon, enshrouding the trio with darkness. As it was still too early for any start to shine, Ryan's vehicle remained their only source of light. Stopping in front of the rope bridge that connected the two ends of the large crack in the earth, the horse trampled in fear, refusing to continue. Lanceler decided to set camp. “My horse doesn’t want to cross. We’ll have to wait for sunrise…”

“What about the lights of my motorcycle?” Ryan asked as he placed his hand on it.

“Your light is too dim. Besides, do you think it’s safe to set camp on the bridge?” Before Ryan could respond, Lanceler continued, “I think not. Now do as I say.”

“Hey, you’re not the boss of me!”

Lanceler laughed and took a black king from his pocket. “Danielle, just sit back there and watch. Ryan, let me show you have hard life is with two leaders, how hard chess is with two kings…”

“Did you just challenge me? Remember, you just got owned by Joseph. Heh, I accept your challenge. But please, make it feel like one.”

“I wouldn’t if I were you. He’s really good,” commented Danielle. “I know the outcome; Lanceler will win. Anyways, I’ll be setting the tents.” Danielle dismounted the motorcycle, grabbed Ryan’s backpack, and pulled from it three rolled up green tents.

Danielle, you idiot! How do you expect Ryan to like you if you’re saying that he’s weaker? You know boys; their testosterone makes them fight for the position of the alpha male. I guess setting the tents will do the trick.

From his left pocket, Lanceler pulled a magnetic chess board, one hundred square inches in area. He opened it, and placed the pieces in his hand. “I’ll show you the power of this golden eye.” Lanceler’s eyes emitted a yellow light. “Ryan, please hold the board.” With a calm face and a small smile, the blond swiftly took one piece from his left hand, and placed it on its proper default location. However, he didn’t seem to look at the piece, as if he knew what it was. This was made possible by his Vision. His eyes moved so quickly that Ryan couldn’t see him look at the piece. When there was one pawn left to place, he positioned it three squares in front of his king. “I’ll be white. And here are the rules: The queen will act as a king. It can only move one square, and must not be eaten at all costs.”

“Got it,” replied Ryan. The brunet moved his left knight to the edge of the board. Pretending to not look or not to even think, Lanceler used his Vision to analyze. After Ryan had landed his piece on the black square, Lanceler charged another pawn forward. When Danielle had finished setting the tents, the game was still going on. The white side had lost five pawns, two rooks, and two knights while its opposition had four pawns remaining, two knights, the royal pieces, one rook, and only one bishop. The other one was captured by Lanceler’s rook.

“You may have the piece advantage… but you don’t have the tactical and positional advantage. Look.” Lanceler pointed at Ryan’s king and queen. They were diagonally aligned. “Remember, the rule is that the queen acts like a king and must not die. However, with what you’ve done, all I need to move my bishop and it’s an open check.” Lanceler moved his bishop four squares diagonally to its upper left. “Check…mate. If you move your queen out of the way, your king will die. That is why, there should only be one leader. When one gets in the way the other, many consequences will follow. That is why, I should be leader. Remember Ryan, if you’re going to kill Joseph, you’ll be known to the public. You need a code name, a mask. I’m currently in the process of making one, but it should be ready in two days. I still need program my nanabots.”

Ryan remained silent.

“Guys, the tents are all set up.” The tents were two meters away from each other, forming a circle around a bonfire which Danielle had ignited. Danielle took a seat near the fire, trying to warm herself. Dragging himself, Ryan approached the fire as well. He didn’t seem to be cold though. Poor Ryan, She thought, it must be really bad for him. Failing to kill the man whom he should’ve hated for twelve years without knowing him and and failing to make good decisions for the group.

“Here,” Lanceler offered Ryan. Lifting his head miserably, Ryan looked at his hands. Lanceler was generously offering him two sticks of barbecue. “There’s no fat in it; I already removed it because, heh, no one seems to eat it anyway.” Ryan remained still, reflecting about himself. He tried to resolve himself. He knew that he can’t accomplish anything with the way he currently was.

“Thanks,” he replied, taking the sticks being offered to him. After the quick meal, the three just talked around the fire, chatting about interesting stories and experiences as well as riddles. Danielle could see that Ryan seemed to have cheered up. Smiling at him, she remembered her home, her father. Was he still furious about the news and enraged that his daughter killed his wife? Or was it impossible for him to believe that she killed her mother? Those questions seemed to bother her throughout the night. Sighing, she exhaled miserably. The brunet looked at her, feeling that something was wrong. It was obvious that the murder that happened earlier that day was bothering her.

“It’s okay. Be regretless of the past,” he comforted, “and fearful –or should I say excited– of the future. Besides, it wasn’t you who killed her.” The girl started to sob. Ryan felt pain coming from the inside as he mentioned the word ‘past’ He was lucky to have a guardian until he was fourteen, the age he was in when he thought that he didn’t need one anymore. But, even that couldn’t heal the pain left behind by the death of his parents. “I promise… some how, I’ll find a way to use my Vision to find out who the culprit really is. I’m just not yet sure how I’m gonna do it though. It’s either this power grows, allowing me to see the past from any place, regardless where I stand. Or maybe–” Before he could continue, Danielle wrapped her arms around him, crying. Ryan was about to say something but his resolve taught him to be careful of his words. Leaning on a tree, isolated from the other two, Lanceler grinned as he looked at them.

As Ryan exited his tent the following the morning, he saw Lanceler equipping his gloves. Next to him, was the charred remains of the bonfire. Smoke slowly rose from it, indicating that it was recently extinguished. Nodding at him, Ryan shook his hair, trying to fix it, and packed up his tent. “Let’s go!” he exclaimed, mounting his motorcycle. Danielle followed while Lanceler, riding his steed which he calls 'Knightmare”, led the way.

Though it was an old wooden bridge, it was proven to be a sturdy one. From the two students’ experience, it would take two hours on wheels to cross it while five hours on foot. Recently, the two regions which it had connected proposed a project to “repair” the bridge by replacing the wooden steps one at a time. Yet, not a single construction worker laid a hand on it. The fact that those who had power in the society fail to do what they say was one reason why Ryan hated the senate. And of course, the other reason was because of the assassination of his parents. If his father won the election, would he have hated him as well? Even a man that Ryan would look up to couldn’t have resisted the temptation. Reflecting about this, the young man smiled for while, thinking that his father’s death saved him from his only son’s hatred.

They were just half an hour away from the end of the bridge, but Ryan’s motorcycle couldn’t go on any further. He suspected it to have used up all of its gas. “Dang! Lanceler, can Danielle ride with you for awhile? I’ll have to push my motorcycle to end of the bridge and I don’t want her to walk all that distance.” Lanceler was surprised by his words. If Danielle were to mount on Knightmare, it would’ve been his idea and not Ryan’s. Even though that the idea was simple, the last person he expected to hear it from was Ryan. Smiling at him, he offered the girl his hand. “Thanks.” Lanceler was forced to think why Ryan was being kinder than usual lately. Why Danielle would be his main concern at the moment and why did he thank him on behalf of her?

“Should I make Knightmare moved slower? Or should–”

“Nah, I’ll catch up. Remember, among us three, I’m the strongest. Heh, and maybe that’s why I’m not that bright.” Laughing at himself, he continued, “If I run, we’ll be there in about… forty-five minutes.” Trying to not waste anymore time, Ryan did a quick stretch, grab the handles of his vehicle, and pushed. Knightmare stayed still on its place as its rider watched. The force he exerted on his arms and legs caused him to drag the motorcycle as if it was still functional and moving. The brunet’s companions were shocked. Even though that he excelled in Gym Class, no one ever thought that he was capable of such actions. What was he taking? Has his excavations given him enough too much exercise? Or did he have this ‘special gift’ ever since he was born?

The stallion galloped as fast as it could, struggling not to fall behind a human pushing a motorcycle. Even with two people being carried, Knightmare didn’t seem to be bothered. Their combined weight was nothing compared to the tons of loads it carried in Lanceler’s training exercises.

Ryan could feel his legs burning up. It had seemed as if he had reached his limit but he still went on. Slowly, he decelerated. Lanceler could see his struggle; Ryan’s chest, which can be seen through the hole for his head, was tired red. He started to breathe heavily and his eyes could barely remain open.

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Ryan awoke on a small white bed. Checking his surroundings, he saw that he must’ve been in a rented room. Wooden walls, glass windows, and no air-conditioning. “Welcum’ to dee ol’ west!” greeted a familiar voice.

Getting up, Ryan nearly fell as his tired legs failed to support his body. Being at the same level with his knees, he observed a wrapping bandage around his leg. This gave him the feeling that they were overdoing his healing. “One, the accent fits you really well, Dee. Two, I think you got the words a bit wrong. And three… what happened?”

“You shouldn’t push yourself too much. You fainted on the bridge and almost slipped off.” Ryan sat down for a while and was stunned by what she said. “Good thing that Lanceler was quick enough to get you. He decided to push your motorcycle while Knightmare carried you.”

“Heh, I guess I won’t do anything stupid like that again. So umm, where’s Lanceler?”

Putting on a pair of pink cowgirl boots she had recently bought, she replied, “He’s taking a shower. Now that you mentioned it, I wonder why an inn with no air conditioners has a shower.”

“Hehe… you know how strange this country is. The Western region’s culture is a bit less modern than the Eastern region. Yet, the Southern region still uses swords and catapults. Heh, I wonder if there’s still a group of people that haven’t invented fire yet.”

Coming out of the shower room, Lanceler wiped his golden hair on a towel. After shaking his head, his wet hair formed out his regular hairstyle yet slightly messier. “C’mon guys! Let’s head for the saloon. I’m starving!”



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (8/24/2008 10:09:48)

Attempting to stand up again, Ryan asked for Danielle to help him out. Offering her hand, she grabbed Ryan’s hand with her other hand and pulled him up. Ryan stood perfectly on his two legs. However, when he tried to walk, he felt his joints burn up as if the friction was slowly destroying his weakened muscles. “Heh, I’m good to go. All I needed was a little rest.” Hiding the fact that he was sore, Ryan pretended to act natural, as if nothing was wrong with him.

“I don’t know, Ryan...” After a short pause, Danielle changed her accent. “’Ya nearly land’d on ‘yar behind awhile ago when ‘ya were tryin’ to get up.” Laughing at herself, she continued, “I guess I mixed up this cowgirl accent with the pirate talk.”

“I’m okay,” argued Ryan.

Grinning, Lanceler replied, “Fine. Let’s have a race.” Even though that he didn’t have Danielle’s Vision, Lanceler could see in Ryan’s eyes that he was lying. “And before you ask… the saloon is right next door.”

“Grr… you’re on!” Before he could do anything else, he felt the same cold sensation from Danielle’s previous Vision attack. Staring at Danielle, he saw her smiling at him mischievously. The expression on her implied that she knew that he knew that she knew that he was lying.

“Don’t worry, Ryan. You maybe lying about not being able to walk all the way next door but maybe that’s because you think you can’t.” Giving him another smile, Danielle exited the room, leading the way.

Lanceler gave Ryan a quick look in the eyes. Rotating his hands as he moved his arms to direction of the door, Lanceler teased, “Ladies’ first.”

Ryan smiled and walked towards him. “Yeah, ladies’ first.” Quickly, Ryan grabbed Lanceler and pushed him out of the door. Wiping his hands against each other, Ryan laughed as he decided to follow the two. What made it a drag for Ryan (literally) was that there were no elevators. On the bright side, the rented room was only on the third floor. Ryan had to carefully place and land his feet at each step– or else, his legs would collapse and send him falling through the remaining steps. It was going to be a bumpy trip for him.

Danielle, being the first to reach the saloon, pushed the door open, and waited to Ryan, whose way of walking made him appear as if he were drunk, enter. Though they were too young to drink, and didn’t have any intentions of doing so, the saloon offered more than just whisky. The pub offered rice meals and noodles as well. The ingredients were imported once a month from the Eastern region.

Lanceler scanned the area, looking for table for three that was isolated from anyone who might cause trouble. It was common for drunken people to start fights and it would be very unlucky for someone to get into a fight with a person that is related to any political person. Another reason why this area was dangerous is that everyone above the age of fifteen was allowed to carry an arm or any kind of weapon. But being a western-cultured town, most people armed themselves with a pair of revolvers.

Catching sight of a good seat, Lanceler noticed a pair, a blond and blonde, conversing. They appeared to be a couple, but one being a few years older the other. Looking at their beverages, he saw that they only drank cold water. “Hmm… they don’t appear to be drunk nor do they appear to be locals…” Looking at them closely once more, he noticed the female’s eye glow green for a second or two. “Hey guys,” he whispered. “I think that girl over there has a Vision.”

“Huh? Where?” Ryan asked. Catching eye on a different girl, Ryan continued, “Wow! Sheeee’ssss preeetttyyy.”

“Not her,” Danielle said in response to Ryan. “The one over there.” She pointed to the blonde who Lanceler eyed on awhile ago. “If you’ve noticed, all of us have these weird necklaces. I wondered how I got it but some weird feeling told me not to worry about it.”

“Heh, me too. How about you, Lanceler?”

Lanceler was startled for awhile. “Umm… yeah. Same here.” After sighing, he continued, “Anyways, next to them is a good seat. Why don’t we–”

“Danielle,” Ryan interrupted as he cut Lanceler’s words, “come with me.” Feeling curious, Danielle was about to ask a question when Ryan continued, “Using your Vision, we can tell how she got that gem.” Ryan approached the two but his weakened legs shook as they failed to carry his weight. “Umm… excuse me. Where did you get that interesting gem of yours?” he asked the teenaged girl boldly. But before she could reply, the grownup blond grabbed his bayonet and pointed its blade at Ryan. The other customers didn’t seem to care though. Usually, draws started out in the pub. The townsfolk had grown so accustomed to it that life-threatening events like this didn't seem to bother them anymore.

“Ethan,” the girl called, “he’s not drunk. His legs are just sore. Can’t you tell by his bandage?” The man took a seat and stared at Ryan in the eyes as his blue eyes turned gray. Again, Ryan felt another cold breeze, passing through his body.

“What’s going on?” Danielle asked. She waggled her hand in front of Ryan’s eyes but there was no response. He appeared to have been completely immobilized.

“Ethan’s just viewing his memories, checking if he’s ever taken a drink before,” the blonde replied. Her tone was normal as if there wasn’t anything abnormal with what she said.

“Umm… do you two have a… Vi…Vision?”

Nodding, the blonde replied, “Yeah, you too, right?”

“Hehe, is it that obvious?”

“Of course. I can see curiosity in your eyes. Well, that’s because of my Vision. Hehe… Oh yeah,” offering her hand to Danielle, the girl continued, “I’m Jhenine Russel. And that over there’s my brother.” From a small distance, Lanceler paid close attention to the conversation.

So… my hunch was correct, Lanceler though, It appears that they each possess a Vision. The man can view our memories once an eye lock has been made. But the girl… what she said wasn’t enough for me to identify her power…

Shaking hands, Danielle replied, “I’m Danielle. My friend over here is Ryan while the blond over there…” Danielle pointed at Lanceler.

Great… how embarrassing… Appearing to approach the two, Lanceler walked towards the vacant seats, took a seat, and waited for them to finish. Evidently, he was a bit antisocial, often isolating himself, even from his closest friends. However, trying not to look like a loner in school, he either ate a quick snack outside the campus, without getting caught of course, or shared a table with Ryan.

Seeing that Lanceler was a bit rude, she decided to quickly turn back Jhenine's attention to their conversation. “Anyways, he’s Lanceler. He’s a bit shy and quiet but he’s really… well… umm, smart.”

“So it seems…”

Breaking the silence, Ethan took a seat. The impact of his arms landing on the table caused the plates and glasses to produce a shattered glass-like sound. “He’s, okay…” said Ethan. He spoke in a hostile voice, not looking into Jhenine’s face, as he stared at the window.

“So… you guys from around here?” Ryan asked.

