Chapter Nine: Natural flashback

Dante pours a flashback onto his friends and he still has yet to get a chance to rest. Never is there a stale moment with him around.

    " And that's how I got this scar." I said with a proud smile on my face. Lecs, Ia, and Iris all stared at me, their faces showing off a mirthless expression. Yes even Ia. Lecs spoke up first. " I don't understand." Ia helped him out. " Yes, all you said was ' It all started when I cut through some overgrowth.' then you skipped to your previous statement." But...the chapter ended before I could tell my story. So I wanted to be all suspenseful and stuff. Whatever. I guess I'm crazy for believing my life is some sort of story. Believing I'm the staple to some story isn't too far fetched isn't it? Anyway, I let off a sigh and sat up once again, deciding to set the stage for them and get this story over with. My entire torso ached as I did so but pain wasn't going to phase me again. I had to find a way to build up a tolerance. " Alright. I had just ran away from home. No knowledge of how to survive and as usual I was regretting my decision. I left my old home, Provice, and I headed to the nearest forest since I didn't want to be a beggar. I didn't plan ahead and bring anything with me but the clothes on my back and an attitude that could split a boulder." Lecs, Iris, and Ia all looked rather interested. Apparently my crack about the overgrowth thing got their attention and now they wanted to know everything.Re-telling this story was almost like reliving it. It felt like it only happened yesterday. 

    As I told them the story,little did they know that I was experiencing it myself all over again. It feels like I was replaying a level in a video game. I remembered how much smaller my frame was, how my hair didn't exist, and how angry I always was. Now, my anger was inside instead of out. I wasn't accustomed to the smell of the trees yet so the must of the leaves was almost suffocating to me. The folding of the grass beneath my feet and discarded leaves crunching with my every step was beginning to annoy me. 

   A permanent scowl covered my face as I walked through the forest. Unarmed and I had no knowledge of my own powers. It was a nice day outside but everyday to me was horrible. I wonder where my father is at....Anyway, continuing to walk through this eerily quiet forest I was taking in the other small details. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing. Once again, a nice day but my horrible outlook on the world kept me from enjoying it. My angst prevented me from enjoying the quality things in life. That and the fact that I wasn't really accepted back home. Typical story of a troubled kid some may say but whatever. When you get bullied and rejected by nearly everyone you come in contact with it can warp your mind. Just being on the outside of a social circle looking in and knowing how badly you want to be inside of it can make you come up with things that you wish you could do to those keeping you out of it. Horrible things. I think leaving all that behind was the best decision I've ever made. Gosh. The sun was beaming down on the narrow bit of hair I had going on and it wasn't really comfortable. I never realized how exposed I felt with little to no hair on my head. This buzz cut wasn't doing it for me. Maybe this was the reason I wasn't exactly popular back home. This forest was only getting bigger and bigger. Or was I just getting lost? I could have sworn by the position of the sun that it was noon but the trees had thickened in this area and blotted out the sun. And then I stared ahead to notice a wall of vines in my path. Now, I wasn't an optimist to disregard this as normal overgrowth. Vines don't get that thick naturally! I wasn't going to make mistake number one and reach to touch them. Nor would I make mistake number two and try to go around them. I remember the stories about the "Vine forest". Don't touch the vines.Their thick green texture along with the rough look or maybe the fact they were oozing convinced me that they were poisonous and the slight wiggling convinced me they were alive. Those spikes on them must be used for piercing the skin and administering this poison. Instead of trying to find a way around them, I scanned my environment and noticed a dead guy in a tuxedo and sunglasses. Oh and he had shoulder length hair. Well, maybe he was dead, maybe not. I just assumed from the fact that he wasn't moving. 

