Website 7.6, September 24, 2011

Today, I am featuring Website Version 7.6! It corresponds to July 2008.

I'm currently having a problem with my artwork. I moved into my dorm for college last Sunday and I haven't been able to transfer Photoshop yet and I cannot go home until next Friday. I will have new characters in a week or two. For now, let's move on to the next episode!

"The top has tabs for you to go through. The episode list, character list, etc.

My name is Matthew Tran and this is a story titled 'Fires of the Sky'. This was made out of boredom so I don't expect good grammar until later.

This story is about a boy named Matt who enters his first day of high school. However, once he steps in, an incident occurs minutes later behind the large gym of where he sat. As he goes outside, a huge commotion goes on about a fire and Matt tries to save his friend. He trips on a puddle of oil. Unfortunately, he faints from the harsh slipping that he had experienced. As he wakes up, he mentions the fire but his friends say none of that happened. As time goes by, Matt will experience his own powers, along with new friends who will have the same problem. What will Matt have to do?"

-I added episode 110. The 'Fires of the Sky' tab on top has episode 110 if you cannot find it.
-Note: Please tell me any errors that you find! I will fix them.

Episode 110: A Day of Specialties, the Missing Pieces

We now arrive in a world of despair. The parallel universe and timeline is now widely arrayed but cannot be evened into a single existence. Almost all truth has been revealed, but a person was lost in return. As the story goes on, now the students will have to fight against antagonists with many missing pieces in their hearts. The goal to restore order had failed enormously and now it is almost too late to change what has been done. All the extra time has been used and there is no second to waste. Students with powers must face the eternal truth. With only one more chapter left of the freshman year, what will be accomplished and where are the antagonists residing in now…? 

Episode 110 - A Day of Specialties, the Missing Pieces
 
    “It’s your day, Matt! You’re now fifteen.” Shirley handed Matt a chocolate cake. “Alex and I made it for you!” She giggled.
    Matt took the chocolate cake into his hands, “You made this whole thing, just for me?”
    “We’re friends, always have been since the beginning of high school! Don’t you forget that.” She said.
    “And remember the first time we spoke to each other – ‘you think you’re pretty’? Haha, I still remember that.” Alex added.
    Matt turned to Alex. It was strange for them to actually talk to each other. They don’t often speak to each other anyway. Matt just nodded and then agreed, “Yeah, aha.”
    Later during their Geometry class, their group began to eat the cake together. Matt felt satisfied especially at the fact that his friends were nice enough to make something for him. His old friends in the past never usually did anything. Matt suddenly stopped laughing when he thought about how not everyone could make it for his day. Jen could not even remember Matt’s full name. Whenever Matt tries to tell her, she would forget the next day. As for Stan, of course, he is angry at Matt. Mariel is gone forever, and her comedic personality was not there to support his mood. For Santi and Winny, they were simply hidden somewhere with Luther without any way of contact. This disappointed him so much.

~~~

    As class ended, everybody rushed outside. Jennifer, Guadalupe, and a tall man with long hair stood next to each other, watching Matt leave the classroom with a sign of slight despair. Jennifer interrupted his thoughts, “Hey yo!” She quickly gave him a short hug.
    Matt jumped in surprise. He said to them with innocence, “Uh- huh?”
    “You’ve met my friends, right?”
    Guadalupe came closer to Matt as she poked him on the forehead, “Of course you remember. I’ve been in your Science class for the whole year.”
    The tall man raised his hand, “And it’s me, Brandon Mares. Same class as you and Lupe.” Lupe was Guadalupe’s shorter name.
    Matt felt his forehead in confusion, “(Why can’t I remember the both of them?)”
    “Anyway, we want you to come with us. There is this park called Fletcher Park not far from here but if we walk, it won’t take so long!” Jennifer became excited for the adventure.
    This was a bit too sudden for Matt. He knew where Fletcher Park was. It would be about a thirty-minute walk from school. Besides, what did she want? Jennifer’s eager had Matt wonder if she knew about his powers. He hesitated for a second, “N-No it’s-…”
    “Oh come on. Bring one of your friends too.” Jennifer said quickly. She saw Yessenia leaving the classroom, “Hey just bring Yessenia.”
    Yessenia ran up to Jennifer and they hugged. Matt felt disturbed. “What are you two doing?”
    Yessenia explained, “Jennifer was my first new friend here in El Monte! We met during summer school last year.”
    “Really?” Matt was surprised.
    Jennifer said to Yessenia, “Aw, you never mentioned me?”
    “Well… uh…” Yessenia looked away. Yessenia acted much different around Jennifer. It was as if… she was extremely happy for once.
    Lupe grabbed Matt’s arm and she ran off, “Let’s go, Matty!” She giggled and they ran off together. It was strange. Why are they different from everybody else? They gave Matt much more attention than any person would. Still, Matt did not want to think about it for the most part. Instead, he decided to come along and enjoy the moment, leaving no care on the way.

~~~

    Meanwhile, Alex, Shirley, Jaime and Peter were all walking towards the front of the school so that they could get picked home. “Health class is so annoying!” Jaime commented.
    “It can’t be that bad.” Peter said.
    “What do you know? You, along with Shirley and Alex all have Geometry class. Health class shows you a lot of naked pictures of private parts and stuff.”
    Shirley crossed her arms, “What do you expect from a health class? To teach you about the food triangle? You should have learned that in elementary school.”
    “Don’t they have cameras in classrooms showing what teachers should show to students? I mean those pictures were bad enough.” Jaime shivered from the sight of nudity in the pictures.
    “Speaking of cameras… is this school still on high surveillance?” Alex asked. At this point, Peter kept his ears on full attention.
    Shirley said in a panic, “I wonder if they have been watching every student and every place this whole time? That wouldn’t be good for us.”
    “Why’s that?” Jaime did not bother to think about the reason.
    Shirley elbowed Jaime but this showed as obvious to Peter. Peter raised an eyebrow. Alex made a fake cough and then he changed the subject. “So about that math test tomorrow!”
    Shirley sighed, “UGH. We have one like… every other day. Our teacher is trying to fit her yearly math class into just six weeks.”
    “Hah…” Peter could only say so much.

~~~

    Jennifer threw a basketball at Lupe but it hit her stomach and she fell over. Jennifer gasped and she ran up to Lupe. Matt was about to follow but Yessenia grabbed Matt’s left shoulder. “Stop.”
    “Huh? What is it now…” Matt was a bit nervous.
    “You are worried, right?”
    “About what…”
    “Lots of your friends are missing or they have a problem. I could see it in your eyes. It is more obvious today because they are not here for you on your special day.” She said coolly. “I know how you are feeling.”
    “You do?”
    “Sure. Well, temporarily. Jon was a great person way back then, but his dispel powers caused him to possess evilness in him. In the end, I stayed strong and we were able to pull through. Jon changed back to normal. Who knows? Maybe a miracle can happen. Jen will get her memory, Stan might be possessed but it can be dispelled just like Jon, Santi and Winny will come back if we try hard enough.”
    “But Mariel-…”
    “Mariel too. Even though she is gone for good, there may be a chance to revive her and we just do not know of a way to do so.”
    “Since when did you believe in miracles?”
    “I do not believe in them. I was just giving you a suggestion. Do what you want to believe in. Right now, remember to stay happy and live your fifteenth birthday as your favorite with these people.” Yessenia gave Matt a smile.
    Matt tried to smile back. “And these people… are very suspicious.”
    “I was thinking that as well. They might know about us but as long as we do not confess to them ourselves, we are safe. Remember, telling people about our powers make our own powers uncontrollable. I am sure that if they know without us telling them directly, it is safe.”
    Matt said without thinking, “Then why can’t we just let everybody know? There’s no problem with that.”
    “You are forgetting the initial reason why we never tell people. We would be claimed as crazy, unhuman, and we would be sent into labs, jails, and other torturing places just to be tested. Now come on, Lupe is still on the floor and we should help her.”
    Matt said stupidly, “Shouldn’t Jennifer and Brandon be enough support?” Yessenia stared at him but Matt decided to follow along.

