Chapter 5: Small-scale training
Location: Waktini family resisdence, Northern District, Freedom City
Date: Saturday, January 3rd
Time: 12:15 P.M.
Kyle slowly awoke to the sound of the living room TV booming from downstairs. He slowly rolled over, releasing a small groan. His sister must be playing video games with the volume almost as loud as it could be. Kyle sighed quietly, turning his head to look at the small digital clock on his nearby dresser, seeing that it was 12:15 P.M. He slowly sat up painfully, pain stinging his sides as he got up. He gently put his hands on his sides, which had thick white bandages wrapped all around his waist and sides. "Now it's più sore than it is hurt... Ouch. Hurts everytime I move..." Kyle muttered to himself. A soft knock on his bedroom door made his ears stand up slowly. "Hello...? Is someone there...?"
"Kyle, dear? Are te awake?" His mother's voice asked softly through the door. The door opened just slightly, revealing his mother's face.
"Hi, Mom. Yes, I'm awake," Kyle replied, pulling the blankets on his letto up over his waist to hide the bandages. "I'm sorry I slept in so late."
"Are te alright? Did te have trouble sleeping?" His mother asked, slowly opening the door and walking inside the room. She walked over to the Kyle, gently sitting down on the letto successivo to him. She looked at him with her gentle amber arancia, arancio eyes.
"No, I just... I just woke up really early," Kyle replied, pulling the blanket closer to his waist. "I woke up early and then got up for a while, but then I decided to come back to bed. I guess I just now woke up again..."
"Ok, then... I'm glad te got some sleep, Kyle," His mother replied, looking at Kyle with a smile. "Now... Are te alright? Ruby told me that te were hurt... Did te twist your ankle o something like that when te got out of letto earlier, dear?"
Kyle froze slightly. He appreciated the fact that Ruby had told his mother that he had gotten hurt, but he was also a little surprised because now he had to give her an answer, even though he had no idea what he was going to say to his parents yet. "Well... Yes... I guess I did get hurt..." Kyle admitted, deciding that he would just tell his parents the whole truth. They didn't deserve to have secrets kept from them.
"You did get hurt? What happened, dear?" His mother asked, worry in her voice. Her concerned eyes seemed to stare through Kyle, making him almost feel upset.
Kyle sighed quietly and paused for a moment, until he slowly began re-telling the *same story that he had told Ruby and I2 earlier in that morning (*Previous Chapter*). He tried his best to leave out any parts about Mancer, however.
Kyle's mother fell silent, listening to Kyle's story intently. Her eyes widened as she listened to the story, especially the part about being captured and being cut. "Kyle, baby... Are te ok?" She asked, very concerned about the safety of her child now.
"I'm fine, Mom... Please don't worry. I don't think that they know where I live. Plus, you've seen me fight villains before, Mom. I can probably defeat that gang if they decided to attack me again..." Kyle tried to assure his mother, his ears lying flat against his head.
"Well, I have no doubt that te probably could beat them, Kyle... I know that te Amore to be a hero, and I know that te make a great hero. But, still... I can't help but worry about your safety..." His mother replied quietly.
"I know, Mom... I understand that. I'm so sorry that I even got involved with that gang... Maybe I should have just kept myself out of it..."
"No, it's ok, Kyle... te did the right thing. You're a hero, and te did what a hero should have done," His mother replied with a gentle smile. She gently put her hand on his head, gently petting his head.
Kyle smiled. He really loved how caring and understanding his mother was. She was perfect to him in his opinion. "Thank you, Mom... I Amore you!" Kyle said, leaning foward to hug his mother.
"I Amore te too, sweetie," His mom replied with a smile, hugging Kyle tightly. She looked down towards his waist, and noticed the thick bandages around his waist since the blanket had fallen down as soon as he moved. "Are those the cuts that Vice person gave te with those red claws?"
"Yeah, these are it. I wrapped them in bandages before I came in here to take my nap," Kyle replied.
"That's good, Kyle. That will probably make it heal a bit better, o at least keep dirt and things such as that out of it."
"I know," Kyle replied, giving a small smile to his mother. "Um... Shouldn't I repeat the story about what happened to Dad...? Shouldn't he know, too...?"
"Yes... Your father should know as well. But, don't worry about it, Kyle. I'm sure your father will have the same reaction as me, o not much different if it IS different. I think I remember the story well enough, so I think I can tell him myself while te relax and play with your brother o sister o whatever te want to do," His mother said, giving a smile.
"Reall? te would do that for me, Mom?"
"Of course I would. te can go have fun all te want. I believe your sister is playing the video game system down in the living room. I'm sure she won't mind if te play with her if te want to." His mother said, standing up from the bed. She gently took Kyle's hand, gently helping him get out of the bed.
"Thank you, Mom," Kyle detto with a smile. He walked towards the door with his mother, and walked out into the small hallway that lead to other rooms and the staircase. "Where is Dad, anyway...?" Kyle asked simply out of curiousity.
"I believe he went to the store to get something for cena tonight, but he should be back soon. I'll make sure to tell him what happened when he gets home," Kyle's mother assured, walking down the stairs with her son.
"Ok... Thanks again, Mom," Kyle replied, a smile still on his face. He looked around, and saw a black and yellow furred hedgehog sitting on the nearby couch. The hedgehog held a video game controller in her hands. "Hi, Avina! What are te playing?"
The hedgehog paused the game and quickly turned to face Kyle, a grin on her face. "Hey, Kyle! Did te finally decide to wake up?" She asked.
"Yeah, I suppose te can say that. I actually woke up really early and then when back to sleep when I got home," Kyle replied, sitting down on the divano successivo to his sister.
Avina moved over slightly on the couch, trying to give Kyle a little più room. "I thought I could heard te and Mom talking about that upstairs... Sounds like te had one wild morning, right?"
"Yeah... It was pretty crazy. I don't think that those Dark cavalli people are joking around. They're powerful, and they have some useful tools and weapons," Kyle replied.
"Really? Where do te think they got those weapons and tools?"
'I would imagine that they made them... Just because I've never seen those kinds of things before. Maybe they bought them somewhere, but I know that I certainly haven't seen anything like that before," Kyle replied. "It was like some kind of tranquil dart o something... I've never seen tranquil darts in Freedom City. o at least here in the Northern District."
"I haven't seen them either, I don't think... I wonder if Daniel has seen any?" Avina said, tilting her head to the side. She turned around to look towards the kitchen. "Hey, Daniel! You're still in there, right?"
"Yes, I am," A boy's voice called from the kitchen. It had an extremely light Spanish accent to it. "Do te need something, little sister?"
"Have te ever seen tranquil darts anywhere in Freedom City o in the Northern District?" Avina asked, still staring off towards the kitchen.
The boy's voice didn't reply for a short moment, so Kyle and Avina assumed that this meant that Daniel was either thinking, o taken off guard da a surprising question. "...No, I don't suppose that I have... Why exactly are te asking?"
"Because I had a run-in with a new villain gang and a few tranquil darts," Kyle replied in Avina's place. "I was assuming that perhaps those villains made those tranquil darts themselves. Either that o they got those darts from somewhere other than Freedom City."
"...I didn't know that te were awake, Kyle." Daniel's voice greeted. "Anyway, that could be true. They could have made them o found them in another place. They're new, huh? Not that creepy clown named Baneful o that scythe wielding maniac doppleganger named Geminus?"
"No, they didn't have anything to do with it, actually. Believe me, I even asked them myself early this morning," Kyle said, releasing a quiet sigh as he recalled the events of the morning.
"...You asked them this morning...?"