   Now my attention turned to the thick green vines wiggling together in that wall formation. Slowly one vine raised itself from the wall. In response to this I took a large step back and watched as the vine smashed into the ground. It didn't impact that hard. Well, considering that it threw up dust and imprinted itself on the ground! It allowed me the chance to peak deeper into the forest and I thought, hm, why not? This vine was pretty big so I stepped around it and then dashed forward, diving through that space the vine previously filled. I rolled once I hit the ground and then was positioned on the ground in a sitting position. I rose to my feet now to better take in my surroundings This side of the forest would creep most out and to be honest I was horrified. But, my pride was enough to make me go on.This ever extending twilight-like forest was capturing my curiosity. I wanted to know who or what sealed this part of the forest off. I used to think those campfire stories about the Vine forest were myths.  I heard that the poison in the vines doesn't kill you automatically. It's a special poison that slowly kills you by replacing your blood with spores. Not to mention that it will temporarily paralyze you in order to take effect. These spores will give plant-like characteristics to your body beginning with your organs. Slowly you will feel your organs harden into bark. Because of the fact that there isn't an antidote or a way out of this forest you end up becoming a tree. That's why these trees have faces. Ranging from horror-stricken to gleeful expressions. This happens over the course of a week. The only way it can enter is if it punctures your skin or if you ingest it willingly. Then again what idiot would be dumb enough to drink it? All right, enough pondering. Time to investigate! My steps were slow at first and for some reason I felt as if I needed a flash light. This dim light was just enough for me to see.

    I narrowed my eyes to try and focus my vision while I took a few slow steps forward. Wait....I forgot that anyone who enters will be trapped forever. I turned my head quickly to see if I had the chance to escape but the misplaced vine got back into place and the wall of vines was now complete again, trapping me effectively. Great. Now I'm stuck here. A sigh escaped me as I readjusted my gaze back to the path ahead of me and continued my slow trek forward. I saw the tree's faces watching me as I went by and I wished I could make them stop staring at me but of course there was nothing I could do since I couldn't cut them down. But they did begin to speak to me. They weren't saying the same thing but I was able to pick up a few of the phrases they were saying which ranged from " Turn back" or " Her judgement will be thorough." and even " You should have kept walking". I wasn't going to let this unnerve me so my expression hardened in response to this decree. Who was "she" anyway? Staring ahead I noticed a tiny beam of light shining down on a lonely tree stump. Now, usually this is the part where I'm supposed to meet some estranged figure who dwells in this forest right? Well, you got that part right. But, this figure wasn't on the tree stump. An arm wrapped around my neck and a hand was placed on my head as if this person was planning on snapping my neck. My own hands raised to grasp her arm as if I could fight back. Albeit this person's arm was slim, they had a nice grip on me.So. this was a female. Her voice was gentle even though she took a violent stance against me so quickly. " Wouldst thou mind explaining to Mother why ye are here, Meat sack?" Are you serious? Meat sack? She better be lucky she was in the position to kill me,otherwise I would've....done nothing. My response was swift albeit a little struggled. " Meat sack? We're...We're both humans here!" This female let go of me and I fell onto my knees, reaching up to rub my neck. 

    The mysteriously proper entity began to step around to my front, as I noticed her bare feet and green skin. I raised my gaze to take in all the details of this woman. She had a very slim figure along with a skirt and bra made completely out of red leaves. Her hair was blue almost like water. Not to mention it hit the ground in a braided ponytail. Around the crown of her skull was a circlet of red leaves. Her eyes were green and her lips were currently curled into a frown. " I am not human. I am the deity you humans refer to as Mother Nature. Anything that has to do with nature ,I have control over. Even certain aspects of you humans." I began to stand up and I wasn't going to act like a fan-boy. I just treated her like any normal person." If you're Mother Nature then why is this place so hostile and dark? It doesn't exactly look like paradise here." Isn't Mother Nature supposed to bring life instead of take it? Her answer shed some light on my question. " I punish those whom durst to sin against me. Those who degrade nature in any form are guilty. It was revealed to me that thine hadn't sinned against nature once I grasped you. Thou should be proud of thyself. Living in a suburban area makes that feat harder to achieve. " What does she mean degrade Nature? Whatever, all I need to know is that I need to leave. " Listen lady, I need to get out of here. I don't have anywhere to be but the vine forest certainly isn't any place for a human like me." She crossed her arms, her mouth scrunching to the side slightly as if she didn't understand." Usually humans are surprised that Mother Nature is no longer an expression."  That was amazing and all but I really couldn't be bothered to care right now. But, just for her I faked my own surprise by grabbing my cheeks and letting off a sarcastic gasp" You control nature?! I can't believe it!" She flicked my forehead and I took down my hands. Her eyes were narrowed while her frown expanded."Don't mock me human." I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. " You really can't expect me to trust someone who attempted to snap my neck now can you?"

