The golden door-knob clicked, as it hinged open. There, two men emerged from the door. It was Indigo which is followed by Lewellyn. He was greeted by the looming hallway with an array of antique-looking doors and creaking wooden floorboards, and the ceiling was filled to the brim with sticky cobwebs and motes of dust built up over time. Lewellyn felt something eerie from behind the doors, and sometimes there were scratching and petrifying cries. He was sweating bricks as he bit his lip as they walked along the hallway.
Lewellyn tap Indigo's shoulder and turned around with concern on his face as he waited for Lewellyn to answer. Finally, he talked. "So... what is this place?" Lewellyn asked nervously...
"It's just a boring shabby hallway, nothing special about it," Indigo explained to Lewellyn softly, not to arouse Lewellyn's obvious nervousness. "Just an ability used by my colleague, an ability to create spaces if you will. Still have no idea why she thought it's a great idea to use hallways as prisons."
Indigo and Lewellyn continued to pace through the hallway. Lewellyn noticed the antique-looking wallpapers, it has dirty flowery patterns accompanied by an old wall lamp; something that might have come from One hundred twenty years ago. The young man inhaled and exhaled, he tried to channel as much energy as he could but something was not right; it was like his ability to channel energy was blocked by something else.
"Noticed yet?" Indigo said.
Lewellyn stared at Indigo and asked: "Noticed what?".
"Something is blocking your ability to channel energy," Indigo noted. "It's one of the conditions my colleague put into her spaces."
Lewellyn's nervousness gradually came down. He let out a sigh and continued walking. As always, Lewellyn heard something behind the doors, it sent shivers down his spine. "So your colleague, is she an ability user too?" Said Lewellyn as he tried to distract himself from the sounds behind the door.
"Yeah, she is" Indigo confirmed.
Their footsteps echoed along the walls of the hallway. With the deafening silence between them, it rather felt unsettling. As time went on they were feeling a bit impatient, the hallway was simply never-ending; like a cruel joke played on them. Before long Lewellyn broke the silence.
"So... this colleague, her power is to make spaces right? and shape it to her whims?" Lewellyn questioned Indigo, further distracting himself from the sounds from the door.
"Hmm!" Indigo confirmed.
"So it means, she has complete control over this domain?" Lewellyn asked curiously.
"Yeah, she does have total control over it. If she ever fancies it, she might even try to kill us from afar." Indigo answered.
The two walked and walked until Indigo reached his limit.
"tsk"
Indigo lifted his arm in the air and snapped his fingers, the moment the sound of his fingers echoed throughout the hallway. Out of nowhere, they sped up without any reason.
"W-what happened" Lewellyn stammered.
Indigo however was quiet as he walked.
'This sensation... it felt like we were walking, but we were walking at the speed of a motorcycle with its engine roaring out, burning its fuel to lay waste on the empty highway. I-is this his power? Did Indigo do this? So it meant... that he's also an ability user.' Lewellyn thought.
As they traversed the shabby hallway at blinding speed, the scratching slowly vanished and got replaced by the sudden warmth of a smile, emanating from Indigo.
Indigo pivots towards Lewellyn and smiled. "Isn't this fun, right Lewellyn?"
"Yeah! It's fun! we're so fast, it doesn't feel like we're walking" Lewellyn's smile could reach both of his ears, the sheer amount of joy he exudes can outshine even the brightest lightbulbs.
Indigo held his hand, and finally, they reached the end of the hallway, It was a spotless door. With a golden frame and smooth paint coating. Soong as Lewellyn opened the door, he was greeted by a large atrium, it looked like an office building. Filled with people professionally dressed in suits and blouses.
In the building, they walked along the spotless hallways, opposite the hallway that they went out a few moments ago. Every time they walked passed an employee, they will bow down and respect Indigo. He's like a higher-up in this company, every time he walked by the employees smiled and greeted Indigo. It's so warm and nice, Lewellyn has never been in a place like this before; he only knew them from textbooks from the library. The employees love Indigo, maybe because he's a good role model? or because he's a good boss.
The two passed down several rooms with interesting labels. 'Dissection room', 'Weaponry', 'Cafeteria', and 'Worker's Lounge'.
"Hey umm, Indigo... back there; is it because of your ability?" Lewellyn questioned Indigo regarding the situation back in the hallway.
"Yes, it's my ability called: 'Time Turner'" Indigo confirmed Lewellyn's question.
"Time turner?" Lewellyn interjected.
