Ch 3: Decision

Despite the hooded figure's efforts to discourage him, Grey makes his decision. His new friends unaware of the coming storm, he puts on a strong face as he prepares himself for what's to come.

            Sitting on a bench with Tory and Marcyl in the hall outside the infirmary room where Grey was being looked at by the nurse, Johnny standing leaning against the wall a ways off, Pyro was saying, “I’m telling you I didn’t imagine it! Right before Grey fainted he was staring at a weird hooded guy in suit up on top of the gym!” Shaking his head, Tory said, “Heatstroke. Even if you’re not doing strenuous activities, you need to stay hydrated during summer.” With enthusiasm, Marcyl exclaimed, “I believe you Pyro! Whoever it was must have some connection to the mystery of Grey’s past!” With a laugh and a smug grin, Johnny said, “Making up such a lame excuse for him! To think he went off and fainted like that, and he’s supposed to be my fated rival?” Tilting her head questioningly, Marcyl said, “Fated rival?” Ignoring his comment, Pyro glared at Johnny and said, “Why are you even here? I don’t remember inviting you along!” Putting his hands behind his head, Johnny muttered inaudibly, “Blame the stupid burrito…” Impatiently, Pyro said, “I can’t hear you!” 

Gritting his teeth and looking over at her, Johnny said, “Why do I need an invitation to be here?! Just because Tory’s mom is the nurse doesn’t mean you own the place!” Then the door to Grey’s room opened and out stepped the nurse, Mrs. Zephyr. She had short black hair with stripes of white in it, short black horns, and blue eyes hidden behind thick black rimmed tinted glasses. Her uniform consisted of the standard white colored one piece dress, a white nurse cap, white boots and latex gloves. As she stepped out, Marcyl stood and said, “How is he Mrs. Zephyr?” Chortling, Mrs. Zephyr replied, “Ohohohoho! He’s merely fainted deary. The heat probably got to him, I’m sure he’ll be right as rain with a little rest!” With a sigh of relief, Marcyl smiled and said, “Thank goodness…” Then Johnny scoffed and said, “I dunno why you even came to the nurse. I mean, you’re supposed to be a healer aren’t you? Even I could guess he’d fainted!” Turning red, Marcyl quietly said, “I’m still inexperienced… I was worried…” Rising from the bench, with a heated tone Pyro exclaimed, “D****t Johnny, do you have to be a jerk about everything?!” Slyly, Mrs. Zephyr said, “Yes, please be nicer to Marcyl. It’s better to be safe than sorry, just like I was saying when I gave you that gas medicine earlier…” Turning red as the others burst into laughter, Johnny hid the bottle of medicine and stammered, “W-what medicine?! I don’t know what you’re talking about! Quit laughing d****t!”

            Floating slowly downward through what seemed like bottomless darkness, small specks of colored light rising from below and passing by him on their way up, Grey listened as what he could only assume were fragments from his past rang through his mind one after another. The girl’s voice from before called out, “Grey’s heart is his power, a power you’ll never have!” Then another voice said, “It’s just like you, charging forward no matter what stands in your way.” Even his own voice echoed through his mind, “I told you, I’m living on, bearing the weight of my past with the help of my friends!” Staring at the specks of floating light, Grey thought to himself, “What past? What friends? Who are these voices? Who am I? I want to know, but at the same time I’m scared to learn the truth…” Then another voice from his forgotten past said, “Don’t you still have things in this world that are worth fighting for?” Clenching his fists, Grey shouted, “D****t! I’m so sick of this! How can I know what’s right?! That hooded woman shows up to tell me I’m supposed to choose my path? How can I even make a choice when I have no idea about what I’m choosing between?!” 

Suddenly the fragments from his past went silent as they were replaced by the creepy laughter he’d heard in his mind before, and looking up, Grey laid eyes upon the hooded figure floating there with his legs crossed in a sitting position and his pointed black tail dangling. Clad in his buttoned up gray business coat with silver buttons and a blue tie, his pants gray with white stripes, he wore a big, pointed gray hood that cast a shadow over his face. Underneath the hood, the unknown individual wore a black mask over his eyes and nose. With a creepy grin on his face, the person said, “What more is there to think about my boy? I told you before, this is your once in a lifetime opportunity!” Warily, Grey replied, “Who are you?” Suddenly Grey’s drifting came to an end and he landed reasonably hard on his back upon solid ground. Sitting up, he saw this ‘solid ground’ was as black as the darkness around him and was covered in colorful cracks from which the specks of light rose from. Flipping forwards in the air and uncrossing his legs in the process, the mystery man then floated down to land on his feet level with Grey and crossed his arms as he said, “Me? Why I’m nothing but a humble businessman, here to advise you on making the correct choice…”

