(Sorry it has been so long! If your confused, you can always read the other two again, it shouldn't take too long <3 <3).
---Japan, 7:32 am---
Martha Walls did not give the ring back to Elliot. 'It doesn't belong to you, it never did belong to you' she spoke to him earlier in the night. 'Who did the ring belong to?' He thought. Why was it so special? The morning sun had just begun to reflect on the stationed black limo while Martha had necessary business to attend in a random gas station, and would always leave the vehicle with her deceiving red lipstick on. This was Elliott's fourth stop.
Theme tune:
"We are almost there," The beautiful voice says from the front of the limo. It was the mysterious black figure that had been driving all night. Elliott noticed her time to time, but for the most part forgot she existed.
"Please," Elliott whispers, "I don't know anything."
"You know enough", and the girl turned around to face him, "we don't want to hurt you!"
Elliott noticed that the girl's eyes were sad. Deep, strong, grey pools of sadness that Elliott almost drowned in. It wasn't obvious at first. The girl's face was beautiful; olive skin colour, young, she shared many similarities with Martha in this way. But only her skin was Latina; her facial structure appeared Caucasian white (Martha was half Japanese anyway). Her plump lips withheld a beautiful smile. Everything about this limo driver spoke nothing but happiness. But her eyes- her soul- said otherwise.
"Can I at least know y-y-your name?" Elliott stuttered. The girl's sad, grey eyes looked forward again, at the road.
"Georgia Corinthos."
Martha was now walking back to the black limo and took a seat.
---Unknown location, Unknown time---
It had been days for Javier. Hours? Weeks? He could no longer tell. It felt as if he never slept in this godforsaken white cube he was trapped in. Javier tried to avoid this- the Mutant Control Centre capturing him, and especially his daughter, Esmeralda. He thought of her pale skin, her soft, beautiful purple hair, and her awful mother who Javier swore death upon.
Javier soon learned that resistance equalled pain. Who or how the pain was triggered throughout his body he didn't know- some technology he is unaware of. But the pain was very real. For her sake, he was internally wishing that Esmeralda did not fight back. Javier had endured multiple experiments. Some not so bad that involved him mentally evaluating certain situations. He even laughed at the scientists sometimes when they expected him to magically make a sheet of paper float. How stereotypical. But others were painful, where needles were stuck into his skin and DNA was extracted... all while awake.
"Lunch Javier!" A gender-neutral voice called from, once again, an unrecognisable location. But the sound still was capable of bouncing off the walls for seconds after. A shoot opens within the ceiling, and a tray slid to his feet down a white, futuristic slide.
He wasn't hungry.
"Eat, I promise it is good," the voice called strangely. Javier, after the rash treatment he has received: the pain, torture, humiliation, he easily noticed this change in manner. He investigated the packaged meal carefully and extracted an envelope. He did not tear it, but politely un-opened the seal, and a single seed slid into the palm of his hands. It was Javier's key. Javier's escape.
---Kumamoto, 10:15 am---
Elliott was lead by Martha and followed by Georgia into a Japanese Meditation centre somewhere in the city outskirts of Kumamoto. The location was luxurious: sparkling ponds, perfectly raked gravel into geometric shapes, fluffy green grass, red wooden bridges that stretch across streams, small and scattered temples of meditation- and far from Tokyo.
They were walking slowly. Martha was slightly ahead of Elliott, but close enough to have a conversation. Georgia straddled behind, her sad grey eyes scanning the floor.
"I know you have many questions," Martha sympathises, "but I'm not the right person to answer them."
"Well, then who is?" Elliott asks. Martha reaches the entrance to the tallest temple in the grounds. The red painted door itself was twice as tall as Elliott. She opened it after three gentle knocks, and by the calm breeze, the door opened itself.
The floor was of grey concrete that glistened against the sun that found its way into the temple. The octagon walls of the building were painted wooden panels. Random Japanese ornaments hung around the edges of the temple. Nothing particularly caught his attention, except for the young, long-haired blonde man who's hair was tied in a tight bun. His back faced Martha, Elliott and Georgia as they stood at the entrance. Elliott was hesitant.
"Enter," Martha spoke bluntly.
Martha and Georgia stood just inside the building, by the entrance, watching- spectating- what was to come. Elliott took short and small steps forward approaching the man who sat cross-legged on the floor. The temple was silent, so his footsteps sounded like gunshots. With one seemingly loud footstep, the blonde haired man turned his face sideways, and Elliott caught a long glimpse of one of his cat eyes. The pupil was simply a slit of darkness of a void, and the rest of his eye was a dull yellow. Golden fur lined his cheeks with that connected to his blonde hair behind and in front of his ears. A tail unfolded from underneath the man, and his tail was decorated with a leopard print. Elliott's breath and words were taken from him as his this particular sight overwhelmed him. As the man calmly stood to face Elliott, his eyes faded human, his tail vanished, his fur shrivelled away, and his body became more... human.
