Back to Chapter 1.20

“Charlotte!?  You’re okay!”

Brian was shocked to see Charlotte enter the store.  He had been stocking a shelf near the entrance and almost knocked a box of cookies over.

“Hi, sir.  I’m okay…” Charlotte was nervous, yet relieved to see that her old boss seemed to care about her well being.

A boy that stood behind the counter chuckled.  Charlotte recognized the messy blonde hair and cocky posture immediately.

“Hello, Roy.  I see you haven’t been fired yet?”

“Hey good lookin’.  Nah, I’ve been busting my ass ever since you quit.  Brian’s been thankful to have me.

“It actually is remarkable.”  Brian commented. “He seemed to suddenly get a lot better at his job since you left.  Although, flirting with the customers is still a thing. You’d already be fired if we weren’t so short staffed.  Remember that, Roy. Continue to do well and not be… yourself, and we can get past that.”

Charlotte frowned.  “I’m so sorry… even though I put in my two weeks… I just up and left like that.  And… I heard about what happened yesterday. I should have been there-”

“Charlotte, it’s okay.  You young people have a lot going on.  It’s understandable. And…” Brian approached Charlotte, leaning up so he could whisper to her.

“I mean… you were here, weren’t you?  You saved me last night, right?”

“How did-”

“Relax.  Your secret’s safe with me.  Those Unity guys already questioned the hell out of me and left anyway.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey!”  Roy shouted, slamming his hands on the counter.  “You tell me not to flirt, and here you go leaning up close to women, freaking old man!”

“Oh, I was just uh… what is the term people use these days?  Roasting you! Yeah, I was just roasting you so bad, I didn’t want you to hear.”

“Huh?  How the hell do you know what that means!?”

“Roy-”  Charlotte interrupted.  “Just get back to work. Don’t you have to save up for college next year?”

Roy sighed heavily.  “Yeah, yeah.” He sat down in a nearby chair, pouting.

“Glad to see you got the whole ‘working’ thing down.”  Charlotte said mockingly.

Brian coughed, to get her attention.  “Do you need anything, Charlotte? If you just came here to apologize, you did not need to worry about that.”

“Actually… if it isn’t too much trouble, can you help me get some stuff?”

Brandon, Jerry, and Emma sat around Adam’s living room, each with a bowl of stew in hand.  Emma especially seemed to be enjoying her meal.

“How did Sis just walk out when this was in here!?  This is freaking delicious!”

“Her and Adam wanted to go for a walk to talk in privacy, I guess?”  Brandon responded, slowing down on his food consumption. “Damn, Adam.  Trying to gain the upper hand, huh?”

“What?”  Jerry stared at Brandon with a confused expression.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Brandon sighed. “Anyway, I’m full!  Emma, wanna fight in, well… Phight?”

“Sure.  I need a break after everything today.”  Emma and Brandon stood up with their empty bowls and took them over to the sink.  Jerry heard his phone buzz, which he instantly investigated.

“Oh, wow.  She’s actually free?”

He stood up, dialing a number on his phone.  “You guys enjoy that, I gotta talk to someone.”

“Oh?  Alright.”  Brandon nodded, dashing over to the television in the living room.  “Emma! Prepare to be defeated by my Gladiator skills!”

“I’ll be using the Dragon, so I doubt you can do much against that.”  Emma stated mockingly, sitting next to him.

“Oh come on!  That’s the most broken character in the game!”

Jerry walked down the hallway as the phone rang on the end.  It was answered after three rings.

“Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.  If it isn’t my arch nemesis.  Why do you call upon me-”

“Yeah hi, Laura.”  Jerry groaned. “Listen, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Oho?  Ask away!”

Charlotte had left Ann’s with several bags in tow.  Although they seemed heavy with a glance, she had no trouble carrying them.

“My body, as of right now… is totally fine.  That power Adam gave to me… just what was it?  Where did he get it? It honestly feels… familiar…”

“Charlotte!”  Winona ran up to her, with a cheerful demeanor.

“Winona… you’re okay?”  Charlotte asked, concerned.

“Yep!  All better!  Just needed to rest up!  Whatever that energy was… it was powerful.  I’m glad I put enough energy into my defense, or else it would have blown all of us away.”

“That… that was…”  Charlotte sat the bags down on the ground, almost ready to cry.  “I’m certain… that was me, who did that. I’m so sorry… I didn’t know how my power would work when I got serious, and it slipped right through the guy I was fighting, and… and I’ve been lying to all of you… and I hurt you, and-”

Winona quickly embraced Charlotte, closing the distance between them.

