At Madame Ruzha's request, five huge chairs emerged from the stone flooring on which they stood, and each member of the council took a seat in the chair assigned to them. The chairs were all constructed of mahogany and had some cushioning on the section where the members sat to make them more comfortable.
M. Ruzha: "Rowan Mamoru, you bring before us, Dawn Carter, an eighteen year old boy from the Planet of Somniet, and the City of Solart. You wish for him to be appointed as a member of The Underground so he can become a part of your crew, is this correct?"
Dawn: She said all of that without talking to either of us, and nobody told anyone any of the details… strange. He started to fidget with his hands again, just as Rowan had started to do.
Rowan: "Yes ma'am, that is correct." She stated in a respectful tone.
Dawn started to break out into a light sweat, not because the chamber was hot, but because he was nervous. This woman intimidated him, and seemed to intimidate Rowan as well.
M. Ruzha: "What would you say qualifies this boy not only to join your crew, but the organization? I sense very little Ukiyo coming from this one." Her tone sounded a little skeptical.
This was a word that Dawn had not heard much of, although it sounded familiar, he had no clue as to what it meant.
Rowan: "I am aware of his lack in Ukiyo, but his combat skills and stamina show promise. His battle IQ isn't too shabby either, he was able to take down one of Soe's right hand men, Gento, with ease."
M. Ruzha: "Gento you say? That is no small feat for a boy from a mere farming planet. How were you able to do that, Dawn Carter?" She spoke directly to him.
Rowan looked at Dawn with a face that screamed don't fuck this up.
Dawn took a second to think before speaking: "My friends and I used to practice blade combat with each other by sparring, and with that we kept using each other as a tool to become better at fighting." Reminiscing on this was not easy for him, but he wanted to give a sincere answer to the woman deciding his fate.
M. Ruzha: "I see. What caused you to want to learn how to fight in the first place?" She seemed interested in his answer.
Dawn: "My friend Rhys and I wanted to join Solart's defense force so that we could protect innocent people from Kowai.." His heart began to race as he started thinking about everything all at once.
M. Ruzha: "A very noble cause, indeed." She then leaned forward in her seat. "This topic seems to be troubling you, Dawn Carter." A smirk then grew across her face.
Rowan now had a look of worry in her eyes, and Dawn remembered her saying that The Underground would want to check if he had a good head on his shoulders, but he realized it meant his mental health as much as it did his intelligence.
M. Ruzha: "Say, Dawn, why did you even agree to come along with Rowan in the first place?" She continued to pry.
Dawn: "I.. I had nothing left for me in Solart." He stated with his fists clenched and his nails digging into his own skin.
Rowan took note of his response as she began to tap her foot unintentionally due to anxiety.
M. Ruzha: "It seems as if there are some things you are leaving out of the picture, Dawn. What is it that you don't want to remember?" She then stood from her seat.
All of the other council members looked at Madame Ruzha as she stood. Although their eyes were hidden by a blindfold, the rest of their expressions indicated that this was a unique occurrence. Rowan simply continued to tap her foot and fidget with her hands.
Dawn: "A lot of people that I loved are dead now.." The palms of his hands now bleeding from the pressure of his nails digging into them.
M. Ruzha: "Ah." She murmured before beginning to walk into the divot where Rowan and Dawn stood. Instead of falling over the edge of the stone flooring, steps simply appeared as she went, responding to the materials and forms of whatever they were attached to.
Once she was on the wooden flooring in front of Dawn and Rowan, she stepped even closer to Dawn, only remaining an arms length away.
M. Ruzha: "It is clear that your past troubles you, much more than you care to admit. One simply does not progress in this life unless they face, and learn from the product of their past." She then touched her pointer finger to Dawn's forehead. "In order to move on, you must endure."
In the blink of an eye, Dawn and Madame Ruzha were standing in the center of the field outside his childhood home. The roaring flame that engulfed the structure that night was brighter than Dawn recalled. Dawn gazed at the sight, his eyes reflecting the horrible image and his face revealing the dread that boiled within his core. Although he understood what he was looking at, the time of night was different than he recalled. Kowai members in dark cloaks were fleeing the area, laughing and applauding among themselves. The screams and cries of his father could be heard from within the rubble, his father's voice crying out for his children. As Dawn returned his attention to the departing Kowai members, he detected another sound: a child screaming. Imogene.
Dawn quickly began to sprint towards his sister's sobbing in an attempt to undo the horrors of the past, but as soon as he moved, he was sent to another time period. A few days before, he was in the center of the supply port, surrounded by his deceased friends. As he looked around, not only were the original few dead, but this time Warin was amongst them. Dawn collapsed to his knees in front of the now-deceased Warin, his body numb and his tears warm. Dawn surrendered to his tears, finally mourning after being unable to do so for several days. As Dawn continued to cry, Madame Ruzha stood next to him. Dawn's eyes were now fixed on the new scene in front of him: his deceased parents and his now-grown sister. Blood covered their bodies, and Oneka's split in half, exactly as it had on that horrible night. Eritz' body was then crushed out of thin air in an instant, suffering the same end as he had ten years earlier, when Dawn abandoned him in the blazing wreckage. To top it all off, his sister's bloodied body vanished right in front of him, leaving him with little time to react. Dawn was now experiencing a nightmare he'd experienced previously, although not at all.
M. Ruzha: "This truly is hell, Dawn Carter." She spoke in a condescending tone. "I see why you wanted to forget such experiences."
The world around them then began to fade into a dark nothingness, the two sitting in silence.
M. Ruzha: "Dawn, I like you. You are much different than anyone that has come through a council hearing to be passed into the testing phase." She moved in front of him, putting out her hand and flicking her pointer finger upward, forcing his gaze to focus on her. "I have been the leader of The Underground since it was formed by me, twenty-five years ago. In that amount of time I have managed to give over fifty thousand people a second chance at life, and out of all of them, you stand out. Do you know why?" She questioned.
Dawn didn't respond, his mind and heart still racing as tears spilled down his cheeks. His mouth continued to produce mournful noises, and he was plainly incapable of holding a conversation.
M. Ruzha: "You stand out because, despite being subjected to such horrific events, you were able to escape the physical confinement that held you captive. Now you must break free from the mental torment that has imprisoned your mind, and I think you have the ability to do it."
Dawn continued to sob till he fell asleep, with Madame Ruzha watching. Once he was asleep, the two returned to the Council Chamber, where all eyes were on them. The council members did not appear as astonished as Rowan was. Despite her shock, she did not move or talk; she only looked.
M. Ruzha: "Rowan, take the boy back to your quarters and allow him to rest. I used my Parallel Plane on him, so he won't wake up for another day or so. When he wakes up, I want you to take him to the testing facility. I, like you, have great expectations for Dawn." She then made her way back to her seat, just as she had on the way down. "This meeting is adjourned." After she spoke, Madame Ruzha, as well as her council members, vanished in plain sight, leaving Rowan alone with Dawn.
She looked at his unconscious body for a time before falling to her knees beside him, letting out a relieved sigh.
Rowan: "You did it, Dawn." She said as a smile came across her face.