One World: Many Souls

Chapter 54: It's Not Good-Bye

Angel's Point of View:

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yeah." I made sure to show a positive look to my mother who stood before the building with me. "This is really what I want, Mom. I want to help people, and you know how hard I've worked."

"I know you have, baby bone..." My mother sighed as she reached over to give me a hug. "I know you'll be good and do well, but still, for my sake, be as careful as possible. Won't you?"

"Of course I will, and I won't be alone."

Lexi I knew was already there. She had signed up ahead of me the day prior to escaping her family. Well... her family hasn't been that bad to her, just protective of her. Lexi knew that she was going to have to leave her family early before they knew. She turned eighteen before I did and was able to rush out before her parents could stop her. I was still underage with my birthday not being for another month. I needed to have one of my parents sign me up.

My father honestly didn't have the heart to do it. Mom ended up coming with me instead.

I knew it was going to be rough. I knew it was going to be hard on my parents. Dad understood why I wanted to do this, but he couldn't be involved as much about that subject. He was trying to be as fair as possible, but... I knew I hurt his heart. Dad was never a fighter, he hated to fight. In confidence Mom told me about how Uncle Papy wanted to be in the royal guard back in the underground, and when they came to the surface, he was finally told no. Dad never said how happy he was for that... but I knew it hurt him too because of how much my uncle wanted to do it. He wanted to help people.

At least he was able to find a job that fit that same nature. But I wasn't like my uncle... I was going to do this.

And my family knew it.

"Okay, all the paperwork was sent in advance, so all that's left is me to bring you to the barracks and for both of us to sign off the approval." I knew my mother wasn't looking forward to this, but she put her personal feelings to the side for me. She knew she couldn't change my mind.

And if she did try to, I'd just sign up without her after my birthday.

Once we got there, there were hundreds of recruits from the area, and I was surprised to see even a few monsters involved in the lineup. Half breed monster kids were showing up more often after it being almost two decades since the monster kingdom was freed. The large room easily allowed for the massive amount of eager recruits to join that of the army of the Terians' territory. The line itself was back toward the entrance before being split up into five different lines based on last name. My mother easily slid into the appropriate line with me, a few other parents could be seen with their children getting ready to sign up.

"Mrs. Terians."

My mother looked to the direction of who called her and it appeared a man in uniform waved her and I over. Slowly my mother followed the male away from the hundreds of recruits that waited in line to a private area in the back. We were set into an office room where the man sat down with papers at the ready.

"We didn't want to waste your time, Mrs. Terians, so we brought you to the back here to help you. We know you have a lot of things to handle with recent issues alone."

"I see..." I could tell from my mother's lack of a look that she wasn't exactly impressed. Her soul certainly told me all I needed to know about that, but the man wouldn't know it. He was only doing his job, an order he was given to carry out by those that Mom's involved on the higher end of things for similar issues.

I'm sure she was hoping that the time spent in line would be some extra time together before I left. It wouldn't surprise me. Mom was always protective of us. It was the way she always was.

"Thank you for doing this for us." I was eager to make myself known there and build my presence. Taking it away from her would help her settle down, but also get myself to be focused on. That was my moment. My moment to grow. To become my own woman and decide my own path. "I'm eager to be working for you. I'm Arial Terians, ready and eager to report sir."

"It's good to see an eager recruit such as yourself, Arial." The man nodded before holding out a hand to shake. "Colonel Ryan Hopstepper at your service. I'll be personally involved in your training regimen due to your magic and heightened abilities. And as we spoke with Mrs. Terians and yourself earlier on, Miss Alexandra Sapphire will be your supporting role in all aspects of this. She and you shall be sharing a room we have prepared in the dormitory where she is waiting on you. All that is left for paperwork is the final sign off of yourself and your mother."

"Yes sir." Nodding to him, I turned to my mother. My bags of the few things I brought with me I'd set at my feet once we got inside. Unintentionally kicking it while facing her, I turned to her for a final time. "I'm ready Mom, let me do this."

"I know... I know." My mother sighed, but nodded. She gently took up the pen that was laid out for her on the table and began signing where she needed to on the papers before her. Once she had signed, I grabbed a secondary pen offered to me by Colonel Hopstepper. I signed next to all spots needed before setting it down.