“We’re migrants from the Eastern region. We got bored of the simplicity of that place… so we decided to move here,” Jhenine replied. “So…” placing her finger under her chin and looking at the ceiling fan, she continued, “Where’re you guys staying?”

Unexpectedly, Lanceler replied, “at the third floor of the neighboring inn”

“Well, if it’s okay with Ethan, you could stay over with us…” Jhenine generously offered. Hearing this, Ethan, who was leaning on a wall while seated, gave a quick nod. “Great! Once you’re done eating, we can head over to–”

“What makes you so sure that we’re to accept your offer?” Lanceler questioned. “You just met us and you already trust us? What if I wake up in the middle of the night, grab a knife and stab your hearts?”

Being challenged by his questions, she discharged a green light from her eyes. “You’re not bad people,” she said. Lanceler grunted in disbelief. “Ryan, I know that you’re anger-driven, but I also know that you won’t do anything to harm the innocent.” Looking at Lanceler she continued, “Why do you reject kindness? You know that you yourself can be trusted. Yet, you always isolate yourself from others. You think that one should only trust himself and not others.”

Lanceler gave no sign of recognition to what she said. “Danielle,” he called, “tell the serving wench our orders. I wrote them earlier while we were laughing at Ryan’s pathetic walking.” Handing over a notepad to the brunette, he turned his attention to the blonde, “As for you, Jhenine, my ‘problem’ in none of your business. Please, don’t use your Vision often. People hide their feelings from others so that they won’t do anything to ‘help’.”

“You know, Lanceler, she’s only trying to help. And besides, we’re not bad people,” argued Ryan.

“And I’m helping her as well. This world is full of bad people and outlaws.” In a lower volume, he continued, “By avenging Ryan’s father, we plan to be criminals too.”

“What?” the whole group questioned. Ethan, however, remained silent as he pretended to ignore the entire conversation. Getting up, the man drew his bayonet once more.

“Lanceler, is that right? Why don’t we have a draw? If you can beat me, then feel free to reject our offer. But if you can’t then you pose no threat to us.”

Activating his Vision, he planned out what to say next. A draw is an honorable kind of duel. An assassination is different. Yeah, that’ll work. But before any word was spoken from his dried lips, he thought, Why am I making this so difficult? Jhenine, you’re one strange girl… “Fine, I accept! But first–” Lanceler watched the waitress lay three plates on their table. “I’m going to feast my victory in advance.”

Chewing slowly, and proving that you can’t think and eat at the same time was not true, Lanceler debated with himself whether he should lose on purpose or not. Losing would make him lose his “right to brag” but winning would just make things difficult for his companions. Wishing that he never argued with Jhenine, he thought again. If he didn’t question her, she just might commit the same mistake again. But then, why didn’t Ethan intervene right away? Such strange logic was unknown to Lanceler. He couldn’t anticipate what kind of people he was dealing with.

Finishing his meal, he made up his mind. After wiping him mouth with a cloth that was served with the silverware, Lanceler grabbed a rook, pressed the switch located under the base of the piece, and smiled as it extended, forming a shotgun. “It’s only fair that I fight with a heavy gun as well.”

All but Ryan left their seats and exited. Before standing up, Ryan searched through his backpack for his wallet. Opening it, he searched between his numerous 1000-Saphron bills, looking for a small amount to give as a tip. His father, having enough to support his campaign, was obviously wealthy. He owned many businesses, including a mining company. But two weeks after his death, the mine had closed down due to poor productivity and thus, abandoned. People suspect his ghost to be the reason for this. However, when Ryan, the prosperous man’s only son, was caught excavating there, accompanied by Lanceler, the former mine workers returned, thinking that it was a good sign. But instead of finding gold, they caused a flood of oil.

Without waiting for his other companion, Lanceler and Ethan looked at each other with a cold stare. After giving each other a quick but slightly mocking bow, they turned their directions. “One,” counted the younger man.

“Two,” continued the older blond.

After a short pause, a quick breeze made the two delayed that third count. Five seconds have passed and there was still complete silence. As Ryan exited the pub, the two turned their heads and shouted “Three!” at the same time. Activating his Vision, Lanceler planned to catch Ethan’s bullet with his left hand, testing if his senses were capable to withstanding such recoil. However, the two powerful shots hit each other. The gunmen didn’t move. Hearing the sound of gunshots, the people from the saloon watched the duel through the windows.

“Aargh!” shouted Lanceler as he morphed his gun to a blade, the form of his weapon when he first introduced his nanabots to Ryan. Jumping and aiming for Ethan’s head, Lanceler’s attack was blocked a stone wall that emerged from the ground.

“What?!” exclaimed the Danielle and Ryan. The local audience didn’t seem surprised though. Ethan and Jhenine were already known for possessing a certain power as well as a Vision. The town looked up to them as heroes. When a trio of outlaws plagued the town, Ethan stood amongst the crowd. Despite them having stolen equipment from the Northern region, the most advanced region in the country, they were nothing compared to his skills and earth-rising powers.

“I’m surprised that you were startled. I guess Lanceler also doesn’t know that the gems around our necks are elemental stones,” Jhenine responded.

“Guess again,” replied Lanceler. With a snap of his fingers, Lanceler appeared behind Ethan. Attempting to stab him, his attack was again blocked by a stole wall.

“How’d he do that?” questioned Ryan, scratching his head.

“My element– is space!” Snapping his finger again, time stopped. He landed from his attack and positioned himself at Ethan’s current position. He saw that that his body was passing through him. Deactivating his power, Ethan found himself a few feet from the ground, the same place where Lanceler, in midair, used his element. Having the element of space in his possession, Lanceler has the ability to stop time, pass through objects and people, and swap places with the matter occupying his new position when time resumes. There were a few flaws with his power though. Stopping everything in time, with himself as an exemption, he cannot breathe. He also cannot damage his foe for he would’ve just passed through him. Technically, his power was only to gain positional advantage. But one weakness that all elements shared was that it drains one’s life force temporarily. Excessive use of an element could kill its user.

Landing safely, Ethan left himself vulnerable as he couldn’t move from his recovery. Using that as an opportunity to attack, Lanceler charged towards his opponent, using his blade as a lance. Grinning, Ethan pointed his open hand at the ground, and lifted it upwards. Another wall of stone rose from the ground, following the movement of his hand. “Wrong move,” taunted Lanceler. Snapping his fingers once more, the two swapped places. The momentum left by Lanceler’s movement caused Ethan to continue moving forward as he crashed into his own wall. Thinking that he already won, Lanceler turned his back on his competitor. But, the sound produced by the shattering of the boulder caught his attention, and even startled him.

Rising from the dust, Ethan leapt high up, quickly reloaded his bayonet, tricking Lanceler that he was going to shoot. Lanceler activated his Vision, attempting once again to catch a bullet. Seeing him activate his power, Ethan summoned another solid wall from the ground where Lanceler stood. With his slow perception of time and quickened senses, everything he sees, everything he hears, everything he tastes and smells, and everything he feels took ten times the normal time to be executed. Thus, the pain caused by the impact of the emerging earth caused more distress.

“How… how did you know my Vision’s weakness?”

“You’re not the only one who has brains, you know. Never underestimate an opponent; never imagine an outcome of a battle. Instead, you have to plan it,” replied Ethan. “And once this is over, I could lend you a few books about Visions. Knowing that your element was space, I assumed your Vision power to be one that is obtained with it.”

“I see… I guess we silent types have a lot to teach each other.” Grabbing his blade, Lanceler tried a jump attack. Planning to strike him down in midair, Ethan did the same. Before the two had made contact, Lanceler swapped places his adversary. The two were in midair, with their backs facing each other. Swiftly, Lanceler executed a turning side kick, forcing his opponent to crash on the ground. Getting up, Ethan grabbed some dirt with his left hand. After giving the young man a quick horizontal slash with his bayonet, he slid the sand across the metal blade of his firearm. Realizing that this gun draw had turned into a freestyle type of battle, Lanceler morphed his weapon back into a shotgun. Ethan gave him another horizontal blow. Trying to avoid the attack, he jumped, but landed on the one-and-a-half-foot long blade on Ethan’s bayonet. He pointed his gun at him, thinking that he already won. There was a short pause. Following this, was the swinging of his weapon, causing Lanceler to fall off. The young blond landed on his behind and found himself at a critical position. Ethan’s bayonet was pointed at him and he couldn’t risk swapping places anymore for he knew that he was too tired to survive casting another elemental technique.

“I… I lost?”

“No,” replied Ethan. “I already lost the instant you landed on my weapon and pointed your gun at me.” Sheathing his weapon in a white cloth, Ethan retreated back to Jhenine.

“Heh…” Lanceler sighed. Breaking the silence brought by the aftermath of the duel, he said, “Jhenine, I may be capable of posing a threat… but you’re right; I’m not a bad person.”



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (9/5/2008 8:44:36)

Chapter 4

Jhenine sat at the end of the majestic dining table, with Ryan and Danielle seated at her left and right sides respectively. They were already finished with their meals; only a few grains of rice mixed with ketchup remained on their plates. Seated at the far opposite side of the table, Lanceler barely even touched his food, focusing on reading two books instead. The books’ covers had no title and the pages were very old and very crumpled. After scanning a paragraph from one book, he would turn back the pages of the other, comparing and combining the facts.

Ethan was leaning on a pole, keeping watch. Searching the area, covered by the night’s darkness, all he saw were the plants which Jhenine had grown using her element of nature and the decorative rocks he had placed. Not only was his power limited to rising boulders from the ground, but he also had the power to shape them in anyway; he could create a stone statue shaped like a human. However, he chose to sculpt them instead. His talent was so remarkable that his sculpture of Jhenine showed more quality than the element-made figure.

Checking his watch, it was 9:30. Letting out a small exhale, he tapped his bayonet’s butt on the ground, causing it to bounce for him to catch it with a better gripping. As he entered the large mansion, Lanceler stood from his seat and returned the books to him. “Done already?”

“You know my Vision, it lets me think and see forty times faster. And combining it with my element of space, I can save time by stopping it. Instead of swapping places with anything, I used my Vision to make my limited breathing not be much of a problem while time doesn’t progress.”

“Sorry to interrupt, but please, Lanceler,” Ryan called, “why don’t you try Jhenine’s cooking? It’s really great and you haven’t even taken a single bite.”

“Understanding my power is my priority… but since I’m done, might as well eat.”

Turning his attention to Ryan, Ethan slid the books across the table to his direction. “Read the thickest one, especially the first page. Danielle, the second brook– bah!” Fixing his words, he continued, “The second volume, page 37… read it.” Without asking questions, Ryan stretched out to reach the books located at the center of the table. Apparently, Ethan didn’t exert enough force on sliding it. Ryan opened the book flat on the table and began to scan the page, then rereading some of the paragraphs for a better understanding. Danielle read with the proper posture, the book standing on its bottom and her back leaned against her seat.

Vision is an enhancement to one’s sight, allowing the user to see, and sometimes hear, things which others normally cannot. There are numerous kinds of Visions. Two of which can allow the user to see the events of either the future or past, six of which that enables the senses of the eyes see extraordinarily, three of which can see through a target’s mind, and two of which can allow others to see through another’s sight.

*Editor’s note: However, there may be more kinds of Vision. The author doesn’t seem to possess all the knowledge about this power.

Reading this, Ryan was forced to think, So… Shadebainer has one of the three Visions that can “see” through the mind? Wait… Ethan, Danielle, and Jhenine already have those three Visions: detecting lies, viewing memories, and seeing emotions. Maybe this is an inaccuracy… Deciding to think about it later, he continued reading.

The Vision of Genesis allows the user to relive the past, seeing and hearing what happened in the past as if he were there. However, the Vision conceals his senses of the present time, failing to hear and see his current surroudings. A swift blow or any other kind of pain can cause the user to return his senses back to the present. Accompanying this Vision is the element of light. When obtaining a Vision, an elemental accessory will be attached to the user. Though they’re obtained together, they are in fact separate and separable. Having the element of light, one does not control it directly but can manipulate it in a certain way. In other words, one cannot just make light become blue or green. Having the element of light will only allow the user to create flares of light and control them as he pleases. “Seesh, the author forgot to put an n in surroundings…” Again, he continued reading.

Keeping an eye on him as he read, Ethan noticed that only Ryan was unarmed, unlike Danielle and Lanceler. Danielle’s twin blades were placed in the living room while Lanceler’s were just in his pocket. “Ryan,” he called. “Accompany me outside.” Knowing that he could trust him, Ryan without a word closed the book he was reading and followed Ethan outside. It was a cold night but unlike the night he discovered his Vision, he wasn’t wearing his fiber-made uniform which wasn’t suitable for very low temperatures. Rising a boulder from the ground, Ethan handed the brunet his weapon. “I would like you to give it a try,” he said. “Let’s see if you can use it properly.”

“Sure,” Ryan replied nervously. It was his first time to wield a firearm and none of the water guns he played with were bayonet-based. Holding the handle with his right hand, and very near to the trigger was his left hand gripped at, he was about to shoot. “Umm… what am I supposed aim for?”

Handing Ryan a bullet, he said, “Shatter the boulder with this. It’s a special kind of bullet, designed to break through hard walls.” Taking it from his hand, Ryan opened the firearm at its joint and inserted the bullet. Holding the gun with the same posture he had awhile ago, he was halted by Ethan. “Support the bayonet’s body with your left hand. Holding it too close to the trigger will give it a tendency to fire lower.” Pulling Ryan’s arm and positioning it a few inches in front of a small triangular extension under the blade, he continued, “There.” Ryan pulled the trigger, releasing the bullet. Watching him, Ethan noticed that he had nothing pulling him back from firing. Nothing seemed to bother him, no fear of pulling the trigger. Was this because of his past, seeing death as a point to eventually pass by? As the bullet made contact with the target, it exploded. “Here.” Ryan handed Ethan his weapon back.

“No, it’s yours.” Ethan replied.

“You’ll need it more. Once we’re outta here tomorrow, what can you use to protect Jhenine?” Ethan gave no reply. “I’ll be going back now…” As he returned, he saw the two girls occupying the seats next to where Lanceler sat. Overhearing the conversation, he wondered why Jhenine was participating in the planning of attack. Was she now part of this plan? Or was she just being too kind again? Maybe she was just curious. He approached them to contribute as well as to be informed properly.

“Danielle, purchase three train tickets, one for each of us. Once they inspect our tickets…” Lanceler paused for awhile. Noticing that Ryan had just arrived, he gave him a small badge, shaped like the folded wings of a dragon. “As I was saying, once the inspection’s done, Ryan and I will go to the far end of the train, the caboose, and activate our nanabots which will form two armors, one for each of us. I will draw attention from the top of train, pretending to be a terrorist. Since Shadebainer is on that train, his guards will have to shift from his carriage to check what’s going on. As I create a diversion, confront Joseph and finish things once and for all.”

“So… if we’re gonna be masked and act like terrorists, why do we need tickets?” Ryan asked.

“Incase he manages to escape,” replied Lanceler. “Since no flaw has still been pointed out about my plan, I’m giving you two minutes to question it before we go shuteye.” The two girls remained silent but Ryan raised his hand, asking for more details.

“Umm… we’re doing tomorrow, right?” Nodding, Lanceler stood up, pushed his seat back under the table and left the room.

He had the urge to say, “Well, duh! That’s when he will depart on the train!” but realizing that he hadn’t told them its details, he stopped himself.

Knowing that the two were curious about where he went, Jhenine told them their assigned rooms. “Lanceler rejected my offer to stay in the guest room, so he’ll be at the living room’s sofa. The guest room has five beds, more than enough for the two of you. The room’s at the far end of the hall, opposite to the main entrance door.”

“Thanks.”

