I never knew what it felt like to be mind controlled until today.
After I delivered the message, I returned to Casper and asked what the contents of the message was. He laughed and said "Nothing to be worried about. He should be able to take care of it." I decided to leave it at that and went on behaving as if I was still part of them but I still couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom that clouded my ability to think.
Few days later, I received an urgent call from Casper which said that we should prepare, that since Eric couldn't handle the situation, we were to return to Charlotte immediately. He opened a portal (something I didn't realize he could do) and we both stepped through.
The moment I went through, it was as if a cloud covered my eyes, making it hard for me to see and when I could see clearly, my entire vision was tinged with green. "What is this?" I tried to ask but my voice wouldn't come out. I looked at Casper who smiled and said "It all begins now" as he moved towards where Eric was hiding, trying to hide from the overwhelming crowd that were after him. I felt we were going to help him keep the students at bay when he led me to the Cricket operatives' location and started a fight but just as it had started, it ended as we all charged into the fight, me in lead.
I looked Casper straight in the eye as I exchanged blows with Eric while he did all he could to avoid damaging us. "Beautiful...." I thought as I saw him avoid us all without damaging us. While struggling with myself, I fought him, out for blood but it seemed he noticed my struggle as he suddenly straightened, looking me in the eye and said "You're looking weary, like you need to get your head back in the game. It would be best if you'd just go to SLEEP!"
At that, I fell to my knees weakened but I also noticed what he did there. The power that held me up against my will was weakened which gave me hope that I could get out of Casper's control.
A weakened Eric went on, evading those who weren't caught in his command as he went straight for Casper while I, on my knees was having a fierce struggle in my head.
I blacked out finally and opened my eyes in a space that looked somewhat unreal. I was staring at someone that looked like if I had a child and she inherited all of Casper's powers. It was like I split my mind in two, the controlled part and the sane part. It was a very short fight but at the end, I was able to defeat the controlled part and return consciousness to myself. I went to help him but saw Talia and Natalie coming in my direction, eyes glowing while I pushed at them. They were never a match for me, even together so I was surprised to see that I was struggling against them. I knew I had to use my abilities if I was to subdue them but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. It was until Talia blasted me with her solar flare that I woke up and steeled myself.
I grabbed Talia by the hair and jumped, repeating a move we always used in our training back before we enrolled into Charlotte, I spun in the air until I felt dizzy, all the while holding her in such a way that she couldn't balance herself after which I threw her with just enough force to knock her out completely. I went in to do a similar thing to Natalie but she, albeit being under someone else's control, was aware of her surrounding, dodging my movements and countering flawlessly as she got hold of my hands and threw me upwards.
She jumped, grabbing my hands and spun, intending to turn my intent back on me but I managed to land a kick on her, allowing for me to finish her. I turned and looked her in the eye, probing into her mind with my abilities. I saw her coming at me, though without the intent to kill. She struck at me which I blocked and countered with a kick to her back. Even though she clearly felt the hit, she didn't let up as she came back with a punch which I made to dodge but she got me good. My sides erupted in pain as I went back and exchanged attacks with her. At some point, I noticed something fine, just like a thread, extending from her joints to somewhere I couldn't see in the bright background.
Using a fire ball, I burnt through the threads which were surprisingly hard to burn through after which the controller showed up. She looked just like Natalie, but with the same green eyes as Casper. It was a very fierce struggle, but somehow we were able to destroy the controller.
I opened my eyes, mentally exhausted but I knew I had to free Talia also so I probed into her mind just like I had done with Nat. Though it was a fierce struggle, it didn't take as long as it could have as I already knew what to expect. I managed to free Talia and together, the three of us went to aid Eric, who was facing off against someone we knew he couldn't beat.