"SONOFABITCH! What IS this?!" Thomas yelled.

Stinging vibrations racked my body as I stood there, my limbs numb at the unbearable pressure smothering my senses.

I mumbled. "Is this... It's aura?" The world before my eyes started to wobble, the sight of inescapable, watery distortions sending a wave of nausea through my body.

Even then, I couldn't help but shiver in revulsion at the monstrous creature standing mere meters away from me, it's eyes squinted in amusement as I held my head and leaned onto a wall.

Ahomana shoved past me. "What's wrong with you?! Don't tell me you've lost your minds too!"

"Ahomana get back!" Kelly screamed.

"Piss off!" Ahomana sneered, spitting in the direction on Choa's unconscious body. "Unless you want me to lay you out like I did this imbecile!"

"YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED!"

Narong pushed Kelly at the sound of her warning.

Kelly shoved him back harder as Ayako and Ritsu quickly rushed to her side. "Are you outta your goddamn mind?!" Kelly shouted.

"... How dare you threaten my brother!" Narong said.

"I don't need to! There's a giant fucking rat standing on Choa that's about to try and kill us all!"

With a rather unpleasant deep breath, my mind dissolved and I drew power from the earth, allowing its energy to consume me and stabilize my consciousness.

The beastly rodent raised it's claw at me."YOU!" it growled. "Your death will save humanity the trouble of ruining itself any further."

I clenched my fist, channeling raw Psi into my throbbing hand until my flesh felt like it'd burst, then sent the creature lurching far back into the tunnel with a swat of my arm.

"W-What did you do?!" Travis stuttered. "You didn't even touch it!"

I lifted Choa's wounded body with my power and sent it gently whizzing towards Ayako as Travis trembled in response.

I looked at Travis for a moment and instead of his shifting eyes and judgemental looks, Thomas crying and his bloodied shirt collar crossed my eyes. Breifly, I was back by that cliff, hugging him dearly as he wept into my shoulder while holding back tears of my own. I shook my head of the memory and a loud flash erupted from my two fingers-Blueish-green Psi violently bursting from them as the image of a bloodthirsty rat tearing through Keiko and Sae appeared my mind.

I glared in Travis' direction. "That's why YOU shouldn't piss me off!"

Kelly and Ayako snatched Choa's body behind a corner as a huge wave of filthy water crashed through the tunnel. My head turned at a miserable aura and the sound of claws pounding the concrete, and with a thrust of my palm, Keiko and Sae jolted backwards as the rat flew into sight.

I aimed my charged fingers and shot a potent blast at where I thought the rat would land, but at the last second it altered its attack, clawing five deep gashes into Ahomana's side and spreading it's huge jaw over Narong's frame.

*CRUNCH!*

Maui rammed into the rat, his toes firing off of the concrete beneath putrid sewage with a demon's fury until the two collided against the sharp corner of a wall. The impact shook the ceiling and sent flurries of brick and bursting pipelines raining down on everyone.

My will suspended the metal and rock in mid air as Maui vanished in a flash of white. He reappeared on the other side of the corner before grabbing the rodent by its fleshy, diseased tail and flinging it into another wall.

I paralyzed the rat in its tracks once it fell from a nasty crater to its feet when what felt like a shock wave knocked the wind out of me. I collapsed on my knees and Thomas immediately bent down near me.

Thomas spoke. "What's wrong?!"

"I'm... I..."

I felt pain pulsing through the arteries in my skull. I tried not to move, yet it felt like I was constantly tipping over and falling in circles.

Focus...

I held my eyes open as wide as I could but my vision was clouded by darkness. Even if I tried shifting my eyes in every direction imaginable, all I could see were vague shadows.

"I can't see... Anything..."

Could make out Thomas standing in front of me as flashes went off in the distance. I closed my eyes and tried sensing for the aura of everybody, yet I couldn't feel anything. Even with my mind's eye, I couldn't see.

I couldn't use Psi.

"Thomas!" I shouted, my vision improving somewhat as I looked up at him. "I can't use psi anymore!"

"What happened?!"

I focused on everything that transpired prior to our encounter; the rodent's aura, everyone's behavior. Then it seemed to click.

"That rodent's power can influence the mind! It made everyone turn on each other and now it's disabling our means to fight!" I told Thomas as I attempted to regain to balance.

I stood as the rat tackled Maui into the ground after he failed to ignite a blast of flame, rapidly snapping its jaws at Maui as he held it off. Maui kicked the rat from on top of him and they rolled into opposite positions, the rat wheezing violently as Maui squeezed and dug his veiny claws into its neck.

"Maui watch your breathing!" Ayako shouted, taking just barely a few seconds to turn her attention away from trying to heal Choa. "It's breath can poison you!"

Kelly pointed at Maui's face. "It's no good, look!"

I could focus just good enough to notice the vigor in Maui's eyes wean as his grip loosened. The grinning rodent scratched at Maui's arms and back, sinking it's long, filthy nails deep into his flesh as blood oozed from the wounds. Thomas raced over at a moment's notice, snatching a bent pipe from the ground and taking a whack at the creature's legs.

*SNAP!*

The rat's leg snapped to the side and Thomas went bashing the pipe against its mouth. I noticed Narong walk aimlessly around the fray as Maui lost his hold and fell from on top of the rat and Thomas broke one of its other legs.

"Narong MOVE!" I yelled.

Narong didn't even seem to hear me as he strolled even closer towards the screeching rodent that convulsed in front of him. Noticing his sluggish attempt to rise, Thomas lifted Maui over his shoulder and flung his hulkish body towards the girls.

"Incoming!" Ritsu warned as Kelly, Keiko, and Ayako took notice.

All four stumbled into position, feet planted and hands braced as Maui flew into their arms and weighed them to the ground with his massiveness. My eyes flew to Thomas as the rat flipped onto its maimed fours, clusters of squirming maggots and filth spraying from its opened jaw as it hissed at him.

Thomas' nostrils flared before he took a blinding swing, the clang of his pipe lashing my ears as it shattered the rodent's mouth and sent its sharp fangs clattering against the walls. The rat lunged forward and Thomas quickly dodged to the right, and then the left as the rat swiped at his gut with its claws.

The rat spun it's body and Thomas dropped to the wet floors, his adversary's tail whipping above him and striking Narong's head. The sight and sound of Narong tumbling into a wall startled me and jolted my head of a crippling fog.

With a buzz of vigor igniting my feet, I calmed my mind until everything-the violence flaring in my sight, flying beads of sweat, yelling, and thrashing of claws and metal slowed to a crawl. I flew to Narong's place from across the sewers, grabbed him, and dashed to the girls and recovering teammates, splashes of brown water still suspended in the wake of my blinding speed.

The world around me returned to normal in the calming of my heightened perception and Ayako spun my way.

"You have to heal him." I said. "Narong and Aho are essential, hurry!"

Her expression dumbfounded at my seemingly magical appearance, Ayako motioned her luminescent fingers around Narong's face, rousing him from unconsciousness while I accelerated the processing power of my mind yet again; rushing to a corridor to find Ahomana's body floating in sewage, pulling his body from the wet filth, and carrying him back to Ayako.

I sat Ahomana down and slowed my perception to real time, barely noticing everyone's shock as Kelly blinked rapidly. "H-How are you that fast?!"

I paid no mind to her words, my gaze shifting over the deep tears in Ahomana's abdomen and ears keen on Thomas excessive profanity as he fought against that monstrous creature.

Narong came fully to his senses and noticed us standing and kneeling around him.

"What are-." Narong paused mid sentence as he looked toward the sound of bones cracking under the impact of Thomas' blow. "What the HELL is that?!"

Narong sprung to his feet and backed towards the wall, the shock and focus in his eyes clear enough to be seen.

"A rat?" Narong muttered, his upturned eyes squinting in bewilderment. "It's extraordinarily large. And it's cognitive state is practically human!"

"It's disrupted our senses!" I shouted as Narong turned my way. "I managed to maintain some focus, but the others..."

Narong turned to see Choa struggle to kneel as Maui took deep breaths.

"Oh no." Narong gasped. "Their minds! They-."

Narong stopped once again once his eyes met his unconscious brother lying on the floor, covered in foul smelling wetness and his clothes saturated with the stench of waste.

"Aho!"

Narong shoved past Ritsu and kneeled by his brother, his mouth quivering as he touched Ahomana's face and arm. "H-How could I have been so careless?!"

Me, Travis, and the girls stood by as green orbs of light enveloped Narong's hands, thick streaks of light trailing them as he brushed his open palm from the crown of Ahomana's head down the center of his body and over his loins. Seven faint glows of color ranging from purple, to indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red appeared along the path, and most instantly Ahomana sat up.

Aho's mouth gaped open slightly and he gritted his teeth as his now unblocked flow of energy circulated throughout his being. It caressed him in it's soft glow, restoring his powers which in turn would trigger a massive expulsion of healing force. As I expected, Ahomana's gashes slowly mended themselves during the seconds we stood there, his skin smoothening into scars that would soon fade over time.

"Aho!" Narong gasped, wrapping his arms around his brother before he could stand to assess the situation.

"Narong? You're teary..." Ahomana mumbled, his voice saddening with that last observation. "What's going o-. HOLY FUCK!"

Ahomana gawked in surprise as Thomas pointed his closed fist at the colossal rodent, Icy blasts of electric current bursting from his knuckles as the creature froze, stunned by his attack.

"No time for explanation!" I shouted, commanding their attention as I continued to bark orders. "You and Narong clear our blockages so we can use psi!"

Narong turned towards Choa and stretched out his arms, gently motioning backwards, as if beckoning him with the flowing, coaxing motions. Choa cringed, his brows wrinkling as a spot of glowing indigo appeared on the center his forehead. Thick billowing strands of clouded grey spilled from the brightening glow, and as the others continued to stare on, Choa's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet.

Choa inhaled deeply, his brows furrowed and eyes serious. His restored senses combined with a warrior's intuition negated any obligation of mine to try and explain things.

"That filthy bastard knocked me out." Choa hissed, his lips quaking with fury and teeth behind them gritted as he clenched his fists.

Kelly's lips began to part, but she stood back wide eyed as Choa leered venomously at the tiring beast.

I felt a strong heat radiating from behind me and looked towards the corner of my eye to find Maui standing a few feet away, his typical gaze of laziness now intense and vengeful.

Ahomana placed his hand on my forehead and I gasped at the sudden sensation of an intense vacuum as my third eye chakra began to alight. Although not a physical process, it felt like the cerebral fluid was being siphoned from my skull, and when Aho removed his hand the entire region between my eyebrows became wrought with an itchy ticklishness.

Mere seconds after that however, my consciousness expanded, and whatever cursed bindings that creature had inflicted upon me disappeared. Vibrance and clarity filled my vision and every detail seemed to become that much more apparent.

I set my eyes forward as Thomas readied to deliver another blow.

He's been fighting on his own all this time...

I felt a sense of admiration stir in my chest, and readied myself.

I shouted. "CHOA GO!"

Choa bolted from his position, darting forward as the rodent haphazardly clawed out of his path.

"You wont!" I thought aloud as I exerted my powers to hold our opponent still, the surge of energy tickling my veins as it circulated in my tense hands.

Choa's fist flared with Ki as he lunged toward the creature, soaring above it and bringing his fist down on its spine.

*CRACK!*

The sound of the rat's back shattering under the weight of Choa's blow bellowed through the sewer tunnels as the rat let out the shrillest screech I'd ever heard.

The rat trembled horridly, it's claws digging into the concrete as Travis and a few of the girls covered their ears. Maui appeared before the rat in a flash, towering above it's eerily mortified face when a long, thick handle began to form in his grasp.

