Chapter Two

  I was left alone to my thoughts that night. Commander Vallier’s mysterious demeanor and curiosity into my blood red form seemed to indicate that she had no knowledge of me or my history with HERO. If I truly had found myself in the future, there was a possibility that this was not a HERO base, but I refused to let my guard down just yet. Dr. Bracksworth mentioned that he rescued six bodies, that could not just be a coincidence. I had a feeling Flint’s power saved us and brought us to this new world, if that was true, I had to ensure the others were unharmed. I tried to leave the room just as I had before, determined to rush to my friends’ aid, but I collapsed upon sliding off the bed. My head hit the floor and I was knocked unconscious.

  Screams. The putrid smell of burning flesh, wood, crops and everything else a village could hold overwhelmed me. I saw people burning alive, suffering under collapsed buildings and when I looked down, I found my hands stained in blood that was not my own. I could taste blood as if a parasite taking the blood of another, its rich flavour seemed to only enthuse my appetite. I could feel the warm sensation of power and control circulating through my body, the bloodied hands absorbing strength from others’ life.

  “No,” I gasped back a sob, as I was frightened. I could hear voices softer than that of the screams, but yet apparent enough for me to hear. They begged for more, pleading for me to take the life of another and another. Tears began trickling down my face as fear began to overwhelm me. I felt something grab my leg and gazed upon the decrepit soul, grasping at the last stroke of life left within themselves. The voices grew in quantity and their noise made it difficult to think with a clear mind.

  “Spare us devil,” the dying body collapsed to the ground, no longer showing signs of life.

  I awoke in agony, nothing but pain and misery filed my heart. I grasped at my chest, the despair physically damaging me to the point of exhaustion. I sat upward on the hospital bed, the screams still ringing in my ears.

  “What happened?” Dr. Bracksworth walked into the room, dropped his clipboard and rushed to my side, “First you fell out of bed, now you look sickly pale and your breathing is unsteady.”

  He quickly rushed out of the room and returned shortly thereafter with a glass of water. The refreshing cool moisture eased the pain slightly, but the intense vision still lingered in my mind, continuing to eat away at my sanity. Dr. Bracksworth took a deep breath and sat down beside my bed, running some tests to ensure my safety.

  “Your heart rate is quite high and I can detect major mental instability,” he turned away from his desk and gazed at me intently, “You’re the first person I’ve ever met from over a thousand years ago, yet I get the feeling that you’ve seen plenty of people from a future even further than now.”

  “Indeed,” I nodded.

  “You spoke of HERO. How do you know of them?”

  “They invaded Patsula and caused great harm and chaos amongst the people of our time,” I sighed deeply, recalling the events, “Of course, they weren’t the only ones from the future that we encountered.”

  “Is this other group from the future the reason your condition right now is unstable,” his intuition was impressive, guessing the exact cause of my nightCommander Valliersh vision.

  “Yes,” I replied heavy-heartedly, “HALO cursed me with an evil power, the evil power that I spoke of yesterday.”

  “Blood red form,” he nodded understandingly.

  “Exactly right,” the visions returned, haunting me, “It turns me into a monster and commits unspeakable acts of terror. I have a duty to protect my friends and protect those who cannot protect themselves, yet when this power is unleashed I cannot save anyone, not even the children or elderly. I refuse to let that power take control, but if I am too weak, you have permission to kill me on the spot.”

  “What are you saying?” the doctor recoiled.

  “Listen,” I looked him dead in the eyes and continued with the upmost seriousness in my voice, “This power is unstable. I have killed thousands of innocent people because this power got out of control unsupervised, so if it endangers the lives of anyone here or the innocent people I’m trying to save, you have to kill me. My goal is to make this world a better place and if this accursed power compromises that goal’s success, then it must be eradicated.”

  “I refuse!” the doctor’s booming voice seemed to shake the bed, “I’ve known you for a short time, yet still I understand the kind of person you are. This blood red form is part of you and I have faith that you can control this power of yours.”

  “I don’t think you understand how many times I have tried,” I complained.

  “I don’t think you understand how little that matters to me right now,” he countered, “Now, stand up, it’s time to teach you how to walk.”

  Reluctantly, I spoke not another word on the subject. The following two days were spent getting my body to move properly and increase my coordination. Standing up, walking, raising my arms and every other motion was difficult to control. It felt like trying to get a tree trunk to bend without breaking it. When I woke up on the second day, my joints and muscles ached in pain, but I was forced to continue pushing my body just to act properly. By the end of the second day, my movements were mostly fluid, but the strength behind them was not. Lifting much more than a measly writing utensil was taxing beyond belief.

