Chapter 17: Another Normal Morning Right?

And the object combusted into flames. The naturally silent ambiance was now overcome by the crackling of the wooden board that had been staked into the ground; an obvious practice target. The surrounding grass was littered with cinders which burned into each individual organic green blade.

The sun had not yet risen so the flames had been one of the three sources of light in the area. The second was from a round window of an unusually shaped pink house a safe distance away from the explosion. And the third light source was within meters of the target. The luminescence radiated from the hands of a girl in her late teens, the cause of the psychokinetic fire. Her fingerless black gloves were in a coating of her own psychic defense and this in turn protected her hands from the increasing trickle of rhombus shapes. These seemingly innocent geometric figures glowed within the red spectrum, shifting from yellow to orange and back to red. Slight tinges of magenta could even be noted only these variants occurred rarely.

She clenched her fists, eliminating the pyrokinesis from her hands, the remaining rhombus shapes dwindled to fragments of light. Then she bit down hard until her jaw grew sore. Damn it, it's still not strong enough. She allowed her eyes to flare up again into their signature magenta glow. Her hands did the same as she allowed the energy to circulate from her mind to her palms, then to the tips of her fingers. Here the gathered power began to form a spark in each hand, she focused it there as her hands remained at her sides. I'll try two this time.

Once the sparks began to overflow with power, she raised one hand up first. "PK Fire α !" She whipped an arm quickly into the direction of another target, beside the one that was currently on fire. As her arm came across, the bright orange spark on her finger tips shifted into a bolt upon release, zipping horizontally through the practice clearing. After sending out the first one, the second came just as quickly as she flung her other hand in a similar motion. Both bolts became a new source of illumination for the area and left streaks of radiating energy in their wake, a clear indication of the path they had taken.

Even before the first bolt made contact, the energy that surrounded it alone was enough to ignite the target. But then came the two bolts and the girl hadn't had the time to prepare a defensive motion. Upon landing, the first fire bolt consumed the wood post, a harsh and dry hit was made out. While the bolt immediately after had finished the job, completely splintering it. The explosion that followed whipped up air at a thunderous velocity. It would have been mistaken for wind caused by a hurricane had it not been for the gray smoke that it emitted. The girl was pushed back a little, her pink boots sliding along the ground. She was quick to cover her face with her sleeve and shut an eye, still attempting to catch a glimpse of the object she used as a target, to study the result.

When the smoke did not clear and she began coughing, she waved a hand to the side to assist in moving the smoke away, manipulating the surrounding air. That's when she had a better view of the destruction she had caused. Aside from the second target, the first one was now completely gone as well, the radius of the blast must have been enough to reach it too.

Dang Kuma, that was a little bit too much. I guess I shouldn't have used two PK Fires on one target. Maybe it would have been better to focus all the power on one fire instead. But then it would have been a β Fire and didn't want it to be that strong. Oh well . . . It's interesting anyway. I think because I shot them around the same time, both seemed to fuse together and create a bolt similar to that of a PK Fire β. Though two alphas don't make a beta, at least I don't think they should. Hmmmm . . .

The princess reached to the side of her dress-like sweater, revealing a semi-hidden pocket, and withdrew a small memo book, a pen was within the top spiral bounding. She flipped a few pages and wrote some quick notes. She tapped the pen's tip on her chin as she pondered a few thoughts but ultimately found nothing else to add. The girl rubbed at her eyes with the back of a hand, finding them to be hotter than usual. She did not think much of it, most likely it was the result of testing her fire. Certainly it wasn't related to any fever. She slid the memo book back into her pocket and worked on putting out the fires.

As she finished, an early morning breeze swept through the area, the sun wouldn't rise for another while. So she decided it was time for a break, part of her daily morning routine. Making her way to the pink house, she nonchalantly walked by two large mounds of solid ice, which would reach the roof of an average house. Then she went past two large piles of pure ash, with the surrounding soil seemingly converted into a glass-like texture.

"Tch." She glanced at her earlier results and shook her head. None of them are any better. It's been weeks since I've had any form of improvement. What if . . . What if I'm reaching my limit? No, there must be a ways to go beyond limits. As long as you keep going at it. And I need to keep going at it, or Lucas will easily leave me in the dust and I can't have him doing that. She chuckled to herself, knowing having a friendly rivalry would always serve as a motivator to improve. I guess you reach a point where progress just slows down. Y-yeah, that must be it.

She rubbed at her eyes again and yawned while approaching the shell-shaped house. It was in the middle of a shallow pool of water, no deeper than a meter. A trail of flat stones served as a pathway to the front door. This same house which had belonged to the Magypsy Aeolia, one of her frequent caregivers when she was younger, and a close friend of Ionia. All of the Magypsys' homes had endured the test of time, even overcoming the past earthquakes that had befallen the islands. Kumatora pushed the door she had left ajar. She took a step, raised a hand and snapped her fingers. More of the interior lights ignited instantly, a measly bit of PSI was enough to keep them on for hours. One of the many technologies of the once fabled people.