            Feeling certain this person was untrustworthy, Grey stood up and said, “Why should I take your advice? Are you with Masquerade? Just what’s going on around here, who are you guys?! Who am I?!” Raising a hand and wagging a finger in the air before him, the hooded figure said, “Now now, if I were to tell you all of that, it would spoil everything! Right now your little paradise in Lorem Academy is hanging by a thread, and if you keep digging it will all be over. I hold no affiliations with that Masquerade woman, and I must inform you that she merely seeks to use you to her own ends. You’re much better off forgetting anything and everything she’s told you.” Gritting his teeth in frustration as he tried to make heads or tails of the situation, Grey thought to himself, “Now I’m just supposed to forget everything? I thought I already had!” 

Feeling even more indecisive than before, as Grey thought back to his encounter with Masquerade, he suddenly realized there was one thing she said that he could never forget. Staring down the mysterious man with determination on his face, Grey said, “Masquerade said that my choice was between my own happiness and fulfilling my mother’s hopes… Until I know the meaning behind those words, I don’t see how I could ever live in peace!” For a moment a sour look crossed the mystery man’s face, but the he extended his arms at his sides and grinned creepily as he said, “Truly a shame. I suppose our negotiations end here then.” Gathering EDE, the mystery man formed a mass of EDE in each hand and crystallized them into black swords with large, single edged blades and arc shaped guards over one side of their handles. Grasping them by the handle and swinging them challengingly, the unknown enemy said, “Above all else, I serve the Nameless One…”

            Just as the situation was looking bad, two bolts of multicolored magic shot out from nowhere, striking the mystery opponent’s weapons and disintegrating them. Having appeared behind Grey, Masquerade lowered her hand and said, “I’m afraid you will go no further than that, Malum. He has made his decision, and I will allow no harm to come to him.” Raising a hand before him and staring at the  residual magic crackling on it a moment, Malum simply shook it off and said, “My now, there are few who could possibly barge into the inner areas of this boy’s essence like that… and even fewer who know that name…” Staring at Masquerade a moment, Malum finally shrugged his shoulders and grinned creepily as he said, “No matter. I’m all the more certain of who you are now, and I know for a fact you cannot keep watch over him for very long.” As he began to fade away, Malum glanced at Grey and said, “I suggest you reconsider your decision before it’s too late. This is truly your final warning…” 

Malum vanished, and turning to face Masquerade, Grey said, “Thanks for that. If you don’t mind though, could you tell me what the hell that was all about?!” With a solemn nod, Masquerade replied, “I suppose now that you’ve chosen your path, some disclosure is in order…” Grey stared at her expectantly, and after a moment Masquerade continued, “Only a few days ago, you died and were reborn through the power of your mother’s gift, the treasure known as the phoenix stone.” His eyes going wide, Grey repeated in disbelief, “I died?!” Nodding again, Masquerade said, “Yes. Deep down you had desired to live out your life like a normal person. What you had considered normal for someone your age seems to have been going to school, making friends, and having fun. The phoenix stone takes such things into account when one is reborn through its power, and bends the rules of fate to fulfill those lingering desires. That is how you have come to be here at Lorem Academy. The stone was given to your mother by an old friend, the Seeker. A powerful soothsayer, she foresaw that you hold the key to changing this world’s fate, and enacted a plan to save you from your untimely demise. Your mother gave you the stone and allowed herself to die in order to ensure you would be saved.” Reaching up and taking hold of the pendant hanging around his neck, Grey whispered, “Mom…” Suddenly beginning to fade away, Masquerade said, “You have surpassed all my expectations Grey. Now that you have chosen to regain your forgotten past, the power of the phoenix stone is slowly starting to weaken, meaning your past will soon catch up to you. Along with the inheritance given to you by a strange twist of fate…”

            Lorem Academy Infirmary. Tuesday July 17, 520NA. Lying in bed in an infirmary room, just as Grey awoke and sat up, the school nurse arrived to check on him. Seeing him awake, Mrs. Zephyr said, “Oh you’re finally up! Even I was starting to get a little worried! You’ve been out for almost twenty hours!” Turning his body to sit on the edge of the bed, Grey said, “Sorry. Thanks for looking after me.” With a warm smile, Mrs. Zephyr said, “Not at all! Not at all! I’m glad you’re feeling better, and I’m sure all your friends will be relieved. They were all waiting out in the hall for you past curfew, even that boy Johnny who always seems to be alone when I see him. Marcyl left you a note before they all went back to the dorms.” She pointed to the nightstand at the side of the bed, on top of which laid a folded piece of paper. Reaching over and picking it up, Grey unfolded it and read it. 

