(July) Prompt #1 - Spark

[Chat Noir]

The first prompt of July is the word, Spark.

[Chat Noir]

If you have any questions about how to participate in this event, please visit the rules (http://role-player.net/forum/showthread.php?t=63004) thread or PM me (http://role-player.net/forum/member.php?u=27079).

Happy writing!

[Juder]

Edit: Srry, not finished. I'll repost when I've finished mine.

[Juder]

One spark.
One spark is all it would take.
One spark, and the whole building would explode.

Delilah was shaking as she held the match in the gasoline-laced building, wondering if perhaps she’d made a mistake. There were secrets in this building that could never be revealed: her secrets. They had to burn, didn’t they? Unfortunately, they would take her with her.

She knew she shouldn’t have played around with her research. She shouldn’t have even messed with time. It had gotten people hurt, or even worse: killed. Her late, beautiful fiancé had told her, “If you play with fire, you get burned.” If only her friend had known how correct, not to mention literal, that his prediction had turned out to be.

Of course, it was bound to be this way from the start. People couldn’t keep their hands away from things like this, and there was always the one person who would twist these kind of things for their own twisted gain.

Maybe, she thought, it didn’t have to be this way. Maybe she could use her discovery to go back in time. However, she quickly dismissed the notion. Even if she did go back, there would always be the one person who would chase after her and try to change history. She’d constantly be running back, or forward, until there was nowhere left to go.

Steadying her hands, she looked towards the time machine, deciding to go for one last run. Only harm could come from it, she knew that now, but she had to see her fiancé, Daniel, at least one more time. There were things she had to say, things she had to hear him say, before she could finally go.

She clambered into the machine, put the matchbox in her pocket, and set the dial.

December 15th, 1999

Delilah fist went back to December 15th, five years ago. It had been the day she’d met Daniel, and no matter how much she tried to forget it, the day was burned into her mind. Snow flurried around in spurts, and she cursed herself for not preparing for winter climates, even though going back to see Daniel had not been her plan to begin with.

She stood in front of the town coffee shop, where her fiancé, Daniel Rigby, was playing the guitar for spare change, as well as to just get his creativity out. Delilah knew she couldn’t talk to him now: she’d have to go to another time and place for that, but she needed to watch him before she could leave and send up her life’s work up into flames. It was the only way she’d be able to live with herself. She couldn’t leave before she saw him.

She’d almost forgotten how goofy he’d looked: his caramel-colored, neck-length hair kept flopping into his eyes, he seemed a little too long and lanky for the small café chairs, and he’d tried to grow a goatee that year. Needless to say, it didn’t work out, and it had grown in patches all over his face. She let out a giggle, took a seat inside out of his line of sight, and listened.

Daniel had been particularly fond of the Beetles. Right now, his song of choice had been Eleanor Rigby, which she remembered that he’d planned on playing at their wedding as well. He’d even talked her into naming their first child Eleanor, since Daniel’s last name was Rigby, and Delilah had done it because it meant a lot to him.

Eleanor over three years old now, and she’d given her care to the neighbor, Miss Briggs. Delilah hoped she was doing well.

When the song was over, Delilah headed back to the machine and jumped forward a few months.

February 23rd, 2000

February was also a special month for her, since it was the month that Daniel had decided to propose to her after a few weeks of her dropping hints that that was what she wanted him to do. She remembered being ecstatic when he’d hidden the ring in her rice pudding, even though she’d almost choked on it and had to deal with Daniel teasing her for hours after she did. Obviously, she said yes, even though they’d only been together a short time to begin with.

She’d learned about their shared obsession with quantum physics a few days later, when they’d gone on their first date as an engaged couple, and it had become one of the things that had tied them together. Their research hadn’t started until 2002, of course, but their shared interest had often led them to fantasize about traveling space and time with each other, and eventually that led to their choice to travel the closest thing they could get to that: the world, which they’d decided was good enough.

They’d backpacked across Europe for the following two years, where their lovely daughter, Eleanor, and her twin sister, Jude, had come to be. They’d decided to return home after the birth of their children, because although Europe was a lovely place, Daniel and she couldn’t have travelled while taking two children, no matter how resilient they were, and Eleanor had had a few complications during birth. The plane ride back was difficult, since Jude had discovered the wonders of crying and spitting and had covered Daniel in slimy grime by the time we were even halfway home.

Delilah stood in front of the restaurant where Daniel had proposed, wondering if perhaps she could change it to where they’d never researched quantum physics. It certainly would save them a lot of grief, as well as Daniel. Unfortunately, she’d never seen a Doctor Who episode where someone had done that and gotten away with it.

Finally, she made one last stop in 2004 to say goodbye to Daniel for the last time, and then she returned to the present.

Back in the Warehouse, Present Day

The warehouse was still soaked by the time she got back. There was someone outside, attempting to break down the door, but they’d never get in without her.

She opened the doors to let them in, waited until they were a few yards away from her, and lit the match.


[I]I’ll be with you soon, Danny.[I]

[Dire Hoef]

The Day I Lost My Soul

It was April 5th, 2134, and I had just come back from a dangerous war that has sparked in the eastern hemisphere. However, as I came onto U.S soil I had lost my legs and my right arm to an Energy Grenade that had struck my patrol vehicle. I was the furthest from the grenade’s blast range, but I wasn’t exactly safe from the blast itself. Thus I saw my fellow soldiers die before me with almost all my limbs gone. Luckily I was in a convoy at the time so I was given immediate rescue. However there was not any suitable hospitals that would take care of my wounds and with this I had to get air-flown back to the U.S due to the lack of equipment to serve my wounds. It took a team of doctors to keep me alive the entire flight back to America. However during the trip I had lost consciousness several times, and I saw things that no man should see. At one moment I saw Death beckoning me towards his cold grasp, but before Death could grasp me I awoke returning to reality. Thanks to the shock of the medical equipment it had kept me alive long enough to out-run Death for the period of the flight. I must say it was the most life-threatening and horrifying moment for me in my entire life, and I’ll never forget.

Once in an American hospital was tended to for several more hours trying to close the places were my limbs had been blown off. It was a rather painful time for me since putting me to sleep wasn’t an option for I might slip into cardiac arrest. So they had to make sure I was awake and fully alive so that they didn’t lose me to the hands of Death. Reluctantly I was strong enough to handle the pain and with this after hours of intense care they had stitched up where my limbs have departed from my center body. Due to blood-lost I had to be transferred to another cleaner bed and with this some of the doctors persisted that I shouldn’t be moved due to how earlier it was to move me. They were right after all from a medical stand-point, but seeing is how some of the other doctors were idiotic enough to move me they did so anyway without consulting to any of the other doctors that denied this move. It was painful during the entire process and I was screaming at the top of my lungs due to how bad it had hurt. After that they settled me in a bed that was cleaner and comfortable to lie in. They told me to get some sleep and so I did; no questions asked.