   " I should turn you into one of my mumbling trees,meat sack. Trespassing in this sacred forest." I scoffed at her and crossed my arms." Sacred? You sealed this place off with poisonous vines and are turning people into trees. This place is more eerie then sacred." She wagged her finger at me with a developing smile. "It is always darkest before dawn,young one. Come hither with me and I shall show ye." It wouldn't hurt to see. " Fine. But you walk ahead. I don't trust you." She let off her own chuckle and turned away from me,her left bare foot raising off the grass and stepping forward. Then, she began a steady walk forward. I followed her with my arms crossed, watching her movements for anything irregular. As we walked towards that tree stump I was talking about earlier, she raised both of her arms for some reason. Swiftly I heard more vines appear behind me. I turned my head and watched as there was now another wall of vines . And, then another wall of vines appeared. More and more walls appeared until there was a wall dangerously close behind me. As the vines formed the wall behind me I felt one of the spikes slash by the side of my neck. It feels like a deep scar but the speed the vines came out at was convenient since I was cut rather then impaled. I fell onto my knees again and grabbed at the wound on the side of my neck, the crimson blood oozing onto my hands. She hasn't noticed yet and kept on walking. Of course in her gentle and formal tone. " An extra layer of protection betwixt this fullsome place and the human world. If thou made in then one shan't be to sure." Mother Nature was almost to that ring of light that surrounded the tree stump and noticed I hadn't responded. She then stopped and turned her head slightly, raising a brow. "No quip? Nary a thing smart to say?"Her entire body turned towards me and noticed the blood trickling from my arm and onto the floor. I wasn't in pain but I was bleeding alot. I'm lucking that vine's spike didn't hit my jugular. A gasp escaped her as she rushed to me and knelt down besides me. I was only quiet since whenever I was bleeding or in pain I was expected to take it like a man. She positioned herself next to me and wrapped my loose arm around herself, standing up in an attempt to get me to stand as well. I was slowly becoming limp from this poison as she pulled me along towards the light. As soon as we were embraced by the sun's rays I felt that familiar heat beaming down on my head. She laid me on the stump and moved my hand away from my wound, watching the blood rush out onto the wood. It was steadily exiting my body rather than gushing out. Then, she stood up straight to raise her arm in the air and close her fist firmly. A blinding ray of light emitted from the sun and then covered her. I couldn't see anything but this white light. I was hoping I wouldn't become a tree. Just because I had a bad life doesn't mean I was ready to die. Then, I felt her hands pressing against my wound. Slowly my eyes were able to identify her still standing over me. Did she just call on some sort of power from nature? The sky was,thankfully, still a familiar shade of blue in this forest but something was different about Mother Nature. Her green eyes were glowing. Relief covered my wound as I could basically feel the skin sealing itself back together. Then, she snatched a red leaf off her bra and held it by her head while she explained."Thy antidote is within these special leaves. I beseech ye to stay still" From her bra? Isn't that a kind of suggestive place? And how was I gonna move anyway?! Then again I guess it's better then coming from her skirt. She used one hand to open my mouth and then slowly placed the leaf on my tongue. It began to sizzle for some odd reason and through my paralysis I attempted to swallow it. This poison works quick in terms of paralysis but I managed to swallow the leaf. Mona,little nickname I decided to give to her, smiled towards me as all of my feeling emerged for my control. I began to sit up and she stepped back to give me my needed room. I turned towards her with my legs hanging off the tree stump and flashed her a smile, before allowing my face to fall back into a frown. 

