[To Be Named] - Chapter 5

[To Be Named] - by Ho-Oh16
A QuizUp fantasy adventure story.

Chapter 5.

   I took a quick breath. My eyes shot open and my head was pounding.
   I tried to get off the floor, but I was still too weak. Instead, I pulled myself to the closest wall and propped myself up against it.
Hang on... Is this...?
The manor? Yes.
Why are we back here?
   No reply.
Hey! Don't leave me hanging! I need an answer!
   Nada.
   I sighed and looked around the room. It was one of the manor's many themed bedrooms. I recognised this one as being the Water Room from when I'd done some exploring.
   I looked around the room again, only this time, more thoroughly, and that's when I saw it.
   "Oh my Arceus, I've.. blimey..." I panted. "I've missed you so much!". Using curtains next to me, I pulled myself up from the floor and started to take slow steps towards my prize.
   "I was so worried!". I was almost there. "I thought...that I'd lost you forever!".
   I gently removed my bow from its stand and felt the wood. Each detailed engraving had been done myself, which made my bow precious. However, there was something else about the bow that meant I could never let it leave my side.
   "You're awake!" a voice called from the door way. "And I see you found your bow.".
   "Just about... Did you get your-" I took a quick breath. "Did you get your sword back?".
   "Indeed, I did." Rashaun said, shaking a small, silver, cylindrical object in his hand. "I think it's just you, me and Shadow who are awake at the moment.".
   There was a sudden loud thud which had emanated from the room next to mine.
    "And whoever that is." he added, leaving my room and checking next door.
   I put my bow back and ran out after him, glad that I could feel my legs and use them again. Upon arrival, I read the sign on the door.
Fire Room.
   We slowly opened the door to see who was inside, but we couldn't see anyone.
   "It was definitely this room, right?" Rashaun asked.
   "I thought so... maybe we're just tired still.". I was about to exit when an arm appeared on the other side of the four-poster bed. It waved in the air.
   "Little help... please..." A voice groaned.
   "Nope, definitely this room." I said, walking round to the other side of the bed.
   It became apparent that DD had rolled off the bed and onto the hard wooden floor. I helped her up and got her to sit on the bed.
   "Thanks..." she said with a cough.
   "That just leaves Ozy and Anton." Shadow said from the doorway. He stepped back out into the corridor and strolled towards the remaining occupied rooms at the end of the corridor. I chased after him, leaving Rashaun and DD behind.
   "Wait, hold up!" I called. Thankfully, he did. "How long have you been up for?".
   "About an hour. Rashaun got up not long before you did. I used the time to do some more exploring.".
   "And, what do you make of it? Us being back here, I mean?".

   "Urgh... my head..." Anton moaned. He was sat on an armchair in the corner of a green room. "What.. where...?".
Good morning.
Is it?
That's up to you.
   "Whatever you say.". Anton got out of the chair and looked out of the window. "Why are we back here?"
   "Good morning." Shadow said. He had walked into the room and stood next to Anton at the window.
   "Holy c... don't do that!" he scowled.
   "Chloe said the exact same thing...".
   "Probably because people don't appreciate you sneaking up on them as if it's normal." Anton replied with a sigh.
   "Well, I thought you ought to know that everyone is awake except for Ozy. Shouldn't be long." Shadow said, staring out of the window into the clouds.
   "Right, OK... Thanks.". Anton walked to the bed and saw his nunchucks waiting for him. He placed them into his trusty bag. "I won't be letting these leave my side again. And now it's time to go say hello to everyone, I guess.".