The shimmering light formed the bulky, spiked end of a mace sized for goliath. The instant the light dissolved into thin air, Maui spun the huge mace about his frame, passing it over his head before swinging it down with immense strength.

*BOOM!*

I watched with squinted eyes as the pink, slimy innards of the massive rat's skull exploded from the center of impact, the blood and brains splattering against our clothes and streaking the walls with a gnarly mess as they slid to the floors.

Maui's mace illuminated and vanished in his hands as Choa lept from the rodent's still corpse.

Ritsu scampered towards us. "Holy hell! Are all of you still okay?!"

"We're all standing, that should be sign enough." Choa replied, his tone still riddled with the frustration and embarrassment of getting hit in the back.

"That shit was not normal..." Travis croaked. "Mind powers... Talking animals... Evil, fucking psychotic rats?!"

Ritsu put her arms behind her head, releasing a heavy sigh as her nervous eyes shifted about the scene.

Sae spoke, her small body shaking. "...How are things like this r-real?"

Sae stared in disbelief at the defeated rodent before she turned my way, her face stiff with curiosity as she sized up me and my guards.

"Aya-chan." Sae called. Ayako turned her way. "Could this have anything to do with-."

"Yes." Ayako scrunched her face, eyes pondering and brows furrowed with stress. "You wouldn't even need a scan to see that a creature like that is unnatural."

"I wanna know while the hell it spoke!" Kelly said. "Did you hear what it was sayin' to Ken?!"

Kelly shot her gaze toward me before stepping over. "You wouldn't have anything to do with this shit, would you?"

"Master Ken is innocent!" Choa shouted in my defense. "That creature attacked me, one of his best men! He'd gain nothing from this anyhow!"

"Calm your tits, bro!" Kelly frowned. "I was just askin'."

Ritsu stepped between them. "Relax guys. Besides, that thing tried to kill Ken too, so him being behind it makes no sense."

"How would it know to say that, then?" Kelly responded.

"It's aura was very powerful." I chimed in, my tone seeming to command everyone's attention. "It tampered with my abilities and was even able to temporarily disable our Psi."

I held back speaking any further as Psi wasn't any of their business to begin with. I'd only talked about it with Thomas because, despite my better judgement, I trusted him and I was excited. As far as they knew, one could only possess powers beyond what most humans have by manipulating genetics and the human body.

Now with such an explicit display of our psionic abilities and Ayako being able to scan our biology, there were practically no options for keeping things confidential besides extremely cryptic responses and blatantly ignoring questions.

And that's exactly was I was determined to do.

"In spite of our extensive research, we're dealing with entities we haven't known and technology we don't understand. So be careful." I said.

I looked at all of the pathways around me, rapidly switching between visions for information regarding our quickest escape until I found it.

I began silently walking in the correct direction and fanned everyone over. They followed me for the next ten or so minutes until we came to a steel ladder leading up to the ceiling. I put my hands together and focused on my breathing. Blackness consumed my vision, and I could feel a weight slip from around me.

The darkness faded and I was met with the sight of the ladder's rusty handles gliding downward as I drifted higher above my body, everyone with the exception of my guards confused and watching my physical self stand idly with my eyes closed.

I propelled myself upward through the concrete into blinding daylight. The noon sun beamed down on the dry sandy gravel and broken concrete mercilessly. The surrounding land was totally barren, besides the presence of border patrolmen and dingy citizens. I hovered further into the land, gliding effortlessly through lines armed soldiers, whizzing drones, and security cameras.

Even besides the actual humans there, I could sense an eerie presence. The further I flew about I noticed the blinding glare of the sun's light on a rather quaint ivory dome shaped building. It's shiny keypad and chrome doorway made it stand out from the rest of the barren wasteland like a sore thumb.

It seemed worth mentioning, especially considering the increase in unnatural phenomena during our travels here.

I remembered my physical sensations, and with a sharp inhale my new surroundings disappeared and I found myself back in the sewer standing alongside everyone else.

"There's danger." I turned to Ayako. "Border patrol is above us, and they have cameras and airborne machines equipped to attack. If we escape through this manhole, we'll be forced to fight."

Everyone stood around, glaring off with steely looks. They were likely mortified, I knew I was. My heart had been pounding since our run in with that vicious creature. I knew what my power could do, but my resolve had been soured and my fearful instincts persisted to spur me away.

"... Well..." Keiko mumbled. "... What should we do?"

"We'll face the battle head on." Choa asserted.

Ritsu's eyes widened. "H-Hold on a second. Can't we find another manhole to come up from?"

"I've been looking at the maps..." Said Travis. "There isn't another exit for dozens of miles, and who knows what else is waiting down here."

"What's waiting above isn't any better!" Ritsu contorted. "We're standing in Leociak, a part of the First World, right near the border, hours after we were spotted in the country directly next to it. We could get killed!"

Ritsu's statement was met with silence from the others. Even Choa let his gaze lower with worry, his pride and confidence likely wounded in light of our most recent altercation.

"Tch..." Ahomana spat. "That last battle was a fluke, damn thing was a coward to begin with. The humans and mechs up there don't stand a chance."

"Fighting is what we live for. It's what the four of us were bred to do." Maui chimed in, the bass in his voice resonating in my chest. "If Ken goes, we'll follow and we won't get blindsided like last time."

"I wanna go too." Thomas said, his voice spinning me in his direction.

"There isn't a doubt in my head that whatever Ken's saying is dead on, but it's what we've been training for. We've known what The Nexus has in store for weeks now, we've known that we could die. Running as soon as it's time to get our hands dirty makes me feel like a goddamn joke."

I felt a deep aching resonate in my chest. It came in waves of heat and shallow breathing, but I persisted in appearing focused and free of uncertainty. The sudden flood of emotion was inexplicable to me, and the only thought plaguing my mind was that I just wished he'd let me hug him, or give me his hand and let me feel his warmth. I'd just saved him from killing himself, yet him getting killed at any moment was the very nature of his existence.

The fear and pain was aggravating, enough to make me want to scream and batter everything in sight, but I leaned my head backwards and made do with a heavy sigh, my face tensing with frustration.

"Thomas is right." Kelly said. "...This is what we signed up for. What's the point if we turn back now?"

Keiko started tearing up and Ritsu pulled her into a hug, gently calming her with reassuring whispers I couldn't understand.

"Maybe we should mentally prepare ourselves at least?" Ayako suggested, her tone pleading and worried. "It wouldn't hurt, and we could even come up with a stable plan."

I looked to Ahomana and Narong, and after noticing my gaze they nodded in response.

A gentle flare of light caught everyone's attention and we looked Maui's way. He stood there carrying the same tote bag of leftovers and food from Hosenka I'd filled up.

"Fighting on empty stomachs isn't any good, I know most of you are starving. I am anyway." Maui said with a caring gaze.

Maui summoned a lantern into his right hand and held it near his mouth. He spit fire from his lips into the center and the lantern illuminated the entire area with it's pink glow. It casted shadows of tropical flowers across the space, and for a moment I felt oddly more at peace.

~~~

Ayako pressed on Thomas' thigh with her healing touch and watched him closely as the pain seemed to fade away.

"I think that's the last muscle you pulled back there." Ayako leaned back and sat of her heels. "How does it feel now?"

Thomas stood up and raised his knee, thrusting his foot forward to practice a few strong kicks with one leg and the other. "Great actually. Feels like I woke up from one of those good naps."

"So is our plan secured?" Kelly asked, making sure her combat boots were tightly fastened on.

"I'd say so." Said Narong, stretching his arms for what could've been the hundredth time.

I'd checked the area a few times to organize a plan of attack. Our established goal: infiltrate the dome shaped building.

According to what we were able to find, that structure seemed to be a base. Ayako suggested that our first action be to extract some data directly from their computers. I'm not very knowledgeable about technical things, but the idea of stealing information wasn't hard to follow.

We all stood around the ladder, ready yet unready to put our plan into action. Then again, would anyone truly feel "ready" to take action like this?

I was still practically shaking in my sandals while I stood below the manhole, my stance wide and body lowered as I prepared myself to take action. My body was cringing every second I told myself I was about to do it and didn't, like a human incapable of flight standing by a cliff.

Everyone around me was staring, their eyes making me more nervous as I became aggravated by my own hesitation. I needed to do this, it was my call, we couldn't stay in the sewers forever.

I need to get it over with!

My fists clenched and toes curled, I focused on expanding the energy in my core. My body was immediately engulfed by a dense barrier, it's surface glowing a sharp cyan as more energy whirled around me and joined with my psionic shield.

The sheer pressure began forcing the others away and lifting me from the ground. Still, I gathered more; as far as I knew at the moment, there was no telling whether our foe's bullets would be deflected by the density of my energy shield or pierce straight through.

I wish I'd tried foreseeing the outcome of this...

I threw my hand upwards and sent the manhole blasting into the sky like a rocket until it disappeared above the clouds. Daylight poured onto our heads and I propelled myself to the surface, rising high into the air and descending on the hard, brittle earth as patrolmen gawked at me in surprise and aimed their weapons.

I thrust my arms forward and large waves of bright blue spewed from my fingers, the impact blasting dozens of armed men into the distance. As they disappeared from sight the sound of firing bullets rang in my ears, I reached deep inside of myself for more energy, and condensed it even harder around me when I noticed nearly all of them pull out what I could only assume were communicators of some kind.

I narrowed my eyes at the sleek, rounded devices and focused intently as the objects trembled under the pressure of my gaze. I ignored the bullets ricocheting off of my shield and kept my gaze set until the communicators exploded in my enemy's' hands, plastic and shrapnel tearing their skin as they stared, eyes wide with shock and pulled hard on their trigger.

Panic broke out among them in seconds while others continued to unload their guns on my barrier. I focused inward and the sound of their bullets morphed into white noise as I focused intently on their clothes.

*BOOM!*

I flinched at the explosion of a hand grenade flung by a man to my far left field of vision, and for a moment I noticed the shift in focus weaken the outer layers of my shield. I could feel my heart practically climb up my throat as my eyes began twitching in anxiety.

Darkness consumed me with a deep breath as I felt intense heat radiate from between my brows. I flicked my eyes open and the entire group of fighters instantly burst into a scattering mob of flame, the sound of their thrashing and throaty screams drowned out by the roar of searing yellow flame flaring about.

I stepped backward when several men were consumed by an inexplicable explosion, then strengthened my sheild as a guy frantically trying to roll away his flames stopped a few meters away. He seemed to be petrified by my noticing him, and his eyes were on the verge of rolling back in his head.

I knew the kind of men these were; trained to kill on sight and obey every order. Heartless, and convinced that every action they take is for a greater cause. Yet all of them, in a matter of seconds, had been massacred by me.

What kind of human am I, then?

I dismissed the thought as a survivor dashed from the scene, pulling a device from his holster and shouting what could seemed to be incomprehensible nonsense.

I felt the presence of a familiar object plummeting from the sky with immense speed. I waited for a split second, and as soon as the manhole cover entered sight, I honed my focus and sent it barreling at the running patrolman's head, knocking him unconscious as the communicator flew from his hands and skidded across the ground.

Then quiet.

Aside from the flaming corpses, surviving men who flipped and tossed about, and a stale breeze, everything was relatively calm. Sensing no more danger, I allowed my shield to disperse and made my way over to the manhole I'd emerged from.

I leaned over the opening and caught a whiff of putrid air. "The threats are... Down." I hesitated as everyone stood around the ladder, their faces screaming curiosity and anxiety over what they could only imagine I'd just done.

"I'll lead." Choa said, shoving through the group and climbing the ladder.

Choa raised his neck above the ground, his amber brown ponytail blowing in the wind as he gaped over the newly battle torn area.

"Good lord!" Choa spat, the sun beaming across his ebony skin. "Master Ken, Your power is.."

Before Choa could finish his thought, Maui emerged, glancing about similar to the way choa did before Ahomana, Narong, Kelly and all the others came out after.

"Holy hell, Ken." Kelly exclaimed.

Ritsu glanced at me and turned to the side. "I am so not pissing him off..." she mumbled.

Ayako looked across the bleak area and towards the direction of the dome.

"I doubt the base will be unguarded." Ayako said, turning towards, Thomas, Kelly and Travis. "We should salvage whatever they have. You've done something like this before, haven't you?"

"Yeah." Thomas said, snatching a pistol from a dead patrolman's hand.

Kelly stripped the bulletproof vest from a guy killed by the shrapnel of his receiver and put it on before she unfastened the grenade belt on a corpse, examining it carefully before fashioning it around her wide hips and grabbing two of the guy's guns.

Kelly spoke. "I'm ready."