“You’re… cold.  Then, it’s true what Faith said, isn’t it?  I’m not sure if she was supposed to tell me, but she did.”

“That’s okay… you should know.”  Tear began to run down Charlotte’s face.

“Charlotte, you don’t have to worry.  Obviously, you have quite the situation going on, and you tried to keep it from us so we wouldn’t get hurt, right?”

Charlotte did not saying anything.  She simply nodded confirmation into Winona’s shoulder.

“You can talk to me about it.  About everything. If you want to, I would like to hear it.  Is that okay?”

“Yeah… yeah, it is.”  Charlotte took a step away from Winona, yet still held onto her.

“You know, that’s the same kind of thing you said to me when we first met.  Nobody talked to me when I first entered your school. You were the first one.  You came up to me, introduced yourself, and said I could always talk to you about anything.  That’s how we became friends.”

Winona smiled.  “And it still stands.  Come on, let’s go over there-”  Winona pointed toward a bench off the side of the road.  “Nobody should bother us over there.”

Charlotte agreed.  Winona helped her carry the bags over to the bench.  They sat down, and started to talk.

“Adam Grayson?”

Alexander stood in an office near the top of Soul Tower in Nexus City.  This minimalist office was owned by Rizzo, who had it as a spare outside of the main Unity building a few blocks away.

Rizzo sat at his desk, glaring at Alexander who was a few feet away from him.  Although, Alexander could barely tell, as the lights in the office were out.

“Shit, man!  Why are the damn lights off!?”  Alexander stomped his foot, creating a glowing pink liquid that covered the entire floor within a second.  “There! Now I can see your ugly-ass face.”

“Just make sure you dispose of that when we’re done here.”  Rizzo demanded. “Anyway, yes. Adam Grayson. Does that name ring a bell?”

“Nah.  Although, wasn’t there a Rebecca Grayson in Unity years ago that was some hot shit?”

“Correct.  She would be the mother of this boy.  He seemed to know you, from what I gathered today.”  Rizzo stood up from his seat, stepping in the pink liquid below him without an issue.

“Just like yourself, Code 2819 came back negative for him.  There was no phantonic value found whatsoever.”

“Huh?”  Alexander was curious.  “What a minute… could this Adam kid possibly be the kid from last night!?  Shit, I never caught his name!”

“So, as I did with you, I took precautions so that his power would not affect others in Unity.  As of tomorrow, he is banned from his hometown of Prelude, and must do whatever it is he wants to do on his own.  Seemingly, taking me down is part of that agenda of his.”

Alexander smirked.  “Well, add him to the list of people who wanna do that to ya!”  His expression quickly changed to a serious one. “Also, what kind of bullshit are you spewing?”

“Hm?  What’s that?”

“As you did with me?  You never banished me from anywhere!  I’m just not allowed in Unity cause ya don’t want me gathering people together to take ya down, seeing as though I know things!  Me keeping that shit a secret and my duty with the Blue World is simply a deal so ya leave my sister alone. So his power would not affect others?  That was never a reason!”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then believe it.”  Rizzo turned to stare out the windows behind him. He gazed down at the evening blue of the city.  “Also, would you happen to know what happened in the sky last night? It was clearly a distortion from the Blue World.”

Alexander shrugged.  “Beats the shit outta me!”

Rizzo remained silent for a moment.  “…fine. Very well. That’s all for now.  You may continue your work tomorrow. Soon, I’ll want you changing objectives.  I’ll give you the details on that within the next few days.”

“Alright, sure.  Whatever.” Alexander started to walk toward the door as the liquid began to fade.  “Looking forward to it, shitbag.”

As Alexander slammed the door behind him, the room was dark once more.  Rizzo continued to stare out the window with a blank expression on his face.

“I was surprised today.  That was the first time you altered what I said.  I would have simply forced the boy to join Unity, like usual.  But this… just what’s so special about this boy, enuexse-”

As if his voice glitched like a computer error, Rizzo coughed up blood out of his mouth, splattering all over the window in front of him.  He collapsed onto his knees, in agonizing pain.

“You- you made me… speak, like that-”  Rizzo continued to cough violently as he attempted to calm himself down.  After a minute, he was able to. He breathed calmly.

“…I guess things are finally starting to set in motion for you, aren’t they?”

Muraco hopped around the Requiem wilderness, underneath the clear night sky.  He had his arms crossed, deep in thought.

“When that hole above Nexus opened up… I sensed all kinds of things.  Things that concern me… however, I think, that human survived whatever happened.  The question is, where is he now? Is he still in there? Is he back in this world?  I can’t tell from here.”

