We went through the traffic easily with the help of the thin motorcycle. The road was smooth and dark as we drove past neighborhoods, plazas, factories, parks, and farms.
How far is this place?
"Not that far. We're almost there!"
I was stunned at first, but then I remembered the whole 'singular telepathy' thing.
"So...do you know the owner of this thing," I said, patting the side of the motorcycle with one hand.
"Yeah, of course I do! I wouldn't just steal something like this! Plus, it's called borrowing."
"But-"
"Come on, Amuse! Don't sweat the details! Loosen up!"
She sped up and made a sharp turn into - guess what - an alley.
We nearly crashed into a wall when she quickly hit the brakes. I was leaning backwards, looking as if I were about to fall off.
She hopped onto the cement ground and removed her helmet. She yelled, "I'm baaack!"
The walls around us receded into the floor below us. Next thing I knew, there were people, tables, food, and lights everywhere. This place was huge.
I think it's a giant bar.
The people shouted out, "Ay, Refrain!"
She waved at everybody while dragging the bike off to the side. I followed her.
"What is this place?"
"These are my friends. My clan. Guild. This is the Rouge Scepter."
I point at her ring. "Isn't that the name of your staff-thing?"
She turned around with a smile and winked. "Yep! I named this clan. Like I said, this is my clan. My guild. I'm the leader."
I looked around at all the people. They were all just chatting, drinking, planning, and laughing. Everyone was just...so laidback.
"You're...their leader. You're in charge. How?"
One of the ladies chimed in, "'Cause she's strong!"
"Yeah," said a man. "She's strong even without her matching Morphix."
Rogue stepped in, introducing me...in a way. "Hey, guys! This is my matching Morphix!"
"Whaaaaat-!"
"Yep," she smiled and smacked my back. "This is Amus Chrome Eld. Also known as Ace and Amuse. Make him feel at home while I go check our status!"
Everybody lifted both of their hands. "A-kay!"
She pushed me into the crowd and it felt as if I was being swallowed by a wave. I turned my head just enough to see Rogue give me the thumbs-up and walk away.
Someone sat me up on one of the bar stools. They all circled around me.
"So. How was school?" they asked.
'What? School? He sounds like my mother...but Rogue did say to make me feel at home,' I thought.
Heck, I'll just go along with it.
"Yeah, it was cool."
"Anything special happen?"
"Hmm... I met two new people. One of them is in my homeroom, foreign language, and English classes, but the other is only in my P.E. class."
"Cool. Are they nice?"
"The first one is a girl named Zoelle. We had a bad meeting and Rogue told me to stay away from her, but I'm not sure about her yet. The other one is a guy named Lite. So far, I know he's calm, but competitive."
The people were silent. Then they bursted out laughing. "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!"
"Ahaha! So the Big Z is back, eh?"
"Lite too! That's a surprise!"
"No kidding!"
"Well, they did come on Emboli!"
I thought for a second. "Who exactly is Emboli?"
"The motorcycle! It's an anagram for 'mobile'!"
I finally understood after rearranging the letters in my head.
Wait...
"You guys know Zoelle and Lite?!"
"Yup! Rivals. Zoelle's stepfather is in charge of her guild, 'Sphal's Origin'."
"Lite is Zoelle's matching Morphix, but he doesn't care about the whole competition-thing. He and Rogue are friends in a way. That motorcycle belongs to him. Rogue often takes it, but he just peacefully comes over to take it back."
"Yup." We turn to see Lite walking over to his bike.
One of the men raises his beer into the air. "Hey, kid! You're back!"
"Yeah, but can you tell her to at least ask? I'm lazy enough, but going from town to here just wastes all my energy." He looks at me, but scrunches his eyebrows together as if he's thinking really hard. Finally, he pounds his fist into his other hand in realization. "Alloon!"
"It's Amus."
"...Huh? Really?"
"How is 'Alloon' anything close to Amus?!"
He looked down blankly. "Whatever."
"We're good for now. No one came here today, huh," said Rogue as she walked into the room, looking at paperwork. She looked up and smiled at Lite. "It took you long enough."
"Hey, can you not?"
"Aww...but I already named it!"
"You named it two years ago."
I watched them spout out comments jokingly. They seem like they've known each other for a long time. They're pretty friendly with one another. Maybe they're going out...
"No. We're just friends," said Rogue.
"I keep forgetting that you can read my mind."
Lite came over. "You two should practice your singular telepathy."