"Indeed, but it's a bit of a misnomer, however. While my ability looks like I'm manipulating time itself, you can put it simply: like a remote," Indigo explained. "My ability treats the universe like a giant television. On my whims I can imagine a remote; with this remote, I can push any button: with the buttons that look like time manipulation, we have: Fast forward, Backward, Slow, Pause, Loop, Resume, Skip. It's self-explanatory how it works, however, I cannot explain more of my ability as we have to hurry".
Lewellyn was nothing short but amazed, it's a magnificent power. He was like a god, with total control over movements and speed, which made Lewellyn even more excited to learn about something Indigo. "So... pause meant... you can stop time?" Lewellyn asked enthusiastically.
"In a sense yes, I used that ability to kidnap you, you know?" Indigo smiled.
Lewellyn felt comfortable with Indigo now, though the last sentence was unnerving. It doesn't change the fact that he was feeling better than before.
They stopped in front of a door. It looked good with its sleek black design and a nameplate that said: 'Ibarra's office
Indigo entered the room, followed by the skinny man. The room itself looks fancy, the tiles glimmered as they reflected Lewellyn's image. There were two armchairs and one desk, with decorations of fauna and windows. He looked through the window and noticed something; he wasn't in Citryn anymore. The buildings looked vastly different from the country he used to live in.
Lewellyn pivoted towards Indigo and asked: "Indigo, where in the world are we?"
"You're in Genzier," Indigo wrote something in his notebook. "You're wondering how you got here? We traveled over the ocean using my ability"
'Genzier? That's crazy, I'm on a different continent... Don't tell me he ran from Oriens to Citazil... He used his ability to run from one continent to another... he's crazy...' He thought to himself
Immediately, a man in a suit entered the room; with his professional thick veiled aura surrounding him. His brown short hair flowed with the wind. He walked through the room and sat on the chair behind the desk.
"So? Who do we have here?" and leaned in, he used his hand as a support for his face, eyes locked at Lewellyn.
Lewellyn glanced at Indigo, but his face was a blank slate, Neutral. "hehe... I'm Lewellyn!" He chuckled and sweated lightly. "I assume you're Ibarra?"
"Ibarra? Oh no, I'm afraid, I am not your dear Crisostomo Ibarra. The protagonist of Noli Me Tangere. I'm Watson, the one and only. Cannot be confused with John H. Watson" Said the man with a playful tone, with a smug look on his face.
"Ehe... You're interesting Mr. Watson" Lewellyn chuckled nervously.
Watson lifted his foot off the floor and sat indecently on the black chair, again leaning in. "Just call me Watson. But I do have something to say, I didn't know the recruit was such a cutie~" Watson glanced at Lewellyn and winked.
"Calm down Watson, not everyone is okay with your frivolous flirting" Indigo's eyes bit through Watson's soul.
"Frivolous? Sigh, Calm down no need to be hostile" Watson held his hand up front and erratically waved it. "You're so easy to provoke, that's why it's so fun to tease you! hahaha"
Watson slumped on the chair and glanced at Lewellyn. His lips formed a smile. "We must not argue in front of the recruit Indigo. Should we not?" The tension was stiff like a stick. Indigo glared at Watson, his eyes were fiery likes from the depths of a volcano. Locked at Watson.
Indigo took a glance at Lewellyn and dropped the glare. "Fine, it just annoyed me. But at least try to control your attitude, Watson. Right?"
After a brief moment, The once-heavy atmosphere in the room gradually reduced as it became lighter as a feather. Lewellyn examined the room, eyes drooped and his smile faded into a frown. His senses became dull like a rusty knife. He let out a sigh as his body brushed against the slippery leather chair. Watson and Indigo's voices echoed around the room, muffed and distorted. Their talk about business and bickering goes over his head.
"Lewellyn?" Indigo tapped Lewellyn on the shoulder. He immediately came back to his senses, with the looming boredom at the back of his mind.
"So Lewellyn, What's your ability?" Watson asked. As if it was a casual thing to do.
Lewellyn quickly responded, "I don't know, I still can't figure out what it is". He sat quietly and pondered about his ability. It's a question he wants the answer from. But where does he get the answer?
Watson stood up from the chair, "Well, that's why we're assigned on this mission".
"Mission?" Indigo Intercepted. "It's too early for a mission isn't it?", His face radiated with gloom.
Lewellyn glanced at Indigo, His face looked like he knew something is happening here but he seem skeptical about it. "Give me the detail"
"This mission is dubbed 'Away mission', consisting of four members. You, Me, Leah, and Lewellyn." Watson laid out the details of the mission.