During my long sleep, I was greeted by the one being that I had despised the most. That being was to be Death who seemed to be waiting for me at the door of my room. I didn’t know it was a dream at first until he stepped through the door and spoke to me in a hoarse tone, “I am amazed you have lived this long in your state.” I began to freak out, but Death had gestured for me to calm down. However I did not listen and began to shout, “Help! Someone help me!” Death, as his face was covered from what I saw, grunted with displeasure knowing something I didn’t. Until he told me, “This is a dream I control… No one is going to help you…” I had to calm down at this point since he controlled the dream I was having. I settled uncomfortably as I spoke to him with fear in my throat, “What are you doing here?” Death seemed to smirk under his darkened cloak that covered his face, “You have the Spark… A power that allows you to live as long as you have…” I had widened my eyes in shock, “What do you mean?” Death came over to the left side of my bed and pulled of a chair and sat down, “You see Lora… You have been given a power that allows you to over-power and out-live any being on the planet… You wondered how you survived that grenade blast that took your fellow soldiers, but not you. That’s because the Spark that is hidden within your soul saved you from me.” I couldn’t believe what this creature of the nether world was telling me, “I… I don’t believe you.” Death shook his head in response, “Believe it Lora… You were given that gift from Alpha…” I wondered who Alpha was. Was that life? I didn’t know for sure. I was hung up on the fact that he knew my name and was telling me this stuff about having the “Spark”. Frankly, at the time, I didn’t buy it, but Death had settled his deathly hand upon my shoulder. When he did, I was thrown into a visionary time-lapse that showed what the Spark actually was. After a moment’s notice, I quickly came back to Death, breathing heavily of course. Death nodded, “You have been given the Spark for a reason Lora Jenkins… Do not waste that power or use that power for evil… Listen to what Alpha has to say to you, but do not listen to Omega… For she will miss-lead you into evil…” I nodded slowly starting to accept what Death had to say, but deep down I still had doubts on this whole dilemma. Death stood to his feet and turned his back away from me and spoke with seriousness, “You have been given a special fate… Do not waste it…” Thus I see Death move towards the hospital door and fade into smoke. Seconds later I awake to the sound of doctors and other medical workers trying to work on attaching cybernetic machinery to my lost limbs. I look around in confusion and start to question on how long I was sleeping, but when I gander at the calendar on the nearest wall there was a circle over the 10th of June. I had been asleep for a month and five days… I was given no notice to what was happening to me… But I did realize that I wasn’t Human no more and with this I had just sold my soul to the ghost that was machinery…

The Day I Had Forgotten My Love

Months after receiving my cybernetic attachments I began to function well with them quite nicely. However my family and friends weren’t so up to pare with the cybernetic attachments I was given. They had completely shunned me, and it had hit me in the core to see my family forget that I was still me deep down. I had become a ghost to them… They didn’t even care to give me food when I asked for it and my children… My children didn’t even realize who I was anymore, and in with this my husband despised what the hospital has done to me. My family has hated cybernetic attachments for generations and to think that the hatred for it has turned its face to me. After a while of living at my own home my children and my husband had shunned me and thrown me out into the cold that was the rain. I was stuck traveling for hours on end trying to return to hospital that gave me this burden. However someone came to me that was just like me; shunned by society because of our disability to take life head on. I for one had no say in the matter, and so I had no choice but to go with this person that later took me to a place where all of those that have been given cybernetic attachments like me lied.

The life I use to know has been thrown away, and now I am greeted with an all new life. This life has granted hardships for me and all the others like me. But life has been tough on us all and we have to exploit whatever we can out of those hardships and become the best we could be. I for one will prove myself by using the power I have been given and destroy the evil that has plagued this Earth. Most of those like me believe in me and will join me in this endeavor. Thus the first cybernetic revolution was met on American soil… That my friend was something only a Human such as me would accomplish…

[Arcus]

The girl was had never been so excited before, she finnaly got accepted into the academy! Before we get to that though, lets explain just what this is came about before we get to that though. You see the girl isn't normal and has tried to keep.... Her specialness from everyone even her parents, but after an accident in her school. Her English teacher figured out her secret and it turns out that she was similar. It was her teacher who told her about the secret face of Travis Academy and from what she hear she would no longer have to be alone again. The thought of no longer hiding who she was made her more than excited than she could decide.

Her English teacher had been the one to drive her, because she had asked it to as such and her mother was busy. Though her mother couldn't believe the news when she heard that she had been accepted, since no one knew how to get accepted into the school... Well almost no one, she thought and looked up to her teacher with a smile. As she heard, "ok don't forget. Just because you are excited don't like lose control, you don't want to get in trouble on the first day of your new life. Also don't forget once you leave this car you will no longer be who you were before, even getting a new name once inside." This was the only thing that made the girl sad, the thought of losing the one person that had understood.

Even so she hugged her teacher and grabbed her bag, leaving the car and heading for the new life that awaits for her. As soon as she got out, she spotted the headmistress and a couple other teachers. So she headed for them wondering if that was what she was suppose to do and sure enough. As she approached the headmistress smiled and said, "welcome to Travis Academy. Where we value not only education but also the growth of our students, helping them learn and control their individuality and everything that comes with it. Now before we give you, your dorm assignments you should decide on what your new name should be."

The girl nodded some may be surprised by this but she had already been filled in on why this happens and what exactly it means. So had been thinking about what her new name would be, but had yet to decide. So spent a few more minutes deciding before she said, "Lucy?" The headmistress nodded and said, "then miss Lucy it is nice to meet you." Than was handed her schedule while one of the other people with the headmistress, held her hand out. "Hello Lucy, I am Nathanial Flare and I will be your instructor during individual training." He said and Lucy shook his hand, before looking at her schedule fining the individual instruction, training, and practice slot that Mr. Flare said he was teacher her in.

Before she could think of something, anything to say. The man on the headmistresses other side, stepped forward. Until Mr. Flare who looked younger with Dark hair except for the flame read streak. This one was an older man, his original hair color hiding behind the silver and grey that streaked not only his hear but his close-cropped bread as well. Despite his obvious age, it was clear that he was still strong. Which she learned from his firm hand-shake, listening as he spoke. "Miss Lucy, I am your dorm head. Follow me and I will show you where you will be living from now on." Lucy nodded and scrambling after him, as the man turned and walked away without even seeing if she was following. She was surprised by how quick the man seemed to move, barely able to keep up.

On the way, she listened as explained how things worked around there. "The Dorms are a community and everything will be done by everyone. This includes chores, each week there will be a sheet in the lobby of who has what chore that week. Failure to do the chores will because for punishment, failure to do the assigned punishment will because for harsher punishment and so on. So make sure you do your chores," he glanced at her and she quickly nodded. Then he continued, "since you are a first you. You will be assigned a third year or above, here the years are not just a sign of what year of school they are in but also how long they have been here. For example, say you run into someone who is a fourth year but look to be only about ten or so that means that they have been here since they were six."

Lucy nodded making note of that, wondering how she could possibly tell what year they are in. But didn't have time to wonder about that as her dorm head continued, "there is a curfew in the dorms. Students are not allowed out of the dorms before 6 a.m. in the morning or 10 p.m. at night with out permission or unless it is a special event." She nodded and then listened as she continued to listened to what felt like an ever growing list of things to remember, wondering how she would remember everything. As well as how long it took to get to the dorms? Though as if to answer that last question a building appeared before them and assumed it to be the dorms.

Once they were inside the dorm, he finally finished talking about the rules. Then directed her to her room, when she opened the door to her room. The first thing that she saw was a guy with hear so bright she thought it was gold, standing on his head with his eyes closed. Then a yellow star on his outfit drew her attention as she closed the door behind her. 'Is this my roommate? What is he doing? Why is he on his head? What is that star on his outfit?' She thought, the boy opened his eyes slowly as if walking up. Making her jump slightly, before making her way over to the bed with nothing on it.

It was when he spoke that really scared her, "Yes I am your roommate. Nice to meet you, I am meditating and this is simply how I meditate. As for the star, it shows how long I have been here. Look in your closet, you will find some outfits with a circle on it. That shows that you are a first year, there is also needle and thread. Incase you want to put the circle on some of your other clothes." Lucy blinked as she listened to everything he said, making note of everything he explained. Especially the circle thing, before saying. "How did you know what I was thinking?" She asked and the boy simply said, "it is simply what I heard. I can teach you to make a wall so I can't hear them if you would like. But since I can at the moment, I probably won't be able to meditate as much." Despite what he said the boy didn't seem intent on moving anytime soon, as he added. "Is there anything you would like to ask? I know Mr. Goa can be abit much the first time you meet him." Lucy nodded and started asking questions, which the boy-Triton answered with his same neutral tone.

The next day, she went to the Dorm lobby with Triton in the Academy uniform. The back part of the lobby was fixed up for breakfast, a couple of people glanced at her but none really seemed to look at her. She saw a line and a triangle sitting together, 'a second year and a third year.' She though Triton looked at her then followed her gaze and nodded, "that is right." She almost flinched when Triton answered, then chuckled nervously as she said. "That is going to take some getting used to," Triton looked at her questioningly. Lucy sighed and shook her head thinking, 'having someone know what I am thinking.' Triton nodded with an "oh" and "I can start teaching you how to make the wall after classes today." She nodded and smiled, getting a feeling that it wouldn't easy to make. She glanced at the chores list, but Triton told her not to worry about it this week. He had already finished their assigned chore.

