Japanese Title: The Psychic Master's Past! Mind Racing Mind Reading!
Translation: Sono Kako no Sono Masutaa no Chounouryoku! Kokoro-Kyousou Kokoro Dokusho!
By: Pro_V
Important Note: Just in case you don't read the note at the bottom, here's one now. There's a Halloween Special posted for TAA called "Some Forgotten, Some Remembered". It's to be read between the chapter before this one (Snow Wars) and this one, and contains quite a few important details. Better read it ^_^*
"Now, what, exactly, are you going to make us do?" Will sat in his chair, calmly flipping a dart around in the air.
He sounded strangely calm during this time of great importance; as if he didn't really care if they lost or if they won. Everyone else was running around like chickens with their heads cut off just to find a place to sit while Eevy went over the plan. Will just sat, flipping his dart and trying to forget the fact that Luri was still at tad fumed at him, even though she had accepted his apology. At least if they lost, they wouldn't have to deal with Peter any more, as they'd all be dead. But that, of course, was only his twisted point of view. He and Peter had been very close friends before he started getting violent. They pestered people together and basically destroyed the idea of a harmless joke. But, as time went on, Peter left his friendship with Will behind and began pursuing a relationship with Luri, though she never even thought twice about it. It was the most depressing moment in Will's life when he found out it was he Peter was after first. Such things were hard to forget; one never really does drop the memory of your once best friend trying to kill you. Eevy jabbered away as Will basically ignored her, nodding when he happened to notice everyone else did and adding a slight cough here and there to make himself sound interested. In the end, it was his vote that cast Peter aside, and it pained him even through what Peter did. Then the scum returned again and turned on Eevy. That was when Will finally decided to let the friendship he used to share with Rubeus get cast aside as well. There would be no love lost if Peter was to be obliterated, as all of this was his fault for abusing his power. Will secretly shook himself straight and repositioned himself in his chair to look as if he had been listening the entire time. Eevy finished with whatever she was saying and stood up. The others filtered off in every direction, but she sat back down, staring at Will.
"I know you weren't listening to a word I said," she kicked his knee under the table to wake him completely, "I'm not going to pry into that deep, dark place you call your mind, so just tell me what your problem is."
"It's none of your business," he snorted suddenly and started to stand up, "Why do you care anyway?"
"I care because whether Lance likes it or not, you're my friend, Will. And besides; when you are bothered, so am I. And as I remember, you didn't really think of me as merely friend material when you first saw me on TV, now did you?" she half scowled/half smiled.
He gave her a dirty look, "Neither did Jason," he retaliated, "That's changed and you know it. If you're trying to trick me into something, you can forget it because-"
"I'm just fooling," she motioned for him to sit with a partial laugh, "My mind is just as dangerous a place as yours. So what's your problem, huh? Never know, I may be able to help."
"I seriously doubt that. The only way anyone could help would be to jam a knife through my skull," he rubbed his temples, "My life is a mess and I know it. You know it too, whether you draw attention to it or not."
"Yes, that may be true, but that's not what's bothering you, is it?" she leaned back with a dead-serious face and crossed her arms, "What's wrong, Will?"
"Nothing you would understand," he started to stand up, but a searing pain in his neck caused him to buckle back into his chair, "Get out of my head."
"I will not," she said flatly, "Tell me your problem or I'll weasel it out of you on my own."
"Fine! Just stop that!" he waited for the pain to subside, "Thank you," he held the back of his neck, "When Peter was still Champion, we were like this," he crossed his fingers, "We had a blast at bugging everybody and loved the same stuff. Unfortunately, we loved the same girl too. After a while, he started ignoring me and flocking to Luri, trying to impress her and make her like him. She always said there was something bad about him, but none of us would ever listen. I guess she finally had enough and blew up at him, telling him it was me she really loved, even though she never said it to me. He blamed me for the fact she didn't feel for him like he wanted her to, and that was when we finally decided to get rid of him. Lance and Jason never knew until much later, so they voted to keep him in. Kratos and Luri voted to kick him out and in the end it was my vote for him to leave that got rid of him. I really didn't want to get rid of him, but I feared Luri's safety and had to do it. When he left, I still considered him remotely my friend, but when he came after you, I just couldn't do it."
