2 When One's Life Is Altered Part Two

When pupils dilate, usually an emotion has been triggered. Looked like the emotion was

surprise or shock. Either way, what Xavier told Cassandra caused her to react in a manner that

caused those said pupils to dilate. It was as though the more that she got to know Xavier, the

more that reality seem to shatter. At, the reality that had formed around her. Very little was

making sense to her. And as a rational young lady, this was taking Cassandra for a ride.

She remained frozen as she began to look around the room. Not that it would do her any real

good. But, she was looking for something that she could absorb herself in. Something that she

could ground herself in. Xavier stood back and did nothing. The body language that he showed

expressed that this wasn't his first rodeo. That he was going to wait her out rather than interrupt

the episode that she was going through.

Xavier had that pro like vibe. Been there, done that, created the damn t-shirt. Nothing that

Cassandra has expressed to him thus far fazed him. Nothing whatsoever. He just stood there,

chilling. Not that he was emotionless. Clearly, he wanted Cassandra to not loose her shit.

It was just that he had been through this so many times that he knew there was no reason to get

all excited of this. Even keel was his approach.

"You okay?' Xavier asked, just making sure that she was still with him.

Taking another survey of her surroundings, Cassandra took a deep breath in as the exhale

flowed her nervous energy out with very little effort. Her body began to drop whatever anxiety

was still left as she began to feel into herself again. She look one good look at Xavier before a

smile began to crawl on her face.

"Depends of what else you're about to say."

Standing right across Cassandra, Xavier stared at a her for a bit. What she just said and more

importantly, the tone of his voice set off little alarms in Xavier's head. No damsel distress was

she. If you looked past that front that was ever so slightly being put up, you could see for a brief

moment or two the real Cassandra pop up. And there was a slight, albeit startling difference.

"Please, tell me. What are you doing here? Where is your team?" Cassandra asked Xavier.

"Team? How would you have known that I have a team?"

"Yeah, like you could pull this off on your own. How many others are here?"

"Hmph. Disrespect. Three."

"Where are they?"

"On some research project."

"And, what are you gathering research for?"

"Before we continue, I do need to ask one question. Why should I trust you with all of this

information?"

"You seemed to be fine with me a few minutes ago."

"Things have changed."

"I see. I guess that I can relate. Who can we trust? And who should be stay away from? That is

not really an easy question when you break it down. I suppose one way to weigh that question is

how much is that person serving my self-interest."

Xavier smirked to Cassandra as he thought how he couldn't have seen the signs of this behavior

when he first met her. Running through his head he could see the cracks in her previous

presentation. But, the larger, more obvious moments of femininity that she had in between did a

rather good job of masking this. Xavier had completed side stepped those hidden details.

"So, I don't know how many times I asked this. But, I'll try again. what plans are being created

here?" Cassandra asked, having on her own face now.

"Have you ever studied about the possibility of more than three dimensions?"

"Ever since we've been forced to live in this fake world. Good science fiction."

"That's an idea that NASA and the military very much frowns upon. I mean, they do not want

anyone even having the thought that it could be a viable option.

"Why do you think that is?"

"Well, when you think about it, why wouldn't they? How would that serve them? The answer,

there's no way that it would. And that's why they decide to hold back on that. Especially at this

point in history, they are going to have to have to be particularly selfish. Their hopes are that

this will pay off for future generations.

"While this generation gets the shit end of the deal? Is that how it works?"

"I try not to think of it like that. But, in a word, yes."

"I mean, fucking figures.

"Don't look at them as though they're being evil. They are simply doing what they

believe will serve themselves and the country."

"What do their self-serving interests have to do with the rest of us?"

"Nothing. Unfortunately, those officials are humans. And humans generally serve themselves

first. Nothing really new there."

"I guess that's the truth. No, we all know it is. Now, what are you doing those dimensions?"

As Xavier was opening his mouth, a loud thud went off as a young Asian man crashed through

the door. Gathering himself up together, Cassandra noticed something about the young man. A

something that felt extremely familiar. She could not place any of her fingers on it. However,

there was something up with this guy. He fit in a space in her mind too well for a brand

spanking new stranger.