This simple, yet magical house held all that one needed and more, plus it was a pleasure to live in if one did not mind the flamboyance. Though she frequented both houses and preferred Ionia's, there were reasons she had chosen to stay in Aeolia's home this time. For starters, Aeolia had a collection of potions and elixirs that she had preserved over the centuries. Not that Kumatora was willing to consume them, but they did serve their purpose, especially under the right hands. It was unfortunate to say that the young adult was not suited to be 'the right hands', she was well aware of that.

But among the concoctions was the basis of making one of her preferred hot beverages. Rose Hip Tea was one of her favorites growing up, she had Aeolia to blame for that. The tea was of course derived from one of the Magypsy's own recipes, and one of the few she was willing to learn only because she liked it so much. The main ingredient, the plant, required PSI to grow in a very specific way, so this tea was mostly reserved for the Magypsies. It seemed she was the last one around who knew the specifics that went into caring for the plant. Kumatora now regretted not learning more of their recipes. When they all vanished, their ways of living also disappeared. What little remained was preserved in some of their writings, which Kumatora could decipher, though this wasn't the easiest to do.

Lighting a tiny PK Fire, she quickly prepared this beverage. Alongside being an excellent source of Vitamin A, it also helped with mental exhaustion and PP recovery, though not on the same level of what the Hot-Springs could do.

In order to fix that, she took her beverage, alongside soaps and a towel, and of course a psychokinetic light source, to one of the Magypsy Hot-Springs just outside the door. Finally she could enjoy a well-deserved and much needed break.

After getting cleaned up and heading back inside, it was about time she got ready, a sliver of light could be seen rising just on the edge of the horizon. Kumatora approached the mirror that Aeolia once frequently used, grabbed a bright pink brush and passed it through her pixie-cut. She had dried it with psychokinesis to just the right amount of humidity to keep its volume. As she scanned the appearance of her hair she thought out loud, "I'm tired of this pink, what if I dyed it back to my old color? Naw that wouldn't work, it would just turn pink again after a while, no way is that gonna last."

Next she found a tube of light-red lipstick. Just because I'm a tomboy, doesn't mean I can't wear make-up once in a while. She applied some to the bottom then the top lip. It had been a long time since she had forced herself into this. Nevermind I hate it. And she used the back of her hand to smear it away. After a minute of messing with others items from the drawer and putting her gloves back on, she pulled out a simple but fine piece of jewelry. One of her most prized possessions, her Magic Pendant, and one of her few personal belongings she had kept for years. She placed it around her neck and admired the differed shades of the blue stone in the mirror. As it lay there, she closed her eyes and focused on her mental energy, noticing how it grew just a minuscule amount. Any quantity of extra energy, no matter how small, could turn the tides in battle.

So now came the time. As she turned to the table in the middle of the room, she saw it rise from the floor an inch or two, as if by its own accord. It hovered to the side. Under the table was a hidden trap door. This had been the main reason Kumatora had chosen to spend the night here. Aeolia had the foresight to have this in case she ever needed to reach her Needle without warning. She lifted the panel and climbed below into the darkness. Upon landing her fall echoed throughout the pitch black environment, not being able to see an inch ahead. She was quick to adjust herself, a little darkness would never be enough to thwart her. On the palm of her hand a bright orange and yellow spark burst into existence, once sustained for long enough, it became a flame and quickly gave her some lighting to work with. The flame burned silently, fueled by her pyrokinesis.

She noticed a lightless torch a few steps in. By simply looking at it she allowed another spark to form. It was ignited immediately and provided warmth to the area. She remembered it was there, as she had placed a series of them throughout this place after the first time she had used the underground passage. There were also the lamps that hung from the top and she decided to light those up as well as she walked by them. They would remain on for a few hours before loosing their pyrokinetic fuel and burning out on their own. She heard the soothing flow of water just to the side, this passage had been hand-made as it was evident of the bricks that lined the walls and the flat ground that seemed to have been paved. Though it wasn't clear who had crafted such stable tunnels.

Though dark and damp, this was the shortcut to Tazmily. There was the river, which they had been given a ride before by Paddle and Rowe, the Canoe Brothers. But obviously that was not an option for her. Kumatora would not have minded just walking south following the river, which would eventually lead to town, but she wanted to avoid the circuitous paths of the forest. And she needed to arrive before villagers crowded the place and before meeting up with Lucas. There was something she had to see for herself. Though knowing him, he would not be there when she arrived. She was familiar with his oversleeping habits.

