Chapter 35: Next

His feet dragged against the metal floor.

There was a chill in the air of the bunker, a stunning silence that he quickly noticed. All watched him, but none addressed his presence other than simple stares. Some were sympathetic, some held no care.

And neither did he.

Nana wasn't with him. Wasn't at his side to hold him up, play with his hair and tell him it'll work out. Without her, his emotions felt dull. His stomach and heart twist and mangled, losing all sense of feeling, and his mind entering a deep daze.

Mom, He would think, Mom, I need a sign.. Something that would make me feel better, to know I can get through this.

Nothing would come, and he knew that. He met his mother once since everything began, and that was through death. She wouldn't talk to him, couldn't talk to him, until he passed on again.

His feet stopped.

Death was an option. It was an actual idea in his head. Take his life and just abandon it all.

What good would that do, though? He couldn't abandon everyone, especially not now. Carlos was a problem. HIS problem, and he would solve it in his own way, even if it came to putting him down six feet under.

Carlos was on a very thin line with Takabi after that stunt he pulled, but the boy couldn't bring himself to completely sever ties with him. Doing so would also mean abandoning Anna, who luckily wasn't around to be caught in the blast.

"Shit. I'm gonna have to tell her about everything, huh? That's gonna be fun," He said to himself, slowly picking his feet back up in a painful walk towards the board room.

When he entered, eyes were instantly on him. Rose and Jewel held themselves in their seats, but to his surprise, Ariel, who was wearing a slightly singed blue green dress that hugged her body perfectly, stood and approached him.

Quickly giving him a tight hug, he took notice of her black eyeliner that was smeared from tears. "Are you okay," Ariel asked him. "How are you holding up?"

"Well, my girlfriend is in a coma. I'm missing an arm," He began, waving his left stump around, "I feel like absolute shit, and I'm pretty sure I'm suicidal right now. Oh, not to mention my brother told me there's plenty of fish in the sea at the worst time. I think it was his way of making me feel better, but it didn't work." Takabi took a seat at the table, lowering his head and groaning. "Guys… I have to be honest. Losing sucks."

Porrelth chuckled, but it felt and sounded forced. "Look, he's self aware now. Kid, you can't win every battle, but it's important you win the ones with a lot at stake." He locked eyes with Takabi. "You lost your town, and a lot of people you knew and possibly cared for. If you had stopped the High Breed, you would've saved them all."

"But I didn't," Takabi croaked, choking back dry tears. "I threw everything I had, and it wasn't enough."

Syrreth sat back in her chair, looking at the dry erase board set up at the front of the room. The writing on it was Shink's. He was the last one to use the room, and none of his things had been touched in the past week. "Yeah. So what do you think you should do?"

Everyone looked at her. "You summoned the strength to defeat Shink. Someone who, God rest his soul, was much more powerful than anyone in the Bunker. Think back to the power you used then, and the power you used against the High Breed. What felt different?"

"Well," He began, "I thought I drew out more than I did against Shink."

"Are you so sure about that?" She stood, walking around the table, touching Porrelth's shoulder. "It's no secret you've become stronger. You've been pushed to the mental limit, and surpassed it. I think you regressed, somehow, very rapidly."

"How? I've trained every night for a week straight."

"No sleep," Garuga asked.

Takabi shook his head.

"Come with me," He said suddenly. The Shadow Dragon left the boardroom. After a couple glances with everyone else, Takabi stood and wobbled after him, with Syrreth close behind him to keep him stable.

They came to the Bunker's training room, and stepped inside. Syrreth closed the door and locked up, leaving the blinds open so Rose, Jewel and Ariel could watch when they arrived.

"Rest does wonders. I'm sorry to make you do this right now, but can you power up for me? Please, full strength." Garuga crossed his arms, sitting on one of the exercise bikes. Takabi looked at Syrreth then back.

"Why? I'm still recovering."

"Your arm, maybe. And yes, you may be somewhat dizzy and unbalanced. After all, your head was knocked around quite a bit. Just trust me."

Hesitant at first, he looked at his hand and balled a fist.

His breaths, while painful, came quick. Sharp. All sound drowned itself out, and the air grew thick with an intense heat.

No power cry. His white aura just simply erupted from his feet. The thin vibration of the moving Bunker quickly enhanced, everything within the compound that wasn't nailed to the floor beginning to spill over. Jewel held onto Ariel, the two girls falling over and hitting their heads against the railing behind them.

Kairas, who had moved himself to the cafe to recharge himself with food, watched in awe. The feeling, the wave of magic power that was washing over his senses was immense, almost as much as the High Breed's. "That's not… Takabi, is it?"

Takabi relaxed himself, the shaking stopped so much it felt as if the Bunker had stopped moving all together. He looked at his hand again, then locked eyes with Garuga, shocked.

"Rest does wonders. Two reasons for your growth just now. You're recovering, and you know you grow constantly through pure fights. Kairas should be around your level as well." He said.

"You both were bed ridden for a bit, but that aside, you understand why you shouldn't overwork yourself. Mistakes lead to failure, and failure sucks." He smiled softly. "However, we all can learn from that."

"So, I can take that thing now?"

"God no. You kidding? You have power to rival it, not kill it. If you want to make any sort of difference, you need more than just strength." Garuga looked at Syrreth and his smile turned to a hard gaze. "You can't hesitate anymore. These things are not human, and have hearts of evil. It's not wrong to kill those that hold a danger to everyone else."

Takabi's shoulders visibly deflated. "Yeah. That thing isn't going to get away next time." Even as he spoke, he couldn't completely accept the idea of killing something in cold blood, or for revenge. He had to justify it somehow.

It killed so many innocent people.

"Where are we going," Takabi asked suddenly.

"Colorado. The reason I didn't arrive sooner than I did was because I was searching for information on the Kult's next move. The week was too quiet, so I figured it'd be the best time to investigate. Found out they have a lot of members flowing into Denver."

His face grew just as stern as Garuga's. "That's the next stage. Never been to Colorado though. Wonder what it's like." He looked through the window of the training room. Jewel was glaring at him so intensely it sent a shiver down his spine. Rose was fanning Ariel, making sure the girl was only unconscious. "Hopefully there's no one like her there."

The Dragons chuckled, Syrreth placing a hand on Takabi's shoulder.

His mind phased back to his life before the powers. Or more specifically, to his amnesia. He thought life would be simple. He'd remain invisible, graduate, and live his life with an average job that he could be comfortable with.

His violet eyes flashed faintly. His mind was sucked into himself.

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The void.

Where he met his darker side. He faced it, both versions of himself nodding to one another. He hated to admit it. He truly did, after all the darkness has put him through, he knew he needed its power.

No, moreso, he needed the rest of his own power. By repressing the evil inside, repressing the darkness and holding it down with light, it cost him so much. If he accepted it sooner, maybe he would've stopped the High Breed. Maybe Shink would still be alive, as he would've had enough power to stop him without spilling his blood.

Maybe Carlos would've understood that this power isn't all it's meant to be.

Now wasn't the time for maybe.

It was time to take action.

He reached out, hands slightly shaking. His evil image took his hand in its own. Coldness washed over Takabi. His mind was fluttered with so much negativity, so much hate and the overwhelming itch to kill.

It would not be able to control him.

He's tasted the dark power before.

In his true form. With the Violet Gem.

This was nothing.

The evil faded away, shrinking down and slipping into Takabi's veins. His eyes flashed once more, then his body began to glow in violet. Something triggered within him then. He was aware of so much more negative feelings that he never knew he had. Those feelings were a part of him. He was him.

He was whole.

He would stand against enemies, and show them true fear.