After breakfast, Triton showed her where her first class would be then informed her that there should be at least one person in her class that had her next one and to just find that person. Lucy nodded and sat near the front, wondering what kind other students were. Not long after she got shot with water, the only thing she could think was 'I hate water.' Then looked around and saw a girl with purple eyes giggling, before out of the corner of her eyes seeing a spark. But she didn't get a chance to look to see what it was due to the fact that. As soon as she noticed it she felt electricity jolting through her, causing her to twitch and jerk.

She heard another laugh, before looking over and frowning at a guy that had hair that reminded her of flames and couldn't stop laughing. She wondered if he would still be laughing upon his hair actually being set aflame. She didn't get a chance to see as yet another voice came, "I see we have a new girl today and by the looks of it she is already getting the new student treatment." She turned around and saw that what was talking was a golden tiger only it looked kinda small. She blinked in surprise and the next thing she new the tiger turned into a blonde haired boy that was probably only 12.

The introductions continued similarly, some being good and some being bad. Until the teacher appeared, quite literally out of no where. This shocked Lucy and several of the other students started laughing at her reactions. She blushed feeling a little embarrassed. Though she listened to the lecture, she was more interested in the things going on around her. 'I should have sat in the back,' she though glancing over her shoulder. Before forcing herself to look back to the teacher before she got into trouble.

Once class ended, she started going around asking all of the students. To see if she could find one that knew where her next class was. A guy with short black hair with a dark purple streak and a girl with black hair with a lighter purple streak. Lucy looked between the two, they both had mismatched eyes but looked almost like mirrors of each other. They offered to show her to the next class, "you two have the same class?" They nodded and grew smiles that she wasn't sure was that she liked the look of, even so no one else seemed willing to show her. So went with them to see where her next class was.

A decision that she quickly regretted, because once they left the building. The three started to head for the forest, when they were nearing the edge. Lucy stopped and said, "is there anything in there?" The girl looked at her and said, "in there. I don't think so, though there is plenty on the other side." Lucy frowned and said, "then couldn't we just go around?" The boy let out an aggravated sigh as if he couldn't believe she was asking questions, "you asked us to show you the way. Do you not want to get to your class?" Lucys' eyes widened and quickly said, "nonono! I'm not saying that, I'm just not sure about taking this way is all." Lucy had never lived or been near a forest before so it made her a little nervous and the twins' behavior didn't make it any easier for her.

They both glared back at her then started walking as if they didn't care anymore whether she followed or not, not wanting to be late. As well as having the nothing else to go off of, but after a few minutes of entering the forest. The twins disappeared, she couldn't understand how they disappeared. They had been in front of her a few seconds ago, but now she was all alone. She looked around and tried to figure out where she was, but that didn't work and she started to freak out. Which only resulted in her getting even more lost, the only thing that stopped her freak out. Was that she ran right into a lake, which she floated in for a moment before steam started raising around her as she got annoyed. "Why water? This is already the second time today and the day has only just started, I mean it isn't even lunch time yet!" She cried out.

After getting out and drying off, she managed to calm down. Then started looked around when suddenly someone was towering over her, At first she couldn't see them since the sun blocked most of it out. But he said, "what are you doing in Spark forest?" Lucy took a step back, "I was trying to find my next class and the people who were showing me disappeared on me." He saw the guy had dirt colored hair and sitting atop of it was a pink rabbit, at first she thought it was stuffed but then saw it blink. The boy glanced at her uniform, "oh are you by chance a new student?"

She nodded and saw that he had a diamond on it, 'fourth year' she thought. As he said, "then the people who were guiding you. Were simply having some fun with you, it is what first years do to the new students." Lucy groaned at hearing that, like learning everything wouldn't be enough. The boy laughed and said, "do you have your schedule? I'll help you out and don't worry the messing with should stop after about a week or so." Lucy sighed at that, that was good news at least. So pulled out her schedule and handed it to the boy, as he said. "I am Leaf by the way," Lucy couldn't help but asking. "Leaf?" The boy nodded, "I gave myself that name to show how much I love animals and nature."

Once Leaf gave her some direction, she started to leave. Only to stop and look back, "why is this place called Spark forest?" Leaf smiled, being silent only for a moment. Before he said, "because this is where it all started. This place is as unique as every student that has passed through Travis Academy, from the plants to the animals. Including this baby rabbit on my head, the person who founded Travis Academy originally had a place in here that he would teach people with powers how to control them. This forest was what sparked the Academys' life," Lucy found that joke to be horrible but said nothing. "Another reason it is called Spark forest, is that sometimes after storms. Sparks will fly between the branches of some of the trees. Now why not head to class, if you have who I think you have. You will be in big trouble for being late." Lucy nodded and ran, she could tell that life here wouldn't be easy but it would be fun. Thinking, 'maybe I will even learn to control my flame. That way I won't accidently spark anymore fires, though that fire in the chemistry lab did allow me to have someone to talk. Mrs. Radnic and I wouldn't be here without here, so maybe that accidental sparking of the combustible gas was a good thing.'

[Azriel Lilith]

Ok. This is Chapter Three of my fanfiction, It's All Going To End. When I saw this, I decided to make it. Not sure how good it is. It is a Pokemon Mystery Dungeon crossed with Digimon fanfiction. Currently hold 1111 words, 6042 characters, according to Word Counter.

Raphael growled angrily, he had been captured and all thanks to that pesky little team. What a nuisance! He was so angry right now. He clenched his fist as a spark shot out from both his cheeks. He was the Legendary Criminal Raichu! He couldn't let himself be beaten like this! Raphael took a deep breath and began to laugh. No, he had a plan. There was always a way to escape, but, he couldn't do it yet. It wasn't time. Raphael slowly walked to the bed and sighed as he sat down. He swore, that when he escaped, the first thing he was going to do was get his revenge on that pesky team. Meanwhile, Sandshock was talking to Sora, the Biyomon. Beside her was Trix, the Gatomon, Draco, the Agumon, Gale, the Patamon, Snow, the Calumon and Kale, the Gabumon.

"So, Sora, you're telling me, that you six came to our world to investigate our world?"

Sora nodded a little. She was the little, then, Draco stepped forward. He swayed his tail slowly as he gave a warm smile to the little sandshrew.

"Well, actually, not all of us came by choice. Some of us were dragged in by the gravitational pull. I am the leader of the group who had the idea to investigate the other side."

Sandshock nodded for a moment and then suddenly, a beeping sound was heard on the computer. Sandshock turned to look what it was, and smiled when it was a call from Officer Electro. He answered the call, and the screen popped up. Officer Electro did not look happy at all, and began to speak quickly.

"Sandshock, you and everyone else must make their way into the town centre immediately. I am calling everyone up. I will see you soon."

Sandshock nodded and closed the call. Whatever it was, it seemed serious. He'd best not keep him waiting. He looked over to Draco with a smile of his own.

"Ok then, well, you heard him. We best not keep Officer Electro waiting. Whatever it is, it's serious."

They all nodded, and together they made their way into the town centre. When they arrived, they looked around, everyone had gathered. In the very middle stood Officer Electro and Rapheal. Officer Electro slowly moved forward, pushing Raphael with him.

"This here, is Raphael, caught non other by Team Inferno. Without them, we would of never of come this far. As you all know, Raphael is a dangerous criminal. Today, we put an end to this, and hopefully that will bring an end to the problems we have been having recently."

Raphael just stayed silent with a smile on his face, His plan had already been put into action. It was only a matter of time now. He looked to Officer Electro and growled a little.

"You may of caught me, Officer, but that won't put an end to your problems. Trust me on that one. I know. In fact, I know a lot more than you do, although, I don't know why I am bothering to tell you this, when you are about to execute me."

Officer Electro stared at Raphael for a moment when he had finished. He was about to execute him, but now he wasn't so sure. He knew Raphael's tricks, he knew that all this could be a lie. He couldn't be trusted.

