_[Keep going kid. You're almost there]_ the voice urged.
"20, 21, 22, 2----"
_[What are you doing?]_ the voice asked.
_"Counting the floors I've passed"_ Tisane replied.
_[Why. What's the point in that?]_
_"Well.....just to know the number of floors altogether"_
_[I just told you, there are 25 floors altogether]_ the voice said.
_"Well..... there's no harm in been sure"_
[...]
Some time later.....
_[There, that's the last door]_ the voice said.
Tisane arrived at an elevator door which was located at top of the tunnel which had extended into a roof made of transparent glass.
_"Okay how do I open the door?"_ Tisane asked after pushing and trying to pry open the door with his hands.
_[Jump on one of those ropes and face the door]_ the voice instructed.
_"Why?"_ Tisane asked.
_[Just do it]_
Tisane obeyed as he hopped and grabbed one of the four huge metal rods and stared at the elevator door.
_"Ok what now?"_
_[Just stare at the door and don't blink]_ the voice said.
_"Don't blink?"_ Tisane had a confused look on his face.
_[Yes don't blink. Trust me]_
After a minute, Tisane's eyes were beginning to become itchy.
_"Hey inner voice how long should I keep this up? My eyes are starting to itch"_
_[Stop fussing around and focus boy!]_ the voice scolded.
_"I am. It's just quite hard"_ Tisane complained.
_[No it's not. Don't stare with just your eyes but your body and your mind as well]_
_"My body and my mi---"_
As Tisane reflected on those words, he felt his body vibrate as a flow of energy erupted from every part of his body and passed through his eyes.
The feeling was hard to explain but quite overwhelming and sensational.
With a 'ding' sound, the elevator door opened on it's own.
"What was that?" Tisane asked aloud.
_[What do you think?]_
_"Was that m---magic?"_ Tisane asked as he felt his heart beat accelerate.
_[What? No of course not!]_
"....."
_[Stop wasting time and jump through the door. It won't stay open for long]_ the voice reminded urgently.
"Oh yeah" Tisane jumped through the door as he somersaulted on the floor.
_[What was that?]_ The voice asked.
_"What....oh it's a somersault....cool right?"_ Tisane replied smugly.
_[Lame if you ask me]_ the voice said dryly.
_"How can you say that? I put much effort into that you know"_
_[Enough of the jokes kid. You have company]_
_"Company? What do you mean?"_ Tisane asked as he turned to face the long and wide hall.
Noticing the architectural make up and design of the hall, Tisane knew he had finally arrived at the top executives floor.
But celebration would have to wait, because his eyes fell upon three individuals who were standing and staring at him with lazy but proud eyes.
Tisane stared back at them with confusion written on his face.
_"Who are they?"_ Tisane asked.
_"Voice in my he---"_
_[That is not my name!]_ The voice quickly interrupted. _[They are mutants]_
_"What do you mean by 'mutants'?"_ Tisane asked.
_[Exactly what I meant]_ the voice said.
_"Where have I heard that word 'mutant' before?"_ Tisane thought deeply.
"It seems we've underestimated you kid" one of the individuals standing in the hall suddenly spoke. Out of the three, he was the only person who regarded Tisane with a little bit of interest in his eyes.
On hearing him speak, Tisane had to stop his thinking as he looked up to stare at the three of them again.
This time Tisane took in the appearance of the three individuals closely. Two guys who seemed to be past their teens and into the late stages of puberty.
And a girl who seemed to be in the late stages of her teen age.
The guys stood on the right and center of the hall respectively and the girl stood on the left.
The guy who spoke earlier was the one that occupied the center of the hall.
"We watched you fight your way from the reception hall through the staff offices and now here you are"
The guy at the center seemed to gesticulate with his arms as he spoke.
"Do you have a death wish kid?" The guy at the right spoke this time but without the calm relaxed tone of the guy at the center. "Entering into a building such as the NPLC and causing so much trouble tsk tsk tsk. It seems you're tired of your life!"