"Yes!" The man said with ecstasy, approaching Elliott, "I was expecting a Japanese girl but..."
"We went to Ku Kon, Cameron. We couldn't find her. She was already gone," Martha confirmed.
"Shame," Cameron sighed.
"Do you mean that article in the paper?" Elliott asks, "I saw that that's why I was there last night," he says, glancing back to Martha, but she only watched him with her blue, penetrating eyes.
"Anyhow, you are here! What is your gift!" Cameron asks with a wide smile, grabbing Elliott gently by both shoulders, "show us what you can do!" Cameron seemed too excited to see Elliott here. Cameron was desperate for something.
"It's-" Elliott pauses, "it's not like that..."
"What do you mean?" Cameron questions, one eyebrow raised but his friendly manner remained.
"I'm not like you," Elliott replied, "I'm just ordinary-"
"Then why are you here!?" Cameron shouts immediately, clearly angered. His arms withdrew from Elliott's shoulders. Elliott watched his eyes as they began to change again, back into the uninviting slit of darkness. Elliott took steps back in fear as Cameron panted in aggression. Martha placed a steady hand on his shoulder from behind to calm him.
"Cameron, he can help," Martha confirms, "he found this, after all."
Martha reveals the ring carved with an X that he took from Elliott earlier. Cameron's manner changed. His anger relaxed into curiosity, and then sadness. Elliott noticed this curiosity and sadness in his eyes. He saw it in Georgia's before. What was it about this ring? No one will tell him what the ring means, or who it belongs to, who they are, what they do, why they are here. Why was Cameron so defensive? He was getting frustrated- he thought he had been very patient.
---Philadelphia, 1:21 pm---
Sam paced endlessly in the central streets of Philadelphia. The sun was high in the sky, and the sky a rich blue. All of this beauty was ignored by the typical business man and woman- they all had somewhere more important to be. They ambled past Sam mindlessly, the occasional man side-eyeing him on the fast journey past. From the few nights before, where Sam awoke from his apartment that had spontaneously combusted in the night, he has been unsure of himself. A body amongst all the others, afraid of who he was. He could feel the venom in his veins, the poison in his sweat. Something had changed in his body or his hormones. It all connected to his nightmare he had; that was the only explanation he had. He simply felt... toxic. He woke naked and had to steal an entire outfit- his money burnt too.
"PRIDE FOR LIFE!" A young, overweight girl screamed in his left ear.
"AH!" He jumped nervously, "don't scare me like that!" He exploded abusively at her. In truth, he was only scared. She wore too many colourful layers, and her smile was too wide. So wide, it was almost annoying. Sam could see every single tooth in her mouth, and her glasses highlighted her eyes like a telescope would.
"I apologise, sir," this young girl sniffled, "but me and my friends are promoting the acceptance and awareness of homosexuality in the city of... hey, are you okay, sir?"
The company of another person was well overdue, and this began to make Sam sweat from his armpits drastically. Ever since the night of the fire, he avoided any human contact. The way they had stared down at him was... uncanny. He attempted to hold his composure.
"I'm listening," he gritted his teeth, but his sweat began to burn holes in his brand new white shirt. The smell of toxic sweat was simply awful to both of them. The oblivious, mostly uneducated girl did not register that he was, in fact, creating the liquid burning his shirt himself.
"Sir! SOMEONE CALL 911!" She panicked horrendously. Sam wanted no more attention, not ever again, "Sir! Your shirt! Let me help!"
She clutches his hand as the first action of support and immediately lived to regret the decision. Her eyes spun to the back of her skull at the touch of his fingertips, and she collapsed in a violent epileptic fit. Her telescope glasses shattered against the concrete floor. Her legs and arms convulsed unnaturally as white-yellow, bubbly foam spewed from her lips. Sam stood motionless at the scene as a brave few rushed to save this poor girl. In the havoc of the growing circle of spectators, Sam slipped away into a very dark alley between two tall buildings, and stayed there for a long time.
---Kumamoto, 10:35 am---
While Martha and Cameron debated heavily within the temple Elliott had just entered, Georgia had been kind enough to take Elliott's hand and guide him away. They went on a walk together around the ponds and between the willow trees. She remained silent. Elliott broke this silence.
"I didn't get many answers."
Georgia did not answer for a moment. Her eyes had been stolen by the beautiful scenery around her.
"Sorry, just this place never gets old," she said joyfully. A fake smile to cover her painful eyes.
"So you were the limo driver?"
"Yeah."
"How long have you been here?" He asks nicely.
"Only a few months," her manner of reply was honest. They took small, gentle steps in the gravel together.
"Where did you come from? None of you seem particularly Japanese."
"We all used to live in America," she smiles a nostalgic smile.
"Why did you leave?" But then Georgia's smile faded. Triggered by Elliott's question, her eyes then glistened and faded into nothingness as the world around her dissolved. She did not respond but walked aimlessly ahead.
