Another day dawned in Sophie's adventure. As people jogged by, Sophie waited outside the hotel, with Digi by her side - though only Sophie could see her.
"Alright. What's next?" Sophie inquired. "My first piece of advice is to start from where you first arrived," Digi suggested.
Sophie put her finger to her lips and pondered. "Do you mean the park?" she questioned. "Yes," Digi replied.
Sophie nodded, scanned left and right on the road, and crossed over to the park. After walking and retracing her steps, she arrived at the park and sat down on a bench. The wind blew, her hair flowing.
"Alright, try to do things on your own now. If you need help, I'll be here," Digi implied.
Sophie nodded, and with that, Digi disappeared. Sophie looked left and right, but all she saw were elderly people strolling, families picnicking, and children playing. She decided to search around, but as she rose, she heard a voice coming from the back of the street, not far from where she was sitting. She stood up and turned to see a man in a black suit, dark glasses, and light brown hair. He stood with three other guys in front of a black van, questioning some civilians about something. Sophie couldn't make out what they were saying, so she moved closer, hiding behind a bush. She listened closely.
"We're looking for this child. Have you seen her?" The man asked in a deep voice, showing a picture of Lisa. Sophie's eyes widened at the sight.
"No, dear. Why are you looking for her?" An old lady replied. "We're from the MCA, Mutant Control Agency," the man in the black suit replied as he pocketed the picture.
Sophie's eyes widened at the mention of the MCA. She tried to peek further from the bushes. "Wow, Digi was right," she thought.
Sophie then saw another man come out of the van and whisper something to the man in the black suit. The man nodded, and before they left, they said, "Please report her immediately if you see this child. She is very dangerous to society."
The people looked scared and disturbed, and with that, the man entered the van and drove off. After hearing this, Sophie had mixed feelings. Was Lisa dangerous? Was that why those thugs were scared of her? But they said mutant, not specifically her. What if it's the MCA that I'm supposed to help? Sophie had millions of questions, but her first instinct was to follow these MCA men, as they might lead her somewhere. She called Digi and told her everything, and they both went after the van. Sophie used her flying power to follow them and her mana to cover herself from being spotted. As they followed, Sophie noticed them entering a forest outside the city.
"They're definitely up to something," Digi said, suspicious. "You got the same feeling, right?" Sophie agreed with Digi. They both landed on the trees to avoid losing sight of the van.
"Oh no, we're going to lose them?" Digi said as the van entered deeper into the forest.
Sophie quickly picked up her speed to keep up with the van. After 20 seconds, she saw the van, but it looked like they had stopped. Sophie landed on the ground and approached the van slowly when suddenly Digi pulled her into a bush.
"Digi, what are you...mm," Sophie said, but Digi put her hand on Sophie's mouth to silence her. "Shhhhh, they're right there," Digi whispered, pointing around the bush.
Sophie lifted her head slightly to spot the men standing 8 feet away from the van, looking directly at what looked like an old, abandoned small warehouse. She could hear their conversation.
"Are you sure it's here?" The leader asked. "That's what the reading says, sir," another man replied.
Sophie saw the men enter the building with guns. She was about to enter the warehouse, but Digi stopped her.
"Sophie, not now. Wait for the right time," Digi suggested.
Sophie took her advice and waited. Three minutes later, she heard gunfire coming from inside, and one of the men came flying out of the roof, causing a hole in it. Sophie saw that the man was covered in blood. Out of curiosity, she rushed inside, and at the entrance, she saw a great big pink monster attacking the men in black as they fired at it. Sophie tried to go around them and hid behind a boxed shelf. As she peeked, she saw a man about to attack the monster from behind. She quickly rushed toward him and used her power to push him away. The monster noticed the man and tried to get him, but was stopped by the other men.
''Wait, why did attack the man? Ain't I supposed to attack that creature?" Sophie thought as she went back to hiding. "No, if Lisa is dangerous, she wouldn't have helped me. She would have left me to die." She thought carefully while being also distracted by the commotion. She heard a loud growl, she peeked to see that, the creature was getting defeated, but made a decision and attacked, she attacked the men.
Sophie used her power of mana to attack the men and cause them to blow away. One man was able to get a shot in Sophie's leg, the bullet passed her leg, so she only got a scratch. This caused Sophie to fall and feel pain. She grunts in pain but tries all her power to get up but falls. Sophie saw that the men gathered around the monster and were electrifying the monster with electricity.
Sophie had enough and used her full strength and power to find the men. She created a string made by her mana and used it to drag one of the men out of the building. One of the men saw a girl with a pink dress, brown scarf, and black hair fuming at them and they started shooting at her. Sophie used her powers to fight off the men and they retreated. Sophie was still, fuming but after 4 seconds she fell to her knees and tried catching her breath. Sophie was surprised at what she had just done.