"That's what's been bugging you all this time. Why didn't you think I'd understand?" Eevy was flat in seriousness and awaited an answer.
"You've never gone through anything like this. Our worlds are two totally different places with different problems and different objectives."
"That's not true. My 'friendship' with that son of a bitch Taylor was just as bad, if not worse, as what you went through. I can relate to your life a lot more than you think, which is actually kind of scary, considering we never met."
"I don't know if I can do this, Eevy. I honestly don't know if I can try and fight him again. It was hard enough the first time, but a second? I can't handle this."
"You may be thinking that, but in the back of your mind, you know that isn't true. Your eyes are just like Lance's. They may be two-toned green instead of sandy-brown, but I can still read them."
"Read them?" he looked up at her blankly.
"I can tell, just by looking into someone's eyes, what their real answer to a certain question or beliefs on the subject at hand are. Just like Lance, I can focus right in on what you really mean, and what you really think is that you're afraid to do this."
He stared blankly at her again, trying to figure out just how she'd done that. He hid that fact so far into his head no one could pry far enough in to find it. Was she really able to "read eyes" like she said? Or was she somehow able to break that barrier sitting before his emotions when he wasn't looking? He could see it on her face that she was hardly even trying to dig into his mind when she said that, if at all. There was no way her mind was powerful enough to eat through his like she would have had to in order to be able to get to his true thoughts. Was there? In response to that comment, he simply turned and walked away, deep purple cape floating unnaturally behind him. Eevy just shook her head, trying to decipher why he was hiding such things.
*^~^**^~^*
"I'm really worried about him," Eevy sat across the chess table from one of her more unusual conversation partners, "He acts as if he's scared to put an end to something this bad."
"He's probably just upset. Having a friendship that's really important to you break and then help to break it more yourself must be pretty tough," he made his next move on the board.
"That's true, I suppose, but still," she paused to move, "Why should he not want to get rid of him? And why is he afraid of this? He's such a strong guy, in both mind and body, that he shouldn't be afraid of anything."
"Everyone is afraid of something. With Misty it's bugs, with Skiff it's loss of his boats, with Jason it's just about everything, and with Will it's the fear of not doing his job right."
"What about you? What's it that you're afraid of?"
"Not finding the right girl in time. You?"
"Turning into as helpless a case as you. Checkmate," she stood up and watched his face tweak in defeat, "See you later."
"She beat me!" Brock whined and bashed his head on the table, "In love and in chess!"
*^~^**^~^*
"William, William, William," Peter shook his head, "What ever made you think I'd leave this easily? I'm still here. I'm still watching. Admitted or not, you stole her from me. Your "charming nature" and "compassionate manner" she calls it. Bullshit. She wants someone weak to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and you've fallen into her trap like a fly into a black widow's web. I was only your "friend" to try and learn what it was you had that I didn't. You're a sucker, William Logos, a true sucker. I still don't understand what it is you do that I don't, but once I do, I'll get her back. Luri was meant to be mine. After all…Opposites attract."
*^~^**^~^*
"There's no sense of Peter anywhere," Will muttered as he sat in Luri's desk chair, "Either he's blocking me or he's dead."
"Would you forget about that already?" Luri jumped and slammed down in his lap, "If he's around, you'll find him. Trust me," she pulled his chin up with her hand and started to kiss him.
He pushed his hand up between their nearing lips, "Luri, tell me. Why do you like me? Why is it you love me like you say you do?"
She looked at him blankly, then her expression turned worried, "Is everything all right? Did I do something wrong?"
