The perspectives are kinda everywhere with this one-
Whoops.
Warnings --->
WC: ~1500
Enjoy!
Xisuma had never felt worse in his life.
The hatred and distrust and betrayal in Xay's eyes was overwhelming.
"Xay, please," Xisuma whispered.
"You- don't talk to me," Xay spat. "Don't act like you care. Don't act like you want me to trust you, because that's not going to happen. Just get away from me-"
"It's what's best," Xisuma murmured. "We'll tell the cop your situation, then he'll offer us some sort of solution. Fire is dangerous, so what's the worst that could happen if we got it extracted. You'd be... normal. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Take a deep breath," he continued, placing the walkie-talkie back in his pocket. "And-"
"Where did you get that from?" Xay cut him off, referring to the communication device.
"When I ran into the fire," Xisuma explained. "They handed it to me and told me to use it if I got in trouble."
"You- fire- what?" Xay stammered.
"I knew you were in the burning forest," Xisuma clarified softly. "I was terrified, and when the cops showed up..."
"My brother's in there!!" Xisuma cried. "Let me go in, please, I-"
"Kid, let the professionals handle it," the man cut him off gruffly.
"Sir, I need to make sure he's okay!" Xisuma protested. "And I will run in there right now. Either have me go in there unequipped, or tell me what to do."
"Ugh," the guy grumbled. "Take this walkie-talkie. But don't run into the fire. Scan the outskirts, we don't need two dead bodies on hand."
"T-two?" Xisuma stuttered.
"I'm sorry, but if he was in the center or anywhere near of that forest, there's almost no way he could've survived this,"
It was like Xisuma's world shattered around him.
He couldn't believe it.
He wouldn't believe it.
"Respectfully, sir," Xisuma's voice shook, the odd words sliding off instinctively. "I don't think so."
And then he ran.
Straight through a clear path in the flames.
He could hear the man screaming at him, but it was one of those times where orders didn't matter.
Xay couldn't be gone, he couldn't.
Around an hour or two later, when the flames had been extinguished, everyone knew what had happened.
"Where are the parents?" the officer asked Xisuma. Xisuma scrubbed the tears from his eyes, telling himself that it was no time to cry.
"Deceased," he replied.
"Guardians?" the officer raised an eyebrow.
"You're talking to him," Xisuma mumbled.
"Are you eighteen or older?"
"...Yes,"
That was a lie.
"Xay is- was- my younger brother," Xisuma whispered.
Another lie.
The only thing that hurt was the tense.
'Was'.
"I'm sorry, but we've scanned the whole place," the officer sighed. "He's dead. You inhaled a lot of smoke, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to get medical attention."
"Xay's... dead," Xisuma murmured, still unable to process. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sorry," the officer repeated.
"P-please, c-can't you-"
"Sir, there's nothing we can do," the officer interrupted. "I'll be back in a bit."
Xay blinked in shock at Xisuma's story.
He recognized the last bit, the dialogue matched up what he had overheard.
And it was only now that he noticed the ash coating Xisuma, caught in his hair and streaking his face.
He also just noticed the way Xisuma was rubbing his throat, as if he was in pain.
The smoke...
"You need medical attention," Xay pointed out, temporarily forgetting that he was mad at Xisuma. "Or something. What do they do when you inhale smoke?"
"I'm fine," Xisuma mumbled.
The sound of footsteps prevented Xay from saying any more.
Xay whipped around to face the officer, panic overtaking him.
Extracted.
Extracted.
Extracted.
The last thing he heard was a "Don't-" before everything went black.
"You did WHAT?!" Hels roared. Grian shrunk down, tears in his eyes.
"It was my fault," Iskall interjected. "Grian wasn't-"
"I don't care WHO'S fault it is," Hels spat. "I can't believe you two let him within thirty blocks of that portal."
"I didn't think he'd go through!" Grian cried.
"HE WAS SAYING LESS THAN AN HOUR AGO THAT HE WANTED TO LEAVE!!"
"Hels, I found the-" Impulse came out from a room in the headquarters, only to see the scene playing out in front of him.
The first thing Grian noticed about him were the gloves.
NO.
Not again.
Iskall seemed to have noticed them first.
"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Iskall screamed at Hels. "You- I-"
"How could you let him wear those?!" Grian shrieked. Hels sighed.
"I didn't want to," he grumbled.
"But it's necessary," Impulse finished, fidgeting with the black gloves.
"Take those off," Iskall growled. "Impulse, take them off."