"Enough of your lies. We all know that you're the one who's causing all this. It is the only reasonable explanation. We have all seen the crimes you have done, murder, kidnapping, vandalism. You've done it all. How can you expect us to trust you after that?"

Raphael laughed, he was expecting that answer, in fact, he would expect nothing less. Another spark flew off his cheeks as he began to charge up.

"You really don't know, do you? You're right, I have committed a lot of crime, and you shouldn't trust me, but, before you execute me, let me say this. This is only the beginning. It's going to get worse, a lot worse. Soon enough, those dimensional holes will start appearing everywhere, including here, and they will be no escape for you. This world will end if you kill me now. Do you really want to take the chance? You and everyone knows it, that things have gotten a lot worse recently. You're forgetting, I live here too. Why would I want to do this in my own home. I have to worry about you, and those damn things. It makes my life harder."

Officcer Electro listened to him carefully. He wasn't sure what to do, was it really worth the risk. He took a deep breath and then decided on another idea. He looked to Sandshock for a moment with a serious face.

"Sandshock, have you still got that harness you made?"

Sandshock looked to him and tilted his head slowly. He wasn't sure where this was going, but he nodded anyway, answering his answer slowly.

"Yes, I have it, but it is only a prototype. I am not even sure if it works yet. It needs testing."

Officer Electro nodded. So, that was one option. He thought for a moment, as he looked at all his options. Then he nodded. That was the best option.

"Very well, then you can test it on Raphael here. You told me before, it is meant to restraint, correct?"

Sandshock shook his head slowly. That wasn't what it was for at all, but, it could be used for that so the idea worked anyway, and it gave him a good chance to test it.

"Well, actually, no. It is meant to make you stronger by enhancing all your abilities, but, I can tighten it up and take that feature out if you need it to retrain. It is possible."

Officer electro nodded. Then it was decided. He looked to Raphael, he hoped he was making the right decision. He just had a bad feeling about this, but the risk wasn't worth it.

"Very well. Then do it. Once it is on him I will place him in the station.Sandshock, I want you to make an immediate start on it."

Sandshock nodded quickly and rushed off back to the labs. Officer Electro then sighed as Raphael gave a small smile. His plan had worked perfectly. They had no idea, and it was only a matter of time before he could finalize his plan, although, at the far back, stood a lone pichu. Googles on his head and a scarf trailing down his back and touching the floor a little. He stood there, silently, watching Raphael's every move. As he watched him, there was a spark in his eye. He knew something big, yet he stayed silent. Who was he? What did he know? Nobody knew.

[phantasmagoria]

Lonely City

A flash of lightning illuminated my face, but no one would ever know. As the storm raged, the rain that fell only slipped through my hands, leaving me untouched. There was a family down the road running for cover underneath a large tree; what were they thinking they could die they could die I couldn't I couldn't let them make their last mistake and then the thunder crashed again, streaking down to strike the tree, Earth touching fingers with God before he took his creation into Heaven's embrace.

The tree burned. There were screams of agony. I raised my hands to my dry face and felt wet, my own tears that would vanish before they hit the ground, leaving no trace of my existence.

The fire died to leave glowing embers, the rain extinguishing its heat. There were no screams now.

I stood there until the sun reappeared, shining down as brightly as it ever had, oblivious to the fact that maybe, if it had returned sooner, there would be three more faces squinting up into its rays. There were sirens and I was there, I was there when the paramedics confirmed the parents and their only daughter as dead, sent to a better place by electric burns that could have been prevented if only the sun had come back.

No one looked at me. No one asked if I was alright, if I had been hurt when the tree had burst into flames. Tugging on my collar, I turned and left the morbid scene to help myself.

It was a busy day in the city, but I had no problem navigating through the dense crowds and heavy traffic. Several people bumped into me, but no one noticed. No one even felt their elbows and shoulders hit something solid, as there was nothing there to feel. Nearing a hot dog stand, I wrinkled my nose at the weird mixed meat smell but grabbed one off the grill anyway, the owner none the wiser.

I stopped to lean against a nearby building and eat, watching the passing throngs go about their daily lives, chatting away on their cellular phones, reading their newspapers, blind to the other human beings pressing all around them, all with their own stories, their own names, able to share and learn and...

I wanted to shout at them. I wanted to yell "What are you waiting for?! Interact! While you still can!" But no one would have heard me. No one would have heeded my desperate cries.

So instead I stood there. Eating my sausage and waiting.

The sun began to set, and this was it, this was the time that I dreaded, the time that made me feel alone, even more alone than usual. And yet it was beautiful. As the population disappeared into their apartments and condos, their nooks and crannies, I left the city behind.

On the edge of forever, I stared off into the vast expanse of nothing, full of twinkling lights that called "Hello, hello, we see you, we know you're there." There was no one to watch, no one to disregard me, and it almost made me feel like I belonged, like I had a reason for being other than torture, pure torture to leave me here where I could do nothing, nothing except watch.

And I watched.


* * * * * *

How odd I find it that mankind only wishes to take part in the thing they call "daytime", completely overlooking the things that happen, the things they could do under the moonlight. To me, it seems like a wasted opportunity, to miss out on exploring the dark places that would never be seen when you have a goal, a place to be and things to avoid. But I suppose that if they did finally realize the amazing thing called "night", no one would have the freedom to do this because everyone would take part and then they would have places to be, people to visit, and all the time in the world would be ruined. In this way, I was glad that I was what I was, because I was the only one, the only being without places to be, and the only one with this kind of power, the power to truly live. But it wasn't living, was it, this lonely city with only me, like a simple projection that no one cared to watch.

And then the morning came again, and inwardly, I sighed. If only I truly were the only one, so that I could explore to my heart's content, though, thinking back on that desire, this existence would be quite boring without experiences to witness and man's creation to handle.

As I always did, day after day after sunset, I walked through the streets and the crowds, my eye catching on one person or another who did something the others didn't, who dared to stand out against the tide. I would follow them for a moment, until they fell back into the mechanical step, and then I would move on.

A newspaper receptacle was one of these things, and I knelt to read the front page, which read "Family of Three Dies During Storm". How straightforward these writers were, not even brushing over the nasty details of the event that no one near the park had even cared to stop for. Reading this brought me back to the event, where I regretted my slow thinking, I could have thrown a rock, I could have, I could have...

...But what would that have done? They simply would have seen a rock, flying apparently out of midair, and they would have run faster, never knowing that it would only speed them toward their demise. Rising to my feet, a sudden realization struck me, something that I had, for one reason or another, managed to avoid throughout my sixteen years of existing.

I could do nothing. I can always do nothing. And that is the one thing that defines my "being".

I needed to eat again. I never understood, why make me ethereal if I still had the same needs and desires as the mundane? I spotted the same hot dog stand I had visited the day before, or was it a month ago, this repetitive cycle, I never could keep track. My feet moved automatically, attracted to the prospect of food and possibly something more exhilirant, and really, I should listen to my feet more often, because as my toe caught on a fallen briefcase and I tumbled toward the hard concrete, I experienced something alien to me, something I never would have ever expected to occur to me, me of all people, something that others seemed to take for granted.

I felt another's hand.

Someone has joined my lonely city.

[Mihkul]

So, Billy, you sparkin' that little gal down the street? Ha,ha,ha The crackling voice of the old man was like acid against Bill's eardrums as he walked by without speaking. He had been living with his grandfather for 4 years, since he was 13, ever since his parents died in that car crash. Gramps was his only living relative, a drunk, obscene excuse for a human being. yet, social services saw it as an opportunity to close the case; dump him off on a living relative regardless of what sort of creature he was. And Gramps was a vile creature.

The only thing the old bastard supplied for him was a piss-smelling sofa to sleep on. Bill had to fend for himself for all other necessities such as food and clothing. The clothing was not a problem for him. All it took was a shopping trip to the Salvation Army drop box and he usually found something that would fit. Food was a little more difficult, but he managed to frequent the local eateries daily. He knew their schedules and at closing time would wait at the back door for the cooks to dispose of the daily left-overs. Andre, the head cook at Maxine's would always save the best for him, for which he was always grateful.