Muraco gazed upward, viewing  the clouds as they passed over the moon and stars.

“If I find you again, human, what do I do?  Shall I continue where I left off, or… those words.  Are those words you spoke genuine? If so, then maybe… just, maybe…”

Adam followed Faith through the dark woods, heading northeast from his home.  Both had remained silent for several minutes, only listening to each other’s footsteps.

“Hey, Faith?”  Adam decided to speak first.

“What’s up?”

“Are you… mad at me?”

“Why would I be?”

“Cause of what I did today…”

“I’m not…”  Faith stopped, hesitating for a moment.  She then turned to him.

“I’m… thankful, to be honest.  That you would go so far for us… although, I’m also scared.  Scared for what will happen to you. This banishment from our town… it’s not normal.  Just what is Rizzo planning?”

“I take it you know that I have an Ability now, right?”

Faith frowned, nodding at Adam’s question.  “To be fair… I knew you’ve been hiding something for awhile.  But I trusted your judgement, and why you would keep it a secret from us.  Seems there’s something serious involving Charlotte being a ghost and a Ouderkirk as well?”

“Yeah… my Ability is actually related to that.  The night I awakened it… it was due to Charlotte.  She’s lost her memories, and has been trying to figure things out for awhile now.  Apparently my Ability, called the World Mirror, is important.”

“The World Mirror…?”

Adam’s hand lit up in white light, as he raised it in front of him for Faith to view.  “It’s some strange energy, that has a lot of mystery to it. Right now, I know that it can give me lots of strength and also heal any injuries I take.”

“It’s beautiful… like moonlight.”  Faith stared in awe. “…injuries?  You’ve been injured?”

“I’ve… actually almost died a few times already.”  Adam laughed awkwardly. “It’s certainly helped get out of some sticky situations… although it’s the reason I got into them in the first place.”

“Adam… I really wish you told me.  Don’t get me wrong, I do understand why you didn’t.  You didn’t want my family, Winona, and others getting involved.  But still… you know how my I despise Unity as well! I would have joined you, and we could have fought it toge-”

“Faith, it’s more complicated than that.  We’re both weak right now. When it comes to our Abilities, we have much to learn.  We can’t make a move yet, despite how much we want to.”

Faith looked down at her hand, forming a small flame.  Adam noticed that she started to shake.

“Yeah… it’s still not perfect.  I’m not completely over the fear yet… but I’m getting there.  I’ve taken huge steps. If we’re to do something, we have to be strong enough.”

“Right.”  Adam smiled.  “Even Brandon realized that, with his Ability.  He wants to join Unity just so he can get the best training he can, for when the time’s right.  Rizzo’s aware of all of this though… I’m afraid of what will happen to you guys. He says your development is important, which is the main reason I’m being sent away, but still I-”

“Even though we need to get stronger, Adam, don’t worry.  We still are strong.  Don’t worry about us.  You have… a lot you have to do.  With whatever it is you’re going to do next.  Charlotte’s going with you regardless of Rizzo’s rule, right?”

Adam nodded.  “Yeah, I figured she’d be able to help me out, as well as easily hide with her powers if Rizzo decided to track me.  I’m… expecting that to happen, honestly. Just… a lot of this doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re right-”  Faith agreed. “But, what part are you referring to?”

“I’m not sure exactly.  But, it just feels like there’s a lot more going on with Rizzo, and the entirety of Unity than we realize.  Even deeper than the obvious as day corruption.”

“I’m sure there is.  Which is why we have to be careful.”  Faith lifted her flame that was still in her hand toward Adam’s which was still shining brightly.

“You know… it’s like your Ability and my own… are the sun and moon.”

“Huh?  I- I guess they kinda are?”  Adam chuckled at Faith’s comparison.

They both lowered their hands, as their respective Abilities faded away.  Before Adam put his hand back down at his side, Faith grabbed it with her own.

“You know why we’re out here, right?”

Adam smirked.  “Yeah. This path seems familiar.”

“Well then, let’s go!”

“Wrong.”  Adam wagged his finger, confusing Faith.  “It’s XYZ, remember?”

Faith burst into laughter.  “Oh my god, I can’t believe you remember that!”

“Of course I do.  We used to say it all the time before adventures.  I’m not even sure where you came up with it.”

“Oh, you probably wouldn’t.  I don’t think you ever watched that show.”

“It’s from a show!?”

“Yeah!  Kitty Kid and Puppy Pal!”

Adam was bewildered.  “It… was from that show!?  That show was awful!”