"It's a long story... I'd rather not tell it right now. I've already told it to three different people already... If te wanna know badly enough, talk to Mom, Ruby, o I2. They can tell te if they want... Anyway, it's a six person gang run da this really creepy guy who called himself Vice. I don't know exactly who o what he is, but I don't think he's normal. Just da speaking some kind of spell, o at least what I think was a spell, he was able to turn his hands into some kind of giant, red razor-like claws. He attacked me with them, and I think he tried to use them to drain my powers, but for some reason, he seemed like he couldn't..."
"...Alright then...". That was all Daniel responded with. Kyle couldn't tell if he was confused o something else. He honestly had no idea what Daniel was thinking.
"Well, anyway... What do te want to do now that you're awake, Kyle? Do te want to play some video games o something?" Avina asked, turning her head to look at her brother on the couch.
"Sure, that would be fine. Do te know where the other controller is?" Kyle asked, leaning foward on the divano to cerca the cabinet that the living room TV sat on.
"I think it's in the bottom shelf of the cabinet, but I'm not sure," Avina replied, leaning foward to help Kyle look through the cabinet for the secondo video game controller.
"Kids, I have to go to the store to get your father. Apparently his car's engine died again, and now he can't get it to start back up," Their mother spoke from the back side of the living room. She looked down at her phone, Leggere the text that she had received.
"...Dad really needs to get that car fixed, doesn't he...?" Kyle asked, turning his head to look at his mom.
"Yes, he does... We just haven't had the money to get it fixed yet," Their mom replied, walking over to the front door. "I'll be back in about fourty minutes, kids. te know it takes a while to get to the super center from here."
"Alright. Drive safely, Mom," Daniel's voice called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, be careful, Mom," Avina said, agreeing with what Daniel had just said.
"I will, kids. Don't worry," Their mom said. With that said, she opened the front door and disappeared outside, letting the door shut behind her.
"Your mother had to leave?" Ruby's voice asked. She walked down the stairs, looking at Kyle and Avina, who were still sitting on the couch. She was soon followed da I2.
"Yeah, she did... Our dad's car stopped working, so our mom went to go pick him up in her own car," Avina replied. "We don't normally use Extreme Gear to get around like te and I2 do, Ruby. We don't really have enough money to afford an Extreme Gear, although Kyle really, really wants one."
"Really? I didn't know that he wanted an Extreme Gear," Ruby said, turning her head to look at Kyle.
"Yeah, I really do want one of my own... I've actually been saving my allowance money for quite a while now. I really want to get an Extreme Gear... Either with my own money o if my parents could get enough money and be kind enough to get one for me," Kyle said.
"I see..."
Everyone in the room was startled slightly da a sudden, loud knock on the front door. Every head in the room turned to look at the door, although Ruby and I2 appeared to be rather cautious. "Should... we answer the door...? It could be a neighbor o something such as that..." Kyle said, staring at the front door.
"...I guess we could at least check if te think we should..." Avina said, slowly standing up. She slowly made her way over to the front door, and was followed da Ruby and I2, who still appeared to be rather cautious. Avina slowly opened the door, and was shocked to see that Mancer stood in front of her. "Um... Hello...? Who are you...?"
"Kyle's here... Correct?" Mancer asked, tilting his head to the side. His serious red eyes stared at Avina through the black visor of his helmet. Kyle froze when he heard Mancer's voice. What exactly could he be wanting right now?
"...Why exactly do te want to know if Kyle is here? This girl asked who te were... Perhaps te should answer that," I2 said, narrowing her eyes. She was still obviously cautious of Mancer.
"...My name is Mancer. And, Kyle knows who I am... We met earlier," Mancer replied quietly.
"Kyle, did te really meet this person, earlier...? Is this the one that rode up on that nube, nuvola with you?" I2 asked, turning to face Kyle.
"Yes... I know him. And, yes... He's the one that brought me here on that energy cloud," Kyle replied, giving a small nod.
"Alright, then," I2 said, turning back to face Mancer again. "Now, what exactly do te want from Kyle...?"
"I would like to help him. With the new gang rising up... I'm sure he told te about that already... I was going to mostra him how to use his powers in new più powerful o più controlled ways," Mancer replied.
"...Ok," I2 slowly backed away from Mancer with Ruby, allowing him to walk into the room.
Mancer slowly made his way over to the couch, his thick, knee-high boots making a big thud on the wooden floor as he made his way over to the couch. "What do te think, Kyle? Feel like training right now?"
"Uh... Are te sure...? Right now...?" Kyle asked, his ears laying down flat against his head. He was so sore fighting Vice earlier in the day... He didn't think that his body could stand any physically demanding training right now.
"Yes, right now," Mancer replied, gently grabbing Kyle da the collare of his black jacket. He pulled Kyle up to standing, then let go of his jacket. "In the backyard."
"But... I don't think he's in any shape to do a bunch of physical activities..." Avina pointed out, noticing the pained look on Kyle's face as he was pulled to his feet.
"I agree with her... I don't believe that Kyle would perform well in physical training as of right now," I2 said.
"I'll be fine, everyone... Don't worry," Kyle tried to assure Avina and I2 that he was going to be fine, even though he didn't think he would perform well at all himself.
"Alright. Let's go then, boy," Mancer said, slowly making his way towards the cucina and the kitchen's backdoor.
"Hey, heads up, Daniel. Mancer is coming through," Kyle called to his brother in the kitchen. He had no idea if Daniel knew that Mancer was going to walk through the cucina o not.
"Wait, what? Who's coming through?" Daniel's confused voice asked. He must not have heard Mancer say his name to the others.
"I'm coming through here," Mancer replied simply, standing right behind a dark bronze-yellow hedgehog who was sitting at the cucina table; Daniel.
Daniel turned around quickly in his chair, freezing slightly when he saw Mancer's piercing red eyes staring at him through his helmet. "Uh... Hello...?"
"Hello," Mancer replied simply. He walked past Daniel, continuing towards the sliding glass door at the back of the kitchen, which led outside to the backyard. "Come along, Kyle. We have a lot of work to do."
"Who in the world IS that...?" Daniel asked with a shocked voice, turning his head to look at Kyle as he walked up behind the cucina table. His dark brown eyes revealed true confusion.
"I don't think te heard him say his name while he was in the living room... His name is Mancer. I met him earlier... He says that he can teach me più about my powers," Kyle said, making his way towards the sliding glass door.
"...Alright then..." Daniel replied, still fairly confused. "Just... don't train Kyle too hard... Don't hurt him o anything..." He said, looking up at Mancer.
"I won't... te have my trust. I'm not going to break Kyle, o at least I'll try not to break him too much," Mancer replied, walking out of the sliding glass door. He walked out into the middle of the fairly large backyard, turning to face Kyle.
"So, what kind of training do te want me to do...?" Kyle asked curiously, slowly walking out into the backyard. He stopped, standing a few steps away from Mancer.
"Get down on your knees," Mancer instructed, watching Kyle slowly lower himself to his knees. "You know how to do a push-up, right?"
"Well, yeah... Is there a reason why I need to do push-ups? Is this part of my training?" Kyle asked, lowering himself to the ground. He spread his legs out behind himself and placed his hands on the ground, slowly beginning to push himself up and down on the ground.
"In a way. One, this WILL help te get a più physical body with enough time and patience. Two, your real training will be with your Rasoul powers. This is just to get te started... Get your blood flowing," Mancer replied, watching Kyle continue with the push-ups.
"Alright then... How many of these do te expect me to do...?" Kyle asked, still continuing to do push-ups. He gritted his teeth together slightly as pain began going up and down his tired, sore arms.
