Chapter 4 - Illusions
'Calm down. Try and focus.'
8:02 am, August 23rd, 2019
On a different day, I'd already be up and getting ready for school. But for better or for worse, there would be no such days anymore. For several minutes I lay in my bed, staring at the plaster ceiling as I slowly woke myself up. Sunlight bled between the window blinds, like a warm embrace. I hated it. Growling, I pulled the blanket further up and turned to face the wall. It was supposed to be a lazy morning. 'Not now, Helios. Can't you go and let me rest?'
Evidently, this was not going to happen. I reluctantly pushed aside the blanket and sat up, yawning. 'Oh well. As much as I'd like to stay in bed, I'd better get moving. No point lazing about. And why does…'
A light, but still noticeable weight seemed to be pulling my head back. Looking over my shoulder, a large mane of hair hung over the edge of the bed. I examined the red and black mane, poking at it with my claws. Of course, who could forget the cherry on top? Tossing my mane over my back, I crawled to the ladder of the bunk and dropped to the floor, squinting as I opened the window blinds to let my eyes adjust to the influx of light. To my left, the mirror, andn the reflection, a Zoroark with me trapped inside. 'Yeah… that.' Turning away, I took my jacket from the door and put it on. It was the only thing I could realistically wear, though I had to keep it tucked under the black tuft of fur near my shoulders. It felt nice to wear, something that made me feel even a little bit different to other Pokémon. Even without that, it was a keepsake from a better time. If I ever forgot who I was, the jacket would serve as a reminder for me. 'That's more like it.'
I made my way to the kitchen. Dad was already awake, sitting at the dining table and drinking his morning coffee. "Hello, Jason. How are you doing?" He said as I walked to the kitchen counter. 'Why must you ask me things, Dad.' Raising a hand as if to say "One moment," I quickly retreated to my room and retrieved my laptop. As I grabbed it, I felt something in my pocket. The stylus I'd bought to pair with my phone. Taking it out, I left it on the desk next to my phone, choosing to leave them for now. Using a laptop would be leagues faster than a stylus and phone. 'Regardless, all that effort just to say hello to someone… I need to find a better solution soon.'
'Sorry about the wait. G'morning.'
"No biggie. You could've slept in today, you know. Something woke you up? You nocturnal now, or d'you never have a good sleep schedule to begin with?"
'Old habits die hard. It's a weekday, and I'm not like Kate.'
I always take any opportunity to take the mick out of my sister. "Ha. But she's in uni, and you're still in high school."
'Okay, but waking up in the afternoon is ridiculous any way you look at it.'
"Alright, I concede. Since you're up, want me to make you some brekkie?" I shook my head, preparing a few slices of toast myself. As I waited, I noticed Dad was wearing his tie with a tucked button-up shirt. His office outfit.
'You still have to go to the city for work?'
"Mhm. I think they want to return the state to what it was before."
'And that includes forcefully removing part of the population, I suppose.'
"Well, I have a train to catch. See you tonight for dinner, Jason."
I waved goodbye to Dad as he left the house. I opened Discord but, to my dismay, found everyone was offline. Still in bed, probably. Knowing them, they would've jumped at the chance to sleep in. I swear, school has ruined my ability to do that. In the meantime, I finally searched for proper information regarding the Pokémon known as Zoroark, assuming real life was now a mimic of an international media franchise. I opened the first link I saw and began reading through the page.
'The Illusion Fox Pokémon. Illusions? I gotta read into this… Can create illusions that are indistinguishable from reality… illusionary landscapes… convincing illusions of atta-' I almost choked on the toast as I realised what it meant. 'In a sense, I can create a fake reality and trick people.'