    " I thought I was a meat sack. What provoked you to save me?" Her face flattened as if she was unwilling to tell me. But, she said something peculiar while her eyes drifted down. "She hath spoken to me about your survival. It must be insured." I leaned forward slightly with a baffled expression. "She? Who is this 'she' that you speak of?" Her gaze met my own while she gave me an innocent smile,followed by a giggle. " Thou art the curious type even after a narrow escape from death. Deities such as I have to remain anonymous to the outside world. Thy hast experienced what I have wrought to uphold this rule." She didn't answer my question! I stood up while she stepped back further. " Listen, Mona, I don't like being kept in the dark. So I ask again, who is this 'she' that wants my survival insured?" Mother Nature shook her head and turned away from me, reaching down and grabbing at her ocean blue hair. She began to fiddle with it while she spoke to me. " There are overmany reasons thy shalt not know of her at this moment. Thou art ill prepared for your fate." Speaking in riddles didn't help how irritated I was. I pointed at her and inched closer. " Stop talking like a spoiled queen and answer the question!" After those words left me I realized what I just said. To Mother Nature! The same Mother Nature who just saved me from becoming a tree. At her own hand... Anyway, she turned her head halfway towards me and that smug smile of hers only made me grit my teeth in anger. Her hand raised in the air as if she was getting ready to do something. " Sayonara,Dante." She said, before I was once again taken over by a bright white light. I raised my hands as if I was going to block it but it was no use. My eyes squinted at the side of this light. 

    This light was sort of my delivery back to the present world. I noticed Iris yawning and Ia was nodding her head as if she was taking in the information. Lecs? Well, remember his broken arm? Well this crazy old man was taking off his cast. " And that my friends....and enemy, is how I got this scar." Iris stuck her tongue out at me and crossed her arms, rising from her seat. " You're a lot less attractive when you aren't killing people." Before I could snap back Ia not only ruined the chance I had but her anti-climactic questions just ruined the whole angry vibe we had going on. " Dante, if I may inquire, what does attractive mean?" Me and Iris both face-palmed, while Lecs finished taking off his cast and, with his broken arm I may add, he began to twist his shoulder as if he was preparing for something. He even went as far as to twist his wrist and crack his knuckles.  So, I decided to bite. " Hey Lexis! You're supposed to keep the cast on to aid in healing, not take it off and go raw." Before Lecs could answer Iris chimed in " That's what sh-" With his supposed to be broken arm Lecs tapped her in the back of the neck, effectively knocking her out. Then, he assessed my question. " I am a master of combat and my powers, Dante. There are many things you can do with telekinesis if you have the precision and concentration. " Lecs truly was the peculiar type. I think the only time his composure broke was when he saw Iris. And that may have been due to the fact he thought she was going to be a threat to him. But, a few rightly placed punches and kicks were enough to stop her from doing anything against him. Speaking of Iris, I had a question. "Can I kill Iris now? No one here will miss her, trust me." Lecs shook his head with a scrunched expression. " She is one of Disperdere's children just as you are. You two must survive to defeat your father. " So Lecs was only keeping us alive so that we could fight Disperdere? That's kind of...nice I guess? "I still don't understand how you intend for use to defeat him when he gave us these powers in the first place! " Lecs shook his head while Ia emerged from her seat, walking over to Iris and beginning to feel on her. I don't think I need to reassure that Ia is only gathering data or something of that nature. Lecs decrepit tone continued to drone on. " You will see. He gave you the power but not the capability. You must unlock your capabilities as I have done for myself." I still wasn't convinced....So, I sat up farther and narrowed my eyes towards him. " What capabilities? All I can do is lift stuff. And according to you speed up the healing process." Lecs shook his head and approached me, now standing by my side as he reached up and loosened out his own hair. " Look very closely, young one." He said this as if I was going to be impressed. And, honestly, I wasn't going to lie, I kind of was! Slowly he began to reverse his own aging. Probably with his powers but it was still impressive to watch himself grow younger like that. His grey hair became a rich jet black color, along with his face now smooth and free of any wrinkles. The only wrinkles left were those around his mouth from frowning. His grey eyes remained the same and I even noticed his hands were more rich in color and instead of a pale skin tone he had that sort of pink color to him. Now, he spoke to me in a young,cocky tone. To show off he even flipped his hair." Impressed?" I'm glad Ia wasn't paying attention...How am I supposed to explain that a man just reversed his own age in front of her? " Dante, how did Lecs achieve youth so quickly?" D****t....A sigh escaped me as he turned himself halfway towards her to explain. " Years of practice my dear. Years of practice." Ia seemed to be okay with that response and continued to toy with Iris. She grabbed her chin and moved her head back and forth as if she was attempting to learn how we humans work.