"How did I do that?" She thought.
She heard the sound of the monster running towards her. She got scared but due to her leg injury she couldn't run, but she didn't want to fight the monster as she knew it was Lisa. As the monster came close to her, it stopped and roared at her.
"Lisa, please calm down, I am not your enemy," Sophie said, trying to calm her down.
The monster then started breathing slowly and it calmed down. It was shrinking small and changing color, it then transformed into young Lisa, whose face was covered with blood, that was pouring down from her forehead and mouth. Lisa's eyes were closed and as soon as she turned back, after 2 seconds she fainted and fell on Sophie.
"Lisa? Lisa?" Sophie said as she tried to revive Lisa. "Oh my God she is badly hurt," She thought.
Sophie then called Digi and told her what happened. Digi helped Sophie to get medicine and also for Lisa. It was now around 7 in the evening and we saw Sophie sitting near a fire and Lisa was lying unconscious beside her as her head was banged.
Sophie took a deep sigh as she saw Lisa. "I hope I did the right thing by saving her," She thought.
"You ok Soph?" Digi asked, concerned about Sophie. Sophie lifted her head and looked at Digi. "Yeah, I am fine," Sophie replied. "How is your leg?" Digi asked.
Sophie looked at her injured and just smiled, "It will be fine," Digi nodded and then looked at Lisa who was still unconscious. "She is still out, heh?" Digi asked.
"Yeah, I tried but she is still not responding," Sophie replied.
There was silence for about a minute then Digi and Sophie started talking. As they were talking Sophie heard someone humming in pain, she turned her head to see Lisa trying to wake up. Sophie went to her and tried to calm her down. Lisa slowly started opening her eyes, as she opened her eyes, she saw a blurred figure standing in front of her. Lisa suddenly opened her eyes and went away from Sophie as she was frightened.
"Who are you!!!!" Lisa exclaimed in anger but was then surprised as she saw who it was. "You?"
"Yes, it's me, Lisa. You don't have to be afraid," Sophie said assuring her that she meant no harm. Lisa suddenly held her head as she felt pain. Sophie went to her and helped her to calm down. "Hey, it's OK," Lisa calmed down and Sophie took her to the fireplace. Out of curiosity, she asked, "Why were you fighting the MCA men?"
"It's none of your business," Lisa replied in anger while feeling pain. "Woah, okay, no need to use that tone," Sophie said while trying to avoid a fight. There was an awkward silence for a moment.
"Why did you save me?" Lisa asked while looking at the fire, that was the only thing keeping them warm on this cold night. "Huh?" Sophie looked at Lisa with confusion.
"You don't even know me, Lisa said while hugging her legs with a concerned face. Sophie didn't say anything for 5 seconds, then smiled and looked at the fire.
"When you saved me, did you know me?" Sophie implied. Lisa looked at her, astonished, and looked back to the fire. There was another silence for a moment.
"What do you know about MCA?" Lisa asked. "Sorry?" Sophie asked.
"The MCA, What do you know about it?" Lisa repeated and turned her head to Sophie,
"The only thing I know is they mostly have to do with the control of mutants and nothing much," Sophie replied.
Lisa then went silent, for a moment and said in a serious tone, "They are not what they seem."
"Wh...what do you mean?" Sophie asked, confused. Lisa then took a deep breath.
"Six years ago, a scientist named Dr. Steve was conducting experiments on testing hybrids. He discovered that hybrids can also be created artificially, so he synthesised a serum of mutation. He conducted some tests and finally succeeded, but something went wrong and the serum turned into a gas and dispersed throughout the city. After several days, people noticed that some children were behaving strangely and exhibiting unusual abilities. For instance, a child talking to a squirrel, a baby climbing out of its crib, or a 6-year-old girl lifting a table. One day, a CEO announced an association he had created called the Mutant Control Agency." Lisa was about to explain more, but Sophie interrupted her.
"Wait, wait, wait. Is it because of the question I asked?" Sophie said.
Lisa sighed and confirmed that it was. Sophie apologized for interrupting and urged Lisa to continue.
The CEO announced that they would train all these children to control their powers and help humanity. For a year, everything went smoothly until the Doctor found a cure for the serum.
"Really?" Sophie exclaimed.
"Yes," Lisa replied. "But when he informed the CEO, he disagreed," Lisa added. "Why?" Sophie asked. "Because of money," Lisa said.
Sophie nodded her head in disappointment, as it seemed that the world would do anything for profit. "The CEO told him that if he announced the cure, then the children would return to normal," Lisa continued. "Isn't that a good thing?" Sophie said.
"Well, if the children return to normal, the MCA company would be shut down, along with all the money that comes with it," Lisa said. "So, what did the Doctor do?" Sophie asked, curious.