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The four were sound asleep. Being informed by Ethan that he was staying up all night, Jhenine found herself lonely in the master’s room, so she decided to accompany the other two in their room. With five beds, and only three people, Ryan occupied the rightmost bed while Danielle took the leftmost. Jhenine’s bed was next to Danielle’s thus, isolating Ryan’s. It was already four in morning according to the pendulum clock located in the living room. Even Lanceler was sound asleep. But a sudden gunshot from Ethan’s firearm awoke them. Lanceler, being the nearest to exit, came across his dead body, crucified to a stone cross with his arms and legs tied with a rope. Fresh blood was spilled all over the garden and more dripped out on the ground where Ethan’s corpse was.

Being worried as well, Ryan and the other two got up and left as well. Jhenine exited first and saw Lanceler examining the blood. Hearing the door open, the blond look at her, seeing her traumatized face. Seeing her older brother and legal guardian dead, she turned to Lanceler. “What happened here?!” she asked in a slightly angry but evidently sorrowful tone.

“It wasn’t me!” replied Lanceler, shaking his hands in front of his chest. “Ryan, do your thing.” Ryan nodded and activated his golden eye. Feeling distrust in Lanceler, Danielle activated her Vision on him. He saw her eyes glow red and directly facing him, but there was no cold sensation. Instead, Danielle felt a small heat burn up within her. As indicated by the book she read, when her Vision is used on someone telling the truth, she slightly damages her own life force instead of the target’s.

“Sorry for not trusting you,” she apologized. Showing a disappointed frown on his face, he nodded to her, understanding that she had to use her Vision on him.

Ryan, whose Vision was still active, changed the direction of his head from time to time. It was obvious that what was going on happened in different areas of the garden.

It was a just a few minutes to four on his watch. Polishing his blade with a wet rag, the silence was then broken by the approaching of a dark figure. It was a man, about the same height as Jhenine’s guardian. However, the trees in the area prevented the light from shining upon and revealing his face. Quickly unlocking his gun’s trigger, he pointed at him. “Who’s there?”

The man replied, “your reaper…” Unsheathing a sword from a scabbard attached to his left leg, he ran towards him, aiming for his neck. Underestimating his enemy, Ethan turned his back and created a twelve-feet-tall wall. Hearing no thud sound, he turned his head and saw the moonlight shining on the mysterious man’s weapon. However, he was surprised that he was two feet above the wall, levitating in midair. A small white essence surrounded his legs. “Surprised? You’re not the only one here who can use an element…”

Knowing what danger the man had possessed, Ethan created several stone walls of different height, jumping on one of them of lower elevation to one of higher elevation. From the highest stone pillar, he jumped off, attempting to slash his enemy. “Fool,” the swordsman said, “you should’ve only made one stone pillar. While stepping on it, increase its height. You could’ve saved more life force that way. Look at me? Using the element of wind, I can control the air molecules’ movement, allowing it to carry me around. But, I only used the energy on my legs; that saves me a whole lot of life force.”

Grinning, the man just levitated a few feet backwards, being out of Ethan’s range. In order to prevent himself from falling down to the ground, which was about fourteen feet below him, he created another stone wall, about six feet in height, and landed on it so that he could descend back to the ground safely. Turning his head and searching for the intruder, he then felt his right shoulder being pierced. Looking at it, he saw a rusted dagger. Its steel was buried two inches within his skin. Pulling it off, another dagger pierced his left shin. The pain caused his legs to weaken thus, he knelt in pain. Being very vulnerable and very exhausted from constant earth-rising, he got his bayonet, fired a bullet upwards towards the sky, trying to wake the others up. Circling his target, the man then stabbed the back of his neck, his heart then followed.

Not wanting to see anymore of this, Ryan finally felt pain in watching death for the second time, the first being the death of his parents. But ever since then, his anger-driven attitude shielded him from the pain brought by death of another person. Seeing Ethan’s weapon lying on the floor, catching some drops of his blood, he picked it up. “I won’t reject your offer twice”, he whispered to Ethan’s ear. But when he approached his body, he saw Ethan’s elemental necklace was gone. “Guys… a man… a man with a Vision did it! He even took Ethan’s! Shadebainer…” Ryan falsely accused. Even though he heard the assassin’s voice, which was different from Joseph’s, his anger caused him to suspect Joseph right away.

Not knowing anything about the man, besides him having a Vision, and thinking that Ryan’s suspicion was correct, Lanceler felt even angrier with Joseph. Looking at Ethan, he knew that they just couldn’t leave him like that. “Danielle, cut him down. Ryan…” Lanceler offered him a white bishop. “… let’s dig his grave.” Activating the chess piece, which then extended to a shovel, Ryan began digging at the spot next to the cross. Lanceler took a white knight from his pocket. After being activated, it extended into his pickaxe. Seeing this, Ryan figured out how its spade-like bottom suddenly appeared one day.

The hole they dug was eight feet deep, and four by eight feet in surface area. With a miserable scowl on their faces, and tears dripping from Jhenine’s eyes, the two girls watched the young men bury Ethan. Wiping his hands, Ryan then thought about Jhenine. With Ethan gone, who would be there to care for her?

“Jhenine, do you have any parents or some kind of aunt or uncle?” Ryan asked, breaking the solemn silence.

Wiping her tears with a white handkerchief, she miserably replied, “They died four years ago…”

Scowling even more, Ryan apologized, “Sorry for bringing that up as a topic.” Looking at his two original companions he said, “Danielle, buy four tickets instead of three. Lanceler, we’ll have to bring her with us. She welcomingly opened the gates of her house, fed us good food, and… and… well, we just can’t leave her!”

“Yes… like Danielle, she will be good for manipulation.”

Ryan’s fist started to shake. Looking at Jhenine sobbing miserably, he subsequently turned his eyes to Lanceler. His cold words forced Ryan to talk back in an angry tone. “Don’t say things like that! You’re making it sound like that we’re only using her!” Hearing this, Jhenine lifted her head and watched the two converse.

Before Lanceler could reply, his arms shook. He took a few steps backwards. Activating his Vision, he thought of what to say next. “Don’t raise your tone of voice on me! I’m in-charge and I have no time to show any sympathy!” Saying these words caused his heart to pump faster. He knew that he was lying, but why was he making things harder again?

“Why? Because you’re the leader?!” Ryan shouted back, starting to believe that he was really a cold-hearted person. Enraged, he pointed his bayonet at him. “I thought that when you joined me, you wanted to help me. But I’ve realized that all you want is a real life chess game! Are you just gonna throw her away like a dispensable pawn?! Don’t you even care about her?”

Lanceler's eyes opened widely. Never in his life was he scolded or defeated in words. Even people in authority would be left speechless by him. “Yes, I do care about her. I just need to learn how to say things properly,” he replied shamefully. Finally, his pride didn’t get in the way of his actions.

Morning came. Waking up, Ryan did a quick stretch. Seeing Danielle still sleeping on her cozy bed, he smiled for awhile and wondered where Jhenine had headed off to, seeing that her bed was empty. Opening many doors and entering many rooms, Ryan called out “Jhenine” each time he did so. “She must’ve runaway?! Why?!” Thinking that he still has a chance of catching up with her, he exited through the kitchen’s backdoor. Seeing several townsfolk mourning, he remained silent for awhile to give his condolence once more. Watching the blonde making flowers bloom on her brother’s grave, Ryan approached her. “It’s okay… I’ll find that man… and kill him,” he whispered. Feeling confident about their operation, Ryan entered the house once more and started to prepare.

Jhenine, rereading the inscriptions “Ethan Blake Russel 1924-1945” on her brother’s tombstone, remained on her spot, not knowing if could really trust the three of them. Danielle did use her Vision on Lanceler but was there any proof that this wasn’t all planned out? Ryan may have seen the past… but, can she really believe that he was telling the truth? With what had happened last night, only Jhenine couldn’t clarify what really happened. Turning her head to ask Ryan something, all she saw was Knightmare grazing by the entrance door. Looking back at Ethan’s grave one more time, she forced herself to trust Ryan, feeling mixed emotions of suspicion and attraction.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (9/16/2008 5:54:44)

The train had already departed. By looking at the window, one could estimate that the town was about a hundred yards away. Since the train had not traveled much, its speed was still a bit slow, due to the still unfinished acceleration. Seeing that the conductor was approaching the passengers for an inspection one at a time, Ryan tapped his legs impatiently. Lanceler, keeping his cool, stared at his window, letting the wind blow through his hair. Behind the two men, were the reserved seats for the girls. Danielle was dressed up with her cowgirl outfit while Jhenine wore a simple dress and a straw hat with a pink bow on top. "It’s a shame to watch those tears flow from their eyes,” Jhenine said. “Ethan’s departure was on thing, but me leaving the town is another.”

“Well, we’re not forcing you to leave or anything,” remarked Danielle. Smiling, she continued, “Besides, we just can’t leave you there all alone. But if you were Lanceler, you would’ve obviously declined our invitation to join.” Staring at Ryan, who wasn’t paying attention to her, she silently thought of something to say to make her noticed.

“Tickets, please?” the conductor asked as he approached them. Already holding his and Lanceler’s, Ryan flashed them to him, waiting for the conductor to punch their tickets.. “Thank you sir.” Seeing the man proceed to his female companions, Lanceler gave Ryan the signal to commence the operation.

Aha! I got it, Danialle told herself, I’ll just say… Before she could utter any word from what she was thinking, Ryan stood up in response to Lanceler’s signal. Trying to at least get a talk to with him, Danielle asked, “You’re going already?” Ryan gave hardly noticeable nod. Thinking that she was ignored, Danielle felt miserable and pouted.

The train was divided into eight sections; one being the engine, another one being the caboose, and the other six being the passenger rooms. Upon exiting the last room, they entered the caboose. Giving Knightmare a small pat on the head, Lanceler proceeded to the end of train. A small chain connected the two railings, serving as a wall to prevent people from falling off. Climbing his way to the roof, Lanceler attached a dragonhead-shaped insignia on his jacket. Upon activation, it extended to his armor, resembling a black knight, with a dragonhead being his breastplate. His trim’s golden color reflected the light from the scorching sun. Holding a black bishop, which had the capability of extending to a lance, he proceeded to the roof of the first passenger room, the room where he suspected Senator Shadebainer to be in. Stabbing the roof with his lance, he ‘introduced’ himself. “I am Lancelot, the knight of justice!” His voice entered through the hole, allowing him to be heard.

Seeing the damage, a hole produced by a silver lance, Joseph gave his guards the order to investigate. The other passengers exited with the guards. Only Joseph and a young teenager chose to stay. The civilians rushed towards the other rooms, occupying vacant seats while the security climbed on one another, gave each other a boost, and did whatever it took to reach the top of the train. Laughing at their futile attempts in reaching him, Lanceler kept a five-feet distance from the edge of train and sent sparks flying with his lance. Having a length of six feet, his lance was able to reach the edge, despite the distance. The friction of the two metals, accompanied by the force he exerted, ignited small flames. They were harmless, yet enough to repel his enemies, knowing that they wouldn’t dare make contact with the sparks. Thinking that if they climbed the roof at different places would prevent Lancelot from striking them all at once, they retreated to the second passenger room and split up, climbing the roofs in between different areas.

Ryan returned to the fifth room, waiting for Lanceler to divert all the guards. Assuming that he had already done so, he attached the badge Lanceler had given him. But just as he was starting to activate it, he heard the door burst open as six guards barged in. There wasn’t any panicking. After all, Ryan was the only ‘civilian’ in that room. Pretending to be unaware of what was happening, he asked one of the guards for what was going on. Being too busy with the black knight, they ignored him and exited through the other side. Wiping his face, Ryan folded the wings of his badge as he stood there, being awed by the forming of his armor. Like Lancelot’s, his armor was black but had a blend of crimson for the trim. His armor wasn’t balanced; his left shin guard shone dark silver and was blade-shaped while his right one had a spike on the kneepad. His left hand was equipped with a rectangular knuckle glove, unlike his right one which was protected only by a plain rubber glove.

Realizing that his face was unmasked, he rushed back to last passenger room, the one connected to the caboose. Like the fifth, it had no passengers so it was used for storing large luggage items such as his motorcycle. Grabbing his helmet from the seat, he wore it and grabbed his bayonet as well. Strange… why would they just leave a weapon here? I know that they confiscated my weapon when I was inspected. But man, this is so irresponsible for them!

Upon entering every room, making his way towards Joseph, he pointed his firearm at the nearest passenger and shouted “Nobody move!” The people had no choice but to cooperate. Knowing that they were safe, Jhenine and Danielle still had to play along to prevent suspicion. But her doubts still continued to trouble Jhenine. She had the feeling that she was going to get shot. In fear, she started to shed tears. Wow, she’s a natural, Ryan told himself.

Ryan head reached the second carriage. When he opened the door, leading to the small joint connecting the train, a young raven-haired teen pointed a pair of identical guns at him. Evidently, they were made in the Northern region, the most advanced region in Magnagon. “Get out of the way,” Ryan warned with a boastful attitude. Man, just a kid? How old this guy? Fourteen, fifteen?

Above the two, Lancelot watched the security guards sprout out from behind their cover. Seeing the same bodyguard that halted them from entering Room 731, he tried to stop himself from shooting. Ironically, for being cold-hearted at some times, his sympathy was stronger than his willpower. The captain of the squad signaled his men by swaying his hands at certain directions. Each finger combination –and whether which hand was used– indicted one person. Forming a W arrangement, the frontiers knelt as they aimed. The captain was the first to fire a bullet from his musket, only to be stunned by it being caught by Lancelot’s hand. “What?!” Looking at his men, he gave the order to shoot. “Fire!” Their weapons fired several projectiles, and produced a large cloud of smoke. After the smog had cleared, they saw the knight’s fists closed, being slowly opened as they dropped the bullets. Ting ting… ting… The bullets which he didn’t catch seemed to have no effect on his armor.

Being overwhelmed by their number, Lancelot jumped off the train, smiling. At one moment, the captain was standing next to one of his gunmen; what happened next was that he found himself a few feet from the ground, away from the tracks. As he landed, blood started to drip from his scraped knee. From his spot, he could see Lancelot in midair, kicking his men off the train one by one and just suddenly appearing behind their backs. “What… is this?” Hearing the snuffling of a horse, he turned his head. Seeing a silhouette on a man’s face, he asked, “Who are you?”

The man raised his hat, allowing his face to be seen. Fixing his vest, and adjusting his golden star, he replied. “Hmph… I’m the sheriff.” Drawing two guns from his hostler, he gave his steed a small heel kick. Whistling while watching more men fall off the train, he returned his guns to his belt and lit a cigarette. Bang! The cigarette was suddenly shot off from his hand.

“Isn’t it a bad idea to smoke, sir?” A small portion of his mask opened as Lancelot blew the smoke emitted by his shot gun. Dodging the punches of the guards, he grabbed their fists and threw them overboard.

He can shoot a target very accurately with a shotgun at the distance of fifteen feet?! He must be like Ethan… a wielder of an element. That could be the only reason for his supernatural abilities… What a shame that he’s using it for wrong causes! Ethan should’ve been teaching him a thing or two right now– wait! Did he kill Ethan? He must’ve drained his powers or something… Desiring to avenge Ethan, he kicked his horse several times, forcing it to go faster.

Tailing the sheriff was a gryphon, soaring in the air. Mounted on it was silver-haired swordsman. His left boot had a sheath tied to it. Within the scabbard was a silver blade. His belt strap had black daggers attached; each had a length of seven inches. Riding with him, seated behind, was a redhead. He carried a rail gun and wore its strap as if it were a shoulder bag’s. “You see that?” The silver-haired man pointed at the twilight-colored knight. “That is Lanceler Vi Ladoli. He uses his Vision and element for terrorism. We need to eliminate him.”

“Yes, brother,” replied his companion. Keeping an on Lanceler, another black knight, within the range of his peripheral vision, caught his attention. The redhead closed his left eye, concentrating his vision on fifteen year old boy. An invisible beam of light was discharged off his eyes, headed towards his target. “Vision-hack: Activated!” With his Vision-hack used on him, his target became a host, a host for him to spy and learn information with. The swordsman’s brother could see whatever the young gunman saw.