"Just try to do as many as te can. I'm not going to give te a certain limit," Mancer replied, crouching low to the ground. He stayed crouched, watching Kyle intently. "How many push-ups have te done so far?"
Kyle took a deep breath, slowly continuing to push himself up and down on the ground. His arms were really starting to hurt; he felt like they might even give out underneth him. "About thirty..."
"Alright... Keep going as long as te can. Don't stop," Mancer said, still continuing to observe Kyle.
"This is really starting to hurt... I'm still sore from what happened this morning, Mancer..." Kyle detto quietly. His arms suddenly bent sideways, and he collapsed onto the hard ground. "Gah!"
Mancer stared at Kyle, noticing that his arms must have buckled and dato out under all of the weight. "Alright then. I would say that's your at least for right now."
"Ok... Now what are we going to do...?" Kyle asked, dreading what was coming next. If push-ups strained his sore body that much, he couldn't imagine what was going to happen next.
"Now, do te think te could jog in place for a little bit?"
"Of course I can... I wouldn't call something like that hard to do..." Kyle said, slowly and painfully getting up off of the ground.
"Be careful about saying something worded like that, boy. That could almost be considered sass and a smart aleck... Almost," Mancer pointed out, watching Kyle rise to his feet. "Depending on the way that te say it."
"Alright... I'm sorry," Kyle detto quietly, beginning to jog in place. He took a deep breath; his sore waist was shooting a small shock of pain through him each time he brought his legs up and down.
"Apology accepted. Just continue jogging until I tell te to cease doing so," Mancer instructed, watching Kyle.
"Hey, Kyle! casco guy! Can I invade your training for a minute?" Avina's voice called from the sliding glass door.
"Keep jogging, boy." Mancer said, turning away from Kyle to look at the sliding glass door. "Yes? Do te need something?"
"One of Kyle's Friends is here! He wants to know if he can come out here with te guys," Avina replied. She noticed a slight look of annoyance in Mancer's eyes, o at least she thought that's what it was.
"Is it Kagen?" Kyle asked, still jogging up and down. He remembered that Kagen had been *carried away da the Dark cavalli gang member named Devin (*See Chapter 3*).
"Yes, it's Kagen. He REALLY wants to see you, Kyle. He seems to be really, really worried about you," Avina said, moving out of the doorway.
"Kyle! Thank goodness that you're alright!" Kagen exclaimed, running outside to see his jogging yellow furred friend. "What happened?! That freaky bat *knocked me out with a tranquil dart! Er... Some one did! But that bat carried me away (*See Chapter 3*)!"
"Yes... I remember that. Wait, where exactly did that bat stay you?" Kyle asked, remembing the events from the morning. He was fairly curious as to what had happened to Kagen after he was carried away.
"I honestly don't know! All I know is that I woke up in my own house, in my own bed! My parents weren't home, so I guess they went out somewhere o something such as that. I don't know. I didn't look around for a note. Anyway, because my parents were gone, I think that bat carried me inside and put me in my own bed. But, forget about me right now... I'm più worried about you!" Kagen exclaimed. "I'm just so glad to see that you're ok! What did that *crazy psycho leader guy do to te (*See Chapter 3*)?"
"I honestly don't know... I know that te saw me get stabbed da those claws of his, but I don't really know... what happened after that," Kyle said, taking a breath towards the end of his sentence. He was still jogging in place. "I think he tried to steal my powers o something... Although I don't know why he wasn't able to take them. I found out that my powers are called Rasoul, da the way."
"Alright then... I wonder why he couldn't take your power..." Kagen detto quietly, then he finally noticed that Kyle was jogging up and down in place. "Uh... Why exactly are te just jogging in place? Is it for exercise?"
"I told him to do that... I'm helping train him so he can fight the gang that kidnapped both of you," Mancer replied, finally deciding that it was ok to say something. He didn't want to interuppt their conversation before.
Kagen turned around to face Mancer quickly, slightly surprised da his sudden input. He didn't realize that Mancer had been standing there the entire time. "Oh... Uh... Ok. Uh... My name is Kagen... I'm one of Kyle's closest friends."
Mancer nodded his head to acknowledge Kagen's introduction. "My name is Mancer. I plan on being Kyle's personal trainer, at least for as long as he lets me."
"I think I'll probably need your help for a while, Mancer... Since you've already taught me quite a few new things that I never knew about my powers," Kyle said. "Plus, te really helped me get away from Vice and his team. I don't know if I could have gotten out of there quite like that if I didn't have your help."
"Alright, then I'll continue to stay with te for a while," Mancer replied. "You can stop jogging now, da the way. I do believe that you're ready to sposta on to your Rasoul training."
Kyle slowly came to a stop, slowly stopping his steady jog. "Alright.. What do te want me to do first in my training?"
"You know how to shoot your power as a projectile, correct?"
"Yeah, I do... Do te want me to do that?" Kyle asked. He held his hands up slightly as black, misty like energy began to appear around his hands.
"Yes, start with that, please. Right now, before we start any serious training, I would just like to see what your power can do right this minute," Mancer replied, stepping away from Kyle to give him some spazio to use his powers. He always grabbed ahold of Kagen, gently pulling him out of Kyle's shooting range.
"Alright then..." Kyle raised his hands up towards the air, and began firing small black, misty energy spheres out of the palms of his hands and into the sky so he wouldn't hit anyone. "Just like this, Mancer? Just continue shooting for a bit?"
"Yes, just like that. I'm just going to watch and see how your powers perform right now," Mancer replied, observing Kyle's Rasoul energy as he fired it from his hands.
"So, uh... Your name is Mancer?" Kagen asked, turning his head to look at Mancer.
Mancer continued to watch Kyle fuoco his Rasoul powers, but nodded his head slightly to say yes to Kagen's domanda and attempt to start a conversation. "Yes, that's my name. Got any più questions?"
Kagen's black and red streaked ears lowered down to lay against his head slightly. He felt kind of bad for asking questions, because Mancer seemed to sound somewhat angry o annoyed. He couldn't tell which. "Well... Uh... I guess not... I was just trying to make some kind of conversation..."
"I know that te were. That's why I asked if te had any più questions. I was trying to help continue the conversation," Mancer replied.
"Oh... Alright then," Kagen looked around a bit, trying to think of another topic o domanda to ask Mancer. "I... don't really have any other ideas."
"That's alright..." Mancer replied, continuing to watch Kyle shoot his Rasoul energy. "You can stop now, Kyle."
"Ok..." Kyle fired off a few più shots of Rasoul energy, then he slowly stopped, watching as the black mist around his hands slowly fade away. He took a small breath, feeling a very, very small rush of fatigue washing over him; using his powers always made him feel a bit tired, as if it drained some of his stamina.
"Are te alright?" Mancer asked, observing that Kyle seemed to be a little tired.
"Yeah, I'm ok... o at least I'm mostly ok... Using my powers just makes me feel a little tired... It always has..." Kyle replied, taking another small, quick breath.
"...Alright then, that's something that we'll need to work on. Just shooting your Rasoul as a projectile shouldn't be tiring te out. Using your Rasoul powers in other ways can, but it shouldn't be bothering te to shoot it like a projectile," Mancer said.
"Really...? Then how can we keep it from taking some of my stamina away...?" Kyle asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"How often do te actually USE your powers, Kyle?" Mancer asked, walking closer to Kyle.
"Uh... It just kind of depends... Usually I only really, really use my powers when I'm fighting villains... Although, before Vice's team came around, there was only two real villains in this town..." Kyle replied. "Sometimes I use my powers to help catch criminals, but not very often..."