I was all signed up. No more barriers to stop me. I was legally the army's responsibility now until my eighteenth birthday and I could make choices for myself.

I really tried to hide the smile on my face as I knew that. Especially since my mother was still right there beside me and rather upset at my decision, even if she wouldn't say it. I could feel it, and I knew better than to let her know how I was feeling.

"Thanks Mom." I spoke softly to her. The last thing I wanted was to make her angry and try to change her decision.

"You don't need to hide your feelings from me, baby bone." My mother let out a dark chuckle before she pulled me into a hug before the desk we sat at. "I know you've always had a fiery spirit. You've always wanted to do what you thought was right. I'm just worried for you since I wanted you to have a better life then I'd had. And you decided to do something different than what your father or I would have wished for you."

"I mean... I won't promise you that I'll be okay because that's not realistic," I sighed in her embrace. "But I will promise you and Dad that I'll do my best, be as careful as I can, and come home when I'm able. That I can promise you."

"I know... thank you, Arial." My mother pulled back before looking at the Colonel. "Please take care of her. I won't take up anymore of your time."

"It's perfectly fine Ma'am. We understand." Colonel Hopstepper nodded to her before standing from his desk. "I'll go ahead and take care of this paperwork while you say your final goodbyes. Arial, Sergeant Lawrence will be stationed outside this door to take you to the dormitory when you're ready."

"Thank you, sir."

He gave us a salute before leaving with the papers in hand and that was when I felt my mother detangle herself from me herself and her magic as well. A final kiss was given to my forehead before she backed away from the door.

"I love you, Arial. Good luck."

"Love you too, Mom. You too!"

And that was when my mother walked away, granted she looked back at me a few times before she could fully leave entirely. I wondered if I had kids one day if I would feel the same way as her? I wasn't sure.

But it was the beginning of my new life.

Hurrying out the room, I stopped in the hallway that led either back to where my mother left to and a new officer that stood outside of the room. He stood stiffly there and was a few years older than me. He must have been the sergeant that was supposed to lead me to Lexi.

"Rookie, I'm taking you to the barrels. I'm Sergeant Lawrence. You will address me by no other name. You will listen when spoken to and not respond unless asked. Is that clear?"

I was prepared for this. I knew how this would go before I even joined. Nodding to him, I clearly spoke. "Yes, Sergeant Lawrence."

"Good." His response was still and his eyes were intense as he kicked himself off the wall and began to move quickly further into the building. I followed quickly after him, keeping pace. "The other rookie is already waiting for you in your room. You're lowest on the totem pole and aren't even recognized as a private yet. So keep your head down, listen, and don't be stupid."

I kept quiet then, listening as he kept going.

"While I realize you're from a 'special' family, you won't be getting any special treatment from me. Hand to hand combat is what I train, and I expect you ready and not relying on your magic. I won't be taking it easy on you even if you are still a kid." He paused momentarily to look back at me with a rather nasty look. "I'm not talking to the walls, am I, Rookie?"

"No, Sergeant Lawrence, you're not. I'm listening."

"Good." His scowl lightened slightly, watching me carefully before he continued to note things to me.

I followed him for what felt like quite some time before we landed in the dormitories for new recruits. Separated by gender and so many people per room. There was also a wing for those who were magically gifted. It seemed the army had taken on quite a few new varieties of people. I could feel the magic brimming as soon as stepped into that area. It was like walking into the acre of my own home during the holidays, buzzing with different kinds of magic that could be used at any time. Every type felt a little different. I wasn't sure how to explain it other than it felt like... buzzing against the feelers of her soul. And each different magic user buzzed a little differently.

She really had a rough time trying to explain that to others.

"You'll be staying here, Rookie. Room five-thirteen, don't forget it and don't forget to lock up." The sergeant stopped before said door and knocked rather loudly against it. "Open the door, Rookie!"

Before I had a chance to do it for him, footsteps loudly slapped the floor inside and the door was opened quickly. Lexi stood there, saluting the man as soon as she saw him, but didn't say a word. I could see her eyes lit up the second she saw me, but didn't let her gaze linger long, focusing on the male.

"Get in, Rookie Terians."

I hurried into the room, my bag landing on the bed opposite from where I saw Lexi had already put out her things. Turning back around to face the sergeant, he let out a rough huff at them.