The boy ignored Ryan’s word of warning. Trying to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, Ryan grabbed the boy and threw him into the carriage before he could shoot. Ryan then shut the door close and locked it by placing his shovel on the handles, preventing the door from opening. “These nanabots really come in handy!”

Landing on his back, Vincent aimed and shot the door, trying to penetrate it. Unfortunately, his ammo was too weak. Only a bullet designed for demolition could break through it. Standing up, he tried to kick the door open but with no success. “Dang,” he cursed. Turning his back, he saw the civilians staring at him. One of the female passengers wrapped her child with her arms. Seeing this, he thought that he seemed to pose a threat to them. “It’s okay,” he nervously said, “I am Vincent R. Fabula, a junior CIA agent. My license is well umm…” Vincent tapped his pockets, trying to feel something that had a shape of a rectangle. “Well, it’s somewhere here…” Failing to locate his ID, his tension started to build up. Warm blood rose to his head, causing him sweat. Pulling out a handkerchief, he said, “Wait guys, it’s here somewhere…”

Seeing only two men, the “playboy” and another guard whose face was masked by the shadows of his cap, Lanceler cracked his knuckles. Joseph’s personal bodyguard immediately fled while his companion chose to stay. “Lancelot, eh? Hmm… you’ve already swapped places seventeen times. You also seem to be exhausted from constant punching and kicking.” Letting out a maniac laugh, he continued, “You appear to have just enough life force left to use your element twice. Bwahaha!”

Seeing a grayish white light from the shadows of his eyes, Lanceler took a few steps back. Aiming his gun, he said, “I don’t need it to beat you.” The guard let out another maniac laugh, only to be interrupted by a gunshot. Staring at his shoulder, he saw no injury. “Shoot, I missed!” Lancelot shouted. Ryan, you’d better thank me for this!
With Vincent out of the way, Ryan entered Joseph’s carriage. Shadebainer seemed to hide his face, facing his back at the terrorist. “I’ve been expecting you… Tell me, why are you doing this?” Turning around, the senator opened a bottle of water. Showing no sign of fear, he twisted cap and slowly gulped one quarter of the water. Wiping his lips with a white handkerchief, he intentionally spilled the remains. Not minding what his visitor would think of him, he placed a plastic cup on the water dispenser, leaving it as is as the water continued to pour, creating a larger mass.

Even without his Vision, Ryan remembered the incident that happened a few days ago. He was about to strike but only to be disarmed. “Shadebainer! You already know, don’t you? I am here because of two crimes that you’ve committed. One is murder and the other is stealing an innocent man’s Vision!” Ryan unlocked the trigger of bayonet and aimed. He chose to fire after they finished exchanging their words. “You can’t hide anything from me! I, too, have a Vision, one that let this all happen.”

“Please, call me Joseph. That was the name given to me, so please use it.” A small light emitted, coming from inside his coat. Ryan’s jaw dropped as he was immobilized by the rising of the water. Ryan could see it being slowly assembled. A trigger, a revolver, six bullets, and a few more mechanical parts... all those, being formed out of water. A revolver levitated in midair. Joseph swept his right arm, grabbing the weapon. Looking at the ceiling, and placing his left finger under his bearded chin, he continued, “Murder? What was that’s man name again?” After a very short pause, he continued. “The only thing ‘important’ about it that I could remember was what I took from him, his Vision. For twelve years, this power has never failed me. It even allowed me to anticipate your arrival.”

“Wait! You mean you’ve had that power for twelve years?” That means my father–

Quickly responding, and interrupting Ryan’s thoughts, “Enough of this!” From his loose grip, he stiffened his arm, aiming at Ryan’s tinted mask, seeing it as the most vulnerable part of his armor. “Who are you?”

He… he doesn’t know me?! This makes no sense. I thought he could read minds. And as for his Vision, he’s saying that he stole it from my father. What about Ethan’s? Wait, he doesn’t have a blade. So, it was someone else? “Shadebainer, I am Redemption. I am the knight of vengeance and atonement!” Hearing his reply, Joseph grinned as he fired a bullet. Dangit! Not now! In fear, Ryan closed his eyes. Three seconds had passed after he heard the bang. I… I… Am I dead?

Opening his eyes, he wondered where he was. Seeing the cacti and the desert sand shrinking as the distance grew, he heard a familiar voice. “Ryan, I need your help. That guy… he has a Vision!” Lanceler’s right fist was closed and in front of his chest while he used his left hand to point.

Looking at the other end of the train, he eyed the bodyguard. He didn’t seem to do anything, as if he was waiting for them to finish talking. “Sure thing, Lanceler.”

“Sssh! We're terrorists! When I wear this mask, call me Lancelot. That’s what hidden aliases are for!”

“Fine, but call me Redemption.” Feeling very confident, Ryan released another shell from his bladed weapon. Grinning, the anonymous man let out a screech, seeming to source from his palm. The sound caused a crack on Ryan’s mask. At the same time, the vibration broke his bullet’s coordination thus, it missed him. Laughing, he created another screech, this time coming from his other hand. The fracture grew larger to a point wherein a large shard fell off his helmet. “Okay, no need to panic,” Ryan said out loud, but addressing himself, “Sound is obviously his element.” Licking his lips, he tasted the metallic flavor of blood. He suspected his shattered mask to have made some cuts on his face.

Lancelot noticed Redemption pausing. “Anything wrong?”

“Nothing,” he replied. “And don’t get any ideas like teleporting with Danielle here. I ain’t lying this time. Besides, her Vision is cold…”

“Heh, I was gonna do that, however, according to that guy’s Vision, which is the ability to see one’s life force, I can’t. I used my remaining energy to get you here. Heh, if sound’s his element, then seeing life force has gotta be his Vision.” With his ability, Lanceler could teleport to any area as long as he can travel to it while holding his breath. One flaw was that he couldn’t inflict any harm on anyone for he would just pass through. Another weakness his power was burdened with was the fact that he couldn’t pick anything up, or take any material object for his skin would just pass through. If he decided to let his breath go, he would just swap places with the object that occupied the space he ‘stole’. But if he held an object, and then used his element, the item would teleport with him. Knowing his limitations, Lanceler was able to plan out his actions. By teleporting next to Ryan, and then grabbing him as he teleported back, Ryan was dragged along with him.

Opening a small portion of his mask, Lanceler wiped his lips. After a quick stretch, he heard the man shout out, “Hey, you seemed to have regenerated enough life force to teleport one more time.”

“This could be a trap,” warned Redemption.

“Don’t worry; my power doesn’t use up that much of my life force. Besides, what is life force anyway? Stamina? Oh well, I’ll just fall unconscious from excessive teleporting anyway. Swapping places isn’t my only ability, ‘ya know…” Taking his chances, he snapped his fingers as sign of good luck. Time stopped. He could see his ally and his opponent both immobilized. Redemption seemed to make an attempt in stopping him from using his element. His arms were stretched out, trying to grab him, but failed to make a any kind of contact. The man who could produce any kind of sound had a position wherein he was just laughing as he stared at the sky. His right arm rested on his forehead while his left hand held still held his weapon. Trying to save time, Lancelot ran towards him, positioning himself behind his back. As he took a deep breath, canceling the effects of his power, he performed an axe kick.

At the same time, he heard his companion shout, “Lancelot, no!

The man landed on his front, but supported himself by pillaring on his arms. Quickly standing up, he unexpectedly introduced himself. “Hi! I’m Cyro!” Waving his hands, he got another kick on his back, this time from Redemption. Landing hard, he felt a force applied on his back, ‘drilling’ its way on his back. Redemption stepped on him, imitating the movement of a drill with the tip of his feet. Feeling pity, Lancelot did nothing but watch. Underneath his mask was a scowling frown.

The pain caused Cyro to be enraged. Opening his right hand, he let loose a powerful burst of sound, shattering the remaining glass on Redemption’s helmet. As effect, the two were brought down to their knees, produced by the pain and damage done to their coordination. More shards cut Ryan’s face, and blood started to bleed from his left nostril. His face was exposed, a fair-skinned man who had long brown bangs, covering his eyes. Standing up once more, and wiping off dirt from his torso, he offered the two a hand. “Hi! I’m Cyro! Spelled as C-Y-R-O.”

Bang! A few feet from them, at the left side of the train, was a mounted gunman. His brown vest had a golden star attached to it. “Heh, missed…” Since he decided to keep his steed in a steady location as he shot, he fell more feet behind.

Being alerted, Lancelot stood up once more and gave Cyro a swift punch. The impact caused his head to turn to the left, receiving more and more pain from constant punching. Before he could hit him with his ninth blow, his fists were caught by Cyro’s palms, his right being the first and his left being the second as it attempted to strike him once more. “Why are you attacking me?!”

“What?! Why are you attacking me?!” Lancelot asked. Cyro just blinked ‘innocently’. “Seero, eh? Hmm… aren’t you a guard or anything?”

“No,” Cyro rebutted, “I had to get on this train somehow. After thinking for a few seconds, this idea came to me: dress up as one of the guards!” After mentioning the last word, he stared up to the sky, laughing madly again. Ryan, wondering about Cyro’s motive for getting on the train, opened his mouth. At the instant this happened, his new, but strange, ‘friend’ covered his mouth. “It’s rude to talk when someone else is.” Being up close, the two could see that he could produce words without moving his lips. Ryan’s jaw struggled as he tried to reason out. “Now, where was I?” The short silence he left was broken, conquered by the noise Ryan produced. “Oh yeah,” he continued followed by his laughter. “Have you guys heard of the new Barney character? He’s on the train! Everyone’s talking about him. Shadebarney… must be some kind of black dinosaur.”

Stimulated by the foolishness of his words, Ryan pulled Cyro’s hands off from his face and corrected, “It’s Shadebainer. And second, he’s in the train.” Following his words was another gunshot. The accurate bullet hit his torso but failed to damage Ryan in any way.

Sticking his tongue out at the sheriff, teasing him for his futileness, Cyro subsequently activated a detonator which he pulled from his pocket. A large portion of the tracks that they’ve already passed exploded, engulfing the horse and several unconscious men. The pain the horse felt at the instant before it died caused it to trample wildly. As a result, the sheriff was dismounted. Fortunately, he was just inches away from the blast’s radius. Exhausted by the pain, he silently cursed, and gripped onto the sand, trying to crawl, hoping that somehow he’ll get to them again.

“You were able to plant bombs in the tracks?!” Lancelot asked surprised, almost being impressed.

“Seesh! That’s impossible!” Cyro rebutted, “That place was too heavily guarded. All I did was hack one of the computers from the Northern region and send a missile.” He pointed to a building, several kilometers distant and slightly visible through the enshrouding fog brought by the distance.

“Uhh… isn’t that more impossible?” Ryan sighed and continued, “But heh,” Ryan shrugged, “remarkable. You came all the way here from the Northern region to see ‘Shadebarney’?” The two black nights were driven to laughter. Seeing that ironically he was the only one who wasn’t expressing a lively gesture, Cyro started to laugh as well, not knowing what was funny.”

“Anyways, you two owe me something.” His fingers alternately folded towards his palms, and then contracted away, seeming as if he was asking for payment. Seeing this, Ryan felt a bit guilty so he pulled his wallet from a small opening of his armor that recently unlocked itself, allowing his hand to reach his pocket. “Since there’s no Shadebarney, and just that senate guy, I feel… bored. Since you two are getting yourselves in such a fun yet dangerous ‘activity’ you might as well bring me along!”

“Hmm… he may useful,” said Lancelot. As usual, he would place his finger under his lips and his thumb under his chin. “But… please try not to use your element all the time. Not only is it a waste of energy but people might see you with an abnormality.”

Hearing this, Cyro was driven to more laughter. The sudden movement of his head caused his blue cap, a part of his disguise, to fall off, being left behind on the ground as the train continued steaming its way to its destination. Like Lanceler’s, his hair was blond, but more yellowish than his. “Bah, I don’t care. According to my Vision, I haven’t even used four percent of my life force.”

“Hehe,” Ryan silently laughed. “You know, Lanceler, if Cyro was Jhenine, I would kill you for what you just said.” Ryan discarded his bullets and rested his bayonet’s body on his shoulder. The blade was just three inches from him, and the butt, being supported by his right hand, was touching his chest.

“Hmph…” Lanceler’s rivalry forced him to challenge the brunet. “You’re on! As soon as we get off this train, let’s have a fight. And based on the map, the Northwestern region would be the best place.” The Northwestern region riddled with deserts and canyons, making it an ideal place for such fights. Not only was it isolated from the public, but it was near their destination as well.

But little to their knowledge was that since the place had a population of zero, the King of Magnagon declared it as the War Zone, as requested by the UNF or the United Nations Federation. To prevent civilian deaths, an invading country should only attack the defensive country’s selected region. But rules stated that land’s area should not be less than a hundred thousand square kilometers and that it should be one of the country’s boundaries. Another rule mentioned that the defensive nation could have an advantage if it could supply itself with antiaircraft mortars and stationary weapons as support to their units as protection from invading forces.

Nowadays, first world countries would supply themselves with golems that would be piloted by soldiers. It would either take the shape of a human or an animal. However, experts believed that human-shaped models are the best, being capable of wielding giant artillery designed for them as well as being the most versatile. But the mass saw it merely as an opinion, so the production of animal-based models such as the Pantheroen, a jaguar-based mech, still took place.

“Speaking of getting off this train, how do we get back in? Wouldn’t it be suspicious? I mean, why would the terrorists just leave the train? All the guards have already been knocked out– literally. Besides, if we just show up, being present only when the terrorists have left, it would be obvious that we’re Lancelot and Redemption,” Ryan discussed. To save time, and to derive an urgent answer, Lanceler activated his Vision. Letting him concentrate, both Cyro and Ryan kept silent. But as usual for how their story goes, the silence would yet again be broken. A powerful gunshot caught their attention. When the three decided to check what was happening, they were nearly stumbled, due to the deceleration of the train.

Vincent managed to blast through the door, and was able to disconnect the senator’s carriage from the other six, the caboose being one. Ryan aimed his bayonet at him, trying to take out his anger. But he realized that now they had a reason to ‘disappear’. Being known the public, would mean that he was going to be an enemy. Yet, he could still gain allies and supporters, as long as he chose the right words. Thanking Vincent in his mind, he pulled the trigger, knowing that he was still an enemy, only to hear a click. Dang! When I planned to use Shattered Cepheus, I had to discard my bullets. Unfortunately, I forgot to reload. Hmm… I could experiment it on him… but, that might kill Joseph. I can’t do that… not until I know the details…

Lanceler armed himself with his shotgun. He placed his hand behind his back, activating the chess piece as he moved his hand from his back to his front. His actions imitated the cartoons wherein the characters would just pull stuff from their backs. Laughing silently, Lanceler’s long wait to use his nanabots in a situation like this was over. But before he could shoot, Vincent retreated to the safety of the inner portion of the train, unaware of their presence. “Let him go.” Ryan slowly pushed Lanceler’s firearm downward. Smiling, the two remembered the incident when Ryan pointed his shovel at the Lanceler, being enraged by the mentioning of his parents’ death. “Besides, he’s out of range.” Lanceler remained silent, thanking the events that prevented him from killing.

Hearing this, Cyro laughed. “Heh, I wonder what happened to the money we spent on riding the train? Wait, I didn’t spend anything! Bwahahaha!” Lanceler and Ryan were made to think about Cyro’s natural voice. When he laughs, he does open his mouth, but the two didn’t believe that his pitch was so high.