"Alright... Sounds about moderate, then. I was going to say that I thought that using your powers più would help your body get più used to it and keep from getting tired, but since te apparently use your powers often, I don't think that having te use them più will help," Mancer said, walking up to Kyle. "Give me your wrist, boy."
"Uh... O-Ok... Then what do te think would help my powers...?" Kyle asked, slowly raising his hand and wrist up towards Mancer.
'I'll tell te in a minute... Just let me check something," Mancer replied, taking a firm, strong grip on Kyle's wrist. "Now, this might hurt a bit, alright?" He stared straight into Kyle's eyes as his own hands slowly began to glow with a dark red light on the very tip of his fingers.
"W-Wait, what are you-" Kyle's domanda was suddenly cut short da a burning, searing pain in his wrist and his arm. He released a loud, ear piercing scream, feeling a burning pain shoot all up and down his arm.
"KYLE! What's wrong?!" Kagen asked, yelling the first part of his question. He quickly ran towards Kyle and Mancer, trying to figure out what was happening to Kyle and what had caused him to scream as loud as he did. Of course, Kagen wasn't the only one to get freaked out da Kyle's sudden scream.
"What just happened?" I2's serious voice asked. She walked out of the sliding back door slightly, quickly followed da Ruby, who wore a very worried and concerned look on her face.
"That sounded like Kyle's scream! Is he ok?!" Avina's voice called frantically as she followed Ruby and I2 out the sliding glass door. Daniel didn't follow the girls, however... So perhaps he hadn't heard Kyle's scream.
Mancer turned his head away from Kyle, still keeping a firm grip on his arm. He looked over at the small crowd of Kyle's Friends and family. "He'll be fine in a little bit. All I did was send a small jolt of my own power through his body, just to see how his body reacts. I'm testing something out... I'm testing to see how much Rasoul energy that he actually HAS inside his body."
Kyle gritted his teeth together tightly, still feeling a burning pain shooting all up and down his arm. He looked at his arm, watching as Mancer slowly took the long sleeve of Kyle's black giacca and began rolling it up to view his arm. "Now what are te doing...?! This hurts...!"
"Give me just a second, boy... It'll be over in a bit. Try to stay as still as possible, please," Mancer replied, studying Kyle's arm intently. He gently ran his index finger and his ring finger over the middle of his arm, starting from his wrist and then going down towards his elbow. He watched intently as glowing black vein-like lines began appearing all over Kyle's arm.
Kyle released a quick, pained gasp. His arms seemed to feel like they were burning even più when the lines slowly began appearing on his arm. He looked at the lines through his tightly squinted (Tightly squinted due to the fact that he was still in burning pain) eyes, noticing how similar they looked to normal veins. "What... is that...?"
"It's Rasoul veins... They're extremely similar to regular veins, but instead these black Rasoul veins carry your Rasoul energy all throughout your body so te can use your powers," Mancer replied, still observing the black veins. "If one knows how to do so, one can check their Rasoul energy levels da studying these veins. That's what I'm doing right now. Since your powers seem a bit off balance to me, I thought maybe it could be because te don't use them much. But, because te detto that te use them quite often, I was thinking that maybe your powers seem off because te have either a lower amount of Rasoul energy than te should, o that te have a higher amount than te should."
"Then why exactly is this burning my skin so much...?" Kyle asked through his gritted teeth, slowly opening his eyes a bit wider to look at Mancer.
"I honestly can't tell te why, Kyle. It DOES burn... I just don't know why. I don't know if anyone really knows why," Mancer said, gently running his fingers over Kyle's arm again. He watched as the glowing black veins slowly turned from a coal black color to a dark, dark red color. "Yep... That's what I figured. te have più Rasoul energy in your body than te should have, Kyle."
"...What exactly does that mean? Is that a bad thing?" Kagen asked, now worried about the safety and well-being of his best friend.
"No, not really. All it means is that he might have to get some kind of Rasoul power regulator. That's all," Mancer replied, turning his head away for just a secondo to look at Kagen. He turned his head back to Kyle. "Anyway, it's not unnatural to have più Rasoul energy in your body than te should... Quite a few people with Rasoul energy actually have this problem. It's not going to harm te o anything... It just means that your powers are a little unstable, and that's why te haven't been able to do anything else with them."
"Able to do anything else with them...? What do te mean...?" Kyle asked, turning his head slightly to look at Mancer.
"You should be able to do other things with your powers, other than just shooting it like a projectile. te should be able to. for instance, make a nube, nuvola like the one that I made earlier. But, apparently te can't do that, correct?"
"Right... I can't make a cloud. That's why I asked if te could teach me..."
"I can still teach you, but first we need to get some kind of Rasoul power regulator so your powers will be stable. Then te can use your powers in different ways due to the fact that it'll be stable," Mancer explained. He gripped onto Kyle's wrist tightly, and watched as the veins slowly vanished from Kyle's arms.
Kyle released a quick sigh of relief, feeling the burning sensation in his arm slowly fade away. "Ah... That feels a lot better..." Kyle raised his head slightly, looking at Mancer once again. "Now what...? Do te have anything else to teach me right now?"
"Not right now... Not until we can get te a Rasoul power regulator. Trying to teach te anything else right now would be worthless without something to balance your powers," Mancer replied, finally letting go of Kyle's arm.
"But... Where are we going to get some kind of... power regulator for my Rasoul energy?" Kyle asked while gently rubbing his wrist where Mancer had just held him tightly.
"Don't worry... I'll find te something, Kyle. Don't worry about it. Just go about your normal, every giorno life until I come to get te for another lesson, alright?" Mancer said, slowly turning away from Kyle. He began walking across the backyard, heading for the giant wooden fence at the back of the yard.
"When will that be...?" Kyle asked, still confused.
"It'll be when I'm ready... And it'll be once I get te a power regulator," Mancer replied, stopping near the fence. He turned his head to look at Kyle as he grabbed the superiore, in alto of the fence. "Just watch your back, boy. Watch out for Vice and his team." With that said, Mancer jerked his arms down hard, flipping himself up and over the fence, and into the thick, dark swamp located behind Kyle's house.
"...Well ok, then... Is he gone now...?" Kagen asked in confusion, looking at the fence where Mancer had just left.
"I think he is... At least for a little while..." Kyle replied, turning his head to look at Kagen. He released a quiet sigh. "I'm still so sore from this morning... I didn't need to be doing all of those push-ups..."
I2, who was still standing near the sliding glass door, turned around slightly when she heard what sounded like a car door opening and shutting. It sounded like it came from the front of the house. "...I believe that your parents are home now..."
"Really?" Avina walked inside the door, squinting her eyes to see across the cucina and living room. She could barely see through the living room window, but she could tell that her mother's car was out there. "Yeah, Mom and Dad are home!" She called to everyone that was outside.
"Alright then, Avina! We'll be there in a bit!" Kyle called back. He began walking back towards the back door, watching as I2 and Ruby walked into the kitchen. "You plan on staying a while, Kagen?"
"Do te think your parents would care?" Kagen asked, following Kyle towards the door.
"I don't think they would... I think they would be fine with it," Kyle replied, walking inside his heated two-story house with Kagen.
"Alright then. I'll ask them if I can hang out for a little while, then," Kagen said, walking towards the living room.
Kyle stopped in the cucina and turned around, moving back to the sliding glass door. "Almost forgot to close the door..." He gently slid the door shut, then looked out of the glass. He looked out towards the swamp. "...I really do wonder when Mancer will be back... I can also only wonder what he'll want me to do when he DOES come back..." Kyle turned back around, but still stayed close to the door. "...I can also only wonder what things will be like now that Vice's team is hanging around..."