~~~

We took the time to properly equip the spoils of our enemies. Me and my guards insisted that everyone else use the guns, our Psionic abilities are not only superior, but more of a convenience than a firearm.

On our trek towards the dome not much was said, although it felt as if we should have been talking about something. We practically came here on a whim, simply because we couldn't stay in Baiyo and the opportunity was available. It is true we unanimously agreed on not letting opportunities slip, jumping at every chance we get to sabotage The Nexus' grand scheme of mass murder and domination to save the planet. Still, I couldn't help but feel unworthy, unprepared.

"There it is." Ayako pointed at a round white building near some dusty rock ahead.

Ayako looked at Thomas. "The Nexus uses biometric scanners, I'm not sure if we'll be able to get in."

"I've got it." I said.

Everyone turned my way as I nodded at Maui. Maui pulled the body of the man I'd knocked unconscious with a manhole lid out of thin air while everyone stared.

Kelly grimaced. "Why the hell do you-."

I used my psychokinesis and sent the body floating towards the front entrance. As I got closer I made it walk on it's two legs towards the door, like a puppet.

Ritsu furrowed her brows. "... That's creepy."

Not minding the shock of everyone, I put the man's hand up to a screen with a hand outline on it, it seemed self explanatory enough. A red translucent ray passed over the man's body from head to toe and the door opened.

"Excellent." Ayako said.

Kelly glanced around. "Should we be worried about any cameras?"

"I got it." Thomas said, before looking at me. "Ken, shield everyone but me."

Preferring to not waste much time, I did what he told me and conjured a barrier strong enough to repel him and pull everyone else together. I gave a thumbs up to signal that we were encased and Thomas nodded.

Thomas shut his eyes when sparks and blue current flashed across his body. Then suddenly, blinding flashes erupted from around him, blasting a good radius of the area with thick bolts of electric current and utterly frying the biometric scanner along with any other electronics that may have been in his range.

I let my shield fall and everyone slowly disbanded.

"Nice!" Said Ritsu.

Ayako fixed herself. "That should've been enough to get us in."

"Let's get a move on." Ahomana suggested. "We've been in the open way too long."

We ran into the dome shaped building to notice the fallen bodies of a couple guards in the dark interior.

Ayako bent down beside one. "I guess your electric discharge took them out." she said.

"On another note," Kelly interrupted, digging in the pockets of the other and coming up with a card of some sort. "Employee ID cards should make navigating this place a bit more peaceful."

Narong dug in the other guard's pocket and took out his Employee ID. "I agree, we shouldn't make any more commotion than necessary."

A deep red light poured onto our bodies and we jumped at the sound of a voice overhead.

"What was that?" Travis spat, snatching a gun from his side.

"It's just emergency power shutting on." Ayako said. "We should get moving, there's no doubt our unauthorized presence has been made known."

Ayako's eyes shifted to Keiko and Sae, standing nervously and awkwardly to the side.

"Are you really sure about this Ayako?" Ritsu whispered. "I mean, look at the kids..."

They looked over at the girls, and the more I watched them stand there, their shattering knees and teary eyes, the easier it was for me to take action.

I walked over to them, towering only an inch or two above their tiny, delicate frames and enveloped the three of them in a dense violet shell of energy. I psychically programmed it, imbuing the impressionable force with my will to protect Sae and Keiko.

"This should work." I said, walking towards the chrome elevator and waiting quietly.

"Well come on!" Ahomana urged, walking towards the doors. "You heard me before, let's not linger."

Narong approached and inserted the Employee ID card. The elevator opened and we all stepped inside. The doors closed in front of us, shutting out the drafty winds blowing in and the red emergency lights before we were taken down to what I'd assume was the main floor.

The elevator slowed as we neared the bottom level and in a split second I could feel a burst of awareness pass over me. My mind linked with Choa, Maui, Ahomana, and Narong's, and every ounce of information we were gathering surged through our brains like a network until it seemed impossible for the minute details of each second to go unnoticed.

"Don't forget my training." Warned Choa. "This is an enemy base, it's life or death from here on out. No games!"

The elevator door opened and Choa slowly crept outside, watching everything intently with closed fists as we followed him further and further into the circular room.

"I can't sense anyone." Said Maui.

Choa relaxed his stance, frowning at the otherworldly atmosphere of the place we'd entered.

"What is... This feeling?" Choa said.

The surrounding area felt unnatural, like we were on another planet. I wasn't sure what had been going on down here, but for me to nearly forget all traces of being connected to the earth, this part of it must've been tainted for years, decades even.

"I'm not sure, but I'm not feeling any living threats nearby." Ayako said. "Regardless, we should use caution going forward until we know for sure what we're getting into."

I spoke, my mind melting in prelude to clairvoyance. "So we'll move forward when I find an opening."

Choa, noticing my strategy, nodded. "Okay, just give the word Master Ken."

As those words left Choa's mouth a blinding pillar of white erupted in front of me and we all leapt back, preparing to fight as it parted into a large ivory figure.

I gaped in curiosity and fear as the figure seemed to smirk eerily, the corners of it's wide mouth upturned on opposite sides of it's head.

"As expected." It said, the small lights in a black rectangular plane that replaced eyes blinking in the low light. "Did you really believe you could infiltrate this base unnoticed?"

The figure that stood before me had no aura, as if it wasn't even a sentient being. Yet it exuded the otherworldly presence of a being superior to humans. It had no face besides the mouth and ears, just a smooth rounded plane stretching from it's upper lip to its shiny bald head, the rest of it's body lacking any noteworthy detail at all besides pronounced muscles and a mildly reflective surface.

"Kelly, Travis...Thomas. After the fall of our ally's operation in Silona, this much could be expected. Their leader, The Shepherd, has related his visions to us." The figure said as it's black visor glowed a shimmering pale yellow.

*SHOOOOOM!*

A massive laser erupted from it's face and blew Thomas into the elevator doors before he could move.

"Thomas!" His name spilled from my throat until I sensed a blast approaching at bullet speed and dropped to the floor just in time for it to miss..

"As soon as you lot are gone, nothing will stand in our way." It stated robotically.

I launched off of my foot in a burst of speed and rammed into the creature. It stumbled to the side, and before it could register my sudden attack I leapt into the air and spun to pound my heel into the back of it's head.

The moment my feet touched the floor I stepped forward and smashed my fists against it's back as hard as I could as it struggled to stay afoot. I wasn't even sure if I was fighting well at that point, I was seething with rage and fear at the same time and the only thing I could think about was the way Thomas looked when that beam hit.

*SHLICK!*

"GAAAH!" I bellowed as a sharp, searing pain erupted in my shoulder, the pale figure's suddenly sharp fingers splitting my flesh as it shoved them deeper.

*CRACK!*

Choa decked our smug attacker in the face, shattering it's visor as it glowed towards Travis and Kelly.

Both of them stood a distance apart and aimed their guns, the sound of bullets exploding in my ears as me and Choa jumped back.

The torrent of bullets rendered the figure immobile, it's body haphazardly jolting back as Travis and Kelly's ammunition tore the flesh from it's black bones.

A loud whirring signalled another blast, then a bright yellowish beam exploded from it's face again and I shut my eyes too tightly to see the aftermath. When I opened them, nothing seemed to remain where the figure aimed it's blast. Then I looked to the left.

Thomas stood from having tackled Kelly and Travis out of the way, chunks of his attire singed off and skin red with burns after the initial blow he suffered.

The figure's autonomous voice sounded again. "Subject displays immense speed. Uploading to information database."

"We can't stay together, everyone fan out!" Ayako shouted.

Most everyone followed her directions and spread into a wide circle except for Thomas. Instead, Thomas rushed towards the figure as it morphed it's hand into thick blade and thrust it forward.

Kelly screamed. "THOMAS STOP!"

The blade missed as Thomas weaved to the side and spun to land a heavy reverse kick with his steel soled boot before leaping far backwards.

The figure spun with the impact and tumbled across the space. It collapsed and went limp for a moment, and after about ten seconds, we began to relax our defenses.

"What on earth was-." Ritsu froze as the figure's shattered visor shone with an unstable, erratic light yet again, the open wounds on it's face oozing with puss and glowing with whatever energy was built up within.

Ahomana fired from his position as slammed his foot into the figure's back, it's body bending backward so it's head faced ceiling.

"Countering my surprise attack with one of your own? This calls for a change in strategy." The figure inquired, it's voice sounding unnaturally composed given the situation.

A thick glorious beam spewed towards the ceiling and shook the room with it's impact, jarring us about the room as the sound of crumbling rocks followed shortly after.

"Yes." The figure muttered. "This will do nicely."

Huge chunks of concrete and steel beams broke from the ceiling and I could practically feel everyone's blood run cold. As the debris fell my adrenaline surged and sent dense energy rushing through my body. In a fit of power I snatched myself and everyone from the ground and hurled our bodies into the rounded hallway adjacent to the elevator doors we arrived from.

I wound up slinging myself against a wall in the process, in fact nobody had much of a smooth landing. I let myself slide to the floor and propped myself up to watch huge boulders of concrete come crashing down all over, sparks flying as steel beams screeched against each other and came plummeting against the doorway, trapping us in.

"A cave in?!" Kelly blurted, turning about soon after. "Everyone all right?"

Narong propped himself up and he quickly glanced my way. "...Ken, your shoulder."

I tried to ignore the hot stings pulsating around the open wound and noticed Thomas lying on the ground, his face somewhat empty and confused. I got up and walked towards him, my arm throbbing as I tried to keep it still.

"Thomas?"

Thomas didn't respond and instead continued glancing around.

I kneeled by him. "Thomas." I said, prodding his arm.

Thomas looked at me, his eyes curious and squinted in pain as he followed the movement of everyone's lips.

"You alright?" Kelly said, noticing his odd behavior.

Thomas stood and immediately noticed my gash, softly touching the area near it in as his face saddened in concern.

Kelly repeated herself. "I said, are you okay?"

"....EH?!" Thomas responded, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't think he can hear you." Ahomana said. "The impact from that beam must've done some damage to his eardrums, I doubt getting slammed into the elevator helped either."

Ayako extended her arms to sooth Thomas' injuries and mine in a warm glow while I searched the base from where we stood with my minds eye. I saw a group of more figures approaching a few corridors from where we were standing, and some long hallways leading to doors labelled in a language I couldn't comprehend. I tried seeing into a few doors, but they were out of range, all except one room so distant that all I could vaguely see were a plethora of monitors.

"I can't believe that creature sacrificed itself just to seal off our exit." Choa growled to himself. "This is a much more dangerous situation than I originally thought."

"We're facing an enemy with no regard for life, neither ours nor their own." Ayako said, turning Choa's way. "Whatever is happening here, we can't allow this place to exist any longer. It has to be destroyed."

I spoke. "I second that."

