Chapter Twenty Six: To Psi

Frost's POV

"Tomorrow" I said once again with a solid, firm voice as they all blankly stared at me with stunned faces. It's like they've just seen a ghost! "I know it's sudden, but we can't afford to keep Psi waiting any longer" I explained truthfully to the rest of my teammates.

"We're going to Psi?" Res hummed quietly to herself as she folded her arms in daze and stared up at the light green, illuminati ceiling with a soft grin. Damn... I have to tell them that it's only going to be me and White going. "The island of science, huh?" I think I know what's going through her mind... We're going to a completely science based island that doesn't believe of have any evidence that magic actually exists... Damn, I can't help but to grin as well! Just imagining the looks on their faces induces adrenaline shots!

"Psi?" Black asked, narrowing her eyes as she went into deep thought for a very brief moment before widening her eyes once again. "Oh. That island" She said, sounding rather uninterested and disappointed.

"I thought we were going to Rift after this" Phase stated, making me avert my gaze from Black and straight at her. I wanted to say something, but as I opened my mouth, she placed both her hands onto her hips and let out a depressed sigh which caused me to recoil and keep it shut. "So, why Psi?" She said as she closed both her eyes, looking a little annoyed.

"Yeah, I'd like to know the reason as well" Melody butted in, forcing me to keep my mouth entirely shut as I blankly blinked and looked over to her before taking a deep breath of air and exhaling. Twice in a row I've been stopped in my tracks... These guys...

I opened my mouth, ready to voice my reason to WHY we're going to Psi instead of Rift no sooner than tomorrow but unfortunately and to my bad luck, Ruby cut me off... Argh... My blood's beginning to boil!

"Can me and Frosty come?" She politely asked with an adorable tone of voice... If one more person cuts me off again, I swear... Oh wait. What?! R-Ruby wants to come?! Telling them that only me and White are only going, is gonna be really damn painful.

AS I opened my mouth for the final time, ready to voice out my response to them all with pure and utter honesty, I was cut out yet again by the one and only Melody once again. For crying out loud!

"No. You need to hold down the fort here with Frosty" Melody answered simply and seriously which made the little girl's face sadden. "Leaf can't survive without the two of you"

"Fucking-" As I final spoke out the first word, I was fucking cut off AGAIN! For fuck sakes!

"Aww. But Plantina said that everything's alright now. Last night she managed to get these new species of plants which work very similarly to-"

"F-Frosty! D-D-Don't say another word!" Chaos immediately broke out, effectively cutting her off completely which left her looking dumbfounded and confused. She stared at Chaos with blank, expressionless light red eyes, almost like she was under an extremely powerful trance. I recoiled a little, taking a swift and sudden step back on the light brown soil as my eyes widened a tenfold to what was so close to slipping out of Frosty's mouth. Plantina told her?! A-Ack! My face is turning red!

"Oh? Why's that?" Melody hummed at Chaos, obviously teasing him which caused his face to turn a bright tomato-red as the traumatising memories of last night hit the BOTH of us harder than a runaway freight train running on super conductors with the maximum speed of Mach three... "Did something happen?"

"What happened?" Phase chimed in curiously, getting Melody to smile wickedly which sent unparalleled chills down my spine. Dammit Melody! If she says it then I'll-

"Ah, don't worry Phase. Nothing happened" Melody insisted, allowing me to exhale out all of my stress and anxiety with the carbon before filling up my lungs full of oxygen once again.

"Alright..."

"ANYWAY!" I began with a loud, booming voice to grab all of their attention. In an instant, all eyes were on me... Now all I have to do is tell them that ONLY me and White are going... "Listen up please. Only me and White are going to Psi tomorrow. I'm really sorry but-"

"Pfft! I didn't know you were such a good comedian!" I heard black exclaim in laughter, cutting me off which left me dumbfounded and confused. Eh?

"If there's anything I hate about you, it's the fact that you don't try to include us" Phase sighed with a cheeky smile and reddened cheeks. These guys... I guess I have no choice... Arguing won't do me any good... Ah... Dammit.

