Chapter 49 - Little James

Crunch! Crunch! Sizzle!

The ground shook with each of James' blows. Time was critical. Every single second, he knew how bad it was getting. He jumped once and the iron plates where he landed buckled. It shattered and cracked. He jumped a second time and left a shattered floor behind him!

Where was he going? As far away as possible, of course. He could see from the mini-map that there was another exit from here. His transformation could finish at any moment. Only ten seconds had passed now. They were seconds away from finishing the match.

So why wasn't he taking the others with him to a possible destruction? He asked himself these questions several times as he looked at the map and walked away. These questions were sick and wrong.

Taking others with him would change nothing and no one here deserved to be taken with him.

He ignored everything in his path as he hurried towards the exit. His perception was heightened but chaotic. It would be wrong to say that he perceived everything clearly. The clarity of his perceptions sometimes made him unable to collect his thoughts.

As more and more data came into his brain, he felt dizzy, but soon the feeling disappeared.

When he finally reached a different exit, there was a big jolt, this time not caused by him. In that moment, James knew.

It was beginning. His inevitable destiny had begun. The boiling emotions inside him wrapped around his heart like wild snakes.

He began to grow and become more and more inhuman. At last, he was out. But it was a pity that he could take no further steps.

He could see various bakugan appearing around him. Some were familiar faces. Others were bakugans he had never seen in cartoons.

So far, though, no disaster seemed to have occurred, and that was heartwarming.

James could feel the snakes writhing outside, radiating from his body. A scaly reptile was crawling over his body. There was already no skin left to indicate that he was human. Only silver scales covered his body.

But in this moment, he seemed to be free of all emotion. Comfort greeted him in a way he could not understand.

He asked:

"Is this normal? I feel purified."

For the first time in a long time, Fox found it difficult to answer.

[I... don't know.]

Fox didn't know either. This situation was one of a kind. All he had to do so far was guidance, but she was a complete amateur.

The feeling of failure was one that Fox had felt until now. But comfort? She couldn't find a definition for it.

James paused after walking a few more steps. A blinding silver light covered his body as it continued to grow. This meant that his transformation had fully begun.

He turned his eyes towards the arena for the last time and spoke these words before his consciousness drifted away from this realm:

"Still... we gave it a good try, didn't we?"

A smile could be seen on his face before he disappeared in the silver lights.

***

James found himself back at the beginning of the road that led up the hill. Everything was the same, without the slightest change. The same gray dullness and the same dull gradations.

The silhouette at the top of the hill flickered. When he looked at it, even though there were so many questions on his face, part of him could guess what it was.

He thought his mind would disappear and he would turn into a beast, and yet here he was. What did this place mean? Why was he here?

Even if he looked around, he knew he wouldn't get an answer. No matter how many times he asked, there was no point. He sighed in a bored way.

Without saying anything, he began to take steps. It was not painful or difficult like before. His steps flowed like water.

Memories flooded his mind with each step, but his face did not move. His thoughts were chaotic as the memories came together piece by piece. He was trying to make sense of the memories.

As his steps flowed like water, he suddenly stopped. A brand new set of memories that appeared in his mind caused his eyes to well up as he grimaced.

***

James's life was not greatly affected by his family's violent discord. There was sometimes a small but uncomfortable coldness. Little James would somehow break it.

Yet these disagreements grew and grew. Little James' parents tended to keep him at a distance, but the walls were thinner than they thought. Little James could hear. And yet… he still ignored it.

He was afraid that if he interfered with them, their fight would escalate. This, of course, came from a previous fight that had almost resulted in his mother leaving home.

But the effect was the opposite. His parents' relationship came to an inevitable end. Although his mother retained custody, he and his father saw each other often. Perhaps that was really the best thing for them.

Still, Little James was sad and scared inside. There were so many questions swirling in his head.

What would happen now? Would he stay with his mother? Or would he stay with his father? Would he never see his other parent again?

Just the thought of these was enough to bring tears to Little James' eyes.

The more he was buried in these questions, the sadder he felt. He was devastated by the fact that his family would never be together again.

Little James was not stupid. He could hear what was going on after the conversations, even if he wasn't told yet. It was when he was thinking about this that they took him to a pedagogue.

The pedagogue's clinic was a white room. The white shelves and the books on them, which were the same color as the wall on the right side, attracted Little James' attention for a moment, but then it quickly disappeared.

The pedagogue said he could sit on a gray cushion. Without much thought, Little James sat down and made himself comfortable. The pedagogue then tried to talk to him. It was a very casual conversation. He asked about his favorite games, cartoons, etc.

As the pedagogue tried to talk, Little James joined in. Talking was the reason they had come here in the first place.

