Tsukansu and the rest of the Minors and I stayed that night at the hotel. We had a good dinner there, and the hotel staff was more than happy to provide service for a council. Tsukansu had told me something that was really important. He told me that the Fire Minor could not be tracked through the locket of mine, which is why the locket wouldn't tell me where the second Minor was when I tried to look it up back in Hanayuki when his powers went off.
He told me the only way to find them is to use the other four Base Minors, who could sense each other's presence. That was going to be hard, I realized. He also told us that for the other Minor left, the Mind Minor would be hard to get also. Mind would be by far the strongest yet and we had to be careful when approaching that one. He said we'd have to come with him in order to get her, and he knew where she was.
We exited the hospital after a good night's sleep, leaving the large building and into the dry plains during the afternoon. Tsukansu had overslept like he always had.
"What now?" Rick said, leaving the building last as he rubbed the sand out of his eyes, his clothes wrinkled.
"Now, we take the shortcut to Kinotoro City," Tsukansu told us, looking back to us in the early afternoon scene. He glanced at us with a clever look, none of us reacting except me, who was wide awake.
"What do you mean? There's a shortcut route to Kinotoro?" I asked, my voice silent and ready. I cleared my throat and breathed in cool, desert air.
"I mean," he began to tell us, putting his hand forward. Right away, a bright yellow portal opened up, swirling circles inside it, a ripple in the swaying desert air. He motioned for us to get in, and right away I knew what he meant by a shortcut. Rick's eyes were puzzled in confusion as to what the portal was for. It was obviously his first time seeing one. But he followed suit anyway.
I was the first who walked in, taking small steps, somewhat afraid of the big hole that vacuumed everything in. Immediately I was taken away into the blinding light, and then followed Walter, the one who seemed the least afraid. Then Derek, and finally the resistant Rick. The other two Minors came in at the same time, and then came in Tsukansu. We were surrounded by enigmatic, white surroundings. We all seemed to be totally lost, but we knew where we were going. We knew where we would get to in the end.
PoVS
My name is Miroku Teresa. My name is Miroku Teresa. My name is Miroku Teresa. I kept repeating the sentence over and over again, trying to get an idea of who I was, my mind drifting into the ebony corners of my thoughts. But it didn't help. It didn't heal the confusion to any scale.
I sat there in the white, completely blank room with pale surroundings, even the basic kindergarten books they had given me. The large room was white and glaring, only two windows to bring in extra light from the sun, the mystical sphere that beamed its sizzling intervention which could've been seen from the window. I sat there in the left hand corner of the room, right by the one of two windows.
I sat there, back against the wall and my body wrapped up in a beige straightjacket, only allowing movement of my legs. I felt trapped, completely helpless when I heard that loud banging on the metallic white door.
"Feeding time!" a man shouted as he impolitely swung open the door, then kicked a metal tray containing what they called a meal across the squeaky white floors, the tray ending up a few feet away. I looked at the thin metal tray for a second, the meal being a cup of water and some kind of porridge I didn't want to know what it was made of. I looked up to the guy who kicked the tray over with a loud clang, who gave me a mean, belittling stare as he slammed the door shut again, his steps being heard from far away. "Good meal!" he seemed to shout sarcastically from the outside corridor in a muffled voice. "It'll be your last," he scoffed.
I ignored his threat and sarcasm, and looked back to the plate of white, slimy porridge with sad, gleaming eyes, thinking of how the people in this Mental Institution treated me. How did they expect me to eat this with my arms stuck together? Why did they look down on us so much? Just because they believe the people trapped here were so out of our minds, does that mean they can look at us like that? I left the tray untouched, the gray metal standing out from the totally white surroundings that they've caged me in. Why did they believe I'm crazy? I'm not crazy. I have a right mind. If anything, crazy is one thing I'm not.
I peered out the window the best I could from my place in the dark corner, the light pouring in from the sun's rightful place embedded in the sky. Standing tall below the mighty sphere, I saw trees. Acres and acres of trees that surrounded the institute for miles, seeming to never end, caging me even more like a parrot in hell's underground asylum.
Is this my life? I thought. Being caged inside like some kind of wild animal? Being cuffed and keeping my arms tied together? Is this what I've become? Or has the world just made a mistake? They've told me I was crazy, that I was out of my mind just because of the things I saw, the truth I've told. And I'm finally starting to believe them sometimes. Sometimes, when I'm alone in the dark and no one there to talk to, I would sit there and think, and wonder that maybe, just maybe, that I really am what they say I am.
I looked to the cup of water, my violet eyes filled with wonder. Just who am I now? I've been labeled over and over with this name and that name, yet I've never found myself. Not knowing this makes me mad, I realized. Really mad. Just what is my purpose? What? What is it!? I asked constantly in my head, staring hard at the glass of water, my anger rising inside my body. Just what?!? I asked, feeling my anger go over the top.