“Hey!  No it was not!  It was my favorite!  Take that back Adam Grayson!”

“No!  It was horrible!  The plot was too obvious!”

“It was a kid’s show, of course the plot wouldn’t be that great!”

“Then… wait- what does XYZ even mean!?”

“I don’t remember, but they always said it when they went on an adventure, so I thought I would use it for us as well!”

“Well…”  Adam paused for a moment.  Suddenly he started to laugh cheerfully.  “Ah, what the hell? It can be our thing, regardless if that show was good or not!”

Faith could not help but from smile ear to ear upon hearing Adam’s laughter.  “Of course. It’s our thing. Anyway, come on! XYZ!”

She dragged Adam along through the woods, as he quickly matched her pace.  A few moments later, they emerged from the trees. What met them was the side of a cliff that dipped off into a wide valley filled with nothing but grass.  Miles away, on the other side, the blue light from Nexus City could easily be visible to them.

“Ah, dang it!”  Faith pouted. “I was hoping we could see the aurora again… too bad!”

“I knew that’s what you were after.”  Adam chuckled, taking a step forward. He did not let go of Faith’s hand.  “This is still great. The clouds are starting to go away, and you can see all of the stars.  And that breeze… can you feel it? And look at it blow the grass down there.”

Faith nodded, taking in the view as well.  “It’s like a sea of green. And the light from the city adds to it.  It’s… quite the feeling you get… looking at this place. Aurora or not.”

“Jerry told me about that.  It’s different from the Northern Lights.  Actually, it really only happens due to the phantonic technology used in the city.  Once in awhile, a pure blue aurora will form somewhere in the skies of Requiem, made out of pure phantonic energy.”

“Yeah, it’s got a more complicated name… but uh, it’s also called the Requiem Lights, right?”

“That’s what I call it.  I wish I could see it again.  That night with you was the only time so far.”

“That night… yeah.”  Faith turned toward Adam, and looked directly into his eyes.

“Just like I dragged you here, back then… you were the one who dragged me.  It was the first time in ages… I felt happy.  After everything that happened with the fire… you saved me with your kindness and your cheerful self.”

Adam sighed.  “I’m sorry I’m not all that cheerful anymore.”

“That’s okay!  You can still show it sometimes!  And… after everything recently, I truly believe that, despite all the changes that have happened, the heart of the boy who saved me is still there within you…”

“You think so?  Maybe… I’m not so sure myself.”

“Adam.”  Faith placed both of her hands on Adam’s shoulders, moving in closer.  “I want you to know, that no matter what happens… even if you don’t believe me or not… I want you to know…”  Faith hesitated.

Then, she spoke.

“You are my hero.”

Adam’s eyes widened.  The directness of what Faith had just said struck him.  Within its simplicity, “You are my hero” held so much power.  It was at the level that only an “I love you” could have possibly competed with.

He took note of that comparison, as simply thinking about it caused a sudden warmth in his chest.

“…and I’m going to also be your hero, Adam!”  Faith declared.  “Like when we were little, we’ll keep on exchanging roles!  Sometimes you’ll be the hero and I’ll be the princess. And then sometimes you’ll be the princess and I’ll be the hero!”

“I- I guess that’s how it can work?”  Adam sighed. “But, Faith. I trust you.  Right now, I have to go down a certain path, and you have to go down another.  Those paths will merge once again, when the time is right.”

Faith removed her arms form Adam, nodding with a mighty grin.  “Mhm! They will!”

Adam raised his fist, putting it in front of Faith, which confused her.

“Faith, I’ve known you longer than anyone.  I’m pretty sure words between us aren’t needed when it comes down to it.”

“Heh… yeah, I see what you’re saying.  Although, I do love talking to you.”

She had understood Adam’s gesture, and raised her fist up as well.  “Let’s show this world not to mess with us!”

“You know what to say, Faith.  What have we been talking about this whole time?”

“Oh, right!”  Faith giggled.  Adam could not help but chuckle.

As their fists joined, they mutually shouted the simple phrase that always started their adventures.

“XYZ!”

From the shadows of the woods, two eyes gazed at the boy and girl, hidden behind a clock-shaped mask.  A whisper of a young woman could be heard.

“Will I exist in this world?  It’s all up to you two…”

Volume 1 END

Back to Chapter 1.20

Back to Volume 1

Back to Chapter 1.19

“Phew, glad he’s finally gone.  That guy talks way too much!”  Brandon walked over to Adam and Emma, starting to laugh.  Adam’s gloomy expression ended this quickly.