"Answer my question, Luri. I need to know!" he suddenly barked at her, causing her to lean away, "Is it true you only chose me over Peter because I was willing to do what you wanted me to?"
She gasped, half in disbelief that he'd ask such a thing and half for the fact she took that as a cruel statement, "Why'd you even think such evils? I chose you over that slime ball because I love you, Will."
"But why?" his green eyes were icing over in determination to have his question answered, "Why do you?"
"Because to me you're perfect. Everything about you is great. Whatever that joker Peter told you should be forgotten forever and you know it. Why are you asking me this so suddenly?"
"Because I know it's not true. Peter was right when he told me I stole you from him. Opposites attract, Luri, and you two can't get any more opposite. He told me just what I thought was true from the very beginning."
"Oh really?" she started getting tart, "And just what was that?"
"You want somebody who will do whatever you want, whenever you want. And since Peter wouldn't, you turned him down for me; someone you knew you could manipulate."
"Never say such things! I take that as an insult to my pride as a woman! The only one here who wants someone like that is you! You're trying to play mind games with me, William Delphi Logos, and I won't stand for it!" she jumped from his lap and sat down on her bed.
"Was it true? Was it true what Peter said? Is that why you're so angry? Because we spotted your secret before you got what you wanted?"
"No, it's not true and you know damn well it isn't! I'd never do anything of the kind to you, Will, and you knew that already! Get out!"
Will's hair started blowing unnaturally around his face, "Whatever you say," he swallowed hard, "But know that it's over and for all I care, Peter can have you," he turned and slammed out the door, the handle nearly snapping off in his powered hand, "I should never have kicked Rubeus away. I should have known what he said was true."
Luri burst out the door, "That's fine with me! And for all I care, you can go back to palling around with him again! It's suits you, Will! It really does!" she crashed the door closed and fell bawling to her bed, "What's gotten into him? Why's he acting like this? Why won't Suicune stop him?"
Will continued down the hall, meeting with Lance and Eevy, "Hey, Will! What's up?" Eevy noticed the power roaring around him and jumped in front of him, "Calm yourself, Will," she cautioned.
"Get out of my way," he shoved her toppling to the side with Lance jumping to catch her.
"Man, he's losing it," Lance helped her stand from the awkward shove to the side.
"Will! Will, stop!" Eevy jumped and took off after him, "I know what you're thinking and you're wrong! You've got to stop this, Will! Luri doesn't want you to go back to Peter! You can't honestly trust him more than us! If you go back to him, all you'll do is give him more of a chance to get to us and to you. Everyone, including Luri!"
"You're just trying to play me around into protecting you some more. You have the Crystal Bell, use it. She told me exactly what I needed to hear to know Peter was right all along."
"What did she say, Will? You know you got her angry and you know what happens when she's ticked off. It was probably just spur of the moment chatter. Calm down and look at me."
He continued walking, which really set her off. She was not one to be ignored and she grabbed his collar, swinging him down in front of herself. His voice crashed through her head as he cursed wildly at her in his mind. She ignored his screaming and shoved it aside. She worked her way through his thoughts and dreams, down past the nightmares from the night before, and met nothing but blackness. She'd found that dark corner of his mind where he stuffed his negative emotions until he finally had to unload them. That time had come and he was trying to escape to let them out where no one would get hurt. Unfortunately for him, Eevy's grip was good and she managed to hold him steady while prying through his thoughts. She saw the fight, noticed Luri's face, felt Will's annoyance at the way she answered him, and could feel the heartbreak when another voice joined in a momentary lapse of the present time. Rubeus, shouting at how Luri must like Will better because he'd give in to whatever she wanted, crying out about how Luri was his and no one else's, and how Will was nothing but a sucker for love's futile light. Peter's first use of his burning power was on Will. She dropped his collar and stepped away, staring at him as he buckled to his knees and flat to the side of his face. She'd seen all she needed to see to know what had happened.
