Last we left Mia she was stuck in captivity-let's find out what's going on.
My staff bo is gone, Seth nearly beat me to death, I'm trapped against my will, my new friends are lost to me-everything's falling apart. I thought that if I spent the days in here sleeping I would be less worried but my eyes never stay closed for long. Mom would always tell me the same story when I couldn't go to bed. I would always listen because it was the only time that she wouldn't ignore me, one of the few times I felt like her child. "Ready for the story?"
"Yes Mama!"
It was a painfully mature story, my mom never liked to sugarcoat things when I was little. Why am I remembering her now, is it because I feel so close to death, so close to my parents? I don't remember them dying, I only remember feeling a little more alone in the world when they were gone.
"Don." It's one of the few words I mutter daily after waking up from my naps. The second probing test was worse than the first one because it really felt intrusive. The Professor assured me that I'm not suffering from any internal bleeding because her scanners would've picked it up. "It's all in your head," she reassured me. But my pelvis still hurts, Seth must have done something to mess me up. Why do I still see him as my best friend who just moved to Moonlight Town? I continue to forgive him and let him walk all over me-my feelings for him are getting me hurt. Yesterday, or earlier today, they let me clean myself up in the bathroom and I saw my reflection for the first time in days. There are half a dozen Band-Aids on my face and a few purple bruises on my arms and face. I held in my sobs in fear the Professor and Don would hear me. Seth did all of this, he had given me all those bruises and cuts and I still call him my friend why?
"Don't bother begging for more food, that's all you're getting," replies Don after I call out to him. His blunt response triggers the story Mom told me so many times. "There was a princess named Gissel who lived in a prosperous kingdom filled with apples the color of the sun. She was about to get married to a prince called Jai whom she didn't care much for but was willing to marry him for the sake of the kingdom. But before she got married, she fell in love with a farmer's son. When the guards weren't looking, she would sneak out to secretly rendezvous with him-Mom had to tell me what that word meant, I would say, rahn-day voh-and the night before she was to be married, they confessed their love for each other. The farmer's son refused to let her go but for the good of the kingdom, she left the him and married Jai. Less than a year later, the princess and the prince were living happily in the kingdom with the apples of the sun, but one night when the moon was the brightest, the princess was taken from her room. When she woke up, she was in the arms of the farmer's son, who had gone mad with love for her. She begged and begged for him to bring her back to her home but he refused and wanted to keep her with him forever. The guards and Prince Jai searched for her everywhere while Princess Gissel waited for her prince in shining armor to save her…"
It was just a stupid, kid story meant to scare me. But it's starting to look like my life in this prison cell. I lift my head to the dull, metallic wall. "Why are you doing this to me? Did I…do something wrong?" He doesn't answer so I continue to plead. "Please-I have nothing to give to you or the Professor. What's so important about me?" He doesn't reply which I was already used to by the third day, or second, or seventh. I asked him the same question the other day but he just ignored me the way he always does and I'm afraid to ask the Professor. She's been so nice about these tests and making me these grilled cheese sandwiches while Don coldly treats me like gum under his shoes. I thought I would have more sympathy for him after what he told me about his friend but my heart can only be open for so any people. But he's the only one here I can talk to. Maybe I should take another nap.
Mom's voice returns in my sleep, "Princess Gissel was losing hope every day. She knew that her prince would save her and it was only a matter of time-she grew to despise the farmer's son and his abusive ways-she stopped to tell me what that word meant also-and one year later, the guards found the farmer's home where the farmer's son was-"
Moaning softly, I raise my head from the cold floor. The air conditioners in this huge prison make this place too cold, especially for someone who's lived on an island all her life. Rubbing my bare arms gently, I move on my knees towards the bars where Don's standing with his back towards me.
"Don't try anything," warns Don patronizingly knowing I can't do a thing. I wince as my lower abdomen aches as if someone was throwing rocks at me. Don can easily overpower me even if I did have my bo staff with me. "Don, do you hate me?" as he ignores me, I turn around and lean against the bars so he can't see me grimace at this horrible pain. "What did I do to you for you to hate me this much?"
I hear him shuffle his feet but he doesn't reply, so for some reason, I keep on rambling. Knowing that there's someone here to listen is good enough for me. "You forced me to get 'Chaos Emeralds' when you first met me…and I-I somehow I ended up some in another world and some guy was dying and you were there too, and you kidnapped me-"
"Enough of that," he cuts me off in that sharp tone of his. "It's not a matter of me hating you because I don't. I do what I have to do to get what I want."
"Then what do you want?" there is a heavy silence that lasts a few minutes and then he answers, "don't ask ridiculous questions. You're annoying me." A weird feeling courses through my body from my stomach, a tingling sensation. I turn around to face his back again, standing up on my weak knees as I feel every muscle tightening up. Why do I have empathy for guys who "do what they have to do to get what they want"? It's that softness in my heart that gave me these cuts and bruises, that softness that made me unable to bring Seth and forgive him, that softness that got me in this prison cell. My hands ball up into fists and my face flushes with heat as I speak.
"You-made me feel sorry for you when you don't-d-deserve any of that. You just care about what you want, you don't care about anyone else but yourself! Why do I have to be the victim of your selfishness?" I can't stop myself-for once anger has total control of my words. My frustration booms off the prison walls. "You hurt me, make me feel like I'm dirt, and you treat others the same way. You're no better than Seth." By the time I finish my rant, I'm practically sweating and enveloped in heat. Angrily, I silently wait for him to retort in some demeaning way; my furious breathing and the A/C humming fills the silence.
