The X: Hunted - Chapter 17

One Way Out Arc 6

Dina was patient but very worried. For Alex and for Leon, who was currently sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, hands on his knees, and his eyes closed, trying to be as calm and peaceful as he could at the moment. As much as she wanted to say something to him (mostly to kill the dead air that made her feel worse), she knew there was probably a purpose to this meditation. Most people did similar things to help themselves train. She was even sure that Alex did that stuff; ing the small puzzle pieces in her mind, not having done a ton of exercises like that. A majority of her learning came from school and what Victoria and the mages could teach her about her powers.

Dina then went back to simpler times in her head. Even though pain, fear, and sorrow were no strangers to that part of her life, there was less worry. There was always hope that her friends would keep her safe: Victoria, Victor, King Corinne, Rein, Rick, Leon, and Alex. But now, they were all older, and things only got more complicated. Now they were separated from home, people she knew potentially dead, a traitorous friend, threats from both worlds coming after them, and they were held captive. It was enough to make her tear up, with all of it coming back at once, but she constrained the emotional response and looked around the room they were in.

There had to be a way out. Dina knew she had told Leon that Alex would save them, but she couldn't wait forever without at least trying herself. The vent maybe, she thought. It would probably be difficult, being pretty high up and her not having a tool to open it. "My powers, possibly..." The Girl of Destiny muttered to herself. She really hadn't tried to use her Celestial-born abilities since coming to the human world, so maybe now was a good time to use them.

Dina got up from her seated position and started stretching. She outreached both of her arms, all fingers pointing at the only door inside. The dêmon girl held her breath and closed her eyes, hoping that something would come of this. After a handful of seconds, she blew out the pocket of air stored in her mouth and opened her eyes. Nothing happened whatsoever. She frowned, "Damn it..." When she turned to see her friend and cell mate, she realized something. Maybe meditating like that will make my wind come out, she said in her head. She sat back on the floor, now getting into the same position that Leon was in. As she closed her eyes, she wondered what he was trying to accomplish through this practice.

* * *

In the cold, black emptiness of his mind, Leon could only see himself. He seemed to be wearing exactly what he was wearing back in the fancy cell where Kaufman kept them. He turned all of 360° and saw that there was most definitely NOTHING around him. He wasn't quite sure what he was doing, going deep into his mind, but he knew that there could be some way for it to help.

He walked forward cautiously, though it appeared that it didn't entirely matter, as it didn't even look like he was actually moving ahead; only in place. "Hello!" Leon yelled out into the void, hearing an echo afterward. He wasn't sure why he did that, knowing that there wasn't any shread of life around. Maybe he just wanted to because he could or even test the confines of his surroundings.

"Hey." A voice had replied from the dark, sounding a moderate volume but feeling loud, echoing back just like Leon's. The Boy of Destiny was shocked. Who could be in here with him. This was his mind, after all. He called back, "Hello?!" Nothing came after that. Now he stood in silence, only he hated it this time. Who was this person in his head?

All of a sudden, the invisible ground below him had turned grey, forming a wide circle around, almost like a dim spotlight had been shone upon him. When he looked forward again, he noticed a similar grey form on the horizon. It was an oblong blob moving closer to him. Moments later, that blob became something else. It began to look like a person. That was the case, when he continued getting a better and better view of it.

It was a man- probably in his 40s. He had short, blonde hair, yellow eyes, and the strong features of a Norlandian. Leon knew who it was, surprised how he didn't notice sooner. "Father..?" He said questioningly. It just wasn't possible. This man couldn't be here now. He was gone, and Leon knew that, despite the pain that fact caused. Christopher (or, as he was known for a long time, Khaos) smiled. It was the warm kind of smile that he gave before his ing to the world beyond, or anything close to that. He said, "My son..."

The Norlandian boy ran towards him and wrapped his arms around his torso, holding tight. Tiny beads of tears swelled up within his eyes from the sheer emotion bursting out of the moment before him. He choked up as he tried to get out his next saying, "We.... we buried you..." His father nodded, holding onto his son with the tender care he wished he could have given back in the day, "I know. Things have been difficult for you, my boy. Unfortunately, things will continue as so." When their hug ended, the two of them about a foot apart from each other, Leon asked his biggest question, "What are you doing here, anyway? I only came here to think about a possible solution to my problem."

"Your prison?" Christopher asked. The young man was surprised, something that he thought would have ceased by now, "How did you know?" He thinked about the rest of the conversation and quickly said, "How do you know anything after your death??" His father simply smiled and nodded. Leon sighed, realizing what it could all mean, "I get it... You're just a figment of my imagination. This isn't some kind of call from the afterlife. It's all my mind's fantasy: desperate for some solace. So foolish of me!"