After a few sessions, with Little James' docile approach and the help of the pedagogue, and after some appropriate conversations, his father said the words that Little James already knew and expected:

"Son, we have decided to part ways with your mother because we don't get along."

Little James nodded his head in agreement with a maturity beyond his age. Sadly, he replied:

"I already know, Dad. There's no chance, right?"

Little James still remembered the look his father gave his mother. There was a glimpse of resentment and love in that look, but then it was gone, never to be seen again.

That day, Little James decided in his heart to accept it.

After that, the conversations became much more fluent. Little James grasped the situation quickly. Of course, the pedagogue had a lot to do with it.

In the end, when he was sure that he would definitely see his father every week, most of Little James' worries disappeared. Of course he was sad that they would not be able to sit at the same table and sleep in the same house. But at least he would see his father often and that was more than enough for him.

A year passed since that incident. James, his mother, and his father gathered together often.

At first, little James was afraid that when they were together they would fight like they used to, but as time passed and he saw that they never had any problems when they were together, the clouds of worry in his heart lifted and he relaxed.

Of course, at the time, he didn't realize that they tolerated each other for him. Even if he was aware, he would have chosen to ignore it.

Time passed by. One day, James and his family went to the movies. That day the loving glow of the sun was gone and replaced by the coldness of the evening. Black clouds obscured the air in a way that was hard to see at dusk, making the air feel more eerie.

This eerie mood was fortunately easily broken by the glow of the buildings. The illumination of various buildings and especially the flashy lights of the movie theater's sign shone as if to say 'I will spoil this game'.

Time after time, various people began to emerge from this movie theater. Some were dissatisfied and some were undoubtedly very happy. There were all kinds of people. The first ones were completely mixed characters. It was possible to see a variety of people, from single people to their families.

But after a short period of time, the last ones to come out were mostly families with children. Rumors of many children could be heard:

"What the hell was that like?"

"It was very strange."

"It was so baaaad."

Many children clearly didn't seem to like the movie. Well, the animation format was different and this was naturally acceptable.

Through these dissatisfied voices, one could quickly hear equally loud voices of satisfaction.

"That blue upgrade was soooo cool!"

"It was fun! I want to watch it againmm"

"Daddy! Let's watch it again! Please, please!"

Various voices were coming from the parents of various children. Leading the way was Little James and his family, who were trying to make their way through the cramped floor. This might have been one of the best movie experiences he had ever had with his family. He especially liked the blue upgrade!

"Can we go again next week? Please, please!"

His father replied, laughing happily as he went ahead and cleared the way for Little James and his ex-wife at last:

"Amy, what do you think?"

Little James looked at his mother, Amy, with the look of a puppy dog. Amy shook herself off with her free right hand. A few dust and crumbs that were left on her, which would not be noticed unless she paid attention, fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, she looked at Little James. She should be refused. She had a promise to her friends next week and was thinking of leaving him with his father for a day, but she had to admit that Little James's puppy dog eyes were too strong!

Unable to resist his cuteness, Amy sighed:

"Okay, okay, don't look like that. We'll go."

With her approval, Little James let go of his father's hand and raised it triumphantly!

"That's it!"

His father laughed as he patted Little James' head with his free hand.

"Ha ha ha ha! After this victory, it's time to go home."

Little James nodded and together they made their way to the car. They parked in the parking lot downstairs. As they drove step by step, Little James couldn't help thinking how beautiful the moon was.

Even though most of it was covered and often obscured by big scary clouds, the crescent moon shape intrigued Little James every time he saw it.

His parents, on the other hand, were very quiet and didn't talk much, except occasionally. When they finally reached the car, Little James, engrossed in the crescent moon, could barely speak:

"The moon is so beautiful today. Isn't it?"

As Little James said this, his parents looked up to look at the moon, but all they could see were dark clouds. It almost looked like it was going to rain.

Amy smiled as she helped Little James into the back seat:

"Yes, it is, James."

Little James folded his arms and pouted, not pleased with the answer:

"You didn't see it. Hmph!"

Just then his father got into the driver's seat and just then one of the clouds shifted to the side, revealing a crescent moon. He murmured as he pointed.

"Look, Amy, isn't it really mesmerizing? Just like..."

It was only after she had fastened Little James' seat belts that Amy looked up, and with a crescent moon in sight, she finished her ex-husband's sentence:

"Like the night we first met."

Amy's face became poignant. There was no way she would ever forget that day. That night she had met the one person who had managed to make her heart skip a beat. With a sigh, she shook her head and closed the backseat door without saying anything. Then she sat in the front seat.

"That was in the past. Let's go now, Joe."

Little James's father, Joe, could only let out a despairing sigh. How sad that they both loved each other and their disagreements had led to this. Joe thought. Maybe... Maybe one day he would get another chance at their relationship.

