Rainbow Guardians: Chapter 15

 Chapter 15: Yearning

Sanjutsu. San freaking jutsu. The ‘art ‘of attacking, evading and self-defence at the same time. I didn’t know who invented it, but the inventor should have been unaware of weirdoes like me. I mean how am I supposed to do all these? Since my childhood, I was diagnosed with osteopetrosis known as marble bone disease. My bones were always bulky as long as I remembered; hence, I sucked at PE lessons at school. I wasn’t agile, elastic or durable enough to perform in any sports field. Not even the basic moves! 

According to Lextrum, I wasn’t that bad somehow. He told me that I had ‘great potential’ and I was a ‘late bloomer.’ It just felt like he was trying to cheer up or something, but Friggia had been saying the same things over and over. I wanted to believe in them. I really did; however, if you were lost in life like me, the doubts could gnaw your being. Yeah, let’s return to my ninjutsu training.

Well, being a sport sucker, I had zero confidence. I had played football with kids with special needs, but the opponent before me was a master of this thing! He unlocked his own fusion weapon instead of the basic ones, shooting a bud. The crazy thing chased me nonstop; it was transparent and covered with thorns. I don’t recall running like that before. It must have been adrenaline pumping in my body.

Oh, but how wrong I was! My bones started to feel like gelatine, softer and more elastic. It was as if my heavy irons were replaced by jellies. My legs and arms soared in thin air as a feather. I could move like I had in my dreams. The bud approached nearer and nearer; a warm sensation exploded in my hand, surrounding me. Something invisible pushed the bud away.

The thorns on it enlarged and broke through the barrier around me. I tried my best to form a little black hole to get rid of it. The small seed managed to vanish from the invisible area, aiming at me. I also activated my earth energy for extra protection. A black, crystal cube appeared and fused with my small void. The dark cube opened up, shattering into pieces. Like a shuriken, it cut down the thorns, and guess what? The dark crystal pieces combined into a shield; my black hole disappeared. 

“Alexander, what was that?” Lextrum asked as he lowered his own shield.

“Sir, I cannot explain it wholly either. My intentions got out of control somehow.”

“Let me have a look,” he replied, grabbing my core charm. “This doesn’t seem good.”

“What’s wrong, professor?” I inquired, panicking around.

“Your mental and physical control is improving; however, your connection with some of the gears has errors. I think your thought transmitter and core charm aren’t capable of carrying your energy.”

I remembered the vision I had earlier. I had to find that amulet sooner or later. This urge… It burned my whole existence at that moment. 

“Sir, I think I may have an idea for the location of the medallion. If you have time, can we examine it with the Negavise history book?”

Lextrum gave me a strange expression and scanned his schedule and the clock. It seemed full; I let out a deep sigh. Why did I bother it at all?

“Alexander, wait there!” Lextrum called as I began to retreat to the resting area. “Actually, I can make some time for you. I’m curious as you are.”

“Thank you! I will be back in no time. Where shall we meet?” I asked eagerly.

“Meet me in my office at Rainbow Academy in an hour.”

***

Friggia Tethys ran to the wails of a child, towards the garden. She could hear the groans of a man too. The poor kid was slammed against a tree, and the man slapped him into the muddy puddle and kicked nonstop. While he was about to shatter his coffee mug on the boy, she stepped before the lad. A fluidic shield out of the geyser repulsed him to the ground. She fastly cradled the child with one arm while holding the barrier with the other.

“Hush, little Alexie. Nana Friggia is here,” The fair woman whispered to Alex, rocking him lightly. The lad slowly became quiet and closed his eyes on her chest. “What do you think you are doing Nigel? Are you out of your mind?!”

“Yea! My brain flowed to insanity sewer when I lost her! Gimme that brat!” He dashed out to Friggia but fell hard.

“Look at you, Nigel! Doesn’t Roxy’s legacy have any worth? He is a piece of you too, but I’m not going to lay a hand on him again!” She barked, covering Alex with her coat. “From then on, I will stay by his side until my death.”

“Wha’ever! Keep that brat out o’ my sight. I’ll buy more mandrake coffee.” 

Alex’s father lost in a further direction, leaving Friggia and the boy alone. Friggia went inside and gently woke Alex up. Then, she washed and dressed him up, and treated his wounds with some aloe veras. He was still trembling both from the shock and the bath. 

“Sweetie, it’s alright. He isn’t here anymore, and I will be with you as long as I can. “She tried to reassure him in her embrace, stroking his hair.

“Nana, why does Daddy hate me so much?” Alex asked.

