really nice to see some ‘thanks for the chapter’ at the list. It gave me the feels on the inside, knowing all the instability for chapters I’ve put you guys through. So really, thank you all for your continued support. It means a lot to me!

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Return

The purple crystal hovering in midair from the power of teleportation slowly faded away, and I descended into the middle of the room. Then in moments, the room was shrouded by darkness. Startled, I exclaimed to myself,

Me- “Ah, I forgot there were never any lights in here.”

With an intention from my mind, a flame appeared above the palm of my hand, lighting the way. I used it to navigate my way through the blast doors and through the fake wall. The ‘gang members’ at the door nodded to me, and I walked past them, noting that there were more people. All new. It seems no-one survived that incident…

A sense of indescribable guilt welled up from my heart as I realized my actions back then caused them to die. All of them!

Even though I hadn’t known them, they were still people. People who weren’t trying to take my life. They were even on my side! Why was I so inconsiderate, not even thinking about them after a simple cremation? Am I a cold-blooded killer now? Am I just like the people who tried to kill me for money?

The question remained unanswered for a while, until a thought came in from the corner of my mind. ‘I survived, they didn’t. That’s the difference.’

Immediately my heart reeled back in shock! Who could believe something so cold, so cruel!?

But what horrified me is that somewhere in my mind, I was beginning to accept this proposal as reality. And the thought of it scared me. How would Chloe feel about me if she knew what I really thought? Would she leave me?

My heartbeat started to race, and my palms became sweaty. Then an indescribable fear took hold of my mind from memories past. Memories I had long locked away…

Shaking my head vehemently, I spoke softly to myself in order to calm down,

Me- “No-no-no. She would never leave us; she promised!”

Us? Sh*t, I was really going crazy!

Slapping myself for the misuse of the word, I started to realize that this couldn’t go on. I needed to toughen up and see what happens. I couldn’t predict what she’d feel; I’m not Chloe! And even so, if she never found out, it wouldn’t matter, would it?

With that resolution, I made my way home.

*****************

It had started raining again on my way back, but the incoming rain did not faze me. The only price of it was getting my clothes drenched; far less than most of the consequences I have to deal with daily. And so what I did was, get home, go upstairs, and take a shower.

The shower gave me some time to think about what had been happening recently, but I didn’t indulge in it. Recently my thoughts had been leading me in a cold, terrible direction that I was quite frankly, terrified of! Even thinking about thinking about it gives me the shudders. Wait… Did I just? Never mind.

Walking out of the shower, I took a towel and wrapped it around my body. Then, I walked into my room, but there was an inquisitive girl looking around my room.

She was currently looking through a couple of books I had under my desk. Once she read through the summary, she moved onto the next while placing the book back at its set place. And when she was done looking through my books, the girl jumped on my bed without even acknowledging my presence.

Unfortunately for her, when I saw the girl start to wrap herself in my covers, I couldn’t bear the embarrassment any longer. I lightly coughed out of shame,

Me- “Cough, Chloe, cough-cough.”

She had just been taking in a deep breath of satisfaction before I coughed, yet when she heard me, her body froze. Moments later one eye slowly started to open, and when she saw me, she jumped up like a cat that had its tail stepped on. Then Chloe asked in bewilderment, her faced flushed with a bright shade of red.

Chloe- “W-What are you doing here Nathaniel? I thought you were in the shower; why did you come in here!?”

Lol! She was asking me why I came in my room? Guilty!

Me- “I was in the shower, but this is my room! Why were you in my covers?”

Chloe- “I was just checking your room out, that’s all,” Chloe responded shamelessly, “Plus, you were in my room too, dummy. How am I supposed to know what you did while you were there?”

Me- “You were in the room with me the whole time!”

Chloe- “So?”

I was struck speechless.

Me- “But… That doesn’t even make sense! If you were in the room with me, obviously you know what I did in there!”

At this, Chloe giggled happily.

Chloe- “Face the facts, Nathaniel. You could of done anything to a poor young lady while alone in her room. An-y-thing. Why are you trying to argue with me? You’re only digging yourself into a deeper pit.”

I backed away in mock fear, murmuring resentfully,

Me- “Girl logic…”

Chloe- “Huh? What was that? Can you say it louder for me Nathaniel, so I can hear what you said?”

Me- “It was nothing.”

Chloe- “Mm-hm. So, anyways, I heard you left the house while I was unconscious. What’d you do?”

A bit of the paranoia sprung up from before, making me fearful of how’d she react if I told her I went to the organization again. So I ended up telling her the truth, just not the whole story. Its not lying anyways, so it should be fine.

Me- “I went for a run, thought about some things. I came back when it started to rain.”

Chloe- “And?”

Again, she put me on the spot for no apparent reason. Did she know already, or was it just that she cared? I hoped it was the latter.

Me- “And, I got drenched because I was too late. That’s why I got into the shower again, to clean myself off. Which reminds me, I still need to change into some clean clothes!”

