Chapter 10

(Hey guys! Right so,as y'all know there are two separate entities inside Rythian. They call each other Brother, secondary personality at the time= italics. That should be about all you need to understand, I think... In response to the guest- Yeah, I'm fine, just had a bit of a rough week and had trouble sticking to the relatively strict chapter- every-few-days schedule. But here's this one, thanks for recommending me on the subreddit! Enjoy the story, everyone, and have a wonderful day!)

Rythian could feel Brother slithering into his mind, trying to force him from control. He couldn't let Brother take charge now. As much as he wanted Lalna to feel every ounce of pain he'd caused, Rythian wasn't a murderer, no matter what Brother tried to convince him was justice. Beating the scientist close to death and gloating over his broken body was more than enough payback.

Rythian struggled against the other consciousness. Behind his eyeballs burned. Brother started to overpower him, and it felt like sharp nails were being driven into his skull. He looked at Lalna, dazed and nearly unconscious despite the strange healing mist Rythian had been able to conjure. If Brother could take control here, Lalna would be dead in an instant.

"Don't resist Brother." The voice purred. The pain lessened somewhat.

"No…"

"You just make it harder for yourself. Let me."

Rythian clenched his fists. "NO!" His defiance would lead to worse pain, he knew. But he couldn't kill a helpless man in cold blood. The wrathful stabbing pains renewed with vigor, and he staggered where he stood. "I've got to get away!" He looked to the scientist for a moment, searching for any indication of where 'away' was.

Lalna gazed back with a blank face of vague shock and confusion. No answers there. Rythian charged past the scientist, who didn't even follow him with his eyes. Small bits of rubble crunched under Rythian's feet. His feet bled, but he was too focused on putting as much distance between himself and Lalna as possible.

A stone wall lay between him and the outside world. He hadn't been in control when Brother had knocked down the walls deeper inside the maze of the laboratory, but he had seen and felt what he had done. He held a hand in front of him, mirroring Brother's earlier actions. He had healed Lalna without much trouble. This couldn't be much harder. He took a deep breath, and passionate thoughts flooded his mind. His muscles began to tremble as he recalled the fury he'd felt when Lalna had tied him up to electrocute him, and of every time he'd been called 'it' or 'Beta'.

The emotion stirred up angry heat that consumed his insides. His heart pounded in his ears, and his muscles trembled as he felt the force grow too much to bear. He was outside of himself, a violent euphoria behind his eyes. He was nothing next to the tempest of power that was suddenly forced from him in one explosive burst.

As full of emotion as he'd felt, he was empty now. Numbingly so, cold already gripping his fingers and toes. Parts of the wall had been blown outwards.

"Not bad."

Rythian hardly registered him, except to briefly appreciate that he wasn't under mental attack any longer. Past the crumbling wall he could see pale light. Cautiously he made his way towards it. The closer he got, the quicker he moved. Intoxicating fresh air tingled in his nose.

When he stood outside, he dug his toes into the soft grass. He decided that no other feeling could compare. Unless it was the way the cool night air ruffled his hair, or maybe the way the moonlight lit everything so differently than the fluorescent white of the lab. Nothing here was made up of straight lines or cold steel. Rythian briefly entertained the thought of rolling around on the grass like a child.

"Are you through?"

"Shut up." Pressure on the back of Rythian's skull spoiled the pleasant feelings.

"If you're not going to give me control, get us out of here before I change my mind and force it."

After a last look at the gaping hole in the wall, Rythian raced away. He ran as long as he could, but he had never run any considerable distance before, and his legs tired after a short time. As he became weary, he stumbled and fell several times. His knees and palms were raw and bloody, to say nothing of the bottoms of his feet.

Eventually he staggered off of the path, retching and falling to his hands and knees. He could feel his legs trembling, his muscles still trying to move. He sunk down to his stomach. Dry leaves crackled under his body. He lay there for a few minutes, straining to catch his breath. After a few moments he raised his head and looked about. He hadn't realized just how thick the woods had gotten. The trees here were much larger than he expected from the murky memories he'd woken up with.