"You got the night to get set up. Training begins after orientation tomorrow." The sergeant huffed before he pointed to what appeared to be a map outside our door. "You get three meals a day. Six am, one pm, and six pm. You decide if you eat or drink at them. Use the map to get around. Training begins at five am prior to breakfast. That's when orientation starts tomorrow. Don't be late."

The male then took off in the opposite direction then. Heading back the way he came, both girls were left alone in their room where Lexi slowly approached the door and closed it softly. Once it was closed and she turned the lock, she could hardly suppress a squeal and launched herself at me.

"You made it! Oh Ari! It's so good to see you!"

"Lexi! Oh come on, we saw each other just a few days ago..." I laughed while she hugged me tightly to her. "And of course I made it. If Mom was going to give me a hard time, I was going to come without her once I was eighteen."

"I know, I know... but... it's different now. Everything is going to change. We don't have to worry about anything anymore!" Lexi pulled back to look at me. "No more holding back, right?"

I blinked at her comment, slowly realizing what she meant. My shoulders sank in realization and I nodded. "No more holding back. I promised you, didn't I?"

She squealed at this, her facing leaning forward and her lips graced mine. No longer did we have to worry about anyone else finding out. Our secret hardly mattered any more. We could finally be together. We could do as we wanted.

Well... the army still couldn't find out... so we had to keep it a secret...

Third Person Point of View:

"Come now, children." Dr. Baldeth watched as the young children of the rough age of six were gathered around the large, muscled man who stood before them. "You need to knock down our muscle man or there will be no dinner tonight. This shouldn't be hard for you. Use your magic."

But that was easier said than done. The children were young, only six years old with large collars on them to prevent the use of their magic to escape. Or attacking back at the doctor. That had happened a time or two. And Dr. Baldeth was not nearly as strong as his meat headed companion Luke gathered for him years ago. They had attacked him a few times, but the collars kept them in check. A hearty zap like that of a wild animal or a pet. It kept them in line, kept them from acting out.

But it also was slightly counter productive when trying to get them to use their magic against opponents stronger than them. They were scared. They wouldn't move, they cried. They called for their mother's who were in the other room feeding their infant siblings or monitoring other children. The mothers hardly focused on them other than their health. That was their orders, as it always was.

With another mother gathered in the last couple of years, Dr. Baldeath was up to having ten kids, another three on the way from the currently pregnant mothers in the room where the children were gathered.

He knew it would be a long project, one of agonizing frustration when dealing with young children. Granted, the research he was able to provide was rather incredible. The eldest of the children were the multiples of rabbits. They held a humanoid form, their faces receded slightly to look more human-like with still some rabbit features, but were able to speak and communicate well. He had them studying and working hard every day. They had some toys... but only when they did well.

And if they did horribly... well...

"Number Two, I believe I told you to attack with all you have?" Dr. Baldeth sighed as he watched the children trying to hit the male under his control. "And Number Four, stop crying on the floor or you'll get zapped again. I'm sick of listening to it. Enough. You're already going without dinner tonight because of this."

The room was filled with nothing but tears and screaming. He didn't have the patience to deal with them any longer.

"Enough... Meathead, put them back to their rooms. No food for them tonight."

At the order of the doctor, the muscled man with no control over his body began grabbing the children roughly. They screamed, cried and tried to get away, and each one that tried to get out of the room got a painful zap from their collars that made them fall over. The children laid on the ground, unable to cry or make a sound as their bodies convulsed before they were grabbed by the male.

Dr. Baldeth sighed and hurried to another room, the five year old siren child was being forced to practice with her magic in a small tub of water alone in a bare room with only her mother watching her, already pregnant with another child as her abdomen swelled. The child was making shapes and trying to form them.

"Ah, Number Five." The child frightfully looked up at him when he returned and what water she was working with fell back into the tub. "I see you've been working hard. Now then, you know the drill. Have you been working on your shapes like I told you?"

"Y-yes..."

"Good. Now then. I was a square, a sphere, and a triangle. I'm rather disappointed in your fellow children, so don't disappoint me or you'll be going without dinner as well."

"O-okay..."