School was a welcome relief for him and gave him a chance to interact with normalcy. He was bullied by some, but he was street-smart enough to stand his ground. And it was there he could see Ellen, the pretty little blond that lived down the street. Gramps always saw how he looked at her as she walked by and waved to Bill, hence the teasing he got. But, to Hell with Gramps. Sometimes he felt like stapling his mouth shut, or even lighting his drunk ass on fire while he was passed out in his recliner at night while the reruns of Gunsmoke droned on the TV set.

The school was in a frenzy preparing for the big Spring Dance. Banners and signs covered the hallways and doors. Bill usually ignored things like this, but at 17 his hormones began to rage like a forest fire. He wanted to ask Ellen yet there were too many voices in his head telling him different....Gramps voices that continually dragged him down. You don't have any clothes to wear. You don't have enough class for a girl like that. You're a bum.

As the Friday of the dance drew near Ellen miraculously solved Bill's problem-she asked him to go with her, as her escort. Bill did not hesitate. He would figure out the details later; he always did. After school his first stop was at the Salvation Army drop box. He meticulously sorted through the pile of clothing. A pair of khakis was his first prize. They were a little long, but he had learned to sew on his own so hemming them would not be a problem. Then he needed shoes and happened upon a pair of brown Sketchers. They were one size too big, but he could easily fix that with a little toilet paper in the toe. Finally, to complete his wardrobe, he found a shirt...not just A shirt, but THE shirt. It was a bleached white denim button-up shirt. He noticed a small stain on one cuff but figured given the dim lights on the dance floor no one would ever notice.

Bill spent the remainder of the week going to school during the day and altering his outfit in the evenings. The day of the dance he spent his lunch break listening to Ellen talk about her new dress and how she would get her hair done up after school. He listened intently, but did not hear what she said. His mind wandered to his fantasy; gliding across the floor with Ellen in his arms. A hand on his cheek. A kiss on his lips.

The day went by fast and he immediately went home to prepare himself. He was happy to see Gramps passed out in his recliner, smelling of cheap whiskey mingled with sweat. The shower didn't work so a sponge bath would have to do. Then he pressed his clothes with a worn-out steam iron that barely did the job. He dressed and looked at himself in the cracked glass of the mirror. He cleaned up pretty good, he smugly thought. He looked at the clock on the wall. He still had an hour but he would rather be early than late. He would walk down the street to get Ellen and then they would take their time walking to the school. It was only three blocks away, but they would walk slow.

Bill tip-toed down the stairs. He didn't want to arouse the old fart. He didn't want a confrontation to ruin his first date. When he got to the bottom step he realized he didn't have to be quiet...Gramps was awake and rambling through the house like an angry bear, searching for his cheap whiskey. He looked up with bloodshot eyes and saw Bill. A demonic grin crossed his toothless, beard-stubbled face and his glazed eyes lit up like flames.

Where the hell you think you're goin', Billy, all dressed up like some damned movie star. The words were slurred and almost unintelligible, but Bill knew what he was saying. Hell, boy, you must be 'specting to get you some of that girl tonight. He wobbled over to him and Bill stepped back.You smell like a French whore, there, Billy Boy. You must be sparkin' that pretty thang. He reached out and grabbed Bill by the front of his shirt, leaving his greasy, filthy fingerprints all over the white denim.

Bill lost all sense of reality and self control he ever had. He swung his fist and nailed the old man in his bulbous nose. Blood squirted onto his shirt but he was beyond care. The old man staggered backwards a little, then charged Bill like a bull after a red cape, knocking him into the wall. Bill felt the hardness of his grandfather's knuckles drive into his face repeatedly and began to see the blackness of unconciousness. yet something inside him, his survival instinct, drove him with such an adrenaline rush he threw the old drunk backwards into his recliner, knocking over the lamp and smashing it to tiny shards. Bill picked up the pole that had the exposed wires hanging from the shattered lamp.

"You old fuck, let's see who's sparking now". Bill drove the shaft with the exposed wires into the mouth of the man, breaking his dentures as it rammed between his lips. The man's eyes bulged and his skin turned white, then bright red. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air. It must have been the alcohol, Bill thought later, but his head just exploded in a ball of flames, like a Molotov cocktail. The house lights flickered, then went out completely as the circuit breaker overloaded from the short-circuit. The body in the recliner fell limp and Bill vomited.

The police came shortly after and found the old man, or what remained of him, slumped in his recliner and Bill in a total state of shock. They took him away. At the trial, Bill was catatonic and the judge rulled he was mentally incompetent to stand trial and was taken to the hospital for criminally insane. He never recovered and the doctors said he would remain in this vegetative state forever. But, in his mind, Bill was dancing that last dance, feeling the touch of Ellen's hand on his and her lips against his.

[Juicesir]

It was a cabin, much as you would expect any cabin to look like. Built of heavy timbers with tall, browned sides, it stood peaking just over the trees. Perched in the palms of two great mountains, it looked out over the tops of little evergreens down at the greater valley below. Everything became large, the farther you went down: the trickling creek grew to a slowly curving river, the adolescent saplings sprouted to healthy and tall pines, and the saddle of the mountains gave way to a great and sweeping forest. High above, an outcropping of rock stuck out like a finger, pointing to the horizon. The view was magnificent.

A proud man stood beside an equally proud woman, taking in not the sight of the land but that of their new creation. They were two parents gazing lovingly at their child. The cabin had been a long labor, the lumber drawn up with large vehicles and clanging chains, the work slow and tedious. Months had passed where no work was done on it, the skeletal and rising visage of the mountainside retreat standing lonely in the hills, naked and unfinished. With patience and love, the couple had spent months here on the cabin. And now it stood.

They brought it clothing, they brought it furniture, and filled it with rugs and chairs and food. They filled it up. As hands of the couple's friends tried twisting bedding and couches to fit through the frame of the door, the young man went over to the fireplace. It, out everything in the cabin, was the greatest accomplishment.

Stones of many differing shapes and shades had been bound together to form its chimney and hearth. It was not as rectangular as you might have thought, nor as symmetrical as the man had first imagined it. It snaked to the roof of the cabin in a precocious jaunt skyward, reaching through the ceiling and out to the sky. The man looked upon it, the woman seating herself on the only chair near the hearth currently. She smiled, patting her ever-growing belly, and he looked over his shoulder just in time to catch it.

Wood was brought, and tinder too. And in the hearth was built a small but respectable pile of logs. With a lighter, the man let the fire lick the crumpled newspaper which was nestled in with the kindling. In no short time, the flicker of heat could be felt, and a drizzle of smoke crept up the chimney. The slender grey fingers reached for the summer's sun, a friendly wave to another fire burning far, far away.

Many summers would come and go, and the cabin would slowly and imperceptibly gain the passing marks of these happy times. It would gain a certain character to it. There was the summer of the garden, where early along in it a mother would till the rich soil and plant little seeds while the grinning father would look on with a young babe in his arms. Next would come the summer of wine and spirits, the child teetering about cabin's hardwood floor on unsure legs, as the couple laughed with old friends over several bottles of finely fermented grape. There were summers full of impassioned whispers, the sheets of the master bed writhing with pleasure as the moon played nanny for the sleeping child. And there were summers with more young ones, both friends of the first child and a new babe brought into the world.

It was in one of these summers, where the firstborn ran about with sticks fighting the pretend horrors of the hills with his friends, that he began remembering the cabin. But the cabin had never forgotten him. It kept the crayon marks upon its walls, unseen by parental eye. It kept the baby's clothes he had once worn, now adorned by his brother. It kept the garden full of little fruits and berries, and it kept the creek nearby at an even, gurgling run down the side of the mountain. Everything was kept by the cabin, and even when thunder screamed through the night and rain tried to claw its way through the roof, it kept the frightened boy protected along with his family in the master bedroom.

Soon, the thin grey smoke of that first, almost forgotten fire would give way to heartier, darker columns twirling, and the warm green of summers would in turn give way to the reddening of the leaves and the sky. The small dam that was built of mud and rocks was being worked on by the two brothers fastidiously. They bore somber expressions. This activity had once been a joy for both of them, but now served as a distraction from the yelling which could be barely heard emanating from the cabin. In their world, they were builders, mightily in control of the course of this broad and vast river they dammed up with cement and turbines. Captains of industry, controlling nature. The cabin kept watch, the shouts ignored, thin veins of moss mottling its wrinkled walls of logs.

