Chapter III

'Up are we? Alrighty then, off we go.'

When Sao awakes, he is in the middle of the forest, his house in the distant clearing; in the middle, remains the circle he drew earlier that same day. He is still lying down, but it is clear to him that he is moving; the trees in his peripheral are strolling past him. Peering around, he attempts to lift his arm, both fully recovered; to his surprise, all he feels is the chill of groundwater, tilting his head to the right to see that he is resting on a large floating puddle of H2O. The clouds above are as outstanding as ever against the soothing blue sky; the sun, calmer now, naps peacefully over the Vestmuren.

It suddenly hits him that he can't see Hannah. Spinning his body to the left almost sends him to the floor; the water unable to stabilise as he contorts. Before he collides with the ground, a pair of black gloves catch him. Now, replacing the clouds, the hooded man comes into Sao's vision.

Sao's eyes enlarge in their sockets, 'Where��s Hannah?'

'You're welcome, and don't panic. If you're talking about that girl you were holding like a comfort animal earlier, she's to my right.'

Sao searches past the man's nimble frame and to his word, there she lay, floating on a similar blanket of water.

'I'm Yuda, by the way; if you ever wanted to know the name of the man that saved your life.'

'Sao. My name's Sao. And yes, the girl's name is Hannah. Thank you so much. If she died, I don't know what I'd do.'

'Don't stress it. The important thing is that the girl isn't dead, so chill, you're going to be fine.'

'Yuda?'

'That's my name.'

'How do you know where my house is?'

Placing Sao on his feet, Yuda walks on, 'I just followed the mess you made. That's how I found you in the first place. Now hurry up, I need somewhere cleaner than dirt to make sure the girl's condition doesn't deteriorate.'

'Of course,' and Sao picks up his pace, overtaking Yuda to prepare the house.

Sao pauses at the clearing, frozen, staring to his right. Yuda struggles to make out why his newest acquaintance is in such a shock; even as he reaches the clearance and stares at Sao's source of distress, the reason is unclear to him; a boy with hair the same colour as the tree he leans on holds a vice grip on his left wrist like a boa. Sao runs towards the Boy, stumbling on his way resulting in a crawl to the Boy, 'Akuma!'

Grabbing both of Akuma's arms, Sao shakes him, hoping for a sign of consciousness. As he tries, head down, Akuma is plucked from Sao's arms by air alone; like a magnet, Yuda ends up with Akuma resting on his shoulder.

'Looks like I've got two patients today. Lucky me,' Yuda strolls to the door to Sao's house. 'I'm guessing you've got the key?'

'Oh, uh, yeah, I do.'

Yuda points to the keyhole for the door, rushing Sao to the door with urgency.

Finally, they enter the house; Yuda immediately laying Akuma down on the bed; Hannah lowered by the water, which evaporating as it touches the bed. The first to be attended is Akuma, who's hand visibly struggles to stay by his side, only held there, forcibly, by an invisible force.

'Well, this is rare.'

'What is it? What's wrong?'

Yuda places his elbow on the bed, holding his head with it resting on his thumb, index and middle finger, 'Huh. Oh, nothing, it's just that I wasn't expecting a kid to be capable of it.'

'Capable of what?' Sao, now leaning over Hannah and Akuma, stares at Yuda.

'You're the one who saw it. You've got yourself a walking talking weapon here.'

Sao turns to Hannah – still unconscious – with a gasp. 'And her? Is she the same?'

Both Yuda and Sao stare at each other for a moment; Yuda then switches to the other side of the bed. He investigates Hannah's arms, searching for the similarity between her and Akuma; Yuda's face brightens. A smile, most would consider psychopathic, broadens across his face. Looking up towards Sao, his eyes reflect the sun's light as it watches longingly through the window, 'Sir, I have a proposition. Together, us four and maybe a few more can change this world. You saw its corruption with your very eyes. This world's security sprayed bullets towards an innocent, injured, vulnerable girl, one who never even lifted a finger against them. Together, we will make this world just; no, greater than just. Together we can bring equality, equity; we can demolish the foundations and rebuild them grander and purer. If you give me half a year, I think it may be possible for her to unlock a similar gift; a gift that could bring the unjust God's of this world to their knees. So, what do you say? Together?'

A hand reaches out to Sao; 'How do I know you have the same interests; how do I know you won't turn around and stab me in the back; I'm sorry, but I find your proposal too caught up in ideals.'

'Oh, but your wrong; I understand what it's like to be stabbed in the back by the ones you trust most; I understand your reasoning but listen to me; I do not hold onto ideals, I hold onto hope. It may not be us that changes this world, it may instead, fall to the hands of these two. Who you care for are bringers of change; all you need to do is guide them.'

'And why do you care so much of these two, you haven't spoken a word to them.'

'Sao, listen, I am their doctor; of course, I care about their health, even if we have just met. Sao, if you have any flicker of disagreement with this world, please, I am begging you; do something about it.'

Sao takes some time to contemplate, staring out the window; a farmer out in his field harvesting this week's rations. Incoming, a group of three guards, armed; they confiscate the farmer's crops and leave. No words exchanged, just looks; that's all it takes for the people of this world to remember – this is not their world anymore. Sao responds by reaching out to Yuda, 'Together.'

And with that shake of hands, the world shook; its saviour has found others to join his cause. What was once one has become many, many who will guard this world; for they must.