I could hardly imagine what horrors were being released upon the world from a place like this. Between the figure we'd just fought, the giant sewer leach, and the massive rat, I was beginning to question my entire existence.

Thomas began looking around cautiously, the flickering lights seeming to worry him.

"Can you hear me now?" I said.

Thomas nodded. "...Kinda."

I walked to Thomas and grabbed his wrist; the closeness made it easier for me to telepathically connect with him. Thomas started to get a bit nervous, so I grabbed his other hand, reassuring him.

"We can just speak like this."

Thomas' eyes widened slightly at the sound of my voice in his head.

"You know, besides Maui and Choa, you're the only other person I'm close enough with to talk this way anytime I want?"

Thomas shook his head, probably doubting whether or not what he was hearing was a result of brain damage.

"You're okay. Ayako seems good at her skills." I paused, my senses racking my bones with anxiety over what I knew would soon approach in these halls.

"Something's gonna come." Maui said, grabbing our attention. "It feels really bad."

"Well chop chop then!" Ahomana commanded, stepping further ahead as the rest of our group followed cautiously.

"We need to go now, if you think of me and focus your thoughts I'll hear you." I said as I looked Thomas back in the eyes, rubbing his knuckles as we slowly stepped forward.

I let go of his hands as we walked behind the others, trying to ignore the discomfort of unwanted release. It seemed that whenever we'd talk, or just be with each other I'd remember our first encounter, what I felt in that vision.

Thomas' was always pleasant, but unconsciously, I'd developed a deep pining for him. At some point in my knowing him, his words and the sound of his voice started to touch me, his warm amber gaze became deep and soothing, and the soft roundness of his face charmed me in a way that made me want to protect and give him everything. So much that not being with him plunged me into a quiet, achy void of solitude I thought I'd grown to love.

I felt so cold and upset just forcing myself to walk forward, memories of relationships, warmth, and human intimacy from my early childhood stirring bitterness and anger I'd convinced myself I'd gotten over.

I put my arm around his back as we trailed the others. "Remember this feeling." I hesitated, thinking of a way around any awkwardness. "Closeness strengthens our... Telepathic bond."

Thomas stayed silent and didn't react much besides a few glances when I seemed not to be looking. We continued walking through the halls for a while when Kelly stopped.

"Look, cameras." Kelly said, pointing at a few small black domes placed across the ceiling.

Thomas aimed an open hand at one and blasted it with a stream of current that left the camera fizzing with sparks. In the same spirit, Choa conjured the energy flowing inside him and briefly spun his hands about the glowing sphere forming and growing in front of him.

*Whiiirrrr*

Spooked by the sudden noise, I quickly switched my mode of vision and scanned the surrounding halls.

I shot my gaze towards the back of Choa's head. "Something will appear at that corner!"

Choa's gaze shifted to the end of the halls at the sound of my telepathic message as a hovering device glid into our path from the corridor ahead.

It seemed to pause and almost instantly I could hear it bellow the start of a piercing alarm.

*WHOOO-!*

Choa tensed his hands around the energy and unleashed a radiant beam.

*BYOOOOOSH!*

The impact smacked pieces from the Drone and sent them flying as it hurtled backwards and went shattering across the floor.

"Shit!" Choa spat. "Someone could've seen-."

"I feel aura!" Maui warned.

Instinctively, I opened my hands and stretched my Psi into a wide luminescent barrier as everyone braced themselves for what was to come.

A group of men in black uniforms dashed from the two adjacent halls meeting our path and drew their weapons.

Travis winced. "It's fucking them!"

"I shoulda KNOWN they'd be in on this shit!" Kelly vented.

I looked towards Thomas as the veins in his fists began to pop, then at the eye on our opponent's attire. I hadn't paid much attention to the discussions everyone had been having, but Thomas told me stories of a vicious cult that terrorized a town into going on a witch hunt for him, Travis, and Kelly.

I glanced over my shoulder and panicked at the sight of several ivory figures behind me. I erected a second barrier behind me, struggling to keep my racing thoughts focused.

The Divine Society members in front of us spoke amongst each other, and exploiting their unguarded state of mind, I began to listen in on their thoughts.

"METAHUMANS? Did they escape? What happened to their restraints?!"

The figures behind us replied.

"They intruded this base and are allies to the young terrorists here today. They don't belong to us, them acting of their own free will is a testament to that."

My eyes widened at the latter part of its statement, and those same words seemed to plunge both Ahomana and Narong into anguish, their features twisting in disgust.

"Thomas Colton, the Transhuman boy, has been a fugitive for about three years alongside Kelly Nicholson and Travis Kennedy. The Metahumans are unidentified. The Transhuman girl and the remaining humans are unidentified."

I turned my head at the loud sound of Maui siphoning air with a massive inhale.

*BOOOOOM!*

A sizzling billow of white hot flames exploded from Maui's mouth and consumed the ivory figures. Among the blaze I could spot dazzling lights appear and Maui dashed forward.

"Watch out for their beams!" I screamed.

Maui burst into a bright cloud, reappeared behind the figures, and locked the five figures into his biceps before vanishing again.

Maui appeared on the other side of the barrier, stunning the men with his size and power.

One of them cried out. "SHOOT HI-"!"

*BYOOOOOM!*

The group were instantly blasted down my the beams of the ivory figures. Maui tightened his grips severely until a series of loud cracks echoed in the halls. He dropped the ivory figures, and stepped toward one of the Nexus guards, lifting him by the arm.

Maui growled. "...What do any of you want with our people?"

The man mumbled incoherently, the skin on his face red and warped with burns.

Maui roared. "Why are they TRAPPED HERE?!"

"He's dead!" I told Maui. "You aren't getting anything out of them!"

Maui dropped the man as Choa, Narong, Ahomana and I rushed near him.

Narong's stammering voice echoed in our heads. "They're holding metahumans here?!"

"This shouldn't be POSSIBLE!" Choa's voice bellowed. "Records say that all knowledge of our existence was purged! Our people should be a myth at worst!"

Maui shot his gaze right of me, eyes widened and glistening with welling tears. "Aho, our people, our family is ENSLAVED here! Did you hear what they said?!"

"I HEARD!" Ahomana erupted, his face dawning a mess of emotion and racing thoughts.

I sat there and wondered. If I'd forced myself to stay and undergo training to become chief instead of refusing and getting myself outcast, I would've been told all the ins and outs of this. Instead all I know is that since typical homo-sapiens replaced us as earth's dominant species, we've lived in isolated societies across the planet.

Despite the controversy regarding the supernatural and whether or not people can wield psychic abilities, we'd done well keeping our powers hidden and appearing normal to people who come across us. At least that's what we thought.

Apparently someone somewhere screwed up royally or were caught off guard, because being imprisoned by an authority like this could not have been intentional.

"We have no choice but to press forward." Choa told us. "This is personal to us now."

"What are you guys doing?" Ritsu asked.

Ahomana walked towards a door and inserted a stolen employee ID card into the small slot nearby. A green light appeared and the doors slid open to reveal a dimmer hall further inside.

Me and my guards walked through the doors, pushing on with our own agenda and curiosity.

"Wait!" Ayako called. "Don't just take action without discussing with everyone!"

"No offense, but this is way over your head." Ahomana said, increasing his pace along with the rest of us.

Kelly furrowed her brow. "What happened to being unanimous and open?"

We ignored her, delving deeper and deeper into the base.

Thomas rushed to my side. "Ken, what's going on?"

"Something is seriously wrong, it involves my people. We just can't be so open about a crisis like this." I replied.

"Why not?"

I forced myself to ignore him.

Thomas face began to droop with worry. "Ken, like it or not we're apart of this now. I'M apart of this now. We have a right to know."

I despite trying to avoid eye contact, I glanced up at him and felt a sting of guilt when I caught sight of his worried eyes.

Please, he can't be doing this to me...

I suddenly found myself paralyzed and trembling along with my guards, my pulse loud in my ears.

"D-Do you feel that Cho-oa?" I struggled to formulate.

Choa silently nodded in response "Whatever awaits must be..." he shook himself violently, jolting the instinctive fear from his bones. "We can take it!" Choa verbalized.

"Righ-." Maui doubled over mid sentence along with me and my other guards. The sheer fact that I'd never experienced something like this before made me feel like I'd have a heart attack!

As Psions, Metahumans, or whatever we're being called, we're incredibly sensitive to the auras and energies of people, things, and places. Especially other psychic beings. Whenever we some across something immensely dangerous it elicits a physical response.

It's fucking torture.

I mumbled. "I can't stand it...!"

"Ken!" Thomas said, his eyes shooting about in concern. "Guys?"

Travis stepped back. "Ayako what's going on with them?!"

"Scanning!" Ayako replied before nearly collapsing herself.

"Aya!" Sae cried.

"I'm getting... R-Really intense physical distress..." Ayako said, trying to stabilize herself once again. "But, why...?"

I felt power build in my limbs once again and propelled our group backwards.

*ZZZHUWAM!*

Ritsu cried. "What's that light?!"

*BOOOOOM!*

In split seconds the ground we were standing on glowed indigo and shattered under the intense pressure of a psychic force. I struggled to keep my body still on the rugged terrain despite not being directly affected.

"Where is it?!" Choa shouted.

The world in front of me disappeared, consumed by blackness and traces of subconscious thought. My head swam, the lines and colors from my suddenly vivid imagination morphing and twisting until everything seemed familiar.

I found myself trembling in the corner of my mother's palace as loud explosion shook the dark, shiny floors, confused and frozen as the red glow of fires from outside danced across the walls. I glared about until my eyes landed on a head of thick dreadlocks.

"Papa...?"

I began crawling closer to him, barely aware of the echoing screams and blasts quietly going off in my ears. The man I was crawling to made me feel as if the disturbing noises didn't matter. I remembered that he could keep me safe, he even looked kind of like me.

"KEN GET UP!"

"OH GOD!"

"CHOA!"

The shrieking voices seemed to grow louder, the startling noises sending my heart into a frenzy for reasons I couldn't quite understand. I just felt like he could make it better, I needed someone like that in my life.

"Let her GO!"

I edged closer to him, reaching toward his shoulder.

"Papa!"

I turned him over and stared deeply at the mass of flesh and blood sitting in his caved shell of a head. I couldn't help but just look. I'd never seen anything like that before.

He'll be okay, right?

I thought that as I persisted in ignoring the sounds of inexplicably familiar voices screaming in my head. Yet despite my efforts, they only seemed to grow louder as a dark realization loomed over me.

... No?

"OOOF!" I shouted as a huge body smushed me against the hard floors. When I came to my senses I recognized it as Maui's and my attention turned to the racing bodies and firing weapons that darted back and forth across the halls.

I focused my power and quickly lifted Maui to his feet before forming a Ki sphere between my hands. It glowed a greenish color, brightening with the intensity of my power before I sent it bulleting towards a shadowy three eyed figure lifting Kelly by her throat as she struggled to breathe.

The sphere blasted the figure across the face and snapped its jaw to the right, and without hesitation I formed another blast and launched it at it's head again.

My attack hit and the figure stumbled, the black scleroses of its third eye glowing as Kelly aimed her gun and unleashed a flurry of bullets into its face. Streams of smoke spiraled from the bullets lodged in it's tough skull and Kelly's eyes widened, her pupils tiny and mortified at the figure's imperviousness to her attack.

Ayako raised her hands, her body glowing until the figure aimed it's third eye.

*BWOOOOOM!*

A thick crimson ray blasted Ayako off of her feet and she bashed her head against the wall, blood staining her pink hair and light skin as it rolled down the sides of her face.

Travis shook, his grasp around his gun loosening with the realization of its futility. "What the hell are you?!"