As she walked through the Osohe Catacombs, Kumatora looked to the fire hovering on the palm of her hand. Though she held it close to herself, the flame did her no harm. What a curious thing PSI was, she never took the time to remind herself of this supernatural power. Perhaps because it seemed so natural to her. Being an adept wielder of PSI at such an early age, it was just part of who she was. Sometimes she couldn't imagine what her daily life would be like without it. There were very few others who possessed the abilities so there were not many she could share these sentiments with. So it was strange when some ordinary kid from the village was found to have a special form of PSI. That whole time, just lying dormant within him, only to have Ionia help him realize his hidden potential.

As convenient as these powers were though, Kumatora knew they were not without their faults. Manageable they were but at certain times . . . They had a tendency to 'malfunction' in the hands of the inexperienced. Something she had noticed the day prior . . .

The Princess knew something had gone awry from the moment she arrived at the shell-shaped house. Even while being a good distance away from the village, the energy of the discharge reached her. She knew someone had fired a PK Thunder though a very weak and ill-managed one at that. Immediately after the air became dense, the result of hundreds of similar thoughts —panic— occurring all at once had caused pressure to flood the air and travel throughout the islands, though only those with othersense were capable of feeling it. She had to admit that even at a distance, the surge of emotions was overwhelming.

Damn it Lucas, I told you not to use it yet, she remembered thinking. What sort of damage did you do this time? Not too soon after, the smoke rose and she was able to spot it just over the tree tops. After seeing the color of the smoke, it had to have been plant life that caught fire, its brown color was a tell-tale sign. It was better not to intervene, it wasn't her call and she knew the villagers already had it under control. Though if it happened to lose control, she wouldn't have hesitated to head in the direction of the danger.

PSI was dangerous, deadly he knew it and she knew it. So why the hell did he decide to flaunt his new PSI? It didn't make much sense to her, Lucas was shy and cautious as hell and he wouldn't experiment with it after she had warned him not to. Unless he didn't mean to use it, that was the only explanation Kumatora had. He did say he had not been using his PSI frequently, when she would use it daily and even so, sometimes it felt she had not used enough. There were consequences when one did not use their PSI, and maybe this was beginning to show for him.

As the rest of the day played out, it seemed it would have been another ordinary one. That is until the night sky had erupted into a blinding light followed by thunder that would have made one duck for cover. Now that PK Thunder was a much stronger, and controlled one, something the boy had not previously shown. At first she was proud even giving him a Way to go Lucas, but then she wondered why he was using it in the forest at night. Maybe for once he had taken her advice, and decided to practice it when he felt ready. But the forest was not what she had in mind when she told him to use his power where no one would get hurt. There were better suited, more optimal locations of practicing PSI that did not involve risking another forest fire. Plus it was better for him to have waited so he could practice under her supervision. She was prepared to give him a proper scolding when she next saw him. She even considered showing him what a real PK Thunder looked like.

But this, this thunder he had charged felt different to Kumatora, in a way she couldn't explain. It had almost felt . . . angry . . . very angry . . . As if the power behind it carried some sort of unusual hatred. PK energy did involve one's emotion but the way the boy had initiated it, did not seem healthy to Kumatora. And this worried her.

As to what the reason for his negative temperament and in turn the PSI behind it, she did not know. She hoped he was willing to talk to her about it soon, maybe she could help. She hoped it wouldn't go . . . There . . .

The passage was now coming to an end, the ladder was within sight. "Oh shit!" There was a sinister hiss from one of the dark corners so she immediately aimed her fire-manipulating hand in that direction. She caught two bright round eyes staring at her, but the eyes did not reflect her fire light. No, their bright green glow came from another source.

"You stupid Cleocatra! You scared the shit outta me! Fuck . . ." She put a hand over her racing heart, even she was susceptible to being surprised once in a while.

"Mrrrooowww!" It began to bounce away, using its spring-like tail wrapped in mummy bandages.

I let my guard down, I never let my guard down. She closed her eyes. Well at least I'm at the end of this tunnel, I just have to climb— Something flung itself at her legs, wrapping around them until she was unable to move. You kidding me? Speaking of letting my guard down—

The Cleocatra had returned, this time with a darker intent. The Chimeras may be gone, but I still gotta deal with your pesky little ass . . . She staggered forward, but then focused her flame on the worn bandages wrapped around her legs.

The creature smelled something burning. "Meeeoooww!" It hissed again releasing its weak grip from the young adult's legs. It pounced backward, aided by its springy neck and tail.

"So what, you wanna go?" Kumatora raised a fist, egging the cryptid on.

The Cleaocatra's eyes ignited with an even brighter green light. A field of energy erupted around it, covering the mummy cat's entire body. The burned portions of its tail returned to normal. That energy, Kumatora would never have mistaken it for anything else.

PSI.

