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"Hey, knock it off!"
Majd watched Mado as he was trying to protect him from a bully. The two boys were in the Biochemistry lab surrounded by a number of their classmates. Standing in front of them, was a tall muscular guy who didn't seem deligted. He tried to pick on Majd, but Mado stood in his way.
"Better not get yourself involved in this, my nigga.." said the bully with a threatening tone.
"Or what, Ahmed?" Mado faced him. "You're gonna hit me too?"
~Paw!
Ahmed Baghais punched Mado right in his shoulder. The latter collapsed defeatedly.
"Ow! Okay, that's a 'Yes'.." he said as he dropped to his knees in pain.
With Mado fallen down, there was nothing stopping Ahmed from finishing his business with Majd.
"Now, it's your turn, pussy!" he told the brown haired boy.
"Uhh, Ahmed, listen.." Majd tried to slowly step further away from the angry guy, but Ahmed was on to him. "I really, didn't mean to. It was Naief who said the German word.. !"
"You made me look like a tool!" Ahmed shouted. "Naief and the others are still laughin' til now!"
When Majd steered his head sideways, he actually saw Naief, Wasse'e, Osama and Suhail cackling out loud.
Majd looked back to Ahmed as he retracted. "Oh, man. It's going to hurt a lot.." he gulped.
"Oh, you're dead meat.." Ahmed raised his fist to deliver a quick deadly punch while Majd closed his eyes and surrendered to his fate.
~Grab!
"Huh..!" Majd's eyes widened once he opened them.
"Stay out of it, bitch!" Ahmed told the person that grabbed his arm.
"You're this big, but still play like a sixth-grader, moron.." replied the guy. "Pick someone your size!"
"I said: Fuck off!" Ahmed shot three successive quick punches, but the other guy blocked them all.
~Paw! Paw! Paw!
~Block!
"You're okay there, Majd?" the other guy asked over his shoulder.
"You don't want me to embarrass you in front of everybody, Kamal.." Ahmed told him as his hands struggled against Kamal's tight grip.
"Hah! Look which one of us is actually winning, buttbrain!" Kamal replied.
"Uhh.." Majd's mouth was open in surprise. He didn't expect Kamal to rescue him in this last minute.
...Kamal, he thought. He's so cool..!
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Majd's memories took him to the time when Kamal Al-Tal saved him from a steep pinch. And yet now, the same person was standing before him, and doing the exact same thing.
"Who will be next?" Vincent gestured to the remaining large guard to come forth.
"Why you, maggot!" charged the monsterously looking enemy. "DIE!"
~Dash!
Vincent stood in place, waiting for the provoked guard to get closer enough. At the he thought was time, Vincent twisted his body for few inches. With that, the guard assault was dodged by a mere centimeter. Then, Vincent tackled him, and quickly delivered a chain of punches to his torso, and let him fall by the end.
~Trip!
~Paw! Paw! Paw! Kick!
~Drop!
"Guaahh..!" the large muscular guard fell on his face to the sandy ground.
"The bigger they are..?" Vincent said as he looked back toward the two boys who were standing in awe.
"Whoa..!" Eugene's jaw stretched down.
"Pffft..Show off." Jaden disaproved.
"You're the one to talk.." Vincent walked up to them with a grin on his face. He stuck his fist toward Jaden.
~Fistbump!
"Majd! You look like a guy from a princess movie!" Kamal laughed as he put his hand on Eugene's shoulder, but the latter was in shock.
That's Kamal, he kept telling himself. That's really him. But how come? When did this all happened?!
"Uhh, bro?" Vincent tilted his head to Eugene's lack of response.
"Pull it together, dude.." Jaden told the light brown haired boy. "That's really Kamal standing before you, not a ghost.."
"What a weird way to put it.." Vincent laughed.
"This is way too much for me to take in right now.." Eugene held his head as he finally uttered.
"Gimme a break.." Jaden sighed.
"Hm..!"
As they were talking, a distinct sound of footsteps was gradually growing closer. Vincent picked it up first, and decided to stay out of sight.
"Over here!" he pushed the two boys toward the wall. "We need to hide.."
"Huh..!" Jaden was confused at first.
"What the..?" Eugene exclaimed.
"Shush.." Vincent stuck his back to the wall. He looked up toward the crowd. Antecipating something in particular.
