The Apprentice's Journey

Plan X

I wake up and stretch my fingers across the bedspread. I can feel the hint of a smile on my face. I can't help it. Positive. I have to be positive for any chance of finding Duncan. I get dressed and go back into the bathroom to change the bandage on my hand. I peel it off.

No blood, nothing, just flux. It's completely healed. The flux has grown back over where the cut was before. It's moving faster but has just saved me a whole lot of explaining. I'm not entirely sure if this is a good or bad thing. Though I still have the smashed mirror and the piles of blood on the floor. I probably shouldn't leave that there. As I move around the bathroom in a clumsy haste I hear a knock on the door.

"Hello." My voice is all croaky as it echoes around the small space.

"Hey Kim, it's me."

I open the door "Hey Sips."

"Hhhhiiiiiiiii......." He is looking up at the top of my head.

"What?"

"Your hair."

"Oh yeah." I probably need to explain that too. "I've, ummm, wanted it short for a while."

"Okay then."

We stand there awkwardly in the doorway for a while.

"It looks........nice." He says.

"Thanks."

More silence. More awkwardness. Stupid short hair making it awkward. It's definitely it's fault. What else would it be? I'm definitely not socially awkward, am I?

Not the problem Kim.

"Is, errr, did you, umm, come to get me for a reason."

"Yeah, Lewis wants us."

"Should we, you know, go."

"Yep."

I shut my door and double locked it, I would have to finish cleaning it later. We walk along the hall and pass the medical bay. I can't help but take a quick look and what I see makes me wince. Simons alive but in a wheelchair. He doesn't look very nice. His skin is all burnt and mangled. I turn to Sips.

"That's temporary, right."

"What?"

"The wheelchair."

"Yeah." He smiles at me. "It really wasn't your fault, you know."

"I know but I still can't help feel guilty."

"I guess."

We turn a few more corners until we come into an official looking boardroom. The tables, the chairs and the whole room is completely different from the rest of the labs. It's all crafted from mahogany. Sjin obviously. Lewis stands at the head of the table. Sips and I sit down at the opposite end of the table. Lewis' eyes meet mine from the other end of the table. He smirks. I try and give him the death stare but his smile grows.

Soon enough Hannah walks in, wheeling Simon in with her. His smile droops. He almost looks sad. His friend is hurt. I know how he feels. That's his best friend, he actually cares.

He has a weakness.

Lewis looks back over at me and I just smile. What I get is that death stare that I just can't manage. I just smile bigger. I can see his annoyance growing.

"Eerr, you wanted to tell us something." Sips says.

He turns to Sips.

"I know a way to get in to Blackrock." Lewis says composing himself, yet while talking he doesn't break my glance as he paces back and forth across the room. "Why you guys were sleeping, I made some calls. They managed to find some plans for me. Blackrock has a whole underground tunnel system. We can get in."

"Where did you get the information?" I ask and to quickly aware of all the eyes trailing on me. Sips just giving me that face that kind of says of all the questions. "What? I'm curious."

He looks at me in surprise for a moment longer before straightening up and answering with a cold tone, "the only person on this earth that knows more than me."

I look to Sips who has hardly moved but just from the glint in his eye I can tell he knows. That answer has just fuelled my curiosity more but I know I can't ask anymore questions. Not to do with this anyway. I'll ask Sips when we leave.

"So this how we are going to get Duncan then????"

Sips shoots me a look.

"And Sjin....." I murmur.

"You know this isn't a rescue mission, right." Lewis says. "The only reason I have agreed to this whole stupid business is because the world is not ready to face a threat like Rythian again or Duncan or Sjin. In fact I think the reason this world is so messed up today is because of those three idiots and it might be better if they are all in there when the place comes down." He threatens.

"What???" I mutter even I can hear the hint of anger in my voice.

Calm down Kim.

"When we've got into the tunnel system you and Sips can go in and attempt to save your precious 'friends'." He says friends using his hands to signal inverted commas. "Once you are in you have an hour. I will be planting 4 explosives on either side of the tunnel when they go off the whole castle will come down. If they are not out by then, I would be a shame but....."

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" I'm no longer in control. "YOU ARE A SICK, TWISTED AND EVIL PERSON!!!!!!!EVERY PERSON HERE TODAY YOU HAVE HURT IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I look down at Simon and then to Hannah. "Even the ones you care about most." I look down and see my hands, they glow purple. I can't do this anymore. I can't control it. I sit down and look down at my hands. I'm fighting back tears. "Continue." I murmur. I have to learn to control my emotions. I breath in and out and calm myself. I look back up to see everyone still staring at me. "I'm fine I swear."

"We will leave tomorrow evening to take on 'Plan X'.Meeting dismissed." Lewis finishes

I get up to run after Sips but before I leave I see Hannah go to take Simon out yet Lewis runs in and places his hand on the wheelchair.

"Hannah, its fine. Let me." He begins to push him out.

I run up to him and whisper in his ear, "oh and did his heart grow three sizes that day." He gives me a look. "Spaceboy." I finish. He honestly doesn't know what say.

*********

I catch up with Sips on the way out. "Sips, who did Lewis mean when he said the only person who knows more them him."

"It means he's a man with a big ego."

"I don't want those witty remarks I want to know who."

"It really doesn't matter, hopefully you will never meet them."

"He can't be worse then Lewis."

"He can. You see while Lewis plays on the power he has, Ridge plays God."

"Ridge, I've never heard of him before."

"You should be glad, I speak from experience." He stops as we reach his room. "See you later Kim."

******

It's late into the day when I get back to my room to actually finish clearing and am just preparing to go to sleep I hear a sounds from down the corridor. I am just going to see what it is when all the lights go out. I go to the door to leave but it won't open. It's electronically locked and the powers out.

"Hello, if anyone can here me. It's Kim. I'm locked in. Sips, Hannah, Simon," I say and then I murmur reluctantly, "Lewis."

Behind me, the light that shines in from the window seems to be getting darker. I turn around. A dark smoke is forming in the window. It's magic. Even though I've never see him I know who this is immediately.

"Rythian."