The New Kid
Chapter 19
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Isaac: Is the duct tape gone?
You've gotta be kidding me…
Isaac: Not my fault your friend keeps experimenting on me with it. (shudder) "Edible" duct tape… without telling me what it was… that was just cruel…
Jenna: Speaking of which, your therapists called. They threatened to tape your room closed if you ran away again.
Isaac: …….think happy thoughts… think happy thoughts… think happy thoughts… think-
Felix: (somewhere in distance) HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP MMMMEEEEEEEEE!
Jenna: (digs through a drawer beside Isaac, pulls out duct tape, and tosses it out the door for Felix.)
Isaac: OO ………………………………………… (walks away extremely stiff and quiet)
oO That was odd… Anyways, on to the fanfic. XP I kinda slacked off on the reviewing and editing for this one. Finished it, glimpsed over it, got excited that it's the same month as my last update, and went ahead and submitted it. At least this way I won't mull over it for another few weeks, though. Once again, I'd rather answer all reviews at once instead of one at a time, so review responses are on my website. n.n And a quick note ahead of time, this site won't let me but a ? and ! right after one another, so the loophole I use for now is putting ?-! instead. Looks a little weird but it works.
Jenna: (Duct tapes a sign saying "Yuja doesn't own Golden Sun" to my computer, then writes "Boo" with duct tape on Isaac's door) heheheh…
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Shots rang out and echoed around the room, each guard attempting to take out the Adept but being blocked by the invisible barrier around him. The Adept's friends gave a short squeak and ducked when a bullet ricocheted near them. Isaac, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to what was happening. Iodem stared up at him fearfully and slowing edged back, not daring to make a sudden move. Babi continued to shout his angry orders to stop the boy, though he was now mostly hidden behind one of his guards for protection.
Isaac's mind was blank, or at least his thoughts were. He could see Iodem before him, hear the shouts and gun fire around him, even felt the sphere of Psynergy forming at his hand, and yet there was nothing he could to about it. You have to learn to control it. A sliver of conscious thought took hold of him when he remembered what Kyle had once told him.
Then suddenly Mia's voice finally broke through his thoughts. "Isaac!" The scream brought Isaac's mind racing back to reality with a jolt and the Psynergy weakened. Isaac stared at his hand as though scared of the diminishing sphere, then down at Iodem the same way. With his shield lessened, the next gun shot went straight through to strike the Adept against his right waist. "Isaac!"
"Stop him! Grab him while you can!" The injury cut into Isaac's mind set, and the Psynergy vanished completely so several guards could grab him as he started to fall. Babi was fuming as he came forward. "Knock him out and lock him up! You incompetent fools! Don't let me see you again until you all know how to properly restrain him! Iodem!"
"Yes, my lord, I'm alright-."
"Quit babbling and learn how to train your men!"
Iodem was caught speechless as two of the guards helped him to his feet. He stared after his superior as the old man limped angrily from the room. "M… My lord?" Shaking his head, he turned to the men in his usual calm, though still shaken. "You heard him. Bind his hands and take him to the medical ward. Have him sedated, treated for his wound, and then returned to his cell." A quick "Yes sir" later and all three teens were being led away once more.
Isaac's head hung low as he was pulled along, a guard on either side of him. He was only dimly aware of Mia and Jenna watching him from behind, and he didn't care at the moment on where he was going. In fact… he didn't care much about anything just now. It was as though he had utterly and completely given up finally, though the familiar pressure still lingered in his chest.
"Hey! Losers!" Isaac came out of his stupor just as his escorts were knocked away and someone grabbed the Adept by the hand, pulling him back the way he had just come from.
"All those joke e-mails between you and Jenna… and THAT'S the best distraction insult you can come up with?" Isaac looked up to see Ivan pulling him away by the wrist. Looking back he saw Garet and Felix ramming into the guards, Mia and Jenna helping with the decoy as well once they were free of their guards.
"Ivan? What's-?"
"No time, Isaac. Hurry, they can only hold them off for so long!"
Isaac fell silent again, now running on his own slightly behind the smaller boy. They rounded a corner and Isaac had an unnerving hunch about where the halls would lead them. "Can I at least know where we're going?" He covered his side wound with his left hand, not noticing the slight relief.
Jenna and Mia rounded the corner, followed by Garet with Felix bringing up the rear. "Let's put it this way. Your little fit over what Iodem said has a few… lasting effects," called Garet. There were shouts behind them as the attacked guards recovered and chased after them. Garet glanced over his shoulder then forward again, grinning. "Think we ticked them off?"
"Drop the comedy act and just move it!" Garet grumbled over Felix's rant, but kept part of his grin visible nonetheless.
"What Garet means is," answered Ivan, not looking back, "your Psynergy tends to be somewhat of the more aggressive kind. Whenever used in a fit of rage, it's usually expelled in large amounts. When that fit is suddenly cut off, the excess energy builds up within the host, in this case you, instead of dispelling into the surrounding environment."
"That's why it was always so hard for you to control it. It's like not being able to burp after a big meal!" Garet broke out laughing, probably more from the amount of "eww"s coming from the girls behind him and Felix making new threats about Garet needing to shut up.