~~~

    On the next day, Jennifer ran into Peter alone. She wanted to talk to him but Peter wanted to ignore her. He wanted to make sure that she got nowhere close to the idea that Matt and his friends have powers. Jennifer gave Peter a cassette tape, “Here, listen to this.”
    “You want me to listen to some old music?” Peter asked. He wanted to walk away but the offer was strange. So, he became curious.
    “No, hear me out. I know the real truth to Matt and Yessenia.” She smiled, “I put a recording pod in Matt’s orange pocket when I hugged him.”
    “You hugged him?”
    “That’s not the point. I got their conversation all recorded. “I can confirm the truth now. That they have that.”
    Peter took the cassette and he clenched it into his hands, “You’re not getting this back.”
    “E-Excuse me? That cassette tape is originally mine here.”
    “Well the words said in it are clearly not yours.” Peter argued back. Peter was about to run off but Jennifer stopped him.
    “Listen! I’m not trying to ruin their lives or anything. I understand that they have to keep this a secret. I can’t believe it myself, but it is there, happening now. All we can do is help them. That’s why I’ve been breaking all of the surveillance cameras each time.”
    “How did you get a hold of each of them?”
    “Lupe and Brandon helped me. We’re invisible, except we don’t have what Matt and Yessenia have.”
    “Well that’s nice. Just don’t bother talking more about it. I’m leaving.”
    Jennifer grabbed onto Peter’s arm, “Wait! Don’t you want to help them? They could be exposed by other people if nothing is done. If it weren’t for our surveillance break-ins, Matt and Yessenia would have been exposed by now. Come on, don’t you want to help?”
    “Well… it’s not my problem. But, I don’t want them to be exposed by other people. It’s not even others’ problems, that’s all.”
    “So that’s the way you think. Hm, feel free to talk to me if you think it is the right thing to do then. We are going to help them.” She walked away without the cassette tape.
    Peter was left alone, holding onto the tape. He took a look at it, feeling a bit more curious this time. “My house is only across the street. I could always listen to it for a minute or two. No biggie…”

~~~

    Matt and Yessenia were in front of Santi’s house. Matt became worried. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to tell Santi’s parents that he went out on a school trip for a long time? You know, eventually they’re going to become impatient.”
    Yessenia answered him, “I already told Shirley and Alex to talk to Mariel’s parents. Winny might have came back to El Monte a few times without us being able to find her. Her parents did not report her missing after all. This leaves us with Santi. We can think of another excuse when it becomes late.”
    Matt took a step back, “Uh… you knock.”
    “Ugh, fine.” She knocked on the door and Santi’s sister appeared.
    Matt was surprised. Seeing a woman pass away in another world, still alive in the main world. “Um, um uh…”
    “We wanted to talk about Santi.”
    “Oh… Did you find him? Where is he? Please tell me he’s okay!”
    “He is very okay. He went out on a voyage for a scholarship and he will not be back for awhile.”
    “Why didn’t he tell us? And isn’t he worrying about scholarships a bit too early? You can’t really-…”
    Yessenia said with haste, “It is a four-year planner for this scholarship and he wanted to surprise you but he probably did not expect you to get too worried. The school is trying to keep it a secret too.”
    “But that’s really messed up.” Santi’s sister said as she had her hands on her hips, “That should be marked as illegal!”
    “Don’t blame the school.” Matt tried to defend Yessenia.
    Yessenia whispered, “(I already blamed it in the first place geez, Matt.)”
    “No, I want him home. He doesn’t need a scholarship to make us happy. I just want to know if he’s safe!”
    Yessenia scratched her head, “Alright fine, he will be back. I promise.”
    “By when?”
    “By a month or so. It is a summer program.”
    “Okay. If he does not come back by then, I am giving the school another call! Thank you for telling me this. Is there anything else?” Matt and Yessenia shook their heads in silence. “Mmkay, thanks again. I’ll be waiting.” She slowly closed the door.
    Matt quickly turned to Yessenia, “A month?! Really? We don’t even know if Santi and Winny are gonna come back to us!”
    “Then all you need is a little hope and confidence. We will get them back.”
    “Oh yeah? And what if we don’t get him back? What if his family calls and makes our school look even worse? Yessenia, this has been one of the worst ideas you’ve ever made!”
    “What could we have said? Would you rather tell the truth and make everything worse, or stall for a month? We had no other choices here, Matt.” Yessenia said in frustration. She was right. A year-length of a missing child would be extremely worse than just a month. Any other excuse would be worse than the one that Yessenia had in mind. At least if they stall, there is still a chance…
    Matt did not want to argue anymore. He realized that her idea was the only idea that could work for the time being. He said with a frown, “You’re probably right… So for now, should we go back to Edmund and find them again? I kinda don’t want to stall any longer.”
    “Now you are talking. We just need to try harder. You know, look for them more efficiently. Now, we just need more people to help us the next time we return to Edmund. We do not want to get trapped again like before near the tower. First, let us go recruit some people.”
    Matt was about to walk ahead but Yessenia stopped him. "Wait, there is one more thing I wanted to give you..."
    "H-Huh?"
    "For your birthday. It's a pin that matches my AIM screen name."
    "It says 'Mary had a little lamb - with mint jelly'...?" Matt said in confusion. Yessenia chuckled and than Matt shrugged it off, "Oh well. I like it! Hehe. Thanks, Yessenia. I'll keep it forever."