As if on cue, the glass of water shattered out of nowhere, the water spilling all over the plate and the sound of glass breaking echoing off the empty walls, glass shards flying throughout various places in the room. They imploded, spreading across the room with great force, the shards unable to reach me for some reason.
What the hell? I wondered. What just happened? Did I cause that? I thought, looking at the pieces of glass on the floor all torn up and broken, reflecting the light from the sun like glitter that spilled from the window. It feels like forever I've been here, I thought. And I practically have. Just what am I? What have I become in such short notice? I thought deeply, unable to find the answer no matter how hard I tried.
Suddenly, there came another banging against the wall. A loud, disruptive bang that took me away from my thoughts. Then, the door flew open, revealing three men in white standing at the entrance, the middle one crossing his arms like he was the boss of the world, and the other two by his side like henchman. Both guys by his side looked lanky and small, while the middle one looked large and tough. "Guess what," the middle one said excitedly, his eyes crazed and bloodshot.
A wide smile grew on his face, as if happy with something no one knew about. "The federal government has decided that you are perfectly guilty and has chosen your death penalty to be taken into course right away."
Death penalty? No! No! I repeated. "No, wait! But I'm really not guilty!" I told them, yelling my words out, my eyes sad and reluctant. "I didn't do it! I swear I didn't do it! I didn't kill all those people! I can't die!" I shouted, tears welling up in my eyes for the first time in ages. "I don't know myself yet! I haven't found my purpose yet!" I told them, hoping they would believe my words, my soul feeling defenseless all locked up, my anger from before turning into sadness.
"Your purpose is to die," he replied, as if to be clever. He argued back, ignoring my desperateness. He seemed to grip his crossed arms tigheter.
"No! I won't go!" I yelled, telling them exactly how I felt, which is something I don't usually do.
"Don't screw around, kid," he told me, snapping his fingers. The two lanky ones by his side got out tranquilizer firers, ready to fire at any moment. "You're going whether you like it or not," he said, snapping his fingers again to indicate the shooting of tranquilizers at me.
"No!" I shouted, angry and sad with a mix of fear. I closed my eyes in horror as I heard the syringes fly through the air like darting hummingbirds, ready to begin the road to my unrightfully death. I winced as I prepared for the pain, the unbearable pain that would soon take over my body. But it never came. The hurt never spread throughout me like a raging fever. I wondered why.
I opened my eyes, ready for anything I might see. And what I saw continued to amaze me for the rest of my life. My eyes feeling like they were glowing purple, the tranquilizers were suspended in midair, as if frozen in time and space. I looked to them, trying to comprehend what happened in my believed to be psychotic mind. But I couldn't figure it out. What had happened?
The syringes began to get traced with purple outlines, seeming like a pen had traced its outside. The three men at the door stared in shock, their mouths wide open and the middle man giving a cold stare. I stared in horror, thinking like it was a trick to make me get unready for the raging pain, and wondering if it would continue to race against me again at any moment, but they didn't. Soon, the purple outlines began to take over, and the liquid inside could be seen shaking and bubbling in a craze.
Only a few seconds did they implode entirely, making a loud shattering noise of glass and the mixture of tranquilization spreading all over the floor like spilled blood.
"Don't stop!" the middle, tough one yelled. "Keep firing!" he demanded in an angry voice. Oh god no, how will I ever survive them? I saw the two lanky men fire a flood of syringes at me, the flying darts scaring me half to death. I felt scared and panicky all over mixed in with my overtaking anger. I felt just so dead at the fact that my life was at stake, I could've dropped dead. But something began to take over. I began to lose consciousness, but I felt no pain. My awareness of outside events shrunk down to the size of a seed, and something else, something new began to control my body. I had no control, but I didn't feel like I wanted to either. I just sat back in the corners of my mind, and watched something totally not me take over my body.
Outside, my eyes turned to a neon violet stare, the tens and tens of tranquilizers stopping in midair completely and beginning to get traced with purple again. My dark violet-purple hair began floating in the air, defying the laws of gravity, surprising the little conscious I had left. I, too, began to become traced with the purple energy, and the whole room began to glow. The cement paste used to stick the bricks together on the wall had the purple lining painted over them, the books and pillows and sheets of the dread room my keepers had given me began to float up, also traced with the ghostly energy.
What's going on? I asked myself, now a distant thought somewhere in my body. I saw at some point the three men at the door with horrified looks on their faces, my body being so powerful while still only in a beige straightjacket, my purple stare seeming deadly. I stood there with the meanest purple stare, my teeth gritted and my arms wanting to burst out of the tight hold.
Suddenly, everything fell apart. The flood of darts exploded like the first ones, glass shattering everywhere and water spilling through every direction. I felt the ground near me begin to rumble as well, seeing nothing but purple. And as if on cue, the wall exploded entirely, breaking the window I had constantly looked through in the past, the stone blocks cracking into bits and pieces, falling to the floor and creating a large cloud of dust.