"Will," she murmured and put her index and middle finger on his forehead, causing Lance to grumble something from behind, "Will, you need to listen to me. Luri doesn't think that, she's told me herself. She'd never say such things, Will, I swear to you. You've got to keep yourself steady. Calm the fury Peter's voice brought and let it pass. You can't keep going thinking what you did was wrong. You know it was right, so admit it to yourself. She loves you and I know you love her. That bastard Peter will pay for this, but by our hands, not just yours."
*^~^**^~^*
"Bitch!" Peter stomped, "She's messing with his head! That's not fair, not fair at all! I almost had him here on my side! What great protection he would offer. They'd never attack Willie; the psycho psychic. But, no! She's got to go and interfere! Why couldn't I acquire Psychic abilities from Magmar? Then I'd just blow her mind out of the picture. This world is cruel to me, whether I deserve it or not. Which I do not. All I want is a few people scorched and a few to be mine. What's wrong with that?"
*^~^**^~^*
Will opened his eyes to two blurred figures; both of women. He shot up wildly, but immediately collapsed back again. His vision started clearing and the blurring faded. The one to his right looked overly worried, probably thinking she'd hurt him, and the one on the left looked like she'd been wailing for a good long time before he woke up. He groaned a bit and coughed twice.
"What'd you do to me?" he choked and looked to Eevy.
"Went a little too deep into your emotions," she looked nervously side to side, "It wasn't a joy ride for me either. As soon as I got done telling you to calm down, I blacked out too. I just woke up about ten minutes ago. Your mind is like a veritable hell, William."
"Yeah, I know. Just don't do stuff like that," he watched her nod and walk away before looking to his left.
"I was just a bit worried about Eevy. I just haven't left yet," she stood up and sniffed, "Good bye," she stepped away.
"Luri, I'm sorry!" he jumped to sit up, but fell back again, "She did a job on me," he grunted, "I didn't think anyone could get as far into my twisted mind as she did."
"So, you say you're sorry and go straight back to whining again," Luri stood in the middle of the doorway and just looked over her shoulder at him, "That's nice, Will."
"I swear I'm sorry, Luri, but I'm also in immense pain. I didn't mean to be so hard. It was just Peter's voice clawing through my head again. It drives me absolutely batty to hear his voice cackling at me about how I should actually want to be dead rather than chase unknowingly after you."
"I suppose I should have answered your question before you had to get that red in anger. I knew you get tense and angered easily with such subjects, but I was too busy taking the questions as insults to my pride. That Peter is going to rot for this, and I'm so sorry I haven't been forgiving enough that it made you believe what he said."
"I didn't really want to believe it," he shrugged as best as he could, "I never want to believe anything bad about you, just like Lance and Jason think Eevy and Medira can do no wrong."
*^~^**^~^*
"You're sure there's no sign of him?" Morty whined into the phone.
"I'm positive there isn't," Eusine nodded at the receiver, "We've been watching all day and there's not one speck of any evidence he was here."
"Well, that stinks," Morty grumbled, "You'd better tell me if you see him."
"Yes, I know. You've told me that enough that I can't forget," Eusine muttered and hung up, "Like I'm going to hide the fact that there's a murderer heading for his sister. Geez!"
"He's just being paranoid," Mizu shrugged, "But there really isn't one sign of Peter anywhere."
"You'd think with all this snow a guy in dark blue and black would be easy to spot," Beth grunted while scanning the snowy horizon with her binoculars, "Seems that's not as accurate as I thought."
"Doesn't Master Will have the ability to sense when he's near?" Rachel threw a snowball into the air and kicked it, sending it into an exploding icy flurry.
"Yeah, but it seems he can't find any sign of him either. Like he's not around. Almost like he's dead," Yuu-Yuu stretched.
"You don't think he is, do you?" Skiff tilted his head, "I mean, it's been a few days since we saw him last. Is it possible he was caught or keeled over or something?"
