Prologue: The Boy from Nowhere
Verse 3
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Work meetings. They were one part of a job quite possibly no one in the world really liked, but they had to bare with them regardless. Workers would argue that meetings, be they big or small, were a waste of the time they could be spending on getting their own work done. Those with material to present to the meetings may be nervous to the point of sweating bullets, since after all it was their findings that would be discussed and ultimately approved or disapproved by the disgruntled participants, and success or failure in front of their most important colleagues could mean the difference between a promotion and getting fired. Those coordinating the meetings would sometimes have their hands full just keeping everyone civil and on topic, and this task was as difficult if the reason for the meeting was important.
No, no one liked meetings, especially not the really important ones. Thus, one could only imagine the stress that the Government was going through right now with the most recent developments in the slums on the outskirts of Eastville. There was a lot going through the minds of those who already knew what would be discussed; the real issue was how they were going to break the news to the other Government officials that were currently piling in and taking seats at the massive, circular table that took up most of the space of the massive, circular room. The incidents were so new that the people entering the room didn't know what was to be discussed, only that whatever it was had sent the entire research division and some of the army into a panic. They also knew that whatever did this couldn't possibly be good for them. Pity to the bald, bespectacled scientist that had to explain everything then, especially when the President and Vice President – he didn't know whose wrath to fear more – were only three seats to the right of him.
Soon the large, wooden doors shut with a loud bang as the last politician took his seat, and the scientist's time in the spotlight had started. He cleared his throat, as ready as he ever would be to address everyone. "Ladies and gentlemen... first of all, thank you all for coming on such short notice." he greeted them all nervously. "I understand that this might be a bad time for some of you, but I'm afraid this couldn't wait. This is a matter that could threaten global security."
Seeing only puzzled stares on the politician's faces directed at both himself and each other. Clearly they didn't think too much of the situation from how he was making it sound. What he said next change that though.
"One of the PSIbers has fallen in battle."
That got everyone's immediate attention... well, almost everyone. While the politicians stared eagerly at the white projector sheet rolling down from the ceiling, the Vice President almost looked bored, being the only other person present that already knew about all of this, despite the importance. He seemed to be the only one nonchalant though, as even the President seated beside him was wide-eyed at the sudden knowledge that one of their guardians had felled. A few keystrokes on the scientist's laptop were audible over the mumblings of the people, and before long the projector above the doors sparked to life, displaying an image on the large white palette. It was the image of PSIber-Silver, laying on the operating table in the laboratory – before having her wounds treated. The sight of her battered, burned and bleeding body was one that no one would be forgetting for a long time.
"What you see here is the state she was in before her wounds were attended to." the scientist began to explain. "This happened shortly after Vice President Edel's encounter with the Resistance Leader 'Old Man' which I'm sure you must know of by now. And if you don't, let it be known that Old Man used PSI-assisted suicide to avoid capture, in a feat that damaged the Planet Container worldwide." He paused, inhaling deeply before dropping the bombshell. "I'm telling you this solely to emphasize that what happened to PSIber-Silver was not Old Man's doing."
"Impossible." one of the politicians, a raven-haired man so scrawny that his clothes looked at least two sizes too big for him, dared to interject. "Someone without Old Man's Formless PSI beating a PSIber this badly? That can't be right." he argued. Psychokinetics capable of Formless PSI were few and far between, for one very good reason: they were systematically captured and eliminated. Formless PSI was a wild and unpredictable force that the scientists couldn't really account for when designing and creating new means of destroying Psychokinetics, and thus the Government had hunted them down mercilessly before they could join the Resistance effort and become a threat. To date, the only one who had been in the Resistance was Old Man, one had founded it and was thus there from the start.
And now came the part that the scientist absolutely dreaded to reveal to everyone, but had found the courage to when his presentation was so rudely interrupted. He retorted, "I said that the culprit wasn't Old Man, not that the culprit didn't have the ability to use Formless PSI." That promptly shut the man up, along with everyone else in the room, adding to the dramatic effect that he really wasn't intending to create. "A new Psychokinetic capable of Formless PSI has surfaced, and has already made an enemy of the Government by attacking and defeating a PSIber. In fact, just her weapons getting struck by his unique PSI wavelength while they weren't even on her frame caused a number of errors in her system."
A keystroke on the scientist's laptop later, the image on the projector changed, into a soundless motion picture: PSIber-Silver's own perspective of her defeat at the hands of said psychokinetic. There were whispers of things identical or similar to "But he's only a child!" throughout the room, but when they saw his power in action, they began to realize that he was indeed a real threat and watched the video intently.
"What information do we have on this... boy, other than his appearance?" spoke, of all people, the President himself, his voice deep and commanding. He was an impressive-looking man whose very appearance almost commanded authority, dressed in a flawless, black tuxedo that contrasted with his tan skin. His head was as bald as the scientist's, but his face was flawless and smooth with a sharp chin, and his eyes were black and piercing. His body had at least twice the volume of the Vice President despite not being as tall, though that wasn't to say he was a wall of muscle, but still a fine cut of man.
"Truth be told, mister President, we know next to nothing about him." the scientist admitted as he kept his eyes on the video. "We've pulled up all the scans that PSIber-Silver had in her backup memory drive. We've analyzed the boy's PSI wavelength at least a hundred times. We've even taken DNA samples from the hand-inflicted wounds he left on her. None of it matches anything in our database, none."