"Wait, Leah? Why is she here?" Indigo interjected.
"Don't ask me why, I'm just here to announce the mission and lay out the details," Watson looked at Indigo. "Putting that aside, Our destination is in the Continent of Oriens. Specifically, a small country called Hanayura."
"Hanayura huh, What is our business there?" Indigo questioned Watson.
"I'll explain it on the way, you two better rest. We'll leave tomorrow at Ten"
Watson walked past the two and the sound of the wooden door thud behind them.
"It's just the two of us again..." Lewellyn looked at Indigo.
"Let's go, we need to rest" The taller man stood up and clasped his hand against Lewellyn's. He led Lewellyn out of the room and walked along the hallway. They took a left turn and walked under the glass frame. The cold wind cupped Lewellyn's cheek, there was an assortment of stores and automobiles. Concrete buildings towered them like little ants. Tugged their clothes as the cars passed. The mono-yellow sunlight bounced against Lewellyn's fair complexion. It felt warm, like in front of the fireplace. It was dusk already, they approached the towering rustic brick building. Indigo grabbed the knob and entered the establishment.
"Where are we?" Lewellyn looked up at Indigo.
"An apartment complex, where my room is" Indigo continued to walk, and Lewellyn can barely keep up. His foot felt like a thousand needles pricking it. They stood in front of a shabby wooden door, Indigo lifted the rug and picked up a silver key with the tag of 003. He inserted the key and twisted it, the knob clicked and quickly opened. Lewellyn and Indigo entered the room. The room was moderately sized, with black television and two brown arm-chair. His house was spotless and practically glimmered at them. The kitchen was adjacent to the bathroom door, and his bedroom was locked behind a wooden door. With the plain white wallpaper and white tiles. It felt warm inside the room.
"Make yourself at home" He smiled. Lewellyn walked along the polished floor, he can see his lanky build on the floor. "If you want to wash yourself, there's the bathroom and here; use these clothes" Indigo pointed at the door at the end of the kitchen. He handed the soft fabric to Lewellyn, it brushed against his skin. it was smooth.
'Inside the medium-sized room was a large white bed. On the side were shelves filled with an array of books about medicine and science. The room was pitch-black with the looming darkness trying to take over the white light of the lampshade. On the smooth and soft bed were two people. Shared the same blanket because the host forgot to account for the guest. For Indigo, this was not a problem. This was simply a simple task, sleeping beside someone has no faults. He's done this with his siblings, so sleeping with someone besides him was not a big thing.
For Lewellyn however... He was red as a plum.
A few hours had passed, and Lewellyn opened his eyes. He quickly got up and noticed Indigo was missing beside him. Not a minute had passed and the wonderful scent of fried bacon and eggs wafted into Lewellyn's nose.
'What is this smell?' Lewellyn asked himself. Set his foot along the cold white tiles and followed the scent, and made his way to the door. The door creaked open and his eyes were gracefully greeted by a set of food on the table. Once again, the buttery smell wafted into his nose, and a sweet roasted aroma of toasted bread lingered around the room.
Lewellyn meekly stood beside the table and watched Indigo chop some onions. The sound of the knife hitting the wood chopping board echoed around Lewellyn's ears. The eggs were precisely cracked and whisked as Indigo added the onions and stir-fried them in the cast iron pan. Seared with oil, the scent of scrambled eggs filled the apartment.
"Morning, Lewellyn!" Indigo glanced at Lewellyn.
"M-morning, Indigo" He stammered.
"Take a sit and eat, we need energy for our departure. Go on, I guarantee that my cooking is the best" Indigo's lips formed a smile, and his eyes glimmered as he stared at Lewellyn. He set the scrambled eggs aside. Two pieces of bread popped out of the toasted exuding a roasted aroma.
"What in the world is that?" Lewellyn pointed at the soft yellow butter.
Indigo held the silver butter knife and scooped out a portion of butter and spreads it along the surface of the bread.
"It's butter," The rough toast was passed to Lewellyn by Indigo. "You never have butter aren't you?"
"I don't have the luxury to eat products like this, and I thought butter is a type of cured milk" He bit into the toast and let out a gleeful smile.
"That's cheese silly!" Indigo chuckled. "I have dreamed of this scenario every single night, it finally happened isn't it?"
"What?" Lewellyn locked his eyes on Indigo. "What do you mean by that?"
"Ahh! It's nothing, you misheard me" Indigo smiled. "I'm just happy"
Lewellyn looked skeptical, albeit he still gobbled up the food Indigo made. The tall man however wiped sweat from his forehead and smiled. "Anyway, did you have a good sleep?" He asked Lewellyn. "Because I had the most peaceful sleep I had in a long time, maybe because you're there. It just brings back memories."