Shaking his head and folding his arms, Ryan replied with a grin, “Heh, I am one of two inheritors my father’s wealth…” As mentioned, Ryan is the only son of his father. But there wasn’t anything said about the nonexistence of another child. Ryan was a half blood, borne by a woman of the Eastern region with a man of the Southern region. The people of the South were known for superior strength thus, explaining Ryan’s physical prowess. However, none of his friends ever had knowledge of his sister, not even Danielle who had been his neighbor for eight years. At the age of ten, with Ryan just being seven, his sister was assigned to training under the supervision of a Southern soldier. Normally, men at the age of eighteen were the youngest candidates, but for possessing the blood of a native from the Southern region, she was recruited at a very young age. Looking at Lanceler, Ryan decided to spill the beans about him having a sibling. “And my sister… is the second.”



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (9/28/2008 9:26:24)

Chapter 5

“You coward!” Vincent scolded. “As I blasted through the door, you cowardly ran towards the sanctuary of this room! If I were you, I would’ve sacrificed my life, trying to stop Lancelot. You are useless! I, in the other hand, was able to save Joseph from the terrorists.” Seeing this a moment for his recognition, Vincent pointed to himself with his right thumb, full of confidence and pride.

“Vincent,” Joseph called. “He may be a coward, but since he has a higher ranking position, you have no right to scold him.” The official lit a cigar and continued, “It’s mentioned in Article 4, Section XI. Didn’t you read the handbook?” After a short pause, the senator brought up another issue. “Vincent, you disconnected the other passenger rooms from the train, right?” Curious of what the conversation was getting in to, Vincent rested his chin on his knuckles. “So, what are we going to do about them? They still have their place to go to and if things go worse, which is what’s most likely going to happen, Redemption and Lancelot will have an entire train’s worth of hostages!” Vincent’s pride left him very vulnerable; even a quick attack on his feelings could shatter him. The cadet remained silent, stricken by fear, not knowing what to say next. He knew that he had no right to utter an excuse and make an alibi. For awhile, he planned on saying that he did it for his safety but then that would make the senator look more important to him than all those civilians. If it was one thing that Vincent remembered from the handbook, it would be that he should prioritize the safety of all equally.

“I guess…” Hearing their superior talk, the two lifted their heads and listened. “…we’ll have to request one of the mech pilots to pull the remaining carriages. If we’re lucky, the civilians will be unharmed. I just hope that the terrorists abandoned them for the sake of getting to me.” Reflecting upon what Joseph said, Vincent felt inspired by his courage, putting his own safety behind the safety of others. However, was that ‘courage’ going to do anything? Seeing that there was nothing left to discuss about the abandoned civilians, Shadebainer decided that it was time to plan out the counterattack. “I’ll also request help from Wallace. If we can’t kill Lancelot with a bullet, we’ll have to use a sword…” Grinning, he returned to his front row seat, activating his Vision.

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Millions of raindrops poured from the heavens, mixing with spilled blood, and creating pools of red. The entire green hills were scarred with crimson; such a painful sight could even melt the hearts of those who had no sympathy at all. Stench haunted the area. Under the dark clouds, ignoring the impact brought by the precipitation, subsisted four men. Two of which were low ranking officials, two young men at around their twenties or late teens, restraining the third. Their arms were gripped around his, and their feet stepped on their prisoner’s legs, and thus forcing him to kneel. The third man’s upper body was protected by a golden armor; a portion of his helmet was crushed, not anymore resembling the head of a chaotic dragon. His arms' and legs’ armor were stripped off.

The fourth person, another knight, possessed unmatched chivalry. The king had respected him due to his strength but this admiration was one-sided. He stood in front the captive, crushing his knuckles with his feet. His right hand held his weapon, a grand blade. Its handle was made of gold, forged with silver as its spiral trim. Shielding his fingers was part of its hilt. It extended two diagonal inches high, and descended thirteen inches down forming an acute angle with the two-inch portion, exceeding the length of the handle. His thumb, being positioned at the other side of the handle, slowly slid across the diagonal bottom end of his blade. Only the front part of the sword had a hilt, which only reached up to the bottom center of the blade. Just an inch from the tip, was a small oval hole, just small enough for one’s eye to peek through. The blade, four feet long and two feet wide, posed a threatening appearance. For someone to wield it, he would need possess superior strength.

“It’s been twelve years, twelve years since we’ve first met,” the wielder of the glorious blade gave an accent of full conviction to his next words, “twelve years since you took Helen from me! I still remember that day…”

A young brunet, traversed down from a small forest path leading to his village. As he entered the wrecked stone gate, one of the farmers, an old friend of his, recognized him, despite them not seeing each other for three years. “Hey, isn’t that Wallace? The boy who ran away?” he teased.

The young man observed that half of the town lay ashes and charred remains. From a distance, the cinder could have been mistaken as the ground itself. Thinking that the immolation of the town was caused by a forest fire or some kind of accident, he smiled and responded, “Oh c’mon. I didn’t run away. Can’t you see by my armor that I’m now a knight?” Wallace gave his chest a hard pound, showing how hard his armor was. After a short pause, the each of them grabbed a wooden rake and sparred with each other playfully. Following six swift blows, Wallace gave the old man light hammer fist on his wrist, causing him to disarm his ‘weapon’. “Hehe, I guess I’m not the only who’s still a boy.”

“Perhaps…”

“Heh, it’s people like you that inspire to never grow up! So, how’s Helen?”

“Hmph… we thought that you’ve forgotten about her.” Wallace raised an eyebrow, thinking that this was some kind of joke. “You left without even saying goodbye to her… and you even didn’t delay your departure just to celebrate her birthday with us.” Wallace couldn’t say anything, he felt so guilty, he felt that… he could never forgive himself. Disappointed with himself, he stared at the ground, trying to hide his watery eyes. “If you want to apologize to her, you still might catch up with her. She’s headed towards Tegea Falls.”

“Why?”

“We...we were attacked, just three days ago before you came back. You know the Rebel Kingdom of the Southeast…but I never knew that they would attack us, I mean, why? They burned half the town, raided our crops and decapitated several of the young ones, those who were about your age.”

Still not showing his face, Wallace started to shed tears. “I… I should’ve been here! I… I wasn’t informed. Why didn’t the king say anything? They attacked three days ago… and yet still the king didn’t utter a single word!”

“I guess he thinks that we’re not that important. Now back to Helen, they chose to spare our lives if we surrender her. I don’t know why but I think she knows something we don’t. If you want to find out, you could cut them off. Her escort just fetched her a few minutes ago.” The old man pointed to the opposite end of the town. The forest path continued to guide a way through the forest.

“Umm, question, why did they only take her now?”

“Their leader didn’t participate in the raid. After his men did the dirty work, he stopped by to pick her up.”

“Okay,” the young man replied. Swiftly, he raced towards the Tegea River, located at the other side of the forest. Wallace had already walked for four miles, including the time he spent in returning from the kingdom. He could feel his joints starting to burn up. But despite the pain, he decided to go on, telling himself that he would kill himself if he failed to meet up with Helen. Taking a short break to recover from the fatigue, he leaned on a tree. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps. The person producing these noises was crushing twigs and dragging her feet. Getting up, he caught sight of a golden knight, following a red-haired girl. Seemingly, he had overtaken the two. “Helen!” he shouted.

“W-Wallace?! Is that you?”

“Yes, it's me. So, how has that man treated you so far?” His rage collided with his fear of showing his face to Helen. Being a man, his pride forced him to change the topic. To redeem himself, an apology and a simple greeting wasn't enough; he had to rescue her.

“Terrible,” she replied. Using the tip of her left sandal, she scratched the back of her leg. The forest was inhabited by insects, mostly blood suckers.

“Hurry,” the knight impatiently commanded as he gave Helen a kick with his knee. The impact pushed her to ground, scratching her arms and face with the rough terrain. Her lower arms and sleeves were wet with mud, giving them a brown stain. She could feel the cold dew of the grass, saying that death was near.

“Hey!” Wallace shouted. “Don’t you have any respect for a girl?” Even without seeing the man’s face, he knew that underneath that wicked helmet hid a wicked man. Wallace believed that knights wore these masks to represent themselves. If a knight possessed a glorious mask, he would obviously be the king’s top knight or one who has brought glory to his name. He also saw it as symbolism. How could an ugly mask fit on a beautiful person’s face? They have different ‘shapes’.

Standing up, Helen warned him, “Wallace, no! That’s Lancelot, the rebel king’s own personal knight. You stand no chance against him!” Ignoring her, Wallace unsheathed his sword, a very basic one. “Wallace!” she shouted again, “don’t do it!”

“Know your place, boy. This girl’s mine now. To spare their lives, the townsfolk sold her to me.”

“Sold? And what did you pay them?” the brunet questioned calmly, but the presence of anger was evident his facial expression.

“I allowed them to live…”

“You! You son of a b–”

“Wallace, please don’t” Helen begged, interrupting him.

“Sorry… but I won’t.” The younger knight leapt four feet high in the air and aimed for Lancelot’s crown. Swiftly, the rebel knight unsheathed his weapon and blocked the attack. As the two blades made contact, Wallace was left vulnerable in midair. Taking the moment for his advantage, Lancelot punched him with his arm before he could land his legs on the ground. Wallace lay on his back, immobilized by fear as Lancelot’s blade was just half an inch from his neck. “You… you got me in two moves?!”

“It’s over, boy.” Lancelot was about to strike, aiming for Wallace’s Adam’s apple, but halted by Helen’s struggling voice.

“Don’t do it, sir! If you kill him, then take my life as well.” The girl ran towards Wallace, putting herself in between the two.

“Helen,” Wallace silently sighed. “No… just finish me off! I’m a jerk, Helen. I’ve got nothing to lose, I already lost everything! My existence is an accident!”

Rain continued to pour. Angered by the memories that stained his heart, Wallace took a deep breath, trying to release his tension. “You agreed to spare my life. That was your first mistake.” Rubbing the bottom of his blade with slightly more force exerted on his thumb, he continued, “Then you left me there, just watching you take her away. It only took a matter of seconds for me to realize that you were using her to find Excalibur. I tried to follow, and succeeded. But somehow, I stumbled across the blade, plunged into the soil as if it were the fabled stone said to be located in the falls. I never believed in magic… until I witnessed what happened next.”

Wallace gave several attempts but the sword never seemed to budge. “I wish… I had the strength,” he whispered as a tear glinted in his eye. Following those words, two things happened. Wallace managed to pull Excalibur but hundreds of identical weapons emerged from the ground, like spikes activated by traps. The weapon which his hands clutched onto started to vanish, as if it were burning, slowly fading from one side to the other. His heart started to beat faster, adapting to his emotions. Each blade glowed as runes mystically appeared, inscribing themselves on the weapons. The text was unreadable, and did not appear to be from some foreign country. Wallace sighed miserably. His instincts told him that there was only one real Excalibur, and he had to find it.

He made several attempts, gripping onto uncountable handles, but each time he managed to draw the weapon, the hilt, and every other part of the weapon, dissolved into white balls of light, fading as the wind blew them away. Enraged, he let out his anger on the ground, punching its hard terrain. After the impact of his fist, he remained on his kneeling position, screaming out madness, cursing the day itself. He looked up to the sky. His widely-opened mouth, releasing his enragement, slowly turned to a frightened, scared frown. A flock of five pigeons hovered approximately forty feet above him, frozen in place. He could see detached feathers, feathers that should have fallen, hanging suspended in their place. It seemed as if the hands of time had stopped, immobilizing everything in the universe but him.

“I can’t give up. And I won’t, for Helen’ sake!” Wallace rose with his newly-found strength. The realization of his importance gave him power, power that made him feel stronger. He saw his friend as someone he had to protect, but in his state, only the legendary weapon could help him. The young knight scanned the area, relying on his instincts alone. He closed his eyes, eliminating the burden of his false hope, the illusions of Excalibur.

One by one, the weapons nearest to him shattered to light. The illusions next to them followed, leaving only the true Excalibur. Seeing the last weapon, earthed three-fourths by a stump, he was driven to insane laughter. “Yes!” Wallace laughed desperately. His hands impatiently shook, desiring to obtain the power. “Lancelot, just you wait! I’ll send you to Oblivion!” He gripped on the handle, his right hand over his left. As each rune became completely unearthed, it shattered, leaving the weapon with its original form. As the bladed tip was released from its prison, time resumed. He realized this as he heard the chirping of the birds.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only sound he heard. He was just a few feet away from the falls. Helen and her captor had reached one side of the river, seeing nothing but what nature had to offer– something which the knight had no appreciation for. “I have no time for jokes! You’re Helen Argetlahm. The sense to find the sword is in your blood! If you don’t show me its location, I’ll kill you! There are thousands of others who descended from the fabled knight. One of them outta be useful.”

“I’m telling you, it’s somewhere around here!” Annoyed by her words which seemed to be lies, Lancelot grabbed her by the arm, aimed his blade at her neck. As he pulled her towards the apex of his sword, he drove his blade into her neck. From the distance, Wallace heard the girl screaming, using every last piece of her breath. But the sound did not fade into silence. Instead, the high volume of her voice was immediately cut, making him think the worst.

“Helen!” His voice struggled amidst the pain and fear, amidst the wasted emotions. Tears fell from his eyes, crashing and mixing with the small droplets of water clutching onto the grass, slowly dripping off drops one at a time. Blood rose to his cheeks, giving them a red color. He had thoughts of dropping Excalibur; its burdening weight evidently decelerated his speed. But the weight caused him to trip first. A small but sharp pebble scratched his palm. Wallace stretched his hand open, trying to ignore the pain brought by the wind as it made contact with his wound. Again, he screamed, cursing the day itself.

“But that was when I learned of this weapon’s power. I used the same hand to pick Excalibur from the ground. The wound was instantly healed as it made contact with the handle.” The gallant knight held his blade up high, ready to stab the back of Lancelot’s neck as his head too was forced to be lowered. “With that power, I thought that I could heal Helen’s wound. But her wound was too fatal, I couldn’t do anything. I hated you so much that I shouted your name thrice, trying to lure you. I know you heard me but you just ignored me, not knowing that I had what you came for. Fear me not because I will destroy your body but fear me because I will destroy your essence as well!” Hearing the end of his sorrowful memories, Lancelot raised his head, seeing Wallace glower, desiring to eliminate him. Wallace struck, but his body vanished into balls of light, shrinking as they disappeared.

The three heard a voice from their backs. “Scared? Destroying you won’t be enough; I need to make you suffer as well. But then, what could possibly be worse than sending you to Oblivion.” The two lieutenants turned their heads, catching sight of Wallace leaning on a tree. His sword masked his entire face, but his right eye was seen through the hole in the hilt’s tip. His iris, naturally colored hazel, ignited a blend of white and gray light.

Excalibur, the second lieutenant mused with himself, the sword itself is an elemental gem, possessing the ability of restoration. However, it seems to have no effect on the dead. Hmm… what a shame that this glorious blade is cursed by a Vision. Luckily for him that I don’t need to kill him to break his bond with the Vision. Anyone can access the power by peeking through that small hole. Based on what I just saw, the Vision can create illusions.

“Now, to Oblivion you will go!” Wallace threw his enchanted sword with a graceful movement of his wrist. The two officials gave way, avoiding the weapon’s path. Lancelot stood up, attempting to flee. However, his attempt was futile. Lancelot screamed from the very tip of his lungs, suffering from the pain that brought him to his stage of death. Excalibur pierced through the golden armor, making its way for the man’s back and exiting from his chest. As the tip of the weapon exited through Lancelot’s tunic and golden breastplate, it made a perfect curve, returning back to the hands of its owner.

In the Abyss of Oblivion, the portion of Oblivion reserved for essences that plagued the world with injustice during their time, Lancelot’s spirit appeared. He started to sink, going lower and lower as less people knew of him. He struggled, trying to keep his head above water. There was only one thing that could save him, the Vision of Memories.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (9/28/2008 9:27:51)

Wallace dismissed the first lieutenant. Rolling his eyes to the lower ranking official, he approached him. “Don’t think of me as a fool. I know who you are not.” The imposter grinned. Raising his helmet’s mask, the second lieutenant unsheathed his scimitar. “Tell me, who are you?” The fierce knight aimed Excalibur’s tip at the young man’s throat, threatening him to answer.

