Lightning Jack

The next morning everyone woke to the smell of bacon, even Frost knew this smell from memories he no longer had. "Wake up you slugs, we get a snack before we leave." Charles yelled out as the food came through the door. All in all it wasn't much, but there was bacon and a kind of toasted bread that was bright yellow.

After they had all eaten and made themselves presentable they walked outside the bar. There was no signs of the craziness from the night before, only empty tables and chairs, and one other patron at the bar eating breakfast. It seemed to Frost that no one paid a thing for their nights stay, they just walked out.

"Grab hold," Holly held out her hands to Charles and Franny, the two closest to her. All else followed in their example and held hands round a circle. In a flash of yellow, they stood outside a building in the woods, no way to physically tell which direction it was from Tuon, but there they were.

Other than a yellow flag hanging by the door the rest of the house was brick of all colors, red, brown, gray, and mostly black. In through the well cut front door the two guides led them. Through a maze of hallways they had no chance of remembering. "Not to worry, this house changes all the time. Even if you remember it, it will change, but if you have the place in mind you want to go, the house will make it so." Holly answered Frost's question, but little sense did it make. Soon they arrived at a door painted bright yellow, "See the house knows." And through they went.

Inside a man dressed similar to Frost with a shorter robe and pants, sat in a long couch with one other person. The couch opposite held two people as well but their backs were turned. The other on the couch couldn't have been more than a year older than Franny. But the man was in his thirties and clearly in charge. He looked up and took in the new comers. "Woah, is there six of you this time? I hope the house new that was coming." Then he laughed loudly at his own joke, which brought a smile to the younger ones face. "Well that puts us at what 20? Were we one of the clans that took the most?"

"No, red had 74 new members, black 67. We were still dead last, green got 10." Holly looked sadly at her chief, their clan was easily the smallest and therefor considered the weakest. 20 members, might as well be 2 compared to the thousands in red or black. "We have a couple months to train them before the next battle. Hopefully that's enough time."

"It was for Lance here," the chief motions toward the youth. "He did great in the last battle. We were all safe." He then looked to the new comers, "I'm Jack, I run this bunch of delinquents. All in all we're a good clan, we try to look after each other. Keep that in mind when you train. Other clans use newbies as cannon fodder." His face turned dark and a look of far away longing came over his features. He snapped out of it and said to them all, "I know it sounds strange but think of having a room here, it will be here. You can all leave and go in different directions, you'll still find your room. Go there now and on your way back think of this room, you'll get here. Now go, come back quickly after your settled." With that he went back to his seat and Charles and Holly lead them out. In the hallway that was slightly different then the one they used to get there Holly let them loose and all ventured off to find their rooms.

Frost and Franny found themselves side by side in a hallway they took on a turn they came across two doors side by side. Frost was relieved he'd have his own room but when he opened the door it was a vast area that seemed to be outside. He looked up to see a glass roof covering the massive chamber but grass grew on the floor and trees and flowers. How could this be his room? Franny beside him squealed in delight as she plunged into her room. It was small, but had a bed and a small cabinet to hang clothes. She had a small wash stand that had running water. What did Frost have a creak?

"Wow, that's strange," Holly's voice fell behind him. "That's the training chamber for power, why would the house take you here? If I was you I'd go in and figure this out, the house doesn't make mistakes, it puts you where you need to be." She said it with such surety that Frost couldn't argue against her. So he stepped in. The door slammed close behind him and his white energy flared forth. He turned back, there was no door. The energy didn't hurt him, it felt warm and familiar. He stepped farther in. Each step he took the power grew until he stood in its center, and his power had to touch even the far walls all about him.

"What is this?" Frost spoke without noticing, so enamored by his own power.

"You can save us, all of us." A voice from the very air itself. "We brought you here to save us."

"Who are you? Where am I from?" 'Why can't I remember' he wanted to say the last part, but the words didn't form.

"We are the lost children of two worlds, fighting always fighting. We need to rest but the fighting will not stop." The voice seemed to be whining right in Frost's ear. "You are the savior, you must find silver and gold to take with you."

"What do you mean?" Frost asked to the silence that followed, but no response. Suddenly the door that had vanished opened and Holly stepped through. She was blown away by the massive power emanating off of Frost, but walked into the room regardless.

"Are you alright?" She yelled from halfway to Frost.

"I'm fine, let's go." Frost drops his things beside a tree closest to the center and walks after Holly. They find Franny wide eyed staring through the door.

"Miss Holly, your power is strong. But Frosty your power is unheard of." She stares with wonder at her new friend. Then turns and follows Holly. They arrive at the room right on time with everyone else. And they are all six ushered to one couch opposite the chief. He was the only one there this time and Holly leaves even as they sit down.