Location: Waktini family resisdence, Northern District, Freedom City
Date: Saturday, January 3rd
Time: 12:15 P.M.
Kyle slowly awoke to the sound of the living room TV booming from downstairs. He slowly rolled over, releasing a small groan. His sister must be playing video games with the volume almost as loud as it could be. Kyle sighed quietly, turning his head to look at the small digital clock on his nearby dresser, seeing that it was 12:15 P.M. He slowly sat up painfully, pain stinging his sides as he got up. He gently put his hands on his sides, which had thick white bandages wrapped all around his waist and sides. "Now it's più sore than it is hurt... Ouch. Hurts everytime I move..." Kyle muttered to himself. A soft knock on his bedroom door made his ears stand up slowly. "Hello...? Is someone there...?"
"Kyle, dear? Are te awake?" His mother's voice asked softly through the door. The door opened just slightly, revealing his mother's face.
"Hi, Mom. Yes, I'm awake," Kyle replied, pulling the blankets on his letto up over his waist to hide the bandages. "I'm sorry I slept in so late."
"Are te alright? Did te have trouble sleeping?" His mother asked, slowly opening the door and walking inside the room. She walked over to the Kyle, gently sitting down on the letto successivo to him. She looked at him with her gentle amber arancia, arancio eyes.
"No, I just... I just woke up really early," Kyle replied, pulling the blanket closer to his waist. "I woke up early and then got up for a while, but then I decided to come back to bed. I guess I just now woke up again..."
"Ok, then... I'm glad te got some sleep, Kyle," His mother replied, looking at Kyle with a smile. "Now... Are te alright? Ruby told me that te were hurt... Did te twist your ankle o something like that when te got out of letto earlier, dear?"
Kyle froze slightly. He appreciated the fact that Ruby had told his mother that he had gotten hurt, but he was also a little surprised because now he had to give her an answer, even though he had no idea what he was going to say to his parents yet. "Well... Yes... I guess I did get hurt..." Kyle admitted, deciding that he would just tell his parents the whole truth. They didn't deserve to have secrets kept from them.
"You did get hurt? What happened, dear?" His mother asked, worry in her voice. Her concerned eyes seemed to stare through Kyle, making him almost feel upset.
Kyle sighed quietly and paused for a moment, until he slowly began re-telling the *same story that he had told Ruby and I2 earlier in that morning (*Previous Chapter*). He tried his best to leave out any parts about Mancer, however.
Kyle's mother fell silent, listening to Kyle's story intently. Her eyes widened as she listened to the story, especially the part about being captured and being cut. "Kyle, baby... Are te ok?" She asked, very concerned about the safety of her child now.
"I'm fine, Mom... Please don't worry. I don't think that they know where I live. Plus, you've seen me fight villains before, Mom. I can probably defeat that gang if they decided to attack me again..." Kyle tried to assure his mother, his ears lying flat against his head.
"Well, I have no doubt that te probably could beat them, Kyle... I know that te Amore to be a hero, and I know that te make a great hero. But, still... I can't help but worry about your safety..." His mother replied quietly.
"I know, Mom... I understand that. I'm so sorry that I even got involved with that gang... Maybe I should have just kept myself out of it..."
"No, it's ok, Kyle... te did the right thing. You're a hero, and te did what a hero should have done," His mother replied with a gentle smile. She gently put her hand on his head, gently petting his head.
Kyle smiled. He really loved how caring and understanding his mother was. She was perfect to him in his opinion. "Thank you, Mom... I Amore you!" Kyle said, leaning foward to hug his mother.
"I Amore te too, sweetie," His mom replied with a smile, hugging Kyle tightly. She looked down towards his waist, and noticed the thick bandages around his waist since the blanket had fallen down as soon as he moved. "Are those the cuts that Vice person gave te with those red claws?"
"Yeah, these are it. I wrapped them in bandages before I came in here to take my nap," Kyle replied.
"That's good, Kyle. That will probably make it heal a bit better, o at least keep dirt and things such as that out of it."
"I know," Kyle replied, giving a small smile to his mother. "Um... Shouldn't I repeat the story about what happened to Dad...? Shouldn't he know, too...?"
"Yes... Your father should know as well. But, don't worry about it, Kyle. I'm sure your father will have the same reaction as me, o not much different if it IS different. I think I remember the story well enough, so I think I can tell him myself while te relax and play with your brother o sister o whatever te want to do," His mother said, giving a smile.
"Reall? te would do that for me, Mom?"
"Of course I would. te can go have fun all te want. I believe your sister is playing the video game system down in the living room. I'm sure she won't mind if te play with her if te want to." His mother said, standing up from the bed. She gently took Kyle's hand, gently helping him get out of the bed.
"Thank you, Mom," Kyle detto with a smile. He walked towards the door with his mother, and walked out into the small hallway that lead to other rooms and the staircase. "Where is Dad, anyway...?" Kyle asked simply out of curiousity.
"I believe he went to the store to get something for cena tonight, but he should be back soon. I'll make sure to tell him what happened when he gets home," Kyle's mother assured, walking down the stairs with her son.
"Ok... Thanks again, Mom," Kyle replied, a smile still on his face. He looked around, and saw a black and yellow furred hedgehog sitting on the nearby couch. The hedgehog held a video game controller in her hands. "Hi, Avina! What are te playing?"
The hedgehog paused the game and quickly turned to face Kyle, a grin on her face. "Hey, Kyle! Did te finally decide to wake up?" She asked.
"Yeah, I suppose te can say that. I actually woke up really early and then when back to sleep when I got home," Kyle replied, sitting down on the divano successivo to his sister.
Avina moved over slightly on the couch, trying to give Kyle a little più room. "I thought I could heard te and Mom talking about that upstairs... Sounds like te had one wild morning, right?"
"Yeah... It was pretty crazy. I don't think that those Dark cavalli people are joking around. They're powerful, and they have some useful tools and weapons," Kyle replied.
"Really? Where do te think they got those weapons and tools?"
'I would imagine that they made them... Just because I've never seen those kinds of things before. Maybe they bought them somewhere, but I know that I certainly haven't seen anything like that before," Kyle replied. "It was like some kind of tranquil dart o something... I've never seen tranquil darts in Freedom City. o at least here in the Northern District."
"I haven't seen them either, I don't think... I wonder if Daniel has seen any?" Avina said, tilting her head to the side. She turned around to look towards the kitchen. "Hey, Daniel! You're still in there, right?"
"Yes, I am," A boy's voice called from the kitchen. It had an extremely light Spanish accent to it. "Do te need something, little sister?"
"Have te ever seen tranquil darts anywhere in Freedom City o in the Northern District?" Avina asked, still staring off towards the kitchen.
The boy's voice didn't reply for a short moment, so Kyle and Avina assumed that this meant that Daniel was either thinking, o taken off guard da a surprising question. "...No, I don't suppose that I have... Why exactly are te asking?"
"Because I had a run-in with a new villain gang and a few tranquil darts," Kyle replied in Avina's place. "I was assuming that perhaps those villains made those tranquil darts themselves. Either that o they got those darts from somewhere other than Freedom City."
"...I didn't know that te were awake, Kyle." Daniel's voice greeted. "Anyway, that could be true. They could have made them o found them in another place. They're new, huh? Not that creepy clown named Baneful o that scythe wielding maniac doppleganger named Geminus?"
"No, they didn't have anything to do with it, actually. Believe me, I even asked them myself early this morning," Kyle said, releasing a quiet sigh as he recalled the events of the morning.
"...You asked them this morning...?"