Choa lunged from the floor, his arms littered with gashes, and froze in mid air at the black figure's gaze, then got slammed into the wall so hard the sheer impact bounced his frame from the surface to the wall on the other side.

Before I knew what was happening I felt myself glide from the floor with Maui. I tried not to focus on what it was, instead building a strong enough force for another attack.

I honed my focus, calling upon the planet's energy as well as my own. Even with my eyes closed I could see and feel the Psi's glow flowing over me and coursing through my body.

*THUD!*

My body slammed against the wall and I bashed my head against the steely surface as tears began to spill from my eyes. I laid on the ground for a quick second, straining my focus despite the throbbing pain and sobs trying to escape before my body went hurtling upwards.

*SHATTER!*

I came blasting down from the ceiling with a rain of glass shards, the flesh on my face, chest, and arms split and leaking blood. My head swam at the thick metallic scent filling my nose, but I forced myself to crack an eyelid open and saw Maui blast through the air, his huge body rocketing into Travis as the two went tumbling further down the halls.

I looked back at the figure, adrenaline surging when I saw Kelly hang limply in the figure's grasp, her mouth gaping open and eyes rolled back in her head.

Thomas began trembling at the sight of Kelly and burst from his position madly, dashing towards her and the figure when he too was paralyzed by telekinesis.

"All of you are so hopeless." The figure said, dropping Kelly's unconscious body to the ground.

*CRUNCH!*

"AAAHH!" Kelly's shrieked, her eyes shooting open at a sight that made even my arms hurt.

The figure had smashed it's heel into her elbow, twisting it's foot to crush and separate her bones as Ritsu burst into tears.

"AAAHH!, FUCK YOU!" Kelly hollered, her voice rattling with sobs.

Ritsu screamed. "GET OFF OF HER!"

Maui appeared above the figure but froze suddenly. The figure shook its head, stepping closer towards Thomas as Ahomana charged his way. "Especially the superior lot of you."

The figure paused to suspend Ahomana in mid air as he swung his leg forward, not even looking his way. "You don't have to take part in this idiotic crusade against us, yet The Shepherd's prediction shows you will. You fight us when you could join ranks with the other Transhumans, Metahumans, and Modern Men like myself."

"Shut up and fight me, jackass." Thomas hissed under the immense power oppressing his body. "Why would you even expect nobody to take a stand with the shit you're tryna do? You lost your goddamn mind?"

*BLAM!*

The figure, one of the "Modern Men" smashed it's fist against Thomas' face, knocking his body backwards as I refocused.

"Your vulgarity is insulting. Have I not made an impression? Do you see our altercation here as a light tussle? A schoolyard fray?"

*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*

Ritsu aimed a gun at the black figure loosely, Kelly, Sae, and Keiko sitting behind her. "We w-won't lose t-that easily!"

Seeing Ritsu's will motivated me, and I dug deeper for more energy to use. I could feel the surge build, my mind, body, soul, and abilities were reacting so that I could protect myself and combat this demonic creature.

I-I want protect them all, though...

The Modern Man sent Choa, Ahomana and Narong's body zooming our way with a nod, slamming their bodies into Maui's and blasting them both towards the girls. I felt a brilliant power spill from within me, then a glistening brightness opened up below the figure.

*SHHHOOOOOM!*

A dazzling pearlescent blast engulfed the Modern Man, tearing through the repulsive aura he'd emanated.

Thomas, Choa, Maui, Ahomana, and Narong dropped to the floor as the intensity of the blast slowly diminished. It disappeared completely in a matter of seconds and left the figure haphazardly sprawled across the ground, it's flesh torn and eyes hollowed out.

I pulled the glass from my flesh with psychic power and took a knee, standing as my guards and Thomas sat themselves up.

Travis tried forcing himself up but let out a wail. "I-I can't stand up!" Travis panicked, glancing up at Maui. "My leg! It broke after you crushed me!"

Maui stared blankly at him before walking off. "Not. My. Fault." he said without a turn.

