Acquiring the Meathead 1/10

The four of them are looking at me. WHY? Yes, this question is all I've been thinking about from the moment I saw --him with them-- WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY has my brother betrayed me?! Our eyes lock gaze, my pupils dilate, rage ever so present in them, as if they wanted to swallow him whole. But, instead, I bite down, clashing my teeth together. My mouth hungers for blood, my brother's blood. The brat smiles. "If you keep looking at me like that, I might cry." With his ironic voice, the obvious provocation, He is testing me: My brother hasn't changed, yet seeing him with 'them, It's a fact he has betrayed me, Yes. He has betrayed me.

The chains around my body tightened. I know the culprit --the man who turned my brother against me. I force My gaze away from Klaus and look at him instead. The bastard smiles. He's not afraid of me. Magic has given him all the self-assurance he needs. The coward must believe himself untouchable; Only the gods are untouchable. He will suffer for his arrogance, and I will ensure it!

"Erik, I know you must feel confused and betrayed, but this is not what it looks like! We mean you no harm; I can see how that's difficult to believe while being chained to a tree half naked in the mittle of the forest for an entire night, but believe me when I say: There was no other way. I had no time to explain, and you wouldn't have listened if I did anyway. I'm sorry."

Klaus, the girl, and the man next to Gedeon nod in unison; they agree with him. I'm not stupid nor easily deceived. I know when someone is lying. This man isn't lying --I still want his head on a pike.

"I can tell he doesn't care for my apology, and he very much means to kill me." Can you blame him? No, Magnus, I guess not."

I have an idea. It may not work, but if it does, at least Erik won't want you dead, I'm guessing. Sure, I'm open to suggestions! Go ahead, talk. It can't get any worse."

"Before I say anything, have you told them about the mind thing? It takes me a second to understand what he means by: "the mind thing." Oh, you mean the Legilimensy?! Precisely." Not missing a beat, Klaus jumps into the conversation. "Legilimensy, what is that, and how can it help us with Erik?" (This kid! Why is he always so impatient?)

Pinching my nose, I say. "Magnus refers to an ancient type of magic --you won't be learning any time soon! Legilimensy: The power to see/alter someone's mind at will."

"Wait, YOU CAN DO THAT?! Indeed I can." Klaus's eyes open wide, his fear painfully obvious. Then, Freya, for the first time, in what seems like eons, speaks. "He can't read your mind. If he could, he wouldn't have asked you for a reason as to why you tried to save me back at the plaza." She steps closer to the redhead and holds his hands as if saying I'm here. There's nothing to fear.

Okay, these two are getting too nauseatingly cute for my comfort. Magnus' eye-roll --my confirmation. "Freya's right. You have nothing to fear. I can't read your thoughts; that's one of the reasons why I picked you to be the bearer of the Omnitrix. I knew you were special. Don't let this go to your head, though; just cause I can't read your mind doesn't mean I can't use other means..."

I let my magical aura out, emphasizing my words. Klaus nods yes; his head goes back and forth like a coconut tree during a storm. Good, he thinks I'm serious.

"Anyway, Magnus, go ahead. Explain what you want me to do with my mind magic."

"Right! So, I'm thinking, what if instead of using your Legilimency to see into a person's mind, you use it to send your thoughts into theirs? In that way, Erik can see everything for himself and maybe understand the reasons behind your actions."

"Magnus, you are a genius, a genius!" The excitement makes me bring him forward, take his head and kiss it.

He is surprised but goes with it. "So, uh, you think it'll work?"

"Yes! It'll definitely work!" He really is a light at the end of the tunnel. These three psychos only help to give me headaches. Why can't they be more normal --less annoying? I'm looking at you, Klaus. Sigh...

This entire time, I've heard them speak about me as if I wasn't even here. The dam chains are restraining me to the point I can barely breathe, and the fact I can't speak makes me more of a spectator. The man named Magnus has given the 'witch an idea. I can't understand what it was, but I know it can't be anything good for me. Gedeon walks toward me. Everyone's eyes are on him. They know whatever he is about to do to me. "Mmmmm, I mumble with rage and panic. It doesn't matter. He doesn't stop. He is close now, only inches from me. I challenge him with my eyes. They're saying, don't get any closer.

He smiles, but this time with sorrow in his eyes, as if he already regrets whatever he's going to do to me. I hold my breath while the cold touch of his right-hand touches my forehead, then it begins.

First came the pain. It felt as if an axe had split my head in two. Then came nausea. This one reminded me of my first sea voyage. Right after came the calmness. This feeling is hard to describe, but if I had to, I would compare it to the sunrise right after a terrible storm. Or, more accurately, the eye of the storm itself. Long ago, I found myself inside said eye. The infinite colours made by the sun and the calmness it brought me felt exactly like this. Finally came a voice, a gentle voice. Erik, it said. Then it repeats it, calling my name. The sound echoes like the inside of a cave; It travels indefinitely as if there is no end to it.

Little by little, the voice gets closer and closer. Finally, I reach for it and don't let go. Suddenly a bright light takes hold of me; I lose sight for what seems like an eternity. Sometime later, the voice finds me again and guides me through '--visions?'

Visions of my brother and the plaza girl, then I'm fighting in front of a church. The weird 'visions' keep jumping, back end forth, showing me more and more until finally, they stop.

The voice calls to me once more. "Erik, Erik. Open your eyes." When I do, I'm back in the forest. Again, Gedeon is standing before me; however, his presence feels different this time. I no longer seek his head.