Darkness Rising

Nerine stared for a moment, not believing what she saw. “Captain Simonides!” she yelled, her voice finally catching up to the times. She tried to work down from the pile on Seiji’s back, but a hand grabbed her. Uncertain, she looked around for the source.

No more than a centimeter away from Nerine’s face, Yumi's face surfaced. Her eyes stared deeply into Nerine. A mystifying gaze worked its way through Nerine’s eyes causing a strange paralysis. She wanted to move, but everything drew her in as if compelled to look.

“Stay focused.”

It confused her. Something wasn’t the same with Yumi. She felt almost scared from a simple stare. The entire presence was unnerving. ‘She wasn’t always like this, was she? Did I miss read her somehow?’

“What the hell is going on, Yumi?” barked Seiji, as he came to a stop. He couldn’t believe what happened as much as Nerine. It felt possible if it came from Chiharu. However, the fact that it seemed Yumi ordered it as part of the plan disturbed him more. “This wasn’t part of the plan!”

Her face returned to her previous expression. “On the contrary, everything is according to plan.” The smile seemed painted on her face. It appeared as though she reveled in her success, as though drunk.

Those that could see her face filled with terror, while those that listened could only imagine through the tone of her voice. It drew a more than accurate picture for them.

“What?!” Seiji moved to put them down. He wanted answers, but Yumi stopped him as well. A set of wide eyes moved almost unnaturally close to him. “What the hell’s the matter with you? You’re nothing like yourself, Yumi.”

“If you want to live long enough for answers, keep moving. The little girl’s waiting for us at the rendezvous point.”

It wasn’t enough for Seiji. “Little girl? Chiharu has a name, Yumi. You’re acting like someone else.”

“Of course, because I’m not Yumi.

Chapter 216 – Darkness Rising

The battlefield disappeared into the distance. No signs of pursuit continued. It looked safe. In the distance, Chiharu stood waiting for them. Something else was with her. Simonides’ body lay at her feet.

“Captain!” shouted Nerine. She forced herself off Seiji running over to his body. Her feet stumbled around trying to keep balance in such a panicked state. “Captain!”

The one in Yumi’s body stepped off Seiji in a fluid motion as though the sword didn’t exist. “I’d suggest you start healing him or he will actually die.”

“Huh?” Nerine’s head spun around. Her eyes went wide for a moment trying to process everything. She leaned down to listen to his chest. A faint heartbeat still echoed inside. ‘He’s alive!’ Immediately, a ripple came out from her feet and a yellow glow surrounded her.

Seiji reached out grabbing Yumi before she went anywhere. “What did you just say to her?”

“Right, you don’t know Atlantean Greek. I told her to heal him, the man’s not dead.”

He paused for a second. “Dead? Heal? Greek?” Everything came at once, none of the words came out the way he wanted.

Chiharu walked over to the two of them, leaving Simonides behind. “Your insight borders on the omnipotent. A master of languages too.”

“Not so much, I just know Greek, so I just had to work backwards.” She glanced over at Nerine and Simonides. “The situation was pretty easy to read.”

“Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!” Seiji threw himself into the conversation forcefully. It only received a glance from both Chiharu and the mysterious girl.

Entering the scene, Yori stepped out of the shadows of Seiji. He quickly met eyes with his sister’s body. The stature, confidence, speech, everything was different from her. His sister was missing. “It seems that Chiharu faked the death of the Atlantean under orders from…you. I’m guessing you did so to weaken the Atlanteans’ command.”

“You’re correct and not.” The negative got everyone’s attention. Chiharu was the only one that didn’t look surprised. The surprise changed to curiosity and a silent demand to know how Yori was wrong. She obliged them with an answer. “He wanted it.” A finger stretched out to point at Simonides.

They became even more confused with the answer.

“That’s not possible!” snapped Seiji, “How could you know what he wanted?”

“Did you read his mind?” Yori speculated. He knew only a little about Yumi’s powers and not the limits. All the time he was unconscious he did not know what might have happened to her. The physical signs were clear enough to him.

She smiled a little, appearing amused. “No, Yumi’s mental link only works with her brother, at least for now.”