Life-up β, huh? "Show me what you got then pussy cat!" Kumatora began to strafe the the right, not wanting to have her back to the enemy again. The Cleocatra walked in a similar motion, they continued in a circle and maintained their eyes on each other. Kumatora's now flared up, infused with a phosphorescent magenta, in her fist she focused her attack. "Fire α!"

A well-trained hand was not to be taken lightly; the bolt of fire did not miss its target. "Hssss!" The feline was struck with the flame projectile, but it did not catch fire. Once again, it covered itself in that green energy, healing the damage that had been done. Kumatora was sure she could knock it out in one punch, but she did not want to miss this opportunity to use her pyrokinesis on a moving target. This could serve as a learning experience. So let's try some more. If it wants to pick a fight with me, then I'll gladly oblige. She sent another fire towards the cat but it had adapted quickly. Using its springy tail, it hopped out of the way. The resulting fire collided with the wall, a burst of rhombus shapes erupted at the source of the strike, successively moving horizontally along the wall until they withered away. The burst echoed throughout the chamber, resonating through the tunnels. A flame lamp under one of the tunnel passages shook, the bouncing flame grew weak before regaining its stability.

I need to be careful, if my fire is too strong, it could damage Osohe's Catacombs, I should only stick with a weak alpha fire. During the time of these few thoughts, the Cleocatra had pounced on the young woman, revealing a set of claws aimed at her head. Though it was a simple cat scratch, it did sting. "You little shit!" At this she grew frustrated and prepared a stronger fire. Her previous idea of caution was already out the window.

The creature was struck by this flame as well and soon after, cast another Life-up β, though this fire did seem to make a larger number on it. But the damage she dealt didn't matter. This thing just keeps spammin' Life-up on itself. This will never end, unless—

The Cleocatra now remained still in an erect siting position, beginning to focus its own power. Its eyes changed from a bright green to a bright violet, and they stared directly into Kumatora. Wait, that's—

The cryptid focused a different wavelength than the previous, large purple circles formed in its eyes, and with a blink of its glowing irises, those circles expanded outward, growing drastically until the circles seemed to evaporate before coming into contact with the surrounding walls. But not before casting a neon glow in contrast to the firelight.

Kumatora shut her eyes and faced away just in time, but now she felt an unusual amount of fatigue from the waves that reached her. Her body grew weak, drowsiness washed over her. But luckily this had not been enough to knock her into sleep.

Hypnosis α, I haven't seen that one in a while. She leaned on her knee trying to regulate her breathing to force herself to stay awake. Strangely a sly smile overrode her expression. If that's how you want to play it then fine, let's see how you handle this! In her counter strike, she focused the same wavelength the enemy had just used on her. But in contrast, it would carry more range than an alpha. The same purple glow gathered around Kumatora, then she used both hands to push the air in front of her, sending the huge group of circles in the cat's direction. "Hypnosis Ω!"

She did not anticipate the Cleocatra had repeated its previous attack while she summoned hers. As a result, both of their attacks fired at the same time, but instead of colliding with each other like she expected, they went past one another. Both attacks landed on their targets. Unfortunately for Kumatora since she was already drowsy from the previous hypnosis, this one had finished the job. She felt her body falling onto the cold ground, she tried so hard to keep her eyes open. The last thing she saw was the Cleocatra falling on its side, asleep.

. . .

. . .

Hey . . .

. . .

Hey wake up . . .

. . .

You're in the middle of a fight . . .

. . .

. . . If you don't wake up soon, you might not wake up at all . . .

. . . Why do you feel pressure on your head . . ?

. . .

That's when she forced her eyes open. She awoke only to find there was something bouncing on her head. Not just bouncing, pounding. The Cat had been smashing her head down into the ground, the surrounding pavement was being reduced to pieces. She sent a telekinetic force wave outward, the Cleocatra was flung towards the wall. But instead of hitting the wall, it spun its body so it could kick off of it, then landed on all fours.

After she applied that psychic force, she felt something jab at her head. Concussions were a very serious issue especially on a psychic. There was no known extent to the damage they could cause, both on the psionic and the ones unfortunate to be around them. Similar to another PSI technique she could perform, it could result in feelings of strangeness, cause the power to destabilize in a user, or even downright backfire. But in this instance Kumatora felt fine, only causing her added aggravation. There was an unknown boost in her physical attack output, but she was not going to use her fists now. As angry as she was, she needed to keep a level head, there was analyzing that had to be done here.

That was weird, both PSI waves didn't clash. I guess Assist PSI doesn't always make contact with one another. Maybe that is only the case with Offensive PSI. The cat released green energy again, back to square one she guessed. This is getting annoying, I might just have to try something new. Though I don't think it's ready just yet but I'll try it out anyway. But first, let's try to rid it of some of its PP.