~~~

---- Next chapter preview:

Matt: Next week on episode 111, our way of contact is getting worse! I can't even make a phone call anymore. What is wrong with our connection?
Shirley: Come on guys, let's play badminton!
Matt: At a time like this?! We're in danger and we keep trying to call you! 
Jennifer: We need to help these people, Lupe. They aren't just any human beings. And whatever they are, we are still there to support them along the way. I have the perfect idea.
Yessenia: Luther?! What is he doing here?!
Matt: I don't care! Whatever it takes, I'm going to bring him down!
Yessenia: W-Wait! Don't be ridiculous!
Matt: We're almost there into the dimension! How are we going to succeed if we cannot even connect to the real world's phone lines? Next time on episode 111, Raptures of the Gray Inaccessible Letters!
Matt: We have to keep... going...

Go to Episode 111 - Raptures of the Gray Inaccessible Letters ->

Website 7.5, September 17, 2011

Today, I am featuring Website Version 7.5! It corresponds to July 2008.

I'm posting this early but it's scheduled for the 17th which is today by the time you're reading this. Confusing, I know. Let's just say I found out that I can update my story months ahead and it'll automatically post for you readers from now on. I'm going to update all the way 'til the end of November. Updates will be automated at 12:00-12:05pm every Saturday from now on. Well, for new blog posts. Any pictures will be manually updated by me still. Great update for the website!

"The top has tabs for you to go through. The episode list, character list, etc.

My name is Matthew Tran and this is a story titled 'Fires of the Sky'. This was made out of boredom so I don't expect good grammar until later.

This story is about a boy named Matt who enters his first day of high school. However, once he steps in, an incident occurs minutes later behind the large gym of where he sat. As he goes outside, a huge commotion goes on about a fire and Matt tries to save his friend. He trips on a puddle of oil. Unfortunately, he faints from the harsh slipping that he had experienced. As he wakes up, he mentions the fire but his friends say none of that happened. As time goes by, Matt will experience his own powers, along with new friends who will have the same problem. What will Matt have to do?"

-I added episodes 108 and 109. The 'Fires of the Sky' tab on top has episodes 108 and 109 if you cannot find it.
-The overdue picture of Stan is now on his character page. Expect yet another one next week.
-Note: Please tell me any errors that you find! I will fix them.

Episode 109: Chasing after Friends, a Sincere Emotion

We now arrive in a world of despair. The parallel universe and timeline is now widely arrayed but cannot be evened into a single existence. Almost all truth has been revealed, but a person was lost in return. As the story goes on, now the students will have to fight against antagonists with many missing pieces in their hearts. The goal to restore order had failed enormously and now it is almost too late to change what has been done. All the extra time has been used and there is no second to waste. Students with powers must face the eternal truth. With only one more chapter left of the freshman year, what will be accomplished and where are the antagonists residing in now…? 

Episode 109 - Chasing after Friends, a Sincere Emotion

            Shirley and Jaime just finished their battle against approximately eight soldiers nearby the entrance to the underground cellar below the Tower of Despair. There was a hole that was left open from a few soldiers. Once Shirley took sight of the hole, she headed closer to it, wondering if it was okay to jump in. Jaime followed her and they both watched. Shirley sat down while trying to catch her breath, “Ah… all that fighting got me a bit tired already.”

            “Did you overdo it? You must have used too much power in order to get tired within just one fight.” Jaime said with a teasing tone.

            Shirley said with pride, “Hey, you saw me fight them off, didn’t you? I was awesome and that’s all you need to know. Now come on, I think we should go down!”

            “Alright whatever. But, you are the reason why we took a minute pause.” Jaime went down first.

            Shirley got angry as she pushed him down the hole with force. “Serves you right, jerk.” She jumped in joyously after him.

~~~

            Matt and Yessenia continued down through the hallway leading further away from the cellar. There were a few forks on the road but Yessenia decided that they should stick together even if there are multiple paths. Soldiers constantly kept coming in from both ends but with Yessenia’s blunt sword and Matt’s fire shield, they could easily surpass the soldiers. They had to hurry, however. Their powers were limited with their own energy of course.

            While fighting off the enemies, Matt asked Yessenia, “Why did you save me? Now Stan is going to come after us! Luther’s going to find out too.”

            Yessenia slashed and then stabbed a soldier. She looked over her shoulder, “Do you think worrying about who’s going to chase after you later is our problem right now? We should not be just sitting around in this prison anyway.” The digicell vanished away.

            Matt opened his eyes wide from realization. “(So... You gave up outside of the tower just so that you could make up a plan for escape. Nice.)” Matt thought.

            Yessenia stabbed another soldier, “Listen, Stan can appear at any second. He should already know that we are making our way out of here.”

            “Uh oh…”

            “Do not be afraid of him when he shows up! If you keep thinking that he will beat you all the time, then how are you going to get the courage to become even stronger?”

            “But…”

            All the soldiers were gone for the moment. Yessenia went ahead while saying, “Just be extra ready whenever he comes by. We should not just be talking forever. Remember, we are looking for Alex and then the others who left us days ago.” Matt nodded and followed her.

~~~

            On a far off place… far from Edmund, but farther from any other world, there lies a deep, dark dimension that has no end to it. This must have been Luther’s real hideout. The dark unknown that is said to be the parallel location to the underworld of Olympia… Winny was running nonstop but she did not know where she was going. This Winny… was the original “Winny” from before her freshman year. She looked frightened as ever. “Where are you? Where, where? Sister!”

            Luther’s voice was heard from the thundering sky. “You are in your own vision, Winny. I still see that your powers have not overcome you yet.” Winny listened carefully. Luther went on, “Your true emotions have broke against your split personality.”

            Winny took a step forward with anger, “I... don’t need anybody to tell me who I should be! Fear, anger, it doesn’t matter. I am who I am. All I ever wanted was a normal life where I could just be myself, while being happy with my sister. You promised that my sister would be free.”

            “And that I did.”

            “No, no you didn’t! Yes, she’s free from Edmund since last year but all this time, she was still under your control. You know why? Because she still has her powers! Make them go away!”

            “I CANNOT DO THAT!!” Luther exclaimed as loud as he could. The dark aura around him caused a greater force that pushed Winny further back.

            Winny covered her face. Her hair flowed in the opposite direction from her. Winny clenched her fists, “Why not? You’re the almighty leader of almost every world by now. What makes you unable to clear something simple like this if you could create terror?”

            “That’s enough!! You’ll be stuck in this huge asylum until you figure out your true being. Take this as a consequence! You’re not the only one who has to deal with such stupidity. Heh.” He disappeared and Santi appeared moments after.

            Santi saw Winny just standing there. “Winny! I am glad I found you.” Winny turned around with a frown. Santi gasped. He has never seen her so disappointed since summer school before she gained her powers of split personality. “Are you alright?”

            Other than Winny clenching her fists, she did the same for her teeth. She said with regret, “Why did I even bother…?”

            “What are you talking about…?”

