Chapter 9: P.S.Y.C.H.O.

"Alfa?" I echoed into the mist. I couldn't see below my feet, but I felt that I was on something metal. I daringly took a step forward. "Yo, Alfa, what is this?"

"I'm sorry, Gin," he said, as a presence appeared behind my back and struck my torso. The next voice that I heard was Jericho's.

"Gin, this is necessary for you to control your powers," he said. I recoiled from the second attack, which struck my legs, and I kneeled to the ground.

"You're sic-" my words were cut off by a blow to the face. I fell to the ground and tried to get up, before Jericho could attack me again. I felt a blade against my neck. The next thing I felt was the dice in my hands.

"You have much to learn, Gin," Jericho whispered into my neck.

"Why are you doing this?" I trembled, clutching the die hard.

"If you want to become a valuable asset to us, this is needed."

"I trusted you," I spoke with a loathing attitude. I thought I sensed Alfonso twitch in the corner of the room I was in.

"And you should," Jericho said, pressing the blade closer to my neck. I dropped the dice.

As soon as the die hit the floor, Jericho pulled the blade backwards, to slit my throat. The die landed on 4. I felt something of a force field form around me, as the blade flew away from me, and I heard Jericho thump against the wall.

He took a deep breath. "Vector manipulation," he said, as he flipped a switch, and somebody entered the room. "Vector manipulation has only one weakness." Judging from the footsteps, the one who entered the room was a light weighted man. "That would be mental attacks."

The gates to the outside slammed down, and the mist cleared. I was the only one left in this room, aside from the man in front of me. As the mist cleared, I studied him. He wore a red hoodie, with orange prisoner pants, and a hocket mask that made him look like a killer psycho. He ripped his hoodie off, and I saw the muscular structure that he wielded, which had tattooes running all over his body. On his right hand, the letters P, S, Y, C, H were tattooed on the back of his fingers, with a big O tattooed on the back of his palm.

"Psycho?" I whispered, and he laughed like a madman. He pushed a hand against his head, and a wave of emotions swept through me. My eyes blurred for a second, and I saw Thomas walking towards me. "Th-Thomas?" I stuttered. He came closer and closer, and I could see my father walking behind him. Closer, closer, closer, and Thomas threw a punch at me, making me fly towards the wall and hit against the wall. I swore there was a dent in the wall.

"Why are we doing this to him?" Alfonso shook his head, and looked down from the mountain, looking miserable.

"It's for his own good," Jericho said, with his arms folded, and put a hand on Alfonso's shoulder.

"How are we helping him? By putting him in the same room with P.S.Y.C.H.O.?" Alfonso shook his head harder, and his eyes dulled.

"I know his power better than any of you. We need him as a part of our plan, and for him to be qualified for that plan, we must bring his power levels to a higher grade before he can start helping," Jericho explained. Alfonso looked at him with weak eyes and sighed. "P.S.Y.C.H.O. will bring out his true powers soon, and he will be able to take control of his powers quickly this way."

"I hope you're right," Alfonso replied.

"Psychooo..." seemed to be the only thing this madman knew how to say. He repeated it over and over again as he struck me. I didn't understant what was going on. I thought that vector manipulation was supposed to deflect attacks off of me, no matter what. Yet, instead of the psycho attacking me, what I saw was Thomas, my father, and Mr. Anderson thrashing me over and over again. I didn't even have the chance to get up before they assaulted me again. There was a time when I stood up and landed a punch, but the payback was only harder. I could see my blood splattered almost everywhere in the room. As I landed on the floor for the final time, after making dents in the ceiling of the room, my eyes turned black and I couldn't see anything. I heard the psycho walk out and the doors shut. I couldn't help it, and started to cry. I was wrong about everything; wrong that these people were good people, wrong that they had any ulterior motives. I laid in the darkness, afraid, and cowering in fear.

When I woke up, I didn't feel a single scratch on me. I was still lying in the metal box room, but I was paranoid. I assumed Jericho had a healing power user operate on me. I immediately understood what this was all about. Jericho wanted me to achieve a certain level of my power by beating the living daylights out of me over and over. This meant I wouldn't be able to get out of here unless I defeated this psycho guy. The gates cranked open and I saw the huge figure that was Psycho standing there. As he marched towards me, I closed my eyes and reached out to the power inside me. I swore I must've felt darkness lurking in my power, but I reached out and grabbed it anyways.Come on, I thought, feeling myself sinking deeper and deeper into nothingness. Then, I saw it. Something darker than black, more sinister than the greatest evil inside my mind. I felt Psycho inching closer to me by the minute. I grabbed it, and my eyes blasted open.