Forming another PK Fire, she showed it off to the feline, making it obvious on what she attempted to do, in hopes she could fake it out. But behind her back, she prepared something else in her hand. Focusing on two different psychokinetic maneuvers simultaneously required a great amount of practice, conditioning the mind into doing things it wasn't meant to. Good thing she had her personal training sessions daily.

The cat's attention was on the charging fire on the girl's hand, it did not notice the small purple glow from behind her back. It was already preparing another Life-up β . . .

The girl rose her fiery hand over her head, saw as the Cleocatra was focused on it, then whipped her other arm from behind her back. "PSI Magnet!" The alpha variant of this technique made itself known in the form of a large violet-pink rhombus. It rushed through the passage instantly reaching its target. It seemed to latch around the feline and pulled at its very essence. The rhombus returned to Kumatora with attached beams of light. With an arm, she appeared to snatch at invisible matter. There was definitely something there. She felt more power return to her though it wasn't much, but at least the enemy had less energy to work with.

The cat, now a little confused as to what that was, cast another Life-up β, but to no effect. Now it was unsure of whether to approach or not, so it stood there lost in thought. Kumatora took advantage of this state. "Magnet α!" More beams of light returned to her, at least this was one way of recovering PP.

The cat suddenly broke from its pensive state, prepared its claws and charged. It was very fast, but she had trained to be faster. She dodged the claws that swiped at her face, when it missed it hopped around the area, not attempting to strike or evade her. It seemed to have built up too much momentum so now it was focused on trying to stabilize itself. Kumatora finally saw the opportunity to test that new Assist technique she had been trying to figure out for weeks. She extended a hand and begun moving it in a circular motion. PSI energy formed there, the streaks of light continued to build upon themselves as she charged the power. The barely audible buzzing sound that had begun now resonated through the chamber, the very walls and ground seemed to vibrate. The bright Magenta glow that illuminated the room seemed blinding, these dark tunnels were never designed to contain the intensity of these rays. Finally, she pulled her hand back and thrust it forward. "PSI Spiral!"

The large vortex did not have the opportunity to leave her hand. In that moment, there was a burst of light and the spiral was no more. "Damn it! I knew it wasn't ready!" The Cleocatra swiftly unwrapped a large section of its body and wrapped itself around the girl. The binding was tighter this time as she could feel her pulse beating in her arms. Now that it was this close to her, there was a putrid smell she couldn't identify that came from the bandages. She remembered Boney once tried his Sniff technique on one of these cats, and had ran back yelping in utter disgust. The smell wavered her focus so the cat sank its fangs into her arm. Kumatora impulsively called up her Recovery PSI and muttered, "Healing α" unsure if this creature carried some sort of disease.

Still unable to move Kumatora could only think. She had the idea to constantly use PSI Magnet, surrounding herself in a field of lavender energy with that same rhombus shape from before, fluctuating in rapid intervals. Since the enemy limited her movement, she was having difficulty using Magnet as she often moved even when performing a psychic attack, this added more power. Her body was immobilized but her mind was functional and the source of the power so she could still call upon the energy. The Cleocatra was running low on PP so she decided to abandon this technique. Still using her mind she charged one last alpha fire and focused the spark on the bandages. "HSSSS!" It spat. The cat retracted itself creating space between the two and began charging another Life-up. But this time, the green energy began only to have it vanish instantly. Nothing happened.

"You're all out." Extending a hand she used a move one last time. Night-night kitty. "Hypnosis Ω!" The purple light diffracted in the cat's eyes, the previous green glow had been extinguished from them. Its body lulled to the side before falling onto the rough pavement. Kumatora thought she heard it purring. It wouldn't be waking up anytime soon from what she could tell.

"If you actually did some real damage, I would have burned you to a crisp. But I don't feel like that's necessary anymore." She still summoned a Life-up α just for good measure. The scratches and bite faded away and the pounding sensation in her head calmed down. Even her hair adjusted itself to how it was before the fight. PSI did work in strange ways sometimes. Well at least I learned something new with this one. She pulled out her memo book as she turned to make her way to the exit.

There was the light of the early morning sun to welcome her onto what was once Osohe Castle's courtyard; the place where Aeolia's Needle once resided. It was vastly different from what she remembered. Being the unofficial guardian of the castle gave her a sense of responsibility at a young age. She had spent a lot of her time roaming the castle grounds, looking for hidden passageways, and playfully messing with the ghosts who made it their home. Now looking at its state she couldn't help but feel an amount of pity at what it had been reduced to. But like everything in this world, it had experienced its time only for it to have met its end. And when its time finally did come, it was sure to depart this world with more than just a bang. The thunder of its demolishment was heard all throughout the islands, from miles away. An appropriate ending to such a mysterious castle.

In a way it was bittersweet. Maybe with time, new life would emerge, settle on the castle grounds and continue the cycle. As to what life would inhabit it, only time would tell.