Ahomana and Narong went motioning their hands around each other, healing themselves, then Ayako, before the three of them went on treating the wounds of everyone.

~~~

"Aa!" Kelly screamed after trying to move her arm right away.

"You can't do that!" Ayako said, gently pushing Kelly's arm back into her lap. "Healing is still a process, an injury like that will definitely take time before it's back to normal again."

Sae and Keiko began crying to Ayako and Ritsu, their voices racked with with sobs and fear.

"...We don't know of a way out." Ritsu sobbed to herself.

"...Can we even afford to go on like this?" Kelly said, her voice weakened and shaky.

"We need to get out of here!" Travis yelled. "That thing was destroying us! I can't even fricking walk!"

Thomas spoke. "We stood our ground. We can at least be proud of that."

"You." Travis gestured towards Thomas, me, my guards, and Ayako. "Managed to stand your ground, us humans were about to die!"

"We are human," Ayako protested.

Choa stood. "Us as well."

"Not the point." Travis said. "I just don't get why a ton of you are so hellbent on putting yourselves in mortal danger. I'd enjoy living a normal life, thank you."

"Nobody has that option right now." Kelly interjected. "There's a point to this, we're trying to protect something here."

Travis sighed. "Not your own ass, clearly..."

"There are things more important." Thomas said, his voice monotone and sprinkled with passive aggression.

Travis glared at Thomas and Kelly, his focus seeming to center on them entirely. "Well FUCK ME for wanting to stay alive. How dare I not throw my existence away for a planet of selfish assholes who wouldn't bat an eye if I died like you two."

"Someone's gotta have the balls to fight and keep those assholes alive..." Thomas muttered. "Assholes like you should be grateful."

Travis' face reddened. "Shut up, Thomas. Just stop talking."

"Fuck you!" Thomas shouted.

"Guys that's enough!" Ritsu interrupted.

"Suck Ken's dick, faggot!" Travis shouted, edging forward.

I felt less insulted by that last statement than I was probably supposed to and looked to notice Thomas' face contort, his eyes squinted in anger and mouth gaping with disbelief.

Kelly snapped. "Travis, I dunno what's gotten up your ass lately but now is not the-."

Travis interrupted her. "Don't worry about my ass, anal is HIS thing."

They both glared at him for a moment while the rest of us looked on, somewhat entertained by the drama even though we probably shouldn't have been.

"Just ignore him.' Thomas said. "Dumb cunt knows he can get fucked up... Let's do what we came in here to do."

"I really don't think I can go on." said Kelly.

Maui walked over to her. "I can keep you with all my other stuff while we go."

Kelly looked up. "You can store me in there?"

Maui nodded.

"But what's gonna happen to me? Where do I go?" Kelly said.

"You won't even be conscious while you're in. Matter and energy are inter-convertible, I'll let your energy bond with mine you'll undergo a kind of transformation that allows you to escape the physical plane. And even though you won't be especially coherent, you can "wake up" and pop out anytime you want."

Kelly looked at him, then her arm, pondering for a moment. "I'll do it." she said. "I don't stand a chance against these things the way I am now, I don't wanna be a drag."

Kelly helped herself up with her good arm and slowly walked over to Maui, looking up at him "Store me away. I'm ready, and like, mentally open I guess."

Maui scooped Kelly up in his arms and she dissolved into light, vanishing in seconds.

Choa looked at Travis. "You get hidden away too."

Travis sat there for a moment, his expression agitated and nervous.

"I'm running out of patience with you." Choa snapped. "If you don't consent in the next five seconds, I'm leaving you here to die. Is that clear?"

Travis glared at him, his eyes intense before throwing his arms up in defeat. "Fine, take me."

Maui walked over and dissolved him into shimmering light as well, then turned back our way.

"Okay, then." Choa said. "We should be on our way."

We left the scene of the altercation and kept scampering down the halls, sensing around for danger as we searched for these computer rooms Ayako had told us about.

We reached the end of the darkened hallway and came to a door.

"Step aside." Narong said, inserting an ID card and granting us entry.

We stepped inside to a room filled with monitors and I winced the the familiar disgusting aura of that Modern Man we'd fought. Nothing alive was in the room I could sense, and we found nothing after scoping it out for a few quick seconds, yet it seemed his presence still lingered.

"This must've been how he found us." Ahomana stated. "These monitors are displaying everything on the outside and entryways. He probably summoned those cultists, the modern men, and the guards."

"I found a computer!" Ritsu said, moving a mouse around to activate the monitor.

Ayako rushed over and looked into the monitor, scanning the foreign contents with urgency. She quickly pulled out a flash drive and inserted it, pressing a tiny button on the side that triggered a small flashing blue light.

"What are you doing?" Maui asked.

"I'm cloning every bit of information that was ever stored onto this computer onto this flash drive and transmitting it to Haruko at the same time." Ayako replied, pulling her hair out of the way and gazing about in case anybody may have walked in.

The light on the flashdrive turned green and Ayako pulled it out.

"I found something." said Narong.

I walked over to him with Thomas and Ayako to find him studying a map plastered across the desk underneath a massive screen, his scleroses slightly aglow with baby blue.

"I've deciphered this language." He said, tearing the paper from the desk . "We can find anything we want in this base with the contents of this map. There's an information database here, escape pods here..."

I felt a wave of telepathy before hearing Narong's voice. "Chambers containing Psions and Transhuman prisoners over HERE."

I glanced at Choa and he confirmed he'd heard Narong as well with a nod.

"Let's get to the database." Ayako said. "Even though we killed that guy and the security around here is down, an area like that will definitely we guarded We need to stay in prime battle formation as we approach our destination. Are we clear?"

We nodded in agreement before opening the next doorway and heading out.

We continued into a more well lit part of the base. The flooring was tiled and the lighting significantly brighter than the first two areas we'd come from.

I stood next to Narong as the others followed behind us, ready to deploy a shield in case of an ambush while Choa trailed behind us, keeping an eye out for anyone who may attempt to catch our group my surprise.

We followed Narong through the hallways, quickly and quietly destroying cameras and drones that patrolled the area and incapacitating the lone, ivory colored Modern Men scattered about.

"This is it." Narong said, pausing in front of a metallic double door.

"We've been doing well with the grunts so far, it's looking up for us." Ritsu said.

Ayako turned towards her. "I am proud of this group for our first official mission, but it's not over yet. Save the celebration until after we escape safe and sound."

"Through these doors is a containment area." Narong said. "They keep experiments, chimeras, kidnapped humans... Things of that nature here."

Thomas folded his arms. "Based on my experience, this'll probably be a rough for anyone with a weak stomach. You guys ready for this?"

We all glanced at each other, nodding quietly.

"Okay then." Thomas said, shoving an ID card into a wall slot.

The doors opened to reveal a massive dimmed room. I stared upwards at the walls, which stretched what seemed hundreds of feet upwards into the ceiling. Then I looked around at the huge glass screens lining the walls.

All manner of naked beasts and and people shuffled about inside, panicking at our entry and staring us down as we walked further inside.

They screamed at us through the thick glass. Pregnant women, pregnant teenagers, pregnant children... Even men if my biological assessment skills are accurate. Their auras were confused and unclear, for some of them I couldn't even pinpoint exactly what species they were even though they seemed to be members of the human family.

"Why the hell is everything pregnant in this section?!" Thomas furrowed his brows. "How can you even do that to a male anything?! And WHY?!"

Ritsu's eyes filled with tears at the sight of a tiny young girl's massively bloated stomach moving around. The girl laid stiffly, her lifeless eyes glossy and wide as her mouth gaped open. Blood and fluids pooled at her vagina, which had been torn wide by the slimy, mutated creatures moaning around her and convulsing within her birth canal, trying to escape.

I cringed in disgust at the sight as Ritsu broke into sobs, turning away from the grotesque tragedies behind her.

"T-That is so damn sick!" Ritsu cried before dashing off into a corner.

My hands started to shake and I backed into Thomas as an uneasiness came over me. I looked to the far side of the room where Choa and Maui had been looking. I could feel all of their auras as I made my way over there and could hardly believe what I was feeling.

They were Metahuman, like me, my guards, and everyone in the royal estate of Tajora. They cried at us, pleading and trying to reach out when I started to feel hot.

Aside from the hotness in my eyes, it started to get really hot on the right side of me too. Me and Choa had to stand away from Maui as his body temperature continued dramatically rising.

"... H-How did this happen?" Choa breathed, his voice slightly shaking.

"Their psychic abilities are being suppressed." I said, taking notice of the metallic dots on each of their foreheads.

"Those things." I continued. "They cover their third eye chakra. It's no wonder they haven't escaped, they can't even use telepathy with each other..."

I looked at Maui when sizzling sounded in my ears to notice the heavy tears dripping from his nose and rolling into the thick red beard of his mane, steam spiraling into the air as they were evaporated by Maui's pyrokinesis activating in response to his emotional intensity.

Ahomana and Narong came our way. "It seems the same everywhere else around here." Ahomana said. "They've been trapped for who knows how long."

"As far as those devices of their skulls go, it seems to stifle their powers with vibrations." Narong said. "I don't know if they can easily be broken or if there's something else to them, but these people must've studied us deeply to come up with such a thing."

"Narong, Aho, we have to break them outta here!" Maui whined. "I can't even tell how long they've been here, some of them haven't even seen the earth before."

"Do think we'll be able to pull it off?" Narong said, turning to Choa.

"It's our moral obligation to try. We can't just walk away, especially knowing our involvement with this. I knew the Nexus endangered the planet, but abducting our people for hell knows what..."

I turned at the thought that a presence may have been behind me. I found nothing, but my intuition began to bother me, and before I knew it my senses were tingling off the charts.

"Let's all gather together." I told Choa.

Choa cupped his hands around his mouth. "Everyone come close, something feels wrong here!"

"EVERYTHING is wrong here!" Ritsu yelled, making her way towards us with Thomas, Ayako, and the younger girls.

I closed my eyes to look into the future and saw multiple visions of an attack beginning with an ambush of lasers.

Quickly, I summoned my energy and spun it into a dome shaped barrier around everyone.

*SHHOOOOOM!*

Several bright lasers burst from seemingly nowhere and exploded against my shield, then we were surrounded by a dozen ivory bodies.

"I've got this!" Choa said, thrusting his arm upward as several portals manifested above.

*FOOOOOSH!*

A storm of Psionic rays blasted the ground around us, bursting from the energy portals high above and rattling the floors as they tore through the Ivory Modern Men.

"A few are still alive!" Ritsu shouted, and I aimed my palms to blast them down with psi balls myself.

The sound of doors opening grabbed my attention and I looked at the swarms of Nexus guards standing at the door. They shouted orders and fanned out across the room, aiming large heavy guns.

I thrust my palm and sent a thick bunch of fighters that poured in slamming against the walls outside of the room, then honed my focus on pulling the large metal doors shut with my power.

One of them screamed. "STRELYAT'!"

*BOOOOOM!*

My ears started to ring unbearably, my hearing practically shot at the piercing explosion of rockets bursting against my barrier.

I looked back at the doors and focused again. It began working and the two steel doors began gliding together as if to close on their own.

*BOOOOOM!*

I cringed again at the sounding of exploding rockets and quickly inhaled, gathering the energy around me into a shiny fizzing energy ball condensing itself above everyone's heads.

I imbued it quickly with an attack and turned my focus towards the troop standing around us as my energy ball rapidly spewed blasts of Psi at our opponents, scattering them about as a few dropped their weapons to the floor.

I exerted my will and pulled a few laser blasters and rocket launchers into our circle as the guards shouted into communicators. In seconds, a few other doors placed around the room parted open as a myriad of people came pouring in. They didn't wear uniforms, some even seemed to be young like me or Thomas.

"Who are they?!" Ahomana shouted.

Ayako spoke. "Scanni-!"

*FWOOOOOSH!*

A girl from the midst of them unleashed a blast that engulfed our entire shield. The pressure of her energy made me dizzy, but I resolved to stay focused.

"They're transhuman!" Ayako continued. "A few even... Read the same as you guys?!"

"Psionic humans?! Fighting for them?!" Choa stammered.

I tapped back into the energy ball above and sent as much energy surging from myself and the earth into it as I could before I'd be shaken by another attack.

My consciousness seemed to fade away the longer I did that, it was as if I transcended the limits of my physical self and became an abstract part of the cosmos.

Thomas

I shut my eyes tight and let the charge flowing through my body build, my insides literally buzzing and shaking my limbs before I sprung outside of Ken's shield.

*ZZZAAAAP!*

A thick bunch closest to me got blasted simply due to close proximity before I unleashed everything.

*BOOOOOM!*

Thunder roared throughout the room as massive bolts of lightning blasted the swarm and everything in it's way, loud crackling and sizzles still audible among the lingering zaps and jumping current.

A ton of them were paralyzed, a number certainly dead, their bodies shaking and sparking as they fell to the ground. I leapt back into Ken's protective barrier and suddenly felt my body get swept up in a wave of intense energy.

I looked behind me. "What's going on with Ken?!"

Ken levitated above the ground, a powerful force sweeping the space as the growing energy ball above us grew larger and felt even heavier to stand under.

"He's tapping into massive amounts of power!" Ahomana shouted.

Choa tried going near him. "KEN, YOU'RE GOING TO STRAIN YOURSELF!'

Ken

I felt my limbs go completely numb. I wasn't an individual anymore, I was a force. I could and did acknowledge the danger around me, but I felt no need to panic. After all, there was nothing they could do to a pure force imbued with destruction.

I opened my eyes to find bright blueish-green streams of energy flowing through everything within my shield and around it. Choa was yelling at me, but I heard nothing but silence as the others ran behind me and Maui stored Sae and Keiko.

I looked at the Nexus guards and the horde of fighters backing away and focused my power. A glaring purple sphere opened up in the midst of them and dragged everything outside my barrier towards its core. I released more energy as our foes scrambled to get out of the way and summoned bursts of energy that exploded among them at random, blasting them into each other and against walls. Then I conjured thick azure beams that ripped through the swarm, tearing them apart as they swept through the walls and shattered large steel doors.

As the carnage ensued I felt a surge so powerful it numbed my mind. A deep buzzing sounded in my head and my body leaned back, overtaken by mindless force and weakened by dizziness. I knew for a fact my eyes had gone aglow, and despite them being open my vision became clouded with darkness and my body seemed to act on its own.

I spun each of my arms in the opposite direction before bringing my palms together. The boundless energy around me followed my motions and I thrust my arms forward with everything I felt I had within me, unleashing a massive beam towards the panicking mass wide enough to engulf them all.

*BOOOOOM!*

My hearing came back with the release of everything and I descended to the floor, my body trembling with a sudden fatigue before I fell on my knees, too tired to stand.

"Ken!" Choa shouted.

"I had no idea you were that powerful!" Thomas gasped. "You looked like a frickin' God! That was some anime series finale type shit!"

"Someone like Ken CANNOT tap into power like that with no cost!" Ahomana said. "He's had almost no training! His body and head can't process shit like that if he doesn't even get how to use Psi properly! Regardless of his potential or lineage!"

Thomas looked at me in concern. "Well shit, then..."

I looked ahead and sae that most of our opponents were dead, the only ones managing to survive being the people furthest from the center of my many blasts.

I could feel my skull begin to throb with a massive headache and before I knew it, the barrier around me started to dissipate. Then I saw one of the men speak into a communicator again.

"This..." I said, breathing deeply through a cripplingly painful dizziness. "Is a very bad thing...."

A feeling of intense uneasiness came over me as I sat there, feeling cold and naked to the danger and energies around me. Several flashes of light appeared all over the room, the brightness hurting my eyes, and I felt my heart drop at the tall, muscular Modern Men standing around. Their black skin and three piercing eyes a sign of their superiority to their ivory counterparts.

I spread my fingers and motioned my arms about conjuring a shield as a few of their eyes glowed with lethal blasts

*SHHHOOOOOM!*

Their beams collided against my shield and I jumped with the impact, my shield quickly disappearing as I slowly tipped over to the side.

"Choa give us a plan!" Ritsu spat.

"Ken's shielding arts were crucial!" Ahomana spat "With their telekinesis, we-!"

*BOOOOOM!*

Electric current blasted a group of Modern Men from where Thomas stood, their bodies trembling with shock as they tried to stand.

I could hear the buzzing and crackling of more current grow louder as Thomas charged another attack and launched a bolt of lighting towards another Modern Man standing nearby.

It hit the Modern Man, but suddenly Thomas body burst from the ground, rocketing dozens of meters towards the ceiling like a torpedo.

*BOOM!*

Thomas smashed against the concrete, his body shattering the surface and leaving a crater before he came plummeting down.

*POOF!*

Maui appeared dozens of feet in the air, catching Thomas in his arms before vanishing again and reappearing on the ground.

*BYOOOOO-*

*FOOOOOSH!*

Choa intercepted a beam hurtling my way with a blast of his own and continued to shoot off with attacks, his body flowing with them seamlessly as he flung energy at the Modern Men appearing in every direction.

Ahomana and Narong disappeared, then dozens of clones of them reappeared across the space, each acting independently as they engaged different enemies.

"Your techniques against our type of opponent seem to have evolved since last time." One of the Modern Men said before Ahomana emerged from his sea of fakes and snapped his neck with brutal force.

"However," Another one of them paused before sweeping the room with his laser, blasting Thomas, Ayako, Ritsu and I before we could react. "We are far from being outclassed by the likes of you."

I ripped my body from the ground, struggling against a searing pain when I noticed group of Nexus guards rush by the scene through the torn walls when one of them paused. He seemed to be younger, about our age.

He had dark skin and seemed a bit chubby, his aura deeply malicious. He peered at us as we evaded the attacks of our enemies, struggling to keep up with the rate at which they started firing off.

Then he looked at Thomas, and something in his eyes changed, morphing into what seemed like joy, then a deepening hatred. The boy clenched a remote of some sort in his hand, glaring deeply at the back of Thomas' head as he punched something in. A second later he looked to notice me staring at him and we stared off at each other, my instincts rousing a relentless hatred for reasons I couldn't quite pinpoint.

That's when I felt a rumbling in the floors and looked to the side as huge, muscular mechanical dogs came stampeding from the gaping holes in the walls, their eyes glowing red as they foamed at the mouth.

Ritsu shreiked at their appearance, her voice commanding everyone's attention and Ayako shuddered before quickly spreading her hands.

*VOOOOOM!*

Maui immediately unleashed a rushing torrent of flames, melting through the seemingly endless sea of canines.

Choa blasted the area surrounding us with a surge of energy and knocked the dogs back, but more trampled over them and kept racing forward.

Suddenly the collapsed, the waves of light from Ayako paralyzing rows upon rows in their tracks.

*BWOOOOOM!*

Ayako collapsed immediately after suffering a blast of energy from a Modern Man, and panic set in again.

*CRAAASH!*

Thomas fired bolts of electrical discharge into the fray, the dogs trembling for a second as a disturbing laugh echoed above the brawl.

Thomas' eyes shifted for a second and paused at the boy standing much closer to us than he was before, just beyond Thomas attack, with a remote in his hands.

"J-JOSHUA!" Thomas screamed, his eyes widening as I felt a surge of painful emotion from him. "T-The hell are you DOING here?!"

Joshua stood silently, his lips curling and eyes blank with hatred, yet eerily amused at Thomas reaction.

"... You remember me?" Joshua croaked.

"What's in your hand?!" Thomas asked, staring deeply into the remote Joshua held.

Joshua continued, ignoring him. "... You read my note?"

"I see the EM waves..." Thomas continued. "... You're controlling the dogs!"

Joshua pressed down on the remote and the dogs all suddenly lunged for Thomas, bypassing almost everything else as Joshua stared at him.

Thomas swung his fists, knocking the mechanically enhanced beasts left and right as the snapped at his face and tore through his clothes. The intensity continued and Thomas refused to stop swinging, his arms only stopped when a dog caught Thomas wrist in it's jaw as countless other's rocketed towards the opening.

I found myself hyperventilating at the sight, petrified with fear as by eyes began to water. "THOMAS! NO!"

Choa blasted the area with his energy, blowing a good number away and knocking some unconscious, but as if to replace the defeated, more came and swarmed Thomas again.

*SHOOOOOM!*

A beams blasted Choa from the side, more hurtling towards him in seconds and blowing his back and forth across the space until he was forced to fend them off.

Thomas fell over, kicking violently through bunches of bloodthirsty attack dogs as he hollered and thrashed across the floor, roaring in pain as he fought to shield his face and curled up into a ball.

H-He's gonna get RIPPED APART!

I stared as they mauled him, my screams for it to stop dissolving into sobs I recalled memories of my Papa and when I first saw his face, how fast everything happened.

*ZZZAAAP!*

Flashes of electricity erupted in the mountain of dogs piling on top of him, but it didn't slow them down a bit. They only became more aggressive with the shocks, as if they'd absorbed it.

I let out a hoarse scream, the pain pulsating through my skull becoming increasingly unbearable as my heartbeat grew louder in my ears. I could feel myself shaking, my body trembling violently at the energy surge as I bawled the sight in front of me.

I-I can't protect him...

I only wailed louder when I realized that.

Without my power, I'm nothing. Even with my superior strength and extra senses, what good is any of that in a situation like this?!

In that moment I'd have given anything to stop what was happening, I truly didn't care. I hated feeling powerless, I hated people coming in to my life a destroying everything I loved and cared about. I didn't want to be alone again.

This CAN'T BE!

I forced my eyes at the herd, paying no mind to the beams and fire blasting off all around me. The pain of trying focus sent me collapsing to the ground. It should have been enough to force me to stop, even force me into a coma, but my will overpowered it. I forced myself onto my knees and kept my gaze forward. Tears flowed uncontrollably, blood running and spurting from my nose and I struggled to breathe through my crying.

The dogs exploded from the huge pile, spewing in every direction imaginable as I concentrated relentlessly on dismantling and obliterating everything attacking Thomas. The dogs kept flying off, their limbs curling up and crushing under the pressure of my rage until I could see Thomas body.

I struggled to keep my head up and tried to move towards him. I could see the blood pooled and splattered across the area and only began to panic, my arms shaking. I tried to hold my eyes open as debris surrounding us became visible. There were mechanical parts, the corpses of our enemies, shredded clothing, and a hand.

A familiar hand, nearly torn from a forearm that laid there by itself. My eyes shot towards Thomas once more and I could see him lying there, his chest rising and falling quickly as he trembled. The parts of his body I could see through his torn clothes were strewn with bite marks and deep gashes, bruising and chunks of flesh missing or hanging off.

N-No!

I looked at his bloody face, my heart sinking at the deep teeth shaped gashes. I couldn't handle to notice more than that, and my eyes went to his arms, one by his side like the other, but unlike the other, everything beyond his elbow was missing. That's when I couldn't deny the damage those dogs, that demonic waste of flesh had done.

I grew dizzy and lightheaded, swaying around and my mind blackening as I struggled to stay on my knees. With nothing left to give, I tipped forward and felt my face slam into the ground.

Maui

I held Ayako and Ritsu close, their figures dissolving into light when a sickening feeling churned my gut.

Something REAL bad just-.

I turned my head to the side and found Thomas and Ken lying on the ground, both bloody and unconscious. My heart dropped and I could feel a coldness in my blood.

I focused inward, my consciousness dissolving as I vanished into a cloud and instantly appeared between the two. I bent down at the prince and lifted his small body from the ground, his face dripping with redness when I pulled him from a pool of blood produced by his nose.

I cocked my head towards Thomas and shuddered at his severed forearm and the gruesome bites all over him, the open flesh, and oozing blood.

Instantly I knew what had happened, Ken had overused his psychic powers when he wiped out the majority of our foes, but seeing Thomas get mauled like that must've pushed him beyond his limits. As soon as that happened I knew those dogs didn't stand a chance, but it was still much too late...

I hugged Ken dearly, empathizing with him, and welcomed him into my field of energy, his body dispersing into a quiet glow as I grabbed Thomas and did the same. I struggled to hold it together as I turned towards the ongoing battle. I knew that the same thing that happened to Ken would overcome us eventually.

I remembered back home when I was still training as a kid and teen, my Papa and Mama always said:

"Maui, immediately run from a fight you won't be able to win."

They said no matter what Ken, or Yuhzora, or anyone in the palace or estate said, they'd always love me. They wanted me to be loving and protect everyone I cared about, but they always wanted to keep me alive. To make sure that if I ever left Tajora or had to fight, I'd always be able to come home and see them.

The memory of their words and faces resonated deep in my heart and I felt my lips quiver.

W-We can't stay here...

"CHOA! AHO! NARONG!" I called telepathically.

Ahomana responded almost immediately. "What is it?!"

"Ken and Thomas collapsed! I stored them away and we need to go!"

Choa replied. "But we have to free them!"

"Thomas got mauled my reconstructed dogs! His forearm was torn OFF! There could be unimaginable numbers of ANYTHING in this place, and without Ken's foresight we don't stand a chance!"

Ahomana and Narong's clones disappeared as they evaded blasts and leapt through the air, landing beside me. I grabbed both of them and vanished, a thick cloud in my place as I appeared by Choa, grabbed him by the waist, and vanished through the walls.

Choa jerked away from me when the four of us appeared in the room beside us, nothing but a wall full of gaping holes separating us from the confused enemies on the other side.

"You're such fucking PUSS!" Choa shouted. "This is a MASSIVE PROBLEM we need to figure the shit out!"

I shouted back. "We need to LIVE and fight another day!"

"All of us are fine! YOU'RE the one holding us back!" Choa spat, jabbing at my feelings a little. He turned towards the twins. "Look at his face, he's fucking cried again!"

I snapped. "Shut up! You soulless CUNT!"

Choa edged closer to me. "Ti gason si ou pa fè sa-!"

"ENOUGH!" Ahomana interrupted. "Being a warrior is fighting smart, not just hard! If we fight endlessly, the same exhaustion that befell Ken will overcome us all!"

Choa pursed his lips, sighing and turning away.

"Least you've got a level head..." I said.

Ahomana turned to his right. "Narong, you mentioned escape pods. Recall their location!"

"Maui," Narong said. "Take us back into the halls we were in before we entered the containment area."

Ahomana and Narong grabbed hold of me, and grabbing Choa, I teleported us into the halls.

"Further down!" Narong commanded.

I teleported each direction Narong directed me I until I wound up vanishing through thick walls into a darkened room lined with black spheres, the hatches on the sides of them let down to form stairs.

"We just have to take one!" Narong said.

Randomly, we all climbed the short stairs of a pod, piling into an interior space uncannily large compared to how it looked from the outside.

"Press that to close the hatch." Narong said, deciphering the directions with cognizant vision.

Choa followed his instructions, closing the hatch with the press of a button.

Narong squinted at the instructions plastered in Russian on the wall. "Now for the coordinates..."

*WHOOOOOP!*

A blaring alarm filled my ears, startling us.

"What happened?!" Choa shouted.

"This is an escape pod." Narong quickly looked back at the Russian text. ""Activation of an escape unit in the event of an emergency will sound all alarms."?!"

Choa erupted. "DAMMIT NARONG!"

"We'll just work fast then!" Ahomana yelled. "Choa set the coordinates to the ends of the desert! As far away from here as possible!"

Choa turned and punched things in, his hands flying across the controls quickly, precisely.

"Now launch it!" Narong commanded.

*BOOOOOM!*

A heavy impact sent the pod violently jolting to the side as Choa was about to press the button, forcing him and all of us to stumble around.

Choa quickly stood though, pressing hard on the button and activating a launch sequence as I heard hoarse yelling from the outside.

A shrill whirring filled the air and felt the craft begin to move.

*BYOOOSH!*

The sound of another blast exploded against the craft again and I started to cross my fingers.

*FOOOOOSH!*

I stumbled into a wall as the craft spewed from it's resting place. Through small slits of thick glass I could see the barren land whizz by and the moons beaming light on the desert wilderness.

Me, Choa, Narong and Ahomana all crouched low, our chests tight with nervousness as we flew off into the night.

