This is a story of acceptance.
The same day she'd arrived in the shared house of all other three ANZEN agents, an hour later, she woke right up, Katie's hair messy, pupils darting from side to side, she searched... it was so jarring. She remembered the darkness of her chilly room where there was no hope, only a cold tomb she believed she was destined to die, fingers digging into her arms, a hiss exited her clenched teeth. It was so bright. Now, she was seated upright, gazing to the ceiling... instead of the basic hospital design of a rectangular light, it was a fancy chandelier,
~Another new ceiling... one I hadn't seen before~ Thought Moon in the back of her abyss-like mind, yet there was something odd about this one; a thing she'd never seen before.
Warmth. She couldn't make it out - why she felt like this - she didn't even know anything about this location, all she was doing was staying in this curled-up ball; knees to her chest. It was so bright... why did she never feel like this back at 'home'? Why did she still call it 'Home'? It was the furthest thing from that, yet she kept referring to it as such. Did she deserve to be here, existing in this warm place, where someone like Ace stood by her, with an uncle who truly cared for her? A world different from the reality she was locked down within in the past, a fantasy she wished for eternity... was it okay for her to be here? Once again, the lights shut off, and she has shut away in her blackened prison, those thoughts raiding her mind, the tips of her fingers dug into the sides of her head-
~Is it okay for me to be here..?~
How could she answer this question? In the end, she had no answers, she just stared ahead into the abyss, wishing for herself to be engulfed within the darkness... she only had the answers, she had to do things for herself; but how could she do such a feat? There was no one to help her so she should just fade away, after all... that was easiest, wasn't it? However, all it took was a simple phrase for her to awaken out of this depressing trance, and it was his voice,
"Oh, so you're awake. Took you long enough," Ace greeted his shared partner, his smile as gentle as the flapping of a bird's wing as they soared through the clouds, Kate nodded… the darkness seemed to go away, for now, at least,
"Yeah… I remember I puked but I don't remember falling asleep. What happened?" Kate inquired, to which Ace explained quickly for about a minute; then she was filled in on everything, which was about close to nothing,
"Oh, that was your… sister?" Shyly Moon questioned to clarify if she was mistaken, to which she was given a nod from the ginger,
"They're upstairs in the game room, don't worry about it. She didn't know and neither did Kima but Alex told them so- ya know. We'll do our best to be careful around you, while also treating you like a normal human," Ace's vocals while reassuring his friend of this was calm, gentle yet also wielding that signature depth to it, she couldn't help but smile.
Patting her shoulder, he pulled her close, leaving just enough time for her to react, but oddly enough, she didn't, and she allowed him to kiss at her forehead… bringing her just to tears. Sniffling, he patted the top of her head just enough so she could wipe them away, but as she rested her head on his shoulder, he stood right up and cleared his throat,
"Alright! Warning, I know you don't like loud things but June and I get really chaotically loud sometimes so I'm just gonna tell you right off the bat. You don't have to come to the game room if you don't want to, but Alex said he has a surprise for us so you should… probably come," Ace suggested, rubbing his nape instinctively, he cleared his throat; needless to say, from the way he stammered over his words and unintentionally 'repeated' himself - he felt awkward,
"Are you gonna come or not?" Kate asked this while already on the stairway up, stopping her movements, head turned, Ace couldn't help but grin widely as he ran to the stairwell.
Moving in front of her, he guided her to the room, which was the one on the furthest way down to the rest of their rooms. The door was already open, chatter spilling out the interior, Ace walked in with Kate peeking behind his tall back. Inside was a pool table, multiple drinks situated on the edges, wrappers wielding the foods they'd ordered, Alex chomped into the side of a burger. Turning his head, he watched as June bent over; preparing to get into the stance, she closed one eye, leaving only half of the Convergence wide...
Formerly infatuated by the younger Wilder sibling aligning her shot, Al turned his head, a fist to his lips, nearly choking, he raised the soda cup to her. The greeting leading Kate to wave sheepishly, leading for Kima to notice their instructor's attention shift, she too, had turned to Kate,
"Oh, you're awake! Come, we have food for you!" Kima exclaimed excitedly, holding a burger over her head, she smiled with a gleam of delight radiating off her rows of teeth.