“Brandon, why would you… why did you do that?”

“I already said!  Didn’t you hear!? I want to learn more, and I think it would be the best place to do so!”  Brandon patted Adam’s shoulder, walking by him.

“I’ll talk to you more about it later, okay?  Relax for right now. You’ve got a lot you have to do starting tonight.”

Before Adam could say anything, Brandon walked by him and approached Emma.

“Hey, uh… so, I need to apologize.”

Emma looked at him curiously.  “What for?”

Brandon hesitated for a moment.  “Well… I know about your back.”

“I mean, who doesn’t?  I’ve told you guys all about it before.  I was in the freaking hospital for months as a kid after all.”

“I mean, yeah.  But…” Brandon sighed.  “I know a lot of the details.  It was kinda an accident how I found out… so I’m sorry for that.  But I do know that electricity messes with you. And I ended up using my Ability like that with you nearby.  So, I’m sorry if it hurt you.” He chuckled. “I guess it’s a good thing I’m going to Unity, huh? This Ability won’t mess with you, whenever I use it.”

“I…”  Emma tried to think of a response, but could not.  “I… T- thanks for sticking up for me. I was kind of scared after he heard me.  But you and Adam sticking up for me… it made me feels safe.” She turned away.

“So thanks!  And… whatnot.”  Emma pulled out her phone.  “I gotta update my sis on everything, unless you want to do that, mom-”

As Emma looked back, her and Brandon watched as Pam embraced Adam without hesitation.

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Adam…”  Tears were falling rapidly from Pam’s face.  “I swore to myself that I would protect you… as if you were my own child.  But I couldn’t do anything but stand there! Why… after all of this time… am I-”

“Pam-”  Adam calmly pushed Pam away from him.  “It’s not your fault. I’m an adult now.  I knew the risks, and it was my fault I lost my cool.  Now, I’m being punished for it.  Although, this honestly what was going to end up happening anyway.”

“But…”  Pam tried to dry her eyes.  “I don’t want you to be alone… with whatever you do.  This is what Rizzo does. He plays these games. I think he believes forcing you to be by yourself would hinder your growth, so you wouldn’t become a threat to him.  I doubt he actually does want you to grow.”

“It’ll be okay either way.”  Adam reassured her. “And besides… you honestly think I’m going to listen to him?  I’m not going to be alone.” He stepped a few feet away from the group, looking off toward the woods.

“I’m tired of that.  I’ve put myself in the situation where I had nobody beside me before… and you think I’m gonna let someone else force that upon me?  Hell no. But don’t worry, none of you guys will get involved.” He turned back to them, giving a wink and a cocky smirk in Brandon’s direction.

“After all, he specifically said that I can’t be with any living human being.”

Brandon had no clue what Adam meant, along with everyone else.  A few seconds later, it hit him.

“Oh!  Oh, you’re right!  Haha! Take that, rules!”

Pam, Emma, and Thomas were clueless as to what the two were talking about.  Adam approached the teary-eyed woman, giving her a confident smile.

“I’m going to put an end to all of this.”

Pam could not believe what Adam had just said, for the words matched ones that a young girl had told her once before.

“I’m going to put an end to all of this.”

She could not help the tears that had started to form once more.

“Becca… your will is still here, isn’t it?”

Thomas gave Pam a pat on the head, then turned to Adam.  “That’s great and everything. But, kid, how are you going to do that with a missing hand?”

“Huh?”  It took Adam a second to realize what Thomas was referring to.  A quick glance down his right arm made him understand.

“Oh.”  The World Mirror’s aura formed around the stub.  A few second later, Adam’s hand had begun to reconstruct itself.

“Woah, you can heal yourself!?”  Emma watched the event in awe. “What even is this Ability?”

“It’s called the World Mirror.”  Adam answered. “It’s got a lot more to it then one would think.”

Thomas analyzed the Ability carefully.  “It’s true. After all, Abilities are always phantonic based.  And they determined that it’s not. Just what is it?”

“That’s one thing I’m trying to find out.”  Adam stretched out the hand that had finished forming.  “It’s related to the Ouderkirk Royal Family in some way, though.”

“What?”  Pam could not hide the concern in her voice.  “How do you know that?”

Adam sighed.  “Charlotte’s an Ouderkirk.  She doesn’t have memories aside from knowing the World Mirror’s important for something.  Oh, and she’s also a ghost by the way.”

The group was speechless.  Adam walked over to Brandon, and flicked his forehead.  “Come on. Before we do anything else, I’m hungry.  Let’s go to Mona’s.  I’m getting myself an applesauce burger.”

