As the sun set and the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, the students of Solar Springs High School walked to the classroom block for the night prep. Vanessa had invited Robert to join her in the lab for their studies, which he accepted. She hurried to the lab, excitement bubbling within her at the thought of spending time with him. As the laboratory's designated student manager, she had free access to the space and was always eager to make use of it. She flipped on the lights and settled down to wait for his arrival.
Robert slipped away from the other students, making his way around the side of the laboratory. He was careful to avoid being seen, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be there at that time. The night was dark and calm, with one of the moons veiled by clouds, and the other casting a deep shadow over the landscape, and an unsettling stillness that seemed to hold its breath in anticipation. He found a secluded spot among the bushes at the back of the lab and settled down to wait. The quietness of the night was broken only by the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
"Alright voice, I'm here," he whispered and waited for a reply.
"Very well, you are one brave boy. Now let's get this started, shall we..?" and with that, Robert felt a strange sensation of extreme weakness wash over him. He felt his legs buckle beneath him and he collapsed to the ground. A piercing pain radiated through his chest, and he looked down to see a translucent, brown, ghostly figure emerging from his body. The figure stood before him, a glowing apparition with a benevolent expression on its face.
"What the heck are you?!" Robert asked, looking extremely frightened.
"Me?" The phantom asked, "Oh, you can call me Poison."
Vanessa flipped through the pages of her notebook, her eyes darting back and forth between the words on the page and the door. It's been ten minutes already, and Robert was nowhere to be seen, and she was starting to feel anxious.
"Where could he be?" she thought, "I've waited like ten minutes..." the door swung open and she looked up with a warm smile. For a moment, she thought it might be Robert but her hopes were quickly dashed as Jackson unexpectedly walked in. He stopped in his tracks as he glared at her and a smug grin appeared on his face.
"Ah, my hypothesis has been confirmed. You are indeed meeting your lover here tonight," he said, letting out a short cackle.
"Jackson, get out of here before I report you to the science master," she threatened, rising to her feet while pointing a finger at the door.
Jackson inched closer to Vanessa, his hand outstretched to touch her. She flinched as his fingertips brushed against her arm. Suddenly, his hand was on her cheek, his face close to hers. Vanessa was frozen in shock and horror, unsure of what to do. Then, as if from nowhere, she found the strength to react. With all her might, she slapped Jackson across the face. The sound echoed through the room, and Jackson's hand flew to his stinging cheek. He stumbled back, staring at her in disbelief.
"You little wretch!" He snarled, his face turning red with anger. He grabbed hold of her arms and shoved her against the wall, pinning her in place. She thrashed and struggled, but he was too strong. His eyes were blazing with fury, and she could feel his grip tightening on her arms.
"Let me go!" she screamed, her voice filled with fear and desperation.
"Oh, I will," he said, his voice low and menacing. "But first, you'll have to pay for what you just did."
"Yeah, at least that was what I was called back then," Poison said and chuckled again.
"So you're telling me that you are the soul of an ancestor, and you've roamed Kreete for countless centuries waiting for me?" Robert asked, confused.
"Something like that."
"Why?"
"A crazy witch cursed me," Poison replied, feigning a sad look.
"Really? Do I look stupid?" Robert said, wearing a jaded look.
"Fine, a wishing well misunderstood me," Poison chimed in quickly.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you," Poison conceded.
"You'd better."
"Okay, long story, but during my time, I had the worst brother ever," Poison began dramatically, with an expression that suggested he was lying.
"Another lie," Robert said.
Poison ignored him and continued, "he hated me and I equally reciprocated the hatred. Our father always advised us about love and peace but we refused to heed them. So one day, we had an issue and it escalated into a brawl. We destroyed our entire house but unknown to us our father was asleep in his room and the house crashed down on him."
Robert cut in, "You two destroyed an entire house while fighting? Seriously, how do you expect me to believe you?" He queried skeptically.
Poison ignored him again, "As a result, my father suffered a horrifying injury... You should have seen it - very gruesome. Before his passing, he placed a curse on us, stating that our conflict would persist even after death. He warned that our souls would wander every corner of Kreete unless one of us obtain his most precious possession, referred to as the ancestors' seal. This object not only had the ability to lift the curse, but it would also bestow upon the bearer boundless powers, allowing them to seal their soul into the unconscious zone, granting them eternal peace."
He paused, observing Robert's blank expression, "We needed to merge with the body of our future descendants who possessed the potential to locate the seal. However, a few years before our deaths, my brother conveyed his intention to use the seal's power to accomplish acts I'd rather not talk about. Fortunately, I have found you and we must work together to safeguard your... your people of this time period, and assist me in confronting my brother and obtaining the seal before him. I believe that one of his descendants attends this school and might be aware of my presence, and my brother may attempt to use this descendant to eliminate me... I mean, you. Therefore, you have a choice: either confront him and find the seal before he does, or perish and I will seek another to fulfill the task," Poison concluded, his expression serious for the first time since he appeared.