This information pleased no one in the room. "So you're saying that this kid essentially came out of thin air, beat up a PSIber and disappeared?" Vice President Edel summarized. "That's unacceptable! There's no way someone with Formless PSI that strong could've been under our radar all this time!"
The scientist readjusted his glasses, the stress of the situation having worn on him all last night. "As much as I'd like to agree with you mister Vice President, I'm afraid it is possible, because this child has accomplished it." Edel's glower was clear proof that he didn't like his theory being challenged, but he had no rebuttal. The video had cycled through to the end and stopped. "The child pretty much did come out of nowhere... thus we've given him the title, 'Nowhere Boy.'"
Edel scoffed. "Cute..." he muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
"So what do you suppose we do about this 'Nowhere Boy?'" inquired the scrawny politician.
"Eliminate him as fast as possible, of course." the scientist answered without hesitation. "As much as I'd like to know where he came from, he's just too dangerous to leave active."
"Hmm... I agree." the President said. "While I don't like the idea of hunting a child, the threat he represents is too big to ignore. The question is: how do we hunt a child without raising the ire of the general public?"
"Yes, that's a good point..." said another politician, a woman with short, blonde hair and green eyes. Her voice sounded of an Australian accent, and she wore a blue executive's suit with a black skirt. "We've only now started to gain the public's trust in the eradication of Psychokinetics. That trust won't hold out if we just hunt the kid in broad daylight."
"But it still has done be done regardless. This just means we have to do the dirty deed away from the public eye." said another politician, a rather large man whose body was more composed of more fat than muscle, barely able to fit in his seat. He wore the same style of clothing as the President, but understandably he stood out quite a bit more. His hair was brown and short, and his eyes were small and hazel-coloured.
"Which would unfortunately require watching the boy closely, and we can't do that right now." Edel interjected. "The old man's Resistance bodyguard was with the kid the night of the attack. No doubt they're both under their protection by now."
"Wonderful. We can't possibly take him out of the equation then, the Resistance will never give up someone that valuable." said an average-looking politician, male, with a pair of glasses that had no rims on the top. His hair was short and dark-blue. "So then what do we do?"
The room fell into silence. That was definitely the question that desperately needed to be answered. Child or not, someone with PSI this powerful had to be either contained or destroyed with the utmost of haste, but for now... he was unreachable. "I wonder..." Edel was the one to disturb the quiet. "If Nowhere Boy is really this strong, then I wonder if the Resistance will use him to fight against us?"
Now there was some food for thought. "Hmm... if he's been taken in by the Resistance, that's a distinct possibility." the scientist agreed. "Yes, they won't hesitate to put the power that could defeat a PSIber into action."
The Vice President chuckled, eerily calm given the situation. "Then, ladies and gentlemen, I believe the best option is simply to wait." he said. "If Nowhere Boy is unreachable for now, then there's no point in getting worked up about it. We'll just have to keep the pressure on the Resistance like before until he resurfaces."
One of the people in the room growled, the only man in the room that was neither a politician nor a scientist, but instead a member of the military. He wore a green uniform with a pair of badges and a collection of coloured squares pinned to the left side of his vest. His eyes were obscured by the black visor of his military cap, but what was visible of his face showed that he was well-aged. "I don't like this. It could be any length of time from now before the Resistance decides to test out its new weapon. I don't want to be caught off guard." he grumbled in a weathered voice that fit his age. "To that end, I want both the military and the PSIber team to keep watch for this new enemy, just to cover all of our bases."
The scrawny politician added, "I concur with Admiral Harken. I refuse to simply sit and wait while the Resistance tries to plot our demise. I think I may call in a few bounty hunters as well, to improve our chances."
"Whatever you deem necessary." the President agreed. "I, too, don't want to wait. I want you all to take every measure you can to bring this 'Nowhere Boy' down, so long as it is within reasonable limitations. No matter what, this situation cannot reach the public eye." he ordered. "Meeting adjourned."
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Little did the Government known that while 'Nowhere Boy' had originally been taken in by Lieutenant Timothy McGuiness of the Resistance, it was only for a brief twenty-four hours. They had failed to take into account – possibly justifiably - that he would be able to act on his own will, and that will was to not be involved in the war. And thanks to a new friend he found in a feisty and daring girl named Lanette, he was making that a reality.
Their escape had been done by motorcycle. It had taken some getting used to for Lucas to ride on the two-wheeled vehicle. He'd used other means of quick transportation before, some fast with walls, some slow with no walls. This was the first time he'd seen or experienced fast and without walls, and realizing the dangers it posed to an inexperienced rider, it terrified him at first. But Lanette knew what she was doing. She had definitely done this before, and apparently had enough ice in her blood for the two of them. He trusted her. Still, there was always the possibility of a freak accident...
They had traveled throughout the night without stopping, knowing that getting as far away from the Resistance as they could took priority over sleep. It was daytime now, and she had taken a more leisurely pace now that they were in a populated area that wasn't the slums. This was Eastville, a city that was a good few miles away from the slums, and was a decidedly neater and cleaner-looking place that bustled with averagely-dressed people and average-looking vehicles. It made Lucas feel a little out of place, with him wearing his worn-out shirt and shorts and Lanette wearing her tattered rags.