Litch's POV

Two islands down, only seven more to go. I wonder how long he's going to keep me waiting... I can barely wait for his arrival. The moment he sets foot on Corozin, is the moment the ultimate fun starts. Haha! I wonder how much he'll grow and how much stronger he'll be! I'll crush him down and destroy he dreams! I'll keep him as a girl forever and show her true pain and misfortune!

Frost's POV

We said our goodbyes and best wishes to Plantina before we headed back towards our docked wooden ship in an orderly fashion. Chaos led us through the dense, magical forest. Backtracking our footsteps from a couple days ago as if it were only a mere minute ago. Her memory's great! As we walked on the brown, soil footpath, we held a conversation about Psi.

"Their esper powers are theoretically physical" Res claimed, reminding me of how much of a disadvantage I'm at against them. "They can alter almost anything in the world except for magic and whatnot"

Melody hummed. "Anything? Even the velocity of an object?" She asked curiously.

"Mhm. They can alter the mass and many other things. Heck, one might even be able to reverse the vectors of any physical object" Res said, making me swallow a mouthful of saliva before speaking.

"Able to alter the vectors huh... Basically, whoever has that ability is a walking force field" I said, letting a depressed sigh right after as the sunlight grew stronger and the branches of the nearby trees opened up from above. We're almost out! "I can't go against people like that in this body" I said unconsciously to myself in a tiny whisper...

"Then what are you going to do about it?" Ruby asked me innocently from the right, causing me to blankly blink and quickly turn my head to face her. I stared deeply into her light red, flaming eyes with my set of light blue and red and gave her a warming, loving smile.

"Something. I think it'll be better for me to stick around there as a girl. I have two reasons. One is that in that body, I can withstand any physical attack and for the second, my insanity isn't as wild as it is in this body. I don't want to end up killing someone" I stated and immediately, White stopped in her tracks abruptly with the razor sharp sound of her shoes grinding the soil to dust. Huh?

Quickly, I turned to face White as I planted my feet onto the brown earth and instantly, without any warning whatsoever, I felt a tremendous amount of pain strike me from around my heart. My eyes widened as I grit my teeth and stared at White with my pained eyes, clutching onto my heart with my right hand... Her eyes... They're blood red... Ack...

"Frost? White? What's wrong?" Phase asked curiously from behind, tapping my lower back with a soft, warm hand which caused White's face to spawn a smile...

"Sorry. I just spaced out for a bit. Let's keep going" White said with her normal tone of voice... Just as I heard the others turn away and continue their walk, she winked at me and licked her reddened damp lips. Blood... White's back to her 'insane' state again. Well, not really insane since she KNOWS and UNDERSTANDS what she's doing. Unlike me.

"Blood?" I asked her quietly, keeping my voice frighteningly low to make sure that no one hears me.

She shook her head and approached me casually, stopping about a meter away from me before she took in a quick breath of air through her mouth and spoke.

"When the time is right"... Is that supposed to be a riddle?

"On the ship?"

She shook her head again. "On the island"... Eh?

Shora's POV

Well this is boring. All these rogue Espers can't even take a bullet. Let alone stop one with their powers. Lucky for these bunch, I only aimed for their arms to neutralise them without killing them. Of all the police in this island, only Silica and I have the authority to shoot anyone on site. But no one else knows that besides us and a certain individual who claims to be the ruler of the island but is currently locked away.

The wretched moans and sobs of the men and women I fired at filled the air eerily as I stared at them from above, towering over them evilly with a large, carbon fibre coated assault rifle cradled in both my hands. Killing is wrong, but it can differ sometimes. Like Frost... He's like the evil inside of every human alive. His rules when killing make sense and are fair in my eyes and ears. Kill those who deserve it... Kill those who kill... Then, prepare to be killed... I love it. Ahaha!

Well, I should call the others and get them to arrest these guys. In the meantime, I'll wait for Frost's arrival. He should be here in less than four hours. I better prepare accommodation for him.

