Torn between numbness and feeling as if she had been hit by a truck over and over again, Zessica’s eyes open to find herself surrounded by dark, murky shapes. The metallic taste of iron fills in her mouth, which usually happened when she exerted her body too much and past its endurance limit. It was not much of a big deal to her but others might not agree. She was tired, oh so very tired. More than anything, she wanted to just lay there and let sleep overtake her and never wake up again. That was just how gloomy her mood was. Zessica wondered whether she was also shivering, something shakes, something was cold, but she couldn’t tell what.

Cold and warm. Heavy and light. Nothing made sense anymore...absolutely nothing....

“-------!” Something inaudible pierced through the darkness which clouded her vision. It was a blurry noise, as if she was still submerged underwater, drowning. The noise seemed so far away, yet at the same time, so close too. Maybe her ears were playing tricks against her, maybe she was having auditory hallucinations, and maybe; this was all just a never ending dream.

“---sss!” The voice was somewhat clearer than before, but still heavily muffled. However, there was something about noise, something familiar, something warm that made her feel light even though she felt something heavy pulling her down, deep within her consciousness. Why did it felt like she had known this noise all of her life?

“---ss!” Wait...she knew that sound. She would know it anywhere, no matter how far she hears it from.

“Isis!” Zessica felt herself shake harder, as if someone was rocking her shoulders back and forth, someone who was desperate to clear the fog that was overlapping her vision. Just when the fog started dispersing, making her vision go clearer, another dark mist settled in, blocking all the lights, mocking her maliciously.

“No! Don’t go back to sleep!” That voice cried. “Isis! Keep your eyes open damn it! Stay awake, Isis, Stay awake!”

Isis? That was her name. How in the world had this person known of her real identity? No one knew of her real name, no one except her brothers and cousin, no one except Ophelia. Even Ophelia, as crazy and insane she had become; Zessica knew that she was fully sane enough to not spill her identity. So there should be no one else who knew...no one except...

......Arma?....Sawyer?

Mother Hen!

Recognising that pet name, that voice, Zessica’s attention turned to the figure in question. The force that was surrounding her like a whirling tornado ceased to exist and dimmed down to a peaceful atmosphere. Even though she still couldn’t see without dark patches in her vision, she could tell this person was right before her, shaking her back to reality. Was she dreaming yet again? Or was this as real as the warm hands radiated through her skin?

Blinking the obstruction of her vision away rapidly, Zessica slowly took in the figure only to be instantaneously left breathless by the radiant gleam in a pair of the loveliest gray eyes brimming with tears. Those tears, they were for her, tears she didn’t deserve, for all that she trouble she had put him through. Why was it that no matter how much of a blunder, a burden she was, this young man here always overlooked her imperfections? Why was it that no matter what, this guy had accepted all her curves and all her edges? What was about her that made her worth his time? However, for now, she didn’t care because like he had said he would, he was here, right beside her, here for her when she need him the most and that is more than what she could ever ask for.

“Arma...Sawyer...you are here....” Zessica spoke, her voice weak and unstable, barely holding together. Tears began to fall from Zessica’s eyes, spilling down to her cheeks in stinging and hot streaks. It’s embarrassing as it was painful, she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She could not pretend that she was stronger than she was while this illness and her vulnerable insecurities claimed every piece of her, stealing more than she could afford to lose. She could not put up her strong front anymore, she couldn’t hide anymore. Arma’s own grey eyes soften in relief and sympathy and he pulled her into his warm, inviting arms, almost stopping her heart as she was partially lifted from the cracked ground.

“Shh... it’s okay... it will be fine... you are fine see? Everything will be alright... Don’t worry... we are going to go home. Home sounds good right?” Arma tried to calm Zessica down but this only made her cry harder. She gripped the soft fabric and cotton of the tall lad’s shirt tightly, as if it was her last tie to the world before she disappeared altogether. She hopelessly released strong silent sobs into his shoulder while Arma remained there, whispering gentle and soothing words to her ears and combing through her ivory black hair to calm her.