“Well, ‘Lexie, he doesn’t exactly hate you. You are his son. He is just in deep grief.” Friggia replied unsure.

“Why is he sad? Why doesn’t he want to go visit the mama on my birthday? Aren’t I a big boy now?”

“He is sad because he loved Mama so much to lose her and doesn’t have enough bravery to visit her with you,” Friggia kissed his rosy cheeks. His hazelnut eyes were gleaming with wonder. “You are turning into a very handsome lad every day.”

Friggia touched his nose and tickled him on the couch. His jovial sounds rang in the room as he wobbled his little limbs. She brought a few things from the next chamber alongside an amulet.

“Nana! What’s that dingle dangle in your hand?”

“Let’s sit down my lad,” Friggia directed him to the floor. “This is a very special medallion that belonged to your grandparents dear. It is called the Amulet of Megavoid. According to what I heard from your mama, this object carries the secrets of your family, past and more. Use this when you find yourself in need of power and hope; however, don’t forget to wish for help from the Creator first! This can work if he lets so.”

Alexander stared at the medallion with awe. He giggled at the silver-purple holographic sheen on the metal. It was truly a mesmerising view.

***

I went to the nearest teleportation station at full speed. On the earth and in many other kingdoms, teleportation systems are the shorter distance transportation. The longer-distance ones were the fly porters and light-speed ships. I placed myself inside the device and entered my coordinates on the panel. My house was in the north of the Spectral city, Scythe District. A few minutes later, I was in front of my dwelling. It looked like a ruined building rather than a cosy one. It wasn’t surprising at all since it was made of low-quality obsidian and adobe. Also, a ‘father’ of mine had attempted to set it on fire several times, but we could manage to stop him.

Anyway, I entered inside and headed towards my old man’s ex-office. Just like everything in the house, this place was a mess. Only the desk was enduring this coarseness. It was an old, silver-lilac wood structure. If I didn’t recall wrong, Friggia said that it was the Karabakan tree’s plank. This tree was a unique species, only raised here in the Northern Rainbow Dimension. According to rumours, my first ancestors created a hybrid out of ebony and silver birch trees. It had dark lilac bark with silver inside. 

I opened the cupboard of the desk and began to search for the medallion. Despite the cupboards’ size, it had a little void storage to let us place many things. I scanned around for a box with a symbol. Inside the bulk of stationaries and books, I noticed a violet metal; with all my force, I pulled it out. Here it was.

It was a transparent jelly box with a purple spiral seal. Thanks to my inventor's past, I knew how to crack seals. I took a keychain out of my pocket and pushed a button. The keychain became a holographic picklock. I made a few moves, and it clicked. I opened the box gingerly.

The exact object of my dreams was waiting for me. I obtained the amulet, and set up everything back to their spots. With that, I ran towards the Rainbow Academy stop.

***

The Rainbow Academy campus was a large zone. It was about 50 million square meters according to the last measurements. Think how hard was it for me to find Mr. Lextrum; however, I had a quick learning mind with a detailed visual memory. I looked at the manual for students and instantly memorised the directions. Lextrum’s office was in the block of application classes.

I arrived at the door and climbed the stairs to the second floor. Mr. Lextrum’s room was across the staircase. I knocked on his door twice and went in. I was exhaling like an excited dog.

“Sir… I… am… here.” I tried to utter.

“Oh, Alex! Sit down there boy,” he showed a seat beside his table. “Catch your breath first. You didn’t have to break an Olympic record.”

I coughed a little and gave his joke a half smile. Five minutes later, I was able to talk again.

“Thank you, sir,” I said, placing the rusty amulet on his table. “This thing can be the object I saw in my vision.”

He took it and started to analyse it thoroughly. His face had an uncertain expression.

“I will be honest with you Alexander. This object is at least 900 years old and has an archaic technology. The thing bothering me here is the appearance. It seems more like a watch than an amulet. There is an unfamiliar mechanism at the centre.”

The mechanism was more complex than its box. It had several layers of swirls covering the surface and was metal. I used my handy keychain as a picklock once more, but there was a little holographic screen under my fingers. I scanned for any strange pattern, clue or code. My minicomputer found some traces of an ancient safety system called ‘esoterica.’ 

“Alexander, I think I know of this security type. See this hole? It will help us to unlock the gear.” Mr. Lextrum said and grabbed my left hand. With my picklock, he opened a small scratch on my index finger. My blood and energy filled in the carved swirls. I damped the wound with some spit, but it didn’t ease the pain. Instead, I tasted something like rusty metal. 