            “Why did I ever follow Luther? Why did things have to come this way? You told me everything yourself. When I tried to talk to you about powers back in summer school last year, you pretended it was your first time that you ever heard of these powers.” She had her hands behind her back. She twisted her body, talking about the past. “You told me… that ever since the sixth grade, you have been a servant to Luther. He discovered Earth by using the Paradox Amulet.”

            “Yeah… That is all true.” Santi said in shame. “That was the same exact time when your sister got your powers. Luther asked me to find a high school student and through my selfish reasons, I only knew your sister was in high school at that moment. My sister was in high school as well, but I did not want to trouble her.”

            Winny yelled at him, “Why did you do that to someone else’s sister?! Wasn’t there any other way?” The thunderstorms were getting stronger.

            Santi took a step back, “That’s because… I was afraid. I am not some kind of robot. I have feelings too. I was scared, always have been scared. Then… as you decided to have Matt learn the power to produce fire, I thought it was better to have him lose his memory on lots of students in high school. He is a dangerous threat to Luther. Luther said that if Matt finds out any more about the three of us, then Luther will kill us both.” Winny had nothing else to say. Santi took out his scimitar, “Luther is probably listening to us right now… but what can we do? Even if we say resentful things about him, nothing will happen. We cannot do anything about it.”

            Winny came closer to Santi, “Put that scimitar down. We can’t just end everything now Even so.... Whatever we do… just makes things worse for everybody else. Matt, Yessenia, Shirley, Danny… all of them! Didn’t you see what happened with Mariel?”

            “But giving up just means we give up on everybody!”

            Winny raised her voice. “Then what can we do?” She said with frustration. “If we try to help the group like usual, more people will die! If we do nothing, then the same people will die too.”

            “I don’t know what to do, Winny!!” Santi said. He almost cried. “This feeling of betraying… hurts more than anything. Having made friends throughout our freshman year was one of the biggest accomplishments ever. Having them was enough for us to be happy. And we just threw it all down the drain, just for our own selfish reasons: to live, to obey Luther.”

            Winny shook her head, “It’s not over yet…” She winked at Santi, “We should continue to listen to Luther…”

            “Are you crazy?!” Santi yelped. He saw Winny’s wink again, “But, I guess you are right, Winny. There is nothing else we can do.”

~~~

            Yessenia and Matt headed into a random room but there was no sign of Alex. Matt became impatient. “Gah, why don’t we just break through every room instead of going to each door? We’re just wasting our time this way!”

            “Whatever suits you. As long as Luther is not in charge of this prison, we are fine.” Yessenia shattered the wall in front of her with her wind powers.

            “Ah, now you’re talking!” Matt smiled.

            Eventually, they arrived at a hallway with a bunch of soldiers who were already fallen. Yessenia ran up to one of them and she heard his heart still beating. He was only out cold, perhaps. This is why they are still here and not vanished. They should not be dead yet.” Yessenia placed her hands on the walls, “Can you feel it?”

            Matt nodded. “Yeah… with your wind powers and my fire powers, the moist air is easily noticeable.”

            “Where there is a moist area, is where Alex should be. It looks like he was causing a lot of trouble.” Yessenia said.

            Matt jumped. The thought finally hit him. “W-Wait a minute! This is why Stan is taking so long just to stop us. He’s probably busy fighting against Alex!”

            Yessenia crossed her arms. “That is highly possible. This is the first time you have ever done some useful thinking. Come on, we should follow the track of these fainted soldiers!”

            Matt became excited, “Heck yeah! Let’s go! Wait what do you mean ‘first time’?” Yessenia ignored him as she continued to run ahead. “Awr… whatever.”

~~~

            Upon arriving at the interrogation room, Yessenia and Matt barged in the same way Yessenia barged into Matt’s room. Matt jumped off from the door that he and Yessenia were stepping on and he checked if Alex was down below. Yessenia rolled her eyes and she pointed ahead, “What the hell is this?”

            Stan held onto Alex by the neck with a long sword. He turned around and said to Yessenia, “Stay back! Any more movements and this kid gets a sword through his neck.”

            Matt quickly got up from checking under the door. “Stan!”

            “What do you want?!” Stan yelled back at him.

            Matt suddenly paused, “Oh best greetings ever. Thanks.”

            Yessenia took out her blunt sword, “You let that kid go.”

            Matt made fire appear from his hands but the flames were small. He sniffed the air and he noticed that it was much moister in the current room compared to the hallway. “Damn it. My fire powers are weakened.”

            Yessenia slashed the air and a strong wave of wind flew towards Stan. Stan turned his cutlass sword into a large shield to block the wind. “Peh! You’re too slow! See Matt? Why would you betray a friend who is obviously stronger than your new friends?”

            Matt threw a small fireball but Stan summoned a shield again. Matt answered him, “What’s wrong with that? It’s easier to make friends with someone who is friendlier.” Matt saw Alex, and then he thought of Jen, and then all of the other times when Stan tried to attack Matt. Matt became furious and he said with confidence, “And, all we ever did was play online games all day whenever we had the chance. In the eighth grade, we only went out with our other friends just twice. And those were both movie days – no friendship development at all. All the other school days, we just walked straight home right after the last bell after school.”

            Stan’s shield disappeared. “What…?”

            Matt became annoyed with the fact that just occurred to him. “Maybe I didn’t realize it before. Maybe I accidentally did lean towards newer friends but that is because I finally found friends in common with me, Stan. All these past years in elementary and middle school, there were two huge distinct groups in my opinion. One group was the smart group who had no life playing games or doing nothing all day, and the other group were not smart but they had fun everyday after school. I chose smarts over fun. But now in high school… I’ve found friends who are smart and they love to have fun after school.”

            “I-I like to have fun after school too! You just never ask to hang out.”

            “I didn’t think you would like to!” Matt said quickly.

            Stan made a javelin appear, “That is ridiculous. Of course I would want to.” Stan began shaking. “Tch!” He made his weapon disappear and then he created a smoke bomb. Matt, Yessenia and Alex were coughing in the midst of it all.

            After a few seconds, the smoke dispersed and Matt was searching for Stan. “Where did he go?!”

            Alex said in exhaustion, “He… left.” Alex leaned against the table, trying to regain some breath, “I could hear him trembling right before he vanished.”

            Yessenia made her blunt weapon disappear, “It seems as though he was hurt to find out the reason why his best friend left him. Matt, you both must have jumped ahead of yourselves.”

            Matt grinned, “Hrm…”

            All the sudden, the ceiling was shaking with a yell being heard. Jaime fell in and Shirley came in after. She sat on top of Jaime. “We’re here to rescue you guys!”

            “Ow…” Jaime said in pain.