It was as if she'd read his mind when she spoke to him over the rumbling motorcycle engine. "I don't know about you, but I feel a little underdressed..."
The fast ride they had to take wasn't at all pleasant. Their clothes weren't very heavy, and thus they had to deal with the wind rushing past them as they rode. Both of them were almost chilled to the bone, even if the girl tried her best not to show it, especially since she was the one driving. His tight grip around her waist so that he wouldn't fall off was the only reason he wasn't shivering uncontrollably. "Y-yeah, we need h-heavier c-c-clothes..." he agreed, unable to stop his teeth from chattering. "B-but where, though?"
"Don't worry, I've got money." Lanette replied. "We can buy whatever we need; we just need to find a department store... Eastville is huge, there has to be one around here somewhere."
It was as if the forces that be were listening to her then, as the place she sought out came into view on the right-hand side the sea of houses buildings they were driving along. Hidden well within this large residential district was the large parking lot of a long, grey building that was two floors high. For the most part it looked very plain, excluding the large, white letters that sat atop its roof and read "MacroMart."
"Wow... that was easy."
Lucas didn't know what "macro" meant, but he did know the definition of "mart." This was the place they needed, without a doubt. "L-Let's not g-get used to it." he deadpanned.
Lanette laughed loudly and said, "Yeah, really!" She was more laughing about the irony of finding what she needed just after mentioning it, but she agreed with his sentiments. Circumstance presented, they were probably not going to hold this streak of luck. She pulled into the parking lot, aiming to get whatever they needed for the long trip to Neo Eagleland while they had the chance. "I feel kinda sorry for the people living next to here though... I'd never be able to sleep through all those cars."
As Lucas gazed around the parking lot for an empty space to park their motorcycle, he also noticed the sheer amount of various cars, vans and trucks packed in it. Some of them were entering and turning off, others were turning on and exiting. He decided to echo her sympathies when he could clearly hear the cacophony of noise over their own loud motorcycle, and was also thankful he didn't live here.
Not entirely caring about how close or how far they were from the building, Lanette carefully steered the motorcycle into a parking space near the edge of the lot; they were at least forty spaces away from the entrance doors. She didn't mind walking. She switched the ignition off and pocketed the keys, waiting for Lucas to get off before she could. "So how was your first motorcycle ride?" she asked him.
He shuddered and stretched before replying, "I c-can't stop shaking from the engine rumbling... or m-maybe I'm just c-cold. I don't know, p-probably both..."
She giggled. That was to be expected from the first ride. "Well, the best way to stop that shaking is to walk it off. And we've got a lot of walking to do."
It was only now that he realized just how far away from the department store they were. "A lot of walking is right..."he thought to himself, not that it really bothered him. He preferred walking anyway. Wordlessly, the two of them made their way across the parking lot to the MacroMart.
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It's a common stereotype of rich people that they have everything they could ever want, that they have the rest of their lives laid out in front of them to take, that simply living was paradise for them. Granted that the task of getting to be a multi-millionaire is a chore in itself, but those who honestly think that their problems end there are horribly wrong. The real challenge wasn't getting to that sublime lifestyle, but keeping it.
This was something that respected billionaire Steven Cain knew all too well. He was one of those people who had everything. A loving wife by the name of Merelda, a massive mansion and a summer home to live in, butlers and maids to attend to his every immediate need, and above all, mountains upon mountains of money. But he also knew that no matter how much money he had, it wasn't limitless. He needed to do something to bring in more money, to make his position above the average person actually worth something. And he was worth a lotto the Government. He didn't usually work at their facilities, he had his own since he could afford the equipment. And not just any equipment, the equipment that the Government valued the most in these times of war: weaponry, meant for taking down Psychokinetics. Steven was both the visionary and the inventor of the PSIber project, both a billionaire and a technological genious. He was one of the most important people under the Government's employ, second only to the President, Vice President and a select few politicians and military officers. His prowess with machines was indispensable.
Thus, one could only imagine his rage when he heard the grim news of what happened to PSIber-Silver. "What do you mean, 'she nearly died!'" he repeated, visibly angered. Steven was a large man with short, black hair neatly combed so that it looked perfectly flat, and he sported a full mustache under his nose. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with a red tie and black dress pants, something people with his wealth would call casual. Though rich or not, he was scary when he was angry, and his black eyes displayed what he was feeling quite clearly.
The person on the other end of the video call he was talking to, however, was someone not easily intimidated. Displayed on a large, flat television screen on the other side of his home office was Vice President Edel, who seemed no more pleased about the sudden house call than the billionaire himself did. "You heard me correctly, Mister Cain. Roughly twenty-four hours ago, PSIber-Silver was dealt near-fatal injuries by a psychokinetic with Formless PSI." he explained more thoroughly than he had previously.
It was a very rude awakening for Steven. "Formless PSI... I distinctly recall you telling me that 'Old Man' was the only one left on this Earth who could use it." he reminded Edel.
"So we thought, but jumping to conclusions came back to bite us in the ass." the Vice President replied. "The old man committed suicide to avoid capture, and then a new Psychokinetic came out of nowhere and beat your toy to a pulp."
Steven slammed his large hand onto his workdesk in anger. "But that shouldn't be possible! Even with Formless PSI, PSIber-Silver should've been able to tear him apart!"