"This must be the forest where Martyn and Toby live."

"Who?" He didn't speak aloud, just thought the words.

"... I don't know. Big forest, those people live here. I don't know who they are though. It's those foggy memories. You must have them too."

Something clicked for Rythian. The names Martyn and Toby were closely associated with the spaceman Xephos and the dwarf Honeydew in his mind. Rythian had several of the strange memories that concerned Xephos and Honeydew. He felt inclined to immediately dislike them, since they were also closely associated with Lalna in his mind. Still, he had never met them.

"I do have some of those memories… I supposed we'd have the same ones. I haven't really had time to think about it much. We should work together and try to fill each other in."

"That's a great idea, but we should work together to kill Lalna first. You've made your point, now let me do what I want."

"No, I won't let you kill. It's just not right. Isn't it enough to have gotten away?"

"No! Do you enjoy the pain? He made us this way! We heal too quickly to die, but we were never destined to survive, so we will be in constant agony! It's his fault!" He threw himself against Rythian's mind to send his point home. Rythian felt his neck muscles spasm, and his head pounded. Rythian sighed, knowing that the voice was right about the healing. His knees and his palms were shiny and pink with new skin. The skin of his soles crawled and itched unpleasantly.

"But we are alive, for good or bad, and we might as well make the most of it. It's a beautiful thing, painful as it might be. I can't imagine taking this away from someone.. Let him live, and we will go far away. We can try to find a cure for the pain. None of our memories mention people like us with powers. We can learn new things and find better ways to use this power. I still feel somewhat hollow from all of that craziness earlier."

"Yes." Brother sounded pleased. "We will practice and become stronger. Then we return to kill the scientist in a better way!"

Rythian didn't know how to dissuade him. "Listen, I hate the scientist as much as you, but I think we taught Lalna his lesson. He won't be messing with us, I'm sure. And if he does, it's not like we're defenseless."

As he said this Rythian pulled on the pool of force inside of him and made a purple spark jump along his fingertips. Using it at will like this instead of with wild emotion felt strange, and it took a different sort of concentration. The electricity leapt the few inches from his hand to the ground, which made a few leafs ignite and crumble away. The fire put itself out, much to Rythian's relief. The fire in the lab had been terrifying.

"Fine, unless he bothers us again, I won't seek him out. If he confronts us I can't guarantee anything."

Rythian nodded slowly. It was the best he could ask for, and indeed it was the same way he felt. If Lalna hadn't learned to leave him alone after this night, and came after him, he wouldn't fret over morals quite so much.

"I've been thinking about how uncomfortable switching control is. It feels just as awful for me as it does for you. Maybe the pain wouldn't be so bad if we don't resist each other. I'm going to try to take control now, and don't fight me." Without any more warning, he began.

It felt like Brother was slowly smothering Rythian, and he couldn't help a tiny start of panic. When he tensed, pain shot out from the base of his skull down his spine and to his arms and legs, tracing invisible lines. Brother stopped his advance and held himself there, halfway in control.

"Take a few breaths." His voice was strained. Rythian followed Brother's instructions, and fought down the dread he felt at being out of control. Brother continued his intrusion. Rythian kept taking slow, steady breaths, though he felt like he was drowning. After only a few more twinges, he was an observer.

"Thank you. That was not as bad as before."

"I know." Rythian grinned. A dangerous light came to his dark eyes and he got to his feet. He held his hands up and wiggled his fingers, then summoned a wispy thread of flame. It flowed around his hands like quicksilver.

"Our magic is different." He pointed out.

"Yes," Brother agreed. "That's pretty interesting. I don't know why."