"It's fine," Impulse mumbled. "I was a lot weaker back then-"
"YOU ALMOST DIED!!"
Those gloves weren't just any gloves.
They were a special kind that had metallic material built inside.
Electricity was drawn to metals.
And because of the metal used and the way they were made, and the way Impulse's power functioned...
They drained his powers.
"Hey, Impulse!" Hels called out as he dropped into the headquarters. Impulse glanced up from arguing with Grian about 'UNO' rules, hearing his name.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"I got these gloves from another branch," Hels explained, brandishing a pair of black cloth gloves. "They're supposed to stifle electricity, but they're untested. Do you want to try them? Up to you."
"I..." Impulse trailed off, staring at the pair.
"Personally, I don't think it's a good idea," Iskall piped up. "Do it if you like, Impulse, but... trying to restrict magic isn't good. Control and understand, sure. But restrict?"
"I'm willing to try anything," Impulse mumbled. "This stuff is getting out of control."
Hels nodded, then crossed the room to take Impulse's hands and slip the gloves on.
Nothing happened.
"Well, do you feel anything?" Hels asked. Impulse nodded slowly.
"Usually, I always hear the electricity calling me," he muttered, flexing his fingers. "It's not a constant pull, like what you get around flames, Hels, more of a background buzz. Now it's... silent. Eerie silence, even."
"Try using your powers," Grian suggested. Impulse nodded, then pressed his hands together.
Impulse froze.
Completely frozen, unmoving.
Tears started streaming down his cheeks, but he was still silent.
Still frozen.
And probably in pain.
"Woah, calm down!" Hels yelped as Impulse started... giving off sparks?!
"Help him!" Grian shrieked. Hels nodded and reached for the gloves.
"Ack!" he jerked his hands away. "They electrocuted me!"
Iskall grabbed Impulse's shoulders, then practically leaped back.
"Okay, don't try touching him," Iskall advised.
"Well, we can't just leave him like this!!" Grian cried. Iskall hesitated, then flicked his fingers. Ice flew and wrapped around Impulse's hands. Iskall then grabbed the ice, using it so that he wouldn't get as much of a shock, and yanked Impulse's hands apart.
Impulse passed out.
And didn't wake up for three days.
"He's awake," Hels poked his head out of the doorway where Impulse had been kept. Grian and Iskall, who were previously reading books (the branches supplied them and insisted that all four of them took time to study and get at least a bit of an education), both leaped up and dashed past Hels into the room.
"IMPULSE!" they shrieked in unison, crashing into the room.
"Hi," Impulse replied with a smile.
Around half an hour of crying, hugging, and talking, Grian and Iskall were asked to leave as Hels wanted to talk to Impulse alone.
"I'm sorry," Hels mumbled when the other two left. "Oh god Impulse, I can't believe-"
"It's not your fault," Impulse interjected.
"Still, I'm supposed to look after you three," Hels sighed. "And I completely failed here."
"Hels, I think you forget that you're our age," Impulse told him with a small smile. "You're still a kid, just like the rest of us. I think you're too hard on yourself, and you're forgetting that... it's okay to make mistakes."
"Mistakes are not okay when people almost die," Hels snapped. Impulse shrugged.
"As Grian would say," he said cheerfully. "'It happens'. You tried to help, and it didn't work out this time. That's okay, but now we know that it doesn't work for me. Isn't that a bit of a victory? Honestly Hels, you act like you're our parents. You're not our dad, you're our brother."
"I-" Hels stuttered. "We're- you- I didn't-"
"Adopted brother," Impulse offered. "I never actually had one, so you and Grian and Iskall are my siblings instead!"
"I had a brother," Hels murmured. "But I think I like you three better than my genetic brother."
"Hels!" Impulse squeaked indignantly, cracking a grin from Hels. "Don't say that!"
"Never again," Hels mumbled, referring to the gloves.
"Never again," Impulse agreed, still smiling.
And that was supposed to be that.
"I thought you got rid of those gloves!" Grian whispered.
"It's fine," Impulse promised. "As long as I don't use my powers, right?"
"Please take them off," Iskall begged. "I won't always be there to use my ice on you."
"As much as I'm against the gloves," Hels cut in. "We have a bigger problem on our hands."
"Xay ran off like the idiot he is, and is about to expose our whole organization."
Again, perspectives were kinda everywhere.
Also, what kind of story would this be without the main character making a grave mistake? Honestly, it's just inevitable with this kind of stuff.
-Storm