"You're being way too optimistic," Eusine gnawed his fingernail, "I'm about ten seconds from dropping this whole idea and going inside. It's too eerie the way he's no where to be found."
"Yeah, he's kind of got a point," Mizu shivered, "He hasn't been around, so I'll bet he's planning some great big scheme or something."
"Maybe. He could be hiding anywhere, plotting away at his course of action," Beth quivered and fidgeted nervously, "Then what would we do? We'd be up past our necks in roaring hot trouble!"
"Should we go inside?" Rachel looked side to side and slowly over her shoulder, "It is kind of creepy out here with that guy sneaking around somewhere… anywhere…"
Yuu-Yuu sat down and pulled her knees up to her chin, "This is whack," she muttered, "I'm not leaving until that guy is gone. I'm not going to live in fear, and I'm going to make sure Eevy doesn't either."
"Well, aren't we Miss Heroine?" Skiff snickered, "But I might as well play Mr. Hero now that we're here. What's the point in turning back now? Peter can get into the Mansion, as we've seen, so it wouldn't offer any extra protection."
"Thanks for the comforting reminder," Beth whimpered.
*^~^**^~^*
"You haven't seen him either?" Morty again whined into the phone.
"No, Morty, we haven't," Ash shook his head, "Now say good bye, Morty. Hang up the phone, Morty."
"Yeah, whatever. But you'd better call if you do hear or see anything of Peter or the like."
"I know that already!" Ash burst and hung up as fast as he could, "Geez, he worries too much."
"We've been walking around these woods for hours. When's he gonna admit that Peter isn't around right now?" Misty mumbled and continued tromping along behind Ash.
"I don't think he ever will," Brock muttered and also continued along, "This patrol duty would be better if we had an Officer Jenny."
"Oh, brother," Sooney shook her head, "This is nuts! All of this is absolutely nuts! Peter won't come out if he knows we're looking for him!"
"Sooney's right," Tracey yawned, "All of the kidnappings before were secretly put into affect. Why would he just come out when he knows we're prepared?"
"Because he wants to keep is ego inflated, Eevy says," Ash told them what Eevy had told him, "She says he'll want to come out where we're all ready to go to try and make himself look tough enough to stand up against anything."
"I think she's the nuts part of this mission," Misty grumbled, "There's no way he'd be whacko enough to come out with this many of us prepared and in contact with even more trainers."
"You never know," Brock shrugged, "She could be right or dead wrong. Just like we could be."
"She never met the guy to actually chat before he turned into the loopy-loo-loo he is now," Tracey partially grunted, "How would she know what his intentions are?"
"She's got ways, trust me," Sooney swallowed, "Dangerous ways, but ways none the less."
*^~^**^~^*
"Just keep trying, Will," Eevy encouraged, even through her own pain, "You can find him."
Will was desperately cringing in his chair, "I just barely recuperate from you plowing through my cerebellum and now I go through this? Are you trying to kill us?"
Eevy and Will had been going at it for hours; trying to locate Peter. She left her index and middle fingers on his temples, trying to pull what he was seeing into her own mind, but it never seemed to work. He could hardly pinpoint Peter at all and it was starting to annoy him. He had always held a love for his Psychic abilities, but for some reason, they just wouldn't work today.
"Maybe because you're tired," Luri suggested, sitting beside him, "You did say she took a lot out of you when she found you after our fight."
"It's possible," Eevy leaned back and shrugged, "I can't even feel a thing from him either and I usually get at least one feeling here and there about his most annoying and most sickening presence."
"Do you think he's dead?" Will snickered.
"We should be so lucky," Lance muttered from next to Eevy, "That'd be the easy way around this, but I don't think our luck is that good."
"Good point. We were lucky enough that Eevy used the Crystal Bell the other day," Will slouched, "Come on, Eevy. Let's try again."
*^~^**^~^*
Morty, Lisle, Vic and V sat silently in the dining room, manning the phone, "I wish they'd find him already!" Morty snapped, "This is getting tiring!" he bent over the phone, "Ring with some answers, damn it!"