Drooling out her mouths' corners, she moved like a flash, a black blur seen with the movement of her jacket and dress, Ace held onto his sunglasses to ensure they didn't fall. The gust of wind sending his fluffy hair back, he closed his eyes and lightly chuckled, walking to rejoin his friends by Al's side, Kate munched away at the food given beside Kima, resident den mother of the group. Though she ate like a savage, no one minded none of them would ever say it, but it was endearing, to say the least. More than anyone, Alex would know what it was like to be tortured by someone you'd trusted, so, staring at the pool table, his vision went out of the usual focus... eyes watering, he smiled,
~Thank you- for this new reason to leave, Old man...~
TAP! A white ball flew ahead to hit a colored sphere that had clicked off the wall, but as it skid across the emerald flatness of this table, it was as if it had moved at lightspeed. BANG! The final ball had gone in, and with that, everyone cheered for her, Kima clapping her palms together gently, as if there were an elegant style she was going for. In contrast to this, Alex had been moving normally, a friendly smile painted over his pink mouths, Ace roared out and cried in applause for his little sister, posing with the stick... it was loud.
The darkness didn't engulf her body, as the contents of the burger slid onto her tongue, destined to be chewed by his teeth, that warmth never faded. Loudness never drowning, right in the belly of the beast, her hands; mere centimeters away. It was simple. A singular clap together. Yet as she touched her palms against each other, it sent a signal not only reverberating out from her hands but to the world around her body, feet implanted into this ground below. It seemed... nice, for once. The warmth of the air of this new area, surreal was the only way to describe it, she stared ahead with that new smile covering her lips, looking ahead to a bright tomorrow. She joined in with the loudness of the crowd, clapping her hands together, no one paid her any mind, she blended in with the rest of them, but as they quieted down, all four turned to Al as he cleared his throat,
"Alright, everyone, the reason I came here today, besides to just bring Kay; is to bring all four of you... on a tour outside Riverton!" Alex declared with a depth in his voice near the end of his statement, leading June and Ace to have sparkles appear in their eyes, Kate tilting her head while Kima just smiled in a delighted mood,
"HELL YEAH! HELL YEAH!!" The siblings yelled now on both sides of their instructor, June jumping onto his back, Ace jumping up and down like a child with his arms raised to the air,
"We're going to the underwater section, right?! I wanna see all the fishes and dolphins and whatnot!" Asked Ace happily to their teacher,
"No, idiot! We're definitely going to the forest! It's gonna be so cool and pretty, we can get flowers and hunt for animals!" June yelled excitedly from her arms being wrapped around Al's neck,
"Hush, my children. I shall now announce our destination for our trip today," Alex pushed his hands together with a gentle tone in his voice, silencing his loud children so they could await for his next command.
Ace and June, the latter sliding off their instructor's back, had gotten on their knees, both pairs for each sibling, putting their heads to Al's feet… mumbles exiting their mouths in distinctively, Kima chuckled at their stupidity. Katie, still confused on what was happening, slowly pushed that burger into the side of her mouth, longingly sipping as she awaited the announcement,
"THE OCEANS OF THE ABYSS!!"
Suddenly, Alex had his arms stretched out to the world before him, the doors sliding apart, Ace with June battling in the background. Kima nonchalant with her arms crossed pose, while Katie had been chowing down some fries, the sight before her was nothing like what she had expected! Four glass barriers protected the outsiders from the sea life, one on the ceiling, two in the left and right, and reinforced below their feet as Al walked right onto it.
Their steps now gentle while they all strutted through the sky blue glow of the sea shining against their faces, Katie was astonished, nearly dropping her fries before Kima caught them the second they were about to touch the ground… it really was so amazing. The way the fishes swam around, the movement of the coral, the turtles' slow movements as they dove through this home of theirs, she had never seen anything like this before. June grumbling under her breath as she watched this, Ace had his phone out acting like the child he was, snapping pictures of everything he saw,
"Ace, darling, you act like you don't come here everytime we sneak out together," Kima commented with her arms crossed yet again,
"W-wha! That's… true, but it's better with other people too, ya know!" Ace retorted back with a blush covering his cheeks,
"Oooh, someone's in troubleeeee," June teased her big brother with a hand over her lips hiding her mocking smile,
"Alright, alright, you two, don't tease Ace any longer, at least he gets some, June," Alex commented in the front with his hands in his pockets, leading Katie to cover her mouth to prevent a further laugh to add to this scenario,
"Ah- that's..!" June, just about to comment an answer to their instructor, had felt the murderous glare of her big brother peering in though her peripheral vision… finishing with, "Exactly right, I have no room to talk, good on you, big brother!"
"What's his name..?" Asked Ace angrily,
"No idea what you're talking about!" Answered June with an arm around his neck along with a fake smile painting her lips.
