Insomnia Wake #Wattys2016

Chapter 17 - Nicknames Of Pseudonyms Is Going To Far

I walked until I reached the village. It was a small, quiet village, and not a person was in sight.

This is kind of eerie...

I passed in between the wooden houses. The wood was very clearly exposed, as if whoever had built it decided to stop the project halfway through. There were only a few buildings in total, but they were all at the same stage, and all looked like they were abandoned not too long ago.

I resolved to check inside one of the structures, and I took my first step inside. Dust filled the air and was lit up by the ambient light from the sun. The light and a slight breeze that filtered into the single room entered through the holes in the walls where windows would normally be placed. It was a tranquil cabin, but something stood out. In the complete middle of the room, there was a pedestal with a message engraved into it and the number one written on it.

The people we know as Sentinels have not always been around. They too came into this world at very specific points in time, they just happened to come rather early on.

It was a strange message, and it confused me to why it would be there. The village felt a little different now that even more mystery had been added to its existence.

I left the cabin and decided to check out another. This one also had a pedestal in it, but instead of a one engraved into it it had a three.

Could these indicate order?

I left that one without reading its message, and then I checked out another of the buildings. This one had a six on it. My suspicions became stronger, and I kept searching until I found the second one in the series.

They are not much different than you and me, but unlike us they have been gifted with spiritual will and powers of the highest class. Their powers also each seem to represent some aspect of humanity.

I went back to the third message and read it, then kept reading until I read the seventh message.

These aspects are called Experience, Life, Dream, Sensing, Nightmare, Reason, Disease, and Imagination. Both positive and negative aspects appear to be present in the list.

All of these abilities have incredible power over the way that Insomnia Wake works. In what ways, however, are not known to the public.

I, however, know the truth. The truth that not all of the Sentinels plan to use their powers for good, and that there is internal strife between the group.

Something has been brewing behind the scenes for thousands of years now, and it is these Sentinels that are the ones stirring the stew. Prometheus, Osiris, Juno, Helen, Hades, Odin, Hera, and Venus are the names they choose to go by, but just who are these people?

The Squadron Squad is headed by three of these people, and it's a massive organization that at times has boasted membership up to 30% of the world's population. Can we really trust those who have that much influence? Or...

That's it?! There weren't any more building to check, but the message didn't seem to be over yet. I left the seventh room and looked around. I suddenly got the impression that I was being watched.

There, in the very middle of the abandoned village, was an oddly shaped pile of snow. I went over and wiped it off, only to find the eighth and final message.

Will we have to fight them in the end?

"Strange message, isn't it."

I spun around to find Juno standing behind me. She wasn't showing much emotion, but took occasional glances around the village, as if expecting something.

"Juno?"

"That's my name yes," she replied. "And who are you? I remember seeing you before."

"Neuman."

"Ah, I see. Back with the Passing Wind fiasco." She impatiently shifted her weight back and forth. "Where are your friends?"

She didn't seem to actually be interested in what I had to say, but I answered anyways. "I got separated from them and don't know where they are."

"Why don't you just go back to your headquarters? You're part of the Squadron right?"

"Err... Yes, but I don't know how to get back. I was kind of teleported here against my will."

"Oh. Where are your headquarters then?" She looked behind her, but then looked back disappointed when she didn't find what she was looking for.

"Selenium City."

"Selenium City?! You got teleported that far away?! That's almost two megayards away!"

Megayards?! What kind of messed up unit is that?

She shook her head. "Well I can't just leave you out here on your own then, can I? I guess I'll have to help you out."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah... Thanks. Where is 'here' anyways?"

"Weird place, isn't it? It just kind of appeared here at some point in time. No one knows who built it, but they claim to know our secrets. Ha, what a joke!" She crossed her arms and paused. "Supposedly Prometheus was supposed to be here, but I don't see him anywhere. My sources are very rarely wrong so I wonder what's up."

Him? What kind of crazy coincidence is this?! "Say, what is his power anyways?"

She glared at me. "It took me forever to get him to tell even me, so no way am I going to tell you!"

The conversation came to an abrupt stop, and we stood there doing nothing for a little bit. Eventually, Juno got bored.

"What's your power?" she asked.

"I don't have one yet."

"Really? Do you have any special aspirations or personality traits?"

Right to the point, huh? "I mean, not really. I really like history and stuff because I can remember it all with my eidetic memory, but that's pretty much it." I shrugged.

"Eidetic memory, you say?" Something clicked in her mind. "I think I see where this is going. Why don't you come back to Celestia with me? There's someone that I would like you to meet, and after that we can summon your friends to meet up with you."

"Considering my situation, that sounds pretty good to me." I smiled awkwardly. And I'm back to being a burden. Greeeeat.

"Very well. We'll wait around here for a little while longer to see if Promy shows up or not, then we'll head out."

Did she just call him "Promy?"