I looked at him oddly. "Practice?"
"Yeah... you can practice not sending telepathic messages when you don't want to."
"Hmm... that's handy."
"Aw..." Rogue pouted. "That's no fun."
"Hey," said one of the guys. "I know a fellow that can help you with that. He's a great teacher."
Rogue and I faced each other and back to the man. "Alright."
"He's further down the road. You best be going now. The building looks abandoned, so you'll know which one it is."
Lite put on a helmet. "I'm gonna leave now." He walked away and pulled his motorcycle out of the bar, giving us a slight wave. "See you guys at school tomorrow."
"Okay! Let's go!" Rogue pulled me by my arm and pranced down the street. "Geez, you're so slow," she complained. "I can't pull you the entire way!"
"Oh. Sorry."
"......Are you okay? You look dazed."
"I'm fine." I continued walking along the sidewalk. "So how did you end up as their leader? The Rouge Scepter?"
She looked down. Her eyes were filled with sadness and regret. Her voice cracked when she said, "I don't want to talk about it. Can I tell you later? I just...can't..."
"Sorry. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," I said, patting her head. It's times like this that make me feel like she's a little kid.
"Thanks..." she whispered.
We got to the building. The houses near and around it were neat and pretty, but this one is just...torn apart and dirty.
I looked at Rogue as she waltzed up the porch steps and into the building. I decided to follow after her.
"So... is anyone here?!" I called out.
"Hmm... I sure someone's living here. There's not much dust."
"Upstairs? Do you think the person's there?" I said, pointing at a staircase.
"Won't hurt to try. I'll try Sphal magic later."
"'Sphal'? Isn't that part of the name of Zoelle's guild? Sphal?"
"Yeah. Sphal's Origin. They believe that they started the whole Morphix thing. Sphal magic is what's used to morph our weapons and other items. Like that time when we turned your bag into a grappling hook and a great sword."
"Is that how you turned your ring into the Rouge Scepter and...whatever your weapon is called?"
"Yeah." She laughed. "My weapon's called a naginata. Lots of Morphix have different weapons."
"And...mine is a great sword?"
"Maybe, but remember, you used a temporary Sphal spell. Your weapon should be able to be activated longer than a few seconds. In other words, we still don't know what your weapon is."
We walked up the weak, creaking stairs. The floor boards were cracked with frayed ends. Nails stuck out of the walls and floor.
I called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Silence creeped up on us. A dim light poured in through a slightly boarded window at the end of the room.
Something inside me knew that this wasn't right. It didn't feel good being here.
Rogue looked at me and whispered, "Do you feel it? Listen to your gut, Amus. We're Morphix. You should know when something bad's gonna happen."
"...Yeah. Right now. I feel it... What should we do?"
Rogue looked around and smirked. "We take it head on."
The ground below us shook and the boards broke into sharp shards. They opened up like a mouth as the floor rose upwards. A mound of dark wood stood at the center of the room. It formed a large figure.
I see Rogue turn her ring into a ...nagina...naga...nagatina...naginata. She swung sharply into the air as a strong gust of wind sliced through some of the wood.
"Rrraauugrrahh!!"
The thing struck the side of my face and ran towards Rogue. She ducked and dove and hit.
I yelled, "Hold on!"
Grabbing my bag, I turn it into dual blades. I ran over and cut the thing. It backed away as my weapon turns into my bag again.
Turning it into a saw, I cut the head off.
Rogue pointed her staff at it. "Red! Evil! Kill it!"
My bag sunk in my hand as I finally turn it into an axe. I chopped the gostik in half as it had a little spasm.
Panting, I managed to speak, "Is it...dead?"
She came over and poked it with her staff.
Its body gathered up and grabbed onto her. She had just turned her staff into her weapon when a shadow came over the gostik and the wood sunk back into the floor.
I turn my head to see the shadow; a person with a dark cape.
"Who are you?" Rogue inquired.
"Asther," the man said.
He stood up, faced us, and pulled down his hood.
The man: Black-haired. Hazel-eyed.
He smiled at us. "Amus..."
I replied with disgust, "Dad."
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Hai! Did you like it?
I had fun writing this, but comment and tell me: Did you see that coming?
If not, then that's okay. I didn't either. I was all, "Oooh! I should make it his papa! Boom!"
So, yeah. Please vote, comment, follow, and continue reading!
Thanks!
-!Ri$
P.S. Lite's on the picture~!