Lewellyn answered briefly, "I did have good sleep, well probably in my entire life. I never had experienced sleeping on a bed" Lewellyn's eyes were teary, threatening to get out but Lewellyn quickly hid his face from Indigo. "Sniff... It's the best! it's soft and bouncy, not as hard as the concrete floor. Not as cold either, it was warm. Thank you Indigo. I appreciate it" Lewellyn looked at Indigo, His smile was like that of an angel, sweet and warm. His eyes filled with gratitude. Indigo face cannot be helped as it was red as a tomato.
"Let's meet Leah shall we?" Indigo glanced at Indigo with a worried look. He never met her, is it okay right? she's a nasty lot but it's necessary. Tsk, I don't like her.
"Okay, let's do it" Lewellyn replied, trying to reply casually. He helped Indigo clean the table and kitchen, then grabbed their bags. They both got ready for their departure, hoping that Leah would not cause them any trouble.
The two walked along the pristine tiles under the looming atrium. There was a fountain in the middle of the atrium, with potted plants on its side and coins scattered haphazardly in the well. A woman was sitting on the fountain, she looked like she stood slightly tall than Lewellyn. Her suit hugs her body which highlights her curves. Ginger hair that flowed with the wind, that reeks of chemical hair dye. Betraying her natural hair color.
"You're late Indigo, I swear to god your habits never die" Leah pointed and tapped her watch.
"Tsk... This is why you're hard to be an accomplice in a mission" Indigo uttered under his breath.
"HUUH? wanna fight? you wanna fight Indigo? fine! ill fight you" Leah leaned into Indigo with a sour face.
Indigo leaned into Lewellyn's ears and whispered, "This is why I don't like her'.
"I HEARD THAT"
"Yikes!"
Before the situation escalate, Leah sighed under her breath and grabbed Indigo's shoulder, "Let's stop with this" Leah looked at the tall man. "This runt is Lewellyn right?"
"Runt?" Lewellyn flinched and glared at Leah.
"Ahem, Nice to meet you! I'm Lewellyn" He regained his composure and greeted the lady.
"I'm Leah, technically your superior but Watson insisted that I shall accompany you in this mission" She smiled. "Well, Lewellyn is quite likable, this may be the reason why our dear Indigo here is so smitten" She snickered.
Indigo's face became dark and gloomy like those of the depths of the ocean, his eyes looked to Leah. "Shut... Your... Mouth..."
"Sheesh! Calm down, don't tell me you really like Lewellyn" she sneered.
"YOUU!" Indigo looked like a train letting out steam, his face was red as a berry.
Indigo sighed and rolled his eyes.
'D-did Indigo just rolled his eyes? Hayss looks like Indigo just doesn't like Miss Leah. He's so hostile to her' Lewellyn stood in silence
"Pffttt!"
"Ehh?" Much to Lewellyn's confusion.
"AHAHahahahaHAHAHAHA" Leah laughed like a hyena. "This... Is... AHAHAHAha, it's gold. Did you see his face?"
"EHHHH?"
'Why is she laughing? even Indigo's laughing'
"Indigo! hahahahaha... HAHAHA, I can't my stomach hurts HAHAHAHA... We made it too much convincing!" Leah howled in laughter.
"Did we, HAHA" Indigo Laughed. Lewellyn stood with his head sideways, his eyes squinted in confusion.
"Totally, look at his face HAHAHA" Leah pointed to the boy. "It's Priceless!"
"What... just happened?" Lewellyn asked in confusion.
"Sorry, Lewellyn... Looks like you fell into one of Leah's pranks to the newbies" Indigo apologized.
"I'm Speechless"
"Well, meet my sister, Leah" Indigo introduced Leah to Lewellyn.
"Sister?" Lwellyn interjected, confounded by the situation earlier.
"Yes! Me and Mik- I mean Indigo are siblings" Leah confirmed, Interrupted by Indigo's cold stare.
"Oh come on! what was that!"
"Just shut up! my name isn't just for donation. It's a secret you know!" Indigo argued with Leah.
"Okay fine! What a baby"
Indigo cast a cold glare at Leah and instantly looked away.
"So we're all here now? Okay then, enough for chit-chat now. We need to depart" Watson said out of nowhere and with his usual dashing hair that flowed with the wind. "From now on we need to be careful, or this will cost our lives. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Chapter 2 ends.