    I shook my head and decided that this whole "training" stuff Lecs was planning on putting me through might not be so bad after all. I shrugged and decided to inquire. " So, if I could just focus I can heal myself and be out of this hospital?" Lecs nodded his head but there was always a catch. Or restriction. " You only just found out about your powers yesterday. I don't think you should attempt that at the moment." I scoffed and decided to ask anyway." How do I do it? Can't know until you try." Lecs frowned at me and spat his words " If you lose focus during this process you could cause catastrophic damage to yourself, such as cancer or unaccounted mutations." Did I seem like the person to care about the implications of how dangerous my actions may be? I crossed my arms. " I'm waiting." Lecs grew a scowl and then began to speak. " Listen closely and follow my directions to the letter." I nodded to him, sitting up straight and beginning to take off my own bandages. I was sore so could I fix that too?...Nah, I'll just worry about my burned skin for now. " Ready." Lecs obviously was still skeptical about this but decided to trust in my abilities. " First, concentrate. Gather your energy." Lecs commanded me and I barred my hands by my sides, closing my eyes to concentrate and gather all of my energy together. My mind did cling to the thought that if Lecs could do this and teach me about it then imagine what else he could do. Lecs' words weren't at all spaced out nor hesitant. " Now, mentally target the area you are going to manipulate. This is your own body so this part should be easy." Obviously I was about to focus on my chest. Lecs watched as my chest began to glow and deepened the process for me. I could tell he was holding back his praise until I successfully completed this task. His now young tone was one that I would admittedly have to get used to. " This is the most important step in the process. Your precision and concentration are put to the test. You must first telekinetically destroy any damaged cells as they will only get in the way. To do this I suggest you simply crush them. Think of it as popping zits." I closed my eyes and envisioned the very make-up of my skin. All the way down to the cell. Then, I brought my hands up to hover over my chest for a better feel of all of this.  Since these were,thankfully, only second degree burns All I needed to do was get rid of damaged and dead dermis cells so that I could rebuild that first layer of skin. Lecs' comparison to popping zits made me apply enough pressure to these cells telekinetically to make them burst. Thank goodness the cytoplasm wasn't splattering everywhere. Cell by cell I was getting rid of this burnt skin of mine and was preparing for the next step. I guess Lecs could see the skin slowly wearing away and decided to prompt me on my next course of action. " Now, you must target a living cell and manipulate the inner workings of it to speed up division. Be very careful.  This increase in cell division will prompt a healing effect over your dermis. But, as I mentioned earlier, too fast will cause your cells to divide uncontrollably and give you cancer." His words didn't break my concentration thankfully and I was able to keep my mind fixated on my skin's layer of cells. I hovered my hands off to the side to feel around for a living dermis skin cell. But, suddenly a pain shot through my head and I lost all concentration. I opened my eyes and reached up to hold my head. 