I wasn't sure about it. What if I made people see a huge accident, or cause one, for that matter? Even though illusions don't have any physical effect, they sure as hell would mess with people's heads. The idea of essentially manipulating reality itself… something about it didn't sit right with me. I like it when things are cut and dry, when I can see the start to the end. Illusions were the opposite. Things could change at any time for any reason. And even so, what were my limits? How large could illusions get? Too many questions, not enough answers, the consequences frightening. After all, with great power comes great responsibility. Of course, the sheer amount of potential to illusions was not something I could dismiss. Easy diversions, ways to evade pursuers, making people believe they're in danger when they're not… Fit for a very, very rebellious life. 'Still not the biggest fan of deceiving other people… Then why did I end up becoming a Zoroark?' As I contemplated my form, I continued skimming the page until I came across something that absolutely sold the idea of illusions to me.
'When a Zoroark takes the form of a human, it is capable of human speech.'
'Wh- Hold it. I… Does that mean I can talk to people again? Okay, now I HAVE to learn how to do this.' If that wasn't the fastest I've flipped sides in my life, I don't know what is. I became restless, imagining myself, my family, my friends, all together without any worries, concerns, or conflicts. The things I'd already begun to long for. It was then that Mum emerged from her room, still in pyjamas. 'Do I show her? No, not yet. I'll learn it today, make it a surprise for tonight.'
"Hi Jason," She said as she began to work the coffee machine, not noticing my giddiness. 'You don't usually drink coffee in the mornings… Whatevs, when I start talking randomly, that'll wake you up, heh.'
Breakfast was finished and I dropped my plate in the sink. I had already planned to visit Kaden and Cody at the junkyard, perhaps I could also learn my illusion ability over there as well. What I was definitely going to do was make more food for them. However, my cooking abilities, or lack thereof were second to none, so I chose to just make some more sandwiches for the three of us. As I prepared them, Mum approached me at the counter, coffee in hand, looking at me inquisitively. "You're making food? Are you going out today?"
'Yea'
"What about those exclusion zones… rule things." She said, concerned. Though I tried not to, I'd practically dreamed of the rules, itching an endless desire to find more loopholes. And fortunately, I found one.
'They never said anything about what happens before the sweep. I think it'll follow the same rules for areas outside the exclusion zones until after the sweep is completed. Then there's no curfews and stuff.'
It wasn't the most convincing argument, but it worked. "Okay… That's a lot of food though, even for you."
I looked down. Two sandwiches were finished, the third in progress. 'One for me, one for Kaden and one for Cody. Should I let Mum know about them? Yeah, sure, but skip the deets.'
'It's for a few friends. All on me.'
"That's nice of you, Jason. Got something to carry those with?" Whoops. I'd forgotten about that.
'I'll go find something once I'm done.'
And done I soon was. Since I knew for certain I didn't have any weird carry bags, and there was no way in hell I was using my school bag, I made my way to my parents' room. Rummaging through the adjoined closet, I found an old leather laptop satchel that belonged to Dad. A bit dusty and frayed, but otherwise perfect for what I needed. Slipping it over my shoulder tuft, I headed back to the kitchen. I sealed the three sandwiches in ziplock bags and dropped them into the satchel. Finally, I took my phone and stylus, adding them to the satchel as well. With that out the way, I made my farewells to Mum before leaving.
9:08 am
Since the town was marked as an exclusion zone, I took extra caution as I navigated to the highway. Once I reached it, I was certain I could use the trail that followed the highway to get to the warehouse with little trouble. Just to be safe though, I kept an eye out for anyone who was following the trail in the other direction, getting ready to duck out of sight until they passed by. However, to my detriment, I neglected the reverse. About halfway through the trip, as I was walking alongside one of the larger parks in the area, I was startled by the shout of someone from behind.
"Hey, you!"
Whipping around, I discovered that a cyclist was going in the same direction. He was waving at me, but too far for me to see his expression. The fifth rule – The one that stated all Pokémon required two human escorts – swirled around in my head as he drew closer. 'I can't be caught out here.' Without a second thought, I bolted into the shrubbery, diving behind a dense thicket of bushes off to the side after a few seconds of sprinting.
