CHAPTER 20 – T-minus (6)

"What happened?" I ask, running into Grandpa's room, where Wrap is sleeping.

Forcerer looks at me, and then at Grandpa.

"He seems to have a problem…" Grandpa frowns.

Feather runs into the room, and looks at Wrap, holding his hand.

"His heart…" Feather says.

"He has a tumour," Grandpa says.

But he looked fine before…

"That is not the only problem," Feather says, and draws attention, as more people enter the room. "His powers… I don't feel it."

Feather explains of how he could sense powered-individuals. That is how many things had worked for Forcerer and him.

"Did you feel it before? From Wrap?" Rusk asks.

"Yes. I can't make their powers out of course. That... is a complete different context. I only see… this… difference," Feather says. "He just feels like…" Feather twitches to point at anyone in the room. "Just... powerless now."

"Well, did you sense this… thing. In him. Like, before?" I ask.

"It is not a mere scar… but even after getting him here, and getting him treated, I never felt a thing about it. So no," Feather says.

I lower my head, and look at Wrap, from the corner of my eye.

"How bad is it?" I ask.

"It is the worst it can be," Feather scoffs. "But… his state says otherwise."

"He was in a coma for the whole day," I say.

"Sceles-… even if that was me," Feather says. "I'd be dead."

"Is he alive though?" Psyand's mother asks.

Getting infuriated, I stare at Psyand's mother.

"Yes," Grandpa says.

Psyand's mother nods. "That is all we need."

My words which I had planned in an instant, breaks apart in my throat.

"We'll need to shift probably. Would that… effect?" Lost-Bird asks.

"Maybe… maybe not. The medicine is barely helping," Grandpa scoffs. "I tried everything, but it doesn't seem to work, or help. So I'm not sure if shifting would be fine. But I wouldn't suggest it."

I nod.

"Better to not take chances," Forcerer sighs.

"You could stay in my room. I'll even protect you until we solve these things. Please let Wrap stay here," Rusk says.

"Uh… this kid already lent his room for the others," Grandpa says, about Forcerer.

Grandpa was… a senior citizen in care. There were other… abandoned orphans and older people alongside him. Whom Forcerer let stay in his room instead.

"I'll stay here," Grandpa says.

Everyone gets silent, probably run out of words like me. Grandpa sees this silence and laughs.

"I know. I'm probably burdening you, I'm barely any help at all here. I can't even help this kid," Grandpa says, about Wrap. "The medicines don't work. At least I could nurse him, and take care of him. At the least."

"You don't have to…" I say.

"No. I want to be helpful," Grandpa smiles widely, with his eyes almost close. "It is not everyday we get a choice to save someone. I have learnt to take it, not as granted."

Wrap just stays there, still, in a coma. One or the other person was cursed.

***

Everyone seems sad about Wrap, so I just let them be and step out, to the terrace, grasping on Razor's knife.

"You can call me as: Search," the knife tells me.

"You read minds now?" I ask, with a sigh.

"You want me to help or not?" Search chuckles.

That happened. When I touched the knife. This voice talking only to me, even when everyone were around me, a while ago.

"So, what is the solution?" I ask.

"I already have something on my mind. Yours was the easiest question," Searches continues chuckling. "Only of I met you long ago."

"Do not mock my wish," I say.

"Yes of course. I honestly envy it. Pretty cliché it is, not going to lie. But everyone has their desires, am I right?"

I search around me, for the reason why Search had asked me to step out all of a sudden. As I wait, finally footsteps appear, and someone pins me to the edge of the terrace.

"Where is the knife?" Drego asks.

"That is a bit rude. You left so soon. Also asked me to specifically take it," I say.

"There she is," Search laughs.

What about her?

"Right," Drego sighs and lets me go. "That knife needs to be destroyed. I know your end of the deal was only to bring it away from Razor, but… I'll give you another favour."

"Spoken like a queen," Search chuckles. The laughing was now getting on my nerves. "Hey, that's rude!"

But why destroy it? I couldn't let that happen!

"Don't you worry. She can't, even if she wants to," Search says.

But you have what I need.

"Only the answer. But yes. And when I give it to you: I'll finally be free. So my existence won't have a meaning anymore. Finally!"

Well, you haven't given the answer yet.

"Your answer is right here. In front of your eyes."

What?

"The queen of dragons. Kill her. Grab her gem. You'll have what you want then," Search says, still chuckling.

"Hey," Drego snaps her fingers. "I know I did a jump on you. But can we just…? It's dangerous."

"You want it destroyed? Alright," I say.

"You'll love this part, won't you?" Search chuckles. "Fine. I'll let you let me go."

I bring Search, in between me and Drego, and snap it in my hands. Drego just watched it happen.

"Wait, really?" Drego asks, and bends down, picking the two pieces up. "Nothing is happening. It was that simple?"

She was the solution? Could I kill a dragon?