Christopher had a light frown, "You think too maliciously of yourself, Leon. It's good to be unsure of such things as spirits giving advice, but it's not wise to be as dismissive as to reprimand yourself with harshness." The boy shook his head, feeling the hurt within his soul, "It doesn't matter. It's all in my head! It's all a farce..." A moment after, his father chuckled, "Sure, it's in the void of your mind. But you put yourself in here, looking for answers. Why should information be invalid if it comes from a voice in your head? It could be useful, no?" Leon thought of this. He could be right. The confusion was still power, though.

Christopher raised his hand out, "My boy. You will find the answers you are looking for." He touched the boy's forehead with his pointer finger, "Here." Slowly, his finger drifted down to his chest and touched the area where his heart was, "Here." Then, it drifted back up, only a bit, and quickly fished out the necklace. The necklace he gave him the night of the siege. The night he died. He said tenderly, "And here..." He smiled again but had a wash of pain over his face, "You are ready." This phrase being vague, Leon was puzzled and asked, "Ready for what?" His father didn't give an answer. He simply stood there, smiling.

It seemed that the void was getting brighter and brighter, as words failed to come out. Leon was confused and scared. Not scared of the light coming in, but scared of what it very well meant. This would likely be the last he'd see of his late father. He shook his head more rapidly, "Not now... I'm not ready. I have so many questions, so much to say... We just started speaking again..!" Christopher Uskay said nothing. His smile widened, and he waved to his son as the light became golden and wrapped around him. Leon reached for him, "Father!"

* * *

Dina's attempted meditation was abruptly interrupted by the yelps of Leon, who had been ripped from the same exercise. She got up on her feet and skipped over to her friend, worried. She asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?" The Boy of Destiny groaned, holding onto his head, "I don't know..." Dina commented somewhat grimly, "I thought meditation was supposed to be peaceful." Leon nodded, rubbing his temples, "It is. It's just... Something happened while I was deep inside... Something I didn't expect." His friend sat at the edge of the bed and put her hand on his own. She asked, "Do you want to talk about it?" He looked off to the side, pretending to think about it when he knew that she would press for the story anyway. There was a self-awareness that there was no place to go elsewhere to ignore everyone and everything, like he would have back in Dêmos: back when his life was simple but depressing- he wasn't sure if it was worse now. He faced her again and told her of what transpired within his meditative state of mind.

Several minutes later, his tale was finished. Dina only listened, wearing a neutral expression over her face and contemplating everything. Leon tilted his head down, his eyes shut, "I know. It's ridiculous: what tricks my mind play on myself..." She gave a caring smile, "It could be, but don't chastise yourself because you don't want to believe your father was trying to assist you. Take what he said and use it." Leon let out the rare chuckle and replied, "What good would that do in this situation, huh?" He indicated the areas Christopher had before, "Will the power of my brain break open the door? My heart?" For the last point, he lifted his mother's necklace out from under his shirt, "This jewelry?" As he held onto the short amount of chain that he could grab while still wearing it, Leon felt something strange. It felt as if he head was pulsating for a second; a little aching, causing him to kneel down. When he closed his eyes, the image of his mother, Ymir, appeared to him for a brief flash. In this instance, his clutched tightly around the necklace in response to the pain, while at the same time, he could feel something else run through his body. This unexplainable thing didn't hurt. It was just an odd sensation. In the split second, he opened his eyes. He could see that the necklace was no longer around his neck. It was flying outward, in the direction of the door. Among the confusion of this, he was baffled by Dina's reaction time. She was in front of him, and this whole thing was new for them both, yet she had already moved to his left, facing the east wall. The object being mysteriously flung away was crazy enough, but the other thing that he noticed (and she clearly noticed too) was a set of glowing twigs coming from the necklace. They were bright, yellow twigs as thin as thread. His eyes trailed a little bit downward until he could see that their point of origin was not the jewelry but his fingers, which were spread out and almost trembling. Finally, everything went back to normal speed-- at least for Leon. The necklace hit the door's surface, and the boy was fully on his hands and knees.

Dina was still where she stood when Leon hastily rose up. Her mouth was ajar, both amazed and terrified at what had just happened. "Are you okay?!" He asked her. She closed her mouth, blinked, and stumbled, saying, "Y-yeah..." She gazed at the necklace, then looked at Leon. He asked, "What the hell was that?" It took a while before Dina said anything. She thought about what she saw: very familiar, she realized. The only things that threw her off were the speed of the event and the color. When it hit her, she gasped and said, "Lightning... That was lightning coming from you! You unlocked your elemental power!"

Leon brought his hands close to his face and stared at them in disbelief. "So strange." He muttered.