"Why do I get the feeling I just got bombarded with lies?" Robert asked with a tone laced with disbelief.
"Kid, give me a break, will you? I tried so hard to fabricate that story," Poison said, exasperated.
"I knew it, you were lying." Robert blurted, snapping his fingers. "For a moment there, I almost believed you."
"Look, that's the 'kid-friendly' version of events, Okay? I may have altered some details or even the entire story," Poison admitted with a sheepish grin. "There are aspects of the truth that you're not yet ready to hear. The most important thing is that you're about to enter a new phase of your life, and you need to be prepared for what's ahead, 'cus like it or not, you're gonna face them eventually," Poison's expression relaxed as he spoke, his words conveying his earnestness.
"Wait, wait, hold on a second, another question. How could your father give you the name, Poison?" Robert asked with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. Despite his trepidation, he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that felt strangely elated. Perhaps it was because he'd always dreamed of having unique and strange experiences. Still, having someone's dead ancestor's spirit after him wasn't the kind of strange he had in mind.
"I told you, that's wasn't my real name. Only my brother called me that, but I also gave him a name, Doom," Poison said.
"Whoa, that sounds pretty scary."
"Yeah, that's right."
"Okay, okay, so how would I find the seal? And also, wouldn't I need some kind of exceptional ability to fight off this Doom person if he's what you say he is?" Robert asked, throwing an inquisitive look at him.
Poison smiled, "You know, it's quite amusing that you fail to understand the magnitude of your situation, kid. This isn't like your weird imaginations where you get to zap monsters with sparks and emerge the victor. There's a high probability you'll perish," His smile gradually faded.
"Hey, how did you know about my imaginations...?" Robert asked, his brows furrowing.
"I have access to your memories, kid," Poison replied matter-of-factly. "And I must say, you're quite an intriguing character."
"And why don't I have access to your memories?" Robert demanded.
"Well, clearly because I'm the superior entity here. Now, back to your question about exceptional abilities, you don't seem to know anything about magic, do you?" Poison asked.
"Not much but, go on."
"Alright, I'll put it this way: since I possess your body, you'll find that you can move more quickly than usual. You'll also be able to heal much faster, and you may even feel stronger than normal. On top of all that, you should be able to make yourself invisible whenever you want. And for the cool magic part, you would be able to turn into something called an elemental." Poison said, a proud smirk playing across his lips.
"Wait, hold on. That explains the events that took place during the football match, I was able to..."
"Yeah, yeah," Poison said casually, "It's was all me, you're welcome by the way. Ever heard of wizards?"
"Of course, but there's very few of them in Kreete, no one has ever seen one," Robert replied.
Poison abruptly burst into laughter, he laughed so hard Robert feared someone might hear him.
"What? Are you trying to say that wizards are still a thing?" Robert asked, his eyebrows raised.
"Kid, what I'm trying to say is that either you're outrageously ignorant, or you're living in the wrong part of the world. Anyway, let's go up this building, I think there's something that might interest you up there." Poison said, before transforming into a ball of brown light and disappeared into him.
Robert suddenly remembered he had an appointment with Vannesa.
"Uhh... How do I get to the top floor? The main door might be locked." Robert asked puzzled.
"SCALE THE WALL!!!"
"I can do that too?"
"What will you do now?" Jackson asked, staring into Vanessa's eyes. "I'm going to kiss you, and you won't be able to do a thing."
As he leaned in, drawing closer to her lips, Vanessa closed her eyes and tightly shut her mouth.
But all of a sudden.
BANG
Jackson was sent flying across the room, crashing on the ground with a heavy thud. He hastily looked up and beheld Robert's figure standing tall, a satisfied smirk on his face. He scrambled to his feet, ready to retaliate. He rushed towards Robert and was about to land a blow on his face when suddenly everything went black and a searing pain shot through the back of his head. He crumpled to the floor unconscious.
Robert walked towards Vanessa and released a warm smile.
"You know, it's always the jerks with the toughest heads," Robert said, a playful grin on his face as he dramatically rubbed his hand. "He's gonna have a nasty headache when he wakes up."
Vanessa ran towards him and wrapped him in a tight embrace. He could feel her chest pressing hard against his and for a moment, he allowed himself to enjoy the sensation.
"She's beautiful," Poison said.
"Isn't she?" he replied.
"What?" Vanessa asked, wearing a stupefied expression as they disengaged.
"What?" Robert asked back.
"You just said something," She said, still looking confused.
"No, no, no... I didn't, um..." he stammered, "we should be going now, I think they've rung the bell to signal the end of prep. Sorry I couldn't make it in time." He apologized.
"It's fine, we can try again sometime." She replied, a soft smile playing across her lips.
The pair left the laboratory, hauling the unconscious Jackson out with them, leaving him slumped against the wall in the corridor.