Seconds later, Alex stopped leading the group, the quartet behind him all halting, he looked to the ground, and what laid beneath him was a singular square over his shoe's right sole. A square shape in the transparent material, he turned to the rest of his pupils, all of them turning their heads in confusion; even Kima, resident den mother of this group,
"When I first went to apply for ANZEN and they told me the truth about their intentions, I learned about the Celestial beings. What a rather gentle name for such monstrous creatures… I wondered where they came from, and I'm sure you have too," Al told them all, head spinning around, he stuck out his hand opening up, fingers sliding back to reveal his palm… there were rings,
"There are some artifacts that which aren't compatible with humans. Eyes, swords, coins, they're all things that can be wielded by normal people, even without the bloodline connection. Put these on, everyone," Commanded the older Instructor to his teenage pupils.
As if picking out candy from a pumpkin bowl on Halloween day, reach of them randomly picked out a ring and slid it over their respective dominant finger. Kima over her left, the other three over their right; Amara having his already graphed on, he stuck it up, back now turned to them yet again,
"Absorb the air generated from the waters in the sea and push it into your ring, graphed not only to your finger, but to the very essence of your soul," Alexander instructed them all, seconds away from taking another step forward raising his foot to go ahead,
"Wait… what exactly are we doing?" June questioned their teacher, the only clueless of the bunch; she paid no mind to the trio as if they were invisible.
Ace using some tape to graph his sunglasses to the top of his ears then pinching his nose shut, Katie and Kima mimicking his movements, Alex chuckled at the curious inquiry. One hand just close enough so the tips of his fingers could press against the glass wall to his right, he turned his head just enough so he could speak one last time,
"Isn't it obvious?"
"…? OH SHI-!!"
SPLASH!!!! All of them had been dropped into the sea below them, where the plants wavered around from side to side, fishes swam past, Ace smiling; the jewel embedded into the center of his ring glowing a signature red - same as his eyes. The feeling afterward was indescribable, the best way to explain it was maybe an adrenaline boost, like he could feel an invisible energy surging through every vein and blood vessel in his body to converge on a singular point; his heart,
~Woah…~ Gawked Ace in his head, but there was something odd about this phenomena, it wasn't just a feeling like a euphoric high after smoking, running or meditating.
Bringing his hands up from his sides afloat in the vast sea, he blinked… his vision had increased! Not only could he analyze the flow of multiple energies, read lips and predict moves; not to mention increased brain processing along with eyesight, but, right now, he could see through his own skin. Differing from the usual red, a green flow of unrecognizable energy had been streaming from the tips of his fingers to his vital heart protected by ribs.
June stabilized by Katie after flailing around for a few, she touched her eyes with her hands, then noticing the same thing- gasping in surprise, she held at her throat immediately thereafter and searched for air. Yet, as she did, she could… she could breathe, and while she was relieved, just as the human brain is destined to ask questions, she was fated to be curious and ask herself,
~How the hell am… how am I breathing?~ June thought,
The other two had been curious, Katie scratching at her neck while floating in the water, moving her feet rapidly, then looking at her fingers with a curious expression as she tilted her head. Kima, with her lax attitude, just noticed the ring over her finger radiating a magenta glow, spotting the vein beneath it,
~Creepy~ Was the singular thought she had, to which Alex widened his eyes, sending out an invisible shockwave, he silenced their thoughts and linked them all to a collective telepathic consciousness leading with a signature PING!
Holding their heads at the mental agony they momentarily experienced, the next thing they went through was a familiar masculine tone reverberating through the depths of the endless void of their minds,
~I've established a psychic connection with you all, that way we can communicate while swimming underwater. The very phenomena that which is occurring currently to you four is Life. It is a technique utilized by June and Ace's father. Absorbing life from other creatures to add to your own life energy can enhance not only your body but your spirit as well, thereby granting you the ability to use their air for yourself~ Alex's instructions were easy to follow, however, they weren't really specific instructions…
The second they'd splashed into the ocean below the tourist attraction of the mock aquarium, their rings had activated and they'd been absorbing life energy to add to their own, allowing them to brief; like an innate instinct, humans will do anything to survive. We are all selfish creatures, after all,
~Where exactly are we headed to?~ Kima elegantly asked their teacher telepathically,
~Below the depths… the abyss of the ocean, where the truth lays, the origin of the Celestial Beings and ANZEN's true intentions~ Alex informed them all, and as he finished his response, he turned his heads to look at them all, June closer to Ace as usual with her head on his shoulder,
~Be prepared, kids- to witness… the Old World's secrets~
This is a story of acceptance.
To Be Continued!