As the dam grew, the brothers grew, and as the cabin became weathered, the family became as such. Where once it had been a grand retreat from the world and a loving place to find adventure, the little corner of the world became their reason to try and keep it all together. The pings and electronic sounds which burst from handheld games and laptop computers echoed through cabin's interior, bouncing off of the walls. Fewer words were spoken, and when they were it was a disparaging encouragement to go play outside. Despite their pastoral beckoning, the world of the hills held little hold over the boys any longer, and this was the first summer neither had worked upon the dam.

And still, the cabin stood.

Colder winds passed through the trees, now. The air seemed heavy with the chill. The winter months drew close, but were still just far enough away. The brothers were now young men, the parents now greyed and tired, and a new face came along with the family. Long locks and a bright smile, the girl asked the second child to show her around. The younger brother showed her the garden, where he remembered plucking peas with his mother just barely. He showed her the sticks and told stories of brave warriors and terrifying shadows. The damaged dam was toured, the leaves and mud once used to plug up holes now long departed down the creek. All the while she smiled, and a ray of sun was cast down upon the cabin's grove.

That night, the younger brother would always remember. They had snuck out, he and the girl, and gone to a quiet overlook he'd always wanted to go to with his brother. The older child had always been afraid, though. The climb was too steep, the path too wild. But that night of reckless abandon, the girl and the younger brother strode through the blue tinted woods with careful, quick step, and a beating in their hearts not from the exertion. Flashlight in hand, they made their way up to the overlook, that protruding finger the two brothers had always seen jutting out from the mountain. Perilous and panicked, the girl and the younger brother persevered, finally climbing to the flat surface.

The cold had made them shiver and hold one another, and the stars had made them kiss. The moon snuck behind a cloud to give them privacy. And while they lay with one another upon the outlook, the cabin stood still far below, quivering with the restless night.

The years had drolled on like leaves down a lonely creek. For many winters and many springs, the cabin stood alone. It had been an age since the family had last visited, an age since the fight between brothers over going to a special place had been fought in its interior. The fireplace was damp from a leak, and in parts of the home could be smelled a dank and foul odor. Closets were filled with unworn clothes of a style that did not match the time. Cabinets were laced with the dregs of cereal and canned goods, testing their shelf life in the embrace of the cabin's comforts.

An old, beat up truck wound its way up the old mountain trail. From the cabin's place you could easily see it coming. As it sauntered up the switchbacks, it came to rest at last in front of the old cabin. The vibrancy of the logs, once so brown, were now murky and ill-tainted. A door slammed, and a man stepped out, one whom the cabin had visit. His was a bearded face, and an official looking uniform. From his jacket he drew a key, and he proceeded to stride through the cabin and its plot with a hardened, inquisitive eye. But he did not see the little crayon markings along the base of the wall, nor did he rifle through an old chest of drawers overflowing with baby's clothes.

He came out back to see the garden, muddied and patchy with weeds. A lonely string of peas struggled against the coming winter and the choking plants that now encroached upon the garden. He made note of the view, though, and then placed a call.

Many would drive up the path in the coming weeks, but not to see the cabin. Large vans would gorge themselves on the its furnishings. The couches, the chairs, the clothes, and the bits of food. All were cast into the maw of the vans. The rugs were rolled, and the bedding was binned. And just as soon as they had come, they left.

Winter was the harshest in that part of the country. It stalked the cabin quietly, trapping it in a thick snow. It painted the mountain a deathly white. Winds whispered threats. The trees around the cabin, once little spritely pines, were now tall old timbers. Thrashing through their needles, the roaring winds of winter pulled at their branches and tugged at their roots. For years, they came and went, and the trees did their best to brace. Not all could be strong. Not all could withstand the wretched tug of time. In the night of one winter, the oldest of the pines finally could no longer stand the taunts of the north. With a creaking sigh, it keeled over, knocking down into the cabin. Wood splintered, snow burst like blood, and what little heat had remained inside was now torn from it like breath knocked lungs.

Seasons changed. No people came. The cabin was lost to its own injury. Its insides were wracked with infestation and strange growths, various animals now inhabiting it. Gathered together in the alcoves of its halls and closets, the cabin watched over its sheltered guests, its new family. Where winter had always been cold, summer had always been mild, and the little animals played inside the cabin's husk, running up and down the uprooted pine. The hot months were always a reprieve, and could always be trusted.

Little nests were clawed together, made of errant objects. Comfortable and cool in the shade of the tall pines, many critters ran about the grove. What remained of the dam was now a bridge for squirrels, and the wild jungle of the garden was being reclaimed by the grass and made anew. Few ever ventured into this neck of the woods anymore. The closest anyone got was late one summer, after an unusually dry spell, when a rowdy group of campers could be heard where the stream became a river.

Theirs was not a kind regard for the site which they inhabited. Belligerent and uncaring, they had run off from the trappings of cities and man-made places and brought their chaotic disdain with them. With repellants they kept the animals at bay, and with fire they fed the night toxic fire of plastics.

It was a spark from that campfire, so innocent and simple, which flew on their last night towards the heavens above. Dancing higher and through the waterless needles, it alighted on a branch, and grew. Far below in the forest at the foot of the mountains, the spark began to jump from tree to tree. From those tree, the spark jumped to more. And soon the spark was a blaze, and soon the blaze was a firestorm. As the red wreaths climbed the sides of the mountains, consuming all the old growth in their wake, the little creatures fled from the cabin's former safety. They could feel the coming heat. They knew what would await them if they stayed. And as the fire encircled the little saddled grove, and black smoke smothered the sky, the cabin stood as it ever had, there on the mountainside.

In a forgotten corner of the world, time marched on. Summer, to autumn, and then to winter. No thin, grey streams drizzled up skywards on the mountain. No thick columns twirled heartily in reddened skies. A quiet had settled on the hills, with small saplings sprouting all about it. Finally, the spring came again. Along an old and rare used road, a little car made the climb to saddle of the mounts. Rattling up the sides, it crept to a place of memory, and came to rest.

Two men, so worn with age, stepped out from the car. The younger told his wife to wait, and she instead preoccupied herself with feeding the small baby held in her arms. Turning to walk together, the men looked upon the ruins of the cabin.

A charred and blackened heap was settled upon a rock foundation. One wall remained, with a snaking spire of a stone chimney holding it upright. The men stepped across the floor, now rotted and burnt. The second floor had collapsed upon the first, little shingles of the roof interspersed among it all. The older man looked at the younger, and the younger gave a knowing nod.

Slowly, the pile was cleared, and slowly more people came to the cabin. They brought it fresh logs, they brought it new stone, and filled it with noise and bustle. They filled it back up, and when it was complete again, the brothers looked on with a deep pride unknown since a time before either of them had lived. It wasn't the same. There were no crayon markings along the floorboards, and the river had long washed away the dam. The garden was gone, and no baby clothes filled any drawer. But a small child ran from the arms of his mother, as the younger brother gave a wry laugh. The child ran through the house, the three adults following. The uncle told the child about the games that once were played here, and the mother and the father went to their room to unpack.

And the cabin stood again.

[Soulio]

With a single spark, a mighty fire can ignite. It can be a metaphorical spark, a physical spark, but in the end, something ignites.
In this case, the spark that happened was a metaphorical one.