Zessica on the other hand felt like a child who tripped over something and fell nose first onto a concrete ground. However, she did not recall any time in her childhood ever going outside, not even to the playground. She had always been in the hospital and there was no injuries inflicted on her. Every time when one organ or her heart failed, a doctor or a nurse was the one to treat her. Nobody had ever been there to comfort her when she cried. Even as a child, she had convinced her brothers and cousin that she was having a time of her life wasting away in the hospital. She had always, always taken care of herself.

She had forgotten she could cry like this, she had forgotten that feelings like this even existed but it seemed lately she has been discovering one emotion by another, always having someone to point it out and explain it to her. She understood it perfectly when she witnessed it from other people, but she had never experienced it to know the full magnitude of it.

No, that was not true, she did knew what it felt, she did experience them but she had always kept it hidden, ignoring it, denying of its existence. It was due to the fact that if she acknowledged any of these emotions, she would feel exposed, yet at the same time, invisible, like she always had. If she did acknowledge it, everything would crumble down on her, everything would crash but no one would ever know. So there was no point. 

However, nothing else mattered when Arma gently patted her on the head, snapping her out of her legitimate breakdown and overload of thoughts. Nobody had ever held her in such a way they never intended to let go, nothing had ever felt so promising.

“I am here for you...” Arma whispered, gently raking his fingers over the back of her neck, circling the emerald stone that was fused there before he circled it back up to her hair. All of a sudden, Zessica had the desire of exposing all the little insecurities she had shouldered for as long as she could remember. The boulder of secrets and vulnerabilities was getting too heavy; it was getting too difficult to carry and all the more difficult to breathe. She needed something to let it out; she needed someone to help her. This had gone far too long and her stubbornness had prolonged her agony. She was not strong, but that would change once she fully open up to Arma. She will change, for the better.

“Congratulations.” A prudent voice took over, reminding both of them that they were not alone. Both of them turned but Arma’s strong arms prevented from Zessica from pushing him away, even when she didn’t want to. In a way, Zessica was happy she barely moved from her comfortable position, held in place by this guy while his fingers automatically fondled with her hair caringly. It would have been the most relaxing sensation in the world if it not for two duplicates looming over them.

“Both of you are the third Team to be back in Blessed Combat” Ivy spoke, out of her dome barrier and smiling a not so innocent smirk at the both of them. Even Seth seemed to lose all of his numbness and was grinning broadly while Arma frowned suspiciously at them, his grey eyes shooting daggers at poison.

“What? So we just passed? You just give up like that? I didn’t even fight against Seth yet. ” Arma cried out loud dryly, as if he heard the worst joke he heard in his lifetime. Ivy rolled her eyes as if Arma was overlooking something.

“Just because this Test is to face yourselves, doesn’t mean you have to fight them Einstein.” Ivy pointed out negligently.

“She is right. The whole purpose of the Test was to see how you would react to it. For instance, you, Arma wanted to be the type of person who was calm, serene and peaceful. You didn’t want to hurt anyone and you have always labelled yourself as a monster when you really wanted to have friends from the start. You never liked being hated so this desire sparked me. However, this Test was to make you realise that even when you have these flaws, there will be someone out there who will over look them and go as far as to accept them. This Test was to make you come into peace with yourself. But it seemed you already passed before the Test even started.”  Seth elaborated further, adding more important details than Ivy could ever offer.

“What about me?” Zessica spoke, her voice still shaky and timid but stronger than she was earlier. She huddled closer to Arma who continued to hold her in a protective manner. Both of them were on their knees on the ground but none of them wanted to stand up, in case it would make their moment not last longer.

“Yours was basically also coming peace with yourself too but in a whole different story. You had always wanted freedom and to be normal too since you have your illness. Even with the handicap, you had always wanted to be normal and be healthy and do things you aren’t able to do because of your weak body. Even though you convinced yourself you were happy, you really weren’t.”

“It was more of losing yourself situation. You didn’t know what made you happy and what made you sad so all of this became part of the depression of why you are weak and the vulnerabilities just popped up one by one. This Test was to make you see that you didn’t have to harbour this alone. It was to make sure that you didn’t pick inhibitions over freedom. Though I didn’t really plan out to have it turn out this way but it seemed that done the trick too.” Ivy explained, for once being serious than having a trickster attitude.