Frost's POV

The open sky blue waters of the sea splashed against the ship from all angles harmlessly as we sailed straight towards the island of Psi, which is towards the east of Leaf. The sea was flat and as soothing as the words of a mother. The air smelt of fine salt. I took in a deep breath of air with a smile plastered across my face as I stared up ahead at the very faint outline of Psi. That's with my left eye. In my right, I can see huge buildings of all kinds with giant flat screen LCD screens filled with advertisements. Unfortunately, that was all I was able to pick up due to the fact that there's one hell of an enormous concrete wall surrounding most of the inner parts of the island. Dead ahead of us, there's a docking station that has around four individuals on it. Probably the people who are going to take us into the city... But two of them look strangely familiar... Hmm...

"How long do you think it'll take us to reach there?" Asked Ruby, who was then quickly answered by Res.

"Forty minutes" She simply claimed.

"Hmm... That's too long" Ruby sighed, causing Melody to chuckle from far behind. I let out a sigh of depression through my mouth and spun around to find out why she found that funny.

"No, the better question is, will it fit?" Melody said, holding back a laugh. Ack! M-Melody!

"Huh?! P-Pervert Melody! Idiot! D-Don't say things like that!" Ruby retaliated ever so adorably which ALMOST stopped my heart from beating... I-Is this what they see when they tease me?... If so then... I can't blame them! "Go die! Burn! Sear! Combust! Explode!"

"Awwwww! She's like the lolita version of Frost" Melody squirmed cheerily, teasing not only Ruby, but me as well... The... Lolita version... Of me?...

"Flame! T-Tear her apart!" Ruby screamed in retaliation, quickly out stretching her right arm in front of her. At once, a flash of hot, searing flames exploded from the right of Ruby like a bad exothermic experiment gone wrong. I swear, if it weren't for my magical resistant ability, I would've caught fire and jumped straight into the ocean. "Flame!"

"Not so fast!" Melody laughed and immediately, as soon as the snout of Ruby's pet wolf poked out of the flames, it disappeared entirely... Ah... I see. Melody controls the realms and dimensions... She forcefully sealed off Flame from entering this dimension. Eh... "Little girl, using regular magic against a Maiden isn't a smart thing to do"

"Grr! You're the worst! Don't underestimate me!" Ruby exploded in anger, curling both her tiny fists into balls of capital H for hurt... There's this side to Ruby?!

"Hey! Ruby! Melody! Cut it out!" I yelled instinctively, telling them both off with one hell of a powerfully loud voice. "Melody, please don't start things" I said, getting her to smile brightly as she tilted her head towards the right.

"Haha. Sorry Ruby. I think I went a bit too far" Melody apologised to Ruby, sounding almost too good to be true which left a bit of a bitter aftertaste that greatly irritated her like an unscratchable itch. Geez... If this is how they're going to be like at Psi, then I'd rather split myself from them and finish the mission on my own. But then again, even trying to do that would result in nothing but death and humiliation... Just like last night... Agh...

"You sarcastic piece of-"

"Bwahahahahaha!" Chaos burst out laughing from straight out of the blue, cutting off Ruby thankfully... We all immediately shifted our gazes at him faster than light itself to see what was so funny. Chaos stood at the far left of the ship, sitting on the very edge of the golden trimmed timber safety railing with a bright smile plastered across his face as he convulsed repeatedly in laughter. I blankly blinked, staring at him for some time as he hugged his stomach with both his arms and continued laughing, almost just as hard as before. Eh? For some reason, no one wanted to speak up and ask him if he was OK. We all just stood there staring at him as if he was a madman.

A cool ocean breeze swept across the deck of the ship, rattling the sails and making the wood moan in agony. After a good minute of hearing nothing but his laughter, Phase decided to speak up and ask what was so funny.

Chaos's laughter suddenly dampened, sounding like he was forcefully trying to stop it as tears streamed down his narrow light red eyes... Huh? Are those tears of happiness?