Little James was far away from the dynamic of their relationship, lost in his own thoughts. He was thinking about the animation he was watching. How interesting it was! He had never thought of Galvanic Mechamorphs as armor versions. Would similar armor appear in future seasons?

With these thoughts in mind, the car began to move. The sound of the engine rumbled as the car pounded the ground hard.

While the car was moving smoothly, Amy and Joe were talking among themselves and Little James was listening.

"So Joe, what are you doing?"

Amy looked at her phone as she asked this question. Immediately after, she turned it off. Joe didn't understand.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I don't understand."

Amy wasn't sure why he was asking that. She was just curious and wanted to satisfy it.

"I mean usually. What do you usually do? You still..."

Joe's grip on the steering wheel tightened and he nodded slowly. Glancing in the rearview mirror at Little James, who was looking at them curiously, he warned:

"Let's not talk about it. After all, we both have our own lives now, don't we?"

It was heartbreaking for Joe to say, but it was the best way to avoid a potential brawl.

And it did just as Joe thought it would. Amy kept quiet, even though she could feel the anger burning in her chest.

Little James felt sleepy as he watched them.

It was late. Even later than he normally slept. He held on to watch the movie, but in the end, his little body couldn't take any more tiredness.

Just as Little James closed his eyes, the car was entering an uncontrolled intersection. On this road, which had a cross-shape, there was usually not much speeding, which was normal.

But at that moment a truck traveling at full speed suddenly hit them!

Boom!

The sudden light and his parents' screams of pain were the last thing Little James remembered. When he woke up in the hospital, he learned the painful truth in every way.

His parents... Amy and Joe were dead.

***

James' eyes filled and he fell to his knees. These feelings... He remembered this event. This was the day he lost them.

The clouds had risen overhead, the rain soaking the grass and taking on perhaps the darkest hues possible. The flowers were bowing their necks, as if accompanying James's mourning.

James stopped. He tried to digest this whole moment, even though he knew he was crying.

When he looked up he could see that the person on the hill was shaking too. He wondered, if it was him, how could he stand so firm after remembering such a thing?

He felt he had to be strong. He continued his steps, barely able to stand up. Fifteen more steps and a new set of memories greeted him.

***

Time has passed since that incident. Little James was lucky. He was even more lucky that he didn't die in that accident, but his parents weren't. Neither Amy nor Joe had any living family. In fact, there was no one to take care of Little James.

His mother's friend could only pay for Little James' hospital bills. That was all, and as a result, Little James was sent to an orphanage.

Little James didn't hold a grudge against them. On the contrary, he was grateful that they helped him when they didn't have to. Yet all this time, until he was healed, he was haunted by the phantoms of his family.

They haunted his dreams every night, either blaming him or suddenly disappearing in a flash of light. James could not reach them, not even once.

Time passed. James tried to adjust to the orphanage, but the nightmares continued to haunt him. They often woke him from his sleep and made him not want to sleep. This, in turn, caused him to become irritable.

Well, it was not easy to make friends with an angry attitude. While everyone was playing with each other, the inevitable happened and James was left alone.

Silently, he watched his friends playing games. It was impossible to see any eagerness to join them. He continued to watch absentmindedly until a boy sat down on the bench.

He would have liked to join them, but there was nothing in his body. The tiredness and reluctance brought on by lack of sleep were all over his body.

Of course, another reason for this reluctance was his refusal to be happy. He had heard that everyone had lost someone close to them. But why were they so happy? He found it hard to make sense of it. They were gone. And they were never coming back...

Especially he shouldn't have been happy. After all, wasn't it all because of him? Didn't his parents die because of him?

"Hey! You're the quiet one that everyone talks about, right?"

At that moment the boy sitting next to him called out to him. This brought James out of his deep, depressive, and self-blaming thoughts. He looked at him, frowning at the mentioned address. It was annoying.

Seeing James' angry look, the boy raised his hands exaggeratedly in surprise. It was as if he had seen magic. He shouted in an exaggerated intonation:

"Wow! You really are the quiet type!"

James looked at him in disbelief. What was his problem? How could he speak so casually? Was he stupid?

The boy balled his hand into a fist, hit his chest, and smiled what he thought was a charismatic smile.

"Is this the first time you've seen someone so handsome?"

James glanced at his face. He looked at him as if to see if he was serious. But when the boy kept his smile, trying to be charismatic, he couldn't take it anymore and started laughing a little.

It was the first time he had seen such nonsense since he had been here. He wasn't sure if he laughed because he was so frustrated or because he actually found it funny, but he couldn't have imagined that this boy, whose name was John, would change his life.