"Wait!"
I knelt there, hands clasping my mouth shut and focusing on slowing my rapid breath. Peeking above the bushes, I watched as the cyclist slowed down and stopped, dismounted his bike and began poking around the foliage. All fell silent, save for the sound of rushing cars. 'That damn highway… No wonder I didn't hear this guy coming.'
"Helloooo? Where'd you go?" As he walked further into the trees, I slowly crawled out of the way. 'Please… please don't come this way.' He began looking around like he himself was lost, staring up at the canopy, into the woods and finally back to the trail. We noticed it at the same time, camouflaged and half buried in the loam: A brown, leather satchel. My satchel. Accidentally discarded in the rush to get away. I began to feel dizzy, lightheaded, helplessly watching as the man picked it up and checked its contents. He slung the satchel over his shoulder as he continued searching for its owner. "Where are you? You… You dropped your stuff, I think."
'Yeah, and you better not freaking take it.' The man stopped moving and began scanning the environment again. My anxiety grew as he looked in my direction, as did the dizzy feeling and prayers that I was hidden enough. 'Just… can you drop my satchel and go away, you jerk!' Suddenly, he recoiled as if he had been flashed by a bright light.
'What?'
"What-"
The man rushed over confused, my heart rate exponentially increasing. I'd lost my chance to get away. He was far too close for comfort, and if I got up and ran he would've seen me immediately. 'Do I wait? What if- No, it's not a matter of if he finds me. It's when.' I found myself shaking more and more as he came closer. It was only a few seconds before he would inevitably see me. 'Okay, I snatch the bag, push him over and run.' Time seemed to slow down as he rounded the bushes and came into view. 'Three… two… one… G- go?' However, the man's next actions were inexplicable. He walked straight in front of me and continued around the thicket. Dazed and confused, I asked, "What are you…?"
"Oh yeah, you too, ya dumb little magpies," He said, seemingly oblivious to the Zoroark lying on the ground next to him. In the meantime, I was left astounded. No longer petrified, but frozen in shock and confusion. 'Is this guy blind!?' Bewildered, I sat up and watched him for a few more moments. He finally gave up, dropping the satchel with an exasperated grunt and walking back to his bike before cycling off. I immediately relaxed, allowing myself to rest for a few more minutes while I gathered my thoughts. 'Jesus, that was too close. How did he not- Whatever, I'm getting outta here.' I brushed the dirt off the satchel and staggered back to the trail before heading toward the junkyard.
Though the next half hour was thankfully uneventful, after that unpleasant encounter I found myself looking over my shoulder frequently for any more cyclists. My paranoia only passed once I arrived at the junkyard. I followed the left side until I reached the depot, entering through the hole I'd cut in the fence the day before. As I walked toward the door leading to the storage warehouse, something in the corner of my eye got my attention.
A number of metal drums formed a line across the inside of the garage, with glass bottles, cans and other scrap metal placed along the top. 'Like a… a shooting range.' Given that Australia has very strict firearm laws, suffice to say I've never been to a range before. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to look a little closer. As I approached, several shallow dents in the drums became visible. Many more of these dents peppered the back wall of the garage. Behind the stands was a bottle holder, carrying two dozen glass bottles. More targets. However, that was all there was to it. About as barebones and basic as a shooting range could get. 'Cool. Boring. I gotta go find Kaden, tell him about the rules.'
Walking through the storage warehouse, I heard… voices. There were at least a few, all mixing into each other. 'Hold on, there're people here? Or… Pokémon?' The roller door from yesterday hadn't been touched, so I couldn't see into the courtyard. Crawling under it, I immediately say the circle had been moved from the parking warehouse into the courtyard. But moreover, it wasn't empty. There were at least a dozen Pokémon now, gathered in small groups around the circle. 'Wow, this place flourished overnight. Not gonna skip the credit for that. Good job, me.'