“I am Athrua Xyphus, the real heir to the throne!” Athrua pushed his bangs to side. His voice had perfect conviction, showing unflawed confidence and fearless emotion.

“The throne? Trifling matter… The only good in this government is the senators. They’re the ones who use taxes for the betterment of Magnagon. All the king does is bathe himself with gold and drink the wine brought by the hard labor of his tenants.”

“That is why the throne should be mine. With that power, I will force change and purge this world of the wicked,” Athrua replied, still showing no sign of fear. Noticing that Wallace’s weapon was aimed at him, he too targeted his opponent’s neck.

“Why are you telling me that? The kingdom is located at the far end of the country, along the Magnagon-Argean Border.” Using the tip of Excalibur’s handle, the knight pointed to the south. It seemed as if the heavens interfered with the battle, bringing the two into the eye’s storm. The downpour started to weaken into a drizzle.

“Enough of this!” Athrua spoke as if he failed to recognize Wallace’s strength. Using only his right hand, he sprung up, striking Wallace’s collar from five feet above the ground. Remembering the agonizing confrontation with Lancelot, Wallace parried the blow. “Predictable!” Athrua taunted. Using his left hand, he threw three identical daggers at his opponent’s chest. Not only were the pierces deep enough to harm him, but Wallace had to heal his wounds, leaving him wide open to another attack.

Wallace plucked the projectiles from his armor and healed his wounds by swaying his legendary weapon. Shifting his glance, he saw his adversary retreating from the battle, heading north. Now was a time for him to use his Vision. Inserting his line of sight in the small gap in the handle, he imagined an illusion of himself cutting Athrua off. Similar to the fake weapons which Wallace encountered twelve years ago, an illusion created by Excalibur’s Vision would not only deceive the eyes of an individual. These illusions were somewhat real; they could inflict pain and make contact with what was real, but were extremely fragile. When Wallace gripped onto the handles of the phony blades, and pulled each of them one at a time, the friction of the weapon and the imprisonment that sealed it to the earth was enough to cause it to ruin into particles of light. The brittleness of an illusion is measured by what it transforms into.

Athrua gave no sign of resistance, ignoring the figure that was headed his way. Wallace was challenged, thinking that Athrua knew about his power. Taking hold of an amulet he wore around his neck, the young knight shielded himself with the crystalline insignia. Its design was created through carving, a symbol of a sealed eye. “Creature of Vision, face my Hex Canceller!” A portal of a greenish-blue vortex appeared behind him, sucking the illusion through the carved artifact. The force of the Hex Canceller’s gate seemed like wind to Athrua, a gust that blew his helmet off and controlled the movements of his raven hair.

Wallace chose to let him go, seeing that he was a worthy challenge. “You’re free for now,” he uttered.

“I’ll exorcise that Vision when we meet again!” Athrua shouted.

Shattering the silence of the battle’s end was the ringing of Wallace’s cell phone. The ring tone was assigned to play the music created by the continuous harmony of a flute accompanied by harp. Wallace moved to the shelter of a tree. Examining his phone, he read the name “Shadebainer”. “Joseph? I really do appreciate what you’ve done but you gave me this phone despite of my cultural traditions. This better be important…” Wallace answered the phone.

“Wallace, I need your help. I’m headed for the Northern region and there’s a terrorist… he wants to kill me. His alias is Redemption and his accomplice calls himself ‘Lancelot’.”

"Lancelot? Why must another man use that fabled knight’s name for his own? They’re disgracing his name! It doesn’t matter. Like the previous one, I’ll kill this corrupt Lancelot." Wallace replied with an “I’ll be there.” Ignoring what Joseph had to say next, Wallace ended the conversation. The heavy swordsman placed the tips of his two fingers between his lips. With a quick and strong whistle, he summoned a tamed Wyvern. “We’re heading north!” The two-legged beast swooped down, allowing its tamer to mount on.

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The remnants of the train were still in place. The five gathered in the fifth room, introducing Cyro and discussing their next course of action. Lanceler sat on the first row of seats while Cyro and Danielle occupied the pair of seats located in the left column, second row. Opposite their column sat Ryan and Jhenine sat. On his lap was his broken helmet. Jhenine, using her handkerchief, wiped Ryan’s blood off his charming face and aided his scratches, which made Danielle slightly envious. On Jhenine’s lap was a medical kit. One kit was assigned to each passenger room incase of an emergency.

“So, all we have to do is head for the Northern region? Man, this trip sure is taking us far. Gee, I wonder how Dad’s doing,” Danielle sighed, crying in the inside. She already had problems back at her home, and Ryan seemed to spend more time with Jhenine. Turning her head to Cyro, the juvenile blond gave her a hysterical big smile. Her cheeks started to blush but she hid hear face with her handkerchief.

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At the corner of the room, Officer Pheona and Blake Derem, Danielle’s father, conversed, taking small scoops of their meal after an exchange of words. The round dining table was covered by a pink cloth, matching the alternate pattern of white and pink-colored tablecloths in the restaurant. Between the two adults flickered a small candle, accompanied by a vase holding a pair of yellow roses. Stuffed with rare and expensive wind dragon feathers, the seats were as soft and comfy as a cushion, for the couple, that is.

“…And that was how I got back at Ryan for his April Fools trick on me.” Blake wiped his hands with a cloth and continued, “He seemed like a son to me, and a brother to Danielle.” Mentioning her name, Blake gave a silent prayer for his daughter’s safety. The woman laughed and shared one of her own personal experiences. Prioritizing his daughter over his date, he ignored her talking. "I wonder if the two ran away together," he interrupted.

“Yeah, I hope they’re fine, too.” The man could see that Pheona’s face was agonizing. “Blake, we won’t be able see each other for some time,” the woman said miserably looking at the chandelier, “I was reassigned to Western region but I promise; I’ll be back.”

“It’s okay. I’ll wait,” replied Blake, holding her hands passionately.

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All the passengers of the train, except for the deaf man seated in the third room, were startled by the loud noise produced by a mecha’s jets. Ryan peeked through the window. All he could see were the two legs of a bipedal mech. In total, its height was three stories high, small for those used in the military. Lanceler remained calm, knowing that the mech was 4R-56 model, a harmless machine that was usually assigned to run errands. “I was sent to help you get to the Northern region. Sorry for the delay though,” the speaker boomed.

“It’s about time! Shadebainer, just you wait!” Ryan cheered. A two-inch bandage was placed on his left cheek, covering the wound brought about by their scuffle. Cyro laughed maniacally, pointing to Ryan’s injury. Ryan, forgetting about his temper-resolve, stood up ready to punch the blond.

“Now, Ryan!” Danielle called in a scolding, motherly tone, “He can’t help it. He’s a psycho…” Shaking his fists, Ryan returned to his seat, resting the back of his head on his hands. Wow! Ryan actually listened to me! Danielle told herself, giving her the confidence to continue going for Ryan. In response to his withdrawal, Cyro taunted Ryan with another big smile. Grinning, Ryan effortlessly threw a punch to his face. But still, the smirk was never wiped off. Cyro remained smiling. Well, at least he stopped for a while, Danielle argued with herself.

The mech’s gigantic hand opened, placing an engine room on the tracks. The cockpit opened, allowing several mechanics to descend from the machine. “Please remain on your seats as the engineers connect the engine. You should be on your way soon.”



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (10/13/2008 7:38:14)

Chapter 6

“Yes… just a few more seconds,” the sheriff said desperately as he dragged his body towards the train. His clothes were ragged, revealing his scratched, bleeding skin. To his demise, Ryan, wearing his black armor, released the trigger on him. He hid under the roof on top of the railings and used the jet’s sound to cover the gunshot. Ryan knew that his identity would remain safe, despite him not wearing a helmet. All he had to do was to kill all witnesses. Using the last seconds of his life, the sheriff asked, “Why… are you doing… this? You’re… just a boy…”

Letting out a bitter laugh, he replied, “Because…” Ryan’s thoughts gave the nanabots the command to turn back into the emblem. “… I am Ryan Kristen!” Being left with more mystery about Redemption, he dropped his head, letting go of his life as well. Ryan returned to the caboose, regrouping with the four. “May your essence enter Paradise…” he whispered, almost shedding a tear. His conscience made him regret his actions, but he had no choice.

As he met up with them, Lanceler greeted him with a hostile complain, “Why’d you have to kill him?” Danielle and Jhenine were startled with those words. “We’re after Shadebainer! Don’t let others get involved in this! We should limit the lives we take!” He almost spat on his face, but was halted by his self reputation.

Ryan, h-how could you? I knew that you were here to get revenge but I thought it was just okay. But as death comes, we tend to realize that killing is just wrong when it’s too late. Danielle wanted to bring up those words from her head, but never had the courage to stand up against Ryan. Obliviously thinking about Ryan, Danielle never noticed that Jhenine’s Vision was being used on her. Like a child smiling at the success of a scheme, she smiled mischievously.

Ryan gave no reply but scowled. Cyro rose from his seat. The others expected more hysterical laughter from him. But instead, he came to Ryan’s defense. “Back on the train, I killed the men you knocked off. Remember the missiles?” Lanceler twitched an eyebrow, indicating a yes. “I had to; it was my obligation. In the process of what we’re doing, we’re making enemies, enemies that want to destroy us.” The four were shocked. Cyro using his natural voice in a serious tone was indeed a bombshell.

“But can’t we spare any lives?” Lanceler’s argument led into an informal debate, one wherein the topic was simple and where the victor was decided by the silence of his opponent.

“Life is like a game of chess, you should know that, Lanceler. We have our enemies; we kill them to clear a way to the enemy king. In my strategy, I’m willing to sacrifice my queen to take the enemy’s. Why? Because the queen is a major threat, one that could bring and end to my offensive strategy. And if I let it live, it will come back.”

“But a checkmate is possible without capturing a single enemy piece. We–”

“Besides, Ryan had to kill him. He saw his face when I shattered his mask, remember?” Cyro interrupted, bringing Lanceler to his defeat. Lanceler starred at his dragonhead insignia, asking himself if he should still support Ryan. The brunet took his seat behind Cyro. The aftermath of the conversation brought silence to the five. The only noise came from the outside wind, crashing with the train’s as it steamed towards the Northern region. The gust resounded, giving the background a whirling sound.

With his inner conflict, Lanceler opened his chess board. He set up the pieces one by one. Taking hold of his black bishop, his lance, he tried to crush it with his fists. He wanted to bring justice to their actions, but not a single word dared to leave his mouth. Lanceler remained quiet, displaying his silent personality. But inside his thoughts, the nightmarish beat of gunfire resounded.

With Ryan separated from the endearing blonde, Danielle saw this as an opportunity to grab the seat next to him. But she did not have the guts to approach him. Taking note of Jhenine, Danielle wondered if she, too, liked Ryan. If she did, her only hope was that their relationship was one-sided.

Isolating the two regions from each other was another fissure. But instead of a wooden bridge, the only passage was the train tracks. The Northern region was exclusively for the rich citizens. Social discrimination forced the financially-poor people to leave, and the gates to the region were only accessible by the wealthy. Ryan could feel the terrain change as the train had moved to the canyon’s tracks. Peeking out through the window, he could see the metallic tiles planted on the Northern region’s ground. But despite the commercialized industries in the area, Lea Atlantra, the town they were headed to, had minimal traffic. The town was reserved for the nobles, the elite of the elite. With an estimate, they should arrive in thirty minutes.

“Atlantra…” Cyro whispered using his element, “I can see know why you are full of lies.” The blond heard this, and kept calm as he tried to understand what those words meant.

Bored, Cyro descended to sleep as he waited for the departure to end. Lanceler turned his gaze to the western area, still covered with canyons. Ryan had but one thing to brag about as a person– his strength. Maybe their duel in the Northwestern region would make him see things his way, Lanceler thought. Reverting his gaze back to Cyro, he wondered what made them complete opposites when it came to killing.

Heh, Ryan, up to this time, you still believe my lie. My ‘mom’ isn’t really my mother. And my real father is dead, not a foreign worker. If you’ve noticed, my parent’s would’ve called me or sent a text to me by now. Heh, I’m glad that I’m the only who takes in the details. Like you, I had a guardian. She was okay, motherly too. She knows my motives for leaving… and is okay with them. Lanceler eyed Ryan, who unwarily viewed the terrain. Not single sign of doubt nor regret was shown on the brunet’s calm expression. Sighing, Lanceler continued his addressed thoughts. My parents once told me that they used to be criminals before I was born. They always got away with it. In redemption for their sins, they strived to be the best contributors in the community. Everyone loved them. But despite all that, the government found out who they really were and wanted to kill them. They didn’t want the community to mourn over my parents’ death, so they ordered them to be assassinated in secret. Their bodies were cremated to get rid of all the tracks. Now their ashes are stored in a cathedral located in the Southern region. The community eventually forgot about them. For the best, my aunt decided to move to Ashfall. That was how we met. But why did they have to kill them? They already converted, donated money over twice the amount they stole, and repaid their victim’s family with prayers and material objects. I can’t allow any more deaths, any more pain brought about by prejudice! Cyro… what’s your story?

Previously used on Danielle, Jhenine’s Vision was able to see partially through Lanceler’s thoughts. But they were not clear to her for all she could see were his emotions and the reasons for their existence. What made it to her mind was that Lanceler was heavily burdened by his past, and struggled to find the reason behind Cyro’s lack of mercy. Shifting her glance, she activated her Vision on the other blond. Cyro’s Vision awoke him, sensing that his life force was slightly damaged. Jhenine’s Vision attack also could damage the target’s life force, but the effect was almost unnoticeable to everyone except Cyro. Analyzing the situation, Cyro grinned, giving Jhenine what she wanted. Entering Lea Atlantra, heading for the station, anger rushed into him, bringing with it his memories, his reason for hatred. Cyro gawked at a wrecked building. Its demolition was nearly completed. A flow of tears started to fall from his left eye, sticking onto his face because of adhesion.

Most people in this world don’t deserve to live. And many people in this world don’t know that. My parents… why did they let that man live? They were a pair of police officers, skilled ones too. They had him on his feet. He begged for his life. They let him live. How stupid, right? I told them not to, but they said, “Son, it is best to let a man redeem himself rather than killing him. We’re doing his essence a favor.” The moment they turned their backs, they were shot. They failed to run a complete scan on him. Luckily, he only had two bullets, so I managed to get away. But I had to come back. My juvenileness made me want to be a hero… and I couldn’t let him live. But I didn’t know the way back; I was just a kid then. I wandered off and had to endure the cold atmosphere of the Northeastern region, but all I had were my sandals and normal clothing. Being at the age of six, I would’ve died. But thanks to my element of sound, I was able to hunt down the animals that wished to kill me, and the vibration produced by the sound was able to create a friction powerful enough to ignite a fire.

The environment changed in his mind. His serious reflecting started to disperse; insanity filled him. A tear on his cheek landed on the floor. Not another drop from his eyes followed. Effortlessly, he wiped his face with his pinky, removing the streak left behind. Bwahaha! I will find that man! Viewing the wreckage made him remember his past. The building used to be an orphanage. But as mentioned, the poor were forced to leave, leaving only the self-proclaimed elite members of the community. So there was no longer any need for such charitable thing. “Meh? That place again? Ahh… the ‘headquarters’… Whenever the senate-guy threw a party, me and my mentor would sneak in, use the party as a decoy, and grab some stuff, then return to the orphanage. That guy had so many things that he never noticed his motorcycle was robbed. Bwah! I remember using one of his son’s tuxes in his party and heeee neverrr noticccceeeedddd. I even dipped my head in one of the cakes but still… noboddddyyyyy noticcccceeeeedddd. Meh… I bet my partner is enjoying one of the stolen cars right now,” Cyro said out loud with a mentally-challenged tone. Ryan shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh at his uncontrollability or to feel disappointed. Cyro’s sanity returned to his senses. Silently, he continued to muse with himself, hiding his serious personality. But– at least the senator fulfilled his promise. By allowing me to rob his possessions, he was able to let me and the orphans enjoy the benefits to which the taxes go to– his stuff.

