Chapter 2

"You have been summoned here to learn everything about creativity, imagination, and art itself," began the tight-bunned lady.

An hour has passed since the five chosen children were told to meet in a different room as the others. In the room, they all stayed silent, nobody made the first move. Lewis nervously twitched in his seat, fiddling with his pale thumbs. Fleur was braiding her blonde locks, eyes staring blankly at a plain wall. Petra nervously paced the room while chewing at the edge of her thumb. Hong Gil stared at the light bulb, ignoring the sting in his eyes. And Zuriana stayed leaning on the wall, her arms crossed and fingers twitching as she read a silent chat. They were all quiet but their minds were in sync, thinking about what to do with each other when the time comes.

So returning to the boring speech, the lady in black lifted a chart to her line of sight before suddenly saying loudly, "Petra! Is it true you watch climate documentaries over five years while supporting the eco-friendly Greek Society of Justice?"

Their gazes went to the stiff girl who nodded quickly before answering with barely a mutter, "Y-Yes… Is there a reason behind asking that?"

The lady gave her a quick glance before ignoring the question and continued, "Lewis, your parents are architectures?"

The blonde youngest boy in the room suddenly stood and let his chair fall with a wince before shortly saying, "Yes."

"Fleur," the lady went on. "You live with your parents over the family flower store? Even at the age of nineteen?"

"O-Of course. I h-help them around," answered the French while her fingers moved away from her plait. "Are you going to answer Petra's question?"

The woman took her question into consideration before answering casually, "Soon." And her eyes resumed to the fourth name. "Hong Gil? You auditioned at a Korean music company despite the fact your only seventeen?"

Lewis's gaze went to the Korean boy in admiration while he answered with a curt nod. The lady accepted his silent reply before finally saying, "And your pen name is 'Yuhiko', Zuriana?"

The girl in the hijab stopped counting her fingers and lifted her gaze before speaking for the first time with a hushed voice, "You're determining the reason we're stronger than the other teenagers, am I correct?"

A smile crawled upon the ladies' lips and she nodded before lowering the wooden boards. She scanned the five swiftly and said, "Among the three thousand students tested from around the world, you five are stronger than them all. When you all used the 'The Mind Speller' (Also known as the TMS), you managed to defend the entire shelter alone. Your imagination's outcome was far stronger and useful than others and you managed to do that at ease. We feel like we are able to commence an attack on the enemy's base sooner than as expected with your guidance."

The five took in her words for a moment before Fleur raised a hand with a question that concerned her mind at the very moment. The lady nodded in her direction as permission to speak. "Who are you and where are we? What happened to our family member's and how long are we being kept here?"

Lewis and Petra shook their head enthusiastically while Hong Gil and Zuriana listened intently. The lady waited for anyone to add on before answering, "My name is Madam Erika Simmons. I work under the NHA, also known as NothingBeast Hunt Association. Our ONLY Headquarters in the world is where you are at; Pearl Harbor."

She took a moment to think before answering the remaining questions; "Your families are given free rein in the HQ for now. Your emotions are our priority so we'll care for anything precious of yours. As for your time here, I guess until we manage to destroy the enemies HQ and annihilate the NothingBeasts."

The room returned to an awkward silence until she clapped her hand and turned around swiftly. They watched her approach the same door she entered from before adding, "You are to be in front of the main infirmary on the fifth ground-floor by five-fifteen to receive your dorm keys and meet with your head counsellor. Good luck."

---

The dormitories for the main five were a pair of rooms near the main office, which was the closest to the training centre. The girls were given the room on the left side of the infirmary while the guys were on the right. The main five stood in front of the infirmary, waiting for the 'nurse' to hand over their dorm keys. Among the pile of luggage, it was pretty clear whose were which. Only Zuriana held her one bag over her shoulder without any care in the world. She gave the others quick glances before approaching the door and rapping her knuckles on it.

The door was opened by a tall male in his twenties and wore a skull pattern shirt below his white lab coat. His messy hair covered his top facial features while a scruffy beard pod at his chin. His arms held him steady at the doorframe as he glowered at the five teens.

"Who are you brats?" He growled before taking in the random sight. "Okay, I see a pretty brat, eco-idiot, music-geek, crazy-artist, and a lost Muslim. I'm sure you aren't here to sell Scout cookies, right?"

Hong Gil stepped forward with a look of irritation on his face as he said, "Do you even know where you are? You seem lost! Need someone to grab you a map?"