“Then how?!”

“It was the most probable outcome.”

She spoke with such confidence that they expected a little more of a response. It was just another surprise. Worse, it was another question, too. Yori beat Seiji to the initiative. “Are you saying you weren’t certain?”

“Correct, it only had an 84% probability. There was a chance, statistically speaking, he had other plans.” She received a bunch of looks that she did not really understand too well. It turned her expression a little quizzical. “The facts were all there.”

“Facts?”

“Before the fight started, he communicated with you directly rather than taking advantage of the surprise. This clearly meant he did not want to kill, despite everything that happened. He also grew very interested in you when said you had different goals than he was expecting. It was clear he wanted to know more, he wanted to talk.”

Seiji ignored the polite order and jumped in on Yori’s discussion. “If he just wanted to talk, he should have said so. I’ve got no reason to fight if he just wants to talk. All of this was pointless.” He got several stares, which he miss read.

Seemingly unaffected, she continued, “Things aren’t so black and white. The man might be in charge of an entire outpost, but he has superiors and there are clearly a set of rules and expectations he had to follow. As much as he might have wanted to talk things out, he had to give the appearance to his men he was following orders. There did seem to be a little pride on the line as well. All of the trouble you’ve caused in his domain likely also fueled him. He wanted his answers and he wanted to win as well.”

Nodding, the idea of pride was something Seiji could understand. It was acceptable to him. He moved on to the matter than bothered him more. “Why’d you make us think you ordered him dead? If I knew what your plan was—“

“It wasn’t important. You all had your roles to play. The child was the one that needed to know.” Her abruptness and cold matter-of-fact tone didn’t win her any points in the group. The unyielding heterochromic eyes told them all they needed. “The man needed an out, one that got him answers, but also upheld his duty. Faking death to the enemy, they could not doubt his loyalty.”

They had their answers. The recently sober Fumiko glanced over at Chiharu. She received a nodding confirmation that it all played out as described. Something equally important remained. Fumiko leaned in a little trying to press her presence. “Who are you and what happened to Yumi?”

“That’s a complicated answer.” She saw how they looked at her. They were all behind Fumiko demanding an answer that satisfied them. “My time is short. I’ve only partially emerged, Yumi will be back very soon. I’m simply sharing her soul space as I haven’t a body. It’s a little crowded in here, so we remain in the shadows until needed.” Her gaze moved towards the sky as though distracted by something. “I’ve work to do. I’ll see you again.” The green in her eye faded away, returning the brown.

Seiji and Fumiko wanted to stop them from leaving, but it was already too late. Any action taken was pointless. Whoever inhabited Yumi’s body vanished only leaving behind a confused girl. Exchanged stares did nothing to answer any of their questions and only made Yumi more uneasy.

‘It happened again,’ thought Yumi, as she began putting the pieces together. ‘Someone else…what am I?’

Time wasn’t something rationed out sparingly. Chiharu directed their attention over to their Atlantean guests. “He’s awake.” She already started to walk over, followed up by the rest of the group.

They all stared at each other in silence. Simonides said nothing and the teenagers held in any words. Everyone had questions, but they seemed uncertain about how to start. Until recently, they were fighting each other. It surprised everyone that Seiji made the first move. He extended his hand out to Simonides, helping him back to his feet. The two men stood staring at each holding a firm grasp on each other's hands. Silence seemed to solve everything as Seiji grinned soon.

He looked over at Nerine. “Did you do your thing so we can talk?” She gave him a nod. “Great! I’m Seiji Tsuji.”

“Simonides.”

“Aren’t you a captain or something?”

“Not anymore, given what I’ve done. When it’s discovered I’ll be relieved of my command. I’m just one man now. You’re the leader of your group? We spoke before.”

Seiji shook his head and pointed a bandaged arm back at Yumi. “She’s the one running things.”

“We don’t hold strictly to any sort of structure,” replied Yumi. She stepped forward to join the discussion. “We’re all just friends. I guessing you have as many questions for us as we do you.” Glancing back where they came from, she narrowed her eyes to the horizon. No one still came, but it didn’t mean no one would. “We should probably stay on the move for now. Miss Nerine, could you?”