    Headache...I made eye contact with him and those young grey eyes were perfect with his smug smile. " Aaaaand you fail." I growled and crossed my arms, attempting to ignore the pain my brain was feeling right now. Lecs laughed and sat at the foot of my bed, crossing his arms as well while his black hair stood up. I could feel my chest tingling as I looked down and saw my skin reforming itself. Lecs' young tone chimed in again. Something I have yet to get used to. " We'll work on it. I might even show you how to reverse your age one day." I wanted to ask about that, how old is Lecs really? If he's reversing his age than exactly how old is he?" Speaking of age, how old are you?" Lecs shot a quick stare to me then turned his gaze away, watching as Ia was about to take off Iris' shirt. " That's for me to know and you to never find out." He said as he reached forward and grabbed her arm, catching her attention. Ia stared at him as he shook his head no. Ia let go of Iris' shirt and at that moment I watched the skin complete itself on my chest. " Ugh...Thanks. Now...can you fix this headache?" Lecs let go of Ia's arm and said something else rather smug to me. " I don't know, are you sure you want me in your head like that?" My reasoning couldn't be argued with. " I don't have any other options." He shrugged and stood up, placing his hand on my head and keeping eye contact. " Stay perfectly still. This time I'm tampering with your brain." Lecs advised me as I closed my eyes in an attempt to relax. For no reason at all I felt another hand land on my cheek. Cold and metallic it was not question who it was.But, I felt my headache sort of...how can I say, receding? Until it hit the back of my head. Lecs' hand followed it and then I felt his fingers tighten around my skull before slowly pulling away and taking the pain with it. I opened my eyes to see him holding something that resembled what I thought a soul looked like. It was purple and for some reason was letting off a high pitched noise. "This is your headache. Basically it's a piece of your aura  gone bad. Lucky for you an aura isn't a limited resource." I swung my legs off the bed and snatched the covers off, staring down at my sneakers and slipping my feet into them. I stood up straight and proud. Time to learn what else I can do! I slowly turned towards Lecs getting ready to throw another question his way but a fist came through the wall. A fist with a light complexion. Then, the arm moved to the right and easily destroyed the rest of the dry wall, as the figure stepped through. This man was....large. So large in fact every muscle he had popped with his steps. Well, every muscle in his legs at least. All he had on were shorts. Shorts kind of like the incredible hulk or something. He was bald, with no iris' in his eyes whatsoever. His muscles were so large that he dwarfed me and Lecs. A few steps forward and he grabbed the chair Iris was on, quickly throwing it behind him. Iris and the chair flew towards the door, smashing through it and landing in the hall. As if she wasn't out cold enough... Ia stared up at him when he raised his right hand. Obviously this man was planning to bring it down on her so in response she stepped back and let his fist collide with the ground. Ia's feet began to glow as she slowly raised off the ground and jetted backwards towards me and Lecs. She stood by us both as Lecs turned his full attention to this large burly man. He roared at us all and rushed for us, Lecs taking the offensive and throwing his hand forward. Quickly, as if his own power was used against him, Lecs was thrown back.

    Without hesitation This man reached forward and grabbed me by my neck. Since he was still running he was driving me towards the same wall Lecs hit when he was thrown back. Unfortunately for Ia she was thrown out of the way because of his path. Mr Burly smashed my back against the wall and shattered it effortlessly. Pain shot through my body as I raised my hands to fight against his grasp. Futile effort on my part since he tightened his grip around my neck. I could slowly feel my body reacting to the lack of oxygen and this pain. I was scrawny compared to him even though I had muscles for a seventeen year old. He stopped in the middle of town and then he threw his hand back with me in it, before throwing it forward and letting go of me. I have never flown so fast in my life. As the wind rushed past me I was beginning to curl up. Then, as if from no where I hit a wall. The clay wall shattered on impact from me and I landed in someone's house. Guess who? That woman's house I cut the hand off of when I lost control of myself. Her and her children were sitting on the couch and they all stared at me. I had no energy to wave at them but I was able to at least warn them. " I suggest...you..." A cough escaped me."T-three...r....run." I said this and then Mr burly's foot smashed on my chest, making it feel as if he crushed my rib cage. He was fast for a big guy. Didn't Lecs just heal me? " Titus capture puny boy!" So his name was Titus? Tough name...I at least tried to muster up the strength to stand up and slowly I rose to my feet. I was hunched over in pain but, I managed to approach him and I landed a punch on his rock hard abs. It did nothing but I tried. He clasped his hands together at my sides and raised me up in the air, giving me a definite headbutt. Forehead to forehead. His head butt was so strong it sent me flying across the room and into the mom's personal bedroom. I landed on her bed thankfully but that didn't excuse the fact that now I had another freaking headache! I was face down on her bed and slowly tried to sit up again, before being smashed down upon with both of his feet. I arched upward in response and slowly I began to feel weaker and weaker. I heard her bed breaking under the pressure as well. Just when I thought I was going to move up with my power. After slowly laying flat I fought to stay awake but unconsciousness, that all too familiar feeling, began to overtake me. Titus stepped off me and stood in front of me, reaching for me and throwing me over his shoulder before I fell unconscious once again. 