"It's a long story... I'd rather not tell it right now. I've already told it to three different people already... If te wanna know badly enough, talk to Mom, Ruby, o I2. They can tell te if they want... Anyway, it's a six person gang run da this really creepy guy who called himself Vice. I don't know exactly who o what he is, but I don't think he's normal. Just da speaking some kind of spell, o at least what I think was a spell, he was able to turn his hands into some kind of giant, red razor-like claws. He attacked me with them, and I think he tried to use them to drain my powers, but for some reason, he seemed like he couldn't..."
"...Alright then...". That was all Daniel responded with. Kyle couldn't tell if he was confused o something else. He honestly had no idea what Daniel was thinking.
"Well, anyway... What do te want to do now that you're awake, Kyle? Do te want to play some video games o something?" Avina asked, turning her head to look at her brother on the couch.
"Sure, that would be fine. Do te know where the other controller is?" Kyle asked, leaning foward on the divano to cerca the cabinet that the living room TV sat on.
"I think it's in the bottom shelf of the cabinet, but I'm not sure," Avina replied, leaning foward to help Kyle look through the cabinet for the secondo video game controller.
"Kids, I have to go to the store to get your father. Apparently his car's engine died again, and now he can't get it to start back up," Their mother spoke from the back side of the living room. She looked down at her phone, Leggere the text that she had received.
"...Dad really needs to get that car fixed, doesn't he...?" Kyle asked, turning his head to look at his mom.
"Yes, he does... We just haven't had the money to get it fixed yet," Their mom replied, walking over to the front door. "I'll be back in about fourty minutes, kids. te know it takes a while to get to the super center from here."
"Alright. Drive safely, Mom," Daniel's voice called from the kitchen.
"Yeah, be careful, Mom," Avina said, agreeing with what Daniel had just said.
"I will, kids. Don't worry," Their mom said. With that said, she opened the front door and disappeared outside, letting the door shut behind her.
"Your mother had to leave?" Ruby's voice asked. She walked down the stairs, looking at Kyle and Avina, who were still sitting on the couch. She was soon followed da I2.
"Yeah, she did... Our dad's car stopped working, so our mom went to go pick him up in her own car," Avina replied. "We don't normally use Extreme Gear to get around like te and I2 do, Ruby. We don't really have enough money to afford an Extreme Gear, although Kyle really, really wants one."
"Really? I didn't know that he wanted an Extreme Gear," Ruby said, turning her head to look at Kyle.
"Yeah, I really do want one of my own... I've actually been saving my allowance money for quite a while now. I really want to get an Extreme Gear... Either with my own money o if my parents could get enough money and be kind enough to get one for me," Kyle said.
"I see..."
Everyone in the room was startled slightly da a sudden, loud knock on the front door. Every head in the room turned to look at the door, although Ruby and I2 appeared to be rather cautious. "Should... we answer the door...? It could be a neighbor o something such as that..." Kyle said, staring at the front door.
"...I guess we could at least check if te think we should..." Avina said, slowly standing up. She slowly made her way over to the front door, and was followed da Ruby and I2, who still appeared to be rather cautious. Avina slowly opened the door, and was shocked to see that Mancer stood in front of her. "Um... Hello...? Who are you...?"
"Kyle's here... Correct?" Mancer asked, tilting his head to the side. His serious red eyes stared at Avina through the black visor of his helmet. Kyle froze when he heard Mancer's voice. What exactly could he be wanting right now?
"...Why exactly do te want to know if Kyle is here? This girl asked who te were... Perhaps te should answer that," I2 said, narrowing her eyes. She was still obviously cautious of Mancer.
"...My name is Mancer. And, Kyle knows who I am... We met earlier," Mancer replied quietly.
"Kyle, did te really meet this person, earlier...? Is this the one that rode up on that nube, nuvola with you?" I2 asked, turning to face Kyle.
"Yes... I know him. And, yes... He's the one that brought me here on that energy cloud," Kyle replied, giving a small nod.
"Alright, then," I2 said, turning back to face Mancer again. "Now, what exactly do te want from Kyle...?"
"I would like to help him. With the new gang rising up... I'm sure he told te about that already... I was going to mostra him how to use his powers in new più powerful o più controlled ways," Mancer replied.
"...Ok," I2 slowly backed away from Mancer with Ruby, allowing him to walk into the room.
Mancer slowly made his way over to the couch, his thick, knee-high boots making a big thud on the wooden floor as he made his way over to the couch. "What do te think, Kyle? Feel like training right now?"
"Uh... Are te sure...? Right now...?" Kyle asked, his ears laying down flat against his head. He was so sore fighting Vice earlier in the day... He didn't think that his body could stand any physically demanding training right now.
"Yes, right now," Mancer replied, gently grabbing Kyle da the collare of his black jacket. He pulled Kyle up to standing, then let go of his jacket. "In the backyard."
"But... I don't think he's in any shape to do a bunch of physical activities..." Avina pointed out, noticing the pained look on Kyle's face as he was pulled to his feet.
"I agree with her... I don't believe that Kyle would perform well in physical training as of right now," I2 said.
"I'll be fine, everyone... Don't worry," Kyle tried to assure Avina and I2 that he was going to be fine, even though he didn't think he would perform well at all himself.
"Alright. Let's go then, boy," Mancer said, slowly making his way towards the cucina and the kitchen's backdoor.
"Hey, heads up, Daniel. Mancer is coming through," Kyle called to his brother in the kitchen. He had no idea if Daniel knew that Mancer was going to walk through the cucina o not.
"Wait, what? Who's coming through?" Daniel's confused voice asked. He must not have heard Mancer say his name to the others.
"I'm coming through here," Mancer replied simply, standing right behind a dark bronze-yellow hedgehog who was sitting at the cucina table; Daniel.
Daniel turned around quickly in his chair, freezing slightly when he saw Mancer's piercing red eyes staring at him through his helmet. "Uh... Hello...?"
"Hello," Mancer replied simply. He walked past Daniel, continuing towards the sliding glass door at the back of the kitchen, which led outside to the backyard. "Come along, Kyle. We have a lot of work to do."
"Who in the world IS that...?" Daniel asked with a shocked voice, turning his head to look at Kyle as he walked up behind the cucina table. His dark brown eyes revealed true confusion.
"I don't think te heard him say his name while he was in the living room... His name is Mancer. I met him earlier... He says that he can teach me più about my powers," Kyle said, making his way towards the sliding glass door.
"...Alright then..." Daniel replied, still fairly confused. "Just... don't train Kyle too hard... Don't hurt him o anything..." He said, looking up at Mancer.
"I won't... te have my trust. I'm not going to break Kyle, o at least I'll try not to break him too much," Mancer replied, walking out of the sliding glass door. He walked out into the middle of the fairly large backyard, turning to face Kyle.
"So, what kind of training do te want me to do...?" Kyle asked curiously, slowly walking out into the backyard. He stopped, standing a few steps away from Mancer.
"Get down on your knees," Mancer instructed, watching Kyle slowly lower himself to his knees. "You know how to do a push-up, right?"
"Well, yeah... Is there a reason why I need to do push-ups? Is this part of my training?" Kyle asked, lowering himself to the ground. He spread his legs out behind himself and placed his hands on the ground, slowly beginning to push himself up and down on the ground.
"In a way. One, this WILL help te get a più physical body with enough time and patience. Two, your real training will be with your Rasoul powers. This is just to get te started... Get your blood flowing," Mancer replied, watching Kyle continue with the push-ups.
"Alright then... How many of these do te expect me to do...?" Kyle asked, still continuing to do push-ups. He gritted his teeth together slightly as pain began going up and down his tired, sore arms.