“So wait...are you saying that one helping the other party was a bluff?” Zessica pointed out, as sharp as ever. Arma felt something, closely related to his fraying patience, snap in his head as both Seth and Ivy flinched, flashing awkward and guilty smiles at them.

“Anyway, both of you must be tired right now. We don’t want to keep you hanging since there are others waiting for you. Once again, congratulations and have a nice day” Seth clapped, rushing all of the words together in such a fast pace, it took Arma approximately ten seconds to understood that each word was uttered in English. Before he could retort something back, both Ivy and Seth waved in a friendly manner before they scattered into millions of codes and bytes, stunning both players completely. Their whole surroundings became wireframe before the stadium slowly started to materialize. However, Arma was in for a surprise.

He did not expect the most of the audience to be cheering for them. Heck, every time he won something there was always this judgemental stares and looks given from each and every one of them. During those occasions, he wondered what his victory was since no one else seemed to approve of his successes. For a moment, Arma thought they were all rooting for someone else when Zero’s voice boomed.

“Here they are! Let’s give them a round of applause to Team Twenty-Three for their bravery and determination!” If most audience was cheering a moment ago, everyone in the audience was now up and about and yelled in cheering ovation, overwhelming him completely. He had never had a positive feedback so he didn’t know how to respond but stare stupidly at the audience who were all clapping, whistling, singing songs and congratulating them.

“Arma! Zessica!” A faint voice yelled a tad bit louder than the rest of the audience, catching both players’ attention instantly. The tall lad turned and saw four figures scampering from their seats and towards the stadium. Phoenix was ahead with Stabs and Sophie behind her. Zatch was lagging behind, letting the fiery girl take the lead first since she had been the most worried of the four.

Arma couldn’t help but grin when Phoenix catapulted at him, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and crying softly. It was obvious she had been worried sick ever since Zessica lost control and when Arma risked his life by going in the line of fire. She quickly turned her attention to Zessica and hugged her too, encouraging the other girl to cry once more. Stabs didn’t refrain himself in hugging all three of them together as a group hug while Sophie kept her distance, giggling lightly as Zatch caught up with them, smiling his infamous Cheshire smile.

That day happened to be the most memorable day for everyone. After getting their injuries healed by potions, several more congratulations and two more Teams making through, along with more congratulations, everyone in the stadium left the Center. It felt weird though, having so many people acknowledge Arma’s presence every time they noticed him. While he carried an exhausted Zessica on his back, he had seen many strangers catching his gaze and smiling. Some of them nodded while the rest of them gave thumbs up. Some of them even waved, making him smile and wave back. It was as if someone had cleared up the rumours that were spoken ill of him. It was as if witnessing his genuine concern for Zessica, had finally made them realise that he was not the heartless person everyone thought he was.

Once they reached Arma’s home, Zessica instantly collapsed on the couch and allowed sleep to wrap her up with dreams. The Default Trial not only drained her physically, but emotionally too. Even Arma felt a bit drowsy but not enough to doze off immediately. He too, had a suspicion that once he hit the bed, he would be knocked out like a light and sleep like a log. Sophie had stayed for a little while, congratulating both of them for their approved victory before leaving to check on her brother.

Stabs stayed as Phoenix and Zatch suggested bringing a huge cake to celebrate. What struck both guys as odd was Zatch wrapped his hands around Phoenix’s wrist and pulled her out who was clearly taken aback as they were. Both guys glanced at each other, sharing a vague telepathy as they wondered whether Zatch finally gave an answer. Stabs answered back with giving a look that said ‘maybe he is going to answer’ to which Arma nodded in agreement, wishing Phoenix the best of luck.

Unbeknownst to them, the whole reason behind the pull of the wrist was an entirely different matter. Zatch continued to pull Phoenix to who knows where as the girl obediently followed, being silent in most of the journey which was a surprise in itself. She would usually lash out at Zatch for keeping things from her but this time, it seemed she knew where this subject was leading to, and she was right.