Oddly, neither Kaden nor Cody were among them. I walked past the courtyard into the factory, but after a quick check didn't find them inside. They weren't in the parking warehouse either, though I didn't expect anyone to be in there anyway. Not willing to waste time searching, I approached a blue, black and yellow feline Pokémon sitting nearby. 'Luxio… Luxray? Dangit, I don't know Pokémon.'
"Hey, do you know where Kaden is?" I asked.
"Kaden? He's talking to Dart right now, in the control booth." She replied
"What?"
"The Decidueye. Calls himself Dart, for whatever reason. They're in the control booth in the factory. There's this platform above everything, and the booth is the small room over all that."
"Gotcha, thanks."
I explored the ground floor of the factory, which consisted of a line of huge, non-functioning crushers and shredders. A few piles of shredded scrap metal waited for a cleanup that would never come. I avoided these like the plague, who knows how badly one could injure themselves on them. Behind everything was a set of stairs leading to the raised platform, with walkways extending forward between the machinery. Another staircase led to an upper room, which could only be the control booth.
For a small building, the control booth was quite large. There was a window overlooking the factory and under it, a long control panel of various electric and mechanical widgets. Folding chairs and shelves filled with old tools and papers lined the walls. Inside, Kaden was tinkering with some machine component while talking to a large owl-like Pokémon with brown wings and a leafy green hood. Meanwhile, Cody slept in the corner. I waited outside and tried to ignore the conversation, resorting to counting the rivets on the floor.
9:49 am
"Yeah, of course, mate. See you around," Kaden finally said. I snapped out of my drowsy daze of leaning against the wall. Dart walked past me, giving me a curt nod, before flying across the factory and landing in the courtyard. 'Okay, that has to be one of the coolest things you can do after turning into a Pokémon. Anyways…' Kaden waved to me as I entered the room. "Hey Jason, you're back."
"Hey, Kaden. I, uh… Let's just cut to the chase. There's been a change of plans."
"Is it about the exclusion zones? Heard it plenty of times today," Kaden said, still distracted with the device. "Yep. Did Dart tell you?"
"Mhm. And a few of the others. They all said they came to avoid those sweeps. I presume the junkyard's safe?"
"Fortunately so. But… I'm not. Town's an exclusion zone. We're getting hit tomorrow."
Kaden paused. "I'm sorry, Jason. Is that why you're here?"
"Yes and no. I think there's a way around it. You've heard about some of the moves we're capable of now, yeah?"
"Go on…"
"I was thinking you can, like, teach me… or something…"
Kaden stopped what he was doing and looked at me briefly before dropping his gaze. "Mate, I'm afraid I can't. Learning moves is trial and error if anything. I can't teach you the abilities you have."
Disappointed, I let out a sigh, but in hindsight, I should've expected that. Kaden wasn't a Zoroark, he would have fundamentally different abilities from me. 'Ah, what was I thinking. I guess… I have to do this on my own.'
"Oh, alright. It- That's fine." I said, slowly turning around to leave. Just before I exited the room, Kaden called out to me again. "Look mate, I'm sorry. Though really, I can at least guide you into using them better. I do owe you one anyway."
"Really? You're up for this?"
"Yeah, sure. Got nothing better to do today, may as well give it a shot." He shelved the device and pushed over another folding chair for me. "Okay, give me a rundown of what you're capable of."
He was like an interviewer. "Alright, umm… Okay, Zoroark is known as the Illusion Fox Pokémon. Their whole idea is that they're able to create illusions. They can cast illusions on themselves, like a disguise, or use illusions to manipulate the environment. That's- a very brief summary of what I got from the wiki."
"From an online wiki, huh…" Kaden remarked.
"You have any better ideas? It's the only reference I have, come on. Here, I can pull it up for you now."
"Alright, fair point," He said while I loaded the page on my phone. As I gave the phone and stylus to him, Cody woke up and stretched. "Morning, Kaden. Morning, Jason," He yawned.
