Chapter 6

Michael sat in the hospital, as he carefully watched the young girl who was unconscious in front of him.

He let out a loud sigh as he placed a photo on the desk next to her, the beeping of the machines shaking his heart. He grabbed the girl's hand as tears slowly crept into his eyes.

"You're gonna be alright, I promise, just hold out a little longer, okay Komoma?" He muttered as he took a deep breath and began to walk out of the room. She's been asleep for so long, even he was starting to doubt his own words. The chances of her words were slim to none, why would she wake up now? Yet a part of his heart couldn't let her go, she needed to live.

He looked to his left to see John and Charlotte standing next to the door as they all looked at each other. "What?" Michael asked as he walked past the two, not letting them get the chance to talk to him on the matter.

"I'm gonna go warm the car, don't dawdle for too long!" He jokingly spoke as he walked out the door.

John looked at Charlotte, whose expression was for the most part clueless, but she never said anything. "Sorry, you had to see him like this. It's hard for him to keep up that act when he sees her." Charlotte stared at John for a moment with a remorseful look in her eyes as she looked down. "I understand what he's going through, that's why I haven't said anything. It would've ruined the momentum that he's building up." She states.

John raised an eyebrow at Charlotte's awareness as he muttered. "What makes you say this exactly?" Charlotte paused for a moment as she looked up at the ceiling, her eyes squinting slightly, as a dull expression appeared on her face. Her eyes felt almost stained by something, scarred almost.

She tilted her towards John, her eyes staring deep into the beacon of his soul. She reached her hand up and grabbed her singular curved horn on the right side of her head, as she slowly ripped it out, the sound of flesh ripping and tearing was quick as she brought her hand down, signaling for John to grab it, which he hesitantly did, considering the weird and creepy act that she just committed...

"To answer your question requires another question to be answered. What are you holding right now?" She asked.

John paused for a moment as he studied the horn in his palms, the ragged texture along with the absurd coldness of it. The small yet deep line of the curve, forming a spiral gave it the same texture of almost condensed plastic you would find being used for playground equipment. "I'm holding your horn. . . What else would it be?"

Charlotte chuckled as she looked away from John before looking back at him, as she slowly leaned her body closer towards him. "Are you sure that's what is in your hand?" She whispered carefully. John had a gasp of air as he looked again at the horn, and back to the top of her head to see a horn in the same place she had ripped it out. "I-I don't know. . . Why are you saying this? This doesn't have anything to do with Michae-" Charlotte put her finger on John's lips as she sighed heavily.

"The reason why I'm saying all this is because the horn and Michael are the same. They hold memories that they want to be free of but can't because those same memories make up who they are. It's the fear that keeps them from going down a different path. They could end up bad or become worse than they originally were. They could turn evil, monsters even. And if they become monsters. . . "

Charlotte heartfully chuckled when the word monster came out of her mouth.

"If they become monsters, then they lose control of the life they had before. It could lead into self-hatred, nihilism, even. . . even the ones you promised to never hurt." Charlotte claimed as she sighed heavily.

John paused as he absorbed the information thrown at him, and he sighed heavily. "So, what am I supposed to do to help him through this time? His sister has been in a coma for God knows how long and I don't know how long he's gonna play his facade!" John asked.

Charlotte sighed as she pulled away, seeing that Michael was walking back. "The best thing you can do as his friend is to let him push forward, let the stress fuel his resolve to push through this. He doesn't need to hear any sympathetic whining from anyone. Just be there for him." She said as they both turned their attention towards Michael.

"What are you guys still doing? Ya'll look like you two were about to start hoggin around!" he said as he chuckled, looking at the two of them.

John chuckled at Michael's sexual joke as he stood up from his chair. "You still wanna go to the library? I know you wanted to help me find out about my sparkle power thingy."

Michael nodded his head, as he looked over towards Charlotte. "Ms. Thompson, would you like to grace us with your presence? Surely someone like you has the wisdom to help us with this expedition? Charlotte blushed a little at the praise she just received as she coughed to reestablish her composure. "I guess it wouldn't help to use my knowledge to help the youth." She muttered as she jumped up.

The three of them headed out to Michael's car and they drove off towards the library.

As they drove in Michael's black truck he was constantly playing some Miley Cyrus song, about miles or whatever.

John glanced out the window as he pondered on what to do after all this was done. What path would he go down now that he's chosen to fight against the hierarchy that has made people oppress people like him? Will this work out in the end and he'll finally feel free? But why would it matter if he did something now? It wouldn't change the years of constant torture and shame he's already received, so what real motive would he gain for doing this?

Just as he was sinking into the abyss of his monologue, he felt a cold touch on his leg. His eyes glanced up to see Charlotte staring into him right in his eyes, her calm red eyes almost gleaming into his soul as he took a short deep breath. Just as he was going to open his mouth, Charlotte beat him to it.

"You seemed stressed. . . You wanna tell this old lady what's wrong?" She asked.

John looked straight ahead as he noticed Micheal taking glances in the mirror, showing him listening to his problems, which made him a little more grateful to have someone like Micheal in his life, despite his annoying behavior sometimes.

"I've just been thinking. . . What real reason do we have to do this? Sure, we want payback, but is that a reason to risk our lives for a little revenge? This could get so many people involved which could lead to them getting hurt! I'm just having doubts is all." John said.

Micheal let out a faint chuckle as he glanced at John's direction in his rear-view mirror. "That was a bad question Johnny boy. How am I gonna let my sister wake up in a world that has people like him in power? Knowing what I do now, that man is not only a threat to the people he swore to the project, but his methods put everyone in this town in danger. If you ask me, he should've been taken care of." Micheal says, his voice fueled with hints of anger.

Charlotte nodded in agreement as she added. "Mikey is right! Just because this seems risky doesn't mean it isn't for a good cause. Coldstorm has already sent one robot down, and you saw first-hand how many innocent people died. What makes you think it won't happen again?"

John paused at their words as he sighed. "I guess you guys are right. Sorry about the dumb question."

A flick to the head marked John as he looked over at Charlotte. "What was that for?"

Charlotte stuck her tongue out, almost like a child as she said. "Stop thinking so negative about yourself! Have some positivity in your mind for a little bit."

"We're all a family now, so we need to have each other's backs.