Passing the spot where the Needle once rested, she thought she saw movement up ahead, a figure that was low to the ground. As if still carried by her natural instinct to protect these grounds from intruders — though there was nothing to protect — she sought to find who or what it could have been. She sensed a mind, a human one, deeply focused on a task. The calm and slow thoughts of this human, it was an elder, and one she was all too familiar with. At this she relaxed knowing he meant no harm. Kumatora usually didn't feel like greeting anyone, but it was different for this individual. As she grew closer, she had seen his handy gardening work, planting potatoes and patches of plants she couldn't identify on the spot.

As he attended to his plants, he heard footsteps behind him and seeing that he was always alone, nervously turned to find who was drawing near. "Oh, it's you." The really tough looking girl.

"Up pretty early aren't you Nippolyte." She stopped and crossed her arms. She noticed his gray beard had clumps of dirt attached. He was dressed in his work clothes, brown pants, loose gray unbuttoned shirt with a long sleeve white shirt underneath it, clothes that were meant to get dirty.

"Clearly I'm not the only one ma'am." He patted his hands on his pants. "We're just busy folk you and I, getting our business done as usual."

"Gotta avoid the afternoon heat, am I right." She winked.

Those were exactly his thoughts. "You could say that. I really need the cool times you know." He stroke the few amounts of hair he had on the top of his head, this only added dirt. "I finally finished clearing some of the debris away, piled it over there." He pointed to a corner.

Doing that was no easy feat for a sole person, even considering he was well into his years. Kumatora believed it was due to being the grave keeper for so long, digging holes using only a shovel must have required constantly moving large rocks out of the way. "Why don't you just find somewhere else to plant? It would probably be easier for you. This place doesn't exactly scream 'garden' anymore." She gestured to the front of the castle's ground where they now stood. She wanted to know how he would respond.

" 'Fraid I can't do that Miss. There's just something about this soil, it's so fertile, has my crops growing in no time. I couldn't just abandon it like that. Can't give up leaving the place really, you know it has more of a sentimental value too I've been planting here for years so I feel like it's worth saving. Plus the water is so near, you're not gonna find a place like this as easily."

Those were the type of words Kumatora was looking for. So the cycle of life would continue, it had been going on even before the castle was gone. Maybe this place had the right person taking care of it after all. All that was needed was one person, then maybe more would join in the effort. "All right I'll leave you to it then." She continued and saw the drawbridge.

"Heading to town are we? Is it the commotion from yesterday that attracted you to stop by today?"

She stopped. "What commotion?" She knew about Lucas and the fire but didn't know much else.

He hesitated, surprised she didn't know about yesterday's incident. Then again, she was the last person to live up in the mountains so maybe that would explain her lack of knowledge. "Your friend, Lucas . . . He caused a fire on the mayor's property. Some say it was an accident, but others are accusing him of something much more serious."

"Really . . ." An accusation is news to me. "What do you believe?"

"Can't say really, I wasn't there and I'm not sure of the boy's behavior myself, I don't know him that well. You may have a better understanding of it though." He was being honest, she could feel it. "What about you, do you feel he is capable of committing a crime?"

She thought of her response. Was he capable? Definitely. Would he have done it under malicious intent? She couldn't say for sure in this moment. "Aren't we all capable?" I would like to say no, but I can't say yes. I'm just gonna have to check it out myself.

He chuckled to himself. "I guess you're right 'bout that. I would like to shoo away the thought of him being guilty but the rumors constantly flowing around against him doesn't make it easy. It's ultimately one's own decision on what to believe."

"Going off of rumors is a crappy way of going about it if you ask me." She reiterated.

"Very true. Well go ahead and have a talk with your friend, I've still got a lot'a planting to do before noon."

At least this old man was one who still had some sense about him and would think for himself. Kumatora preferred that in a person. She silently waved to him and made her way south.

Passing through Sunset Cemetery wasn't an enjoyable experience. She had heard from a certain Thief about the dead rising from their graves one night, attacking any living creature. Little unsettled the Psychic Princess but even she had to admit zombies were a no-go. It wasn't so much because she was scared, but rather simply the idea grossed her out. Good thing she could used Healing to a degree. Since another night had come and go, there was nothing to worry about. Besides, the Pigmasks had influenced many abnormalities and she just assumed this was one of them. Now that they were disbanded, it was unlikely it would happen again. As she was near the exit, there was movement in the corner of her eye, as if one of the gravestones shifted . . . Any other would feel unease, but she simply shrugged it off. Just out of earshot, there was the sound of grinding gravel . . .