"Yes, she should've." Edel agreed. "But she didn't, and the researchers here are stumped as to why she couldn't. Something about the Psychokinetic's Formless PSI messed with her systems in a way that they can't identify."
He knew where this was going. "And you want me to take a look at the data since the others are too inept to figure this out themselves, is that it?" he asked rhetorically.
Edel grinned that creepy grin that even sent chills up the billionaire's spine and replied, "If you'd be so kind, of course."
He growled. This wasn't on his work schedule today. He wasn't expecting a call from the Vice President of all people, let alone about his prized creation being defeated. But as much as he didn't like it, he knew better than to defy the Government. These were times when people gambled with lives, not money, and he wasn't prepared to risk his own skin just because he didn't want to look over something. "Send me all the data you have. Visual records, data analysis, even her thought patterns; don't leave anythingout." he conceded finally.
"I already have them here and ready to send to you."
An icon began to flash on the large screen, and also on the screen of the sleek, black laptop on his desk that was projecting the image. He clicked it wordlessly, and watched the green meter quickly zoom from left to right. When it was done, he had a new folder on his desktop. "I'll get back to you as soon as I find something worthy of note." Steven said with finality. Edel nodded, and the video feed turned pitch black.
Before pulling up the visual records, Steven reached into his desk and pulled out a thick, brown cigar. Something about them helped him to concentrate, and he didn't have to worry about smoke filling the room thanks to the whisper-quiet ventilation on the ceiling. Hit lit it with his lighter, letting out a puff before opening and viewing the video.
As reluctant as he was to go through with this, that wasn't a reason for him not to, and thus no aspect of the video escaped his scrutinizing gaze. He, like the rest, were also quite amazed to see that the one who desecrated his creation was nothing but a mere child, but he was even more amazed to see his Formless PSI in action and the damage it did. "To destroy those blades in that fashion would require a huge physical impact. For psychokinetic power to do that... it must be raw force. There's no doubt this is Formless PSI." he theorized. He paid little attention to the data analysis in the text box at the top of PSIber-Silver's heads-up display however, that wasn't his interest at the moment; his task was to create what the Government used, how they used it didn't concern him. He watched the fight continue, as PSIber-Silver went to cut her losses and eliminate the orphans—
He bit down deeply on his cigar and hit a button on his keyboard, perhaps a bit harder than he should have, to stop the video. Something caught his eye... although strangely, it wasn't pertaining to PSIber-Silver's loss, nor was it the fault in her programming that puzzled the scientists. It was something else he saw. He rewound the video a few frames, seeing that face... he zoomed in on it...
He nearly inhaled his cigar then, in fact he would have if it weren't already falling from his wide-open mouth and onto the red-carpeted floor. He came out of his stupor in time to stomp out the cigar so the rug wouldn't catch fire.
His hand scrambled for the phone, an actual one this time, and pressed one of the speed-dial buttons.
Two rings later, he received an answer. "Merelda? Yes, it's me. I... I have something you might want to see..."
Suddenly PSIber-Silver's failure was second priority as the wealthy man's gaze was fixated on that one orphan girl with the pigtails...
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The first thing Lucas and Lanette sought to do when they got to the MacroMart was to get some new clothes, and the greeter at the entrance had pointed them to the clothing section before they even asked; obviously the current state of what they were wearing was proof enough that they needed replacements. The two escapees had agreed, since their faces were dangerous things to be shown in public now, that whatever outfits they chose should at least hide their faces while allowing them to blend into a crowd and not look too suspicious.
They were done changing their clothes now. Lucas was the first to come out of the dressing room. At first glance it looked like all he'd done was repair and polish up his original look, but he'd actually picked clothing more fit for the long bouts of travel he was sure to endure. The denim shorts had been replaced into actual denim jeans with larger pockets, and his t-shirt was replaced with a yellow-and-orange striped hoodie with both the sleeves and the hood plain yellow. The hood had white lining inside, and it was large enough to hide the top part of his face without obscuring his vision too much. He'd also replaced his shoes, though they were the same style and size. While the whole ensemble was heavier than what he was used to, he was comfortable enough in it. He flipped his hood up as Lanette came out of her dressing room.
Anything she could've picked was a drastic improvement over the rags she had been stuck with before, but apparently she had good fashion sense. She wore leather shorts with the studded belt that held her switchblades, along with a pink t-shirt and a plain blue bandana around her neck, which he supposed would be good for hiding the bottom part of her face. Her ratty old shoes had been replaced with white sneakers. Her style of choice was a tad revealing and didn't leave a whole lot to the imagination, but Lucas had to admit that it suited her quite well.
Something about his own outfit made Lanette unable to prevent herself from laughing, though he couldn't imagine what. She was happy to tell him though. "Hahaha! You look like a gangster! That's awesome... I love it!" she said giddily.
Gangster... it certainly wasn't the "heart of gold" image he preferred to keep, but he supposed he didn't mind too much. He wasn't quite sure she had room to nitpick though. "Look who's talking." he countered smugly. But then he grew concerned. "Lanette, all of these clothes look really expensive... are you sure we can afford all this?"
"Don't worry about it! I told you, I've got money." Lanette assured him as she strolled over to the checkout counter. "Umm, do you mind if we keep these on while we buy them?" she asked the cashier, who was a freckled girl with glasses and short, brown hair wearing a blue employee uniform.