As Adam started to walk off, Brandon looked at the others and shrugged.  He then followed close behind.

“You know, I keep telling you that thing is disgusting!  Even the people working there give you a weird look when you order it!”

“Well, maybe they shouldn’t have it on the menu, then.”

Emma ran up to her mother, squeezing her tightly.  

“Come on, mom.  Let’s leave those two weirdos to their thing for now.  How about some coffee?”

Pam let out a long sigh.  “Yeah… yeah. I think I need one right now.  Want some, Tom?”

Thomas nodded nonchalantly.  “Sure. Even I’m burnt out from all of this.”

Carl’s eyes opened, staring at the stained gray ceiling above him.  He sat up, the creaking of his worn out bed echoing through the almost empty room.

“Glad to see you awake, Carl.”

Carl looked off to his right, and a tiny wooden table.  There, a man sat in the shadows, moving a glass of whiskey around in his hand; the ice’s clatter was the only noise at that moment.  

“Oh, hey.  I’m hoping it went well?”

“Yeah.”  The man sat the glass on the table.  “He was able to siphon the Ouderkirk girl’s power from what was left in your body.  It worked.”

“Oh?”  Carl grinned.  “Excellent. So that test wasn’t in vain after all.”

“That’s right.  In fact, it was good that things ended up this way.  That creature you created would have never found the seal.”

“Oh?  Yeah yeah yeah?  Interesting! We finally found it?”

Carl could hear a small chuckle come from the man.  “Yes. Although, it was where we originally thought it was all along.”

“Is that right?”  Carl started to laugh.  “After all that testing we did!  That sure is remarkable! Although, this does raise the question…”  He stood up from the bed and began to pace around the room.

“What exactly were we catching on the radar, then?”

“That’s still an important piece.  I believe it to be a sort of a key that we need for the seal.  Seeing as though even between myself and Jason we were unable to crack it open.”

“A key that moves around?  Who exactly created this seal in the first place?”

There was a moment of silence, to the point where it almost became awkward.

“A powerful man.  One that we still don’t have a chance against.  Which is why we need this power.”

Carl chuckled.  “Works for me. I’m just here to learn everything I can.  I have no limits to the knowledge I want to obtain. See what I did to my body?  I’ll do anything for the truth!”

“The truth, huh?”  The man picked up the glass of whiskey, hesitated, then took a sip.

“The truth is something nobody should really strive for.  It’s not worth it.”

“I can’t believe you two!”  Charlotte was wagging her finger rather violently toward Adam and Brandon.  “We’ve been trying so hard to keep these things a secret, and you two just go and reveal it all like that!?”

“Well, to be fair-”  Adam caught Charlotte’s finger.  “You also revealed yourself to people last night as well.”

“That was different!  People were in danger!  That wasn’t the case for you!  You just had to keep your cool, and you wouldn’t be in this situation!”  Charlotte sighed, taking her finger back from Adam.

“…from what you said though, I see why you did it.  It still sucks.”

Brandon cautiously tiptoed forward.  “Glad to see you full of energy. You looked as though you were going to die on us earlier- oh, wait… yeah.  You’re already-”

“Brandon.  Are you sure you want to join Unity?”  Charlotte asked with slight worry. “You know what goes on there…”

“I know.”  Brandon scratched his head.  “But, to be honest… as we trained these last few weeks, it wasn’t really doing much for me.  It just felt like extreme exercise. I didn’t get any closer to learning more about my Ability or how it works.  If I go to Unity, where they’re experts… well, hopefully that’ll help.”

Charlotte frowned.  “I just wish I remembered more… maybe I would have been able to teach you properly.”

“Don’t worry about it!  One of the reasons we’re doing all of this to begin with is to figure out your memories.  It’s all good.”

The three heard a cough come from the kitchen.  Jerry stood in front of Adam’s stove, mixing up some food in a pot.  The smell of meat and spices and started to fill up the house.

“Not much of this is good, Brandon.  Now, before the others get here, and before this beef stew is done…”  Jerry sat the spoon he was using to stir the food down on the counter.  “Adam, here’s my gift to you.”

Adam reached out his hand as Jerry handed him what appeared to be a flash drive.  It was silver in color, and didn’t seem like something that would be too expensive to purchase.

“What’s on it?  Did you find out anything?”

“I did not.”  Jerry sounded frustrated.  “It turned out that I certainly could have hacked into things very easily.  Yet, I would have been caught. What you have there is a little thing I created.  I call it a ‘god drive’.”