Up until now, there was no other mind present. This was soon to change, she could sense maybe three or four in the area, this was the Crossroads, a place where many would gather with the same interest, boarding the train. Where cargo would be transferred both east and west. And the main busy link between the two sides of the islands. Riding in the green passenger train was a pleasant experience. If one had the money, then they could say it was worth it. Yeah it was expensive, but pleasant, especially when she had ridden with her friends. In this case it was not about the destination but the journey, Kumatora thought of one of those cliché sayings the conductor would hand them in a brochure. But by the looks of it, the train wasn't going to stop by. There was a very large notice on the drop off deck that read something like: The train won't be taking anyone or anything anywhere anytime soon.

Talk about alliteration. She rolled her eyes. Who writes these stupid notices? There was something else about repairs but Kumatora did not bother to read anymore of it. She focused her attention on the large house up ahead.

What hit her first was the smell of charred wood. At this distance she could only imagine the extent until she got to examining it. So this is what he set fire to. Even with the smallest spark, PK Thunder was capable of setting almost anything on fire if it was flammable. So she didn't find it all that surprising at what the tree had been reduced to. She stood just outside of the rope that closed off the perimeter, her hands on her hips and looked the tree up and down. A flimsy Caution sign hung on the rope. She flicked the air and the sign grew even more slanted, then she went over the rope. First she looked for where the PK Thunder had stricken. She used a hand to wipe some of the soot away. Yep this was definitely the result of electrokinesis the blast marks on the wood that had been left was all she needed to see. If one were to look very closely, tiny hexagonal shapes were left around the blast, as if they had been deeply branded into the wood. These spaces hadn't caught fire, only because these sparks were not as hot as the blast itself. The hexagons were akin to embers, as it was only energy that dispersed from the main source and would either drift away or collide with the surrounding environment, in this case the tree's trunk. Entropy and the chaotic ways energy is lost, this is why it appeared the way it did

A local passed by, his shirt boasted a 'I Heart NY' on it, and he saw the young 'boy-ish?' woman in a place that had been closed off to the public. "Hey uhhh, Miss, I don't think you're suppose to be snooping around in there. There is a sign you know."

"Shh shh shh, I'm not snooping, I'm looking around . . ." She replied while searching for more details.

Isn't that the same but putting it lightly? "Looking around for what?"

"Signs of foul-play of course." She closed an eye, placing a thumb close to her face and moving it away and close again.

Foul-play? "Obviously Miss there is not much to see here. Just a burned tree that's it."

"Ha! Obviously you can't see anything." She formed a rectangle shape using both her index fingers and thumbs, and began looking through it at different angles. "Hmmm, mmmm . . ."

She's so strange, and masculine might I add. I thought she was a boy at first, a boy that may have been a strong believer in the color pink. I mean it's okay if guys like pink, I like pink, but I can't let others know that about me!

"I said, shhh! I'm trying to concentrate here!" She had not been facing him.

"But I didn't say anything Miss."

"Uh yeah you did, saying I look like a dude (which is true) and liking the color pink which I see no problem in. A it's not pink it's magenta so get your hues right and B, one of my best friends wears magenta pants and he's a guy, so you shouldn't be afraid of liking certain colors, just because you're afraid of going against social norms."

His eyes whitened. Th-this ch-chick, is she some sort of Psychic?! No, no that can't be—

"Yeah actually I am, so buzz off will ya? I'm trying to focus here, and I can't do that when you keep talking to yourself in your head." Her telepathic words rang in his mind and out loud, she was now aiming her hand-rectangle at his face.

At the speed he was out of there, it left Kumatora impressed. "Sheesh, some people just don't mind their own business . . ."

Kumatora continued her investigation for a few minutes before feeling there was nothing else to see. As she took one last look at the tree, for a brief moment, she felt eyes looking at her from above somewhere. She turned to face the mayor's house, specifically the top window. The feeling was gone when she looked. Her eyes narrowed before walking back in the direction of the Train Station.

The Notice Board from a distance was a mess, newer papers and messages cluttered the older ones creating layers and layers of useless and out of date information. Since she could only wait, she began to reorganize it by setting the newer messages aside and tearing down then burning the old ones.

Coming from the west, the direction of Sunshine Forest, was a father and son. "Hey, hey Dad, look. It's Lucas's friend, the very tough girl, we should tell her right?" Fuel remembered the first time he saw her when he found her washed up by the river with Wess years ago. At the time, he had mistaken her for a boy.

"I hate to break the news to her suddenly like that but, yes, we should tell her Fuel."

"Hello Miss Kumatora! Fuel greeted brightly.

"Huh?" Since the Notice Board had been blocking her view, she had to entirely shift to the side.

"Thanks for that Miss, no one ever cleans that thing." Lighter started by saying.

"I'm only doing it 'cause I got the time, I hate clutter." She ripped off another old notice, her pyrokinesis reduced the paper to ashes within a second.

Fuel looked to the psionic fire then caught that supernatural glint in her eye. Whoa, her eyes light up too. Just like Lucas's did last night.