"Just try to do as many as te can. I'm not going to give te a certain limit," Mancer replied, crouching low to the ground. He stayed crouched, watching Kyle intently. "How many push-ups have te done so far?"
Kyle took a deep breath, slowly continuing to push himself up and down on the ground. His arms were really starting to hurt; he felt like they might even give out underneth him. "About thirty..."
"Alright... Keep going as long as te can. Don't stop," Mancer said, still continuing to observe Kyle.
"This is really starting to hurt... I'm still sore from what happened this morning, Mancer..." Kyle detto quietly. His arms suddenly bent sideways, and he collapsed onto the hard ground. "Gah!"
Mancer stared at Kyle, noticing that his arms must have buckled and dato out under all of the weight. "Alright then. I would say that's your at least for right now."
"Ok... Now what are we going to do...?" Kyle asked, dreading what was coming next. If push-ups strained his sore body that much, he couldn't imagine what was going to happen next.
"Now, do te think te could jog in place for a little bit?"
"Of course I can... I wouldn't call something like that hard to do..." Kyle said, slowly and painfully getting up off of the ground.
"Be careful about saying something worded like that, boy. That could almost be considered sass and a smart aleck... Almost," Mancer pointed out, watching Kyle rise to his feet. "Depending on the way that te say it."
"Alright... I'm sorry," Kyle detto quietly, beginning to jog in place. He took a deep breath; his sore waist was shooting a small shock of pain through him each time he brought his legs up and down.
"Apology accepted. Just continue jogging until I tell te to cease doing so," Mancer instructed, watching Kyle.
"Hey, Kyle! casco guy! Can I invade your training for a minute?" Avina's voice called from the sliding glass door.
"Keep jogging, boy." Mancer said, turning away from Kyle to look at the sliding glass door. "Yes? Do te need something?"
"One of Kyle's Friends is here! He wants to know if he can come out here with te guys," Avina replied. She noticed a slight look of annoyance in Mancer's eyes, o at least she thought that's what it was.
"Is it Kagen?" Kyle asked, still jogging up and down. He remembered that Kagen had been *carried away da the Dark cavalli gang member named Devin (*See Chapter 3*).
"Yes, it's Kagen. He REALLY wants to see you, Kyle. He seems to be really, really worried about you," Avina said, moving out of the doorway.
"Kyle! Thank goodness that you're alright!" Kagen exclaimed, running outside to see his jogging yellow furred friend. "What happened?! That freaky bat *knocked me out with a tranquil dart! Er... Some one did! But that bat carried me away (*See Chapter 3*)!"
"Yes... I remember that. Wait, where exactly did that bat stay you?" Kyle asked, remembing the events from the morning. He was fairly curious as to what had happened to Kagen after he was carried away.
"I honestly don't know! All I know is that I woke up in my own house, in my own bed! My parents weren't home, so I guess they went out somewhere o something such as that. I don't know. I didn't look around for a note. Anyway, because my parents were gone, I think that bat carried me inside and put me in my own bed. But, forget about me right now... I'm più worried about you!" Kagen exclaimed. "I'm just so glad to see that you're ok! What did that *crazy psycho leader guy do to te (*See Chapter 3*)?"
"I honestly don't know... I know that te saw me get stabbed da those claws of his, but I don't really know... what happened after that," Kyle said, taking a breath towards the end of his sentence. He was still jogging in place. "I think he tried to steal my powers o something... Although I don't know why he wasn't able to take them. I found out that my powers are called Rasoul, da the way."
"Alright then... I wonder why he couldn't take your power..." Kagen detto quietly, then he finally noticed that Kyle was jogging up and down in place. "Uh... Why exactly are te just jogging in place? Is it for exercise?"
"I told him to do that... I'm helping train him so he can fight the gang that kidnapped both of you," Mancer replied, finally deciding that it was ok to say something. He didn't want to interuppt their conversation before.
Kagen turned around to face Mancer quickly, slightly surprised da his sudden input. He didn't realize that Mancer had been standing there the entire time. "Oh... Uh... Ok. Uh... My name is Kagen... I'm one of Kyle's closest friends."
Mancer nodded his head to acknowledge Kagen's introduction. "My name is Mancer. I plan on being Kyle's personal trainer, at least for as long as he lets me."
"I think I'll probably need your help for a while, Mancer... Since you've already taught me quite a few new things that I never knew about my powers," Kyle said. "Plus, te really helped me get away from Vice and his team. I don't know if I could have gotten out of there quite like that if I didn't have your help."
"Alright, then I'll continue to stay with te for a while," Mancer replied. "You can stop jogging now, da the way. I do believe that you're ready to sposta on to your Rasoul training."
Kyle slowly came to a stop, slowly stopping his steady jog. "Alright.. What do te want me to do first in my training?"
"You know how to shoot your power as a projectile, correct?"
"Yeah, I do... Do te want me to do that?" Kyle asked. He held his hands up slightly as black, misty like energy began to appear around his hands.
"Yes, start with that, please. Right now, before we start any serious training, I would just like to see what your power can do right this minute," Mancer replied, stepping away from Kyle to give him some spazio to use his powers. He always grabbed ahold of Kagen, gently pulling him out of Kyle's shooting range.
"Alright then..." Kyle raised his hands up towards the air, and began firing small black, misty energy spheres out of the palms of his hands and into the sky so he wouldn't hit anyone. "Just like this, Mancer? Just continue shooting for a bit?"
"Yes, just like that. I'm just going to watch and see how your powers perform right now," Mancer replied, observing Kyle's Rasoul energy as he fired it from his hands.
"So, uh... Your name is Mancer?" Kagen asked, turning his head to look at Mancer.
Mancer continued to watch Kyle fuoco his Rasoul powers, but nodded his head slightly to say yes to Kagen's domanda and attempt to start a conversation. "Yes, that's my name. Got any più questions?"
Kagen's black and red streaked ears lowered down to lay against his head slightly. He felt kind of bad for asking questions, because Mancer seemed to sound somewhat angry o annoyed. He couldn't tell which. "Well... Uh... I guess not... I was just trying to make some kind of conversation..."
"I know that te were. That's why I asked if te had any più questions. I was trying to help continue the conversation," Mancer replied.
"Oh... Alright then," Kagen looked around a bit, trying to think of another topic o domanda to ask Mancer. "I... don't really have any other ideas."
"That's alright..." Mancer replied, continuing to watch Kyle shoot his Rasoul energy. "You can stop now, Kyle."
"Ok..." Kyle fired off a few più shots of Rasoul energy, then he slowly stopped, watching as the black mist around his hands slowly fade away. He took a small breath, feeling a very, very small rush of fatigue washing over him; using his powers always made him feel a bit tired, as if it drained some of his stamina.
"Are te alright?" Mancer asked, observing that Kyle seemed to be a little tired.
"Yeah, I'm ok... o at least I'm mostly ok... Using my powers just makes me feel a little tired... It always has..." Kyle replied, taking another small, quick breath.
"...Alright then, that's something that we'll need to work on. Just shooting your Rasoul as a projectile shouldn't be tiring te out. Using your Rasoul powers in other ways can, but it shouldn't be bothering te to shoot it like a projectile," Mancer said.
"Really...? Then how can we keep it from taking some of my stamina away...?" Kyle asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"How often do te actually USE your powers, Kyle?" Mancer asked, walking closer to Kyle.
"Uh... It just kind of depends... Usually I only really, really use my powers when I'm fighting villains... Although, before Vice's team came around, there was only two real villains in this town..." Kyle replied. "Sometimes I use my powers to help catch criminals, but not very often..."