His slumping head slowly rises and he gets off the bars without letting me see the front of his body. I haven't glared and scowled at someone in so long but isn't someone like me allowed to get really angry at some point in their life? The longer I wait for his nerve-hitting insult to fly out, the quicker my fists start to open. No, stay angry, I deserve to be furious after everything he and Seth have put me through. The door to the laboratory opens and a girl's light tone echoes off the walls.
"Hey buddy, what's up?" the girl asks him casually. "I heard some noise in here, long time no see. I had to leave Graham for a special assignment." At the sound of her voice, he quietly strolls towards the door while ignoring her as he does to me. Don heads out the sliding door without allowing me to see his face. Finally, I see the girl he seems to be friendly towards. "Oh, it's you again from before, Mariah?"
"It's Mia," I snap, much to Topaz's surprise. When I see the shock on her face, I deeply sigh, letting go of all the frustration that wrapped itself around me when I yelled at Don. "I'm so sorry-I'm-"
"What're you doing here behind bars? You do something to piss off Egglady?"
"No but you should ask Don. He won't tell me why, just that the Professor needs to test me."
"Oh boy-I would help but I would have Egglady and Don on my tail and I really don't need that considering the drama I had to deal with before I got here," she says unsympathetically. "Wait a minute-you were the one yelling at Don?"
"Yeah," I admit guiltily.
"That's why he looked like you threw a pile a shit at him. I'm gonna go talk to him," she says urgently, running along silently in her spandex attire. I should've kept my anger locked in, I didn't want to get him upset-now I feel bad but I just couldn't help it. Folding my arms, I slink back to my corner in the dark and get in a somewhat comfortable position for another nap. I'm sure all the frustration will go away after I take another nap.
I wake up, slightly sad that I didn't hear my mom's voice. Oddly enough, Don is missing and it's just me in here. Now I'm really sorry that I said that stuff to him, I didn't want to be left alone. A loud rumbling shakes the level below me, is it an earthquake? I crouch back in my corner, no longer drowsy from the short nap. The lights outside the prison tremble and look just about ready to fall like an apple from a tree. Is the Professor working on something big-no, she works on the highest floor so she wouldn't hear or feel anything downstairs. The humming of the sliding door makes me jolt to my feet, followed by loud footsteps. At the bars is Topaz looking extremely worried. "I need your help."
She dare compare me to him? I'm no better than Seth, the boy who deserted her and turned her into an empty shell of a person? The one who left her there to die and bruised her everywhere. "I didn't have to do a damn thing!" I snatch up another prototype robotic arm and smash it against the floor. My rings fly off in all kind of directions, smashing more junk robots Professor failed to finish and will never finish. Smoke quickly envelops the room and conceals me with the rest of the robot parts cluttered on the floor.
She compared me to that monster, but isn't that what I am? A fake human being, a test subject that wasn't supposed to be? Why wouldn't Mia hate me, after everything I've done to her? I've practically ruined her life but I did my damn best to make it better with Luke's help. "You must be disappointed in me too, huh Luke, along with Angelica? Both of you resent me, right?" I shout as I send another ring crashing into the wall. "ANSWER ME!" Another ring crashes into the light bulbs over my head, making the room as dark as whatever's inside me-because I'm sure as hell I don't have a soul since I'm no better than Seth.
"Hey Don! Mia here has something she wants to say," yells Topaz coming from the elevator. Both of the girls cough as the smoke moves towards the vents and the elevator door. "Get down." Did I make you hate me too Angelica? Of course you do, I'm the reason you're dead. Please, if you hate me, just send the order to whatever God is up there and make me fall asleep for another couple of years.
"Don, please stop, I'm sorry!" I heavily pant with my fists clenched and my blood boiling. She and Luke both called me selfish, how ironic is that? I extend my arms out in a swift movement and another big ring slams into the wall, leaving a long crack traveling down to the broken robot covered floor. "I was really mad when I said all that stuff, please stop," begs Mia innocently. She meant what she said, there's no mistake about that-it's the only time I've heard her pissed off. Mentally aiming for her, I send my ring towards her direction with my arm extended behind me. Professor told me not to bring harm to her, Luke said for me to protect her, I'm tired of living off everyone's promises. I need to start living for myself from now on. "At least you have friends, Seth doesn't have any! You have your friend-"
She is treating me humanely despite everything the wrong I've done to her, the same way Luke treated me. They both apologize for the terrible things I do to them, why are they like that?
"Mia just stay down," commands Topaz. The golden ring flies straight for me through the smoke. Topaz jumps in front of me and prepares to latch onto the golden ring. I shield myself by crouching on the floor but Topaz's sigh tells me Don stopped it. I uncover myself and stand behind Topaz who is relaxed now; there's still plenty of smoke around but I can make out his jacket in the midst. His golden rings return to him immediately so I'm sure he's calmed down and stopped screaming about weird things. "Are you done with your tantrum?" she asks patronizingly, putting her hands on her hips. I don't think she needs to have that attitude with someone who just destroyed a room. His overbearing power never ceases to surprise me.
"Get out," says Don bitterly, glowering at me past Topaz. He's drenched in sweat but I can feel his anger through his terrifying red eyes.
"Alright, sheesh. Come on Mia."
"If you let her walk out-"
"I got it, I got it, I'll be on your bad side."
J.G.P.