Virus -~- Book 3 of Pixel

-~- e l e v e n

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Virus! :)

Happy August! Today's chapter is going up early today because I'm going to see Paper Towns with Emily this afternoon c: (even though I didn't have enough time to read the actual book...)

Anyway, I wrote this chapter on Thursday in a Starbucks because I went with my mom to write a bit. Needless it's hard not to get distracted, and I ended up smelling like coffee afterwards xD But hopefully this chapter is little more satisfying than ten ^^

Remember to follow code_cherry on Twitter, and to vote and comment for more! Enjoy eleven :D

J U L I O [ T O M A H A W K ]

" 'You are a daring one, I can tell. You'll quickly find that will not do you much good here.'

'Who are you?' I demanded, knowing TYBZI would be too timid to speak up. Someone's got to get the answers.

The figure chuckled darkly and leaned down so as to meet my eyes. 'I am Nano, boy. I am a virus, and as such, I have great power. Therefore, I suggest that you stay... obedient.' "

" 'I am getting tired,' hissed Nano. 'Of your backtalk, boy. Perhaps I need to teach you a lesson.' I tensed, bracing myself for a blow, but was surprised when Nano shook his head. 'No, that would be too good for you. Maybe if I punished the other...' An evil grin spread across his face and he aimed instead at TYBZI, who had fallen asleep in one of the far corners of the cage."

"Julio!"

I was jolted out of my reverie by the sound of my brother's voice, and I started violently, my eyes flicking wildly around the room defensively. They eventually landed on Anthony, who was staring worriedly at me.

"Julio, it's okay! It's just me, just Anthony," my brother soothed, biting his lip and fiddling with the controller of the paused game in his hands. I took one look at his slightly frightened face and the fight that remained from my daydream dissolved instantly. Realizing that my fingers had a death grip on the arms of the chair and that my entire body was tensed and ready to pounce, I slowly relaxed, letting out a long sigh.

"Julio...?"

I shook my head to clear it. "I'm alright, Anthony. Sorry."

He hesitated nervously, before asking timidly, "Whatever happened to you in there... was it that bad?"

Resting my head in my hands, I replied, "I don't mean to scare you, little bro, but it was. It was horrible in so many ways, and I just don't know how long it'll take me to be okay. It's just hard."

Anthony nodded carefully, still watching me with eyes like a hawk. "I'm here for you, man. If you ever need to talk."

"Thanks for the offer, but I'll have to pass for now," I muttered. "This is something the others and I have to do." But I don't know if we'll ever get through it. Any of us. What's the point in trying? I won't be able to forget, so why do I attempt it in the first place?

Anthony's surprised yelp snapped me again out of my thoughts. "Uh, Julio?!"

"Huh?" I pulled my face out of my palms just as a large jolt of energy shot through me like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. Yelling in pain, I attempted to locate the source of the shock, but my vision was going black, and my limbs were trembling with the weight of the energy flowing through my veins. I could hear Anthony calling my name over and over, but his voice was gradually getting softer, and the energy was starting reach an agonizing peak.

Wait a minute! I managed to think through it all. Is all of this energy coming from my core?! Struggling, I reached for the familiar ball of energy within me, and was only half surprised to feel power overflowing from it, coursing through my body, wild and uncontrolled. What the hell? I concentrated as much as I could, suppressing every ounce of Alpha's energy and forcing it back where it belonged. After what seemed like years, the burning sensation inside me faded to a dull throb as my core settled, and I was left panting rapidly as I opened the eyes I hadn't realized I'd closed.

Various pieces of furniture were floating above the ground, encased in the familiar teal glow that came with my telekinesis; both game controllers, the couches, various objects on the shelf, and practically every piece of furniture in the room. Anthony's face was directly in front of mine, fear and concern etched across every inch of his features, his hands tightly grasping my shoulders. As my breathing slowed, the color vanished from both the objects and from beneath my skin, and everything lowered back to the ground without incident.

"Bro, are you okay?" demanded Anthony fiercely, taking a step back. "What just happened?!"

Taking a deep, steadying breath, I answered cautiously, "I'm alright, and to answer your second question, I have no fucking clue. Something messed with my ability... which shouldn't be able to happen." Clenching my teeth, memory of the first time my ability had messed up in the real world flashed through my mind.

This isn't just a fluke. Something's seriously wrong.

Okay, a few things before we continue. First, I have no idea how Julio's brother acts in real life, so I improvised him myself here. Also, I ventured to believe that as well as the other Cube members, the Pixel group would be inclined to tell anyone else they were close to about their abilities. That doesn't mean everyone went and spilled to their families; in fact, in this story, some of them don't necessarily get along too well with siblings or parents. But I'd like to believe that Julio and Anthony are pretty close as brothers, and that Julio trusted him enough to fill him in (mostly). For the record, this secret still stays within the Cube for the most part, but any outsiders like Anthony will have been sworn to secrecy as well and, of course, will have accepted.

In addition, I hope this is starting to heat up enough for you guys! If this chapter doesn't suit your tastes enough, I looked at twelve on the plotting; it looks to be the most intense one yet. I strongly think that up next is when we really, finally, start to get the ball rolling after all of this buildup. I hope you all agree and are willing to wait it all out with me--I feel like I've been boring you all!

QUESTION OF THE CHAPTER:

I have a little task for you guys this chapter. I want you to go back, whether to Pixel, to Nano, or to a chapter in Virus, and find one specific line. It could be the line that gave you the most chills, your favorite line in the series, or any line that stands out to you specifically. It may take a little searching, but I want the exact line--not an approximation by memory ^^

Honestly, I'm not even sure what my favorite line from this series is. I have a lot of ones that I really like, but... what do you guys think?

Vote and comment for more! Until next time!

~ Cherry