"He decided to do it alone. The main ingredient for the cure was a flower called the Basilisks, which blooms every five years. So he eventually located one, on top of a mountain, beyond the Terrain village, which is after the border of Scotland," Lisa explained.
"Did he succeed?" Sophie inquired.
"Unfortunately, he was killed when the CEO found out about his solo mission and decided to keep the map and the formula for himself," Lisa revealed. "Oh no," Sophie said worriedly.
"Now, I want to continue that mission," Lisa declared. "What?" Sophie said, shocked.
"Four years ago, I was also infected by the gas serum and turned into a monster rather than a child with powers. Because my abilities were unusual, they conducted extra experiments on me. It tortured me day and night. Until one day, I got the opportunity to explore the place. From there, I discovered everything about the Serum and the cure, but I had to wait for the right moment to escape and do it. Until a few days ago, I overheard one of my doctors, Dr. Dorgan, say something. He said that if they can use me, they can help Zoron get what he wants....." Lisa explained.
Digi froze as she heard the name.
"Zoron?" Sophie said.
"Yes, I don't know who he is, but I know he also wants something," Lisa implied.
Sophie turned to look at Digi, to see if she was listening to the story, but was surprised to see Digi looking worried.
"So now, with all that being said, I just want to find the cure and return to normal, so I can be with my family," Lisa stated.
"You know," Sophie said. Lisa looked at Sophie.
"I can help you," Sophie offered.
"No, I can go on my own," Lisa insisted. "But what if those guys come back and capture you?" Sophie said, concerned. "I can handle them," Lisa said.
"The way you did today?" Sophie asked. Lisa looked at Sophie with a hint of anger but then sighed, "Fine." "Thanks," Sophie said.
"Don't thank me. If you get hurt, don't blame me," Lisa said while looking at the fire. "Of course not," Sophie assured.
There were a few seconds of silence when Lisa suddenly felt a sharp pain in her neck and put her hand on it. "Ah!!" She yelled in pain.
"Lisa? What is it?" Sophie asked as she rushed to Lisa's side, concerned. "I'm fine. It's just a neck pain," Lisa said as she got up and headed to rest. She then went to the sleeping bag and lay down on it.
"Hey, Lisa, if you need anything, you can tell me, okay?" Sophie reminded her. She didn't hear a response. "Maybe she's sleeping," Sophie thought.
Sophie then began walking around, not too far. She then remembered Digi and called her. Digi came, and they started talking.
"Digi, I saw your face when she said Zoron. Do you know him?" Sophie asked, curious.
Digi turned her head to the fire and let out a deep sigh. "You remember I mentioned that there were many other guardian before you?" Digi inquired. "Yes," Sophie replied.
"Well, there was one named Zake back in 1235....." Digi was saying but Sophie interrupted. "1235??????????" Sophie exclaimed.
"Yes, I have been doing this for 10 centuries," Digi said. "Oh, right," Sophie replied.
"Zake was also a noble holder and guardian, but I don't know what happened. He suddenly craved the power all for himself, and he started utilising it for evil deeds. I tried to reason with him, but he just wouldn't listen. So I renounced him as the guardian and my master. Even though he was no longer the holder, he was still able to wield his power, I don't know how. And his malevolence only grew with time. Fortunately, I found someone else who became the new guardian and holder. Her name was Rivis Don Vinch. She then defeated Zak..... I mean Zoron, as that was his evil name, and banished him to a forbidden universe." Digi explained.
"But from the looks of it, he's as good as gone. No?" Sophie said.
"I thought so too, but I know one thing, before he was banished, he swore to exterminate all the guardians after him and become the one and only guardian to rule over the multiverse. And now that he's here,... I'm afraid we have to try hard." Digi implied.
"Don't worry, Digi, as long as I have God with me, I'm confident everything will be fine," Sophie assured her.
"You're not worried?" Digi asked, surprised.
"No, why should I? It will be unnecessary stress. Besides, my main focus is helping Lisa," Sophie implied as she lay down on the sleeping bag.
Digi smiled at Sophie and sighed, "Okay then, good night." Digi said. Sophie yawned, "Goodnight Digi." Digi left, and Sophie went to sleep.
In another location, in an abandoned building, four men were discussing. "Boss, we almost had her, but...Ah! The man in a black suit was saying but felt pain. "Someone helped her."
"Yes, it was like she was already there for us," another man added. "And she was not one of our Mutants," The first man said.
"So you mean she was someone who was not in our records, like someone new that was infected?" The men heard their boss say. "Yes, but her powers are nothing like we have seen," The man replied.
The boss then emerged from the shadow, revealing it was Dr. Dorgan, he smirked. "Then that's her, that he needs. Gentlemen, change of plan, we are going after both of them."