    This time, instead of just waking up somewhere I appeared in that white limbo again. The same one I was sent to when Lecs knocked me out. This time red eyes greeted me from beyond the darkness of my mind. And then, what emerged actually managed to startle me. It was...Me? That evil version of me with that crazy unkempt hair and those red eyeballs. He stepped closer and closer to me until I stepped back and stood as if I was going to fight him. " Where did you come from? I don't remember developing a capacity for destruction and slaughter as a kid." He chuckled and crossed his arms, a smirk covering his evil face. " Where did I come from? I'm apart of you. I'm those powers you want to urgently control. I am the manifestation of your so called telekinesis,Dante!" I wanted so badly to punch him....All the lives he took and now everyone sees me as the monster. " You're the reason why I can't relax! You're the reason why I couldn't heal myself! If I have these powers and freaking psychopath running around in my head I think I would like to have all this under control." He scoffed at me and only continued to anger me. " Please. If you couldn't even control your love life back home how do you plan on controlling me?" Wha-....Before I knew it I threw a punch at him but was quickly thrown back by the telekinesis I was supposed to control. I hit the nonexistent ground and slid back on my own back, watching as he approached my. What exactly was he planning on doing? Killing me? First I get destroyed by a freaking monster named Titus and now I'm about to get killed by myself? Isn't this technically considered suicide?! I don't know what to say to him. " I'm in control here. The side of you that knows more about yourself then you do." He raised his foot and his sole was aimed at my face. Right before it collided I was finally able to wake up from my unconscious state. Well,not completely wake up but I did hear something brushing against something else. 

    My body was still aching. I wonder how long it's been. My eyes slowly opened to reveal to met that I was in some sort of cell. The bars indicated that to me. Another cough escaped my body,followed by a little bit of blood. I'm surprised that I was able to endure all of that. Looking around I noticed that there was a window. A bar covered window. Two beds, a sink, a toilet oh and a red headed female in a dress painting on the wall. Nothing out of the- What!? I forced myself to stand ignoring the pain flushing my body and watched this female paint. For some reason she was painting some sort of symbol? My eyes drifted to the corner and I saw the same tattoo Lecs had all over his face. Was this female somehow connected to him? Her red hair was nice. I could give her that. She had on a knee height dress almost like women from the early twentieth century. It was jet black and for some odd reason she had no shoes on. Wanting to know at least something about this female,curiosity took over for me. " Hey! You! What exactly are you drawing over there?" She ignored me. Her hazel eyes were focused on her painting. Maybe she didn't hear me. Even though we were in a cell together. I repeated my question with irritation building in my tone. Being ignored was one of my pet peeves. " What. Are. You. Drawing over there?" She threw down her brush and turned to snap at me. Her eyebrows scrunched and mouth curled into a frown to complete her new angry expression. " I'm painting you half wit!" She had an Irish accent. Being called half wit didn't phase me. I adjusted my question to please her. " Okay crabby, what are you painting?" She took a deep breath and picked up her brush, slowly flashing a smile to me. It was as if her anger never existed. " Sorry, it's just hot in this cell and I get a little moody when I'm hot." I shrugged and took a few steps towards her. " I hear ya. So um, what exactly is this that you're dra- er, painting." She was happy to tell me it seemed. " Well, believe it or not I saw this symbol in a dream. This symbol is supposed to be some sort of blue print. " I brought my hand up to my chin and used my free hand to cup my elbow. I was interested. This was a very interesting blue print. " Do you know what it signifies?" She threw up her hands and her smile became innocent." Not a clue!" I drooped over from the sheer disappointment I was feeling. " Well, since you painted this why don't we take a picture? Won't hurt to show it to a professional or something."