"Look guys" Tisane rose up and spoke. "I didn't mean to do those things I did. I was just trying to get to the man who hired me for a job here in the NPLC"
"Who hired you for a job?" The guy in the center raised an eyebrow.
"What nonsense are you spouting kid?" The guy at the right erupted. "Who would hire someone like you to work here?!"
"Believe me" Tisane said. "I was hired to work here by the CEO himself Mr Fadeyemi"
"Oh really?" The guy at the right showed mocking surprise. "If that's the case, then we are sorry to have interrupted your work. That is we should let you go back to beating up security guards and company workers from floor to floor. Your employer would be really proud of your hard work hahaha!"
"If truly you were hired by the CEO, then why are you not at your duty post?" The guy at the center asked.
"Well.....I...was not able to report for work. So I missed the resumption day. I....." Tisane stammered because he was not sure of the reasonable excuse to give to explain the fact that he was two weeks late to his resumption at work!
But unfortunately, his lack of reasonable explanation only proved to the two guys that he was nothing but a trouble maker.
"Do we have to waste time talking to this guy?" The guy at the right said in annoyance. "He's obviously an idiot. Let's just apprehend and hand him over to the authorities"
"As my colleague said, if you truly want to prove your innocence, then it is only appropriate that you hand yourself over to the securities" the guy at the center said calmly.
"No I----" Tisan naturally protested.
"Listen you Buffoon!" The guy at the right erupted. "We have dealt with guys like you before and there's only one word to describe you: 'ANNOYING'. It's all simple. Surrender the easy way or go down the hard way"
Tisane shivered a bit when he stared into the guy's eyes. It was like staring into the eyes of an angry beast.
_"What should I do?"_ Tisane became confused.
_"Thought guy. Can you he---?"_
_[I told you before. That is not my name!]_ The voice protested.
_"Well if you had told me your name, I would call you by it!"_ Tisane shot back.
_[Well if you keep this up, you'll never know it!]_
~Sigh~
_"Please just tell me what I should do"_ Tisane pleaded.
_[Well I hate to say it but I have to agree with this kids. You have broken many legal rules and the only way for you to fix this is to give up and surrender]_
Tisane's shoulders drooped at that instant. As he felt sad that all his effort was for nothing.
_[If I was one of those so called clever humans who claimed they know what is right from wrong, that is the advice I would have given you]_ the voice said
_[But am not one of those humans. I am someone who knows you too well to tell you such nonsense. I say your path is not based on any human ethics or standards. I say your actions cannot be dictated by any being be they mortal or God. I say if you set out to do something, you go for it no matter the challenges or opposition. Until you have achieved what you want, nothing else matters!]_
Tisane's eyes widened as if he was in trance.
_"Where have I heard those words before?"_
"So kid!" The guy at the center of the hall spoke up, causing Tisane to break out of his reverie.
"I guess you have taken our advice well, because that's the best choice" the guy brought out a metal contraption and shook it in his hands.
Tisane stared at the contraption in the guy's hand. It looked very much like a handcuff.
_"So should I surrender or....?"_ Tisane's eyes moved from the handcuff to the guy's face.
_"What is that I see in his eyes....? Is that annoyance?"_
Tisane noticed that the guy with the 'handcuff' had an annoyed look on his face. And the look was very familiar, because he had seen that look many times before. It was a look that connoted disappointment.
_"My father"_ Tisane reminisced. _"My father always had that look when he looks at me"_
_[So what is your choice kid?]_ The voice interrupted his reminiscence.
_"What were you trying tell me earlier?"_ Tisane suddenly asked.
_[How do you mean?]_
_"Earlier....you know....when you spoke about ethics, standards, challen---"_
_[Oh yeah yeah. It's simple. You came all this way to meet the CEO right?]_
_"Yeah"_
_[Then that's what you're going to do no matter what anybody says]_ the voice concluded.
_"Umm....what about these guys?"_ Tisane asked as he glanced at the two boys and a girl.
_[If they are here to stop you then all you have to do is beat them down!]_