"Not a problem. Just show me the tags without ripping them off first." the cashier replied. This wasn't a problem for Lanette since her waist was up to the top of the counter, although Lucas had to support himself on the countertop so he could lift his pant leg up and make the tag visible. The cashier noted and punched in the proper amounts into the computer. "$559, please."
Lucas' eyes widened at that hefty price tag; even where he came from, that was quite a lot to pay, especially for a pile of clothes. And yet Lanette didn't seem at all put off by it, pulling her wallet out of her rag cost that she was still carrying with one arm and taking a credit card out, then swiping it into the card reader...
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"This... can't be real..."
Merelda's reaction to the face on the video was much the same as Steven's. She could not believe what she was seeing, and he still couldn't. "I can't believe it either..." He had his arm around her, his hand squeezing her shoulder in an attempt to calm the flustered woman down. She was a beautiful woman, with long, shiny brown hair that reached her waist and almost lustrous green eyes. She was currently wearing a red bathrobe, having only just come out of the shower before being called down to her husband's home office.
"Why... why with those poor children...?" she asked him, pleading for an answer.
But there was none he could give, for he was just as confused and concerned. "Why with him? Why with that psychokinetic freak of nature that just appeared out of nowhere?" he thought aloud. It didn't add up. Why was she with him of all people? Had his worst fears been realized?
The ringing of the office phone made the couple jump. As if the situation weren't tense enough. Steven answered it, allowing the one on the other end to speak first; he was the only one who ever answered this phone and thus didn't need to respond with a "Hello."
When the caller said what he had to say, his eyes widened.
"What? From where!" he replied in a demanding tone. "Get a search party and my vehicle ready. We're leaving immediately!"
He hung up the phone, and a very worried Merelda inquired, "Now what!"
"A bank transaction was just made with her credit card." he told her. "I'm not wasting any time, I'm going there right away."
This news excited his wife. "H-hold on, I'll get dressed and-"
"No honey, you stay here, please." Steven urged her. "This could be dangerous... I don't want to lose you to those freaks too."
She was going to object, but he was already dashing out of his home office...
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After getting some satisfactory outfits, Lucas and Lanette agreed to go get some fast food, and he was glad to finally find a concept in this messed up world that wasn't entirely foreign to him. Neither of them had eaten since their haphazard escape from the Resistance camp, and their stomachs had grumpily reminded them of this. Fortunately there was a restaurant built into the MacroMart, so they didn't have to go far. He didn't catch the name of the restaurant nor the name of what kind of hamburger she ordered, but not a picky eater, he decided to have whatever she was having to avoid confusion.
The restaurant was at the edge of the department store and used both the first and second floors. They had been fortunate enough to get a table that was by the windows up on the second floor, giving them a good view of the parking lot and some of the city beyond. It wasn't spectacular by any means, but it was something. It made him think of his old home...
Lucas felt his heart burn with yearning and despair. He still didn't know what became of his home... or the people there...
For a few moments, they ate in silence, until Lanette noticed how downcast her companion was. The kid was a mystery to be sure. She could tell that he was incredibly strong if his performance against PSIber-Silver in the slums was any indicator, and yet he appeared and acted so gentle and timid when there wasn't a need to take action. Having that kind of power, but not using it too much... she'd never met anyone like that. Most of the people she'd seen had followed a simple formula: the strong flaunted their power at every opportunity, and the weak either ran away or hid whenever disaster struck. She'd never seen the two mixed quite like this. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through his mind...
But seeing that it wasn't anything good, she decided to snap him out of his reverie. "So, Lucas." she addressed him. He nearly jumped out of his chair in response. He was really deep in thought about something... "How are we supposed to find this 'great power' or whatever it's called?" she asked. He had read the book, surely he knew what to do, and it would help if she knew as well.
Lucas also thought it was worth explaining, so long as it got his mind off of... that. He nodded and pulled something out of his pocket, the strange stone that had fallen out of the 'Black Diary,' as he'd decided to name it. "It has something to do with this. It fell out of the book when I opened it."
At first Lanette thought it was just some rock that had gotten into the book's pages by mistake, but when he handed to her, she saw that it was more than some piece of granite. It wasn't every day that you see such a perfectly-crafted model of the Earth scaled down to this extent. "Wow, this is beautiful..." she admitted as she looked it over.
"It's called a 'Sound Stone.'" Lucas explained. "From what I read, there are eight 'Sanctuaries' brimming with mysterious power in Eagleland, and the 'great power' is unlocked by bringing that stone to each and every one." He then pulled the Black Diary out of his back pocket so he could look it over and see if that information was correct, and it was. But there was one part that confuses him. "Apparently it... records a melody, or something..."
That was quite confusing to Lanette as well. "What, so this thing is like a tape recorder?" she asked sarcastically.
"No idea, but it sounds like we'll need it regardless." he reminded her.
As unlikely as it was to her, there was no harm in being over-prepared, and she handed the Sound Stone back to Lucas. "Right... so does that book say where these 'Sanctuaries' are?"
"It does, actually..." he replied. "I haven't seen where it explains exactly what the Sanctuaries are yet, but it has both their location and what they look like." His eyes gazed up to her from the pages. "They're definitely real, if that's what you're wondering."
She had said it herself: she only believed in something so vague and mysterious because it was documented. Still, she didn't want to draw conclusions so soon. "Eh, I'll believe it when I see it." she decided, taking another bite out of her hamburger.