Jhenine’s plot backfired. Cyro’s combined emotions of anger and insanity, occupying his mind alternately, made her Vision give her a headache. Such anger, such unintelligible emotion resounded within him. Cyro laughed insanely, catching again the attention of his companions. Jhenine knew that his mocking, overdone chuckle was targeted at her futile attempt. “If only I could read minds as well,” Jhenine wished silently. Seeing Ryan, she said to herself, “Does he like me? Maybe he does. I mean, he did argue with Lanceler because he was mean to me, but just to be sure… No– I can’t use my Vision on him…”

Cyro continued laughing. His gesture went nonstop. Optimistic with the situation, Ryan wished that Cyro would continue laughing until the train would stop. Twelve minutes had passed and Cyro started to cough. “Shoot! The inertia was supposed to make him land on his face when the train stops,” Ryan schemed. Signaling and forming a letter T with his hands, he grabbed a plastic cup from the water dispenser and filled it with warm water. The blond imitated the sound of constant water-swallowing for two minutes. “Seesh, he’s just using his element to make us think he’s drinking. Hello, it’s obvious that he would’ve run out of water by now.” Sigh… please start laughing…

“Oh, you’re just jealous that his element has comical relief purposes,” argued Danielle.

“You want comic relief? Fine, I’ll give it to ‘ya!” With a snap of his fingers, a white flash enshrouded the area with blinding light. “Hey, Danielle.” Hearing Ryan calling her, she turned her head to her left, only to feel a poke. The light had cleared, revealing Ryan’s finger touching her cheek. Jhenine’s eyes were green with envy (and no, she wasn’t using her Vision). “Bah… I got nothing.”

“Aww, that’s okay,” Danielle cheered up as she patted Ryan’s head. Ryan grabbed her hand. She was expecting him to wipe her hand off. Just in time, the train stopped, causing the two to fall. Ryan landed on his back, carrying the brunette who fell on him (and for him). With his right leg over his left, Cyro ended the instant silence with his crazed laughter.

“Gee, thanks for the catch.”

“Don’t mention it,” replied Ryan.

“I’ll be going the CR then…” Cyro let out stress-releasing interjections, also imitating the continuous pouring of water. “Ahh…. Ohh… I feel refreshed!” His voice slightly echoed as it bounced in the crammed, locker-like room.

Jhenine giggled. Bring up Ryan as a topic to her, Lanceler taunted, “I can see your eyes turning green.” His eyes pointed towards the brown-haired couple. “Oh wait, now your head’s steaming up. Hey, you’re starting to look like a Christmas tree, except that your dominant color is red. Oh wait, you’re wearing something green.”

“Haha, very funny!” Jhenine sarcastically commented. “Why would I be resentful? It’s not like I like him or anything. And if I did, I wouldn’t be jealous because they’re just friends,” Jhenine continued in a very quiet voice, one quiet enough for Danielle to hear. “I guess only Cyro’s the boy around here who knows how to make a girl laugh,” she harrumphed.

Unfortunately for Ryan, his hearing was not exactly good. Lanceler would blame Ryan’s mp3player for his slightly-disabled ears but he would say excuses like “My ears need cleaning” and “My hair’s just blockin’ my ear holes”.

Hearing what the blonde said, Danielle got up, and stared Jhenine in the eye. The two both activated their Visions on each other. The two lights passes against each other, entering through their pupils. A rivalry ignited among the girls. They gave each other a cold glare, waiting for the other to blink or turn away. “What’s up with them?” Ryan asked. At the same instant, Cyro exited the comfort room, finding his joke corny already. Catching eye on the two girls, his Vision sensed their life force decreasing.

“Nothing…” I knew your deafness had its advantages. Though I still find it annoying that when we were lab partners, you didn’t hear me shout “Cancel the thing I said about adding water to the solution!” And then things went boom! Lanceler gave the gunfighter a big, taunting smile, one similar to Cyro’s. Observing this, Cyro grinned. Ryan was about to complain, but saw it pointless because Lanceler was the type to stick to his “nothings” and “never minds”. Lanceler’s smirk dissolved as he noticed the two’s Visions go off. “Uhh, Ryan, who don’t we have a man-to-man talk outside? Let’s discuss our duel in the NS region.”

“NS? Oh wait, I get it. Ok then. But let me warn ‘ya, I’ve got a new trump card.” Ryan offered his hand, challenging Lanceler to an arm-wrestle. His pride and self-esteem predicted that he was going to win. That, and his Southern region blood was a sure instant win.

“If it’s a skill that involves your element then I doubt it’ll be effective. After all, someone seems to have not practiced using his element.” Lanceler’s palm made contact with Ryan’s. The two men exerted an equal amount of force, none giving in to the other. “Oh by the way, I’ll have to destroy your bayonet to remove suspicion. Don’t worry, my nanabots can reform it. And it’ll even allow ‘Redemption’ to have a different weapon with ‘Ryan’.”

“Heh, thanks. That’s final, okay?” Before the blond could reply with a question asking him by what he meant, Ryan slammed his arm on his knee. “So even though you might hate me for displaying more strength, I’ll still get my upgrade.” Ryan let go of his comrade’s hand and exited the train. Attaching the earphones of his mp3player, he walked carelessly with his head resting on his palms.

“You may have the power of a queen, but with a knight, I’ll fork your royal pieces thus, killing your queen as you are forced to save your king…” Lanceler deviously uttered. Underestimating Ryan, Lanceler foresaw the battle as a total victory. Remembering the risk of revealing their identity, he gave Cyro a medicine dropper. “I trust that you have your uses. Just squirt a drop of nanabots on the bayonet, will ‘ya?” Cyro replied with a nod. As he saw Lanceler exit, he hid his mischievous smile from the two girls who were busy arguing. He rubbed his hands together, devising another of his annoying schemes.

“I can’t believe that you’re trying to take him! I thought your Vision made you know that I like him! But then you still want to take him!” Danielle shouted.

“With or without my Vision, you liking him was already obvious. Who knows? Maybe he knows that you like him but can’t bring it up as a topic because he doesn’t want to hurt you!” Jhenine replied with a calm, then angry manner.

“Did your Vision say that?” The brunette took a few steps back, hoping for her words to bear falseness. Tightening her fist, anger erupted within her. “Tell me! Is it true?! Once you answer, I’ll have my Vision to back things up!” For a second, Jhenine thought that Danielle’s eyes were darker red then usual but concluded that it was just her.

Oh man, I can’t lie to her, not even if I wanted to. I guess in a situation like this, our Visions are equal. “Well, the last time I used my Vision on him was back then in the saloon. So I–” Jhenine faced the floor as she spoke, not daring to look Danielle in the eyes. Danielle could sense the lack of conviction and courage in her words. She thought she had her where she wanted him.

“Ha! Just as expected. It’s obvious that he does not like you and you want to eliminate the competition because your chances are lower than mine.” Her rage started to fade out as her mean-girl attitude faded in. “He is so like not into you…”

“Whatever…” Hiding her frown, Jhenine grabbed her umbrella from next to Ryan’s motorcycle, and darted towards the door. Instead of descending the small metal steps, she took a big leaf, and almost lost her balance as she landed. “Danielle… do I hate you?” she argued with her feelings. Seeing Ryan just a few feet away, talking with an older brunette clad in a brown jacket, she was tempted to get even with Danielle by getting Ryan from her no matter what it takes. Turning her head, the first step she took made her bump with Lanceler. She landed on her thighs while Lanceler landed on his back. “Oh, sorry…” Lanceler got up first and offered Jhenine his hand.

“It’s okay. By the way, who knew Ryan would actually meet his sister today?” Lanceler pointed to the two. From the distance, not a word was heard from them as the other passengers flooded the area with noise. The woman swung her mirror key chain, one identical to Ryan’s, clockwise around her index finger while talking. She and Ryan seemed to be arguing and laughing at the same time. And as for their appearance, the two’s eyes and hair were of the same color and they had a resemblance in their bangs. A typical brother-sister relationship.
relationship.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (10/20/2008 8:52:58)

“Yeah, it’s been ten years since we last talked.” Ryan’s sister adjusted her brown coat before continuing. “Back then you were just this small…” The brunette leveled her hand to her knees. A bit exaggerated to describe one’s height.

As Ryan listened to her converse, he kept watch on his mirror keychain that she possessed. The reason why the two easily recognized each other was the said accessory. Similar to his, it was attached to her jeans on the belt strap. “Hehe…” Ryan rubbed the back of his head. “But hey, I wasn’t a midget,” he complained with a playful attitude.

Chuckling, the woman noticed Vincent approach Ryan from his back. “The proper term was dwarf. Oh by the way, that’s Vincent over there. He’s my trainee.” The grownup alluded to the young gunman behind the brunet. “We were sent here to investigate on a terrorist attack. And he claims to have survived an encounter with Redemption.”

“Trainee?” Ryan moved his view to the left. Whom he saw ruined his joyous moment. It was that raven-haired kid that disassembled the train. “Great…” he moaned. His annoyance caused him to force his smile in front of his sister. Ryan sighed, regretting the fact that he spared the boy’s life. For him, that seemed to be the biggest mistake he had ever made.

Vincent equipped surgical gloves and examined Ryan’s bandages by stretching his face. “Hmm… no signs of critical damage. I guess Redemption must’ve abandoned you guys to get to Shadebainer. I guess he must be hiding somewhere around here…” Trying to sound like an expert, Vincent gave speculations which were backed up with flawed but logical reasoning.

“Duh! It’s just a small scratch. That’s why I’m using a small bandage.” Ryan replied with a hostile attitude as he wiped his hands off. “Redemption, huh?” Ryan played along. “You mean that black knight? Heh, he was awesome! Too bad I don’t get his motives…” Wow, it’s fun to comment about ‘myself’, especially since they don’t know that the guy I’m idolizing is actually me.

“Hey, I’m a junior CIA agent!” Vincent flashed his license. It appeared like a two-folded wallet, showing his picture at upper left corner, age, name, ID number, blood type. The license’s card had a blue border and a white color, somewhat made of board paper. His teeth sparkled as he posed identically to his ID portrait.

“And it says there that you’re just fifteen. So buzz off, kid.” Ryan flicked his license shut, and turned tail. He harrumphed as he showed his back to the young teenager. Vincent felt a bit paranoid and wondered what misdemeanor gave Ryan the reason to abhor him.

“You two seem to be getting along very well,” the brunette sarcastically spoke. “Why don’t you become my trainee, too? The two of you can be partners!” Rebecca felt a bit embarrassed and disappointed with her brother who seemed to lack the proper manners of meeting a new face. Burdened with the weight of obligation to the responsibility, she decided to do what seemed best for the two.

Hmm… by becoming a CIA member, I might have access to their headquarters. Perfect! Ryan’s thoughts were interrupted by the approaching of his four companions. They carried all the briefcases, handbags, and suitcases, except for Knightmare which instead hauled Ryan’s vehicle. Ryan had the urge to protest against the way Knightmare handled his motorcycle but never had the chance to speak before Cyro did.

“Hurry up, will ‘ya,” Cyro said, imitating Lanceler’s dragging attitude. Turning his head, he engaged an eye contact with the older brunette. Cyro dropped his bags on his blond-haired companions. He paid no attention their complains as he just stared at the goddess-like beauty. Using Ryan’s keychain as a mirror, he brushed his hair with a wet comb. Testing his sparking smile, he let go off the mirror, which swung like a pendulum as it fell free from his grip. “Hi, I’m Cyro. If Ryan here was talking to you about his really-close-friends, I’m the guy with the good looks,” he introduced, using his natural voice.

“Uh... uhh” Ryan noticed his sister’s eyes drooling over him. “I… I’m Re-Rebecca, Ryan’s sister. Nice to meet you, Cyro.” The blond grabbed her arm, shaking it in a formal manner.

Separating their hands by pulling them from each other, Ryan said, “May I borrow my sister for awhile? Thank you.” Cyro was annoyed by the intervention. Seeing the two having a private talk, not too far away, he concentrated his element of sound to amplify his hearing. “Now, Rebecca,” Ryan scolded in a comforting tone, “What did I say about boys?”

“But Ryan,” Rebecca started to complain like a teenaged girl, “I’m already twenty. And second, you never said anything. To think about it… you really never did. Never.”

“I know, but up there in Paradise,” Ryan pointed to the sky with his finger. His sister raised her head, staring too at the heavens, “Dad wants me to do his job of not letting you get a BF.” Rebecca groaned, stomping her feet. Ryan folded his arms, acting like a grownup, and shook his head. “And now that I’m here, I know that Dad is just smiling up there, proud of me.” Besides… you got no idea who that guy is.

“Strange… I’ve never seen my teacher act like that,” Vincent said, still facing the siblings while his words were addressed to Ryan’s companions. The group felt a bit annoyed with his presence. Back on the train, Ryan told them his ‘epic encounter’ with a CIA agent that fit his profile. A raven-haired kid clad in black that has a hobby of showing his license. Feeling distrust, the two girls ignored him.

“And you are?” Lanceler asked, with a cold but not hostile tone. Vincent flashed his license in front of the blond’s eyes with pride. Being too close, Lanceler pushed Vincent’s arms a few inches away. “Heh, just a kid…” Vincent’s temper started to rise. He was one of the youngest members in training and was often commented by the phrase “just a kid”. (Even the author refers to him as just a kid.)

Rebecca pinched Ryan’s left ear and dragged him towards the group. Cyro jumped in excitement, impatient for her to come closer and closer. “Oh yeah, that guy over there…” Ryan pointed towards his companion with a negative attitude, “… is Lanceler. And that’s Danielle and that’s Jhenine. Guys, this is my sis, Rebecca.” As each person was introduced, they all greeted her with a “hi”, Lanceler being the only exemption for what he said was a “hey”. “And Danielle, please tell my sis that I ‘ran away’ from Ashfall so that I could move here. She doesn’t seem to believe me.” Danielle knew that he was lying, but noticed him blink his right eye. She had to play along, if she wanted to get a bigger chance with him.

“Of course. Ashfall Academy offers junk compared to schools around here. And Ryan was kind enough to bring us with him, isn’t that right?” Danielle read Ryan’s lips, saying “why you…” but replied to him with a playful smile.

“Y-yeah,” Ryan replied in an instant. That, and Shadebainer’s here! Rebecca let go off Ryan’s ear and approached Cyro. Ryan saw him whisper something in her ear.

“It’s a date then!” she replied. Ryan dropped his jaw. “Oh yeah. Ryan has decided to join the Magnagonian CIA. What about you guys?” Lanceler thought for a while, almost about to activate his Vision but noticed Ryan blink an eye. Approving of this, he replied to Ryan’s sister with a nod.

“So I’ll have partners, huh. Try not to get in my way as I rise to the top, okay?” Vincent bragged, brandishing his twin guns. Lanceler turned on his Vision, analyzing the machine. They were pistol-based. The bottom portion of the magazine contained two USB ports. As Vincent moved his arms, Lanceler noticed a small lense located on the body of the gun. He speculated it to have the capability of transmitting images and information contained by a USB. Feeling a light tap on his shoulder, Lanceler turned his eye power off.

The group faced each other, forming circle with their arms over the shoulders of those adjacent. Vincent raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Ready… now!” Rebecca was the first to turn around. She folded her arms, but grinned. Vincent looked her in the eyes. The entire group then shouted, “You? Rise to the top?! But you’re just a kid!”