~~~

*Fsssssss*

Our pod let out a burst of steam as the hatch slowly opened itself up and let us out onto a rocky shore. I glanced around before I sought out a smooth spot. Upon finding one, I released Kelly, Travis, Ritsu, Sae, Ayako and Keiko. Each of them appeared in abrupt flashes of shimmering light, their physical forms stirring from unconsciousness.

Kelly sat up and looked around, bewildered. "Where are we?" she looked at me. "Did you destroy the base?"

"No..." Choa mumbled. Turning towards the ocean in disappointment.

"Well at least we've got our information extracted." Ritsu said. "By the looks of it everyone's fine... Wait, where's Thomas and Ken?"

I felt a tightness in my chest, emotions choking my throat of an explanation.

I clenched my eyes and stretched my hands out, summoning them to a space in front of me before I turned around, the emotions too strong for me to bare looking any of them in the face.

Kelly screamed. "What the FUCK?!"

I could hear the sound of quick breaths and rushing.

"Thomas! THOMAS!" Kelly cried, her voice breaking into sobs. "GET UP NOW!"

"I-I can still sense the life in them!" Ayako said. I could hear the gentle hum of a familiar sound, of Ayako's healing.

I glanced backwards to find Sae, Kelly, Ayako and Ritsu in tears, desperately waiting for Ayako and Narong's healing abilities to take effect.

Ken stirred from unconsciousness rather quickly. His face still wet with his blood and tears he looked around, perplexed by his surroundings and desperately searching for what I knew to be the boy lying behind him.

Ken

I looked towards the crying girls behind me to find them surrounding Thomas. I struggled to my feet and looked him over, each graphic detail seared into my mind, drawing tears as memories of his panicking face and horrified painful screams played over and over...

I felt my legs shattering beneath me, there was no maintaining my composure through this. I was broken and I couldn't stand the morbid possibilities.

I collapsed and sat there crying profusely, all I could think about was my dad and the memories we had together, and the memories I had with Thomas. Our conversations when we strolled through Ayakos estate, the twinkle in his eyes when we laid up beside each other under moon beams, his laugh, the way he talked to me.

The feelings were indescribable: Powerlessness, hope, pessimism, depression, anger, and frustration all in one. My head felt like It'd burst open and I could say without a doubt I never bawled so loud and pathetically in my life, especially in front of people.

There were two people in my entire life that ever really gave a damn and loved me; my Papa, and Thomas. Even then, my Papa didn't make me feel the way I felt for Thomas. Papa gave me paternal affection, he protected me and taught me how to live, Thomas was the one I wanted spend my existence living with.

Whenever I wanted to go somewhere he'd be with me, when I experienced something new, tasted something good, or just had a funny moment... He'd be there to see it, and if he wasn't I'd tell him about it and I knew he'd understand. I just knew he cared and that he cared about me from the bottom of his heart.