"What's wrong?" Elliott asks again, but rather aggressively. He was not a violent person, but questions needed answers. He had come to far to learn nothing.
"Tell me what is going on here!" He begins to shout, giving Georgia's shoulder a gentle shove.
"Stop!" She bursts. She stops in her tracks and leans her back against a willow tree. Tears were close to streaming down her beautiful, young skin. She needed a moment. Elliott could see her figure vaguely in between the fine vines and leaves of the willow tree as if they were strangling her- but she let it. "I understand," she spoke, "I understand you want answers," and she revealed herself again to him by standing in a spot of sun, "but we are hurting right now. It may look glamorous, but our past is- something else."
Elliott asked one last question he was dying to know. "Can you at least answer me this- who did the ring belong to?"
Elliott saw pain in her once more, a demon inside her that was preventing the truth from arising.
"A girl. A very special girl. But she left us a long time ago."
--- Unknown location, 6:15 am---
Cree, throughout the night that was illuminated by the stars and the moon, listened to the old lady named Chrysalis. She had many tales and many stories and she told them in hypnotising manners. Every time Cree wanted to check on Preston in the carriage below, her ear caught on to another of the old lady's stories. Cree's patience transformed, with time, into an eagerness to hear more... and trust. Now, the moon sunk low to the sky, the last of its light stretching over the desert and overwhelmed by the orange light of the sun peeking over the horizon.
"Are you special?" Cree asks. Cree sat crossed-legged and allowed the violent wind to consume her hair into tangles of braids behind her. Chrysalis faced Cree politely, on her knees in such a manner that could be mistaken for a prayer.
"Na, na," the lady grumbled, "but that doesn't mean to says I don't have me own human talents!" And this made Cree laugh. Cree could not force her smile away, even if she tried. Chrysalis was welcoming with words nad provided Cree a mothering figure which she so desperately desired.
"I wish I was normal," Cree sulks, fixating her vision on a crack in the roof of the train below her, between her crossed-legs. She took this moment of peace to listen to the air whiz past her ears and skin, and to feel its cold tingle. "I can sense things, Chrys, I can sense when something will be bad, or something will be good. Sometimes I feel nothing at all. And it scares me."
"Girl," Chrysalis hums, and Cree focused in on the sound of the racketing train as it steamed along the tracks, " beautiful girl, I 'ave seen me fair share of mu'ants," she continued, "and it is not special, it ain't a gift. It will be your curse." These words hit Cree like ice. Cree's blood ran cold. Every breath was a struggle. Every swallow was like swallowing her last glimpse of hope.
"Are you sure?" Cree asked, "it helps me sometimes! It led me to you!" Cree was pleading to hold on to hope. Hope for a family, hope for a future that wasn't cursed. Maybe Chrysalis was wrong.
"Anyone can wrap a knife up in nice paper and a damn bow," Chrysalis spoke truthfully, "but dearie, I know somewhere you can stay. Both of ya."
"Both of us?" Cree grinned, glancing up into Chrysalis' eyes. In the distance of the desert, bold lights of a city stunned her vision. Flashing colours of red, blue and white.
"That there, dearie, is good old Vegas city. I have me some friends there. Some of which like yourself. Some of which I'd love ya to meet. They're somewhat family."
'Family' Cree thought. Cree had found salvation, had found more hope to tug her and Preston along against the war which is their lives. Somewhere to go, to be accepted and loved sounded surreal. Chrysalis called Cree's power a curse, a knife dressed in bows. But Cree's powers guided her passionately to Chrysalis that very night- to hope itself. Cree knew who she was, and thought Chrysalis wrong.
Outro music:
QUESTIONS:
What is your favourite power so far?
Who do you believe is the strongest mutant?
Who is your favourite character?
Why are Martha/Georgia/Cameron acting so sketchy?
Who gave Javier the seed?
What has happened to Esmeralda?
Opinions on new characters (Georgia and Cameron)?
Anything else you want to add? :P :P
Sorry this episode took SO long. Next one should not take as long. Remember, the more you comment, the more likely your character is to survive and thrive.
Who do you believe is the strongest mutant? To be fair, it's kind of too early to tell answer this question.
Why are Martha/Georgia/Cameron acting so sketchy? They might not be ready to reveal everything to Elliott is what I'm thinking. Georgia did reply that she understood he wanted answers yet they were hurting.
Who gave Javier the seed? Not sure on that one.
What has happened to Esmeralda? So that was who Sam burned? I may have to reread through these episodes to get a better footing.
Opinions on new characters (Georgia and Cameron)? Cameron reminds me of 2016 King Louie in a way.
Anything else you want to add? Maybe later after I get some sleep.
Sam seems like the type of character who's going to be afraid of his powers for most of the story.
I think that one thing I want is to see Esmeralda in her cage. But I feel like we won't, and somehow Javier will escape and make it his mission to find her.