When Jaden and Eugene stood next to him, they were able to hear sounds of chatter. There were apparently people coming nearer.
"Did you make sure it's him?" a voice with a sinister tone was asking.
"Yes. Our men have confirmed it." said another voice.
In the following second, a number of armored soldiers charged into the area. They immediately dispressed the crowd that were watching the fight as they assembled in a raw left and right. And then, a larger silver armored soldier emerged in the front. He took off his helmet, and scaned the surrounding area meticulously.
"All right.." he nudged for his foot soldiers. And as they stepped aside to make way for yet another person.
He was a tall muscular man with short orange hair, short orange beard, and wearing a black leather armor along with an eye-patch on his left eye. He stood in the front, gazing over the arena with a face that seemed craving for blood.
"Oh, great.." Vincent whispered. "They just don't give up, do they.."
"We gotta get out of here.." Jaden whispered.
Eugene pointed toward the round opening on the wall near them, "There's a way out, but I'm not sure it will be safe.."
"Only one way to find out.." Vincent dragged his body across the wall. Jaden and Eugene followed him instantly.
Once they had successfully slid their body through the round opening, they emerged into a somewhat darker corridor. But as they still stood near the wall, the trio were able to hear the soldiers and the eye-patched man as they argued.
"What did you just call me?!" yelled the soldier. "SAY IT AGAIN!"
"What? You couldn't hear?!" said the eye-patched man. "I merely said that the lot of you are incompetent fools. If you have the Space Pirate in your hands, where is he?!"
"You'd thought better, Gorbash." replied the soldier. "By your own words, it was the Imperial army who caught this Pirate of yours. We handfully done your job for you. And we didn't require the assistance of filthy headhunters. The Empire will restore order here."
"Eh? What's that you say now?" said Gorbash in an irritated tone. "Maybe I'll whet my blade on you..before I kill Vincent."
"That's enough, Gorbash!" another person came forth. He was wearing a distinct black and golden armor with a red cape.
As Jaden and the other two watched, the man walked passed Gorbash with no regards to even look his way.
"A judge!" Eugene clenched his fists once his eyes caught the newcomer.
"A Judge, eh..?" Vincent muttered.
"A judge..?" Jaden tilted.
"The self-proclaimed guardians of law and order in Afallan. They're the elite guards of House Eisenhaur which effectively make them the commanders of the Imperial army." Vincent explained. "If you ask me, they're more executioners than judges.."
"That's what that uncle said as well.." Eugene said.
"They are not a nice lot by any rate. But what the hell they're doing here..?" Vincent wondered.
"The Emperor is willing to overlook race for his more talented servants." said the judge. "However, those who show no respect, will receive none in kind."
Gorbash tried to apologize, "Your honor.."
"You travel, freely through our lands because the Empire wills it." the judge cut him off. "Am I correct?"
Gorbash had no other option. If he disobeyed the judge, his life will end right that instant. "Bowaaahhh.." he turned his body away in defeat.
"What about the captain?" asked the judge.
"We have him in solitary, your honor.." answered the soldier.
"Huh..!" Gorbash wanted to join in on the conversation, but the judge took off with the guards, and left him behind.
"This does not concern you, Space Pirate.." he told him, and left.
Frustrated from being left out, Gorbash punched the rocky wall with infuriating anger. "And I kidnapped that pale girl for nothing!"
~Crush!
"What you want us to do, my lord..?" one of Gorbash's lackeys came to check on him.
"Find him! Vincent is still here somewhere!" Gorbash roared the orders out in pure rage.
"Bwagie, that way!" the lackeys all spread all around the prison in hustle.
Down below, on the other side of the arena's wall, the three guys watched attentively. "Okay.." Jaden looked back at Vincent. "Care to explain, Kamal?"
"But first, we must get out of here." he walked away from the wall. "Come on, this way."
Vincent, Jaden, and Eugene walked into the dim corridor. The road ahead was linear and empty. But while they walked forward, Jaden kept checking his UI.
"Hmm, there's no use.." he sighed. "The Mana dampner is covering this place whole.."
"There'll still be few more spots to breathe. Don't lose it just yet." Vincent said. "Till then, our weapons will come in handy."
"Speaking of weapons.." Jaden gave Eugene his things. "Here you go."
"Eh, my sword! And my coat!" Eugene exclaimed happily. "This is amazing!"
