Forgiving Light

Chapter 18

At night, Dark comes out again. He's singing again, and he's hyper as hell. It's as if he ate something that made his crazy hormones out of control. Though, there's something ominous about that song.

~.~.~

A strong jolt goes through my body. I wake up with a start and tumble off of my hammock. Astral looks at me with a look of exasperation. He removes his hand, which still sparks with electricity.

"I think he is awake now," Astral sighs, crossing his arms. "About time."

I sit up, groaning.

"Yuma, get dressed. You are almost late."

I bolt up. "What!? Why didn't you wake me up earlier!?"

"We tried," Justice says bluntly. "Astral used his electric currents, and my armor amplified the effects on you. Needless to say, we failed until our fourth attempt. High voltage, by the way."

Ignoring them both, I hurriedly get dressed. I rush out the house and get to school ten minutes late. Mr. Kay sighs when I enter the room.

"Late as usual," he mumbles. "Take your seat."

I do, and he starts over again.

~.~.~

After school, I walk home with the others. A raven soars overhead, cawing down to us below.

Cat looks up at the raven. "Hmm. That raven feels familiar," she mumbles arbitrarily. "I wonder what it's doing here."

"I feel like I've seen it before," Tetsuo comments, and I get the same feeling.

I then notice something. "Hey, what's it carrying?" I point up to its feet, where claws hold something.

No, scratch that. Talons. Talons on a raven. How does that work out, exactly?

Takashi notice the talons, too. "Why does it have talons?"

Astral comes out looking all exasperated and worn down. Maybe he had some business with Dark, and Dark was being a nuisance. If that's the case, he has every right to look fed up.

Astral looks up. As soon as he does, the raven looks down. The raven caws and lands roughly on Astral's head, flapping wildly to stay on. Soon, it takes the thing into its beak and hooks its claws into Astral's head causing the Agent to wince and try to get the raven off with light-based attacks.

They work. 

The raven caws indignantly and drops some shimmering paper into Astral's translucent hands. He opens the note, and his eyes widen. Then, they narrow angrily.

"Astral, what is it?" I hiss as he destroys the paper.

"Yuma, when I tell you to, I need you to take your friends and run as fast as your human feet can carry you," Astral hisses back without giving an answer, looking at Shiro. Shiro seems to understand. After a while, he yells, "Run!"

Without questioning anything, I take Cat and Kotori's arms and pull them into a run. The others follow without question, knowing that it must be something dangerous.

"Yuma, whatever you do, do not look back!" Astral warns through telepathy. "Tell your friends that!"

"Guys, don't look back!" I yell at them. "Whatever you do, do not look back!"

Ignoring Astral's warning myself, I look up to see the shadow of a dragon chasing us. I look behind me, and I see Astral telling Shiro something. The white cat jumps off of his master's shoulders and hisses at the oncoming beast. He starts growing bigger, almost to the size of a liger. Black stripes grow in his fur on his back, and spikes emerge from those stripes. His tail grows longer, and a spiked ball ends the tip. His paws grow to an enormous size, his claws poke out and dig into the cement, his fangs elongate, and his eyes grow golden.

Before I can see any more, I turn away and focus on running.

"What was that all about, Yuma?" Kotori demands as soon as we stop.

"Can't explain right now," I say breathlessly. "Just don't look back."

Cat looks back anyways. She gasps lightly. Soon, the rest are looking and gasping. We watch the giant mutant cat battle the dragon-like beast. It's obviously not a dragon. Far too small.

The dragon should have the advantage since its bigger than Shiro, but Shiro seems to have the upper hand. He's got his fangs clamped firmly down on the beast's scaly neck, not letting go for anything.

People are already crowding around in a wide ring to see the two frightful beasts battle. Some are even recording and calling other people. Police cars arrive, their sirens wailing annoyingly. I see Astral cringing at the noise, and he calls Shiro back. The feline looks reluctant, but he obeys, turning back into his original form. The two hurry back.

"What was that all about?" I demand as soon as they get here.

"It was nothing," Astral replies hurriedly. "We need to get out of here before my hearing gets destroyed."

I nod slowly, and we walk back home in silence. When the rest are gone, it's only Cat, Astral, Shiro, and myself.

"Astral, can you tell us now?" Cat pleads. "How did Shiro become that big?"

"He picked up some of our energy," Astral responds. "It gave him powers he can use on command."

Shiro, who's grown almost to an adult cat, yawns. His white body goes from Astral's right shoulder, behind his neck, and to his left.

"Astral, how did Shiro grow so fast?" I wonder.

"Again, energy he picked up from us."

I nod. It makes sense if you think about it. After all, energy from different worlds is bound to affect things in another world. It's just how things work. Actually, it's pretty cool to think about.

Cat starts to drift away. "I have to go now. Bye."

"Cathy, remember to meet me in the usual place in three hours," Astral calls to her.

Cat nods and waves to us. We wave back.

Shiro produces a sound from his throat. Astral nods in understanding.

"I know, Shiro," he sighs, "but it's not like he would say that without a valid reason."

Shiro looks at Astral with now green eyes.

"You know there is no way to keep him locked up with all of that pent-up energy. He would break out."

I sigh and enter the house. When I finish dinner, I go upstairs and go to sleep.

~.~.~

"Yuma Tsukumo."

I crack open my eyes to see Astral looking down at me. I know there's something off, though. His eyes are dull, yet they glow with a blue light. That can only mean that he's being controlled.

I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "What?"

"There is something important you must know."

"Really? What?"

Astral points one finger to my forehead and another to my heart. "The evil one has strengthened his hold on you. He has injected his darkness into your soul. You are now hid Puppet of Darkness."

"Wait, what?" Is he making this up?

He puts his hands down. "I will not repeat myself. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do at this point. The evil is growing quickly now. All we can do is warn you, and that is not the least bit satisfying. It is frustrating. Our Agent's ability is to sense darkness in the inhabitants of the worlds. The fact that Agent 12 couldn't sense the darkness quickly enough means that this evil one cab conceal it. We fear it may be who we think it is. Be careful."

Astral closes his eyes, and he falls to the floor as the ones controlling him release him.