“Dear Grey. Hope you feel better soon! If you get out of the infirmary tomorrow, let’s all go into town after classes are over! Tory and Pyro are up for it, and I was thinking of swinging by Spark’s Sweets! Johnny always goes on Tuesdays to help his mom out at the store, and I think we should thank him. He waited for you out in the hall with us the whole time. I know you were mad at him, but he’s really not a bad person. Anyways, hope to see you tomorrows! We’ll meet at the plaza! Best wishes, Marcyl.” Folding the paper back up, Grey got out of the bed and said, “Well, I guess I’ll get going now, uh…” Approaching him and bowing her head, Mrs. Zephyr said, “I’m Tor’s mother, Moira Zephyr. Thank you for being my son’s friend. After my husband died, we left Effretia to come live here in Lorem Academy. It didn’t agree with me for him to grow up being taught to look down on others like they’ll teach you in a city like that. However, after coming here, Tor was quite withdrawn. He didn’t have any friends of his own. Marcyl and Erika brought him out of his shell a little bit after a great deal of effort, and now he has you as well.” Looking embarrassed, Grey said, “Don’t mention it. I’m the one who should be grateful for having them as my friends.” Chortling, Mrs. Zephyr ushered him on his way as she said, “It’s just as Elizabeth said! You truly have a good heart! I’ll have nothing to worry about with Tor in your care! Now, run along! I’m sure they’re waiting for you!”

            Rushing into the plaza, as Grey looked around, he suddenly heard Marcyl shout, “Yahoo!” Seeing her rush at him, Grey quickly found himself caught in another one of her bear hugs. Clinging to him, Marcyl was saying, “You’re finally awake! How do you feel?! Was the infirmary bed comfy enough? Did Moira give you a lollipop?! Do you know why you fainted?! Was it that mysterious hooded figure?! Pyro saw him up on-” Finally Grey exclaimed, “Calm down, calm down!” As Pyro and Tory walked up to them, Pyro muttered, “There she goes again.” Then as Marcyl’s words registered in his mind, Grey looked at Pyro in surprise and said, “Wait, you mean you saw the guy on the roof too Pyro?!” Turning to Tory with a smug look, Pyro said, “HAH! See?! You can’t tell me both of us imagined the same thing!” Shrugging his shoulders, Tory said, “Mass hallucination…” 

Peeling herself off of Grey at last, Marcyl said, “I bet he’s some evil villain Grey has to defeat with his unknown powers!” Tory simply let out a sigh, and Pyro said, “I dunno about that, but man… Something told me he was some serious bad news. Did seeing him make you remember anything Grey?” Remembering the familiar voices and the images, Grey slowly said, “Yeah. Not everything, but a little…” Sensing the topic was disturbing him, Tory said, “It’s fine if you’d rather not discuss it.” Nodding, Pyro said reassuringly, “Yeah, and don’t worry about that hooded freak man. I’ll write up an article in the school paper and put an ad in the city paper too. With everybody on watch for him, he’ll be behind bars in no time!” Turning away from them, Grey said, “No, that’d be bad. Look guys, in a little bit here, I might have to…” As Grey trailed off, Marcyl stared at him in concern and said, “Grey?” Turning around with a forced smile, Grey said, “Forget it. Why don’t we just hurry up and go see the city?”

            Carrying more baked pastries to be placed in the display counter, sporting a pink apron that did not suit him at all, Johnny nearly dropped the pastries as he saw Grey and the others walk through the door of Spark’s Sweets. Glancing around quickly, he considered hiding himself somewhere as he thought, “D****t, what’re they doing here?! I can’t meet my fated rival in an apron!” Yet Johnny quickly froze as he heard Grey say, “Ah, there he is! Johnny!” With a sigh, he turned to them as they all approached the counter. Setting the pastries down on the counter, with a cocky grin he said, “Well fancy meeting you all here! Come to see the great Johnny Spark in action huh? Well, don’t push yourself too hard Grey! Touring the city could be hazardous if you faint just from a little walk around the school!” Letting it slide, Grey grinned and said, “I’ll be careful. So, anything you recommend we try while we’re here?” Blinking in surprise at his reaction, Johnny mumbled, “Well, uh… Gee, I dunno. Lemme think…” 