This fellow was interesting. He had the same kind of gear as Xavier. But, with his glasses he

just gave off a whole different kind of energy. He was tall and certainly was not bad looking. It

was just that in movies, most of the guys in these situations do not tend to wear glasses. It is

possible that they would just go and get contacts. Either way, there are usually no glasses to be

seen. Yet, this guy was wearing as if it was no big deal.

"Wow man… wow!" This guy cried out as though there wasn't someone new in the room.

"That meteor shower was just insane! Have you ever ridden one like that before?"

"Yeah..."

Xavier began to answer. "But I realized how childish it was and stopped what I was doing

immediately. I probably went home, looked at myself in the mirror and hung my head in

shame."

"Did you cry too?'

"I managed to hold in the tears."

While the little sarcastic battle was intriguing, Cassandra wasn't really trying to wait much

longer. The more time that she spent with Xavier, the weirder things got. The weirder things got

the more questions that she had. The more unanswered questions that she had, the more annoyed

that she became. And this annoyance had some restlessness in there, creating a wild state of

ready to move forward with whatever had just went down.

"So, who the hell is she?" The guy asked.

"He has some amazing social skills Xavier." Cassandra cracked.

"She's mean." The guy fired back.

"Cassandra, this is Jin Wong. Jin, Cassandra.

If you measured the rate of speed one feels when time slows down for that one, you could feel

every strain of hair going up on Cassandra's arms. She was well aware of that name. She was

well of aware of who more than likely was his father. What she had no way of knowing was

why the hell they were in the same room right? Why the hell was Xavier hanging around the

son of a crazed dictator?

"Wong?" Cassandra managed to utter.

It didn't take very long for Jin to fully understand why Cassandra was having the kind of

reaction that she was. His last name was popular at this point to say the least. Especially due to

the fact that no one in the world was allowed to bare the last name Wong anymore. And if you '

did, you had to change your last name. Failure to do so was punishable with 15 years in prison.

Hard labor included. The man formerly known as Sora Wong knew of this too well. He knew

that he didn't look like the kind of guy who risked that.

"Guess that my last name always give me away." Jin said with no hesitation.

"Why are you here? Why the hell are you here? Xavier? What the fuck is this?"

"Cassandra, please." Xavier started to calm her down knowing that there would be no success in

that venture. "Just, calm down. Everything can be explained."

"Then what am I waiting on?!?" Cassandra said before furiously snapping her fingers. "Start!"

"Let me do this." Jin said, wanting to have her associate him with keeping the peace.

"Cassandra, you think that I am some crazy communist that is hell bent on world destruction?

Don't you?

Cassandra turned her head slightly away. Her feelings were a mix of anger, disgust and

sympathy. The first three were obvious enough. The fourth however? She herself didn't

understand it. But, there was a quality to him that she liked. Something about him that felt very

human to her. A part of him that felt sad. That part of him was beginning to make her feel sad.

"Do you?" Jin asked once again, wanting to pester her.

"Don't generalize me." Cassandra said to Jin calmly, yet with a firm stance.

"Nice. Good to hear. I was about to lean towards you being one those ignorant American

women."

"I'm Hispanic."

"You sure don't talk like one. In fact, I'd say that you sound white. No matter what you do,

with that voice, that body language, that attitude, everywhere you go you will be looked at as an

American first. An Hispanic American at best."

"For someone who doesn't want to be judged, you're sure hammering down that gavel."

"You're right, my apologies. As you could imagine tensions are running high."

"Yeah, but you don't have to be a dick.

"Correct. I think that a proper introduction is in order. Jin."

Jin extended his hand for a shake with Cassandra. She hesitated for a split-second thinking of

who she was shaking hands with. After thinking about how he was willing to be at least a little

more peaceful, Cassandra quickly relented and shook Jin's hands. Looking into his eyes, she

saw something that she hadn't anticipated seeing. The passion that bleed out of his eyes made

her know that his behavior earlier wasn't just some cocky act. He was just protecting himself in

his own way.