  “It seems like you are progressing an average rate,” Dr. Bracksworth told me, “From my research, wolf spirits usually have inhuman strength, speed, and senses, but you will likely need some time before those powers return to you. Hopefully, our training will help return you to how you once were and back in top shape.”

  “I hope so as well,” I stared at my sheets, visibly frustrated. After two whole days of training, I could still hardly walk for more than a few minutes.

  Dr. Bracksworth completed a final examination on my condition before departing. After two more days, I failed to gain any useful information about my current situation. I tried to make sense of the situation as I lay down to fall asleep. Flint used his power to transport our consciousness to the current time period, likely saving all six of us from certain death. But why now? We were transported into the bodies of PEM victims in order to ensure we’d end up being taken in by an anti-HERO organization, but I still was unsure of the Resistance’s true motives. I still knew nothing about the outside world and how it has changed since I last walked the planet. This frazzling feeling of confusing frustration overwhelmed me as I tossed and turned in bed.

  Sometime during my confusion, I ended up falling into the realm of unconsciousness. I dreamt of Patsula and its heartwarming beauty. The kingdoms I had gone to, the forests and tribes I had visited, the mountains and the hillside before HERO soiled its beauty. Those images shifted from beautiful to appalling in the matter of moments. Buildings were on fire, HERO took people as slaves and hostages, people were being slaughtered one-by-one until the entire country was nearly dead. I shouted and tried to run toward the people in my vision, but no matter how fast I ran, there was no saving them. I awoke, tears running down my face once again, my dreams troubling me.

  “I’m glad you’ve woken up,” Commander Vallier sat beside me and was clutching my hand. Her warmth seemed to calm me down, if only a little, “It seems you were crying in your sleep, so I rushed over to ensure your safety.”

  “It’s quite alright,” I pulled my arm away, “Twas but a dream, nothing I cannot handle.”

  “It’s my job as your supervisor to be here when you need me,” she smiled sympathetically, “I know you’re a strong warrior and whatnot, but right now you’re just a young girl. You may have the memory and experience of an adult, a warrior protecting the lives of an entire country, but your mind and body are still that of a child. You need someone to watch over you and be there when you’re being a bratty child, so you need to trust me.”

  “How can I trust you when I don’t even know you?” I responded, “I’ve gone through too much to simply trust someone on a mere whim or because they told me to trust them. I’ve been stabbed in the back too many times by people who sweet talk like you do.”

  “Understandable,” she nodded, “I will await the day you choose to trust me as your supervisor, but I will not stab you in the back. Now, my name is Mari Vallier, I am the commander of this base. I am also going to be your supervisor during your time here. Think of me like a parent or sister, that’s essentially my role as your supervisor.”

  “You will never be a sister or parent to me,” I shook my head, “Given the circumstances, I will at least give you a chance to prove that you’re worth trusting.”

  “Excellent,” she responded cheerfully, “I think it is about time to go meet your companions.”

  “I can?” I almost fell out of bed with excitement.

  I sat up straight and turned to the side of the bed Commander Vallier was opposite. I let my feet slowly touch the cool floor below and shifted my weight so that I could begin to stand up. After standing, I worked my way toward the end of the bed slowly. My feet felt like bricks as I slowly put one foot in front of the other. My knees locked and unlocked as I moved them and before long I was at the end of my bed.

  “You still look a little robotic, yet you have made some nice progress,” she gave me a reassuring smile before continuing, “Let’s head out of the room now.”

  “How did you make the wall open for you?” I questioned.

  “Just walk behind me Lucia,” she took the lead and I followed right behind her.

  We walked out of the room as an opening in the wall simply appeared when we got close. The hallway was very similar to the room I was in. The same blue tiles, yellow rectangular tiles in the ceiling and lack of doors made the hallway seem like an extended room. There were no windows and the cool air seemed to intensify when I left the hospital room. Slowly, I followed behind Commander Vallier for a few steps before she stopped and I stood next to her.

  “You can tell where you need to stand based on a few things,” she pointed at a placard on the wall, “That black placard will tell you the name of the doctor in charge of it and the patient that is inside. Since we had no idea what your names were, they were originally just numbers we assigned. Above the entry way will be a room number, in this case we are going to enter room number four hundred and sixteen.”