    She tapped her chin and decided I was right." You're right. But I don't exactly see how we're going to show it to anybody. You know, being in here and all!" I wanted to know if she had any special abilities. " We can get out of here I'll just need you to work with me." She shook her head and turned back to her painting, deciding to add some shading. " I barely know you. Besides, even if I did agree with you how can you help me get out of here?" I crossed my arms and closed my eyes." I'm a psychic. I have telekinesis and I'm smarter than the average teenager." She said something to me that was kind of...."Sin an méid a deir siad go léir!" The hell? I raised a brow and opened my eyes, noticing her putting the finishing touches on this blue print."What...did you just say to me?" She let off a chuckle and spoke English again, thank Genesis!" Sorry, my Irish tongue slipped. But, I am a shape shifter. How can I help you?" Well that was obvious..." Why not take on the form of something like...Oh, I dunno....A dangerous animal?!" I said towards her as her head drooped. She raised her spare hand to face-palm." So obvious.....Well, how about handling those bars?" I could field that one I'm pretty sure. But first....we need to get her blue-print out of here somehow. " I'll worry about that. But,do you have a camera of some sort?" She shook her head no and placed away her brush, turning towards me. " Oh...Well, I guess we'll have to come back for that wall." She began to rummage through her pocket and used her spare hand to gesture for me to slow down." I have a phone. Not a camera." She stepped forward and offered it to me. I took a deep breath and snatched it from her, causing her to giggle at how successful she was at irritating me. " Give me this damn phone..." 

    It was a touch screen smart phone. I unlocked it and opened her camera app, holding it sideways so I could successfully get all of it. This camera wasn't exactly all that but it was good enough to see a few minute details on this so-called blueprint.I took the picture and offered her the phone back, turning towards the bars of this cell we were in. The red head took her phone back as I of course wondered why they would put a male and a female in the same cell together but it didn't matter. I held my hand out to the bars and noticed that I couldn't mentally grasp them. I brought my other hand forward and tried to grab at one bar at least but it was hopeless. Something was either repelling my power or just disrupting it. I stepped closer and began to think.....how could I do this? I noticed I was still shirtless. Maybe I could bend the bars?...No...Wait...I'm shirtless? That's it! I reached forward and grasped two bars. I closed my eyes and began to target the very cells that made up this bar. And, as Lecs would say, I began to pop the zits!...In other words I was destroying the cells that made up these bars. Slowly I felt the bars fading away into nothingness from the center out. I opened my eyes to see there were two empty bar slots. I then grasp two more bars, one outside of each side of the two I grasped, and began to break those down as well. Then, once that deed was done I turned around to see... a freaking tiger. I jumped at the sight as it lunged at me. Then I added two and two and deduced it was just her...whatever her name was. " So um...after you?" I stepped out of the way as she majestically stepped forward. Then, an idea struck me." Heeey, by the way, mind if I ride you?" She raised her gaze to meet mine, having an unamused stare on her face." Not like that!" She rolled her eyes and rolled her neck as if she was telling me to get on. "Sweeeet!" I jumped onto her back and it made her falter slightly, before fixing her stature. I narrowed my eyes. " Are you saying I'm fat?" I saw a smirk form on her face before she dashed forward and out of the cell, turning to the left and dashing forward. 

    So, I'm riding a tiger today. What're you doing? Not like that... 

Author's Note

This is my prized chapter if I can say that. I love this chapter because in the middle of it, I stopped writing because I felt my ideas were horrible. Then, when I regained inspiration I came back with a boom and started over. I made it the longest since I have so much about the plot to tell and foreshadow but so little time to write everyday.