"I know, right.." Jaden replied.
"Hold it.." Vincent gestured for them to halt. "We got company.."
~Cluck! Cluck!
"..What?" four guards emerged from a right turn.
"Surprise!" Jaden delivered the first blow with his Engineblade.
~Vhoom!
~Slash!
"Kill them!" the other guards charged.
"I got it!" Eugene countered, and hit the enemies from the back.
~Smack! Slash!
"Guahh!" the assaulting guards fell down unconscious.
"You two sure can fight, eh?" Vincent clapped in awe.
Eugene eagerly fisted his chest in pride, "What'd ya, expect?!"
"Yeah, Majd and I make a surprisingly terrific team." Jaden added as the three continued their way in the cobblestoned path.
"You wouldn't guess what we saw in our journey!" Eugene said enthusiastically. "I would've showed you if I took photos. They were undescribable."
"It's fine." Vincent reassured his eagered friend. "At least, I have a general idea of what's happened to you."
"Really? Did Mado tell you?" Eugene asked.
"That this is a virtual world and we're somehow got dragged into it without our concent? I still can't buy it to say the least." he answered.
"So, you got a better explaination for why we're here, Mister Know-It-All..?" Jaden grumbled.
"I have multiple, actually.." Kamal said. "For starters, according to my memories, technology didn't evolve to the level where vast seamless worlds can just immerse a human mind in it at such depth. And I don't think memory manipulation is something possible."
"Maybe, we've died, and somebody extract our memories, and put us here!" Eugene exclaimed. "What if that's really true?!"
"I think we've become very important historic figure for the people of the future to do this.." Vincent cracked a laugh.
"What a sheer luck that only our class had become prodigies! C'mon, guys.." Jaden grumbled again.
"Maybe we cured cancer at some point!" Eugene grabbed Jaden by the shoulder.
"Yeah, 'cause we all got high IQs.." Jaden replied in a bothered tone.
"Well, at least, we got to keep the memories of the Dance.." Vincent said.
"Yeah." Eugene said. "It's nice for a last thing to remember." Majd exhaled with a voice loaded with nostalgia.
"Hmm.." Jaden stared toward Vincent in suspesion.
That night on the Dance, he recalled the time he saw through Safi's memories. Kamal was standing with Suhail, Maria, and Zara. Kamal gets uncomfortable around girls usually. But he didn't seem so freaked out at that time..
"You know what, grandma.." Mado refered to Kamal as his grandmother since the latter always accused him for being naive and childish. "That night at the Dance--"
Jaden stopped talking as he glimpsed his friend Majd tensing up once he mentioned the Homecoming Dance. But Eugene immediately noticed that his mere second of attitude got caught, and decided to speak up. "Ehh!.." he hesitated. "But wait, Mado you weren't even there that night!"
"Of course. He was preparing to zap us to Lacrima!" Kamal said.
"..Ha..Ha.." Jaden mocked him.
"Wait a minute! That makes so much sense!" Majd teased. "That's why you're the only one who can unlock memories--because you were the one who took them!"
"C'mon, dude.." Jaden sighed. "You'd seriously let Kamal play with your head after everything we've been through..?"
Both Kamal and Majd gazed at each other simultaneously for a second before they bursted out laughing.
"Hahahahahaha!"
"Geez.." Jaden exhaled exasperatingly.
"I can't believe even after a second twenty years, you're still a dumb child!" Vincent laughed.
"Yeah, Mado has always been so easy to bother! Haha!" Majd said through his laughter.
Jaden looked at the two guys as Eugene was smiling ear to ear. It actually made him feel warm on the inside. In the end, Majd was his dear friend. And seeing him get back to his original cheerful character had made Mado nothing but relieved for him.
I guess, it's because Kamal is here now, Mado thought. He and Majd have always been super close...
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Mado remembered the time when he, Majd, Kamal, and Ahmed Baghais were working on a presentation together. The four boys worked really hard on putting a decent show. They even dressed properly for the occasion. On one particular moment, few minutes before the presentation started, Mado witnessed Majd having trouble wearing his tie the proper way.
"--Here. Let me help ya." Kamal grabbed the tie, and readjusted it onto the boy's neck.
~Slip!
"Ohh!" Majd was totally impressed. "Thanks..!"