Some bullets shot past them suddenly, but Ivan led them to duck around another corner and down the next corridor. Isaac dared another glance over his shoulder as they neared another turn, thinking the guards would be catching up and shooting by now. For a split second, he thought he sensed a weak amount of Psynergy being used, but all he saw was a glimpse of something green covering part of the hall intersection. Then they turned the corner and it was out of sight again, and Isaac didn't pay any attention to a faint illumination coming from a hand Felix seemed to be hiding now.
With all the turns they were taking, Isaac half wondered if Ivan had somehow gotten lost. Just as he was about to say something, Ivan was already answering. Don't worry, I know where we're going. We just have to take a few more detours though to avoid the-"
They rounded another corner and a booming voice shouted out. "STOP!"
Ivan slid to a stop, the rest almost running into him. "…guards…" Looking around, Isaac felt his stomach sinking. They were in a T-intersection of corridors, and they were surrounded on all 3 sides by armed guards with guns aimed. The teenaged group backed up against the wall.
Garet glared at the security while speaking quietly out of the side of his mouth. "Ivan… I thought you two had us covered…?"
Ivan looked just as uneasy. "Sheba… She can only monitor so much at once, you know…"
With the new danger, the pressure in Isaac was starting to throb again, making him sweat and breathe with some difficulty. His right hand was clutched in a fist at his side while his left hand still covered his injury. "We… d-don't have time for this… Ivan? Which way do we need to go?"
"Um… To our current left. What are you thinking?"
Isaac moved slightly from the wall. "You're the psychic." There was another shout to stop as Isaac took two steps. When he lifted his foot to take another step, the gunfire started all over again. In a flash, a hemisphere of Psynergy blocked the projectiles from touching him or any of his friends. In the brief pause of confusion, the Adept swung out his arms and stone-like thorns, ranging in size from a couple feet to the height of the ceiling, burst up from the floors to the right and in front, blocking those halls and forcing the guards in them back. Isaac then swung a hand to the left and the barrage of spires forced the security to scatter to the sides. "Come on!" He staggered forward and broke into another run down the new path, his stunned friends quickly following after.
"Where to n-now?" Isaac winced and almost tripped over his own feet, but Garet appeared beside him and put one of Isaac's arms across his shoulders to support him.
"We wouldn't be able to get clear of this place in time, so we have to get you to one of the training rooms like the one you were in."
Isaac couldn't even look over to Ivan, having to focus everything in him to keep moving. "What do you mean, 'in time'?"
"Your pent up Psynergy is unstable. If not relieved in a timely enough fashion… well, you already know the rest." Ivan didn't have to explain anymore, Isaac really did know the rest.
The group skidded to a stop in another long hall when shouts were heard up ahead, and the security they left behind must have recovered already from the sounds of it. Jenna was practically dancing. "Now what? Can't Sheba find a new way out yet?" Ivan stuttered, looking as though he was at a complete loss.
The shouts and sound of running boots were getting too close for comfort now. Felix muttered something, then repeated it as the guards in front appeared on the hall. "Just pick a room, Ivan." He was backing up, one arm held out slightly to keep Jenna behind him. "Ivan!"
"I-I…"
"Which room?-!"
Ivan squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head. "I-I don't…" Isaac was staring at Ivan, feeling sorry and at the same time responsible for all the pressure being put on the boy.
Just as the guards appeared behind them, though, Isaac's eyes seemed to glaze over briefly. For a split second, he saw himself in the burning forest vision he had seen in the park, and heard the dry, leafy whisperings, this time urging him to move. Isaac pulled away from Garet's help and hurriedly stumbled for a solid door. "In here!" He burst through the door and held it while the rest followed him in, then quickly shut it.
Jenna shouted his name at him and Isaac jumped back to his senses, realizing he was still gripping the doorknob. He turned the lock and stepped back a few steps. They weren't in one of the intended training rooms, but it was still a fairly large room with a few crates here and there along the walls. It had probably been used for storage, judging from the dust-free squares scattered throughout. Garet was mad, but Felix was managing to keep his calm demeanor for the most part as he asked, "Now what?"
Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly doubled over on his knees, hugging his chest. It was worse than it had ever been before, as though the Psynergy was actually trying to tear its way out of him this time. Not even the cooling feel of Mia's healing attempts could help. The Mercury Adept was kneeling at his side, the others also huddled around whether they could help or not. The distraction was enough, though.
"Tch… tch… tch. Why must children these days be so stubborn?" Everyone froze, except Isaac who merely squinted up through the pain with one eye. Lord Babi sneered down at him from the doorway, the door itself hanging awkwardly on one hinge.
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To be continued, so don't kill me yet for the cliffy… please? n.n; Oy, this next part is going to be a pain to write. So action-y and dramatic. Still up in the air on if there's 2 or 3 more chapters left, depends on how I wrap it up. Next chapter will definitely be the main "showdown", though. I had hoped to make it one chapter for the finale, but then it would be about double the length of this chapter and probably take me an extra month or two to finish up, then who knows how much longer to edit and reread until I'm happy with it all. But hey! At least this way there's 2 updates in the same month! X3