Animegas (Editing)

Truths of Lies

The familiar black mist poured in from nowhere. Max and Sara clung onto me, afraid that they might lose me in the fog. I wrapped my arms around them, trying to keep my body from shaking. Damean was the one physical thing I was afraid of. I didn't like going with him, much less dragging everyone else with me; but I trusted Katie's and Calypso's judgment. I had to. Trust was all I had now days, and even that was hard to keep.

When the mist dispersed we were standing in the ballroom. Max and Sara clung to me even more when they saw the morbid decor. Damean saw the fear on their faces and sighed. The room rippled until the black and red floor was marble and the walls were painted with a rich golden color. The ceiling mural went from morbid to a bunch of classic fat babies whose private parts were covered with golden ribbons. I stared at Damean.

"Aren't you the Guardian of Fear? How were you able to do that? It's not frightening at all." The 7 year olds' grip on me seemed to loosen slightly.

"People fear losing something. Especially the rich, who have everything. And they know it can all be taken in a second. What I just did was a reverse of my usual power. It's basically the same thing that Calypso can do. She can withdraw darkness, just as easily as she can place it." He confessed. His tone was less harsh, and more caring. Like this was a completely different Damean I was talking to.

We all stood in a huddle, ready to attack at a moment's notice. There was something different about this place, the air seemed lighter since the last time we were here. More, comforting somehow; less evil.

"Please, sit." Damean instructed courteously, motioning to a set of velvety chairs. Funny, I don't remember them being there. Must have come with the new ballroom layout. "This is going to take a while to explain everything." We sat in the cushioned chairs, but with caution. Everyone except for Katie was on edge. I could feel the tension in the air, the slight trembling of the close bodies.

"Talk." Calypso snarled, "and I hope you include why you trapped me in that hole."

Damean nodded and started to pace in front of us. "I should probably start with an event that happened about 200 years ago. With the creation if the so-called Guardians. Two centuries ago, there was a Third World War. This time it literally included the whole world. Human kind was almost extinct at the end, and many survivors were affected with radiation. Some called it magic, others called it a mutation. But that's when the Animegas were born. Only problem was though the Animegas could transform, each moment they were being dragged closer to death.

"It was only a few months to find a cure. Salus berries. They only affected the Animegas. Megan," he motioned to Katie, "was the first to survive longer than a couple of weeks. After that, the Animegas were safe. Then, a group of gifted Animegas wanted more. They sought eternal life, to become gods. And they did, basically. By consuming another plant known as the Flora de Imortalis. If you drink the nectar of this flower, your body freezes in time. Or, rather, it slows your lifespan so much that it seems you never age.

"A very large group consumed the nectar of the Flora de Imortalis. Megan, my sister and I were some of them. Then, we were sectioned as Guardians according to our additional power we had received from the radiation. At first, I was happy to be immortal. Then, as years passed, I began to hate it. My friends were soon dead. In 60 years, they had aged that many, and I had not even aged a year. Then I witnessed the cruelty of the others. Almost all of them were mad with power. As far as I knew, Megan and Calypso were the only people I could trust.

"More years passed and I had begun to warm up to the others again. Then, the Guardian Phoebe, told a prophecy. It went something like:

Fire hair and jeweled eyes