            Yessenia placed a hand over her head in annoyance, “Augh… really guys, now?”

~~~

---- Next chapter preview:

Matt: Next week on episode 110, well... we're finally done with that prison bit. I'm so glad we're free. And it's not thanks to Shirley's help.
Shirley: Excuse me? I bake you a cake and this is how you repay me?!
Matt: Did you say cake?!
Jennifer: Oh Matt, good to see you again! Can we borrow you for a moment?
Matt: That's kind of suspicious...
Yessenia: Should I come along just in case?
Jaime: Everything is just a figment of our imaginations. We'll pretend nothing's real now.
Peter: What...?
Matt: Why does it seem like other people know about our powers? It could be really dangerous on our part! Next time on episode 110, A Day of Specialties, the Missing Pieces!
Lupe: Do we worry you?
Matt: N-Not at all...

Go to Episode 110 - A Day of Specialties, the Missing Pieces ->

Episode 108: A Surrender Given without Hesitation

We now arrive in a world of despair. The parallel universe and timeline is now widely arrayed but cannot be evened into a single existence. Almost all truth has been revealed, but a person was lost in return. As the story goes on, now the students will have to fight against antagonists with many missing pieces in their hearts. The goal to restore order had failed enormously and now it is almost too late to change what has been done. All the extra time has been used and there is no second to waste. Students with powers must face the eternal truth. With only one more chapter left of the freshman year, what will be accomplished and where are the antagonists residing in now…? 

Episode 108 - A Surrender Given without Hesitation

            The group of three: Matt, Yessenia and Alex were all in an underground prison. The three of them were chained in heavy concrete, similar to handcuffs. Alex looked as if he wanted to give up. His eyes were closed but he continued to walk since he was forced to. Matt was facing the ground with an anguish look in his eyes. The whole area was right below El Monte – especially right under the Tower of Despair. Who knew that there was a huge basement big enough to fit a whole prison? The group of three could see a bunch of skeletons lying on the floor near the corners. Some were even hanged on hooks that were placed against the walls. Yessenia did not care about that. In her mind, such disturbing sights were the least of her worries.

            Two soldiers pushed Matt into the cell first, “Get in there!” One of them commanded with a masculine voice. Matt fell onto his knees with his hands still behind his back. He was sweating from all the walking and he looked extremely tired.

            Yessenia and Alex were thrown in next. The soldiers closed the bars and Stan walked into the front of them, “Heh. This is for you Matt, to show you how it feels to be left behind just to make new friends.”

            Matt turned around and said to Stan and the two soldiers, “You think making us suffer like this is going to make anything better? You could have said something when I did that to you. I didn’t even mean to do that!”

            Stan made a gun appear from his hands since he was able to summon weapons. He pointed it at Matt, “You stupid LIAR!” Matt opened his eyes wide from fright. Watching his best friend point a gun at him like that was one of the worst things to watch. Matt could not say anything else… Stan laughed, “Ha ha! I thought so. Stay in there and serve the consequences, to you and your new friends.” He walked off with his soldiers.

Matt sat down on the floor near the corner. He thought in his mind, “(I thought it was strange. To think that I would actually be in a prison… I never expected that day to come. Seeing us mess up with one little mistake just ruined everything. We even made it this far but now I see that there is no hope. Stan… What I did to you must have hurt, didn’t it? I didn’t know… I didn’t understand your pain! But now… I guess I can sympathize with you.)”

            “Why did you just give in, Yessenia?! Are you stupid or something? Why was I dragged into all of this anyway? It’s not like I wanted this to happen! Urgh!” Alex angrily punched the bars. He slid down, saying in sadness, “We’re going to rot to death… like those skeletons we saw back there!”

            Yessenia suddenly said in an outburst, “Can you keep it down?! What else could we have done? Those soldiers are not like some kind of police officers. They do not want questions, so they would be willing to kill us if Stan let them! One little hesitation from us and it is a gunshot to our heads. It is either this cellar, or death.” She clenched her fists, thinking about the dilemma they went through.

            Matt looked up at them, watching them argue. He stood up and then he tried to use his fire powers. The fire started from his hands but then it quickly vanished into thin air. Matt tried again and again but all the flames could do was nothing more. “Tch!” Matt turned away.

            Yessenia explained, “This cellar is probably functioned to cancel out any actions from our powers. It is most likely by Luther’s actions. It is too bad that they took our cellphones as well. All we can do now is wait.”

            “Are you serious? WAIT?!” Alex said.

            Yessenia pushed him to the ground, “Are you going to question that? Just look around you. This place is like an asylum, only dirtier.”

            Alex sat down on the floor, “Ergh… whatever. But I’m gonna need to go to the restroom eventually.”

            Matt tried to joke around, “This is my corner, just saying.” The other two students ignored his comment. There was no time to be joking around at a time like this after all.

~~~

            Shirley and Jaime arrived back at El Monte from eCup. Shirley made a big stretch and then she noticed that the park in front of the school was having some sort of fair. “Wow! Look, Jaime! I think this fair is called ‘Rockin’ Wednesday’. I heard it is a tradition to have it every Wednesdays during the summer.”

            “Why in this park? It’s so tiny.” Jaime said. “It only takes up one block with a bunch of food stalls and a place to watch a band play. Must be boring.”

            Shirley grabbed his left arm, “Come on, let’s check it out!”

            Jaime forcefully stood still. Shirley almost tripped from his objection to walk. Shirley turned around in confusion and Jaime crossed his arms, speaking up, “Aren’t you a little worried about Yessenia and the others?”

            “What, Alex, Matt and Yessenia? Not really. What could go wrong with Yessenia around? Besides, there’s nothing in Edmund now that Luther disappeared.”

            “Hm…” Jaime was still thinking about it.

            Shirley tilted her head. She asked with an innocent tone, “Are you worried? It’s not like you to worry like that, Jaime.”

            “I guess, but usually they would come back right now.”

            “Well we did tell them that it is dangerous to come back on Earth because the school is under surveillance.”

            “Don’t you think Yessenia could have texted us asking if it is okay yet? It’s not like they are going to stay there forever.”

            “They will if the school is under surveillance for 24 hours, seven days a week!”

            “She still didn’t text us about anything.”

            “Now you’re starting to make me worried… I still trust that they are safe.”

            “Why don’t we go and check for ourselves?”

            Shirley was watching the slides and music bands playing in the fair, “Awr… I really wanted to see the fair.”

            “We can always go next Wednesday. If we make it back in time, we can still come here later.” Jaime took out his cellphone.