Once the tie was well wrapped, Kamal slapped Majd's shoulder. "You have to know how to wear your tie to be a true man, you know." he encouraged him. "The last thing we need is Ahmed getting in our way.. You know how frantic he gets around---"
"You're seriously calling me gay?!" Majd retracted with his white face turned red. "Look at Mado!"
"..Don't drag me into this! And oh, I'm totally straight.." Mado's face twitched in anger.
"Dude, look at your face!" Majd cackled. "You're in your twenties, and you still don't have to shave!"
"No-no, Mado's not gay," Kamal smirked. "He's an efeminate.."
"Hahahahaha!" the two laughed together to Mado's face.
"Cut it, grandma!" Mado walked away from them. "And you two better be done with bromancing, you'd jinx us! Our turn will be next.."
And with that, Mado went forth, but he could still see them from afar. Majd and Kamal kept on laughing and joking. It felt to him like they clicked with each other effortlessly. It was way different from when he and Majd joke or laugh.
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These two, he thought. Everything they do is so effortless. I usually have to think twice before saying anything. But they don't! It must be awesome to be this spontaneous. I bet I'd feel great to live this way. But, can I? Why not? Who says I can't? But, I know I can't---for some reason. Is there something wrong with me? Maybe, because I'm different than them? Do I lack something they have---but what..?
--- I wish I knew..
As they traversed steadily through the corridor, the trio glimpsed an open door at the end of the way ahead of them.
"Damn. Look!" Eugene pointed toward it as the door was closing.
"We're not gonna make it.." Jaden clenched his jaw, not sure what to do.
"Then, let's speed up!" Vincent sprinted forward, and the other two followed him soon after.
"Come on. Come on. Come on!" Vincent dashed against the wind with all his might, and on the last second, he and the other two had managed to bearly make it through.
Once they passed through the closing gate, Jaden witnessed Vincent before him slowing down. The Space Pirate pulled over near a corner in the shadows. Eugene stuck his back to the wall next to Vincent. "What's the problem?"
"Enemies ahead, that's what.." Vincent whispered back. "This place is like a fortress."
"And our only way back isn't available anymore.." Jaden checked the closed door behind him.
"Is it so bad in there?" Eugene asked. And Vincent peeked through the edge of the corner.
"Let's just say there're more trunkeys than cutpurses down here.." Kamal replied.
"So now, what'd we do..?" Jaden sighed. "We can't do much without Mana, remember..?"
"I've had my fill with chains." Vincent replied. "Let's tread lightly, shall we?"
After agreeing to the plan, Kamal, Mado, and Majd kept themselves to the shadows. The new area they walked into was wide open, with few small exceptions. Guards were patrolling on every corner. The three guys were catching their breath every other second as they proceeded.
"What the heck..?" Jaden mumbled. "They're on edge.."
"We won't find the way out like this.." Eugene whispered back.
But Vincent on the other hand, kept scanning the vicinty around them. And on the far corner to their west, his eyes caught a group of treading soldiers. "How about you hold that thought for a second.." he nudged.
When Eugene and Jaden gazed toward it, they saw the Judge from earlier. He was guarded by a number of heavy armored soldiers. "That Judge! That's why these guards are heavily watching out for anything."
"Don't forget this is still prison.." Jaden sighed.
After the Judge had walked through another doorway in front of them, Vincent changed course. And he decided to follow him. "Time for the rabbit to follow the fox.."
"What?!" Jaden exclaimed quietly.
"We'll make those punks guide us to the way out." Vincent crawled forward. "Let's move.."
~Slid! Slid!
With meticulous steps, the three boys slid through the darkness, and reached the passageway the Judge had walked into. Once they passed into the doorway, Jaden was able to see the Judge who was nearly by the end of the line.
"..We made it!" Eugene looked back toward the guards surveilled area behind him, and then gaze back to his friends in disbelief. "..We actually made it.."
"C'mon.." Jaden gestured for his friend to follow.
When the three boys stepped in closer to reduce the destance between them and the Judge, Vincent grabbed Jaden and froze in place.
"Wha..!"
"Take a look.." Vincent whispered. And once Jaden did, he noticed Vincent's hand being completely wrapped in flames. Was that magic?
Jaden's eyes widened. The moment he fully grasped the situation, he realized he reached a Dampner free zone.
"Eh, our Mana is back..!" Eugene whispered.
"Shush.." Vincent shot back. "..It's actually worse now---that they can sense our presence now.."