Chloe looked somewhat embarrassed, seeming to note that the only clothing I wore was a white towel.

Chloe- “Alright, I’ll be waiting downstairs. Call me when you’re ready; I have something to show you!”

Me- “Sure thing!”

She left the room after that exchange, and I proceeded to get a pair of pants and a green shirt out of the drawer. Once I put them on, I grabbed the pendant from the top of a shirt with 3 golden triangles on it. I placed it on my neck gently, and suddenly a sense of safety and calm rose within me. I had forgotten to put it on while I was stressed earlier, but with it on now, my mind finally felt at ease.

Walking downstairs with a small, confident smile, I found Chloe sitting next to Grandma on the couch. The black lines that signified her awakening as a contractor had appeared on her skin, and she was concentrating on producing something on the palm of her hand. Grandma was assisting.

Grandma- “You can do it! Hold it, for just a bit longer… Now!”

The golden aura arose from her hand and swirled out to encompass her whole body. Chloe seemed to be concentrating hard to remain in that state, but when she saw me, her concentration was broken and the golden aura immediately vanished.

Chloe- “Nathaniel! Did you see it? I created the golden thingy!

Me- “Golden aura.”

Chloe- “Well anyways, did you see it? Your grandma tells me that with enough practice, I can summon it with only a thought!”

I think she wants me to get excited for her, but honestly, I’m getting mixed feelings about this… Whatever, I’ll just go with what she wants.

Responding with a smile, I said,

Me- “That’s pretty cool! So Grandma, can you give me a time estimate on when she’ll be able to use the golden aura whenever she wants?"

My question was innocent enough, but I had hidden motives behind asking it. I wanted to know so I could have a legitimate reason to refuse her before she was ready.

Grandma- “It will go slowly at first, but after about a week, her body should be adapted to the needs of a contractor. That is, if she practices for about an hour each day. You know what that means, right?”

Me- “You want me to act as a charger?”

Grandma- “Correct. Currently, she can go for only about 5 minutes. Our training will extend that period, but even then, it will be no more than an hour once we finish. So, I need you to charge her up once she runs out of your ability.”

Me- “…Alright.”

Grandma- “And Chloe?”

Chloe- “Yes?”

Grandma’s face grew stern.

Grandma- “You need to concentrate! If it can waver by simply having another person come into view, then you are not trying hard enough! A half-hearted attitude training will come out with half-hearted results!”

Chloe- “…Yes ma-am.”

Grandma- “Alright then. Nathaniel, if you would start?”

Me- “Sure.”

Activating my abilities, I moved over to Chloe. Our outstretched hands joined, and my abilities swirled around the black lines that encompassed her body. When they touched, it was like her body had become a whirlpool, drawing both my aura and the hot feeling within.

Moments later, the process was finished without incident, and Grandma started her training right after. I didn’t really do anything special; I just charged her up when she ran out. And the tedious task went on…

*************************

After we were done, I charged Chloe up once more, and then she went back home. It doesn’t need to be stated, but she had been away from home too long. She said her parents weren’t there, so it was fine. But, she looked somewhat anxious for some reason…

When she left, Grandma pulled me over to talk.

Grandma- “This may be a little self explanatory, but Nathaniel, I’m going to have to ask you to make sure she doesn’t try and use her powers on her own, especially if she starts to use them in a non-private setting. If you used it in a public setting, even if it wasn’t necessary, at most you’d be put in a prison. And that is because you are an ability user. But for a contractor? That’s a guaranteed way to get killed! Make sure you get her to keep her ability hidden. It wouldn’t mean anything if I told her, but please. Make sure she knows in clear terms.”

Me- “Alright, I will.”

Grandma- “And one more thing. The clan is sending bodyguards over; they’ll be here by tomorrow. So don’t do anything stupid.”

Me- “Like what?”

It was a legitimate question. I already knew the do’s and the do not’s for the organization, but I was like a complete newbie to the ability world. But Grandma’s reaction seemed somewhat strange.

She looked from side to side suspiciously, as if she were afraid of unseen eyes and ears behind every corner.

Grandma- “Honey, don’t use your ability. They can’t trace our body strengthening for certain reasons, but using abilities like that flame lets everybody know of your approximate location. Remember how they found you before, in that ‘kidnapping’ incident?”

A slight frown appeared on my face.

Grandma- “Yeah, I heard about it from your father once some suspicions arose. Anyways, you’ll need something special to mask your ability signature, and I won’t be able to acquire it for you. It’s better if you don’t use it at all until tomorrow.”

Me- “Alright.”

Grandma- “Good.”

She gave off a warm smile.

Grandma- “Now that that’s covered, I’d like to catch up with my grandson. How have you been? It has been a while since I last saw you!”

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Author’s note 2- Alright, I have something to say to the Legend of Zelda fans among my readers. Breath of the Wild should be coming out in March! So excited!