“Well?” Zatch asked once they stopped at an abandoned alleyway. It was one of the places where people could not eavesdrop easily. It was like an area where the signal is too weak for any telecommunicating device to work. Phoenix rubbed her arms warily, before resting her hands on her elbows.

“She had the same eyes when she destroyed half of Stab’s prized world.” Zatch nodded lightly, confirming his suspicions. It wasn’t a theory he liked but then, the truth hurts and he knew he would have to spill his thoughts out sooner or later. He chose sooner because later would mean hurting Phoenix for keeping the matter from her.

“I compared the damaged of the Taboo and the dimension we trained in. It was almost similar in artistry but the Taboo was far greater. However, witnessing her doing it for what seemed to be the second time in recent time, I believe that you will not like what I am going to say.” Phoenix nodded, but spoke back, just in case Zatch misunderstood something.

“I don’t think she knows though. I mean back in the training ground, she didn’t seem conscious. It was more like someone else possessed her instead. The only reason she didn’t completely destroy Stab’s prized world is that emerald green stone. It sort of shocked her, stopping her from creating more damage.”

“And it ultimately saved your life” Zatch added thoughtfully. “I think the only reason why she wasn’t able to stop herself was because her clone, Ivy had unlocked the wall block that made her go all out. I don’t know what her state is right now but the power she holds is dangerous, even far dangerous than the power of the core Arma has. Something is fishy here, like how Ivy and Seth seemed to know more about the virtual world than we do. It’s like the Master they were talking about is also the ‘Boss’ who controls the game. I am more than confident to know that he is one of those people who has this ‘gift’ and I have my suspicions that he is the Phantom Dancer too... but that makes things too obvious...I also think Zessica is involved in this mess indirectly, like Arma, but directly too...”

“Are you saying what I think you are saying?” Phoenix asked warily, hoping that what she thought was wrong and that Zatch would say something else entirely. That was how unpredictable Zatch was but unfortunately, her hope went down the drain when Zatch nodded lightly.

“Zessica is the one who destroyed more than half of the stage during the Taboo...but she isn’t the Phantom Dancer either.”

***

“Yep, she has a fever.” Arma groaned loudly but not loud enough for a sleeping girl to hear.

“AGAIN?!” Arma whisper screamed as Stabs removed his hand from Zessica’s forehead. For a while, both guys had noticed that Zessica’s complexion had paled a little too much for their liking and she was perspiring more than usual. Having haunting suspicions, Stabs decided to check the temperature to confirm whether or not Zessica had caught a fever.

“Well you can’t really blame her. She does have a weak body and she did say she can get sick easily.” Stabs reasoned mildly while Arma slunk back at one end of the couch, tilting his head back to where he was staring the ceiling and pinching the bridge of his nose at the oncoming headache that was beginning to form. Without warning, the world started shifting slightly and for some reason, Arma felt a bit nauseous. An unrestrained small pathetic groan escaped his lips before he could stop it.

“Woah, I think you are a bit worse for wear too. Both of you are in need for a rest. Like take a warm shower for now.” Stabs suggested and Arma was in too much of discomfort to reply back in words. He nodded in consent, having nothing beat the fatigue than a warm shower. Slowly standing upright, testing his footings carefully in case he move too fast, he stopped short and glanced at the other two.

“Can you do me a favour?” Arma asked suddenly, taking Stabs out by surprise. The lanky guy beamed and nodded, preferring to fulfil favours coming from Arma than Zatch. Since after all, Arma wasn’t as crazed and barmy as Zatch was.

“Can you take Zessica to the hospital and meet Tear? She can give the medicines for the fever and I think her daily dosage is almost used up too. I will be there once I finish showering.”

“Nah I suggest you take your time and rest well. Besides, just go to the hospital and meet Tear right? Then come back with the medicines.” Stabs assured Arma, lightly patting his shoulder in a trustworthy way. Arma smiled tiredly and simply nodded his head, relaxing that the task was given to good hands. After all, Stabs could be the closest Zessica could call as a friend. She was more of a professor in dealing with Zatch, an instructor when dealing with Euphino and a listener when dealing with Phoenix. However, if it was Stabs, they did have a brother and sister like relationship like she has it with Arma for the time being.