The sight-blocking mist wrapped around me, and the purple energies wore off. I was returned to my body, my conscious and control expanding. I knew I had to get out before they did anymore harm to me. I had to survive no matter what. So I jumped out of the huge whole, flying down the building from three floors up, my arms still bound together like a cage that would stay with me forever.
I landed on my feet, my legs feeling heavy after setting on the ground. I was a few feet away from the white, ominous building, and was happy to look at a different color other than pale silver of the metal plates they fed me in, the dark violet of my hair and the pale whiteness that surrounded me for most of my life. I breathed in the fresh forest air, and felt calm. But my heart began racing right away after I had footsteps around me.
I saw no one in the distance, and backed up into a tree's trunk. I searched through the maze of branching trees, but could find no one.
"You lookin' for us, pretty lady?" someone's voice, a male, called out to her. Then I saw him. A security archer, coming from behind a tree. They were used to make sure no one got in or out of the white prison. "You ain't leavin' this place, y'hear?" he told me in his dialect, two other security archers coming from the backs of trees. They were all wearing green, and had wooden bows and arrows, looking sharp and dangerous to anyone who would cross them, their faces covered in some kind of robin's mask.
Without giving me a chance to explain or warning of any sort, they fired a set of arrows at me, one from each of them, cornering me in every direction. I shut my eyes, hoping that some of that purple energy would help me again, bowing my head down, hoping that the arrows would miss just in case. The weak, dry bark helped me to stand, the shade of branches and leaves providing a cool surrounding for me, the sunlight from the azure sky punching holes through the forest ceiling.
The purple returned and seemed to watch out for me. When I opened my eyes, I saw a wall of invisibility that was traced with purple bits creating a sort of shield around my place on the tree. This is my chance, I realized. I ran off closer to the building, being the only direction I could run off to and hopefully not cross an archer.
I looked back as I ran, my arms unable to move. They seemed to have disappeared, obviously chasing me. I backed up to the building wall now, the fresh air beginning to fill my clothes, my back feeling somewhat safe from the towering, white stone wall behind me. The wall was cold against my back, the sound of my heavy breathing filling my ears. I looked from left to right, back and forth until I found someone. Shifting figures came out of the rustling grass around me, and fired another arsenal of arrows.
"Just stop!" I yelled, angry and scared .I felt a sudden migraine come at me, my head feeling like it was about to implode. The intense headache filled my thoughts, making it hard to breathe or imagine. I looked up to the sky as I felt energy pour out of me rapidly, like a crazy gas leak. I screamed into the sky in despair as I felt the zooming arrows creep closer. I cried out horribly, crying to the clouds above for some help, the migraine taking over my thoughts and the energy bursting from me like a bomb which was finally about to explode.
I kept my eyes open, waiting for the pain like I had done with the tranquilizers, but something even more amazing happened than before. More of the purple traced invisible shields came out, which I soon came to name "force fields," surrounding me and growing constantly, spreading its diameter throughout the forest, pushing the trees, the arrows, the grass, and even the air away from me, my throat still screaming until my lungs burst, my cries so loud it sounded like a banshee. My body was enveloped in mystic purple, my hair flinging wildly in the air like candlelight's flames. My eyesight became embraced with a purple background, the white clouds I saw in the sky now indigo, the blue, azure sky becoming dark.
The force field pushed away everything, including the building walls behind me, the large half-sphere crashing into the building, breaking its foundation. I heard crashing of rubble and whistling of wind that would try to reach me, but would always fail. I didn't care what was going on at this point, since I could not distinguish anything with my aching head, my senses shut off.
Energy poured out at a constant rate, pushing everything everyway, the strong force even breaking the hold of the straightjacket on my arms, flinging my arms by my side and where they always should have been. I had no time to realize the new, free feeling in my arms. My migraine seemed to block everything. I continued to yell horribly, hoping that god would hear me somewhere, somehow and heed my cries. I knew that nothing was around me but total destruction and I also knew that there would be lives lost among the screaming dust and crashing building rubble as the forest and building bricks around me flattened to a barren field of dirt.
PoVS
As if denying our presence, the portal coughed us out like it was throwing us up. The large group landed in a crash, and we looked around our surroundings as dust clouds cleared to allow sight.
I saw a forest, and in the distance of the forest a large purple forceful wave, the kind that I've seen Minoa use when she gets overprotective with her force fields. "We have trouble," I told them, my locket beeping wildly. I didn't have to open it. I knew perfectly why it was beeping as I watched the wind blow towards us, the purple field causing its own version of deforestation.
"Good examination, Mr. Obvious," Tsukansu told me, joking around and patting me on the head. All of us watched the purple waves as a huge building behind it began to crumble down, and the forest trees were being wiped out. "We need a plan," Tsukansu said, turning obvious.
And that point on, I knew that everything would seems harder than it was before now. Things were going to get serious, I thought as I watched the dust clouds form and rise into the sky, a purple force field continuing to grow wider and wider, creeping closer to us, its zenith becoming more and more distant, beckoning us to join in on the fight.