"Alright... Sounds about moderate, then. I was going to say that I thought that using your powers più would help your body get più used to it and keep from getting tired, but since te apparently use your powers often, I don't think that having te use them più will help," Mancer said, walking up to Kyle. "Give me your wrist, boy."
"Uh... O-Ok... Then what do te think would help my powers...?" Kyle asked, slowly raising his hand and wrist up towards Mancer.
'I'll tell te in a minute... Just let me check something," Mancer replied, taking a firm, strong grip on Kyle's wrist. "Now, this might hurt a bit, alright?" He stared straight into Kyle's eyes as his own hands slowly began to glow with a dark red light on the very tip of his fingers.
"W-Wait, what are you-" Kyle's domanda was suddenly cut short da a burning, searing pain in his wrist and his arm. He released a loud, ear piercing scream, feeling a burning pain shoot all up and down his arm.
"KYLE! What's wrong?!" Kagen asked, yelling the first part of his question. He quickly ran towards Kyle and Mancer, trying to figure out what was happening to Kyle and what had caused him to scream as loud as he did. Of course, Kagen wasn't the only one to get freaked out da Kyle's sudden scream.
"What just happened?" I2's serious voice asked. She walked out of the sliding back door slightly, quickly followed da Ruby, who wore a very worried and concerned look on her face.
"That sounded like Kyle's scream! Is he ok?!" Avina's voice called frantically as she followed Ruby and I2 out the sliding glass door. Daniel didn't follow the girls, however... So perhaps he hadn't heard Kyle's scream.
Mancer turned his head away from Kyle, still keeping a firm grip on his arm. He looked over at the small crowd of Kyle's Friends and family. "He'll be fine in a little bit. All I did was send a small jolt of my own power through his body, just to see how his body reacts. I'm testing something out... I'm testing to see how much Rasoul energy that he actually HAS inside his body."
Kyle gritted his teeth together tightly, still feeling a burning pain shooting all up and down his arm. He looked at his arm, watching as Mancer slowly took the long sleeve of Kyle's black giacca and began rolling it up to view his arm. "Now what are te doing...?! This hurts...!"
"Give me just a second, boy... It'll be over in a bit. Try to stay as still as possible, please," Mancer replied, studying Kyle's arm intently. He gently ran his index finger and his ring finger over the middle of his arm, starting from his wrist and then going down towards his elbow. He watched intently as glowing black vein-like lines began appearing all over Kyle's arm.
Kyle released a quick, pained gasp. His arms seemed to feel like they were burning even più when the lines slowly began appearing on his arm. He looked at the lines through his tightly squinted (Tightly squinted due to the fact that he was still in burning pain) eyes, noticing how similar they looked to normal veins. "What... is that...?"
"It's Rasoul veins... They're extremely similar to regular veins, but instead these black Rasoul veins carry your Rasoul energy all throughout your body so te can use your powers," Mancer replied, still observing the black veins. "If one knows how to do so, one can check their Rasoul energy levels da studying these veins. That's what I'm doing right now. Since your powers seem a bit off balance to me, I thought maybe it could be because te don't use them much. But, because te detto that te use them quite often, I was thinking that maybe your powers seem off because te have either a lower amount of Rasoul energy than te should, o that te have a higher amount than te should."
"Then why exactly is this burning my skin so much...?" Kyle asked through his gritted teeth, slowly opening his eyes a bit wider to look at Mancer.
"I honestly can't tell te why, Kyle. It DOES burn... I just don't know why. I don't know if anyone really knows why," Mancer said, gently running his fingers over Kyle's arm again. He watched as the glowing black veins slowly turned from a coal black color to a dark, dark red color. "Yep... That's what I figured. te have più Rasoul energy in your body than te should have, Kyle."
"...What exactly does that mean? Is that a bad thing?" Kagen asked, now worried about the safety and well-being of his best friend.
"No, not really. All it means is that he might have to get some kind of Rasoul power regulator. That's all," Mancer replied, turning his head away for just a secondo to look at Kagen. He turned his head back to Kyle. "Anyway, it's not unnatural to have più Rasoul energy in your body than te should... Quite a few people with Rasoul energy actually have this problem. It's not going to harm te o anything... It just means that your powers are a little unstable, and that's why te haven't been able to do anything else with them."
"Able to do anything else with them...? What do te mean...?" Kyle asked, turning his head slightly to look at Mancer.
"You should be able to do other things with your powers, other than just shooting it like a projectile. te should be able to. for instance, make a nube, nuvola like the one that I made earlier. But, apparently te can't do that, correct?"
"Right... I can't make a cloud. That's why I asked if te could teach me..."
"I can still teach you, but first we need to get some kind of Rasoul power regulator so your powers will be stable. Then te can use your powers in different ways due to the fact that it'll be stable," Mancer explained. He gripped onto Kyle's wrist tightly, and watched as the veins slowly vanished from Kyle's arms.
Kyle released a quick sigh of relief, feeling the burning sensation in his arm slowly fade away. "Ah... That feels a lot better..." Kyle raised his head slightly, looking at Mancer once again. "Now what...? Do te have anything else to teach me right now?"
"Not right now... Not until we can get te a Rasoul power regulator. Trying to teach te anything else right now would be worthless without something to balance your powers," Mancer replied, finally letting go of Kyle's arm.
"But... Where are we going to get some kind of... power regulator for my Rasoul energy?" Kyle asked while gently rubbing his wrist where Mancer had just held him tightly.
"Don't worry... I'll find te something, Kyle. Don't worry about it. Just go about your normal, every giorno life until I come to get te for another lesson, alright?" Mancer said, slowly turning away from Kyle. He began walking across the backyard, heading for the giant wooden fence at the back of the yard.
"When will that be...?" Kyle asked, still confused.
"It'll be when I'm ready... And it'll be once I get te a power regulator," Mancer replied, stopping near the fence. He turned his head to look at Kyle as he grabbed the superiore, in alto of the fence. "Just watch your back, boy. Watch out for Vice and his team." With that said, Mancer jerked his arms down hard, flipping himself up and over the fence, and into the thick, dark swamp located behind Kyle's house.
"...Well ok, then... Is he gone now...?" Kagen asked in confusion, looking at the fence where Mancer had just left.
"I think he is... At least for a little while..." Kyle replied, turning his head to look at Kagen. He released a quiet sigh. "I'm still so sore from this morning... I didn't need to be doing all of those push-ups..."
I2, who was still standing near the sliding glass door, turned around slightly when she heard what sounded like a car door opening and shutting. It sounded like it came from the front of the house. "...I believe that your parents are home now..."
"Really?" Avina walked inside the door, squinting her eyes to see across the cucina and living room. She could barely see through the living room window, but she could tell that her mother's car was out there. "Yeah, Mom and Dad are home!" She called to everyone that was outside.
"Alright then, Avina! We'll be there in a bit!" Kyle called back. He began walking back towards the back door, watching as I2 and Ruby walked into the kitchen. "You plan on staying a while, Kagen?"
"Do te think your parents would care?" Kagen asked, following Kyle towards the door.
"I don't think they would... I think they would be fine with it," Kyle replied, walking inside his heated two-story house with Kagen.
"Alright then. I'll ask them if I can hang out for a little while, then," Kagen said, walking towards the living room.
Kyle stopped in the cucina and turned around, moving back to the sliding glass door. "Almost forgot to close the door..." He gently slid the door shut, then looked out of the glass. He looked out towards the swamp. "...I really do wonder when Mancer will be back... I can also only wonder what he'll want me to do when he DOES come back..." Kyle turned back around, but still stayed close to the door. "...I can also only wonder what things will be like now that Vice's team is hanging around..."
Hope you enjoy! 😍