They sat down and said nothing for a while. The necklace was now in Leon's hand, and he looked at it in puzzlement. He was the first to say something, unintentionally interrupting Dina, who nearly spoke, "I don't get it. How can an inanimate object give me memories of old and power previously unobtained. It's unimaginable, even in this world... Dêmos, I meant, that world." Dina nodded, "Indeed. Though, Leon. Don't find this rude, but you should be used to it by now." He was always surprised when she would say things that were more in his forté, and every time it happened, he couldn't help but let the corner of his mouth curl up into a light smirk, "You're right."

He asked if she could use her powers, and she shook her head, mentioning the less than stellar frequency of it being unleashed. After a moment, he thought about what she was doing in his state and said, "You were trying to meditate before I broke out of mine." Dina confirmed this, and Leon figured, "If you do it again, but with no distractions this time, then maybe you can concentrate on whatever is blocking you from your wind and break through it." Like most of the plans from friends, she was optimistic about this idea, saying that she'd try it out.

* * *

Dina soon found herself, too, in the darkness. The blank space that she created in her consciousness. She had never been in such a place and was a little nervous from the nothingness. It was especially the lack of sound. Something about no noise after it was so typical was frightening.

The girl stayed where she stood. She did not want to test the boundaries of this dark, seemingly endless ground, hoping for what she needed would appear before her right there. She turned around to see if anything different was there instead of her original direction, and, sure enough, there was.

A young woman was standing tall, looking ahead in Dina's path. She glowed like nothing the girl had seen; her pale skin like that of a beautiful, well polished, and maintained statue being hit by the sun. "Hello!" Dina said, happy to see someone in this bleak spot, "Who may you be?" There was no answer from the woman. She just stared.

"Could you help me out?" Dina asked, getting past the ignorance. Again, the statue just looked forward, almost as if no one else was there, and she simply stared off into space. The girl begrudgingly decided to turn back around, not finding the woman helpful. When she did, she saw another woman of a similar description, startling her.

Dina looked back and forth, knowing that they were now both there. This was getting more and more odd. "Who are you?" She asked again- to both women, this time. They reached out their arms and pointed at her. Just as she was about to continue her interrogation, she felt a strange but somewhat familiar sensation move through her. After that, she saw a translucent shape move out of her front side, like the feeling, and run forward. It rotated and laughed. She was surprised. It was nothing she had ever seen before. Soon, though, it became more like something recognizable. Despite never knowing the true form, she realized what this shape was. It was her, as a young child. She couldn't believe this sight. She wanted to find an assistant to help her with her problem, but this... this was different.

Dina locked her vision onto this vestige of herself until it began running toward her. When she turned to see if it went anywhere, she saw it slowing down, being towered over by a woman. She didn't look anything like the glowing statues. In fact, they were gone.

The woman picked up the adolescent version of Dina, both of them giggling. As the real girl looked up and saw the woman's face, she found that she was a face she had not seen in a decade. "Mom..?" She whispered. Sadness washed over her, not only because she was staring at her late mother but because she had just barely ed her. She was so young. She forgot how gorgeous Alinna was. She had brown hair, like her daughter, along with eyes of similar color and a palid complexion. Based on her wide-brimmed hat and large flowing dress, Dina assumed that this moment had happened on a bright and sunny day. Not only was this day full of warm light, but it was paired with the cool breeze that swept through the air. Dina didn't just hear the wind, but she felt it, too.

She closed her eyes, letting tears flow out of them at the thought of her mother, without shame, letting the currant surround her. The sound grew louder, and the wind's power grew stronger. It wasn't just that. Her power was collecting within her body and soul. She smiled, "Goodbye, mom..."

* * *

Just when Leon became worried about how long she had been meditating, he saw Dina open her eyes, but it was only that mere second that felt normal. Quickly, her eyes emanated light, and the breeze spinned through the cell. Visible wind twirled around her hands as a gust pushed her off of the bed, taking her closer to the door. The spheres of air escaped her and shot out toward the single entrance and exit, with the speed of a bullet. When Leon looked back after turning away and bracing for what might have happened, he saw, to his shock, the door and the wall around it destroyed.

Soon, Dina's eyes were normal again, and she fell onto the floor. Leon knelt by her side, trying to wake her up, "Come on, now!" Before he resorted to pushing her chest to try and resuscitate her, she arose, gasping for air. After she steadied her breath, she hugged her friend with wet eyes. "It's okay." He said.

While he helped her up, they both heard the roaring droan of the emergency alarm of the building. An announcer on the PA system warned any and all personnel of a breach. They looked at each other. Dina said, "Let's get moving." Leon nodded, "Hopefully Suzuki didn't get himself killed."