The little child looked to the water she sat in. Her body held a blue hue that reflected in water while she tried not to itch at her collar. Her webbed feet kicked in the liquid before the girl began to use her magic. A moving form of water lifted from the tub as the child struggled to form it into the first shape requested. The little girl struggled as she shaped the water first into the square shape. Once it was formed, she looked to the doctor first to make sure she'd done it properly before moving on. At his raised eyebrow, she continued. Then she made a sphere, which was rather much easier since she didn't have to worry about the sharp edges. A nod was given to her at the end of that one before she did the triangle. She struggled with that one a lot, but after five minutes of slowly shaping the water, it was finally to the desired shape.

"I see... good." The doctor didn't let out a smile of any kind, but he did note down on his papers. "It would see you do get dinner tonight. Now... since you did a good job, let us try a challenge. If you do well enough, I will have you given one sweet treat. Create all three at the same time."

The little girl nodded, though hesitantly. She knew she couldn't do it, but she was hungry... she had to try.

Slowly she began like normal. The sphere was always the easiest, so she made that first. The hard part was doing more than that. She honestly could only do one at a time. She was barely five. Once the shape of the sphere was set, she tried a square. Slowly more water floated in the air and something of a sloppy, not so symmetrical looking square came about. The doctor watched on, writing notes on his computer as he stared.

But the child cried out as she shook, unable to do much more. The water fell into the tub around her and she couldn't even face the doctor anymore.

Sighing, the doctor closed his laptop in his arms. "Sadly, not what I was hoping for, but you fared better than the others. I will agree to let you have one piece of candy as a reward for that accomplishment. Make sure you eat well at dinner. You'll need the energy for tomorrow."

And the little girl was left alone while her mother was called to get her food. She sat in the tub while the doctor walked away, crying, wishing that an angel would come for them.

She didn't want to be sad or upset anymore.

Witch's Note:

(The medical wing had been in an uproar and state of chaos for the last week as many trials and errors were used in hopes to bring Mystic Boy back and continue the healing process. Unfortunately, it seemed most of the efforts were useless, and it was rather a struggle to keep her alive. With difficulty using both medical science and that of magic to try and stabilize her, Mystic Girl was in a rather rabid settling, only Chaos at her side kept her semi-reasonable. With one of their own on the verge of death and life, it put her on edge and the staff felt her fury.

Mystic Girl: I said check those tests again! I want everything run to make sure nothing is flowing in her system that could be hurting her! No, I don't care that you've done the tests ten times already!

(In the background, still did Shady and River rest, thought their cots were moved deeper into the medical wing. All three were given their own private rooms, though that of Mysitc Boy's was kept open for the influx and outflux of people, items and the like to attempt to save her.)

(To the side, Halloween had pulled Shadow a while ago while they watched on from a distance, both looking on sadly at the situation.)

Halloween Witch: I have no idea what it will take to bring her back, but time is not on our side Shadow. If you plan to do any reconnaissance, you'd best do it now. Any information Mystic Boy had is well out of our means to get while she's so ill. I suggest you go with what you have, but you're always welcome back should you need more items or when Mystic Boy wakes up… I hope dearly for her… but this outlook isn't the best… I'm not sure how else to help her. I'm no medical doctor, nurse or anything of the like.

(Halloween honestly wasn't sure what to do either. She had been provided with some unique rounds for healing purposes by Dasansi and his crew. They'd been fairly quiet during the week and gave proper warning prior to any testing. Speaking of said bullets, she'd passed them over to her medical staff and Mystic Girl to use as they saw fit. She wasn't the one with any medical knowledge, so she didn't want that on her hands should she screw up or do something improper. She also left the instructions Dasansi had given her, with a follow up note to inform him how the bullets were used and where so he could provide some feedback.)

(Beyond that, the week had been hard with rough weather running about outside and making things rather difficult with their few supplies that came from the surface. Halloween was on edge with all that was happening. She let her gaze rise up to that of the timer that hung on the wall, glowing with a slightly redder hue fading in and out of the numbers. Four weeks had just gone by… There was hardly a month left before they would attack… And she could barely contain the excitement and fear that ran through her body as she waiting.)

The waves grow more ferocious as the incoming storm brew closer… shifting and moving, the waves cut us off from above…

It is as if the world knows its coming… the final fight.

One leaves, out to the disaster above to discover what they can…

But will they discover it in time…?

The timer clicks down…