"I heard it was hard to break it. Guess he was just faking it," Drego says, and gets up. "This thing could kill dragons," Drego wears a sad face.

Wait!

"Well, thanks. It isn't a fake either. Sorry, have to be suspicious," Drego shrugs.

"So you'll do any favour?" I ask.

"Mm, sure!"

"Could you destroy this so-called dome?" I point around, in the air.

Drego scans around.

"Ah, you are in some big problem I see. I'm sorry, I don't have such prowess. I'd have to basically explode all my energy to break such a thing," Drego laughs. "Or be tremendously strong. Which I'm not."

"I understand," I say. "How about ridding someone from a heart disease?"

"A heart disease?" Drego scoffs. "I surely can't. But maybe someone I know could. But you see… she is far away," Drego gives a dry smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," I say, bending my head.

"Relax on the sympathy," Drego scoffs.

I don't say anything for a while.

"I really need to go. So can we make this quick?"

"I have nothing else on my mind," I say.

"Alright then. Bye!" Drego says, and disappears.

Why her?

I go back to the room. Scelesthe looks at me and gets up, from the guy she had caught, staying there on the ground.

"Hey… could you punch him?" Scelesthe asks. "Or maybe stab him with that knife you had."

"What?"

"Let us please not do that," Psyand's mother says.

"Psyand tried to wake him up, by slapping his cheeks with… you know, the hand extension. But it didn't work," Scelesthe says.

"I didn't want to hurt him," Psyand says.

"Hurt who?" Lost-Bird enters the room.

"They are planning on waking the guy up by punching him," I tell Lost-Bird.

"Not us," everyone except Scelesthe says.

"Well, that explains Psyand's words. Let me try," Lost-Bird says.

Lost-Bird goes ahead and bends down to the guy. He searches the guy's face, and plucks a hair from the guy's barely-any-facial-hair face. The guy jolts awake, and tried to slap or punch Lost-Bird, but Lost-Bird just holds the lifted hand.

"You are a heavy sleeper," Lost-Bird says, and gets up.

The guy just looks around the room, blinking his eyes, and waking himself up. He checks himself thoroughly, and looks at us again. At me, specifically.

"You must be Morph," he says.

"I go by Witch now," I hiss.

The guy just laughs, and looks at himself again.

"I'm surprised that you didn't tie me. That is unlike and like him," the guy says. "Where is he by the way?"

"We have clearly outnumbered you, even if you are a powered-individual. And which guy?" I ask.

Scelesthe glares at me.

"Well, okay. I mean the guy in armour," the guy says. "It is him right? Or is it just the others, the Primevel warriors?"

Nobody answers.

"I guess it is the others. Well, they know me. So could you show me to them?" the guy asks.

"How do you know what a Primevel warrior is?" Sceslesthe asks.

"So it is you. I'm sorry, I don't recognise you. Do you remember me? I'm Edward Lispe," Edward says.

"No I don't know you. So clearly you were lying of knowing me," Scelesthe scoffs. "But question remains, how do you know the title?"

"Hmm, then it is not you. I met others like you. Ones freshly hit with Trigon. I guess that must let you know of how much I know," Edward says. "And I met your leader."

Scelesthe looks shook. "You mean…?"

"The guy with the rock at the back of his armour. He can turn into Attear he said," Edward says.

"Where is he?"

"I'm trying to search for him too. I hoped he was here, and came to help him, as I was told to do. All is a waste," Edward sighs.

"Where did you last see him?"

"No point. He could teleport back and forth to Pluto you see. He might as well be there," Edward sighs. "But to answer your question, he went for Morpheus. The guy who caused that dome to Bengaluru, you know."

"To Pluto? That is…"

"Ok, are we talking about the dwarf planet, Pluto?" Forcerer asks.

"They hate being called that. They are a weird planet… least in number, yet they are some alphas. They don't like mingling to anyone at all. But to the H.O.D.?" Scelesthe questions herself.

"H.O.D.?" Forcerer asks.

"The leader which he mentioned. The leader of Primevel warriors," Scelesthe says.

"End of Rahambose," Edward says.

"End of Rahambose," Scelesthe repeats and stares at Edward.

"I know. At this point you can't trust me. But I really am not from the cult those people are chanting about," Edward says.

Scelesthe doesn't answer.

"They are called as Saturn Organisation," Edward says.

"We know," Scelesthe says.

"Okay. And I'm from the people you know of. TBC. Our people are called as The Ring."

"I must say: I don't trust TBC," Scelesthe says.

"That is on us. We really said that we can't help you out to all of you. And I'm the only one here," Edward says. "But we think that this… H.O.D., is here. So they'll come soon."

"What is so special about him? What is all this?" Forcerer asks.

"Rahambose, Primevel warriors, H.O.D., Pluto, The Ring," Lost-Bird says.

"I guess it is time I let you all know," Scelesthe says.