"A-Ahaha. I was just remembering the past for a bit... Don't worry" He struggled to say as his laughter wouldn't let go of him so easily. Shakily, he cupped his mouth with his right hand to try to hide his laughter but to no avail. "How fast does time g-go!"

"Huh?" Black said in confusion, folding her arms and leaning a little backwards. Chaos didn't stop laughing just yet.

"Ouch-haha... Such happy-sad times those were! I can't believe we're all still alive after everything that's happened" Chaos laughed in a muffled manner... Did he just get hit by sudden realisation?

"Eh? How long did it take for everything to process in that head of yours?" Melody questioned him, sounding surprised all of a sudden.

"No. Just looking back at who we were from now really moves my heart! All the challenges we had to go through, the close deaths we nearly had, the losses we faced... I can't believe how much we've changed in that short time we all spent together!" Chaos exclaimed... Geez... I'm getting goose bumps... But he's right. Just how much DID we change in such a small amount of time?

"I remember myself being alone not too long ago, following Frost and the others out of curiosity" Melody slowly sighed with reddened cheeks. Even she can be cute sometimes... SOMETIMES... "Now I've become one of his many close friends"

"Haha, I still remember the fight we had against the corrupted Yellow!" Phase cried out cheerfully with a bright, beaming smile which lit up the entire place beautifully. Guys...

"I c-can still remember the time when we chased Frost down after he escaped confinement in the Spider Kingdom to try to keep us away from injury" Chaos said in a tremble, crying out tears of happiness which proved contagious. I'm on the verge to tears as well...

"I remember I used to be absent minded and depressed... But thanks to you guys, I have a strong will that can never be broken!" White cried out happily. Geez... Not her as well...

"I remember when Frost found out who I was back in the games" Ruby tuned in with her ever-so-sweet voice.

"Mhm! I remember when Frost released me from Insanity!" Frosty cried aloud with all her heart... "What about you Res?"

"I uh- he-... I remember just a handful of days ago when Frost saved me from the trials" Res said shyly with a reddened face... Everyone smiled happily, keeping the atmosphere as bright as it could be... Then I realised something... Black's next... I could sense the darkness around her. That dark, viscous aura which seemed to eat at her mind, heart and soul...

Everything seemed to soften as her lips slowly parted, allowing the salty oxygen to enter through her mouth and fill her lungs to the very brim... I could barely hear anything except for Black. Her eyes are glowing red a little... She blinked, then began...

"Humiliation. Death. Sorrow. Sadness. Grief. Misfortune. Loneliness... Since my very birth I have been nothing but a monster. My mother despised me and blamed me for her hell, so I killed her, still inside of her womb with the unholy blade, Night's Melody" She said in almost a whisper. Her tone was dark and eerie, just like a ghost. "I was sent to a school five years later where I suffered even more. Every day was hell. There was not a single day where I was left to take a whiff of happiness. One day, I had enough and pushed a kid away from me... You know what they did to me?" Black's voice suddenly deepened, getting me to grit my teeth a little as everyone stood silent and stared at her with widened eyes filled with disbelief and horror.

"I was whipped with fishing hooks, tormented and beat up by the teachers. No one cared a single bit for me. I then met a certain someone walking down a hallway with blood coated across their face. Someone like me who suffered in that hellish hole of a school. On the same day that I wanted to break, it was that kid who killed every single human in sight" Res clenched her fists, taking a small step back as she grew uncomfortable. "One by one I watched everyone die right before my very eyes. The way that kid killed them, the way he tormented them, the look he had in his eye was more than just insane... And because of what I saw, I became a true monster. Over the next five years, I killed over five million humans. Children, women, men, families, brothers, sisters... Everyone... But... I... Never wanted it to be like that..." Black finished. Her eyes went back to normal which allowed me to let out a sigh relief. Thank goodness... I thought she was going to go insane. "But because of a few certain people... I was able to love humans. S-Sorry if I got you uncomfortable Res!" Black swiftly apologised to the blonde haired girl as she turned her entire body to the right to face her and bowed in respect.