"Have you heard of chief boosts?" At the blank looks from his new followers he continues. "That's not surprising, only clansmen are supposed to know about it. Well a chief can bestow part of his power to his followers to make them stronger. It does influence your own power though and changes it to your chiefs. Some times we find those with special colors and those we leave be, but for a normal color it may triple your power." He turned to each of the six, "Do you want this power?" Five nodded their heads vigorously, but Frost was unsure.

"What counts as a special color? My power is white, and Franny's here is a beautiful gold, I haven't seen either of those outside of ourselves." Frost looked into Jack's face waiting for the reply.

"Depending on how much power either of you have, I may just enhance it slightly or do nothing at all. Would you like to go first?" Frost nods once. "Ok, first I'll open your power." As soon as his hand touches Frost, the entire room is lit up in bright white light. Slashing through the air but not hurting anything. The others notice though, all six people in the room outside of Frost notice. All eyes are large and staring and Jack says, "Oh my, Holly told me you had enormous power. I didn't think it was this big though, you may be stronger than me." He laughs and the white fades away. "You're fine, you don't need a boost from me, you probably wouldn't even absorb it."

He then turns to Franny, at his touch the marvelous gold appears. Once again about a foot from her. "Yes I see what you mean. That gold, it's amazing, but I can enhance her powers." With that he closed his eyes in concentration and the gold surrounding Franny grew. It makes it out to about three feet from her and then stops. "There we go, what specialties are you two? You'll both be tremendous helps in the battle."

"I'm a healer, I don't know how good that is but Frosty here is a creator and an attacker." Once again the eyes of shock fall in Frost.

"Is that true? You have two specialties?" The chief looked astounded. "What can you do?"

"I don't know, I've never brought these powers to bear." Frost was being honest after all. "Franny showed me I had two specialties, but the truth is I don't even know what that means."

"It means you need to train. Figure out what it is you can do and use it to help us win these pointless battles." The chief then moved on to the others changing their red, blue and green powers to yellow and making them larger. They all ended right about where Franny's did. The chief looks to Frost after he's finished. "Everyone can go back to their rooms, they will start training tomorrow. You please wait here." The door opened and Holly rushes in to move them out.

Frost moves over to a table with two chairs at it with Jack. The chief pulls a bottle from under his chair and pours two glasses of the drink handing one to Frost. "When I was a kid, before I joined the red clan and started my journey to chief, there was a story a very old man used to tell us idiot kids. It went something about a man without memories will save the worlds, or was it world, I can't really remember it myself. Your story seems to fit those words of his, what do you say?"

"I don't know about saving the world, but I have lost my memories." Frost was amazed, how did he figure that out so fast?

"In this room I can see everything that happens in other places of the house, including the training chambers. I saw your power then and know you spoke to someone. Someone who isn't giving you answers right?" Frost nodded. "I think you are the man from that story, and that voice is trying to help or guide you, maybe it can't give you answers, but is it giving you advice?"

"It spoke of gold and silver. 'Take gold and silver with you' that's all it said." Frost now looked to Jack for an answer.

"That explains why you've attached yourself to that girl, gold indeed. I wonder what silver is then." His thought mirrored Frost's own. "You can't manipulate your energy or power yet can you? I'll show you an easy way to learn, then you can practice and train to your own style of fighting." He grabbed a candle from a shelf and lit it, "Now you want to focus in on a thought or feeling, then direct that feeling outward where you feel it will work best. Here I'll use my fingers." He waved at the candle and a small yellow flick shot out and put out the small flame. He lit it again and looked at Frost.

Thinking back to the plant, Frost holds that same feeling in his soul then pushes it to his hand and out his fingers with the same little flick that jack did. Instead of a small flicker, an enormous wave of power shoots out knocking Jack to his back in his chair. The shelves behind Jack get thrown from the wall and a large dent is in there place. "My apologies, I thought I was holding back as much as I could." Frost moves around the table to help jack up.

Already on his feet, Jack laughs loudly and looks at the wall. This only makes his laughs stronger. Finally he manages to say, "If that was you holding back, we're going to destroy the enemy in the next battle." He rights his chair and they toast to the Yellow Flash and Frost is excused to go back to his room. Or the training room.

When he reaches his door, even though he knows much of the house had changed, the other door, Franny's door was still beside his own. He walked in and sure enough it was the garden like training room. He walked to the center and found his clothes cleaned and read for him. He kept them where they were for tomorrow. Resting against his tree, power flowing from him in all directions, he started to reflect on how to use his power. What the chief said was not a bad way to start. He stood and looked at another tree, twice the size of his own and this time made a slashing motion with his hand, flowing his thoughts through his fingers. He sees a white glare but it's so thin he can't keep it in focus. Suddenly the tree falls to one side with a sharp slash right through it in the same angle as his hand moved. 'I can do that? This is impossible, how can I cut down a tree with nothing but a motion?' He made himself comfortable beside his tree letting his eyes rest on the fallen tree. 'Impossible.'