"How did you and Xavier meet? Did he recruit you?"

"Recruit?"

Before Sandra could turn her head to Xavier ask what Jin was talking about, another guy an a

young lady walked into the door. Both were dressed just like Xavier and Jin. Only, the young

lady was wearing an outfit that shared more similarities to a skirt. The guy's name was Joseph

Van Holt. He was a white young man. Not as boy next door as Chris, but a nice looking young

man nonetheless. He had a clean hair cut and a demeanor that seemed like he wanted to be taken

more seriously.

The girl was very attractive. Her name was Elisa Silvet. It would be correct to say that she was

in fact, hot. Her hair was curly, twisty, yet very formed. She was short, yet filled with a

confidence that went beyond fiery for the sake of over compensating. Her nose was chipped to

perfection. Her skin made it hard to understand right off the bat what her ethnicity was. But,

upon a closer look you could see that she was Milano, further adding to her exotic nature and

mystique.

As one could imagine, they weren't exactly thrilled to see a stranger inside their quarters.

Joseph was more intrigued than anything. He was wondering why this attractive, albeit strange

young lady was here. Elisa met this with a different kind of attitude. One that showed up was a

feeling of being threaten. She was used to being the only source for feminine energy around here

and did not like seeing Cassandra here at all.

"What is with that?" Elisa said in a very rude manner, pointing directly to Cassandra.

"Do I know you?" Cassandra asked.

"No. I was just taught to question a stranger when they were around me. My parents taught me

well."

"Then it looks like your parents forgot to teach you any manners."

"Before you two take it to blows, chill a minute." Xavier said to interrupt to incoming battle that

was inevitably going down between Cassandra and Elisa like two Ferrell cats. "You should at

least know each other's names before you square up."

"Elisa."

"Cassandra."

"Hey, I'm Joseph." Joseph interjected, wanting to feel included. All it did was make everyone

stare at him like something was wrong.

"Anyway, Cassandra, what business are you conducting here?"

"She's a guest of mine Elisa." Xavier said, butting in to make sure that the peace was kept.

"Since when are we allowed to bring guests here?"

"Special circumstances."

Before Elisa could further integrate Cassandra, the alarms went off. Everyone turned their

heads like they were hunting dogs who got the first swift of a red tail fox. Cassandra stood there,

utterly confused by what was going on. Suddenly, Jin ran out of the door. The level of

seriousness in the room grew. As the energy arose the clearer to her that this wasn't just

some hang out spot for burn outs

"What's happening?" Cassandra asked, genuinely concerned for her safety.

"An opportunity." Xavier said, just adding to the excitement of what was going on.

"An opportunity?"

"Just stay here and let the adults handle this, huh?" Elisa said in a condescending manner.

"I'm 18 you…"

"Cassandra, go into that closest, grab a suit and come with us." Xavier commanded.

"Come with us?" Elisa said with surprise. "Why the hell would she do that?"

"You never know what anyone is capable of. Her being here may be the key to the synchronicity

that we have been seeking."

"The key?" Cassandra asked, just becoming more and more lost."

"Xavier, c'om!" Elisa cried out. "Are you…"

"Can you not question me right now Elisa? We need to move!"

Elisa looked at Xavier, then to Cassandra and back to Xavier before she took off with Joseph in

toe. Cassandra stood frozen for a second. An alarm going off usually was not a good thing.

Truth be told, it has never been. And now she was being told that she was going to be joining

then on whatever the hell that they we're doing. None of this seemed especially appealing. It all

just seemed troublesome.

Yet, she persisted and quickly went to the closet, grabbed the suit and went to the bathroom to

put it on. After putting it on, she had to look at herself in the mirror for a bit. She was rather

impressed with how she looked in the suit. It fitted her real well and was more stylish than she

was giving it credit for. At least she was reasonably pleased with the fashion sense of the crew.