“Revolution has broken out amongst the people. The official report for the sudden uprising in the American People explains that this revolution happened due to several causes, one of them being the new law put in place that outlaws Gun Ownership. Put in place by President James Oliver in 2024, the law prohibited any and all gun sales in the U.S, and any gun owner during that time were to give up their guns. While it is not known for sure how the bill got past the Supreme Court, what we do know, is that it sparked a revolution not unlike the one America had almost three centuries ago.” The woman on the television spoke with a calm and collected tone, even though her face showed signs of distress and fright.
Inside his home, Jaime Robertson, surveyed the outside world. He had long since boarded up his house, tossed his neighbors clothes all over his lawn, and graffitied his home, making it seem as though the house had already been cleared. Now, he was just hoping that America would get back to normalcy soon. He hated the sounds of gunfire and screaming. He heard too much of that in Iraq.
But sadly, he knew that very, very soon, someone from the Military would be knocking on his door, and force him to fight against the very people he swore to protect. Whenever he heard a truck drive by, or people walk by, Jaime began to breathe heavily, and his heart began to race.
He hated war. He hated fighting. He joined the military years ago because he thought he could make a difference. And more often than not, he was only killing people who were trying to defend themselves. And whenever the military came for him, that’s what he would have to do, except against his own people.
“Fuckin’ President, having to fuck things up… Why couldn’t you just leave this country alone? Noo… you have to go and fuck the country up… Now you sparked a bloody revolution…” He mumbled as he walked down into his basement.
In his basement, he had an assortment of canned food, boxed food and other things that would be beneficial to have in this circumstance. While America was falling apart, Jaime just wanted to make sure that he wasn’t getting shot at by Patriots or the Military. So, he was treating this like someone would treat an apocalypse. Hole up, and stay quiet.
He picked out a few cans of beans, mangos and corn, and opened his freezer to grab a tiny bit of hamburger.

A few spices and some sauce later, Jaime had his dinner ready to eat. If there was one good thing about a revolution, it was that he could cook even with a window open. All the smoke from the explosions and gunfire, his tiny bit of smoke would blend right in.
He grabbed his laptop, and popped in a DVD of some random movie as he ate. It was something that relaxed him. He hated the silence when he ate.

Outside, a military jeep filled with soldiers stopped outside his house. Looking at a piece of paper, the two soldiers in the front of the jeep nodded to one another, and got out.
They made their way up towards Jaime’s door, surveying the lawn.
“Are you even sure he’s here? By the looks of it, he’s long gone,” said one of the soldiers.
“If he ain’t, it’s not like we can get in trouble. Half this list is of people that got the hell outta dodge,” the other soldier replied, pounding on the door.
“Open up! We’re here for Private Jaime Robertson of 68th Battalion!” Another pound on the door.
Jaime’s eyes snapped open upon hearing the voice.
“Fuck…” he said, silently getting out of his chair. If he could be quiet enough, maybe they’d think he was gone.
“Open up!” Another burst of pounding. Silently making his way to his kitchen drawer, Jaime slid it open, and pulled out a small revolver.
Just because the government outlawed possession of firearms, didn’t mean everyone gave them up.

Outside, the soldier backed away from the door, and slammed hard against the door. They still had to check the house just in case anyone was hiding in there.
A few more rams later, and the door crashed open, causing Jaime to bolt behind a wall.
“Get out!” He yelled, holding his revolver close. He didn’t want to shoot the soldiers if possible, but he would if he had to.
“We’re here for Jaime Robertson. Is that you?” The soldier asked, kneeling on the ground, his rifle raised.
Jaime paused, pondering on whether or not he should lie to them or not.
“Sir, if you do not respond, we will detain you, and find out one way or another. Are you Jaime Robertson?”
“Y-yes… And I don’t want anything to do with this revolution. Get out.”
“Sir, we have strict orders to gather any former soldier of the United States and bring them to the Capitol for full reinstatement. I can’t do anything.”
“Yes you can. Just leave, and say no one was here.”
“Private, I have a jeep of soldiers out there. Someone will say something. If I were to do that, I could get court marshalled and put in the front lines. And then someone would come for you that WILL take you back to the Capitol one way or another. And if you were to leave, then you’d be dead much, much faster.”
Jaime listened closely. The soldier made perfect sense. No matter what, he’d have to go with them. Which meant that he’d have to fight against the American people.
“Alright…” He stepped out from behind the wall, and lowered his gun.
“Good on you, Private. Let’s go.”
With that, Jaime obediently followed the soldier, and jumped into the back.

A single spark caused a revolution. And a single spark would change a country.

[Chat Noir]

You know how when you kiss the person you love, you're supposed to feel fireworks? There's supposed to be a spark between you that makes you feel like you've been electrocuted, but in a good way. Which apparently there is a good way to get shocked, if any of the romance novels I've read are to be trusted. I don't know about that, but the romance novels haven't led me astray yet so I'll keep my hopes up.

Anyways, back to the point. Kissing is supposed to make you feel alive. Well I just had my first kiss and it wasn't that great at all. Now before we get going, it wasn't his fault... probably. It might have been, though I guess I don't really blame him for the lack of fireworks. He was great, still is actually, so I have to assume that the reason the kiss went wrong was on my end. I just felt let down by it. What's the big deal about shoving your lips against somebody else's besides the amount of germs you can share that way? After all the buildup to it, the nerves and anxiety, plus the fear of getting caught I thought that it would blow my mind away.

But it didn't.

I guess maybe a little back story wouldn't hurt, to help you understand why exactly I was so pumped up for this. Ever since I can remember, my mother has read harlequin romance novels. You know, those books with the really hot guys on the front who are usually shirtless for no reason? Yeah, those ones. Well I haven't always been into reading, but when I was ten there was this contest at my school to see who could read the most books and whoever did won a bike. And let me tell you, that bike was amazing. Well, it was to my ten year old brain at least.

Wow, I go off on a lot of tangents. I never realized that before. Sorry. Regardless, this contest is what got me so into reading. And of course, instead of reading age appropriate books, I just went right on into the steamy, smutty romance novels my mother left lying around the house. I guess she assumed I would never bother finding out what was inside since I'd never been interested in reading before. Boy was she wrong, and holy crap if you could have seen her face when I went up to her and asked about all the naughty stuff going on in them. It was priceless, and I really wish I'd had a camera so I could have taken a picture.

Anyways, it's been about six years since that moment and after multiple fights with my mother over whether or not I should be allowed to read them, a few including my father even though he typically stayed out of it, I've so graciously been allowed to read them as long as I don't tell anybody outside the family. Oh and also I have to gossip with my mom about all the hot guys in them. It's really less of a chore than you might think, since most of the guys are super dreamy. If you've ever wondered why girls like bad boys, then you need to read a harlequin romance novel and you'll find out. Although reality never is like fantasy, which I guess most girls learn the hard way.

I suppose the same could be said about my first kiss. I'd been reading those books for going on seven years now and I guess I'd just hoped that it would be exactly like it had been described to me in the books. Amazing and awe inspiring. I thought I'd feel like I was on top of the world, or that my heart was going to beat out of my chest – which it kind of was, though not because the kiss was that great. It was over the fact that I was super nervous because it wasn't that great.

Ugh, just thinking about it makes me upset because I just know that it should have been better. He even told me that for him it was amazing! Maybe something's wrong with me, like, I don't know, my spark isn't sparkly enough? I'm not sure, but why would it be good for him and not for me? Is it different for boys and girls? Or maybe it's just different for everybody? Although, no matter how you toss the dice, you still can only end up with a select few possibilities. I guess I just went straight to jail and didn't collect two hundred dollars. Which sucks. I bet I was playing the wheelbarrow instead of the dog. (Everybody knows the dog is the best, and that the wheelbarrow is the worst, it's like a general rule of life (not the board game.))

Wow, seriously? More tangents? Holy shit, how is that even possible? I'm just really bad at staying on track I guess. Maybe I should tell less stories? But that wouldn't really help, I'd just be trying to hide the fact that I do that. Hmm, well whatever. I guess right now it's not important, and it also has nothing to do with anything. Oops.

So anyways, about the kiss. I'm going to try and get him to kiss me again. It shouldn't be too hard since he liked it way more than I did. Unless he was lying! Do you think he'd lie to me? He might, but that'd be really rude and I'm not sure if I'd date him after that. Thouuugh, that would be a bit hypocritical since I told him that the kiss was great and it definitely was not great. Maybe we're more alike than I thought we were? Well whatever, I'm going to try again and hope it's better than last time.

Wish me luck? Wish harder. No, harder... Yep that's good. Just keep wishing like that and I think i'll be good. Thanks! Until next time! I'll be sure to tell you how it goes, okay!