  We entered the room and I immediately gazed upon the bed to see who had occupied the room. She looked relaxed, yet Twas easy for me to tell how frustrated she was despite her calm demeanor. Her hands cushioned her head as she leaned against the back wall, sitting upward in her bed. Her vibrant dark red hair was fluffed and out of control, but I could tell she tried to brush it. Her hair extended to her lower back and the colour matched her burning crimson eyes. The gateway to her soul showed anyone who stared into them exactly the kind of person she was. I could see the same flames that burned back in my own time, comforting, but also vibrant and deadly. Just as Dr. Bracksworth had noted, she looked no older than thirteen. She was a few inches taller than I was and her body was well-built, likely ending up moreso than her original body in another decade.

  “Lulu?” she immediately tried to jump out of bed when I arrived, but her foot tangled in the blankets and she fell face-first onto the floor.

  “Are you alright?” Commander Vallier quickly rushed to Megan’s side, “Don’t try to do too much, you’re still in a weakened state.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of getting up myself,” Megan pushed Commander Vallier away, “I need no help from anyone.”

  “Are all people from your time period this suborn?” Commander Vallier scratched the back of her head as Megan picked herself up and slowly waddled her way over to me.

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  “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Megan hugged me, I could tell just how scared and worried she was, compared to how uptight and pompous she usually acted, “I was beginning to think I was alone in this new world.”

  “I was worried as well,” I replied, wrapping my arms around Megan’s back, “I’m so glad to see you’re alright.”

  “I believe the others are alright as well,” Megan sat on the edge of her bed and I took a break from standing, sitting in the doctor’s rolling chair, “I don’t like having to rely on others, but the Resistance is our only chance of defeating HERO.”

  “It’s surprising to hear you say that,” Megan often tried to do everything on her own, and she rarely made such a bold move as to rely on complete strangers.

  “Normally I’d try to escape with you all,” she spoke earnestly, “But yesterday, I snuck out of the room and overheard a meeting Commander Vallier and other high-ranking officers were having.”

  “You overheard that?” Commander Vallier seemed a bit upset, but she took a deep breath, likely knowing Megan’s eavesdropping would clear her suspicion.

  “Twas difficult to pick up all the details, but toward the end of the meeting, they received a call from Flint himself,” Megan reported.

  “What?” I asked, flabbergasted.

  “Flint and the Guardians have been in contact with the Resistance for a few years now,” Commander Vallier explained, “Flint explained that normally the Guardians would only contact the chosen heroes, but HERO’s influence was too worrisome to ignore.”

  During that moment, my mind returned to the fateful day I was first introduced to Megan Akiyama. The kingdom of Akiyama was once a great and powerful kingdom on the northern-most island in Patsula. For generations, people flooded the kingdom from all over the country to visit. However, the kingdom began to become shrouded in darkness and corruption when Megan’s parents took the throne. They used the kingdom’s prosperity to their own ends and ended up creating a large separation between nobles and peasants of the country. People in their kingdom began to starve and die. The poor were mistreated and the rich and empowered gained more power and control. Soon, drugs and slaves were traded in the city and the king and queen turned a blind eye to the mistreatment of their citizens.

  Those same people planned a coup d’état against their government. Megan was forced to witness her parents burned at the stake and was lucky to escape the slave trade after being held in captivity for several months. Megan knew of her parents’ tyranny, but a child of her age had no power to change her parents’ decision making. Punished for her parents’ crimes, she wandered Patsula sheltering her family’s red hair from exposure. During her time in solitude, she overheard rumors of a female warrior in Unitus. Curiosity led her to Unitus, where she investigated the situation. The king and queen were of ill health and were looking for a suitor to run their kingdom since they could no longer run it.

  After nearly two months, Twas decided that Sasha would be married to this mysterious man. Considering how close we were, I had expected her to speak with me about the decision before making it, but she accepted the proposal without hesitation. The day of the ceremony came faster than I had anticipated. Sasha prepared the arrangements with great haste and I decided not to question her decision. As Sasha’s sister, I trusted that she took everything into consideration before handing the kingdom to this person. Trumpets blared as the hooded person revealed themselves on the balcony of the castle. They still wore the same tattered outfit as when they first arrived and Sasha followed in a dazzling white dress that glimmered in the sunlight unlike anything I had seen before.

  The ceremony concluded when the minister officially decreed them married. At that moment, Megan tore off her cloak and revealed herself to the world. Shock and chatter quieted the crowd as Megan’s reveal dumbfounded everyone. She wore a black vest, black tie, white shirt and black slacks below her cloak, a style unlike anything seen in Patsula at the time. As they left, the crowd of people were in utter panic. Whispers of Megan’s heritage spread and people were worried about their kingdom being dragged into tyranny.

  “Princess,” I opened Sasha’s bedroom doors following the ceremony and found her struggling to get her frilly dress off.