She ran out of the room to the port to join everyone else. As she got into the port what she saw

next immediately shocked her to the core. Right in front of her was a gigantic cosmic hole.

Before this moment this phenomenon was something that she had only read about and seen on

the Discovery channel. In other words, it was something that she had never in her wildest

dreams would have expected to see right in front of her. But, right here, right now she was

standing in awe as the cosmic hole did its thing.

Looking around, she wondered where everyone was. She then saw Xavier pop up with Jin,

Joseph and Elisa coming out of the right and left sides. They had these interesting blades that

looked kind of like spheres. It was becoming clear to here that there was a warrior aspect to this.

Cassandra thought to herself about what she was about to do. Was she really going to have to go

out there and join them? What the hell made her qualified to do that?

"Cassandra!" Xavier cried out. "Let's go!"

Hearing Xavier say that just made her stand frozen. Everything was just going too fast for her.

When she woke up today she just expected her everyday mundane life in what had now become

a mundane dome to continue. She did not sign up for anything of this. While it had been a nice

pattern interruption, it was proving to be a lot more than what she had bargained for. And

knowing what to do seemed to be elusive. It was like a case of being careful what you wished

for.

"See Xavier." Elisa started in a snotty tone. "She's just dead weight. Makes no sense why she

is here."

There are times that someone needs a spark in order to get them into action. The push that will

propel them forward into bigger and better things. There wasn't much that really moved

Cassandra, but Elisa was really beginning to rub her the wrong way. The very wrong way.

Normally, Cassandra wouldn't give a shit about any of this. However, for reason unbeknownst

to her, Elisa was managing to successfully get under her skin. And it was driving her to a literal

state of insanity.

That spark ignited something within Cassandra that she had no felt in what seemed like forever.

Like the snap of a finger all the fear that she was holding was released. She got a stern, serious

look on her face that said that she was ready to go out and some real ass. She turned on her jet

and took off like it was nothing.

Everyone stared and studied Cassandra. The physiological change that went on with her was

astounding. Before she seemed alright. But now, there was sense of strength that was oozing

out of her. As though she was one to b reckoned with. It was something to watch. Xavier, Jin

and Joseph were enjoying this. Elisa was trying to play it off as nothing. But she was more

than aware of what was happening and couldn't deny that she was truly impressed.

When you looked into Cassandra's eyes, all you could see was determination. The force of an

unshakeable will. The feelings that got stirred up in her had a profound effect. She herself did

not and could not understand what was going on. She was someone that had zero experience

doing any of this. At all. Yet, she now found herself heading straight for the cosmic hole. And

no idea what she would do once she reached it.

As she drew closer she started to stare into the cosmic hole. What she saw was a beauty that

couldn't have be anything less than second to none. The colors were vibrant and meshed with

perfection. The shine that was illuminating would have attracted millions of seagulls. The

intrique that was presented by the cosmic hole was breath taking. Just what was thing? What

was the purpose of this? And did it matter?

She was staring at this while hurdling at it was tremendous speed. As she drew closer and

closer to merging with the cosmic, she was suddenly tackled. She was then broken out of what

could only be described as a spell like trance that the cosmic hole was putting on her. She

looked up and saw Xavier with a very concerned expression on her face.

"Wha… What just happened?" Cassandra asked, still gathering herself together.

"It looked like you were about to die right before my eyes. I didn't want to see that. So, here I

am." Xavier said, seeking to ease the tension up a bit.

"Oh. Isn't that why we're here? By the way, it was very pretty. I don't think that I've ever

felt that way about anything before. Ever."

"Don't allow yourself to get up inside it's vortex."

"What do you mean?"

"Cosmic holes have several infinite loops inside of them. Its alluring essence and natur gets you

entangled in them and stuck there for eternity.

"Oh. That does sound like it would suck."

"Plus, I'm still just starting to get to know you. Be a shame if the last image that I have of you is

getting sucked into an infinite time loop. Gone forever."

"So, why are we here? What are we going to do with this?"

"Remember how as kids we learned in science class that the universe has four dimensions?"