Thomas would be everything, he'd totally transform my life. But with this sight in front of me, and the feeling of his faint weakened aura, all of that would slip away. I'd be left alone in the darkness to fend for myself, again.

"Ken, Thomas will be alright!" Narong said, bending down near me. "He just needs healing time, I promise."

"P-Promises wo-on't help!" I sobbed.

"I know he'll pull through this!" Narong persisted. "I've had to heal people in terrible condition before."

In a sudden fit of anger I shoved Narong away from me. "Never almost completely bled out with parts of their flesh ripped off, torn into, and body parts severed! DO NOT TRY AND DECEIVE ME!"

"Ken! Thomas is transhuman!" Ayako cried to me. "He's genetically engineered to bounce back from even the very worst! There's still plenty of hope here!"

I stood there in disbelief, looking at Thomas' unconscious body, the gut churning damage so painful it hurt my brain. "Just please nobody fucking talk to me!" I said, turning away.

"Guys..." Sae said. "Why isn't Keiko responding when I shake her?!"

I looked back to notice Sae in tears as Ritsu rushed over and grabbed her.

"Daijoubu?! Keiko!" Ritsu shouted as she jolted the small girl about.

Ayako quickly scanned her, her face drooping with sadness and disbelief. "Ritsu, I sense..." she continued to sob. "N-Nothing..."

Ritsu's eyes widened in shock. "KEIKO!"

We spent most of our time sitting there and crying over Keiko's death or Thomas' depressing state. Ayako confirmed Keiko's cause of death to be nothing but pure shock from the situation we found ourselves in. Still, her, Ritsu, and Sae were a completely destroyed by it, not that I blame them a single bit.

After a while Ayako called Haruko, Mao and Yuzuna. She told them about our situation and asked for them to give us a lift to another location. I wasn't entirely sure of how any of that was remotely possible, but a few hours later a seaplane-The same one Thomas, Travis, Kelly, my guards and I crashed in Baiyo on-landed in the waters beside us.

We all boarded and related everything to the trio of girls inside the plane. It goes without saying the grieving we shared. Between the empathy I felt for the girls and my being depressed and worried sick over Thomas, I wasn't sure how much pain my heart could take. I just sat by Thomas' body, looking at him, beating my sanity to death over and over again with lingering memories and worst case scenarios. I'd worried myself so much, that even though my psychic abilities were severely crippled and weak from overuse, I swore off using foresight until I saw this through myself.

What a dark tunnel to be trapped in.

Ormsa. Holoska, Europa. 11:19am.

We landed in the chilly green hills of Holoska, a second world country far in the north. We'd come because this was the closest non-first world country to where we were, and because of the alleged hospitality.

Moments after touching down we got out, Thomas' unconscious body, and Keiko's dead one in tow. We came to a cathedral where we were welcomed by nuns. Kelly and Travis were recognized by them, and after crafting a false story of why they wound up here with a corpse and a maimed body, we were allowed to stay.

The nuns seemed scared of us, but nobody cared. We couldn't be touched in a country like this, all anybody cared about was giving Keiko a proper burial and letting everyone recover. While Kelly, Travis, and Thomas laid in their bedrooms, the girls arranged for a decent burial for Ritsu's little sister, which occurred later that day.

That night though, I laid awake, watching Thomas body. I'd noticed a few of his gashes mended themselves, and bite marks had disappeared. He was far from normal however, the deeper ones still remained and he still had no forearm.

Every time I saw him I'd dissolve into tears. I couldn't stand seeing him in the state he was in, but I couldn't help but check. When Ayako had concerns over his low blood cell count I even insisted on a transfusion. I wound up giving him two pints, I wanted to give more, but with how small I am, my need to recover, and general health reasons, Ayako said that it would put me in bad condition as well. I just wanted him to be completely normal again, not maimed forever.

Thomas never did anything to deserve what happened, he's never done anything to deserve the shit he's been through. The ruthless bullying from his younger years, his dead parents, the shouldered blame for this war, getting shit on by Travis for feelings he has no fucking control over.

I sat beside his bed, trying not to disturb Kelly who slept on a bed beside him. I looked up at Thomas' face, it had healed the best out of everything. The wounds had mended themselves and his flesh shaped back to it's original form, the only trace of this horrifying incident on his face being scars that would disappear with time.

For what felt like the first time since that brawl started, I felt something other that extreme angst, horror, and sorrow. I felt a tinge of hope. I knew now that he wouldn't die, I'd saved him back there and I could never be more grateful for the willpower I had, even if I would up crippling myself for a while.

But as I sat there I couldn't for a second forget about why this happened. Me and Thomas had a conversation about this, about how everyone was just trying to do their best and save everyone. Sure, that sounded noble but I couldn't ignore my true feelings.

I didn't care about saving the people of the earth, people who hadn't done a thing for me. People who didn't even know I existed and probably wouldn't save me if they could.

Why do they deserve my sacrifice? What makes putting everything I love on the line for them "right"? Among all of them are the same people that supported the invasion of my country, and support this war in the present. They only care about themselves and how they can get ahead.

The virtue signalling of religious and world leaders appalls me. Nobody really gives a damn about saving anyone, they're just doing whatever they want. If each one of us was murdered in that base and word of it got out, people would praise our foes, completely oblivious to their true goals and what lay in store for them.

Humanity is hopeless. Ignorance permeates the masses and blinds them, each one blissfully mislead my doctored information and petty emotion.

Everyone alive is a piece of shit, including me. But I'll admit it, and recognizing the cruel reality, I refused to play along. I wouldn't bother with the charade or give a fuck about anything anymore.

I wanted to leave, I wanted Thomas, and I wanted him out of harm's way. I needed to protect what was valuable to me, save the things I cared about that made living feel worthwhile.

That was my purpose, pursuit of happiness and nothing more.

I got up from beside Thomas and went into the other room. I looked over all of by guards, rousing them from sleep with a telepathic message.

They all got up and looked at me. Coldly, I beckoned them near me with a head nod, and respecting my authority, they came.

"All of you have your belongings stored away by Maui, correct?"

They nodded.

"Go to the plane." I said. "We're returning home."

They looked at me, somewhat astounded.

Choa's voice stuttered in my head, his eyes widened and pleading. "M-Master Ken, everything we saw! We have to follow this-."

"We don't." I interrupted. "We are ALL leaving. This is non-negotiable."

I turned from Choa, not caring to humor him in the slightest.

"Maui, with no disturbance, hide Thomas away with your power as he sleeps."

Maui froze with shock. "Ken! This is kidnapping!"

I replied. "We've murdered!"

"His friends-!"

"They don't give a DAMN about Thomas! They encouraged him to fight KNOWING this could happen and they're gonna keep doing it until he's DEAD!"

I cringed at a sharp pain in my skull. I stood there a moment, tears rolling softly as I remembered how weak my power was. Even telepathy was apparently too much.

I whispered, my voice powerful and shaking with determination. "I-I'll tell him everything, but I wo-ont leave him here." I glanced at the doors lining the walls, pausing at the one cracked open that I'd snuck into. "I won't allow those fools to get him killed."

Maui looked at me, and as if shackled by my command, he dissolved slowly into thin air and left a wispy fog in his place.

I followed Ahomana, Narong, and Choa outside, watching the place intently as we drew near. I could feel their hesitation, their worry, and for that reason only I felt a tinge of guilt. Still I was driven forward by hope for my future, my hope for Thomas.

I knew I couldn't control his thoughts, and I didn't want to, I wanted him to live, to love me for himself. But I knew that if I could save him now, give him the opportunity to escape and never have to look back without any sway from those caught in a perpetual madness, he'd have a chance at living.

No boarding school, no running from cultists, no risking his life. Just life in Tajora, or any other safe place he'd wanna go. I'd make it happen, and with my authority nobody would stand in his way.

Maui appeared in front us us suddenly, glancing back before he opened up the door of the plane. We all got inside and Choa closed the door behind him. I laid down on a long bronze couch as the twins laid to sleep elsewhere. As the plane started Maui parted his lips for a moment but didn't say anything, opting to lay down himself after we began to move.

Kapolei. Tajora, Tikara. 8:39am

Thomas

I felt a warm breeze sweeping over my face, a freshness filling my lungs as I breathed in. I parted my eyes, my memory hazy and full of worry. I sat there for a moment in a thick nest of comforters and massive pillows, my eyes set on the mesmerizing quilts drooping from the ceiling above.

I turned my head, looking through an opening framed by colorful, patterned curtains in the smooth copper toned walls surrounding me towards the sun's radiant glow; breathtaking warm light that caressed my face, glistening off of ocean waters and piercing through the green of a thick canopy that stretched far and wide.

My eyes passed over woven baskets of fruits and cloth, a few hatchets, a net laying up beside them, trying to form a connection between my surroundings and the sickening worry I felt upon waking up.

Then the memories hit me. Joshua, the battle, the modern men, the dogs.

I felt extremely worried, but everything was so peaceful and everything seemed to be okay.

Where is everyone?!

"You've awoken." A familiar voice spoke.

I turned towards the opening behind me to find Ahomana standing there, his hair blowing softly in the tropical morning breeze.

"W-What's goin' on?" I struggled to sit up when I realized something was missing. I looked down and realized I only had half an arm.

I kept blinking and even tried to wake up from the reality I thought was a nightmare a few times. I knew it had to be the result of the fight, bit it still felt unbelievable.

I looked at the rest of my body and noticed a ton of nasty wounds. I could tell they begun healing, but they just looked so bad. I'd never been fucked up like that before, and as soon as everything registered with me I felt myself crying.

I just wanted my body to be normal again, especially my fucking arm. But there was nothing I could do about it.

Ahomana sat beside me. "You'll heal up, I can guarantee it."

"I know my b-body is built for this kinda stu-uff, but..." I found myself dissolving into tears. I couldn't cry hard because I still felt so weak, but the weight of being maimed trapped my head in a box. It was all I could think about.

Ahomana stayed silent for a while, trying to empathize the best he could. "Listen, I don't know about transhuman stuff, but psions are my schtick. Maui and Choa are brutes, but me and my brother are of an elegant, scholarly bloodline."

I frowned at him, my expression louder than any curse words I could muster as I wondered what the hell he thought any of that bullshit had to do with me and the state I was in.

Ahomana poised himself. "My point is, not very long after the battle, when you were clinging on to life, Ken donated his blood to you. That's not just any blood, even among us. Ken is a prince of immensely powerful lineage, his potential is higher than anyone we know of." he continued. "And I don't know if he imagined this, but he gave you everything in his bloodline. The superior longevity, the healing, genes most humans no longer even carry are within you."

I mumbled. "Even, his psychic stuff?"

"Ken's psychic potential. You probably don't have every ability he does, but theoretically, with that genetic code flowing through your brain, your experience could be altered completely." Ahomana spoke more frantically, gazing into space and deep in a trance of his racing thoughts. "You'd be capable of learning psi, you'd gain even more strength! Your perception, your speed, your everything-!"

Ahomana stopped, realizing that he'd lost that arrogant composure he'd always be sure to have.

"You, You get the point." Ahomana said, standing to leave. "Anyway, Ken just wants you to rest here."

"But what happened?! Last place I was in was an underground base full of lasers, three eyed men, and cybernetic dogs!" I shouted. "Where's everyone else?! Where am I?!"

"We're in Tajora, and the rest..." Ahomana's voice trailed off. "Ken wanted to tell you the rest, but he wanted you to promise something."

"What?" I asked.

Ahomana sighed. "He said, he couldn't stand to see you like that. I can vouch on that one, I'd never seen someone of high social status put on such a depressing shitshow..." he cleared his throat. "Ken wanted you to know he only wants to protect you, and that he hopes when he tells you why you're lying in his bed this morning, you won't hate him."