[Naraness]

The woman scrambled away from the edge of the cliff, and closed her eyes, trying to comfort herself in the darkness of the tunnel. It would be alright, she was sure. What did it matter that she had nearly fallen to her death into an abyss in the earth? At least she was still alive for the moment. That much was comforting. If she was going to survive, then she would need to move on and gather the strength to continue searching for the surface.

So she turned around and continued. Just as before, she was unendingly cautious. But now, with her near death experience to back her up, she was convinced it might be safer to crawl and feel along with her hands. On her knuckles and knees, she made her way through the lightless tunnels. She stayed pressed against the side, with the stone there to comfort her lest she lose all grip of reality. At the moment, the rock was her only tether to the real world.

Her palms ached from contact with tiny bits of grit and pebbles, but she refused to stand up and walk. She would not risk falling to her death. If I only had some light. She thought, sighing. Then perhaps I could mark the tunnels, learn them… I could find my way out. But with only her sense of touch to guide her, every patch of stone was exactly the same.

Dread was slowly seeping in.

Exhaustion wasn’t far behind it, and soon enough the woman decided that there was no safer place than wherever she happened to be. With a quiet groan, she rolled over onto her side and curled up with her back pressed into the wall of the tunnel. Her eyes closed, and she noticed with a bit of irony that there was no difference between having her eyes opened or shut. Darkness was still darkness when one closed their eyes.

Sleep came quickly, but it was restless and futile. The sound of her own breathing woke her up time and again, and she would bolt awake with the fear that some creature was making a meal out of her. After many attempts, there finally came a portion of sleep which lasted for a few hours.

This time, when her eyes opened, it was not because she’d heard her own breathing. Nor was it because she’d woken naturally from enough rest. No… There was something else in the tunnel with her. She could tell the moment her eyes snapped open, for the world was dark and she was perfectly still… But the sounds of shuffling and curious whining were unmistakable. A gasp escaped her throat, and she shrunk further against the wall.

The shuffling stopped for a moment, and was then followed by a chorus of little yelps as the creature scuttled away. “Don’t hurt me.” The woman pleaded, sitting up and pressing further into the wall. The stone was, however, unyielding.

The sound ceased again, and she heard something of a quizzical trill. “Huh?” Her eyes suddenly stung as a small fire sparked in the air, and there behind the flame was a small reptilian head. She sat there in astonishment as she watched the creature blow out a steady, but unthreatening spark. The light floated in the air, illuminating the tunnel just enough that she could see the cat sized creature sitting there, with its head tilted to an angle and a puppy-like grin splayed on its face.

As the spark went out, she swallowed hard. It was a dragon.

[Omac]

This one was weeeeeeeird...

Her big, maddening single eye stared at me with full intention of doing her worst. I had already eaten sixteen chocolate chip cookies, but Nancy, the maid cyclops, was almost forcing them down my throat. She wanted me to be fully fed and treated before we set out on our quest to find a crystal and be able to send me back into my true body. As currently I was trapped in one of someone who looks exactly like me.
“Just one more bite?” She asked.
I shook my head trying to take my attention to the notebook in my hands. It’s the book I found in the treasure chest after battling with Fudge. I couldn’t read it very well. Most of it was in another language, or at least appeared to be, and the rest was a mixture of chicken scratch and eraser marks. The one word I kept finding though was the name, Shane, but I wasn’t sure what it meant. I felt like I’ve heard before…
“These cookies are going to go bad if you don’t eat a few more,” Nancy threatened.
I looked directly into her eye, “Look, I’m busy trying to sort through this and I couldn’t stuff in anymore if I wanted to,” she looked sad so I took one more cookies, “Fine, but after this we’re heading out. I need to get back as soon as possible,”
I could hardly hear her over my loud chewing, but I understood when she pulled out a small box, setting it on my lap. “Please use this. It got Piper through a lot of dangerous situations that I think would come useful. You said you didn’t have your weapons anyway so you’ll something to keep up to speed,”
Rolling my eyes I opened the box to find a small little red flute that was filled with cracks. “I’ll take it, but no promises on me using it,” I stood up sliding the notebook back into my backpack and putting the flute in the opposite pocket as my starfish gem.
Then the front door blasted open, forcing me to get off the sofa, as a beautiful young lady with long blonde hair. In her blue dress, with emeralds sown into the bottom layer of her dress, she looked like a princess. She made her way over to me, pulled me in close, and into a big, soggy kiss. After she did that she pushed me back down into the couch. She grabbed her tongue and rubbed it down to get off any germs. “You, are not my Piper. There wasn’t any sparks,”
“What? You’re the one who comes up and randomly kisses me and you’re mad at me?” I asked standing up again feeling myself full of rage.
“I expected my boyfriend to be here, but it appears the transformation has worked,” she held out her hand, “I’m Nat. I heard from Nancy that you’re going to take on Pip? I have to tell you if you really think you can take someone that powerful you’re in for a rude surprise.”
I shook my head, “I took down Fudge, what makes you think I can’t take on this fire elemental?”
She took a cookie from Nancy and talked with her mouth open, “Look. You battled an ice creature,” she stuffed another bite in her mouth, “This one is fire and is possibly the most powerful boss in the entire kingdom. Have you taken a look outside? All of that is caused by Pip,”
She made a decent point. I haven’t looked outside since I arrived here in the Pied Piper’s house. I also wondered where their parents were? Was Piper raising his sister and going on quests at the same time? If he was like me he wasn’t even officially an adult yet. I didn’t have time to think about it. I put on my backpack and insured that my shoes were tied. I looked to Nancy gesturing that we should leave, but she looked to Nat about to ask her a question.
“No!” I blurted out taking the attention to me, “I don’t want Nat to go with us. Plus, someone has to stay here to watch the kid,”
Nat turned to me, “You could use my skills. I’m very helpful when it comes to climbing. Let me guess? You took on the last all by yourself. With me by your side you wouldn’t have to do that. Piper never let me go on any of his adventures and every time he’d come back hurt,”
“He could get hurt?”
“You can’t?” She asked suspiciously.
“Well.. I..” I had to keep my business a secret, “Of course I can die.. I’m not invincible where I start over an area where I died or anything,”
“Wait, what?”
“Nothing,” I sighed, “You can’t come. I personally don’t like you and don’t want you getting in the way. If I’m being completely honest here,”
Nat was so angry she smacked down onto the plate of cookies Nancy was holding and it came crashing down to the ground. She came over to me, knocking me down once more and slipped in for a kiss. This time she didn’t pull away for an entire minute. I, on the other hand, was trying to get her off me. Nat whispered into my ear, “This is so hot,”
At that moment I pushed her down wiping my mouth, “Gross. You were right there isn’t any sparks. Not that I would know. That was my second kiss ever as long as I remember,”
She stood back up looking over to Nancy to apologize then to me, “I don’t know what’s come over me. I like it when Piper talks to me that way and you’re in his body so.. I got carried away,” she put out her hand to help me up, “How about we get on the road?”
“How about you stay here while Nancy and I go to fight this Pip character?”
“I’m coming with you!”
“No,” I stood up and went to the door, “Nancy, we’re leaving. Just the two of us… Let’s get going,”
“Fine” Nat replied before tossing a thick wooden stick at my feet, “This is something I made for you. Piper never got to use it, but it’s crafted out of a special type of rock that makes it nearly impossible to break. Even fire would have trouble burning it. If you press the button on top a small blade with come out of it’s end. I made it so you, or better yet Piper, could beat Pip with it. You can thank me later,”
I picked it up, putting it a sling in my back like how my sword’s sling was, “Uh.. I didn’t even notice you carrying it, but yeah.. Thanks..” I looked to Nancy, “Let’s go,” I then moved to open the door and then I saw it. I opened it wide to see an entire forest of burnt, dead trees. Some of them were still on fire. “Holy, hell,”
“Yes,” Nancy said coming over to me, “Pip has made many attempts to burn down this forest and destroy its magical properties. This place used to be a place of beauty. Now it’s like you have said.. A holy,hell,”