Instead of going to his room to take a shower, he was too tired to go up the flight of stairs to the second floor; he went to the underground floor instead, where he and Zessica did the laundry beside the wall which had the hot springs. Stripping off of his clothes, he placed the dirty garments into the robot-made washing machine and stepped into the hot spring for the first time. Arma relaxed against the hot water which was submerging his skin, relieving much of the tension in his muscles. He stayed there until he was half convinced that he had used most of the hot water in the hot spring, as it was a nice thought to think that he had it all to himself. Not to mention, that this soothing sensation took his mind off the events that happened in the fifth Test of the Default Trial.  If this was one of the benefits of using the hot spring, then why the heck hadn’t he used it before?

Meanwhile, Stabs carried the still knocked out girl bridal style, amazed that she was emitting out so much heat and perspiring so much. She was like the very example of a steaming bun, if not, warmer. Knowing that she would not wake up in an hour or so, Stabs was about to leave when he felt something purring against his leg. Looking down, he smiled warmly to find Lucky being submissive towards the lanky guy. It still amused him that Lucky, the black feline cat was more compliant with Zessica and Stabs more than the others. Maybe it was fond of people who were more down to earth than spontaneous people? Who knows?

“Sorry Lucky, I will be borrowing your Mistress a bit...but I will come back and play okay?” The black feline gave a small mewl in response, in which Stabs took it as a yes. Expertly opening the door with one hand while the other carried the girl, Stabs stepped out and closed the door behind him. The trip to the hospital was...odd. Yes, that was the word, odd. For one thing, Stabs had expected people to stare a guy wearing running clothes carrying a smaller younger girl who could be mistaken as a child unconscious. It was as if they didn’t even notice the girl, bringing the definition of her weak presence to a whole new level.

“Weird...” Stabs mused out loud, shrugging his shoulders at the oddity of it all and simply strolled forward. Once he reached the hospital, it didn’t take him long enough to reach Dr. Tear’s room. Apparently Zessica had been one of the people in the emergency list, sort of making her a VIP. As he stepped into her office, Tear did not hesitate on instructing him to lay her on the bed. Following her directions, he obediently did what he was told and did not question when Tear asked him to leave the room so she could examine the young girl further.

So there he was, outside of Tear’s office, sitting on one chair and waiting for Tear to come out and give him the news and more instructions on taking care of the girl. In his opinions, he never really liked hospitals but didn’t quiet hate it either. It just gave an unsettling feeling in his stomach with all the anxiety and pressure of waiting what the doctor would say. He had been slightly petrified when he exerted his Major of Strength, his body couldn’t withstand so much power; the doctors had suggested fusing a handicap stone somewhere in his body.

Of course, this did not go well with him at all. Just the thought of fusing a foreign object somewhere in his body, as a part of his own, made him almost wet his pants. Now that he thought about it, since when had Zessica have that stone fused at the back of her neck? Was she given heavy morphine so that she would not feel the pain of it being fused behind her neck or had she felt it when they did? Was it difficult to move her neck or did it felt like it was not there from the start? Still, just the thought of him barely escaping a handicap stone by toning his body to withstand his Major, thanks to sadistic Zatch and a ferocious Phoenix, gave him shudders.

He must have been sitting there for more than fifteen minutes because eventually, he started feeling bored. There were patients, both young and old, moving from one room to another, never resting in one place. Stabs tried to stifle a yawn but failed classically, wiping off the tears that formed at the corner of his eyes. He was about to stand up to stretch his legs and back from being stiff when he caught a doctor quickly striding past in a rushed manner. It wasn’t the doctor that caught his attention; it was the tag on his coat. Stabs didn’t catch the doctor’s name but he did catch which department he was working for, which was none other than Psychiatry.

Stabs recalled Sophie mentioning about following Ophelia to the psychiatric department but not going forth from there, in case there were risks. That was when a sudden idea clicked in his brain. It was stupid, meaning that it was full of repercussions yet devoid of regrets. Stabs was smart enough to know that he could be doing the most reckless thing he ever done in his life but after living under the same roof with two irresponsible people, he couldn’t help but feel their rashness has rubbed off on him somehow. Plus, he was bored, which was enough justifications for the actions he was about to commit...right?