            Shirley sighed, “Fine. But we should hide somewhere first, preferably not in school. Then, we can teleport into Edmund.”

~~~

            Matt’s stomach was growling. He made a whooping cough and then said, “I’m so hungry… ah… My fingers look edible.”

            Alex slapped Matt’s hands, “Stop that!”

            Matt looked away. “Whatever…”

            “Ugh.” Yessenia gave a sigh and then she said, “You did not eat before coming here or what?”

            “School lunch is never enough for me. I get hungry after about three hours.” Matt began shaking his head, “I’m sooooo huuuuungryyyyyy….”

            A soldier came by and said, “Alright, you three, get out.”

            Two more soldiers arrived. Another said, “Any suspicious movements and you’re immediately dead, our captain says.”

            Matt yawned. He whispered to his friends, “Great, now we can’t even use our powers outside of this cage. Are there cameras everywhere in this place or what?”

            “It would seem so.” Yessenia whispered back.

            The third soldier yelled, “Hey! Don’t be whispering to each other!”

            Yessenia walked up to one of them, “These handcuffs are in my way. It is not like I can do anything. Hurry up with your business and open the cage.”

            The first soldier grinned, “Teh! Ordering us around?” He opened the cage, “Hurry up.” Each soldier took one prisoner and then they were all split into different roads, leading to separate rooms where answers could get dished out of them.

~~~

            In Matt’s room, the soldier spoke, “Alright, since you are a fugitive and still alive, we might as well question you.”

            Matt rolled his eyes. “Oh geez, you weren’t planning on what to do with us when you caught us?”

            The man pointed his gun at Matt, “Silence! I will ask the questions!”

            “Alright, alright, hit me.” The man ran towards Matt with a fist and Matt shook and fell off his chair. “No, no it was just an expression!”

            “Never heard that one before.” The soldier said. Of course, that was because in Edmund, such an expression does not exist. It is a completely different world from Earth anyway. “What are you doing back in Edmund?”

            “Er… what kind of question is that? I just wanted to look around.”

            “That is not true! Is it not because you want to find your friends?”

            Matt placed his elbow onto the table and he began thinking, “Geez, Stan told you everything didn’t he? Well, yeah I want to but the other half of me says I shouldn’t. I trusted them with my heart throughout the year and then all the sudden they side with Luther.”

            “Then it was right for us to stop you. Here is another question…”

~~~

            “What makes you think your actions will stop Luther?” a soldier asked Yessenia in her own room of custody.

            “I am not going for Luther. I want answers, from the people who left us, not from the likes of you.”

            “Ergh… Don’t even think about pissing me off.”

            Yessenia chuckled, “Hmhm. Tell me, is Luther in charge of everything?”

            “He put Stan in charge of the cellar. Now I-…”

            “Interesting.” Yessenia interrupted him. “Just Stan, huh.” She closed her eyes.

            “Don’t you interrupt me! Remember, you are in shackles!”

            Yessenia suddenly opened her hands from behind her back and a gust of wind appeared. The soldier took out his gun and right at that moment, Yessenia made her blunt sword appear in front of her. The soldier tried to shoot her but Yessenia kicked the sword so that the gunshots would backfire against the blunt sword. While the sword was still flying in the air, Yessenia positioned and timed herself so that the sword was facing downwards, piercing through the air. She first kicked the soldier in the face and then she made sure the sword fell, piercing through her shackles. The soldier fell to the ground and his helmet fell off. The sword was strong enough to break the stone. Still with the shackles in her hands, she could move freely now but she was much slowly than usual. The weight of the stones was quite heavy. She took her blunt sword but she almost dropped it since the shackles weakened her. She tried to aim her sword as the soldier and then she suddenly gasped, “H-Huh?!”

            The soldier’s head was not just a head. It was mutated! Yessenia closed her eyes. The soldier said in a demonic voice, “Now you’ve done it!”

            Yessenia went ahead and slashed the soldier’s chest. The soldier vanished and Yessenia made her blunt sword disappear, “Digicells, huh… I have to find the others!” She broke through the door exiting the room and then she backtracked her way to the cellar so that she could head over to the other rooms. “Stan should be seeing the surveillance cameras by now. I have to hurry!”

~~~

            Shirley and Jaime were heading towards the Tower of Despair. A few digicell soldiers appeared around them. They all aimed at the two students. One yelled, “Freeze!”

            Shirley and Jaime were facing away from each other as they both took a step back. The soldiers were closing in on them, still having their guns pointing. Shirley tried to look for a method of escape, “We’re trapped, Jaime! Why are there guards all the sudden?”

            Jaime made his shadow appear, “I don’t know but it won’t hurt to fight back!”

            Shirley was shaking, “Do we have to kill humans?”

            Jaime answered her, “Just beat them up!”

            The soldiers tried to shoot the both of them. Jaime made his own self as a shadow so that the gunshots would go through him. Shirley used a frozen shield to protect herself. Shirley screamed, “That’s so not fair! You’re invisible if you keep doing that!”

            “But I can’t fight at the same time if I’m a shadow.” Jaime responded.

            Shirley laughed, “You do suck after all! Haha!” She kicked her frozen shield so that they would shatter. She grabbed some of the ice and then she threw them at soldiers all around her. Then, she made another ice shield.

            “And you can do that all the time.” Jaime complained. “Don’t tell me that I’m being unfair.”

            Shirley began to sweat, “Psch, we all have limits to using our powers. We’ll eventually get tired. Let’s get this over with before we start taking too long.”

~~~

            “I keep telling you already! I want to stop Luther but I’m focusing on getting my friends back!”

            “Even after they have betrayed you?” The soldier asked Matt.

            Matt became frustrated. “Maybe I’m just assuming the wrong things. Maybe they were forced to betray me. Who knows? Whatever it takes, I’m getting them back!”

            The soldier pointed a gun at him, “Not if we stop you. Come on, I’m taking you back to the cellar.” The soldier came closer to Matt. He harshly poked Matt’s chest with his gun and then he pushed Matt towards the door. Suddenly, the door exploded open and it fell over Matt.

            Yessenia stood on top of the door, “Let my friend go!” She made her blunt sword appear as she slashed the soldier. “Huh?”

            Matt groaned from below and he coughed, “I’m… down here…!”

~~~

---- Next chapter preview:

Matt: Next time on episode 109, Shirley and Jaime are coming to the rescue! But wait, Yessenia is already making her way to save Alex, and me... who is under the door apparently.
Yessenia: Where are you, Matt?!
Matt: UNNBBR HRR (Under here)!
Alex: Meanwhile, while I wait for my damn friends to hurry and save me, it looks like Winny and Santi are carried into a little drama between each other about Luther!
Matt: Hey! I'M the narrator here!
Shirley: HAHA not anymore! Come on Jaime, we're going to show Matt that we're able to save our friends!
Jaime: Nah. Let's give up now.
Winny: What CAN we do, Santi? Huh, what?!
Matt: What is Winny and Santi scheming? Are Matt, Yessenia and Alex able to break free from the cellar? Next time on episode 109, Chasing after Friends, a Sincere Emotion!

Go to Episode 109 - Chasing after Friends, a Sincere Emotion ->

Website 7.4, September 10, 2011

Today, I am featuring Website Version 7.4! It corresponds to June-July 2008.