"Wonderful, you can help me figure this out," Kaden said as he read through the page.
"Sorry?"
"Take a look at this mate, and listen in. Jason, you were saying?"
I told them my story. "On the walk here, I was seen by a cyclist. I hid… quite frankly, badly, and he should've found me. I didn't know if he was blind or something, but now? Illusions. It has to be. And now that I'm not confused and terrified anymore, I'm only getting more sure of it."
"Should've found you, how so?
"He was literally standing in front of me. He, uh… called me a magpie."
"Okay…" I imagined Kaden with a clipboard and pen, jotting down everything I said. "And what were you thinking during and before that? How were you feeling?"
"Terrified. Of being found, obviously. Wishing he wouldn't find me. Thinking of what to do if he did. Praying I was hidden enough. Worrying about what would happen if…" My voice trailed off.
"In other words- fear and instinct," Cody said, sliding the phone back to my feet. "In response to the fear of being found, you instinctually cast an illusion on yourself to… hide from the cyclist, I guess."
We nodded in agreement. It made sense then, but it soon got out of hand. The two of them continued brainstorming the ways in which my illusions may trigger, how they would appear, what would make them go away, and every other little detail. It was very much their conversation; They were coming up with all of the ideas. Even though I like to think things through and figure things out… It was very much excessive for me. I was going to need a very dumbed-down explanation from them.
"I feel like I'm not contributing much here, so I'm gonna head out. I've left a little something for you two in here, to help with your discussion," I said, dropping my satchel to the ground. Cody began poking around it. "Do leave one for me please, while you're going over everything," I said as I left the room. I chuckled as I heard Cody gasp, "Kaden look, he got us more!"
10:12 am
"You ready?"
During the wait, I was accustoming myself to the others in the courtyard. As he walked outside, I took note of the many friendly waves he received from the others. 'You're pretty well-liked around here, aren't you?' Kaden led me through the storage warehouse, opening the door to the depot.
"That's your training area? Looks more like a shooting range to me."
"It is. You know, a lot of Pokémon's moves have something to do with flinging something at their opponent. And unlike the games, you won't just be the decider of what to do, you're doing the move itself. So I'm prioritising accuracy first. In fact, I've been practising such a move… Bullet Seed, or so it's called."
"Bullet Seed? Could you show me?"
Kaden nodded and ushered me to stand back. With a swift back-forth movement of his head, a thin piece of sheet metal pinged and launched off the drum it was on, landing a metre behind it. I barely even caught a glimpse of the projectile.
"Geez, they weren't lying when they called it a bullet. Nice shot, Kaden." I walked forward and picked up the metal to inspect the damage. There was a circular dent in it, the size of a small coin. I handed the metal back to him.
"Thanks mate, but it's nothing. I would go for one of the smaller targets, but I've only hit a can or bottle maybe… four times, in the many hours of doing this. It's like using a blowgun, but you can't aim it." He said, replacing the metal. "Anyways, enough of that. We're here for you to learn your illusion ability."
"Did you come up with any ideas?"
"Well, Cody theorised that your first illusion was purely instinctual, driven by fear. While I think that's true, personally, I believe there was part will to it," Kaden explained. "As you said, you'd wanted for the cyclist to not find you."
"Uh-huh, so I…?"
"You willed it so hard that it came into existence. Ever tried lucid dreaming before?"
"No, but I've heard of it. Seems pretty cool, though."
"Good, because my leading theory for creating illusions is based on lucid dreaming. Specifically, when you start to control them. In a sense, you will for something to happen, and it does," He paused, letting me process his idea before continuing. "I want to start with- I'm gonna call them scenic illusions, where you change the surroundings to whatever you see fit. Later on, I'll start testing you by telling you to do specific things with the illusion. Sound good?"
Kaden pushed one of the drums into the sunlight. He then took one of the targets, a glass bottle, and placed it on the drum. "We'll start simple, with a reference. Try cloning the bottle."