As much as Lucas wanted to believe in Ness' writings, he was just as skeptical as Lanette. He may have seen many things that defied belief in his life, short though it was, but this was one of those times where he simply had to draw the line between reality and fantasy until he was proven otherwise. Until he saw the alleged power of the Sound Stone and the Sanctuaries with his own eyes, he'd take the words of the Black Diary with a grain of salt.
"Umm... if you don't mind my asking..." she spoke up, and he motioned with a nod for her to continue. "Does it say if one of those Sanctuaries is in a place called 'Neo Fourside?'"
Unsure of why she would ask about that place specifically, he skimmed through the book in search of the name. "...I don't see a Neo Fourside... but I do see just 'Fourside...'" he confirmed for her. Since Eagleland has since been renamed, it was safe to assume its towns and cities had followed suit, so 'Fourside' and 'Neo Fourside' were probably the same place. "Yeah, there's a Sanctuary called 'Magnet Hill' there. Why do you ask?"
Lanette fought the urge to scream in rage and frustration, and instead replied with, "It's nothing, just curious..."
Lucas closed the Black Diary and exhaled through his nose, knowing full well that was a lie. "It's not a good idea to lie to someone who can see your emotions without even trying..." he calmly reprimanded her as he put the book away in his back pocket again. Her stern glare showed she was nothappy about him sneaking a peak at her feelings. "You can tell me if something is wrong, you know. I'll gladly help you out."
Her expression softened a bit, but she shook her head anyway and told him, "Thanks for offering, but... it's my own problem. To make a long story short, I have... issues with that place."
He was waiting for her to continue, but she didn't. Lucas could only assume that this had to do with her "personal" matters that she'd alluded to back at the slums. But whether or not Lanette would go to Neo Fourside, he knew that he would have to eventually. "It's not too late to back out of this, Lanette..." he reminded her with a concerned tone.
She seemed to take the mere notion of running away personally. "No, no, no! Don't worry about me, I'm a tough girl. I'll get over it eventually." she assured him, and then grinned broadly. "Besides, do you really think I'll let you go on this crazy adventure solo?"
He allowed a smirk to play on his lips. That sounded more like the Lanette he'd come to know. "That's the spirit." he chuckled out. "Besides, it's not like we have to go to Neo Fourside first. There are seven other Sanctuaries to choose from."
She caressed her chin in thought. "Yeah, I guess that's true... where should we go first, then...?" she wondered, thinking hard. Unfortunately, she wasn't too good at geography or anything of the like... and judging from how Lucas was staring off into space at his now-empty hamburger wrapping, neither was he. Then again he said himself that he wasn't from around here, so he probably didn't know this area very well. She snapped her fingers then and pointed at him. "You know what we need? A map."
That sudden solution had come so quickly and been so obvious, that he felt like bashing his head onto the restaurant table for not thinking of it before. He settled for bashing into the palm of his hand instead so he wouldn't injure himself. "Why didn't I think of that...!" he growled under his breath, and Lanette could only laugh at his reaction. Well... it wasn't as if they could've snuck one out of the Resistance camp, not without getting caught. There was little point in beating himself up for it. Still, to not have thought about it until now, they could've very well left without one and gotten lost on the way to Neo Eagleland. Nota good way to start their journey. It was a good thing she thought of it! He regained his composure and chuckled before telling her, "Maybe it's a good thing you're here after all..."
Lanette giggled happily, reaching over the table and ruffling her hand in his hair; it hadn't been washed in a while, but that was understandable, and she didn't really care. "See? Just because I'm not psychokinetic doesn't make me useless!" she teased him.
Lucas blinked at her and replied, "I don't remember saying that..."
A horrible, blaring sound interrupted the warm and fluffy moment they were having. It sounded like a car alarm... well, more like multiple car alarms, one blowing after another in flawless succession, each one sounding different than the last. The cacophony of noise was definitely coming through the window, and they turned to see a very odd sight: a triad of black and white cars had drove into the MacroMart parking lot, each of them with a pair of spinning lights on their hoods. One light was red, the other was blue.
"What the fuck?" Lanette muttered under her breath.
"Who are they?" Lucas asked her.
"The police." she informed him, remembering that he wasn't all that familiar with this place. "They're peacekeepers. Think of them as Government lackeys, only non-military." As she explained, the 'police' were getting out of their squad cars. They were dressed in navy blue uniforms with matching caps with black visors on their fronts, and a shimmering badge pinned to the left side of their jackets.
Lucas needed only to hear the word "Government" before he put two and two together. "In other words, we're in trouble."
"Umm... actually, I'm not sure we are..." Lanette muttered, her hand rubbing the back of her head in confusion. "Wouldn't they be sending the military after you make more sense? No, they can't be here for you."
He was about to ask why Government agents wouldn't be here for him, until the reason finally dawned on him: she said they were non-military. If taking down a PSIber made him so dangerous, then why send simple law enforcers instead of people trained for the task of apprehending or killing him? She was right, the situation didn't add up. "Then... did something happen downstairs?" he wondered.
"Maybe... but either way, this is a huge pain in the ass we didn't need. A buck says they'll keep anyone from leaving until they're done their business." she grumbled, resting her elbow on the table and using the hand that belonged to it to support her head as it let out a frustrated puff of air. "As much as I'd like to get going, we'd better not pull any spectacular stunts so soon after the last one. We're in hot enough water as it is..."