  “I am glad you have come,” Sasha turned to me, “Would you be a dear and help me get out of these clothes?”

  “Of course your highness,” I began helping her out of her outfit, “May I speak freely for a moment?”

  “Of course Lulu,” she giggled, “You’re always welcome to speak your mind in my presence. You’re my sister after all.”

  “In name only princess,” as I finished undressing Sasha, she listened as I spoke my mind, “I believe this is a grave mistake. Whether you love her or not, this marriage could drive this kingdom into utter chaos. As the daughter of the Akiyama family, she is stained with her parents’ sins and that could drive away all that we have sworn to protect.”

  “Maybe so,” she sighed and fell back on her bed, “However, to judge someone solely on their heritage is shallow dear sister. Love is not something a person can simply choose to feel, and I am no different in that sense. I did yet judge her based on others’ actions or words, but by her own. Everyone will learn to do the same in due time.”

  “Perhaps,” I tried to reason with her, “But think why she tried to pursue you in the first place. You can’t surely believe that she was looking for love. There’s no doubt she was attempting to rob this kingdom of its future. I simply can’t bear to watch you thoughtlessly follow her demands simply because love has blinded you.”

  “I understand your sentiment,” she stared at the ceiling, “She likely wanted to use me when she first arrived. However, over the last three months I believe she has changed for the better. I was able to decipher her identity before she revealed herself to me only one month ago. I know she wants to do what is best for our kingdom, surely you trust my judgement on that topic.”

  “There’s just no reasoning with you,” I sighed, smiling at the thought of Sasha’s beautiful stubbornness.

  A mere month was all it took to see the positive changes in Unitus. Trade and tourism thrived, citizens had nothing but praise to say about their current situation in the kingdom and the backlash from the marriage reveal completely dissipated. I was convinced of Megan’s ability, but I still avoided her as much as possible. Then came the sixty-first annual knight’s tournament. At the time, I was only seventeen, but I had won the tournament four years running going into this tournament. My speed and skill with a blade made up for my lack of strength and carried me through four straight tournaments.

  In the very first round of the tournament I fought the new king of Unitus. Megan strolled into fighting position wearing very flexible tight black clothes while I wore my knight’s uniform. The wind came from the East, blowing at our sides and creating an almost poetic scene as we stared one another down.

  “Lucia Marashima,” she stepped forward before the match began, “Ever since the wedding you seem to be avoiding me, it’s a pleasure to finally see you after all this time.”

  “I do apologize your majesty, but I have other things to attend to,” my voice was respectful, but resentful.

  “Of course,” Megan had a sly grin on her face, sinister, but respectful, “I hear you’re the queen’s personal bodyguard. You do so much for the kingdom, it’s surprising that I have only run into you a couple times since the wedding.”

  “What an odd coincidence,” I replied with a snarky attitude.

  “I believe it to be more than coincidence,” she retorted, “The queen has me to protect her now, so your assistance as her knight is no longer required.”

  “I fail to see what that matter has to do with anything,” I shot back, “But I shall humor you. Know this my king, my sister asked me to watch over her and I accepted a sacred blood oath of loyalty to her. Jealousy is such an ugly emotion, and it looks particularly loathsome on you.”

  “You insolent wench,” Megan shouted angrily, “I’ve had enough of your disrespect. I care not if you’re Sasha’s sister, you’re going to be humbled by my blade right here and now.”

  “Where did your manners go your highness? That is no way to address a loyal subject,” I playfully replied.

  “Your arrogance will be the death of you,” Megan’s rage overwhelmed her and she no longer thought before she spoke, “You’re nothing more than an over glorified little tramp.”

  She drew her sword and charged at me. She spoke with her strikes and I spoke with mine. As we dodged and counterattacked, Twas as though we were both trying to find a middle ground. Her rage was beginning to cloud her vision, just as I had anticipated. Her strikes slowly began to form a pattern and Twas easy to read. She jabbed at my stomach and I found an opening. I ran down her blade while mine stood upright and hit her in the face with the flat end of my sword. She fell to the ground, but quickly regained her balance. Instead of letting her rest, I decided to begin attacking. I tried to strike her down, but she pushed herself upwards and over my head. She quickly tried to turn her blade around and strike at my side, but I was able to block her strike without turning to face her.