I briefly closed my eyes, picturing there were three bottles on the drum, instead of just the one. I imagined pasting this snapshot onto the scene in front of me. Despite having no idea of how to create an illusion, there was a visible effect. The bottle began warping, subtly at first, like a shimmering landscape on a hot summer day. I began to feel slightly dizzy and lightheaded, confirming to me that I had created some sort of illusion to fool the cyclist earlier. Kaden watched me intently until I lost my balance and stumbled backwards. When I looked up, the shimmering was gone, as was the lightheaded feeling.
"Sorry, I… I fumbled. It- I got a bit dizzy trying to do it, that's all."
"Whatever you were doing, it worked. Your eyes glowed red when you did that, just thought I'd comment on it. You need a rest?"
"Nah. Not for that little thing."
I followed the same procedure as before, creating a snapshot and imagining pasting it into the physical world, now fighting through the dizziness that was building up. Simultaneously, a magenta glow formed on the bottle. "Hold on, this is it!" I said, jinxing myself as the dizziness became too overwhelming. I lost my focus, collapsing the illusion before it had the chance to manifest. 'Why do I say things…' I sighed, rubbing my head. "Another fail. That was close though. Running it through again."
"You sure you don't need a break?"
"Later. I'm gonna do this now, Kaden."
"You know you're gonna eat those words, mate. It's your call, though."
Perhaps I should've taken up Kaden's offer, perhaps a moment to think it through would've helped. The second try was as far as I got. With the attempts piling up, and frustration building up inside, I was bound to lose it at some point. When I couldn't even manage the shimmering effect, I snapped. "Oh. My. GOD!" Before I could stop myself, I picked up a chip of gravel and flung straight it at the bottle, hitting it directly and causing it to explode.
"You're getting desperate, Jason. Calm down. Try and focus," Kaden said. I did as told, taking deep breaths as he set up another bottle. "Nice throw, though. But please don't break any more of my targets. Alright, go time."
'I need. This stupid bottle. To change. COME ON!'
The shimmering on the bottle reappeared, and the same lightheaded feeling followed. Only now, it felt stronger, more demanding, as if it was pulling away the very energy from my body. I felt like I was about to pass out, but I was determined to get the illusion to work. 'KEEP GOING, DAMNIT!' Beams of light began simultaneously emerging from the bottle as the shimmering increased in intensity. It was soon fully engulfed in the magenta glow, growing in luminescence. It got to the point that Kaden and I had to shield our eyes from the light. Just as quickly as it began, the light faded until it was no more.
"D-did something happen?" I said, drunkenly rubbing my eyes. "Yes!" The bottle had appeared to multiply, now flanked by two others.
Kaden did not share my enthusiasm. "Jason, if I may ask, how much effort did you put into doing that?"
"Um… way too much."
"Tone it down a little, eh? No need to blind us, mate."
"Okay, next time. D'you at least see the- Excuse me?" There was only one bottle on the drum again. The illusion had either immediately collapsed, or I had hallucinated everything. My fears that it was the latter were, thankfully, dispelled by Kaden. "The illusion's gone. And yes, I did see it, don't worry. I suppose… if you're not focusing on it, it collapses."
"Aw, what, there's more to it!?"
"Look mate, it's better than twenty minutes ago when you didn't even know how. We're learning something new with every failure here. Let's keep going."
"Yeah, okay, just… let me rest for a minute. I still feel a bit woozy."
The next twenty minutes or so was a cycle of an attempt and a rest. With Kaden's guidance, I vastly improved my scenic illusions, incrementally scaling them up and, importantly, slowing myself down; The first success was wild and frenzied, almost blinding us both. Now, his latest trial had me create a graffiti mural on the warehouse wall. Watching unnatural waves of glowing magenta spread on the wall and form my name in coloured spray was an experience, to say the least. But being able to change it after it was done? Oh, I could sense the jealousy from graffiti artists across the globe. The final mural was just under two metres in length, or the size at which I began to slip into unconsciousness, forcing Kaden to stop me from taking it any further.