Since he didn’t know where exactly the Psychiatric department was, more proof how the hospital put him on the edge, Stabs followed the doctor on foot, determined to find out something about Ophelia after what Sophie had mentioned about seeing her in the hospital. Everyone knew that she was a ruthless fighter, looking down on others but after months of people giving their opinions about this particular player, everyone was yet knew almost nothing about her. The only one who could have known was Zessica, but even she couldn’t remember.

Stabs knew what he was doing wrong but at that moment, he didn’t even care. He just wanted to know why Ophelia, the Rising Star Prodigy, was doing at the Psychiatric department in the first place. He wanted to know what secret Ophelia was keeping from the world, and why she was like the player she was in the first place. Back in the beach, Zessica had admitted to him that even though her memories were still foggy, she could remember that when they first became partners, Ophelia was a cheerful and outgoing child.

Right now? She was the very definition of a smug teenager. However, what struck him as peculiar that Zessica admitted that even though of all the hardships she went through because of Ophelia, Zessica can’t seem to bring herself to hate her. She knew she should be, but no matter how much she tried, something tells her to pity Ophelia instead, which was really weird. The young girl knew she should be brimming in rage at Ophelia’s name but nothing of that sorts come. The only thing that she could feel was sympathy.

Stabs hid behind a wall just so there was no chance that the doctor could have seen him. He waited patiently for the doctor to come out so he could sneak in without anybody noticing. He was extremely lucky that the place he was in was extremely deserted but if he caught the doctor’s attention, this might all be for naught. Then again, he could always try asking this doctor why Ophelia was consulting with him the other day, if he was cooperative.

Stab’s luck was held still as the doctor came out of the office again, not bothering to lock the door and passed by him without a second glance. Using this to his advantage, he quickly opened the door and slipped inside. The room was a whole lot different than the room Tear had. This room was more...comfortable; it had a homey feeling to it, with the scent of lavender and... bread? How strange....

There were pictures of scribbled doodles pasted everywhere. A desk was located at the left side of the room while two to three couches were placed on the other side. Right across him, there was a bookshelf with thousands of novels in them, varying from kiddy stories to full out mature ones. There were several plants too along with lava lamps placed here and there. All in all, it felt as if Stabs had barged into someone’s living room, a restricted territory.

Swallowing his guilt away, Stabs stood there for about two minutes, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He was all alone in some doctor’s office, the same office Sophie had witnessed Ophelia entering before. There had to be something that would answer the endless question in this room somewhere. With strengthened resolve, Stabs used this as a time to investigate, not about to waste any second of it.

So he went towards the doctor’s desk, opening the drawers and shuffling through the paper’s and documents in it. He glanced over everything, not taking a good look if it didn’t have anything to do with Ophelia. However, almost everything inside of each drawer had absolutely nothing to do with her. Stabs was vaguely feeling like a thief strolling in the night, being sly as cat but another part of him was feeling as if he had done this before. It was a nostalgic feeling, going through documents that was prohibited for him, something like he would have done as a kid.

That’s when he opened another desk drawer; he found what he had been looking for. A document with the name Ophelia scribbled on front of it with the signature doctor’s handwriting. He took it out of the drawer cautiously, as if it was a bomb and would ignite if he took it out the wrong way. He held his breathe, skimming through the biography under the name of the Rising Star Prodigy that was written around two years ago.  

Name: Ophelia

Age: 17yrs

Gender: Female

Occupation: Not in Education and Employment

Date of Birth: 31st of July

Address: Refused to answer

Diagnosis: Schizophrenia

Stabs puckered his eyebrows at the last part. Schizophrenia? It sounded like a confusing medical term. He never even heard a word like that. Was it something related to psychiatry? Seeing that he was in the psychiatry room, Stabs mentally slapped himself. Still, what the heck was Schizophrenia? Was this the reason why Ophelia was being so ruthless and violent on Zessica back when they were partners? Did Zessica know Ophelia had schizophrenia? Was this the reason why Zessica confessed she pitied Ophelia than loathe her? Because somewhere in her heart she knew Ophelia was having a psychological condition even though she couldn’t recall what?