That answer was hardly satisfactory for Lucas. Basically what she was saying was that they were being detained for a situation that may not even involve them, while they needed to get to somewhere in a hurry. Equally frustrated, he rested both arms on the table and lay his head down on them with a mutter of, "Typical..." He decided to make himself as comfortable as he could with a table and wooden chair as was possible, because he apparently wouldn't be going anywhere for a little while...
...Or maybe not. "Uhh... oh shit." It wasn't as if Lucas wasn't used to people cursing around him – in fact he knew a good friend in particular who cursed a blue streak – but he was still put on edge because usually when people cursed, it meant the situation had taken a turn in the wrong direction. He sat back up straight to see what had caught Lanette's attention from outside and noticed that a car that looked quite sleek had entered the parking lot and stopped by the police cars. It was coloured blacker than the night sky, blacker than the suits of the ones who had stepped out of it. Tall and lean, the two looked almost identical to each other with black tuxedos and thick, mirrored sunglasses, the only difference between them being their respective brown and white crew cuts.
Lanette was no longer leaning off of the table, having taken quite an interest in the two newcomers. He could clearly feel the concern emanating from her, seeing her bite down on her thumbnail in worry. "Now what?" he asked her, curious as to what could make this daredevil girl worry like this.
"Damnit... remember what I said about this not having anything to do with us? Yeah, forget about it." she corrected herself, trying not to sound too nervous, but her facade was almost nonexistent in his presence. "Those cops are here to keep people here, alright: me specifically, for those suited guys." she explained.
Now Lucas was the one concerned, for his friend. "Who are they?" he asked, wondering what anyone would want to do with an orphan girl like Lanette.
"Ooh... I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to explain later." she replied. "This kinda has to do with my backstory, and we don't have time to stroll down memory lane right now."
As suspicious as she'd made that sound, she had a point. Besides, whether people were here for Lanette or himself was irrelevant; he wouldn't let anything happen to his friend. He directed his gaze back to the window and saw the two suited men and two of the police officers disappearing from view underneath the window, probably entering the department store. "Then I hope you have a plan, because here they come."
She took a moment to think. "My bike must be able to do nearly double the speed of those junk heaps if I put my foot down... if we can sneak past these guys and get to it, we should be fine..." she theorized. As much as she didn't want to cause a fuss so soon after their last getaway, she couldn't think of anything else to do but sneak away and then run like Jack the Bear. The main problem was getting through those policemen who were standing guard at the door. "How are we going to get past those guys though... hmm..." She looked at them, then at Lucas... then at their empty food wrappers, and then back to Lucas. The gears turned in her head, and she regained that mischievous glint in her eye. "How good are you at faking a stomach ache?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow for the split second it took him to figure out what she was planning, and he flashed her a mischievous grin that was very uncharacteristic of him. "That depends on your definition of 'fake.'"
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And "fake" a stomach ache he did. "Unnngh! What was in that burger!" Lucas moaned in pain that not even an actor could mimic. His eyes burned, his head was spinning and his stomach felt like it was doing backflips as Lanette eased his stumbling body to the store's main entrance. For security's sake, just in case any of the Government flunkies knew his face, his hood was up. He had to grab the side of her brand new shirt so he could walk straight. "This had better be worth it...!"he shouted in his head.
The moment the first set of sliding doors that lead to the outside opened, all of the four policemen standing outside had their eyes on them. Then the second set opened and exposed them to fresh air, two of those officers moved to stop their progress. "Hey! Stop where you are, no one is supposed to leave this area!" the one to the right said.
Lanette had to stop so suddenly that Lucas, in his queasy state, bumped into her back. This disoriented him much more than he needed to be. "What! But I need to get my friend to the hospital! He's howling like he's stomach's about to burst or something!" she complained to the officers. They didn't look convinced...
Until the dizzied boy picked what had to be the perfect moment to regurgitate some of the meal he'd just eaten not long ago onto the pavement, just barely missing her shoes.
The officers turned their heads up from it in disgust, while Lanette thought to herself, "Damn, overdoing it aren't you!"She then turned back to the policemen and continued, "See!" Lucas groaned as if to emphasize the point.
They looked at each other and, seeing that the boy really was in considerable pain, conceded. "Alright, alright, just let me search you two first." the right-side officer compromised, moving to the sick boy and patting down his shirt and pants for anything that looked or felt dangerous. Upon realizing he only had a book and a weird rock – he was just a child after all, so he assumed they were just random possessions – he moved onto the teenage escort. He immediately noticed the switchblades, but paid them no mind since they were common and not concealed, and only felt keys and a wallet. Neither of them had anything that screamed "dangerous," so he relented and finally said, "You're clean. Now get your friend some help."
With not another word to the officers, Lanette guided the poor soul through the parking lot. Only when they got to the other end, out of earshot of the policemen, and found her motorcycle did she speak. "Dude, way to take one for the team." she congratulated him. "Are you alright, though?"
Seeing that the immediate danger had passed, the young Psychokinetic put his power to work once again, his eyes glowing green under his hood. Lanette admitted only to herself that it made him look damn creepy. Not immediately, but as gradually as if it were, the pain that plagued his body was gone. "I am now." he told her, wiping the bile from his mouth.