Coming to get the pastries she’d asked him to bring, a woman with short blue hair, halman cat ears, and gold eyes who wore a checkered blue apron and blue clothes, Johnny’s mother said, “Johnny, keep a move on. Tuesday is one of our busiest days.” Pointing at Grey and the others, Johnny said, “It’s not my fault, these guys just showed up outta nowhere!” Turning to look at them all, Johnny’s mother said, “Oh? Are these your friends from school?” Showing a brief look of surprise that gave way to a look of mild depression, Johnny quietly replied, “Well, we’re not really…” Before he could finish, Grey grinned and said, “Yeah, we’re his friends from school. We just thought we’d swing by and thank him for how he helped me out the other day, right guys?” Smiling merrily, Marcyl said, “Yep!” Scratching one of her ears nervously, Pyro muttered, “Yeah, what he said…” Tory merely nodded. As Johnny stared at everyone in disbelief, his mother smiled at them and said, “Well, well, I’d wondered about whether he was getting along with his classmates alright. Looks like I had nothing to worry about. Since you’ve come all this way, I’ll let you all try one of our special sundaes, no charge!” Johnny’s mother hurried off to fix the sundaes, while Grey shot Johnny a smile and a thumbs up. Still staring in disbelief, after a moment Johnny simply smiled back reluctantly.

            Finished with their sample sundaes, Grey and the others walked out with the various goodies they’d purchased to go. Heaving a sigh, Pyro said, “Man, he’d better realize he owes us for this!” Taking a bite out of a candy bar, having bought the most sweets out of all of them, Marcyl said, “Oh come on Pyro, it wasn’t that bad. Couldn’t you see how happy it made him and his mom?” Smiling as he stared back through the shop windows, Tory said, “Susan looked more cheerful than I’ve seen her in a while.” Nodding, Grey said, “Looks like Marcyl was right about Johnny too. All he really wants is to have friends.” Skipping across the sidewalk merrily, Marcyl said, “Yep yep! Told ya told ya! Now where to next?” 

As Grey looked around for a point of interest, his eyes went wide as he once again sensed him. Looking towards the clock tower standing far off at the end of the shopping center’s main road, Grey could barely see the hooded figure standing on top of it. Then Malum’s voice said within his mind, “You’ve chosen to reawaken then? The process alone could destroy you on its own. The tragedy of your past has almost been your undoing numerous times…” Narrowing his eyes, Grey responded within his own mind, “I still don’t fully understand, but I’ve decided my memories belong to me! I will take them back!” After a moment of silence, Malum raised his hand and said, “So be it. Come to the church, come and see the legacy you’ve chosen…” Dark energy crackled around Malum’s hand, and it shot up into the sky. As dark clouds rolled over the skies, Grey grit his teeth and burst off towards the clock tower, shouting, “Damn you!” As he bolted past her, a surprised Marcyl shouted after him, “Grey?! Where are you going?!” Grey continued on without looking back, and having sensed a strange fluctuation of EDE, Pyro stared up at the dark clouds that had suddenly covered the sky and said, “It’s gotta be the hooded guy!” Rushing after Grey, she shouted, “C’mon, he’s gonna need backup!”

            Standing at the window of her office staring out at the dark clouds rolling across the sky, Elizabeth thought to herself, “What in the world is going on? That strange fluctuation of EDE, this sudden veil of darkness… Something’s not right!” Suddenly the doors of her office burst open and Professor Cortez rushed in. Placing a sheet of paper on Elizabeth’s desk, he wheezed, “I’ve finished the translations. I think you’ll want to read it. By the way, just what the hell is going on outside?!” Ignoring him and snatching the piece of paper, Elizabeth quickly began reading the translation aloud, saying, “Phoenix that shines in the night skies… In our darkest hour we turn to he who is reborn in your holy flame… With the power that binds our existence together… He shall stand between our world and its end… Within his heart rest endless possibilities… The Unforeseen Salvation…” Staring at the paper for a while, at last Elizabeth sank into her chair with a look of disbelief on her face. Swiveling her chair around slowly, as she stared out the window at the dark clouds again, a grin crept onto her face. With a slight laugh, she said, “Go get em tiger…”

Reviews

[Arrinae]

Interesting! I have a feeling Grey will actually be able to handle his past this time. I'm curious to see how his new friends will react t learning who he really is. You don't have to replay if you fear giving away too much.

[KeithKVH]

Grey will be facing his past, and while I won't reveal the outcome, it will be a turning point for him and there will be another event I'm pretty sure you'll be interested in. Wait and see!

[Arrinae]

Oh I have no doubts about that! ^_^