Crap!, Jaden noticed some of the guards were turning to face them. They'll spot us!
"To the shadows.." he dragged both Vincent and Eugene away.
"..Crap!" Eugene whispered. "There're gonna catch us!"
"Let's keep our distance for now.." Kamal whispered back.
The Judge and the guards following him continued their way while Vincent and the other two entailling them all the way. They walked by a corner and made a turn. After few meters, the Judge and his company reached a dead end. The three guys hid behind a wall, and witnessed one of the guards stepping forward. The Judge then nudged to him, and after gaining the comfidence, the guard drew a symbol in the air. A star fish-like incantation began glowing blue all over their vicinty.
What's happening here?, Eugene wondered as he peeked over the corner.
~Drrrrrr!
The dead end that was once started to remodel. The brown bricks that formed the inpenetrable thick wall had started to re-order themselves. And before the blue light had faded, a new path was open. Vincent remained still; even though his body was fighting the urge to run and enter. At that moment, one of the guards looked over his shoulders, and then gestured for the rest. And with that, the Judge and his companions walked inside. And once the coast was clear, Vincent motioned for the other two to come out.
"Well, well, well.." he stood just in front of the new enteryway as Jaden and Eugene stood on either side. "Now this, should be interesting.."
"That's what they call 'Open Sesame'!" Eugene smiled toward him.
"I can still feel the Mana inside.." Jaden said.
"That's the interesting part." Vincent replied. "Whatever is in there, it has to be very important to need Mana to be sealed."
"What a way to put it.." Majd said whistfully.
"How 'bout we see for ourselves?" Jaden took the first step.
"Yes." Vincent and Eugene followed him into the new path.
After walking through a short corridor, the trio stumpled upon a much wider and lit area. There, Jaden quickly noticed the Judge and his guards standing in front of large rusty cage hanging from a platform from above. The moment he realized that he could be spoted, Jaden pulled his body back into the dim corridor's dark mouth.
"What's the matter--?!" Eugene asked as he and Vincent caught up. But Jaden shushed them fast.
Then, the three guys went back to stealth mode, and watched the Judge from within the shadows. At that moment, the Judge walked up to the large cage. And inside it, there was something. Jaden tried to look carefully at it because it didn't seem to him like it was a living thing within the cage. It looked frail, and almost like a corpse hung inside rusty bars. "..This can't be an actual human being, right?" he whispered to the other two.
"What ya know.." Vincent replied. "This cachexic thing emits more Mana than the soldiers in armor here.."
The Judge then put his hand on the helmet covering his head, and took it off. "You have grown very thin, Svyen.." he uttered. "Less than a shadow.. Less than a man.."
After that being said, the cachexic body showed a bit of response to the Judge's voice.
"Sentenced to death, and yet you live!" the Judge continued. "Why?"
The frailed body, this time around, moved his jaw; as though trying to reply.
"..T ..Orrr.." a man's voiced cracked out from it. "..To silence Dior.. How many times must I say it.."
"Is that all..?" the Judge asked.
"Why not ask Gundolf himself? Is he not one of your masters?" replied the caged man.
The Judge let out a disgusted sigh before speaking again, "We have caught the leader of the Insurgence. She is being brought from Flowershade with some witch. Who could that be, I wonder.. "
"Uhh! Mika..!" Kamal muttered as he gazed from the shadows.
"Uhh.." the chained man behind the bars of the rusty cage reacted.
"The woman Feona." said the Judge. "She was caught on the night of his excellency's Fete.."
The man in the cage kept quiet and didn't respond to what the Judge had said.
"Humph.." he smiled whistfully. "Such a faithful hound to cling so to a fallen kingdom."
"Better than throwing it away.." replied the caged man.
The Judge put his helmet back on, "Throwing it away?! As you threw away our homeland?"
With that, being said, the Judge walked away from the cage as his soldiers followed him through another corridor. Once they went away, and it was safe for them to proceed, Kamal, Majd, and Mado stepped into the wider space. When they walked near the hung rusty cage, the prisoned man questioned. "Who's there?!" he uttered, but the three boys didn't give him any response.
They tried to meticulously search the area for a way out. But when he got close enough, Jaden gazed toward the caged man. He saw a very worn out man--probably in his mid-thirties. He got a long dirty blonde hair, and a long blond beard from being prisoned here for a long time. Jaden then gazed back at Vincent.
