Once again, Gold was the first to wake. He found himself in what looked like a hospital.
"Ah, you're awake. You friends should be up soon. Now then, care to explain why you were in the middle of the forest?" A man with purple hair spoke from across the room. He seemed to be wearing a clown suit, save for the top hat, cape, and umbrella.
"Forest? What…?" Gold slowly sat up as he became more aware of the situation.
"Don't you remember anything? We found the three of you unconscious on the ground. You were covered in various cuts and your redheaded friend had a gash in his side. Both of you healed rather quickly, almost too quickly for humans. Just what are you?" Another man was leaning against the wall. His outfit was far less gaudy than the first man's. It was a simple black trench coat with a brown belt.
"I'd…rather not think about it…" As he remembered what happened in the trials, Gold cringed and instantly tried to shake the images out of his head.
"You aren't going to help yourself this way. Just answer the questions!" The man in the trench coat was persistent.
"Look, I only remember some pretty gruesome things. Everything else is a jumbled blur. I think he said something about finding the King of Time…"
"Oh? Tsubaki, leave us. I must speak with the boy alone." The man in the clown suit dismissed the other, Tsubaki, with a slight grin on his face. Tsubaki left reluctantly, shutting the door behind him. Gold shifted uneasily as the man strode over to the bed. "So, Eli has chosen children this time? You must be quite talented."
"You know Eli?"
"Know him? My dear boy, I trained him! I'm the one who gave him the Tower!"
"So…you're—"
"Yep! I'm the King of Time himself! Some know me by the name Samael, but here I am Mephisto. Please remember that."
"What sets this world apart?" Silver's voice drifted through the air, scaring Gold. The black haired boy turned to see both his rival and the champion staring at him from their beds.
"Oh ho ho, so blunt. Here, there are two dimensions—Assiah and Gehenna. Assiah, the world of humans, is where you are now. Gehenna, the world of demons, is somewhere you never want to be. Demons can come and go as they wish, but humans can only pass through a gate. Most people would die in the gate anyway. Oh, and only certain people can see demons. Here at True Cross, exorcists are trained to protect the people who know nothing about demons." Mephisto stopped abruptly, leaving the three trainers confused.
"Wait a minute…so—" Red was cut off by Mephisto's gesture.
"Really now, I've introduced myself and given you extensive information! Don't I get to have your names?" He seemed to be almost pouting.
"I'm Silver, that's Red, and the idiot over there is Gold." Silver pointed to the other two boys as he addressed them.
"That's better. Now Red, I believe your questions might be better answered if you saw things with your own eyes. Of course, I have to see what your abilities entail. Come along." Mephisto turned and strode out the door, pausing only to prompt the three trainers to follow him. "And before I forget, you can't talk to anyone but me about your world. I have a story that we can follow."
"And that story is…?" Gold asked cautiously.
"It's actually half of the truth, since it's confidential to everyone else." The clown stopped abruptly and looked around quickly. "Tsubaki! I know you're hiding. Come on out." Shortly after that outburst, Tsubaki cam around the corner.
"Damn, your senses are good.
"How much did you hear?"
"Enough. What's this about 'their world'?"
"I believe I said that was confidential, didn't I?"
"All right, all right. I'll drop it. Anyways, the goblins are ready."
"Good." The two men headed down a stairwell with the trainers following behind.
"Where are we going?" Gold's curiosity got the best of him.
"If you are to train here, we need to see which meisters you fall under. This is not only a test for that, but also for us to see what your abilities are. I'm fairly certain that I explained that only minutes ago, yes?" It was clear that Mephisto's patience was wearing thin.
The rest of the walk was spent in silence. The group eventually came to what looked like an observatory deck. Upon closer inspection, the window looked out over a small gym type area where three weird, green monsters were held to the wall by cuffs around their back legs. Tsubaki sat in one of the four chairs while Mephisto pulled Gold aside.
"Now, Gold, you'll be the first one taking on the goblins. All you have to do is activate your ability, and fight. Seems easy enough, right?"
"Yeah, except for the part where I don't know how to activate it."
"As soon as you're in there, you'll figure it out."
"Are you sure"
"Yes. The only trick to it is this—do you remember how it felt in the trials?" Gold nodded. "Then you know what to do to activate it. Just remember that feeling and you'll be fine."
"But—" Gold didn't get the chance to continue as he was pushed into the gym with the goblins. "Good luck Gold!" Mephisto shouted out before locking the door.
"Um, can you guys hear me?" Gold tentatively called out to his friends that were sitting behind the glass.
"Loud and clear, idiot. You don't have to yell." Silver's voice resonated over a speaker.
"Don't call me that!"
"Focus, Gold. The goblins will be released soon. Ready?" Now it was Red's voice.
"Yeah, yeah, bring it on!"
Almost as soon as he spoke, the goblins were released and started chasing after the boy. They were a lot faster than they seemed. Trying to escape the goblins was the only thought in Gold's mind—he forgot about activating and fighting back.
"Gold, activate your ability already! Goblins have a higher stamina level than humans. You can't run away forever!" He didn't care whose voice it was. He just followed the advice.
With his back to spectators, Gold tried activating. He knew it worked when he saw the familiar shape of a Cyndaquil by his feet. The only difference was that this particular Cyndaquil was all bloody. Soon, five different shaped Unown appeared in front of him. Together they spelled out "LEAVE". The goblins stopped advancing and started to back up. Gold closed his eyes as he turned around, trying to speak. He knew it wouldn't work—in this form he wasn't able to talk. His voice disappeared as though it was a sacrifice in trade for using the power.
"You know that won't work. Just show them your eyes." Silver sighed.
Guess you're right Silv. Here goes nothing. Gold's thoughts flitted away as he heard the collective gasps over the speaker. Of course they'd be shocked. These eyes aren't normal.
Those eyes were pure black with blood red irises.