After a quick, silent laugh which only Ryan heard, he drifted into his thoughts while the others started to converse with one another. If Shadebainer can’t read minds, then how did he know my name when I tried to kill him? And if he’s really skilled in chess, how come he left the king and queen in their inverted places? I know this has something to do with his Vision but… too play my cards safe I better– Lanceler and I should avoid his attention. But if we’re lucky, I doubt he’ll recognize us…

Subsequently, Vincent and Rebecca stood up straight, their hands on their sides, their chins up, and their feet close together. Staring at themselves, Cyro, Jhenine, and Danielle imitated the agents. Lanceler and Ryan didn’t seem to care and paid no respect to what had approached. “Good afternoon, Mr. Shadebainer,” greeted Rebecca. Ryan had back facing Joseph. Hearing his name caused him to shake his fists. Lanceler faced the other way, hoping that he didn’t recognize them. “Hey Ryan, you know about him, right? He’s the best senator in the entire world! His teeth sparkle in the TV channels without special effects, you know?”

Ryan turned his head with a cold reply. “Throwing money is nothing compared to the acts of real heroes and great countrymen.” His nervousness started to shatter his mask of indifference, causing him to sweat faster than usual. No matter how much he tried to avoid the man’s awareness, his temper tempted him to cut his words in an aggressive manner. Pessimistic with the situation, he feared that in any instant, Joseph was going to approach him, seeing a familiar face, the one that tried to kill him, and one that could’ve been related to Redemption.

“Now Ryan does have a point, now doesn’t he?” Ryan tried to butt in his words despite his situation, but the officer began speaking again. “Criticism like that should be an encouragement for me to do my best. It is my responsibility– no, it is my obligation to satisfy every citizen of Magnagon.”

I think you mean, “Every citizen of the Northern Region”. Look, the poor, the unhappy people were forced to leave. I can see right through you; you’re shunning the response of those who can’t be helped… no, you’re shunning the response of those who you won’t help, those who need your help, Cyro’s addressed thoughts said. Jhenine noticed another negative emotion ignite in the blond. Cyro had his reasons for hating the senate, but over that, he craved the elimination of those he saw as unworthy to live.

Lanceler continued to face the direction opposite to the group. Sparing time with his Vision, he thought, Three days ago, me and Ryan took out an offensive at Room 731. Shadebainer… he knew his name. And now he doesn’t recognize us? This makes no sense… Disbelief grew within him. Taking a huge risk, and possibly creating an enormous burden in Ryan’s plans, Lanceler stared the officer in the eyes. Joseph showed signs of curiosity in the young man’s bold move. Lanceler intensified his glare, waiting for a sign like a sweat drop or an adverting of his gaze. However, his attempt ended up futile. It’s either he’s dumb or is just playing along. If he knows of our true identities, he must have his reasons for pretending not to. Hmm… if he can really read my mind…

“We’ll be heading off now… After all, since we just moved in…” Ryan opened his wallet, exposing numerous bills and credit cards “… a… mansion would outta give us a good impression of this place.” Vincent eyed Ryan with envy. As part of the CIA, cadets and other ranks were required to take a piloting exam. If one possessed excellent skills and results in the test, he or she would be able to purchase an advanced mech. However, those found as mediocre would be given a weaker but cheaper machine compared to the elites. Vincent managed to attain an almost record breaking result by severely damaging Gen. Stormblaze’s Nidhogg. With his score, he was given the opportunity to take the T-H0R (coincidentally leet or l33t for Thor), but didn’t have enough Saphrons to afford it. “Hey, Rebecca, how have you been spending your inheritance?” Ryan continued.

“Wow, I’m glad to see that someone’s cheered up over his parent’s deaths.” Rebecca was about scold Ryan for mentioning their parents’ passing away but decided that his happiness was something to be celebrated instead. “You seemed to be sore kid when you were young, always saying that you were going to kill the man who you saw kill our parents. Well, anyways… I bought a house not far from here. And no, I’m not the type of girl who throws night parties! I’m a matured woman.”

Yes, I’m cheered up because that man is within my grasps!

Ryan believed that it was his job as a brother to annoy and oppose his sister whenever possible. “Yeah right! You’re the most immature girl I ever met… Danielle being the second of course.”

“Say what?!” the two brunettes shouted at the same time. Danielle unsheathed her twin blades and intimidated Ryan. Laughing, Ryan ran away as fast as he could, landing his butt hard on his black motorcycle. Danielle grinned at Jhenine. She had believed that Ryan liked her back and teased her to get the wanted attention.

“I’ve done some arrangements, guys. Ask Lanceler for the address of the place, kay?” With a quick playful salute, Ryan drove away.

Fresh air swept across Ryan's face as he rode the streets. He found it ironic in the midst of all the cars parked along the streets, and speculated some kind of invention converted the polluted gases to fresh air. But the truth was that the latest models of vehicles were designed to be environment-friendly.

Ryan drove on a narrow road. Using his side mirrors, he noticed five teenagers following him. Their automobiles were levitating boards. No one else seemed to be in the area. Each board was designed and customized differently from the others. Ryan guessed that the alpha male of the gang was the one positioned in the vertex of their V formation. A red hood hid the leader’s face. His board had two rockets at the tail, giving off a blue comet-like flare.

Examining his situation, he speculated his ‘low-class’ vehicle to have stimulated their arrogance. Ryan stepped on the gas, challenging them to a race. Unfortunately, he was outspeeded and then surrounded. Admitting his defeat, the rider stopped his motorcycle’s engine. The group circled around him like snakes, waiting for their leader to dismount.

Ryan grinded his teeth as he just watched them push him around. If only he had his bayonet. He was ready to knock the boys off one at a time. At the instant he heard the alpha laugh, Ryan’s temper unleashed a quick powerful clout. As his target landed on the ground, the hover board continued its way and crashed onto a brick wall. Without a word, the four stopped ridiculing him. One of them drew a gun from his sleeve. Laughing bitterly and self-forcingly, Ryan imitated a gun with his fingers. His elemental gem emanated a luster as a flare came out from the tip of his fingers. As the light faded, they noticed their rides trashed, stepped on, and one was even cut in half.

“That outta show them!” Ryan muttered as he drove away. With the success of his experiment, Ryan came to learn how to use his element. He possessed the ability to create flares from nowhere. But for style, he would do so with the imitation of a gun. Letting out a deep breath, Ryan turned around and headed back to gangsters. One by one, he knocked them out with his fists. They accepted his offer into submission, but stood no chance. Ryan was able to intercept a blow by grabbing onto the attacker’s arm. An idea flashed into his mind; he now had a weapon. He used the captured arm of the opponent to influence his direction as he swept all the adjacent areas surrounding him. After three spins, he let go off the thug, and blasted his eyes with blinding bolt of light.

With only the last seconds of his consciousness remaining, the hooded man had no choice but to surrender. As the strength of his senses faded into unconsciousness, all he heard was Ryan saying, “Know who you’re messing with. I don’t pull punches, I pull triggers.” Again, Ryan drove away.

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“I better head off, too. This Lancelot-commotion has delayed several of my errands, and I better take a rest from my all-around-the-country trip,” Joseph said as he checked his elegant watch. The hour hand was just between the numbers 5 and 6 while the minute hand pointed to a few millimeters right from the latter number. Unintentionally, his actions adjured Cyro’s anger to burst out. But he couldn’t, not in front of his beloved Rebecca. Being a master of deception, Cyro masked himself with his insane smirk. But such disguise had no escape from the prowess of Jhenine’s Vision.

Why am I even using my Vision on Cyro? Man, I really need something to do with my life…

“Sir, understood. Vincent and I will continue the investigation, sir!” Rebecca replied with a serious tone, proceeded by a salutation. Shadebainer followed up with a salute. At the instant he lowered his hand with a firm, solid movement, Vincent and his mentor followed.

As Shadebainer started to blend in the crowd, Lanceler never let him go off his sight. However, to lose his target's track was inevitable. Frowning with a cold appearance, one that could only be melted by his sympathy, his suspicion on the officer started to trouble him. He started to have doubts if he should continue Lancelot’s propaganda, but decided to delay it. His instincts told him that they would easily be related to as suspects if the terrorists acted at the same time of their arrival. So now, another obstacle stood before him– a new school.

As the door of his onyx limo opened before him, Joseph entered without rush. The windows were semi-tinted, allowing the person in the inside to appreciate the outside’s natural color while concealing him as well. Leaning on the soft royal-red sofa of his luxurious ride, he ordered the driver to deliver him to the headquarters. Their extremely short conversion was done through a videophone, allowing the passenger to have complete privacy. As he received the command, he turned off the monitor, and followed his tasks. With complete isolation, Shadebainer mused himself. “Yes, Ryan, hurry… I’m waiting for you. Your Vision will be perfect addition to mine.” As his laugh echoed but failed to escape the room, his left eye emanated a blue light.



Crimzon5 -> RE: Visions (11/4/2008 7:59:53)

Chapter 7

“Wow, this place is huge!” exclaimed Danielle as she entered the mansion, pulling a stroller with her right hand and lifting another bag over her left shoulder. Thrilled by everything she saw, her head turned from left to right and right to left. A crystalline chandelier, just being twenty-five feet above her head, caught the lady’s attention. The others stared in awe, except for Cyro and Lanceler – which only left Jhenine. Hiding his face by resting his nose bridge on his palm, Lanceler ignored the magnificence, planning to enjoy the view once left alone.

“Yeah, this place seemed better in the brochure though…” Ryan criticized. As he rose from a maroon-clothed chair, located a few feet from a furnace, he approached the girls, willing to carry their bags.

The entrance led instantly to the living room. The entire floor was covered by a red carpet, one similar to those used in five-star hotels. In between two staircases that met up halfway to the second floor stood a large wooden door leading to the kitchen and dining room. After ascending either flight of the twin golden stairs, both with a spiral design on the railings, one would have to decide among twenty different rooms. Without personal customization, the only difference in each room was the view presented by the bulletproof windows.

As Cyro entered, he remembered all the useless but good-to-look-at ornaments he saw and stole from the senators. He questioned himself about why people would waste large sums of money just to see a pleasant thing in their home.

“I call dibs in Room #1. At the second floor,” Ryan pointed, “the hallway splits ‘ta too sides. The left side contains Rooms 1 to 10, 10 being at the far end, while the right side has the rest of the rooms. And Lanceler, don’t be too shy to pick a room instead of sleeping on the sofa. There were two extra beds last time!” Lanceler moaned in reply. “So, where do I carry your stuff, miladi–es?” Ryan courteously asked in a British accent. And as he spoke, the accumulating weights carried by his arms made him wonder why Danielle brought more luggage compared to the time when they camped at the forest. His question however was quickly answered when he remembered the time Danielle wore a cowgirl outfit– which meant that she went shopping.

“You being polite?” Danielle laughed, “That was funnier than that trick you pulled off in the train. I think I’ll choose…” With ‘strategic locationing’, Room #2 was an ideal choice; it was next to Ryan’s. As the brunette finished off with her choice, her words were accompanied by the interruption of her blonde ‘friend’, who also chose the same room. “What?!” Danielle argued.

“Sorry, girls. But if you two want the view in that room so badly… you’ll have to flip a coin or something,” Ryan suggested.

“Well… maybe we could–” Before Jhenine could finish her words, Danielle intruded.

“You and Lanceler are having some kind of fight in the Northern Canyons, right? Maybe me and Jhenine could have a fight over the bedroom. We’ll stay in some other room in the meantime.” Danielle spoke confidently with her body slightly bended to the left as she placed her hands on her waist.

“But Danielle…” Ryan’s voice sounded a bit disappointed, but was actually worried, “… Lanceler and I are having a man-to-man kind of thing. Girls really aren’t much into that kinda thing, you know…” he continued as he rubbed the back of his head and masked his worries with a big smile. “Besides, it’s a bit unfair on Jhenine’s part; you’re a master swordswoman– in theory, that is.”

“Hey, I’m not that weak!” complained Jhenine. “Umm…” fixing her red bow, she continued, “but she does have point. She could learn to use her element and–” Again, the pretty young lady was interrupted.

“Heh, you’re making it sound like you girls are gonna be warriors or something. Redemption, Lancelot, and… Cyro(?) are already good enough. Besides, we only brought you guys along cuz we owe you.” Ryan abhorred himself from continuing in respect to the miserable moments the two had encountered in their pasts. Starting out with a little laughter, Ryan was driven to remain silent as he was intimidated by the girls’ annoyed and angry faces. “Fine… you can have a fight. So in the meantime, Jhenine, Room #3. You,” Ryan addressed to Danielle, “Room #4.”

Without hearing any of them replying, Ryan assured it was a yes, and climbed the staircase. Lanceler followed. Cyro in the other hand helped himself in the kitchen. I’m insane! I know they’ll understand if I do ‘something’. “Bwahahahahaha!”

With two factors preventing Ryan from hearing their conversation, his absence and slightly poor hearing, the girls saw this as another opportunity to talk and rival out about his affection. “Ha! I get a room nearer to Ryan’s. And guess what? It was his choice!” teased Jhenine immaturely with her tongue sticking out like a five-year-old girl’s.

Danielle ignored her juvenile actions with a quick comeback. “So what? By the end of tomorrow, I’ll be the one who ends up nearer to him.” The two girls gave each other a cold stare, one that even Ryan, and theoretically also Lanceler, couldn’t bear. With a sarcastic, heart-emptied tone, the two gave each other a “Good night”, then followed up with a “hmph” as they took separate staircases. Unfortunately for Danielle, Jhenine took the left one, leaving the farther route to the brunette.

After she had walked the tiring, long distance, she came across Lanceler. He leaned forward on the railings, scrutinizing half of the first floor. To be exact, the second floor was only 95% the size of the first floor. The kitchen, dining rooms, and other places like the billiards room were all under the second level of the house. In the living room, only three-thirds shared the same ceiling with the bedrooms. To prevent any accidents, the stairs’ railings extended to the walls to keep anyone from falling as he or she watched the living room from above.

“I don’t get it. What does Ryan have that makes you girls like him so much?”

“Gee, I don’t know.” Danielle stopped herself to kept Lanceler company, as she too relaxed her body on the railings to enjoy the area’s artificial yet appreciated beauty. The ornaments’ shadows performed like stringed puppets, thrown around by the command of the rising and shrinking fire that lit up the room. “He’s your closest pal, right? Do you think he likes m–” When Danielle faced where her blond companion stood, she noticed that he was gone. “Lanceler, you sure do know how to ruin a mood!”

The sun rose an hour late the following day. As her slumber’s silence shattered with the alarming of her cell phone’s alarm clock, Danielle quickly got up. After fixing her bed and pillows by turning the folds into straight portions on the cloths, she yawned as her body fought against awaking. When she had finished choosing her clothes from a wooden cabinet, the men’s racket in the hall was seen through her open door. It had seemed as if Ryan had done his share of shopping as well. Like Lanceler, he wore a black jacket, but with a different design: a white collar instead of a yellow one, and a silver shoulder pad-like start for his long sleeves. A peach region that surrounded his chest and back was divided into four rectangular regions with three black lines.

“Hey, Lanceler. What’d you do to my bayonet?”

“I made Cyro take care of it. Now Cyro, where’s that medicine dropper?”

With a suspicious grin on his face, Cyro quickly gave the dropper containing a colony of nanabots to Lanceler’s hand. “Hmm…” Lanceler thought, “Give me an hour to finish this thing up and then we can have that talk with our fists and guns.”

“Heh, sure thing. Let’s just wear our armors to prevent any casualties. And FYI, the lab’s at the fourth floor. If I have time, I might put some maps all over the place, too,” Ryan replied in a good attitude.

As the three parted their ways for awhile, Danielle who had overheard the conversation quickly returned her cloths to her wardrobe. Slapping herself and calling herself an idiot because she returned the clothes to the closet, she took her blouse and jeans, and left them on the bed.

Quickly, she caught up with Lanceler who was about to ascend through the simple wooden stairs located at the far end of the hall in between the entrances to Rooms #9 and 10.

“Hey Lanceler, can I ask you a favor?” Before he could nod or shake his head in reply Danielle grabbed him by the ear and whispered the rest of her words.

“Say what?! Fine, but you owe me for this.”

Danielle replied with a playful “sure” and squealed her way to her bathroom.



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