“Uh, alright.”  Adam analyzed the device more, attempting to figure out what was so “godly” about it.  “What’s it for, though?”

“It’s just a simple flash drive on the outside.  However, I added my own personal touch to how it can work.  If you plug that sucker into any computer, it can rip the data right out of it without an issue.  That’s what we need to do.  It’s too difficult to gain the data wirelessly, but if we use that right at the source, it’ll give us everything.”

Brandon took the god drive out of Adam’s hand to look at it.  “How the hell did you get it to do that?”

“You really think you can understand, even if I explain it to you?”

Brandon sighed.  “Fair enough.”

“Anyway.  I’m sorry this is all I can do…”  Jerry started to tap the counter in an agitated manner.  “I don’t know enough. If I had the proper knowledge, you wouldn’t have to dive right into enemy territory.  But, this is the only way at the moment.”

“Don’t worry about it.”  Adam put his hand on Jerry’s shoulder.  “You’re still going to college, I’m assuming?  You’ll absorb all that smart stuff quickly.”

“Yeah… there are areas I really need to work on.  I realized that as the process kept taking longer and longer.”

“See, Adam?”  Brandon wrapped his arm around Jerry.  “He and I both have to work on our own thing.  But we’re not abandoning you for a second! We’ll be back stronger and smarter than ever before!”

“That reminds me-”  Jerry calmly moved Brandon’s arm off of him.  “You’ve gotta talk to your dad about all of this.  He assumes you’re still going to New Age with that soccer scholarship.”

“Yeah, please don’t remind me.”  Brandon groaned. “And what I’m planning on actually doing isn’t gonna help the situation.  But, that’s alright. I’ll get it to work. Oh, right-” He turned to Adam. “I’m assuming Rizzo’s not gonna allow you to attend classes while this whole thing’s happening?”

“I wasn’t planning on it anyway.”  Adam responded. “I’ve got a cool superpower, and I’m teaming up with a ghost to conquer evil.  Pretty sure school isn’t as important right now.”

“That’s right-”  Charlotte walked up to Adam.  “I’ll be there for you. Whatever direction you end up going, I’ll follow.”

“You know, that is a good point.”  Adam looked at Jerry. “Where should I even go to obtain this information?  Somewhere in Nexus?”

“Nah, that’s too risky.  Nexus City is pretty high tech when it comes to security.  However, you may have a good source in Minuet.”

“That close?”  Adam put his hand on his chin.  “Where in Minuet exactly?”

“The library.”  Jerry picked up the spoon and checked on the stew.  “Our high school simply connected to Minuet’s library through that underground tunnel, in order to save them from building a library of its own.  However, what I did end up finding out through my digging…”  He reached into his pocket and took out his phone.  After some swiping, he showed the others a map that seemed to show multiple pathways.

“You wouldn’t need an underground map this convoluted for one simple tunnel.  There’s more down there. And it’s being covered up.  Whenever I tried to look into it, the information definitely meant to lead me away from it.  I feel like it could be something to investigate.”

“I mean, sure, it sounds interesting.  But even if there is some sort of information source down there, would it have stuff we actually need?”  Adam asked.

“I have a feeling it very well could.  You know what happened right next to Minuet all those years ago, right?”

“Of course I do.  The incident with the Fisher family?”  Adam paused. “…it’s where my mom lost her life, after all.”

“Yeah… Unity fought so hard and investigated for so long after the fact.  Information wasn’t as easy to move around two decades ago, even with phantonic technology starting to boom.  They had to have a base of operations close enough to the site where they could work easily. No public records ever state where that was, so… this is my theory of where it could be.”

“Right.  Pam didn’t want anything to do with the case after it happened, so she wouldn’t know.  Besides, I’m ‘supposed to do this without help’, so I can’t ask her. Rizzo could find out if I did.”

Jerry looked on the counter, picked up a bottle of spices, and poured some into the stew.  “I’ll do my best to avoid Rizzo’s eye, cause I want to see the data you hopefully end up obtaining.  I’ve also… been really curious about something.”

“What’s that?”

Jerry stirred the stew slowly, before putting the top on the huge pot.  “The guys you encountered… they had some really state-of-the-art tech on them.  And after what I heard today… I’m really concerned. They could track your power, Adam.  Remember? That’s how they found you in the first place. And seeing as though your Ability isn’t phantonic based… just what kind of technology do they have on their side?”

“That’s true…”  Adam sat down on the couch, stretching out.  “I’m gonna have to watch out for those guys as well.  After last night, they’re definitely trying to do something.”