Is he really sure that prisoner is the source of the powerful Mana trapped here?, he thought. This man looks like he hasn't been fed for weeks!
"This is the place." Vincent said once he reached the whole that stretched from below the hung cage downward into the dark pit.
"Are you sure it's down there?" Jaden asked.
"The Mana is flowing through this room." Eugene said as he was thinking. "It must be going somewhere.."
"Hmmm.." Vincent scratched his chin as he went deep in thought. But on that moment, the prisoner tried to get their attention.
"You! You're no Imperials." he said. "Please, you must get me out---"
"--It's against my policy to speak with the dead." Vincent cut him off as his eyes fixated on the deep whole. "Especially when they happen to be kings slayers."
"Huh!" Eugene and Jaden exclaimed.
Is that who he really is?!, Jaden used his [Oracle Scanner] to make sure.
Svyen Helsem
Lvl: 65
Username: ..buffering..
"Svyen Helsem..!" Jaden muttered. "It's the man that Talkid once mentioned.."
"What?!" Eugene grimaced.
"No, I did not kill him!" Svyen replied as though he was pleading for mercy.
"Is that so?" Vincent smiled sarcastically. "Huh! Glad to hear it."
"Please, let me out! For the sake of Deranna!" Svyen pleaded once again. And Eugene couldn't hold himself any longer.
"Deranna!" he jumped on the cage, and shook it as he yelled. "What do you care about Deranna?! Everything that's happened is because of you!"
"Uhh, Majd..?" Vincent tried to stop him, but the golden-brown boy ignored him.
""EVERYONE THAT DIED--EVERY SINGLE ONE!" Eugene shouted out loud. "Even Talkid's brother.."
"Majd, what the heck?!" Jaden tried pulling him away from the cage.
"HE KILLED TALKID'S BROTHER!"
"Quiet!" Kamal shushed them. "The guards will hear."
"What's that sound?!" a guard's voice came from the other corridor. It appeared that they heard Eugene already.
~Footsteps!
Darn it!, they're coming!, Jaden thought. He then let go of Eugene, and headed for the switch that rises and lowers the cage.
"Hang on to the cage!" Jaden told Vincent. "I'm droppin' it!"
"Heh." Vincent smirked. "Pirates without a Space.."
~Drop!
Jaden and Vincent hopped onto the rusty cage as it descended down into the whole. When the guards finally reached the wide area, the found nobody there, and saw that the cage had disappeared.
~Creak..!
It was a dark rocky place.
Jaden, Eugene, and Vincent had reached the ground of the deep whole. Thanks to the large cage they had ridden all the way down, they hit the floor safe and sound. Even though they didn't agree on freeing Svyen, he was released from within the chains as the cage broke down as it collapsed into the ground. And he stood up slowly through the pain of his weak body.
"Giaaahh!" Eugene charged at him, and pushed him back to the ground.
~Smack!
"You killer!" Eugene intended on delivering another punch.
"Spare us your frantics, already!" Vincent pulled him back. "We're trying to get out of here. And we'll need another sword arm."
"Don't even try to tell me you want to bring a criminal with us!" Eugene cried out.
"I---do not know if I will dare to hold a sword any longer.." Svyen told them. "But I will fight with you.."
"Well, we will need you to use more than just swords, by the way.." Vincent told him.
Jaden, who remained quiet since they dropped down, decided to walk up to Svyen. "You seek answers.." he said as he reached for the crimson pendant hanging on his neck. "I will give you purpose.."
And as the two confused guys witnessed, a red magic circle appeared beneath their feet.
~Shine!
The dark rocky caverns that they were in glowed bright like the sun, and immersed the four guys in it.
"Uhh.." Svyen exclaimed.
Once the light faded, Eugene, Vincent, and Jaden stood before Svyen who looked shocked to his knees. Jaden, then decided to speak. "You would be confused by now, but that's alright." he said. "I'm Mado, from college. And that's Kamal and Majd."
"What...?" Svyen mumbled. "How could this---happen..?"
"Did you just restored his memories..?!" Kamal stared at the confused shirtless prisoner.
"Uhh, Mado..?" Eugene asked. "Is he somebody we know..?"
A smug was drawn on Jaden's face. "Yep!" he said. "This guy is our classmate, Wassie'e."