Sage and Mark were delivered back to their positions and time they started, on their chairs. It was as if everything they went through was all a dream, but their cuts and bruises explained otherwise. They sat there inaudibly for a while before they started their conversation.
"So, Sage, That wasn't a dream, right?" Mark carefully asked the question, as to not open the wound on his back and abdomen, which was damaged severely.
"No, it wasn't, unfortunately," Sage replied as he stared into oblivion from the shook he received. He felt powerless now that he realised his power wasn't his own.
He envisioned telling Mark the truth once again, asking himself if he could proudly talk about something that was not his own. But now wasn't the time for him to hesitate about the truth, he ached to tell him everything.
"Em, Mark could we talk once more after we heal your wounds?"
Sage became nervous, not knowing what to expect from Mark. If he saw Sage as a monster after he had explained himself, he would prefer not to tell him. To keep the friendship they held.
"Sure no problem, after what we've been through, I don't think what you are going to say could be more detrimental," Mark replied in a jocular manner.
But after that, the atmosphere became tense, Mark and Sage sat across each other in stillness, eagerly waiting for one another to commence the discussion. A few seconds passed when Sage broke the silence with an awkward cough.
"Cough!!, so Mark shall we start?" Sage asked as he stretched out his hand towards the air. Sage was nervous for the first time in a very long time, the last time he was this nervous, was when he thought he got second place in his midterm examination.
"Sure dude, go ahead!" Mark happily replied.
"Well, Actually, the thing is _"
(*Bang*)
Sage almost started his confession, but was brutally disrupted by a loud bang, which came from the room the children he brought back with him resided.
It shocked both Sage and Mark out of their sits, completely forgetting about the children who came with them. But, was reminded by the raucous bang.
"Ahh! Sage! We forget about the kids. I wonder what's going on in there?" Mark asked in a disregarding deportment, as he heads to the door.
Sage being the person who was obstructed by the children, was infuriated. He marched start into the room, slamming the doors open with excessive energy. He was like a thunderstorm that got unleashed into a calm ocean.
"Now them kids, what going on?" asked Sage with his eyes and lips smiling in an annoyed fashion. But as he looked carefully, he met with a confusing scene.
A little boy with black hair and eyes on the floor covered in bruises, while the two other boys, one with red hair and green eyes and the other with purple hair and black eyes, surrounded him.
Two other children in the corner a girl and a boy who were identical twins, stayed at the corner of the room, with their expression like that of scared rabbits.
It was an awkward situation, but Mark was able to break the tense atmosphere by asking the children what happened.
"What's going on here! One of you explain." He announced as he turned towards a little girl who stood in the corner.
The little girl with brunette hair and blue eyes, at the corner of the room, stood next to her twin who looked about nine years old. She replied to Mark's question hesitantly,
"Th...The boys over there were fighting, they were yelling at him and started punching him and pushing him onto the ground."
The little girl explained as she pointed her finger towards the little boys.
The boy with red hair began to retaliate, addressing excuses about his reason for doing so.
"That's no true!!! I did hit him, but that was because he said that we're not going to see our parents ever again!! He also glared at me!!"
Everyone became silent. Sage and Mark turn their heads towards the boy who lay on the floor. His eyes looked fierce and turbulent like he had been through the worst in life in comparison to his current situation.
Sage was surprised to see, a child who had such eyes, he pondered if this young boy was going to be a threat or an ally. Therefore he asked for the boy's opinion regarding the matter because this was a way to find out if he was deserving of training.
"Well kid, do you have anything to say about this?"
The Little boy replied with a hostile tone. "I meant what I said. Our parents are never coming back for us, and now we are all on our own, will have to survive by ourselves."
Sage thought the boy had a sense of maturity in him, more than the other kids, although he was still a child no matter how he ascertained it.
"Alright everyone, calm down, no matter the problem what he said was the truth, no one knows if our parents are out there, whether their dead or alive."
The children's eyes were full to the brim with tears, all except the little black-haired boy. His eyes showed no grieving emotion towards his parents, like an empty soul who had not once experienced the love and care of a parent.
To calm them down, Mark added a statement.
"But don't give up everyone!! You can all work hard to get stronger and find your parents! Isn't that right Sage?"
"Yes, of course, but let's be realistic if we don't find them that does not stop you from moving on, keeping them in your hearts forever will be the best you can do."
The crying ceased. Everyone looked up to Sage with teary and confused eyes. Their expression was that of excited, and hopeful children that were eager to survive the begrimed world.
"Now then everyone!! Could you open your status!?"
Sage, requested from the five kids.