Here's chapter 3. It's a little shorter than I had planned it to be, but it's done. I'll try to get started on the next chapter as soon as I can. Any feedback is appreciated.
Chapter 3
Dan's POV
"Brother? What the hell? Who are you?" At this point my mind was twisting itself in every direction trying to figure out what was going on. The stranger suddenly looked at me puzzled.
"Who am I?" He repeated. He gave a small chuckle as a smirk appeared on his face. "Really now brother, you know I don't take well to your little games. Now is hardly the time to be acting this way, especially after so long."
"What are you talking about? What games?" I became more aggravated as I spoke to him, raising my voice. "This isn't a joke, who are you and how do you know who I am!?" His smirk disappeared immediately. It looks like he finally got the message across. Suddenly though a feeling of intense worry came over me. Was that the right thing to say? I thought. If he was the one who caused that big explosion, then I couldn't begin to imagine what he might do to these people. I already have them on their toes with me appearing in their village, now I might have just doomed them.
"So… You really don't remember then…" He managed to say. His tone was… saddening. Maybe he was my brother. I assume if he were lying, he wouldn't have responded that way. "Heh… I guess you sacrificed a little more than just your power."
My power? Everything he revealed to me came at me like a punch in the stomach, but this, beyond him being my brother and losing my memory, hit me in a weird way. I wasn't sure what to feel. It was just so bizarre. Then, I suddenly began to laugh. I laughed hard. "Me? Have power? And then give it up? What is this, some kind of joke? And you expect me to believe that you're my brother too?" I laughed again. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Dan, stop." It was Garroth. In the moment, I had forgotten that he and Katelyn were there with me. "We don't know what he's capable of. If he's telling the truth, and you end up pissing him off, there's no telling what he could do. We still don't know if he's one of the good guys or not." He finished. He was right. Here I was laughing at someone who claims to have all this power, when there's a small settlement full of innocent lives I might have just put in danger.
"You don't need to worry about your friends here or the people in the town nearby, I'm not going to harm them." He said
All three of us stumbled back in fear. This stranger had just… read my mind.
Garroth's POV
He just read our minds? I thought. He could have been reading our every thought before we even saw him in the trees. I looked over at Katelyn. She had the same expression of terror in her eyes as I probably did. Then I looked over at Dan. Being behind him, I could only see the back of his head, but I could almost sense the fear radiating from him. I wasn't sure what to do. I wasn't sure what I could do. Even if I knew what he was, I would probably be powerless to do anything. Then suddenly I came back to what he said. He said we didn't have to worry, that he wouldn't hurt anyone. Whether it was a good idea or not, I had to speak up. It was the only way we were going to get answers… May Irene help me. "You're not here to hurt anyone. So what does that make you, a messenger, or are you just passing by?" I held my breath as I waited for an answer.
He looked over at me and gave a small smile. "Just passing by. Actually I was hoping to… Never mind, it doesn't look like that's going to happen anyway." He finished.
"What's going to happen?" I asked nervously.
"Don't worry." He said, "It's nothing that affects you or your village in any way."
All four of us stood in silence for a moment. Dan was the first to break the silence. "How did you do that?" I looked over at him, and then the man. He looked back confused, then he looked at me to see if I knew what he was talking about. I knew exactly what Dan was referring to, but I remained silent.
He looked back at Dan and spoke. "How did I do what?" he asked.
Dan hesitated before he spoke again. "How did you cause that big explosion, and leave no trace of it?"
The stranger looked down slightly and began stroking his chin as he thought about the question. It was odd that he had to think about how he had done such a supernatural thing. It almost seemed like he was trying not to acknowledge the event. Then he spoke, "I don't recall causing any explosions. Was there one around here?"
Katelyn then answered him, although her answer was given through burning anger. She must have been holding it back since we came across this guy. "Yes there was an explosion!" she said, exploding in rage, "Why do you think we came out here!" she slowly advanced towards him as she continued.
"Katelyn!" I yelled. I grabbed her by the shoulders trying to hold her back. I then whispered to her, "You need to calm down. The last thing we want to do is piss him off." She glared back at me. Her stare was cold. I prayed to Irene that she would break free of my grip and continue with her rage. Thankfully, she began to calm down. Her shoulders loosened and I let go.
"I'm sorry," she said.
The stranger continued his explanation. "I don't recall an explosion happening anywhere, like I said. I thought that my bro… Dan sensed my energy and was on his way here." He said. His voice sounded honest, just like Dan's when he was explaining his situation to me.
"Then it didn't come from you. So how did you get here?" I asked. The tension in the air seemed to have disappeared now.
He looked at me and smiled. "I teleported." he said casually. Dan and Katelyn's eyes lit up once more. It didn't so too farfetched to me. Lucinda has done her time of teleportation back then, so it struck me as a normal explanation.
Then Dan and Katelyn both looked at me. "Then… What was the cause of that blast?" Katelyn asked quietly. "If it wasn't him…." she paused. I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say next. "... Could it be Tu'la?" she asked.
I looked out towards the forest and thought for a bit. Could it have been Tu'la? It made me wonder if they were more dangerous than we had thought. "I don't know Katelyn." I managed to say. "But… We'll have to go see for ourselves." The thought of seeing or knowing Tu'la had that kind of power sickened me, but we had to be sure. I looked back at Katelyn and she nodded in agreement. I looked at Dan "Dan, since this no longer concerns you, you should probably head back." I said commandingly toward him.
He shook his head, "Sorry, but I'm coming with you." he said sternly, "For some reason I feel like I owe you for believing me back there, even if you don't completely." He looked at me waiting for my response. I could tell that he was going to come with us whether I refused or not.
"Alright," I sighed. I smiled at him, "Let's get a move on." I said firmly.
"I'll come along too." Said the stranger, "Whether or not you trust me makes no difference on my part. You guys look like you could use the help. I can sense a small energy spike from that explosion you said happened a while ago. I'll be a good navigator."
"Fine," I said, "Just don't cause any trouble."
Then Dan spoke up once more, "You two go ahead, there's some business I'd like to address with… our new friend here."
Me and Katelyn looked at him, then each other. Her eyes said not to agree to this, and I could understand why. But for some reason, I felt like this time it would be fine. At least I hoped to Irene that it would be fine. "Alright, but don't fall behind." I said. With that I nodded at Katelyn and both of us ran through the thick, green forest. Please Irene, I thought to myself, For the sake of Phoenix Drop and Aphmau, please help me know I made the right choice.
Dan's POV
They left us there alone. As soon as I was sure they were far enough I turned to the stranger. I was hesitant to speak, but I needed answers. Answers of who I was. "I don't know who you are," I said to him, "And I don't if I am supposed to know. But somehow… You were right. I did sense your energy. And it is why I came here."
"So there is a bit of you left in there." was all he said.
"Let me finish," I said, "I also may not know who these people are, but they're good people. If you hurt them, I will do everything I can to try to take you down with whatever… Power, I have, whether you're my brother or not."
"Noted." He said plainly.
We stood in silence again. I managed to spout another question at him. "Who am I?" I asked him. "And who are you?"
