Carlos stumbled into the cabin. His wounds healing quickly, he shook his head and screamed in frustration. Girston placed his coffee cup down, looking at his accepted son, and said, "Why did you bother?"
"I needed to know where I stood." He stood up, brushing his pants of dirt. Looking at his arm, it still felt numb to a degree, but he could move it now. "The both of them. They have that much power?"
"The Gems make them almost unbeatable."
"So why can't I win?"
"Experience for one. They've had their fair share of fights, admittedly. Must put themselves through intense training as well. It is in their blood after all." He said quietly. "We'll up your practice. Go rest and we'll start tonight."
"Fine." He said, stepping deeper into the home.
Down the hall, Hailey watched the baby in the glowing liquid. She placed her hand on the cold glass, smiling softly. It was hers. She felt a part of herself in the baby. It would grow, it would call her mother and be happy.
But, the more she watched the child, the more something stuck out to her. It had some of her features. Her hair color, and the shape of the skull was slowly defining into something like hers, and yet, it shared no resemblance to Carlos at all. She figured it was just due to how young it was, but by this point it was already in its third stage.
According to Girston, stage three is equal to at least a good year or two. By that point, the child should look a bit like both parents. Instead, it held features of another. Someone else.
The nose, the face, albeit very young.
This was HER child. And from what she knew, it wasn't Carlos'. This child came in artificially, and grew incredibly quickly in the past few months, from a tiny combination of what Hailey believed to be her and Carlos' DNA.
So despite that, and if she wanted to accept the theory that Carlos' DNA wasn't used in the embryo, who was the Father?
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"Again, Takabi!"
The boy let his Mana build up. The darkness inside him twisted his flames, the violet heat dancing around him wildly. His skin turned black, wings bursting out and hair reaching his lower back. He let the mana free, shooting into the air.
Around him, he felt the magic of the Canyon growing steadily in response to him, and the pressure that greeted his bones nearly broke all two hundred and six in one fell swoop.
"You need to keep that magic power inside! Transform, but control everything! And keep your wits about you," Garuga yelled.
Nodding, Takabi released his change and tried again. The magic that left his body was a bit fainter, and a bit more tame compared to previously. His mind would run back to a couple days ago, and slowly his magic would go wild again. Deep breaths he took, and with the memory of Nana with him and awake now, the magic would quiver and flow back into his body.
This time, he changed, not with a cry but with silence. His black skin and wings greeted the Canyon, and any pressure on him before was nonexistent.
"Good," Garuga said. "We shall stop for today." He turned, Nana tossing the two a couple of bottles of water.
Takabi caught his bottle and released his change once more. "Am I okay now?"
"Barely, I would say." Garuga sat in the grass. "I still wish to know what exactly caused you to snap the way you did. I don't believe it was simply seeing Nana's clone."
"Maybe it was God's way of helping me wake up." Nana suggested. The two looked at her. "I mean, I only woke up because Takabi needed me."
"I always need you, though." He paused, then said, "Except for the past few days. I'm still sore."
"I told you. I wouldn't let you rest until you and I were both happy and fully satisfied."
"Ignoring that," Garuga spoke up, "The past few days, you seemed to be working really hard. Stronger than before, more controlled, to a degree. I'm afraid to let you go into the field again, but based on what Kairas and Jewel said in their report, we can't afford to keep too many out of the picture. One more session, then I'll let you go back out."
"Will that really be okay? What if someone recognizes me?"
"Doubt it. Anyone who would is ash and buried now."
The three grew silent. It was dark, but true. It left a rock of guilt in his stomach, but he wouldn't let it linger too long. There were other things to focus on.
"The girls," Takabi spoke up.
"Right. While you were under room arrest, I asked Porrelth to take over their training for a little while."
A wave of fear washed over Nana. A gentle shiver while she rubbed her arms and asked, "They're alive… Right?"
"Boy. I sure hope so," Garuga replied.
"Even he knows when to hold back some. I don't think we need to worry so much. More importantly, we should plan our next moves. The Father and Orion have been really quiet lately. It makes me nervous," Takabi said. "They're definitely up to something."
Garuga leaned back against the tree behind him, the sunshine partly raining down on him through the leaves of the tree. The weather was positively peaceful, enough for a relaxing nap under the light rays.
Peace. That was the thing missing from life lately. There were times of rest, yet the peace remained disturbed. It was a recurring cycle that Garuga quickly grew sick of. He coughed softly, the two not taking notice. His dark eyes watched Takabi, then shifted to Nana, and a smile grew on his face.
Take good care of him. I won't be around forever, Nana, so when it's my time, hold him together for me. He's the key to everyone's future.
The two looked to be in their own little world. The conversation cut and drowned out by their laughter every once in a while. They took a seat a bit further away, close to one another, in the full sunlight.
The past is in Shadows, yet the future is always bright.
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Shine dodged Frannie's fists, bringing her knee up quick. The blonde kicked off the floor, grabbing Shine by the hair and tossing her hard. The girl slid against the soil, thrusting her arm forward and releasing bolts of lightning. Frannie dug her heels in the ground, shifting her momentum into her torso, weaving her way through each blast, before counting with her own. Their magic clashed, and erupted in a cloud of smoke.
Porrelth clapped his hands, appearing in the fading cloud and smiling. "Good work. You two are improving at a considerable rate."
Shine groaned loudly, the gravity room's image reverting back to its usual look. She sat frustratedly on the bench by the dumbbells, shaking her head. "Not even close to where we need to be. We have to keep going, keep getting stronger."
"There's only so much we can do, Shine. After all, you should be more aware of your physical limits, so you can rest properly," Frannie explained, taking a towel from Porrelth and wiping away her sweat.
Shine held a look of disgust at the idea, despite knowing she was right. "Even so," She began, "We can't beat Takabi if we delay ourselves."
Porrelth held in a chuckle. "That's why you want to keep training? Sorry to say, you're not ever beating that kid." When they both looked at him, he took off his jacket, revealing his right shoulder. It looked burned, the skin wrinkled from attempting to heal. "That kid managed to burn me."
"So," Shine asked.
Frannie was wide eyed. There was an unreadable look in her gaze, to the point she snapped her head at Shine. "Your brother BURNED a Fire Dragon! That shouldn't be possible!"
"Even though he got it from a lucky attack," Porrelth said, slipping his coat back on. "It happened the one and only time I sparred with him one on one. Never noticed it until a week later, and it hurt like hell. That guy has potential, dare I say, enough to be greater than his parents. You wanna catch up to him, you'd have to be just as gifted as him. Sad to say, you're not."
Shine stood up, fists balled up and her anger swelling. "And what makes you say that?"
"You haven't even truly awakened yet." Porrelth crossed his arms. "Until you do that much, forget about closing any gaps between you, and that's ignoring the fact he has two gems."
"Don't count me out. If I'm really his sister, I'll get just as strong as he is, no problem. You can count on that."
"I won't hold my breath." He replied. "Go shower and get lunch. You're probably starved." The girls nodded and bowed to him, grabbing their water bottles and quickly leaving the weight room.
Porrelth shook his head at the two, taking a leave himself.
Shine's mind was wrapped up in heavy thoughts. As she made her way to her room, she blinked, an idea settling in her head. One that would prove to them all that they shouldn't underestimate her and her powers.