"I think that's good enough for now, have a sitdown mate. What do you say we move onto creating disguises in a bit?"
"Sure. God, that's tiring," I said, lowering myself to the ground and watching the mural melt away. 'Really glad Kaden's willing to deal with me. I can hardly stand myself sometimes.' After a few minutes of waiting, I felt I was ready. "So this is the same approach as scenic illusions, I'm guessing."
"Of course. Well, what're you waiting for?"
'Now's the time to shine.' The floodgates were opened. Memories began rushing in. In particular, I recalled old photos and videos of me, allowing me to form a mental image of my likeness. 'That's me, and it always will be.' With the now-familiar dizziness that followed, I opened my eyes only to be disheartened to find I was still inhabiting the body of a Zoroark. 'Damn, that didn't work…'
Kaden apparently saw something different. "Is that what you looked like before?" I nodded in response. 'So it did work? I don't see it, but others do. Fine, I can live with that.'
"I see now," He whispered, looking off into the distance for a moment before returning to the matter at hand. "M'kay, is this easier to hold?"
Surprisingly, it was. I didn't need to focus on it as much. However, it felt more sensitive in a way, as if the smallest distraction would cause a collapse. I gave Kaden the thumbs-up to continue. 'Still, I'd better keep my brain in check.'
"Great- Try talking."
'Alright, talking. The reason why I wanted to learn this.' As I tried to come up with something to say, the lightheaded feeling began to slip, the telltale sign of a collapsing illusion. 'Oh crap-'
"...This illusion's way more prone to collapse."
"I can tell. Keep at it, I need to figure this out."
I quickly refreshed the disguise. 'Memories, me, and illusion, tada. Now, what does Kaden have in store for me now?'
"Heeey, probably an odd request, but can you give me your arm?" I obliged. Kaden held it up, observing it from different angles and occasionally scratching it. "That's so weird. I know it's an illusion, but I still feel a human arm. My brain thinks it's a human arm, but also knows it isn't. I wonder how it feels for you…"
He was obviously up to something as I listened to his continual ramblings. But just as I realised what he was trying to do, it worked. The illusion once again collapsed, Kaden not hesitating to revel in my chagrin. "And, it's gone," He announced.
"Dude, you're a huge distraction and I'm blaming you for that one."
"That's the point mate," He laughed. "You gotta be able to do things, like speaking, concentrating on what's happening, interacting with things and people, all while maintaining an illusion. That's gonna make it useful."
"Fair enough. Alright then, keep going."
And so we did. But despite my best efforts, we got nowhere. I simply couldn't stop myself getting distracted, causing the disguise to collapse. By the end of our session, I was all but finished. Even Kaden, while trying his best to encourage me initially, eventually couldn't help declaring the end of it after an hour of trying. "Okay, that's a wrap. We're done here."
11:57 am
Practically drained from the training, Kaden had to help me walk back to the control booth. He tried to sit me down, but I ended up slumped over the control panel for a few minutes. It felt like I could fall asleep right then and there, in fact, I wanted to I was so tired. But it wasn't just exhaustion. I was weighed down by my own crushing disappointment. I was hoping to have mastered my illusions, or at least be able to talk to my family when I got home that night. Kaden, sensing my brooding, tried to cheer me up.
"I reckon you did very well today, mate. You learnt how to do scenic illusions and disguises. In the future, we should do more work maintaining those disguises."
However, I was having none of it. "Uuughh," I groaned
"What's the matter?"
I kicked back in my chair, staring up at the ceiling. "Really wanted to be able to talk as a human by today, but-"
"Jason, listen. You're not gonna be a master overnight. Our abilities and moves are like any other skill. You start small, and you're not very good. Put enough effort into it, and it eventually becomes second nature."