Well actually I went to the beach on Saturday and took a few days off after that. As a special, I will upload this Saturday's updates early following this. :)

"The top has tabs for you to go through. The episode list, character list, etc.

My name is Matthew Tran and this is a story titled 'Fires of the Sky'. This was made out of boredom so I don't expect good grammar until later.

This story is about a boy named Matt who enters his first day of high school. However, once he steps in, an incident occurs minutes later behind the large gym of where he sat. As he goes outside, a huge commotion goes on about a fire and Matt tries to save his friend. He trips on a puddle of oil. Unfortunately, he faints from the harsh slipping that he had experienced. As he wakes up, he mentions the fire but his friends say none of that happened. As time goes by, Matt will experience his own powers, along with new friends who will have the same problem. What will Matt have to do?"

-I added episode 107. The 'Fires of the Sky' tab on top has episode 107 if you cannot find it.
-Note: Please tell me any errors that you find! I will fix them.

Episode 107: Depletion of Time, an Unwritten Past

We now arrive in a world of despair. The parallel universe and timeline is now widely arrayed but cannot be evened into a single existence. Almost all truth has been revealed, but a person was lost in return. As the story goes on, now the students will have to fight against antagonists with many missing pieces in their hearts. The goal to restore order had failed enormously and now it is almost too late to change what has been done. All the extra time has been used and there is no second to waste. Students with powers must face the eternal truth. With only one more chapter left of the freshman year, what will be accomplished and where are the antagonists residing in now…? 

Episode 107 - Depletion of Time, an Unwritten Past

            Edmund was slightly different from the fact that the world had a new gimmick for El Monte. The tower had destroyed many parts of the school, causing the ground to split apart and many buildings created inconvenient obstacles for Matt, Yessenia and Alex. There were pieces of rubble everywhere and the there students could trip at any moment. Matt stood on a giant piece of rock. “Alright, so we’re heading for where the tower used to stand.”

            Yessenia jumped onto another piece of rubble, “And human digicells can appear at any time.”

            “These humans… they used to be normal?”

            “It would appear so. Once they become part-digicell, there is no telling that they can return to their normal state. It might not be possible at all.” Yessenia went on ahead and Matt followed. Alex did as well, but he followed slowly. After about a mile, the group came to a stop when a huge broken wall stood in front of them.

            “Great, a dead end.” Matt said in disappointment. “What do we do now?”

            Yessenia took out her blunt sword and then she used her wind powers to support her swing. The strength of her attack had caused the brick wall to fall apart. Matt guarded with his fire shield while Alex crouched behind Matt. “There, we have a new entrance.” Yessenia said bluntly.

            “Uh… thanks.” Matt said in amazement. He said to Alex, “Hey, we’re clear.” They began continuing their journey.

            “Hey, you guys say that this is a parallel world of Earth, right?” Alex asked.

            “Yeah, I guess so. That’s why it’s so dark right now but it is barely 1 P.M.” Matt answered.

            “So then… there are other people who are exactly like us?”

            Yessenia did not say anything. Matt went on, “Hey, I never noticed that! We’ve seen only Santi from both worlds. I wonder where we are.”

            Yessenia turned around to speak up. “I did not want to tell you guys any time soon.” Matt and Alex faced her. “Do you two not get it? This is a parallel universe. Whoever is missing here, appears in the other and vice versa.”

            “Then what happened to us?” Matt became curious.

            “That… I do not know. That is what I want to find out when we reach the broken tower.” She ran ahead with her blunt sword, ready to kill digicells on the way.

            “Ah- Wait! Argh… There she goes again. Come on Alex, let’s go.” Alex nodded and he followed along.

~~~

            In Arkon’s Magic, Willy left Santi’s time house and he noticed that Danny was still sitting by Mariel’s grave. Willy walked up to the grieving student and he sat down, “Hi. Danny, right?”

            Danny wiped his nose and then he turned around, “Y-Yeah…”

            “Is that a picture of her in front of the stone?”

            “Yeah. It’s us taking a picture together back in middle school.”

            “She’s pretty.”

            “Haha… She was so cool. I don’t think she deserved this pain at all…”

            “I know. But, you’ve been sitting here for a long time.”

            “Well, you were sitting in that time house for the longest time too.” Danny said.

            Willy giggled and then spoke, “I have to. My friends are making me. I want to do what they say because I trust them to avenge my sister.”

            “You trust them? You trust the people who failed to help save two people? But even after all that happened in the tower, why would you still trust them?” Danny said in anger. “I can’t even stand to look at any of them for what they’ve done!”

            “They didn’t mean it… To me, I don’t have anyone to talk to. They are my only friends. If we don’t talk, then who can I talk to, you know?”

            Danny thought about it for awhile. If he were to not talk to any of the power users, then who else is he supposed to turn to about it? Nobody else for that matter. Danny looked away in denial, “Still… Mariel died, because of them. I’m not going to stand for that.” Willy only frowned. Danny continued but with a different subject this time. “Why don’t you have any other friends in Edmund?”

            Willy gasped. “Huh? Oh…” He tried to smile. He faced the beach, telling his story. “Earlier this year in my sixth grade year, elementary schools all around El Monte were going on a camping trip. I couldn’t go because I was very sick. On the news a few days later, they were reported dead after crashing the bus down a hill. None survived.”

            Danny opened his eyes wide in dismay. “I don’t believe it…”

            Willy looked up into the sky, “I cried for months and months. Just recently, I had to get over it. My sister, Graciela, was the only one who could support me. My parents were already gone because of Luther. I had no friends, and half a family.”

            Danny grinned, “And here I am, crying over one person…”

            “She will still always be there in your heart, Danny. I can’t do anything, but you can. You can use your ground power things to get back at Luther. There is still a chance.”

            “But he is too strong…”

            “And you’re still alive even after all that stuff happened in the tower. You’re given another chance, aren’t you?”

            “I guess…” Danny had to think carefully about what to do next. Was he going to continue on or not?

~~~

            As the group of three in Edmund arrived at the tower center, they began to examine the broken door. There was still one floor left to examine from the remains of the rubble. Matt headed over to the door, “Should we go in and check what’s in there?”

            “Yes, but stay alert.” Yessenia commanded.

            Matt agreed. “I know, thanks.” Matt grabbed the handles of the door and then he suddenly had the same vision again. The girl in the dark turned around after Luther appeared. “Ergh… what the heck?”

            “What is it?” Yessenia was alert now.

            “Are you okay?” Alex wondered.

            “I’m fine. It was just weird though. I think I saw... Winny’s Edmund side.”

            “That means Winny would be in the sixth grade at the moment in Edmund.” Yessenia guessed.

            Matt shook his head. “No, that can’t be. Santi told me that Winny’s El Monte side became affiliated with Luther right before high school began. Why did the Edmund-Winny meet Luther three years early?”