I watched Psycho back away a few steps, seeing the surprise in his eyes. I felt... powerful. I no longer felt like Gin, I felt like the manifestation of invincibility. My mind was clearer than ever. I felt the same aura of the darkness around me, but this time my head was clear.

"He's ready," Jericho suddenly said.

"That quickly?" Alfonso shot out.

"He's more talented than I am," Jericho said, biting his nails.

"You don't say that very often."

"It isn't a good thing. If anything, it only proves that he is more connected to the darkness than I am."

Psycho lashed out at me with his strong arms, as I artfully dodged it and spun, landing a blow to his face. I sent him flying towards the wall, as I heard a dent form and dust rose from the impact. I walked closer, and Psycho flew out of the dust, his eyes wide open crazily as he attempted to bash me with the strength in his arms. It hit me on the head, but I didn't flinch. I manipulated it, and Psycho flew back from his own attack. He started to pant and groan, discernibly irated at me. He grabbed his mask and crushed it with his hands, the mask crumbling into pieces as I bore witness to his face. He put his index and middle finger on his forehead, with his thumb on his cheek, as I saw a wave of something fly towards me. Mental attacks. I pressed my hands onto the ground, and darkness flew out, consuming the attack before it reached me and returned to my body.

I spread my arms out and looked up. "I am undefeatable," I whispered.

Psycho charged at me again, and I rolled forward, picking up one of the pieces of Psycho's mask, and wielded it like a sword. It felt like I knew how to do it by instinct. Psycho bolted at me again with frightening speed. I danced around him, slashing him with the edges of the fragments, and slashed him insurmountably. As I dropped the fragment of the mask, I looked coldly as Psycho as he bled out, gasping.

"Th...than-" he started. I aimed my hands towards him, as darkness rose out of the ground, formed into a spear, and I thrusted my hand down, piercing it through his body and the metal, leaving him lifeless.

I stared at him for a while. I stared at the remaining fragments of his mask, and the reflections of it showed me who I was. I had spiky black hair with the manifestation of darkness flowing around my body. My eyes... they were white. I felt unhuman. I was unhuman. When I realized what I had done, I fell to my knees, clutching my head and shivered in the corner, the darkness sealing itself back in my body.

I felt somebody touch me. I looked up to see Alfonso patting me on the shoulders.

"I... I killed someone," I whispered under my breath.

Alfonso sighed and looked me in the eyes. "I'm sorry," he said, and we teleported again.

We landed in the same place I had first met Jericho. He was still standing in that exact position.

He turned around, and opened his mouth to say something. His entire being made me infuriated. If not for Myron the gentle giant being there and shaking his head, I would've punched him. When he let go of my arms, I punched Jericho anyways.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted. Jericho stumbled on the ground, looking at me all innocent, clutching his face from the pain. Didn't see me clutching my face when you smashed it, did you?

"I was trying to help you control your powers," Jericho said in a scary calm manner.

"By beating me up with this Psycho guy?"

"P.S.Y.C.H.O., Pachydermal Saboteur Yarak Carnager, yes."

"Yeah? And what's the H and O stand for?"

Alfonso put a hand on me. "Harrison Olson, the man in the mask."

"You made me kill him," I raged under my breath.

"No, he volunteered to fight you," Jericho stood up, brushing his sides. Myron, Alaric, Steph, and Alfonso all stood beside us on the windy peak. Mt. Tod, I thought repulsively.

"That does not give you the right to do what you did," I spat.

"You can now control your powers," Jericho said, spreading his arms as if this Harrison guy's death could be brushed off.

"I KILLED THE MAN!" I shouted.

"And the sin will live for me forever," Jericho sized up on me. I stared at him and I felt tears rising out of my eyes. "Don't you think for a second that I'm not sorry for the man," he said with cold eyes.

"You don't look like someone who's sorry. You weren't the one who killed him anyways, so stop pretending to be the one suffering," I spat. I noticed Alfonso looking torn on the sidelines. I'm sorry, I eyed him. He looked away from me, and I stormed away, pushing aside Steph and Alaric as I descended the mountain by myself. I was done with this. I was done with his stupid plan, and I will find a way to end it.