Wasting no more time, both of them hopped onto the motorcycle one after the other. "How did you do that, anyway? I've gotta learn that trick." she inquired.
He chuckled at her curiousity. "It's... not really something you'd learn right away. I used PK Flash on myself." he explained.
"Ohhh, that one. That's the one that blinds people and makes them feel all shitty, right?" she guessed.
"Or knocks them out if you're lucky." He added. "I try not to do that though."
She supposed she could understand that. PK Flash was a random and dangerous ability that only skilled Psychokinetics were able to use with any real success, tricking the bodies of anyone unfortunate enough to be looking at the flash into thinking that they're very ill. The best-case scenario for the afflicted is getting blinded and tearing up, while the worst-case scenario is, as Lucas said, passing out. It was something the old man allegedly liked to use a lot...
Rather than waste time thinking about what had already been said and done, Lanette snapped back into the present and turned the key, making the motorcycle roar back to life. She didn't quite speed out of the parking lot yet; she didn't want to draw too much attention to herself and Lucas, so she took her time. They would surely be fine now that they were going.
Meanwhile, back at the front of the MacroMart, the two people in tuxedos and the other two police officers exited the store and rejoined the others. "Was she here?" the officer who had previously not spoken asked the spiffy agents.
"She definitely was. The cashier recognized her immediately." the suited man with white hair informed him.
"Who was that person who just left?" inquired the suited man with brown hair.
Looking back out to the road, the other officer replied, "Some girl helping her friend to the hospital. Ate a bad burger or something, even threw up." He pointed to the vomit on the ground to prove it.
The agents looked at each other with unchanging expressions; it was impossible to tell what was going through their minds. The white-haired man reached into his back pocket and pulled out what seemed to be a picture. "Did she look like this?" he asked, presenting it to the officers. They both looked at the article closely. Then their faces paled.
"Oh shit." they cursed simultaneously.
"You can't be serious!" the brown-haired agent scolded them, trying and failing not to lose his temper at the incompetent law enforcers. One of the officers who were with the agents facepalmed, while the other shook his head in disappointment in his colleagues.
The white-haired agent reached into his tuxedo and pulled out a black box with an antenna on it: a walkie-talkie. He pressed the "talk" button and said into it, "Attention all units, she's on the run. Keep your eyes peeled for a red motorcycle. Be careful, she has a child passenger."
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"So how did those guys know you were here?" Lucas asked as Lanette drove them through the streets of Eastville. They were filled with many more vehicles than earlier this morning, including some other motorcycles similar to hers. It seemed to be rush hour for people on their way to work.
She shook her head in irritation, but kept her eyes on the road while doing so. "I'll bet it was when I swiped my credit card at the cash register... should've figured they were keep tabs on my bank account, even if it has been three years." she explained to him, feeling quite idiotic for not remembering. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"
Watching her bank account? He understood the concept of a bank, but to identify her one transaction out of what had to be hundreds of others made every day? Then again this place was far more advanced than what he was used to, so he supposed it wasn't impossible... "Does that mean we won't be able to buy anything anymore?" he asked, slightly concerned that her miraculous stash of funds was now a double-edged sword.
"Yeah, not with my credit card at least..." she admitted to him. "I'm gonna have to get some paper money when I get the chance, something that isn't traceable. We'll find a bank or an ATM in the next town." she told him. Of course, that meant they'd have to scram from wherever the transaction was made, but surely that wouldn't be too difficult. They'd made it out of that last situation fine, didn't they?
But as fate would have it, no they did not.
At one of the intersections where the lights were green for them, a black car completely identical to the one at the MacroMart pulled out from the adjacent roadway despite that the light was red, and then stopped in the middle of the intersection, violating a number of traffic laws and, more importantly, blocking the path of the oncoming motorcycle. "What the shit!" Lanette shrieked, turning the front wheel frantically to avoid the sudden obstacle, but it was too late; they were simply to close for her to slow down or swerve to avoid a crash.
They screamed in horror, their worlds spinning as her panicked actions to avoid the black car sent the motorcycle lopsided until it fell over, throwing both of them hurtling off of the leather seat and onto the hard, unforgiving pavement.
Lucas was used to pain, but when he hit the ground elbow-first, it was absolutely agonizing, making his self-inflicted sickness feel like a bad dream in comparison. He surmised that it was broken. He had also hit his head, though not as hard as his arm, but it did serve to disorient him to the point where he could barely feel the blood leaking out of damaged limb. But his concern was not with his own well-being.
"Lanette...!" he called out to her, struggling to get into a position from which he could see what became of his friend, and the result was not good. She lay sprawled out in the middle of the road in a very uncomfortable-looking position, laying on top of her left arm. She didn't suffer any broken bones or anything from what he could see, but she was bleeding out of her head... and she wasn't moving. To hell with his injuries, whatever they were; she needed help!
But as he tried to move towards her, he felt something grab his shoulder painfully, preventing him from moving any further. It was where the shoulder met the neck, and incredible pressure was being put on it. He couldn't move, and his already-battered body couldn't take the foreign feeling.
He went limp, blacking out in an instant...
A/N: Oh dear, looks like our heroes counted their chickens before they hatched... just who are these Mr. Smith-ish people who are after Lanette? What will become of them now? The next verse will explain all...