  She angrily pushed against me, but I slipped my blade under hers and forced it out of her hand. She clearly did yet see my finesse coming and failed to realize that she had disproportioned her grip on her sword. I turned toward her finally and noticed her running in the direction of her sword. Without giving her much time to recover, I ran over to her and shoulder tackled her into the walls surrounding the arena in which we were fighting. Megan put up a better fight than I expected, probably better than any fight I took part in, but was still no match for me. I picked up the sword she carelessly mishandled and backed her into a corner. When she recovered from my attack she tried to do a front flip over my head in an attempt to escape, but I quickly tossed one sword high above Megan and slightly to her right, grabbed her foot and slammed her to the ground below. After catching the second sword and pointing both to her throat, the gong sounded to mark the end of the fight. I collapsed to one knee, tired from the long fight. We had traded blows for over a dozen minutes until I finally saw through her attacks.

  “You’re not half bad majesty,” I offered her my hand in respect.

  “I guess you’re not over glorified,” she sighed and accepted my hand, “You’re still a little tramp though.”

  “I’m just going to ignore that comment your majesty,” I continued after helping Megan to her feet.

  Megan and I have had our differences, but ever since that day we learned to cooperate. We fought side-by-side and became good friends. Megan was the only person in our group who could ever come close to defeating me, but almost was as close as she ever got.

  “The last thing I remember was being attacked by that hooded creature,” Megan’s voice brought me back to reality, “I highly doubt that thing was human.”

  “Their speed was unbelievable,” I added, “We need to be prepared to fight them again at any given moment.”

  “Agreed,” Megan answered.

  “Sorry I’m late,” a booming voice came from the entrance, “I got caught up in some things and it took me longer to get here than I had thought.”

  “You greatly lack punctuality Sandra,” Commander Vallier sighed.

  The woman loomed over everyone. Her skin was tinted an unhealthy shade of yellow and her stature was quite muscular and tone. Her eyes, or eye rather, was a stormy shade of grey and she had no hair atop her head. Everything had been so normal up until now, I was ill prepared for a cyclops to stand before me.

  “Forgive my appearance,” Sandra bowed her head slightly, “My name is Sandra and I am a deputy commander under Commander Vallier. I will be watching over the young red-haired girl during her stay.”

  “Excuse me?” Megan asked with a condescending and irritated tone.

  “That’s right Megan,” Commander Vallier nodded, “I hope you get along well.”

  “So Lulu gets a freaking normal human being, but I have to live with a giant?” Megan complained, “My bed better not be like forty-foot-tall or I’m going to give an earful to whomever decided this was a good idea.”

  “Would you like to test my judgement?” Commander Vallier’s gaze said everything she needed to say. Twas as if she was warning Megan to hold her tongue or it might not be attached to her mouth much longer. However, Megan held her ground and shot a glance back at Commander Vallier. The tension in the air was beginning to get intense, like we were seconds away from a fight.

  “Why don’t we see some of the other members of our group?” I spoke up, trying to break the tension, “I’m eager to see everyone else as well, aren’t you Megan?”

  “Of course,” she answered, but never broke from Commander Vallier’s gaze. As we began to leave the room, the two continued staring one another down. Sandra ended up leaving to return to her work, while the three of us walked down the medical wing. The walk was awkward to say the least and it did not help that I was the only one who could stop the two from fighting, but I probably could not even accomplish that without collapsing.

  The walk between hospital rooms was rather short, or at least it should have been. My muscles were still weak, which made the short walk seem longer than in actuality. My knees wobbled, my strides shortened and the strain intensified. With Commander Vallier and Megan busy bickering, there was no one there to notice me struggling along. The two continued walking as I fell behind until I eventually collapsed. My legs gave out and I fell to the ground. No matter how hard I seemed to struggle, I was unable to move even slightly.

  “Lulu!” my vision began to clear as I scanned the hallway for the person who called out to me. I felt someone from behind me lift my body and sling my arm over their shoulder. The person was unfamiliar to me, she had long black hair and looked about the same age as Megan and I. Her eyes were bright blue and I noticed she was wearing a hospital gown like Megan and I were. There was no doubt that she had to be either Sapphire or Sasha, the only remaining girls in our group.

  “Thank you for your help,” I felt so helpless and weak, two feelings I despised, “If you had not come, I would have likely been left there for quite some time.”

  “You needn’t worry about it Lulu,” she giggled, “We’re friends after all. I just want to help you get back on your feet.”

  “Megan and Commander Vallier have entered the room two doors down on the right, we should probably head there,” I told her.

  “Commander Vallier?” the girl’s clueless expression told me everything I needed to know.

  “You’ll meet her soon,” I replied, “Let’s worry about rendezvousing with Megan for now.”

  She carried me with her until we approached the room Megan had went inside. They took a deep breath before walking forward, almost as if she was preparing herself for the person we would meet inside.