Stabs was not at all sure what this psychological condition was but he knew Zatch would, and he would be able to answer most questions regarding about Ophelia too. Spying the photocopying device at one corner, he quickly dumped the whole fat document on it. Unlike any ordinary photocopier in Earth, the ones in the virtual world were much more efficient. All it had to do was scan the whole object and a copy of the whole thing would be produced in no time.

When Stabs accepted the ‘copy’ option on the menu window which popped up when he turned on the device, it took the device approximately five seconds to develop another, perfectly duplicated copy of the document. Smiling in triumph, Stabs placed the original document back in the drawer and was about to walk out when he heard muffled voices outside.

Stabs almost swore when he saw the doorknob started to rattle and turn. On impulse, Stabs activated his Minor of Stealth and quickly hid behind a couch which was facing the front door in blurred motion. He swore inwardly again, hearing the door creak open and two set of footprints stepped inside. Why did this have to happen to him? Why did it felt like one of those cliché movies where that one guy would get trapped in the middle of revealing the discovery he just made? Hoping that he would not turn out the way some people end up as, Stabs remained quiet, placing a hand over his mouth when he felt he was breathing too loudly.

“I did not expect to see you today. I thought our next therapy was on Thursday? Didn’t we have an appointment just today?” A low baritone voice which Stabs assumed to be the doctor’s asked. From the tone of his voice, he sounded sceptical as he waited for the other person’s answer.

“I know...I just...I wanted to stay here. This is the only place where I can be where I can be at ease.” A younger female voice answered somewhat embarrassedly. Stabs almost choked on air when he recognised the voice. It was none other than the person he found detailed information on!

“Hmm...Well I don’t have any more appointments but make sure you leave at Six P.M unless you want to be locked in or go out of the hospital from the window.” The doctor advised in an understanding tone while Stabs swore his luck once more. Was this how Arma felt when he had to deal with his misfortunes? Stabs would admit this was the first time he was actually having the worst time in his life. Nothing, not even how Zatch treated him would compete what he was feeling right now. The unsettling feeling in his stomach returned and without warning, he felt sick. He was stuck in a rut and he had no idea how to get out now.

“Thanks...I will...” Ophelia muttered and Stabs felt his heart drop into million pieces as he heard the doctor shuffled himself out of the door. Right now, he had pretty much sealed his fate. This could be the last place he would know when he died. He was alone, with Ophelia oblivious of his existence. Already, Stabs was listing out the things he should have done and the things he shouldn’t and apologising to all the players out there who he defeated and congratulating the players who had defeated him. By the time he was about to thank everyone, even Zatch who brought nothing but a workload, Ophelia spoke out.

“How long are you just gonna sit there like a duck?” Stabs yelped, slapping his mouth the second he did so. Now he was sure that he was a dead man. After all, Ophelia had just found his hiding spot without even coming up to him and surprising his fragile heart out of his ribcage. In a way, he was thankful she didn’t do that from the way his heart was beating quickly at the moment. Having a sheepish smile of defeat, Stabs stood up from the couch, facing Ophelia with the document behind his back. He eyed the window which was closed at the corner of his vision. There was still some hope. If he could just get there before Ophelia notices-

“Are you a patient here? What are you doing in Dr. Bender’s office?” Ophelia asked, dropping a huge bombshell on Stab’s face. Why? Because for one thing, Ophelia was asking questions in a very nonchalant tone. It was the type of tone that had no malice and just asking out of curiosity. Stabs knew he must have looked like an idiot with his mouth opening and shutting like a goldfish. Ophelia stared back at him and then chuckled a bit too miserably, stunning him even more.

“You must be surprised that the ‘Rising Star Prodigy’ is taking therapy in Psychiatry huh?” Ophelia asked in a laughing tone. All plans of escaping out the window ceased to exist as Stabs then looked incredulously at the girl, still having the document in her hand. Maybe he can talk his way out of this and leave this event behind him? It was worth a shot.

“How did you know I was hiding?” Ophelia cocked her head to a side, staring at him in an innocent fashion before smiling somewhat sadly at him.