In an instant, Zuriana realized this person wasn't somebody they should mess with. He had moved swiftly, twisting his body, and aimed a low kick at Hong Gil, catching the Korean off guard and straightened up to grab him by the ankle before lifting him to the others' line of sight. Lewis gulped while Petra trembled with a hiding Fleur. Only Zuriana stood her guard, taking on his challenge. They continued staring before Hong Gil broke the silence.

"I'm still hanging here," he grumbled. "Will you let me down?"

The man kept his eyes on Zuriana before dropping him into a heap by her feet. He leaned closer until their noses were inches away and he smirked. "I like your aura, missy. You seem like the leader."

When he straightened up, he faced them all with a small smile and finally introduced himself, "The name's Tadahiro Kousuke. I'm the doc, for your information. I was testing you brats just now." He smirked at their reactions before continuing; "You'll never be able to face the NothingBeasts if you're a bunch of wimps. You need to prepare yourselves for that. I'm also the counsellor if you need advice about your training so make yourselves comfy with my presence."

He dug out a pair of keys from his back pocket and held it up to Zuriana's face. The girl stared at it for a moment before taking it. His smile grew slightly before he turned around and closed the door.

"Well, that was interesting. We'll meet up here at seven for a bit of Meet N' Greet, 'kay?" She asked while waiting for their answers.

Hong Gil, who finally recovered from the harsh treatment nodded in agreement before grabbing for his wheelie bag. "Yeah, I want to know more about that hobo."

---

With five minutes to spare, the girls exited their room and were surprised to hear laughter erupt from the open infirmary. Fleur gave a slight knock and smiled at the boys who were grinning like idiots.

"Hey, you finally came!" Lewis smiled while shifting to sit beside Hong Gil. "We were just talking about surfing! Apparently, Hong Gil isn't a sports guy!"

Fleur and Petra hurried to the empty sofa, leaving only a small space next to their counsellor. She hesitated slightly before sitting down, keeping her distance. The other girls were laughing at the joke before finally settling down.

"So let's have the youngest start!" Petra smiled at the Swedish boy who jumped in his seat slightly awkwardly.

He wiggled uncomfortably but after an encouraging hand grasp by Hong Gil, he began, "H-Hello everyone, I'm Lewis Caufler. My hobby is sketching. I guess that's how my imagination skills made an entire building fall on the NothingBeasts at the IKEA shelter."

Petra gasped comically before asking, "Was it a specific building?"

"T-The Eiffel Tower," he awkwardly said, making the others laugh slightly. "Y-Your turn then, Petra."

"Sure!" Grinned the girl who was on the edge of her sofa. "Hi, I'm Petra Dominic. I'm from Greek and I'm so into climax changes that my imagination varies in weather difference. I like watching documents regarding geology and enjoy listening to the sound of waves."

"What did you do on your test? Cause an entire flood?" Kousuke asked while leaning in, rather interested in her imagination skill usage.

"Well, similar. I caused a tornado to pull them away while ripping off the roof of our shelter. They were both relieved but sad I was leaving. They didn't want any more damage on the shelter," she chuckled, causing a wave of chuckles to hit them. "It's not funny, okay. So who's older? Hongi or Zuri?"

Hong Gil frowned at the nickname and blinked when Zuriana said, "My birthday is in April. What about you?"

He frowned and introduced himself anyway, "I'm Park Hong Gil and my birthday is on the third of February. I'm a band guitarist in Korea so it sort of explains the sound wave attack on the NothingBeasts."

"What kind of music? Rock? Classic? Pop?" Lewis asked in awe at the older male by his side.

"R-Rock…" He frowned, not use to this easiness from such a bright boy. "I prefer rock rather than pop, to be honest."

Zuriana nodded in agreement before lifting a hand and simply said, "Zuriana Binti Abdul Razak. I'm eighteen and my powers are rather various so not much to explain."

That brought questions to their mind but fortunately for her, Fleur decided to jump in while saying her part, "And I'm Fleur Dressler. Since I work as a part-time florist, I'm good with plants. I used vines last time to fight the NothingBeasts."

That was easy to comprehend and before they could get to ask Zuriana's imagination usage, Kousuke interfered with a statement, "Well then let us see your powers in person. I'm allowed to permit you guys to the 'TMS' storage room for practice. Want to try?"

This caught their full attention and the question of Zuriana would be answered by doing so. They all stood in unison and gave each other looks of approval before heading for the door. Zuriana gave Kousuke a dark glare before storming off before him. He tailed her with the door shut behind him.