Sky's Motive

-1:15 P.M.-

--Sky's Perspective--

I was staring at the floor, blackened by the smoke. Just as the smoke billowed into our area, I faintly heard my name coming from my left-hand side. If I inverted that because of where I was looking... Carl and Mandi needed my help!

I instantly broke off from the main group, vaulting over some sandbags, ducking under broken trees, and shielding my eyes from the disruptive black smoke.

"HEY! WHERE ARE YOU?! CALL OUT MY NAME AGAIN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, searching all around for where I heard my name. I only heard silence from that point on and decided to keep running around, screaming for clarification.

"MANDI?! CARL?! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!" I yelled again. I closed my eyes, but something interesting happened as I was trying to concentrate on their positions.

Like the ground's heartbeat, it pulsed in a weird way that reacted with the bottom of my feet. I could feel something odd in my body as well, swirling around and reacting to that heartbeat the ground possessed. This was... strands?

As I closed my eyes, I could visualize my surroundings with strands as if every surface was highlighted with them. The black smoke could no longer limit my vision... when I closed my eyes, the world was drawn out with these strands. I looked out into the distance with my eyes closed when I saw two bodies lying flat on the ground. "Sky?! What are you running off for? What happened?" Griff asked me. I pointed straight towards the bodies.

"Carl and Mandi, that way! I need help!" I yelled at Griff unintentionally, and we both ran off in that direction.

The black smoke distanced itself away from their bodies and I could finally see the damage. Mandi was bleeding to death, and Carl's bones were broken all over his body. I had traumatizing flashbacks of Domin's eviscerated body and I froze up for a moment while staring at Carl. "Sky! I'll get Mandi, you carry Carl! Come on!" Griff said. He bumped my shoulder, but I couldn't shake that terrifying sight in front of me.

If Carl dies... and especially like this... I'll tear Orion's flesh off of his body with my teeth. I'll pour his blood until he dies, and then maybe... just maybe, he can fathom this pain I feel in my chest.

[It's Irritating, Isn't It?]

I bit my tongue so hard blood started to pour from my mouth, and I picked Carl up with ease. "Carl is in dire need of help, I'm running him back to Xavier," I told Griff as I picked up my pace into a full sprint. He nodded and watched me go.

I could close my eyes and see every single obstacle in front of me, at a good distance away, maybe five feet in total. I walked around the sandbags this time so I wouldn't hurt Carl, and found an empty bed. Xavier ran over with his weird doctor tools and started to ask me questions.

"What happened to him? What are his injuries?" He asked me. I didn't know.

"Not sure... his bones look bent here, and his foot is injured a lot. He lost a lot of blood... Xavier, will you be able to save him?" I asked him.

"Not sure. Don't get your hopes up." He told me. Helen slapped him on the back.

"Confidence is one of the most important things in the office. Don't worry, Sky, we'll put him back on his feet whether he likes it or not." Helen told me. I thanked her profusely, falling to the ground while tears fell out of my eyes.

Huh? Why am I crying? I'm not that much of a baby, am I? Carl was important to me... what am I feeling?

I looked north towards where the throne room used to be, closing my eyes to see the strands outlining the scenery around me. I didn't see anything.

"Xavier... where are Tavian and Ellie right now?" I asked him.

"Up ahead, pushing forces back. Are you sure you should join them? What if Dani and Lia need help?" Xavier asked me.

"Don't underestimate them. They've done more than I have today, in such a short-range too. Even Carl... I haven't done anything, I'm a useless leader. I'm going to the frontlines and I'm not coming back until everything is dead." I told Xavier.

"White Stone... careful now," Noboki told me. She could sense exactly what I feared in myself. Unrelenting hatred.

Ever since I first got these markings on my body, I've been full of hate, rage, and an undying passion to kill. I knew this wasn't natural, but I don't have the luxury to fix myself right now, not until Orion's dead.

"You don't have to tell me. I'm pushing up the front line, that's all." I told Noboki. Noboki grabbed my shoulder, turned me around, and threw her fist into my face. I was stunned by the pain and thrown to the floor, clutching my nose. She must've broken it.

I looked back up to her, ready to punch her back, but she drew a sword and stuck the tip of it right next to my throat, piercing the ice on the floor right next to me. "I figured that mark would grow. I've been watching you for a while now, and I can't think of a reason you wouldn't be my enemy on any other occasion than right now." Noboki told me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked her. I tried kicking her out of the way, but she wasn't phased by my attempts.

"I've been observing you for a long time now, figuring out why they call you the Corrupt Stone. It's not white, so White Stone isn't what we should call you. I wanted to know why you're constantly referred to as such a harsh name when you haven't done anything wrong. But, I can see it now. I can see it in your eyes. Hatred, as shallow as you, you hate everything around you. You hate me, you hate yourself, you hate your friends, and you hate how weak you are. You're a shallow person and a mistake to be in such a position of power as a White Stone. You are a failure and you should never have been born, not on this Isle." Noboki told me.

"Hey! Noboki! We can't turn on each other! Stop that! He's trying his hardest!" Xavier shouted at Noboki.

"No. He needs to hear it since his friends won't. You are stupid, you have no real desire other than murder, and you're becoming the exact demon you think you'll end up killing. Your naïve mind stands no chance against Orion, and you won't ever stand a chance against him if you keep thinking about killing him. What do you plan to do after this Isle, Corrupt Stone? Because I sure as hell won't be under your rule so long as you keep acting like this." Noboki asked me.

"Get off of me," I told her. Noboki shook her head.

"Avoiding my question will not free you from your restraints. Answer me, Corrupt Stone, what do you plan to do after this Isle?" She asked me again.

I grabbed her sword and lifted it out of the ice beside me, slicing the middle of my right hand the entire time as I picked it up and pushed her body back. She retreated backward with the sword still in her hand. With blood dripping down the palm of my hand and onto the ground, I looked back at her.

"You want to know the answer so badly? I'm going to kill. I'll kill everything in sight, I don't care who it is. If they're threatening my family... they will die. I will protect every single one of you, no matter what it takes. That's my job as a White Stone and as your leader, I will not let you feel the way I do." I told her.

"Noble. Much nobler than Orion... it's beautiful." Noboki said. "Such a young kid with such a clear objective... maybe you're not as bad as I suspected." She told me.

"Then what was with the interrogation?" I asked Noboki.

"Tavian told me to do it one last time to figure out your true motives, even when Corrupt. Seems to be the same as he wanted. Then, I'll accept you." Noboki told me. I nodded in silence, turning back around to where the frontlines were.

"I'll kill everything. My friends wouldn't have died for no reason. I'll prove it." I told Noboki, walking off into the black smoke.