"I get that, it's just… The sweep's hitting home tomorrow, I was hoping to avoid needing to go into hiding. I bet I can still try, I don't have to do the talking."
Kaden shook his head. "No, don't. I wouldn't recommend it. When you get stressed and lose focus, the illusion starts to collapse. It becomes pretty obvious, y'know. How would you react if the cops get suspicious, what if they start looking? You'll get stressed, right?"
"Yeah… probably."
"Then you lose focus, and the game's up. Jase, your illusion ability… There's a lot of potential to it. I don't want you overworking yourself nor becoming overconfident in your abilities. Stay here with us over the sweep, mate. You'll have plenty of time to improve your illusions over the next two days."
Kaden was right. I couldn't risk being taken in the sweep. After all… what was the difference between that and straight-up dying? Even if I tried to fool the officers who come, if I got caught then my family would be severely punished as well. The risk was too much, and my skills were not developed enough. "Y'know, I wanted to learn illusions for the sole purpose of talking, maybe even blending back in with people…"
"Jason, mate. I know you're upset about this. I know you do things out of pure spite sometimes. But trust me when I say that you're strong. No matter how many mistakes you make, or how many more, you get there eventually. It's your determination that sets you apart, mate. Mistakes are natural, we're only human- Mmm, could've worded that better."
"No, it's fine. Thanks, Kaden."
"Then it's no problem. If you're hungry, there's a whole grove of blackberries out back. Codes and I explored the forest behind the junkyard the other day- Erm, mostly Cody. He kinda left without telling me."
As if on cue, Cody walked in. "Ah, there you two are. How'd it go?"
"Uh, I only-"
Kaden cut me off. "Shush, I'm not gonna let you undersell yourself. He was able to create and sustain quite a few illusions, and we started work on the disguises. Actually, you were pretty good at creating the disguises, but we're gonna work on maintaining them tomorrow."
"That's really good, Jason!" Though in my opinion my accomplishments didn't amount to much, Cody still praised the little things. "Man, I wish I could share your optimism. I'm- just tired. Turns out creating illusions is way more exhausting than I thought it'd be."
"Okay, but you'll get better at it, right?"
"You bet. This is for you, Cody. Kaden, you're on."
"He's a good teacher, isn't he."
"I'm more like a guidance counsellor, mate."
"Meh, same thing. I think you shouldn't undersell yourself, Kaden."
"Yeah, Kaden. I wouldn't have made it that far without you, and you know it."
"Alright, alright, you've got me there, guys."
We continued chatting, right up until Cody mentioned lunch. I checked my phone for the time, finding it was already 12:20.
"Crap, I lost track of time. I'm meeting up with some friends in town today. See you two tomorrow. And, I'm here to stay." After the pair said their goodbyes, I picked up my satchel and left. I made my way back to town, chowing down on the last sandwich, satisfied but slightly disappointed.
Author's notes:
Alright, if the title of this fic wasn't obvious enough, illusions will play a major part in this story.
Eh, this isn't my best work. I don't think I'm very good at conveying feelings, nor my time management. Once this so-called 'act' is done in a few chapters, there'll be a lot more progression and other stuff I'm hopefully more confident in writing. I also hope the "conversations" Jason has with human characters are really jarring and out of place, because that's the point. They should be. Imagine losing your ability to speak and then trying to communicate with someone. Not like that's gonna be a problem for Jason in the future lol.
Life stuff: I'm going on holiday for all of January! I'll be able to write, but depending on the schedule, C5 may be a little late. I say that like I haven't released the past two chapters at the last possible moment. Got a little burnt out during Christmas, which sucks a bit too. But other than that little dip, I reckon my pace was really good - over 6000 words in around three weeks.
That's all from me, merry (late) Christmas, and a have happy New Year!
Actual word count: 6191
Published December 31st, 2023
Index:
'Thoughts/Telepathy'
"Speech"
'Typed/written text'