Res turned slightly red from this, extending out both her hands in front of her as an indication for Black to stop immediately. "I-It's alright Black. The-There's no need for you to be sorry"

Black erected herself up again, smiling happily at Res which got us all to smile and overcome the gloomy mood Black introduced to us...

"Frost, care to share something?" White asked me from the right with her sweet, heart wrenching voice that made me blink and slowly nod... How I used to be... Ack! My body suddenly convulsed forward like I was about to throw up as an image of dead, rotting corpses of children flashed before my eyes and overtook my view of reality. No... I need to resist! I need to start from the games! Not from all the way back 'there'!

"What's wrong Frost?" Ruby said in worry as I shut my eyes and focused as hard as I could to overthrow the image of my wretched past.

"Nothing" I grunted painfully in a deep hoarse voice as I felt my left eye begin to warm up... Argh!... Come... On!

With all the willpower I could muster, I forced the image out of my mind, watching it burn to ashes like old paper. Now... I can start... But my body feels so weak all of a sudden...

"I used to be shy back in the beginning of the games. I remember myself wearing a hoodie to cover my ears and bandages on my right hand to cover the burns of my past. Heck, I didn't even KNOW that I was a FrostBitten until I was told so. I thought all along that my ears and tail were reason for all the hatred towards me. I had four teammates. Sindy, Mindy, Steve and Cupa who I thought were all humans, so I didn't really interact with them much when we travelled to Grandis. But they spoke to me and tried to comfort me. Like the shy person I was, I found it embarrassing. Sindy would sit awfully close to me and Mindy would occasionally speak to me. Cupa had my back against Steve who was the type of 'human' I was already used to" I began, pausing for a quick breather. I continued.

"On the first morning, right after midnight, Steve didn't hold back and punched me square on the face and revealed my secret to everyone. Like the person I was back then, I didn't retaliate. Instead, I ran straight into my room" I began laughing for a bit, smiling softly as I felt my eyes begin to swell and water up with tears... "Mindy ran right after me and broke through the door of my room. Haha! I remember how she complimented my ears... Geez... Then she told me that her race didn't have any hatred towards mine. I felt so happy from the bottom of my heart... She was my first friend after a long time" A tear trickled down my right eye as I crossed my arms and straightened up my back, taking in a deep breath of air before exhaling out all of the carbon dioxide.

"As time went on, my confidence built up more and more with every challenge we had to overcome. I met Star. Haha! You won't believe how shy HE used to be back when I first met him. Then we went to go recruit Milk into our team after saving her from a bar in a nearby town. Not long after, I went insane and because of that, Chaos was freed" Chaos chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "I could name everyone... I'm glad I got to meet you all" I finished, dropping down to my knees and slamming my palms down against the smooth wooden floorboards to support me... I'm... So... Sleepy...

"I can't blame him"... I heard Black's voice. "Holding back those thoughts strained his body... Let him rest"... That's right... Black let herself describe the past from the mental images... So... Dark... Ack...

Shora's POV

Eh?... Why did Frost come as a girl? Ah! Never mind that, why is Frosty and Ruby with them as well?!

I stood before the small group, holding my silver machine gun in my arms as I stared at them all in the eye with a soft smile plastered across my face. The wind blew gently from up ahead, brushing against my face as their casual attires fluttered to the wind. Behind me, was the eighteen meter high concrete wall and the only gate to enter from... Once they set foot inside, they'll immediately become residents. That anonymous person sent me these cards and uniform to give to them all... And somehow, it's like he knew that Frost was going to be a girl. Strange... I'm a little suspicious about this but... I guess there's not really any other choice. After all, it was the very same person who put them all up on the system and enrolled them into their schools, as well as accommodating them even though that was supposed to be MY job. Damn... All I have to do now is give them the instructions, their cards and ID's then let them through... I wish them all the best of luck!