"Yeah. We're in the third."

"Correct, we are. Common knowledge. But, the whole four-dimensional thing was a crock of

shit."

"What?"

"The universe is actually made up of ten dimensions. And we we're hoping that this would be

one of those six that remain elusive."

"You don't seriously believe that Xavier, do you? It's all just fantasies."

"Cassandra, what does it say on my suit?"

Dropping her head down to see just what it was on his suit, Cassandra say words in Platinum

that said: CHROME DRAGONS.

"Our goal is to break into a new dimension, freeing ourselves from this hell in space called the

dome. That's what this is all about."

Cassandra could only stare at Xavier as she struggled to make sense of what he was saying.

The words that were coming out of his mouth were just sounding like the hallucinations and

dreams of some sort of conspiracy Theorist. So, in that respect it scared Cassandra deeply.

Although, it did also in fact create more curiosity within her. And there was not going to be a

way that it would not. Her day was already one outside of the normal realm of reality once she

was brought into space. With everything that has taken place since then she just became

abundant with different ideas and questions. Mind bending would b a good way to describe this.

"How is any of this possible?"

"Being sent to the third dimension was a Godsend in terms of where we could have all been

saddled at. The third dimension is the dimension where it is possible to jump into another one.

For that to happen, we have to fold this one and we can jump into the sixth and go from there."

"And what's the purpose of doing that? Where are we heading?"

"We want to be somewhere that we can actually live and feel alive again. We're not meant to be

contained in that shit Cassandra. It just isn't fucking right. Don't you feel like a fucking rat in a

cage?"

That term, rat in a cage, just instantly connected to Cassandra. Part of the reason was because

of the Smashing Pumpkins song, bullet with butterfly wings. That was the verse and she

originally thought that it was the title of the song. However, that term also expressed

how she's felt ever since she had been sentenced to live in the dome. Like there was no kind of

way to get of out and that this was simply her fate. That no matter how much she wanted to get

out, she would never attain her freedom.

"What's so special about the tenth dimension?"

"It's not a matter of it being special. It's more about being able to not be limited to this existence

that we are in. This pathetic excuse for an existence. But, it is in fact a special place. Some

have called it "paradise." Personally, I feel as though that is a bit too romantic. Although, I can

see why they refer to it like that. The tenth dimension is limitless. You can go into any of the

dimensions directly from the tenth. All the possibilities of the universe exist in there. Instead of

living on the moon, we will be able to live in a space that way more expansive than Earth."

"But, it wouldn't have the same resources that Earth has, would it?"

"Did you not pay attention to what I just said? ALL the possibilities of the universe exist in

the tenth dimension. Fuck Earth. You can do things that just seem like a lame joke on Earth."

"Okay, then how are we doing this?"

"Like I mentioned, it's all about folding this dimension and jumping into the others."

"How the hell do you fold a dimension?"

"It's not easy and will essentially start a war…"

"War?"

"Yes. Because we would be altering this dimension, that would attract the attention of the

Dome's military forces once we can make some noise. There is no way that they are going to

allow their precious dome to be fucked with. You better believe that they will be on us. And we

will have to be more than prepared to fight back. At any cost."

"Any cost? What is this? A Deathwish?"

"We don't see it that way. But, I can certainly understand how you feel. This isn't for everyone

of course, and I don't make it out to be. All I know is that I can't sit back and act like everything

is fine when the reality is the exact opposite. I must do something to change it. We must do

something to change it."

"We?"

"Cassandra, I want you to join us on this journey."

"What!?!"

"I know, this is a lot. You just woke up expecting to live another day of your new artificial life.

No more and no less. This couldn't have been apart of the plan. However, sometimes it's those

unexpected opportunities that tend to be the ones that can take you to the heights that you have

been longing for. The shift the you yearn for. An Awakening"

Cassandra was doing her best to not get caught up in Xavier's words. The guy was speaking in

a way that was imbued with inspirational phrases. She knew that this couldn't be a decision that

was solely based on emotions. She needed to be extremely rational. While she did dread, no,

honestly, she hated her life in the dome. Simply put, the concept of having to go to war with the

dome and then manipulate space were coming across as a very daunting undertaking.