Nearly an hour passed. A small truck ran along the stretching plains of Atlantis. “I see,” said Simonides, admitting to himself even that was an understatement. He got the full explanation from them on why they have powers. They went over the events that transpired in Japan to cause them to become different. “I’m having a little trouble believing it is possible.” He glanced over at Nerine. “Such things haven’t been possible in millennia.”

Nerine agreed with her Captain. While they told their tale, she went over her history of Atlantis from the academy. “If what you’re saying is true, then he has a power and control only seen once before. The founder of Atlantis is considered little more than a legend by most people. Atlantis is proof of their work, but most don’t believe they were the ones to actually create Atlantis. At least the way it is claimed. Most just believe that the Throne of Atlantis created the land that we know rather than a person.” She froze for a moment.

The more she thought about the possibility the more it turned everything she believed on its head. She counted herself among those that didn’t believe in the legend. The followers of Anaximandros were a hard line orthodox group that made more enemies than converts. If such a boy existed, his proof could change everything. ‘Would people actually try to kill him because of what he represents?’

“You said before your objective was to find the ones responsible for the attacks on your friend. You only know that they were MP users, right?”

“Yeah, I was there when one of them attacked,” added Seiji. The earth user Yuki and he fought was just like the people in Atlantis. He fought enough of them to know that much. “Yuki said they were attacking him because he was the heir of Atlantis. Though all of this is coming from Ayumi.”

“Who is this Ayumi person? You’ve mentioned them several times and even said that they were an Atlantean.”

“Her Atlantean name is Eudokia Ismene,” answered Yori. He felt he had the least to contribute to the discussion. Most of the events in Japan happened away from him, even in Atlantis he wasn’t awake for most of the time. All of his memories were a mess. Images of some woman kept entering his mind, but didn’t understand what they meant. “I believe she said she was Captain of the Royal Guard, likely someone you know.”

The words stunned both Nerine and Simonides, but it seemed to affect him more. The General’s words came back to haunt him. ‘So she really is involved. This only gets worse and worse.’ Simonides thought about his options. The brief time he spent with the kids made him feel uncertain. His gut feeling from before seemed to have been closer to the mark than he realized. “This is very troubling. You are certain that she is who she said she was?”

“She is a very secretive person.” Yori had his suspicions about the girl. She acted in strange ways and did more than a few things to make what she said questionable. “I can’t say for certain that is her true identity. We don’t know what the real Eudokia Ismene is like, so we could only judge by the words she told us.”

“Indeed.”

“Well there are a couple of things,” suggested Nerine. She didn’t know the girl personally, but she was famous in Atlantis for several reasons. Almost anyone knew a few things about her. “You’ve seen her use her power right?”

Everyone looked around at each other. Yumi leaned forward realizing that no one seemed to be certain. “We’ve seen her use her power, but they were normally in special circumstances. The only ones to have seen her powers are Yuki and Saki, I think.”

Fumiko stiffened up a little looking into the group. “I was sort of dying at the moment, but I remember she used a sword, I think. But then she was gone.

Nerine looked over at Simonides. They both seemed to have the same look on their face. “That’s not a lot to go on.”

“True, but she is considered a prodigy,” added Simonides. “She was the finest MP to come out of the academy in decades. The training she had would have made her skilled at obscuring the truth. She likely would try to minimize how exposed she was to you..”

“Agreed, she was singular in her strength. No one is stronger than her.”

“Sure she does,” corrected Seiji. He wasn’t at the incident, but he heard about it. “That old man stomped the floor with her. I remember Yuki telling me about him. He beat everyone, only Saki ended up saving the day.”

Their attention drew to Seiji’s words. “Are you talking about General Demosthenes Alexander?”

“Sure, I think that’s his name.”

Once again, Simonides and Nerine stared at each other. The mystery seemed to get deeper. Simonides met with everyone’s attention. He realized their reactions drew up questions. “Eudokia Ismene is the most powerful MP alive right now. The General has never beaten her in any of the exhibition matches. Either the girl you know as Ayumi is pretending to be Eudokia Ismene or she’s hiding her true power from all of you.”