“You have her scent...the scent of Death.” It took Stabs approximately a second to process what she was saying. He recalled the time Ophelia battled with his two best friends, that moment when Zessica said that no matter where she hides, Ophelia would find her because she could smell Death coming from her, all the time. Stabs had assumed that it was because she was sick. Now, the scent had lingered on him because he had carried her to the hospital, blowing away his cover, not that he will ever blame the short girl for it.

“What do you have over there?” Ophelia asked suddenly, craning her neck to get a better view of what he was holding behind his beck. Stabs felt his heart pick up speed as he thought of every possible excuse he could give to why he was having a document of Ophelia’s medical condition. He couldn’t just say ‘nothing’ because that would be pathetic and Ophelia had already caught him having something, which she doesn’t know what it is yet.

“Why are you here anyway? In the Psychiatric department?” Stabs asked, hoping that would take her attention to something else. From the look of what she gave him, he knew it didn’t work but she decided to play along as well.

“If you must know, it’s because I hear voices that aren’t there...sometimes see things that aren’t there too....” Stabs felt all proper emotions on his face fall in one clean swoop. He didn’t expect her to answer so blatantly. Heck, he had expected to be a bit more...secretive? That was the word, secretive. After all, no one knew she had a psychological condition, no one till now that is. Still, hearing voices that aren’t there?

“What do these voices tell you?” Stabs asked, genuinely interested. Maybe getting caught here was not such a bad idea after all. Even if, by a narrow chance he couldn’t get the document to Zatch, at least he can try to get away in one piece and tell Zatch what he had learnt. He would see how long this... agreeable conversation would last.

“They tell me to destroy them, my opponents, my friends, everyone. They tell me that they are dangerous and that they will harm me. They tell me that if I don’t obliterate them, I would never be safe.” Ophelia answered obediently, slumping on the couch across Stabs. As she stated this, Stabs could not help but feel sympathetic. Was this the reason why she was merciless in the arena? Were these...voices egging her to do what made her the girl she was today? Was this the reason why Zessica couldn’t help herself to hate her, but pity her instead? Then again, what were the chances that she was lying?

“You are lucky that I am talking to you in this room. If I saw you somewhere else, I am sure I would have either beaten you up or said something that would crush your soul.” Ophelia lazily droned, staring at a lava lamp nearby in a trance-like state. Curious, Stabs decided to be daring, even when he knew he was betting against the odds. Heck, he was gambling his life on the line but he needed to make sure.

“Can you hear the voices now? Do you like doing what they say?” A brief moment of silence was shared between them before Ophelia started poking the lava lamp absentmindedly.

“No, if I am in this room I can’t hear them. Once I step out I will start hearing them. Even the medicines Dr. Bender gives me are useless against them. I don’t like hearing them but they seem to own my life. It’s like they are the puppet master while I am their puppet. Once I get out of this room, I can’t control myself and all I can do is watch while my body does the actions. ”

Stabs nodded idly, a part of him still amazed that he wasn’t wrecked out yet and having a decent conversation with Ophelia, something that was not in the list of things he would expect in the near future. It was luck that he decided to be a little bit of an idiot by recklessly breaking in to the office and taking information that day or he would never be in this situation. If hadn’t been a bit bold, he would have been sitting outside Tear’s room, bored out of his mind.

“Well...it was lovely to talk to you and I promise you that I won’t tell anyone but I got to-

“Tell Zessica I said hi.” Ophelia muttered in a withdrawn tone, not once glancing up at him. Stab’s jaw went ajar again, only to be clamped shut the second after. He nodded furiously, not trusting his voice and quickly scampered out the door, expertly managed to hide the document in his shirt on the way out. It was incredible how tensed Stabs was, talking to the most fearsome girl, who could also be the same age as him, on Wind Crest.

Then again, he hadn’t talk to that many girls in his life time but he knew well enough to know that the relief he was experiencing afterwards was not the relief of finally getting the fear over talking to girls.  Clutching the document closer to himself as if it was the most precious thing in the world, he took long strides towards where the office where he left Zessica, trying to think of a way to break the intriguing news to her.

Author's note: Please notify me any mistakes you find in this and don't forget to vote!