There was a need to be able to fully understand what he was telling her. She was going to

become a Chrome Dragon. She was essentially going to become a vigilante. That was

something that did not fit her self-image. And it was this aspect that proved to be very alluring

to her. The fact that if she joined, she would undergo a serious shift in a multitude of ways. She

has been looking for something to turn her life in a new direction. This, obviously could be that

something.

The thing was, was this the right way to go about it? Wasn't there another way? On top of that

she did not know of these guys. She had just met them. For all that she knew they could be

these huge nutcases. Xavier did basically acknowledge that it was a suicide mission so she

couldn't use that against him. But, there was still just enough room for doubt to spring up within

her being.

"I…"

"Think with your heart." Xavier calmly told Cassandra. "Don't let your head dictate everything.

Ask yourself, what feels right? What do you want to do? Where do you want to be? Who do

you want to be? I get that I sound grandiose right now. But, I think that you understand what

I'm saying, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then the rest is up to you."

"To do what?"

"To decide on whether or not you want to join us in the fight. I don't know why I got you out

here. Well, I KNOW why. But, you got something that the team needs"

"Which would be?"

"I can't put my finger on it. Though, I can for sure say that whatever you have, it will make this

Cause have a life."

All of this was beginning to just weigh on Cassandra. She could not for the life of her

understand why Xavier was talking like this about her. He truly had no idea who she was. How

could be so sure of his assertions? Yet, there was a truth to him that she could not deny. She

believed him to be sincere about what he was saying. The tremble in his voice, the level of

seriousness that was present in his eyes, how present he was in general. He was speaking from

his heart as the warmth beamed straight out to him and right to hers.

"You really believe that?"

"Of course. I don't say shit that I can't stand by. I wouldn't be a very good leader, would I?"

"This is all just too much."

"I bet. But, at the same time, isn't this great?"

"Great? Great in what way?"

"I don't know. But, I just feel alive. I feel like I'm living a real life. Even if the situation has a

high level of seriousness. It's better than living an unexamined life."

"I see."

"Guys!" Jin yelled from a far. "Watch out!"

Both Cassandra and Xavier looked up and saw what appeared to be a tornado inside the cosmic

hole that was creating a tremendous amount of turbulence. The cosmic hole had been opened so

long that a cosmic whirl had manifested. Its mightiness was impressive. You could stare at

for hours in appreciation of it's epic nature. Just that it's suction was so strong that it was

beginning to prove harder for the two to stay in place.

As cosmic tornado grew in strength, Cassandra and Xavier began to be hurled towards it at a

rapid rate. Candra was being pulled up as Xavier was at the bottom, gripping her hand.

Cassandra thought for sure that this was it for her. While on some level this certainly

did freak her out, overall, she was able to maintain a calm and peaceful presence. She didn't

seem to mind at all that she was about to meet her fate. Something about it seemed bautiful to

her. As if this was the way that she had envisioned herself dying. As though this was just

fitting.

"Cassandra!" Xavier shouted. "I need you to activate the hyperdrive your jet pack!"

Reaching around her jet pack, Cassandra found a switch. She took a deep breath as she

activated it. The roar of the jet pack's engine was still heard as the two were launched towards

the cosmic hole. Her heart rate, accelerated with the loud spark. It felt like a ride at Disney

World, only for real. The sensation of speed was one that you felt like you'd have to be qualified

to experience.

What was funny was that Cassandra felt a high that she couldn't put into words. The kind of

high that only comes when one is just able to dissociate from the flawed reality that we are faced

with. The euphoria that came with titillated all her sensors. She could only relate to this

suddenly living a dream.

Then, she was taken back to a living room. She looked around and noticed that it familiar. It

was her old living room? She looked at her clothing and saw that she was wearing her Sunday's

best. She was in fact back to the age 12. Her young brother and younger sister were right in

front of her, 11 and nine. Rey was cute and chubby. Maria was so adorable. It was uncanny

how real this felt. They were all dressed up as well. It was Easter Sunday.