Rythian forced a little more energy out, and the fire grew stronger. Instead of snaking around his hands, the blaze started to crawl up his arms. Rythian ignored Brother's instances to be careful and let the fire cloak both of his arms to the elbow. He chuckled to himself, surrounded in fire. It didn't burn him; in fact, he felt stronger. It was like a total opposite of the fire at the lab.

The lab fire had started when Rythian stumbled into a cart and knocked some glassware to the floor. There had been a loud pop and a bright flash of light, and Rythian had jumped back, black spots in his vision. He'd been able to hear a small fire crackling once the ringing had cleared from his ears. From there, the fire kept growing, though there wasn't any fuel. He'd realized it might threaten him, so he tried to get away from it, but as he fled it seemed to chase him. The fire caught his pant leg, and exploded into an inferno. It felt as though it sapped his strength, somehow, as it consumed him. His only memory of the next few minutes had been blind and deaf pain, as he tore himself from the flames and sought safety.

His vision had returned quickly and the pain was only a memory. Recalling it now though, Rythian realized the skin on his face felt odd like it was stretched tight.

He closed both of his hands, and the fire around him instantly vanished. He felt his cheek, surprised by the stiff, scabby ridges.

"Why didn't my face heal? All of the other injuries we've ever gotten have." There wasn't any pain or discomfort from the burns, and the tight feeling was already fading, but he had never had a lasting mark on his body before.

"I don't know. Maybe the burns were too bad for us to heal all at once" Brother suggested. "Or it's something else. The flames drew power from us when it made contact with our skin. Perhaps that had something to do with it."

"Naturally that damn scientist had some compound on hand that would permanently mark us! Something we couldn't heal that would leave scars like this! How are we meant to live normal lives away from here, and avoid Lalna when we will be the most recognizable person around?"

Brother could tell that Rythian was growing irate, but was stumped. He had no calming words to offer. He hadn't thought far beyond getting away from the lab before Rythian could kill Lalna.

The strange unearthly glow that had surrounded Rythian in the lab was shimmering around him again. Blackish fire again encased his arms. He cast a river of flames at the giant trunk of a nearby tree, wordlessly roaring in frustration. Brother frantically tried to soothe him. It worked after a few moments. The anger slowly faded from Rythian's features, and he panted for a moment, tired from the sudden expulsion of power.

"Hey! What were you just doing to my tree?! Get away from it!" A new voice cried weakly behind him.

Rythian started and spun around, ready to reduce the intruder into a pile of ashes.

"NO! Give me control! NOW!"

Brother didn't wait for Rythian to concede, and forced him out. Rythian resisted as little as he could, realizing the pain he would feel otherwise. This begrudging release of control was still painful, but worlds better than what it was otherwise.

Toby watched in shock as the stranger that had been burning his tree started to tremble. He didn't lower his guard, but every second that went by made him surer that the newcomer wouldn't attack. The unfamiliar person soon stopped his shaking, and opened his eyes. Toby immediately noticed the strange shade of lilac. The stranger smiled at Toby and took a step closer.

"Stop it." Toby ordered, nodding towards his bow. He couldn't draw his eyes away from the stranger's face. Odd blackish-purple marks formed a disorganized pattern, graceful and terrifying at the same time. Though they looked long healed, Toby wondered what could have caused the horrific scars. He noticed that similar disfigurements formed two bands on the man's lower arms. Toby forced his attention from the scars, keeping a watchful eye on the stranger.

"Hello, you're Martyn, right?" The stranger asked softly.

"No."

"Oh, Toby then." The scars around the man's mouth curved as he smiled.

He paused for a second but Toby's face seemed to be made of stone. The man tried again "You're probably worried about your tree, right?"

"Yeah, you were burning it!" Toby growled. He thought for a moment, and then asked "And how do you know my name? Or Martyn's?" Toby was straining not to show it, but he felt the burning the tree suffered in his own side. It was what had brought him running here to confront this guy.

