Chapter 4

Lus made his way as quickly as he could along the network of dark corridors. The tight feeling in his chest had lifted now, although he couldn't be sure if that was a good thing or not. Figuring it was probably still imperative he found Kisara as quickly as possible, he picked up his pace. He couldn't be exactly sure where she was, but his instincts were leading him quickly forward and he figured it was probably best to trust them. Suddenly the faint sound of music drifted towards him. The sound was so strangely quiet, Lus initially thought he must be imagining it. Then it started getting louder, not as if he were approaching the source, but more as if the source was approaching him from behind.

Coming to a stop, he turned to see if he could see or sense whatever it was approaching him. The music continued to get louder, but no presence revealed itself. By now the music was right on top of him. He'd recognised it from the first beat he'd heard; it was one of his favourite songs and the temptation to sing along to it was overwhelming. What stopped him from bursting out into song he'd probably never know, because just as he was about to give in, the music cut dead.

Gasping with the shock of it, he glanced about, desperately trying to see if he could find the source. But there wasn't even the smallest sense of anyone or anything else being there. Taking a thoughtfully deep breath in, he turned and began following his instincts towards where he hoped Kisara would be. He hadn't gotten very far, however, when he heard music start up again. A different song this time, but again something he recognised.

A shiver tingled up his spine, as he came to a stop. This time there was just no way he could resist singing out to it.

'I tried to kill my pain, but only got more,' slowly he closed his eyes and allowed his head to roll backwards as his arms slowly began to lift upwards. 'I lay dying and I'm pouring, crimson regret and betrayal. I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming. Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost?'

Suddenly his eyes flicked open. Turning round he spotted Mokuba and Serenity approaching him. Every instinct in his body tuned itself to the sourceless music as he launched himself, half dancing, into an attack against them. They instinctively fought back, not letting up for even so much as half a second. Somehow Lus managed to curve and dodge everything they threw at him. His movements were more graceful and precise than he'd ever known them to be before. He almost felt as though he was a puppet being controlled by an unseen and unknown master.

His mind barely had time to assess this feeling, all he knew for sure was that he didn't resent it. Because this feeling meant he was winning. This feeling had Mokuba and Serenity retreating like wounded dogs into the belly of the palace. This feeling had him staring after them, his body pulled up taller than it ever had been before and his whole being gushing with pride. Around him a new song started playing, smiling strangely to it, he turned and began walking again. His steps felt strangely light and he found himself almost dancing with each one he took.

'I know the truth now, I know who you are and I don't love you anymore,' he sang uncontrollably to the final big rift, as he rounded the corner into the corridor his instincts had been leading him to.

As one song again faded into another, he did an odd little turn and broke out into a strangely rehearsed dance. It took him a few moments, but he eventually recognised the song playing as being one of Taylor's favourites. And more than that, he knew instinctively this was the song Drake had heard playing before Taylor had zoned out. Knowing this meant he would have to apologise to him later, but right now he couldn't help but think about who was controlling the music and why. As he did the song once again switched flawlessly to another.

'Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken,' his singing was lower, almost more convert this time as though he really didn't want anyone to overhear him.

'Are you sure about that,' Kisara's voice sounded so closely to him he half jumped out of his skin.

The music instantly fell silent, as did all his instincts to dance and sing along. They were somewhat automatically replaced by an intense kind of embarrassment. He couldn't believe Kisara had caught him acting like this.

'I… I've b-been sent to find you,' he somehow managed to stammer out. 'The Unholy Hell ability you were using before was affecting everyone in the palace, did you know that?'

'Oh gee,' Kisara bit her lip nervously, 'no wonder they called me an idiot.'

'Who called you an idiot?'

'I don't know,' she shook her head, 'someone appeared behind me and somehow managed to switch my power off, but when I turned to see who it was, they were gone.'

'What did their voice sound like?'

'I'm not sure. It was if I forgot what it sounded like as I was listening to it.'

'I see.'

'I'm not sure you do,' she sighed heavily and shook her head. 'They said Power Limitless can be a curse and that I should have trained myself to use it by now. I thought they were just exaggerating or were jealous because I'd had it from birth and they hadn't. But I guess they were right. I'm an idiot and it is a curse.'

For a few moments Lus frowned, musing over what she'd just said. Then he took a strangely covert breath and met her gaze.

'How powerful would someone need to be in order to switch off your Power Limitless ability the way they did?'

'They'd need to be Power Limitless themselves,' Kisara sighed again, 'and they don't need to be any more powerful than me. In fact, so long as they had better control over their Power Limitless abilities than I do they could theoretically have been weaker than I am.'

'But how likely is it that they were weaker than you are?'

'Not very or else they wouldn't have been able to make such a quick get away,' she lowered her gaze. 'If you've gained Power Limitless classification through any means other than being born with it then it takes a hell of a lot out of you. Being born with it is the only sure way of safeguarding against the strain it puts on your body.'

'How much strain does it normally put on a person?'

'A lot, regardless of how capable or powerful you are. Although the more power you have to support your abilities, the less the strain they put on you. And because people with Power Limitless abilities can only get stronger then it's in their best interests to train, especially if they're not born with it. Although that can have its draw backs too.'

'Such as?'

'Every time they get more powerful they open up more abilities they can use, that in turn increase the strain on their body and…'

'I see.'

'I guess that would be another reason whoever it was called it a curse.'

'I guess,' Lus pressed his lips together, 'but I'm more interested in finding out who they are and what they have to do with everything.'

'You think they're involved somehow?'

'Honestly, I'd bet my sanity on it.'