            Winny’s serious side appeared behind the group of three. She had a spear in her right hand. “Because that is how it is in the world of Edmund. She disappeared months ago with the work of my hands.” The group of three was all surprised at the same time.

            “Y-You mean… you killed her?” Matt took a step back. “You actually… killed somebody?”

            Winny threw her spear onto the ground, “I had to. Luther gave me an extra injection and he didn’t want to tell me what it was. He told me to inject it with her, for the fate of both worlds. It must have been a death or diseased injection. If only I knew any sooner. However, Luther is correct. We should not create loopholes. A person should not be able to live in both worlds. This is why all three of you died in a bus crash downhill in the mountains in the sixth grade within the world of Edmund.”

            “What? Then, how come it wasn’t taken care of when we were just born? Why did we exist in both worlds without a problem until the sixth grade?”

            “Nobody was in power.” Winny said with simplicity. “Actually, there was before… but he was a good leader who did not want to meddle with both worlds. He wanted each person to survive no matter if there were any duplicates. That’s all Santi ever told me. He said there was a lot more to it…”

            Yes, it was what Santi was talking about before. This must have been the last gap that was not mentioned in Santi’s story, his view…

            Santi closed his eyes, “I have no purpose here anymore… I will go back to what was rightfully mine. Matt, there is one huge thing that I did not mention yet from the whole story I mentioned earlier.”

Matt looked up into the darkened sky, “Yeah… I remember when he said that. Does this mean he has his own beginning?”

            Winny turned away and then she covered her face. “Most likely he was pretending to be new at this power stuff when I introduced it to him. It seems more possible that my sister knew about these powers even after him.”

            “Winny!!” A satanic voice was heard from above.

            Winny gasped. “Oh- my, Luther is calling me. I got some more important things to take care of. This may be the last time we’ll be able to see each other. I have to do this. I’m sorry.” She vanished away and Matt tried to reach out for her. Right about an inch away from her, she completely vanished and Matt missed.

            Matt fell to the dirt floor. “Ergh! I was too late…” He punched the floor, “I don’t get it. I thought we were the closest friends ever, yet… he couldn’t even tell me stuff like this. I’m a part of the power users too! Why can’t I know?”

            Yessenia was just as confused because she did not know as much information as he did. She walked up to him and then she patted his shoulders, “I did not know either… I guess we are all just pawns trying to fight over nothing.”

            “How did I get these powers without an injection?” Alex looked at his hands. He turned them over to check for any side effects.

            “That, I can understand as Mariel’s dying wish. But, I did not know she could even lend them to you. If that is possible, then this power thing can last forever as long as it is passed down from generation to generation.” Yessenia suddenly got a phone call. “Ah, glad that Edmund has signal.” She picked up her phone.

            Shirley screamed from Earth, “Yessenia! Are you are still in Edmund?” Yessenia replied with a ‘yes’ and Shirley went on, “This is terrible. The school is being barricaded even further because of Santi’s disappearance. High officials are thinking that our school should be shut down completely and now surveillance has improved two times more! If you try to come back to Earth at any time, they could see you. So please, stay in Edmund until we tell you it’s okay!”

            Jaime was heard in the background. “This is all bullcrap. I’m not heading to Arroyo High School.”

            “Oh would you shut up!” Shirley said. “I had enough of this. We’re not moving. Don’t you-…”

            Yessenia interrupted them, “Alright. While you two have your little chitter chatter, we will continue to look around Edmund to see if we can find Santi. Any word on Winny?”

            “Not yet.”

            “That is good news. She must have gone back to Earth often times then. Okay, we should be going now.” They both said their goodbyes and Yessenia told Matt and Alex the news.

            Alex sat on a giant rock. “So we’re stuck here, huh?”

            “Freeze!!” a soldier yelled with a gun. He was fully armed, covered with a helmet.

            Yessenia took sight of her surroundings, “Great. There are plenty of soldiers where they came from.”

            Matt quickly stood up and he and Alex both placed their hands over their heads. Matt said in a panic, “What the heck is going on?!”

            Alex yelped, “Euugh! This is dangerous already!” He closed his eyes in fear.

            Yessenia whispered to them, “Just follow my lead. No matter what, just know that they want to capture you, not kill you.”

            “What’s your point? We’re going to get caught anyway!” Alex whispered as high as he could. “After they rack up some answers from us, they’ll kill us.”

            “Hmph.” Yessenia made a soft chuckle.

            Two soldiers walked up to her and they grabbed her arms. At a swift speed, she knelt down so that the soldiers’ grips slid off of her. She was now kneeling, using her legs to knock down both of the soldiers. Three more from the back aimed their gun at her. “Don’t you move!”

            Yessenia took out her blunt sword, “Now you want to fight?”

            One of the soldiers spoke up. “You and that boy back there! You two have been reported with extreme abnormalities that disturbed and destroyed El Monte.”

            Alex repeated, “Extreme abnormalities?”

            Matt checked his hands, “But I’m still human…”

            Yessenia called out to all of the soldiers, “Who are you guys fighting for?!”

            “Enough.” Said a familiar voice. He pushed through all of the soldiers and there he was, standing full-fleshed.

            Matt opened his eyes wide, “S-Stan?! What are you doing here?”

            “Captain of these soldiers, what else? They are here to protect the last remaining Survors, which I assume you’re trying to find?”

            Matt commanded with anger, “Out of our way, Stan!”

            “Do you think I’m just going to say ‘yes, that will be fine with me’? Ha ha ha haaa, ahh… This is great.” He said to his soldiers, “Take them to the cell. We’re going to dish out as many answers as we can!”

            Alex frowned. “I knew it!”

            Yessenia rolled her eyes. She put her blunt sword back into her sheath and then she raised her hands into the air. “Alrighty then, I guess you got us red-handed.”

Stan laughed. “Haha! I knew you’d give in. To think the strongest of the three power users, giving up at a time like this.”

            Matt looked over at her, “Yessenia…” 

~~~

---- Next chapter preview:

Matt: Next week on episode 108, bleh... we're stuck in a jail cellar? Really?! You know I don't like dirty places. We need to get out of here.
Alex: When was it established that you hate dirty places?
Matt: Oh be quiet. We should just leave you in your own cellar and rot away while we escape!
Alex: I was just saying...
Yessenia: Oh wonderful, we are being separated while our other friends are probably partying.
Shirley: Phew! That was a great meal at eCup, right Jaime? We should go again next time. I'm kind of wondering what happened to Yessenia and the others.
Jaime: Oh they'll be fine. Don't worry!
Yessenia: I will be making a very strategic plan in this one, watch me!
Matt: How are you going to make your escape? Actually, we'll see. Next time on episode 108, A Surrender Given without Hesitation!

 Go to Episode 108 - A Surrender Given without Hesitation ->