"I know things." The scars again curved "Now let me explain. I was walking through the forest, and noticed that this tree alone among the others was weak and sickly, though still glorious by any other measure."

Rythian desperately hoped this was true, or he was in trouble. Brother had told him that the fogged memories suggested that the woods people had strong ties to these trees. He continued his lie.

"I was simply burning away the illness, so that I might heal it." Rythian watched the brown haired kid nod slowly to himself. It seemed like the story was passable.

"Well, let's see this healing." He said, trying to keep his voice level. Excitement drummed in his belly. This guy obviously wasn't normal, shooting fire from his hands and all, but if he could heal trees, that could mean something different entirely.

Rythian took a deep breath and faced the scorch mark on the trunk of the massive tree. It looked severe but was tiny compared to the bulk of the rest of it. He wasn't sure if his healing would fix the tree the same way it had fixed Lalna's injuries, but he had to try. If he didn't he could expect an arrow in his back, which while probably healable still wouldn't be pleasant. Even worse, this woodsman might go to the scientist. He held his hand up in front of him, well aware of the bow still pointed at his back.

He noticed the sun rising, and the stunning colors in the sky he could see through the leaves filled him with joy. The purples and pinks and oranges seemed so natural and beautiful, he just couldn't control the peculiar floating sensation he felt. He gathered all of the positive feelings inside of him and forced them out of his hands.

A curling lavender vapor drifted lazily over to the tree. The burn was the first to heal. It was erased with only the tiniest amount of effort. The bulk of the energy went into solving long lasting problems. A microscopic pest that plagued the tree suddenly died in droves. The leaves became an unbelievably vibrant shade of green, despite fall being on the way. The tree had been slightly droopy, but with a groan it straightened up, and multicolored blossoms began to shower down from above. It was healthier and statelier than it had ever been. The last of the mist, unneeded, drifted away into the treetops, far, far above.

Rythian lowered his hands, spent from the amount of energy he had just channeled. The joy of the sunset had left him. He turned wearily and saw Toby looking at him with a mix of awe and worship. Toby had looked very tired and weak before, but like his tree, seemed to be in perfect health now.

When Rythian caught Toby's gaze, Toby snapped out of some sort of trance. He dropped his bow to the ground and fell to his knees. Rythian took a step back, unsure how to react. Toby looked at the ground as he spoke quickly and reverently.

"My lord, I am so sorry I raised my bow against you! Had I but known you were the One I would have welcomed you with the respect you deserve."

"What the hell is he talking about?" Brother asked Rythian, who shrugged. He then asked the question to Toby in a slightly politer way.

Toby's eyes widened. "You mean to say you didn't know you were the One? You have to come with me, please. These woods are safe enough during the day, but we have to arrange proper living quarters for you before today's end. Also, we have a special ceremony today, and having the One witness it would be an unimaginable honor. You're a reincarnation of one of history's greatest heroes."

"Is that so?" Brother snarked.

Silently, Rythian responded to Brother. "It's better than losing our way in the woods. We can stay with him and the other one, Martyn and find out who it is they think we are." Brother agreed wordlessly.

Rythian asked that Toby get up from the ground. Though he didn't say so out loud, having someone bow to him was uncomfortable, despite how Brother enjoyed it.

When Toby arose, things were a bit more casual. He led Rythian along a path towards his house. After a moment of walking he grinned, and Rythian asked why.

Toby smiled even wider, "Martyn never believed the legends, and always said that you would never return. He even doubted that you existed in the first place. Now I've found the One…" he paused. "By the way, if you don't mind me asking; what's your name? I can't keep calling you The One. It's a title, not a proper name."

"My name is Rythian." He immediately kicked himself for not giving a fake name.

Toby nodded. After several more minutes along the trail, he asked another question. "The uh, scars on your face. How did you get them?"

Rythian's expression darkened, "I've always had them." He said quickly. "I don't know how I got them." In his mind, Brother laughed bitterly.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.