The amulet’s surface glowed with purple-black light; the metal swirls unravelled. A glassy hologram screen opened up, many images flowing rapidly. The flow stopped with the image of my father and mother. They had happy faces as their hands intervened on my mother’s stomach. She seemed about to pop. This must have been before my birth. There was also a document icon with my name on it. I gently clicked on it, and there my fella, my fate rolled up.

***

“My dearest Alexander, how have you been? If you are watching this, then you should be in a critical situation. My lovely son, I am recording this mental film to explain you everything about us. If you are witnessing this, I can also guess that Friggia should have disappeared. Oh, the Almighty… There are tons of things I want to say to you, but I just cannot pour my entire soul into words, can I? Just acknowledge this son, even if I returned to where I came from, the Creator, my love for you shall overflow in your veins, body and heart. We can meet you in your dreams and beyond. You are the greatest gift I ever received my darling Alexie. Oh no, my tears are out of my control again. Must be my hormones. I should smile. Yes. I must be smiling brightly to greet the most precious thing in my life. I am rambling again, eh? Okay, okay. I will get to the point. My sweetest Alexie, my name is Roxanne Lorelei Megavoid. I shall be your overreacting mother in your life. Your father is my whiny, immature yet adoring Nigel Hailen Megavoid. I am from the second strongest clan of nymphs, Loreleis. Your daddy is half Terran and Negavisian. You will probably ask me about him. Well, here is everything I know. 

His history… Is a quite sad one. His great-great-grandfather was a prince from Negavise, the planet of darkness. They were really beyond in every field from technology to knowledge. Once the prince’s dad died, his big brothers began an alliance between them and hindered him from claiming the throne. They ruled over the planet for a while, but when the resources dwindled, they attacked other five nations including the Earth. They all kneeled down to their might and accepted to supply their energy need and pay taxes. This huge victory’s booty whets their desires. They eventually fell into a fight against this wealth and ended their bond. A devastating civil war exploded shortly after, and the other five nations secretly formed an alliance under the leadership of Lumina.

The youngest prince joined their council to stop the chaos in Negavise. He helped them beat his brothers in a big war and earned a dwelling inside the earth. He married the daughter of my great-grandfather, King Fredrick Lorelei. Her name was Juniper if I get it correctly. He and Princess Juniper formed the Megavoid clan, rejecting his offer of becoming the next king of the nymphs. The worst thing about him was he never contacted his brothers again. One of his siblings lost his sanity and the other one enthroned as the king. The council formed by the five nations imposed sanctions and harsh conditions on Negavise. They exiled the Negavisians who rioted against this and were sent to a pocket dimension, imprisoned or executed. They buried the history, culture and civilisation of Negavise in the dark. Also, after Fredrick, a massacre happened. I… I don’t want to speak about it, my son. Just know that they drove Megavoid’s legacy to annihilation too. This device Alexie is the only record of your family. It was built for the line of Megavoid, so you can control your hybrid psyche energy. There is a stock for your power beneath the screen. Focus your psyche on darkness and earth elements inside this chamber. Then, lock this amulet; and connect it with your fusion weapon. Rotate right to activate the earth element and left to release darkness. I advise you to use two guns, my dear. I hope it will be both your core charm and a treasure of beautiful memories. Protect it with your life my son. I have to go now, but this is not a farewell. We will meet again. I love you more than you can imagine. Your mother.”

I stared at the screen as if my whole being sucked into it. My eyes gurgled waterfalls on my cheeks. I started to shiver uncontrollably; however, with a sigh, I opened the Negavisian Chronicles. Combing it swiftly, I read every single detail about the war. I clearly recall the names of King Hades, Prince Steven Hugo, Prince Galactica and Prince Alexander. The events they experienced… They were identical to the ones my mum told me in the video. The more I compared, the more it made sense. Oh, my beloved mother! You were right. I was in a desperate situation; the entire dimension to be exact. My kinsmen… They were bringing the only home I knew to perishment. 

I sobbed, sobbed until my voice muttered. I wanted to vanish myself inside a hole at that moment. I was nobody with no one. Friggia and my mother… They were gone. My father was my father on the paper. Then, the words of the Scandinavian Nymph echoed in my mind: “We are too different from each other.” How correct she was! She was the light and I was the dark; she was a Starlander and I was a Negavisian. Most importantly, she had people who were concerned about her, somebody to rely on. I recognised that gap inside my being at that moment. I was yearning for something; I was yearning for companionship.