Last night . . . Kumatora caught the thought and targeted her gaze to him, there was an immediate shift in his nerves at this.

Oh right, you can probably read minds too, maybe you're reading mine right now, kind of how Lucas did. I'm thinking too loud again aren't I?

"Yeah you are, heh." She gave him a wink and toothy smile.

Lighter was not sure what was happening as he looked to the girl and his son.

"So what went down last night?" She wanted to get right to the point.

Fuel's nerves grew tighter. Images flashed in his mind, and her toothy smile was gone, replaced by a serious grimace. She caught enough to understand what happened but still allowed Lighter to say what he needed to.

She sure does catch on quick. Lighter had to admire the perspicacious young woman. "Last night, Fuel and Lucas, well, they ran into Chimeras in Sunshine Forest. We're spreading the word, and are going to the Police Station right now."

"I doubt the police are going to do anything about it right away, that is if they decide to do anything at all. But, it is still important they know because when something does happen, they can't say we didn't warn them."

Lighter did not like what she implied, but he did accept she spoke some truth. He was not sure how the authorities would receive the news, but they must know this posed a serious threat. Those Chimeras . . . they would strike again if nothing was done. And he did not like the idea of danger falling upon another person, least of all a child. He would never wish that on anyone's family.

"Well let's hurry Fuel."

"R-right Dad."

"W-wait," Kumatora said. The two paused and looked to each other, unsure of what else needed to be said. She looked to the brunet, his anxiety continued to grow. "Fuel, last night when Lucas used PK Thunder, could you feel his . . . anger?" This must have seemed like a strange question, how could a non-psychic sense something only those with the power could sense? But it was possible, if the circumstance allowed it.

Fuel gulped. "I-it wasn't just anger . . . There was something else, I don't know how to explain it. But at one point, I felt like it wasn't him. At least not how I've come to know him and we've been friends since we were little. But last night, I-I was actually scared. I wasn't scared of him exactly, I was more scared of what he could do. I guess I never thought he had an angry side. I know he just wanted to protect me, but that's not all of it. I mean what he did was really cool with his powers and the lightning, but to see him get that angry . . . I just really hope he's okay."

Yeah I'm beginning to worry about him too. She did not want to say this out loud and instead only transmitted the thought to Fuel.

"Fuel, you didn't mention that yesterday." Lighter saw how his son grew quiet. From what he remembered, Lucas seemed concerned, but determined to help.

"It's just that I wasn't sure how to feel about it. But Kumatora knows what I mean, so now I know I'm not the only one."

There was something about him yesterday afternoon during our practice session. I still don't know what it is myself. Kumatora kept this thought to herself. "I'm gonna keep close watch on him."

"Well if there is anyone that can help him, it's you Miss. I'm sure no one else understands him more than you do at this point, (sorry Flint) especially with all that magic mumbo-jumbo."

Kumatora said nothing, and faced the Notice Board once again. As they left for town square, they conversed among themselves.

"It's not magic Dad, Lucas told me it's psychokinesis."

At least someone gets it right. Kumatora thought.

"It's all supernatural son, that's how I understand it."

"Doesn't supernatural mean that it doesn't exist in our world?"

"Yeah . . . Something like that . . ."

"But it does exist, so it's not supernatural . . ."

So she stared at the board, giving herself a moment to accept the threat was back. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the tube of lipstick, looks like it would be useful after all. She wrote her message, clearly intending for it to be noticeable. Good luck to whoever has to wash this off. Magypsy lipstick was definitely not average make-up. It would tend to be permanent once dried, and extremely difficult to wash off.

She leaned on the board with her arms crossed and closed her eyes. She allowed her mind to relax attempting to clear it away, something she would admit to herself she would not do regularly, but was important. Ionia had tried to work with her on it, but Kumatora never wanted to just sit around and wait for nothing. Another regret, not spending enough time learning the depths there was to this power . . . not spending enough time with her caretaker . . .

She was unable to feel profound emptiness in her thoughts, it was a challenge that would be hard for her to master. But in this moment, while there were few people, while the sun was still rising, and when she actually tried to clear her mind, she began to feel something. Something that should not have belonged and was not appropriate with the calm ambiance.

Her eyes shot open and she spun around. There's that feeling again, like I'm being watched. She looked high and low, but this was something eyes could not see. There was a moment of dread as if whatever it was knew it had been caught, but instantly everything transitioned back into a calm ordinary morning. She was not inept, very few things could fool her.

She went back trying to relax, there wasn't much else to do while she waited for that sleepy-head. Oh yeah, she caught him soon, somewhere in town, he was very sleepy. But there was something different about him this time. Yesterday there was that worried aura about him, but today . . .

Kumatora let out a heavy sigh, she got the feeling it would not be an easy day. But she didn't mind.