Her mother and father then came into the room and it was just like how Cassandra remembered

them. Her mom was petit and beautiful. Her dad was very manly and authoritative. Still, there

was a sweetness that bled out of him. They both stood there, proudly looking at their kids as her

mom held a kodak camera in her hands.

"Okay, get together everyone." Cassandra's mom said. "Picture time!"

All that Cassandra could do was sit there in awe over this as her brother and sister got together.

She realized that she was more than likely looking weird right about now and then ran over to

them. Part of her knew that this was just in her head. But, so much of her wanted to believe this

was the real deal. That she was back with her family. That nothing had changed.

"Okay!" Her father said. "On the count of three! One, two…."

"CASSANDRA!"

Meanwhile on the outside, Cassandra and Xavier were getting ever so closer to that cosmic

hole. That was spelling bad news for the both of them. With their continued trajectory they

were going to be consumed by it. At this point Cassandra was seeped into what she was

experiencing. Xavier had no idea what the hell was going on.

"CASSANDRA! WE NEED TO STEER AWAY!"

"What are you talking about?' Cassandra asked, still in her childhood living room.

"We're going to die if you don't steer!"

"Huh? I don't think so. I'm at home."

"What the fuck are you saying?"

"I'm in my living room right now with my family."

"Fuck. You can't believe that illusion Cassandra!"

"Feels too real to me."

Xavier was stumped. How was going to break her out of this? Clearly, she was still hung up

on her family. The whole experience had put her in a state that was like one on a psychedelic

level and on a level of enlightenment. Where she was at it was like she had left all of the human

pain and suffering behind.

Nevertheless, Xavier knew that he needed to do something. But, he didn't know her well

enough to see how he could directly push her buttons. Then, the image of the first time that he

her saw her face appeared. She was beautiful of course. Only this time Xavier was able to see

an expression of dissatisfaction on her face. He looked into her eyes and felt a deep-seated kind

of pain. Even the way that her arms were crossed said a lot. He instantly knew what to do.

"CASSANDRA! What kind of life do you want?"

"Umm. I don't know, a happy one? Why are you asking me?"

"I know that you want something real. You to be able to breathe passion into your existence.

Don't give up on that! You need to decide something, right now!"

"Yeah? And what's that?"

"Do you care more about living or dying?!?

Those words from Xavier connected right to Cassandra as she looked around her living room.

The levels at which she wanted to stay and her wanted to go flipped. While she did still want to

be around her family, she knew that this was not something that she could do. That no matter

brutal it was, she had to go back and face reality.

"I WANT TO LIVE!!!" Cassandra let out, transforming herself from her living room and

back into reality. Out of nowhere she just knew what to do. She steered it right, shifting

Xavier's body weight to be able to turn. She fought through the force that the cosmic wave

possessed and was able to whip around hard enough to propel both out of the wind that was

grabbing on to them.

Like a boss, Xavier threw himself right in front of Cassandra and pushed against her so that he

could slow down her momentum. He knew that he couldn't have her shut it off like that. The

G forces were tearing into him. But, he was able to grit through it as Cassandra began to slow

down just enough.

"CASSANDRA! TURN OFF THE HYPERDRIVE!"

Sense memory kicked in for Cassandra as she knew just where to go. She turned it off as the jet

pack went down to a more controlled pace and the force that was upon the two of them

dissipated. All that was left was Xavier and Cassandra staring into each other's eyes due to the

position that Xavier had put himself in. She then adverted her eyes to not give off too many

ideas as Xavier released himself from her.

"I have to say, you handled yourself quite admirably. How did you do that?"

Staring down at her hands, Cassandra herself had no idea how she had done what she had done.

It felt like and out of body experience. Like she was not the one at the wheel this time around.

Something was in control and she was just the vessel. Whatever the case was, she had never

experienced anything like this before.

"So, Cassandra. Are you with us?"