Adam felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.  He took it out to see what he had received. It was from Faith.

“Win and I are all good.  We’re about to head back. I heard Jerry’s making stew?  I can’t wait! But… yeah. I heard everything for Em. We need to talk later, please.”

“Uh oh, that’s not good.”  Brandon said, gazing at Adam’s phone from the other side of the couch.  “Whenever a girl says ‘we need to talk’ it doesn’t end well.”

“Well, obviously there are things we have to talk about, after what happened today.”  Adam attempted to shoo Brandon away. “And don’t look at my phone. I might have secret stuff on here.”

“Huh?  What would you have to hide?”  Brandon suddenly gasped. “Does she send you nudes!?”

Adam poked Brandon’s face to shut him up.  Charlotte grabbed Brandon by the neck, pretending to choke him.

“Cold, cold, cold-”

“Adam, is that what we’re going to try first?  Seeing if there’s anything in Minuet? Once you leave tomorrow, my advice is getting started right away.”  Charlotte let go of Brandon, whose teeth were starting to chatter.

“That’s probably our best bet.  I don’t have enough control over the World Mirror yet as to where I can move as freely as I want to.  Along with that… if I do get caught, I’ll probably get the normal punishment of trying to, you know, break in somewhere to steal something.  Considering this top-secret info as well, it’s not gonna be a pretty sentence.”

Brandon shrugged.  “I mean, the law says you’re supposed to join Unity if you have an Ability, right?  And you’re already not doing that, so might as well go break other laws!” He laughed sarcastically.  “That’s not good advice… but anyway. Do you think Rizzo has ulterior motives to forcing you to do this?”

“Oh absolutely.”  Adam responded bluntly.  “Although it could be a valid argument that my Ability could mess with the development of others, I know there’s something more.  Could…” He paused. “…could he know about what happened to me? Like… how being alone can mess me up?”

“I’ll go kick his ass right now!”  Brandon cracked his knuckles. Charlotte held his shoulder to calm him down.

Jerry walked over to his laptop on the nearby chair and picked it up, flopping down on the seat.  “Stew just needs a few more minutes. And, yeah. This situation is odd, to say the least. I wouldn’t drop your guard for a second, Adam.  Actually, that goes for all of us. Anyone connected to Adam could be used to Rizzo’s advantage. This all… seems like some strange game to me.”

Brandon smirked.  “Well, good thing I’m good at games!”

“I think it’s more serious than that, Brandon.”  Adam sighed. “…look. I’m sorry, guys. For getting you dragged into this.”

“Don’t be.”  Brandon reassured Adam.  “It was my decision to show Rizzo my Ability in the first place.  I got myself wrapped up in this, to be honest.”

“I think it’s a good thing you did.”  Jerry stated. “I feel like those of us close to Adam who don’t have any ‘value’ in Rizzo’s eyes would be in more danger.  With an Ability, you’re more valuable. Luckily, or unluckily, I know Rizzo. He’s aware of my talents with phantonics, and even said I’d be extremely useful some day.  I think I’m okay?  Let’s hope.”

Charlotte started to walk toward the door.  “Adam, I took some of the money I gave you. I’m going to head to the store and get some supplies I think we may need.  Just relax for now. I’ll be back in a few.”

“Oh, alright?”  Adam leaned over the couch to look at her.  “You’re actually gonna go to Ann’s though-”

Before he could finish his question, Charlotte had walked right through the door.

Brandon walked up to the door, trying to figure out how exactly Charlotte pulls off her ghostly powers.

“Hey.  Do you think she even knows how to use a door knob?”

A few minutes later, Adam sat on his bed.  He was going through various things that he had found under the bed.  The envelope that Pam gave to him had already been placed in a backpack he was preparing.

Jerry peered around the doorway, knocking on the wall.  “Stew’s all ready. I know you just went to Mona’s, but feel free to come get a bowl.”

“I’ll be out there in a few.”  Adam gave Jerry’s a smile and a nod.  As Jerry left, his expression grew gloomy.

“Can… can I do this?  Just up and leave? Everyone had just re-joined my life recently, and already I’m abandoning them.  What is Rizzo going to end up doing? Not just with me, but them. I can’t let him hurt them…! But… how can I stop him?”  

Adam held his head in frustration, feeling a headache come on.

“I should rest, but I don’t have time for that right now!  What do I do!?”

“Adam?”

He glanced at the doorway, where Faith stood.  She gave him a warm, gentle smile. Although, he could see the concern in her eyes.

“Hey, Faith.”

Back to Chapter 1.19

Back to Volume 1