"Stop talking to the phone. But it is freaking me out a little," Lisle shook a bit, "It's really bizarre the way he's no where to be found."
"He'd probably hiding out somewhere, keeping an eye on us from a hidden spot out there," V shivered, "That guy bugs me."
"But she's right," Vic mumbled, "Even if he is hiding around here somewhere, with all the trainers flocking around the City and the Mansion, we should be able to find him anyway."
"So, you think he's somewhere we're not looking?" Victor slouched, "Like where? We're looking everywhere we can think of!"
"There's got to be someplace we wouldn't expect him to be. Like someplace we'd never think he'd go to," Lisle looked thoughtfully around, "But where?"
"Where could he go that we haven't looked?" Morty tilted his head, "We've covered the woods and the perimeter of the Mansion. Where else is there that would make a good place to spy on us?"
"Anywhere his Magmar is," Vic drooped, "Remember, it has Psychic attack, making him able to watch us from anywhere, anytime."
"That's so comforting," Victor shivered, "Yick!"
"Oh, yeah," Morty swallowed, "Sunny and peachy."
"Sure," Lisle quivered, "Just ducky."
*^~^**^~^*
"Why did we get suckered into this job?" Medira shook wildly, "Not only is it cold, but it's creepy too!"
"No fake," Jason swallowed and looked frantically left to right, "This roof always gave me the creeps. Like if you didn't watch your back something would get to you."
The two of them spun around wildly as the wind started whistling, "This place is freaking me out!" Medira lunged towards him and threw her arms around his waist, "Save me!"
"Save yourself!" he quivered and whined nervously, "I wanna be able to run if I have to!"
"That's really compassionate of you!" she barked while letting go and turning around.
"Stop that!" he snatched her elbows, "I was just kidding, but this place really does bug me. The roof of Rainbow Mansion isn't exactly my favorite place to be with a girl, you know."
"Then where is?" she smirked slyly.
"You already know," he pulled her back, "As soon as Will and Eevy get a lock on that good-for-nothing Peter and trade places with us, maybe you could join me there and we'll see what my favorite thing to do with a girl is."
"You wouldn't want to try it," she flicked his nose and winked, "Not just yet. Sooner or later, though."
"You're mean," he pouted, "Really mean."
"No, just prudent," she pecked his cheek, "I'm not going to stay up here much longer, but there is something I've been wondering."
He cracked his knuckles expectantly, "And what would that be?"
She rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Nothing like that. I want to know what kind of cool powers I get. You get speed, Luri gets the power to freeze and withstand cold, Will gets his Psychic abilities, Lance gets strength and Eevy gets Psychic powers, energy absorbing abilities, and speed. So what do I get?"
He choked for a minute, "Uh…What do you get?" he looked around and scratched the back of his head, "What do you get…" he continued thinking, "I don't really know…Maybe energy absorbing like the Dark- types you specialize in?"
"That's no help, Jason," she slouched, "I wanna know! I want to have cool powers too!" she stomped.
"I'm sure you'll get one or two," he waved his hand at her, "But right now I'd be more worried about how much longer we're going to have to wait up here on the roof. It's getting cold and it's getting boring!"
"Well, I guess we just wait."
"Wait and hope."
"Hope what?"
"Hope that Peter doesn't decide to pop out of wherever it is he's hiding," Jason cringed and flew to her, throwing his arms around her with both of them shivering.
The Next Chronicle:
Champions In Ice
Notes
Whee...Utter craziness! The next chapter is weirder, so be prepared. Also, if you haven't already, please read "Some Forgotten, Some Remembered". It's a Halloween Special for TAA for this year and it has quite a few important things in it. It comes between the last chapter (Snow Wars) and this one, m'kay? That's all for now.
*^~^*Pro_V*^~^* -=O~Her Pokemon~O=-