   Checking no one was behind me, I closed the door to my allocated room. I needed to check my arm - it had been aching ever since I woke up. I ventured into the adjoining bathroom, locked the door and took off my jacket.
   There was now a bandage wrapped around my arm, which caused me some confusion.
Anton has the medical kit, but he doesn't know... No one does...
   I removed the bandage to see a huge white plaster over the wound. I didn't want to remove it, incase anything reopened and I made it worse.
   "Who put that... there?".
   I put the bandage back on along with my jacket. While the stinging was not as intense as when the cut was fresh, it was uncomfortable. I wanted to scratch it, but I knew I couldn't.
   "Chloe, are in you in here?".
   "Just.. Just give me a minute!" I called.
   "I thought you ought to know that everyone's up now. We're all downstairs.".
   "Thanks." I yelled. "I won't be long!". I heard the door close.
Everyone is alive. Everyone is safe. Everyone is fine.
   I unlocked the door and was about to walk out into the main bedroom area, when I saw someone stood by the closed door.
   "Oh g... How many times have I told you not to do that?!". Shadow's habit of appearing out of nowhere was bewildering, and slowly becoming intolerable.
   "That doesn't matter. But that," he pointed at my arm, "does.".
   "What is your obsession with my arm? It's fine, and so am I. Come on, I ought to go and say hello to everyone.". I started to walk towards the door, but Shadow wouldn't move out of my way.
   "Show me. It's no good hiding it. It'll just get worse.". For a moment, we just glared at each other, trying to work out what the other was thinking. I was hesitant to answer him.
   I mulled over the decision for a moment longer, when someone knocked at the door.
   "Chloe, Shadow, are you coming down at any point today?" Anton called from the other side of the door.
   "We wont be long, just give us a minute please." I replied. I waited until I heard him leave before making a final decision.
   "Well?" he asked.
   "...fine.". I slowly removed my jacket, revealing the bandage. "Happy?".
   "Very. Now show me the actual wound.".
Urrggghhh....
   I unraveled the bandage and exposed the plaster. "I can't get that off. I don't want to make it any worse.".
   "The best thing for a wound is air, isn't it?" Shadow suggested. Before I could even think about what he'd said, he'd ripped the plaster off of my arm.
   "OH MY ARCEUS, WHAT THE HECK?!" I screamed. I clutched my arm as tight as I could. "WHY WOULD YOU EVEN DO THAT?!?!".
   "I need to see the damage, so move your hand.". With a sigh, I lifted my right hand and put it by my side. My cut had not begun bleeding again, much to my relief, but now it was stinging more than ever. "Thank you. So, this was the dragon?".
   "Mhm." I said, trying not to look at him.
   "OK, well, the good news is that it's healing fine. It'll leave a scar, that's for sure... That dragon was elemental, correct?".
   "Does it matter if it was? It's just a scratch. Like you said, it will heal.".
   "It does matter.".
   "IS EVERYTHING OK?!". Rashaun burst through the door before I was able to cover my arm with something. "WE HEARD A SC...". He stopped talking, and was nudged out of the way by the others. They all poured into the room like a flood.
The irony.
   "Oh my gosh, how did that happen?" queried Anton with a worried look.
   "That doesn't look very good... At all...". That was DD, joining the train carriage of concern.
   "How long has it been like that for?". Ozy added to the pile of questions that I was sure everyone wanted answers to.
   "Why didn't you say anything?" asked Rashaun as I put the bandage back on.
   "Because I didn't want anyone to worry! Like I told Shadow, it is fine and I am fine.". I swung my jacket over my back and stuck my arms through the sleeves.
   "But it's healing, right? So it's all good?" DD asked. I nodded, but Shadow disagreed.
   "Yes, it's healing, but whether or not it's good is a different story. That dragon was a lightning dragon. It's electrical power runs through its entire body, and on the surface of its skin. If it wants to, it can pass some of that electricity to something it touches.".
   "OK, but, what about you? You sat on its head, for crying out loud! You're fine!" Rashaun said, his voice getting louder. Everyone looked at him and then at Shadow. "And while we're on the subject, what the heck were you doing walking up to it, and what did you tell it?!".
   "I was checking the danger. Some dragons aren't as vicious or deadly as others. I was seeing whether we would be safe." Shadow responded, getting ready to raise his voice too.
   "Ok, we understand that, but what did you say to it?" Anton questioned.
   "He told it something that made it leave, which in turn, saved our lives. That's all we need to know." I interrupted. I wasn't entirely sure why I was defending him, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Everyone has their secrets, after all.
   "If you insist, then fine. But why didn't the dragon electrocute you, Shadow? I mean, if you sat on it...". Ozy asked one of the more important questions.
   "It chose not to. I'm not sure why, and we may never know.".
   "Don't worry about that, you were saying something about electricity. If something could be wrong, then I would like to know, Shadow. And if it can be fixed, then I'd like to know that too.".
   "I can't be sure if there is a problem. There's a chance it passed some of its electrical power to you, but there's no knowing if it's good or bad. The only thing we can do is wait." he replied, seemingly annoyed that he couldn't be certain on the matter.
   "Wait?! You expect us just to wait?!?".
   I could tell that tension was growing, and I didn't want to drown in a flurry of emotions. Not just yet.
   "It's fine... Could everyone just... leave? Just for a bit. I need some time to think." I requested. I sat on the chair in the corner and waited for the others to go.
   "But, Chloe, we-"
   "JUST... go. Go. Please.".
   Reluctantly, everyone left the room one-by-one. Shadow was the last to leave, and he closed the door behind him.
   For what felt like several minutes, I just sat still, thinking about everything at had been said. It was time to consult Conscience. That's the name I gave the voice in my head. It derives from the Pinocchio story, because why the heck not...
So. You lied to me.
   No response.
You said that I would be fine and that it was the dragon who was lying.
   The silence sustained.
Storm told me not to believe everything I hear. I guess I should've listened.
You only have yourself to blame. You trusted a voice you're hearing inside your head. For all you know, I could be the mastermind behind everything happening. I could be playing a giant game of chess, and you and your friends downstairs are merely the pieces.
And are you, Conscience?
   "No.". I looked up to see another figure by my door, but this time, it wasn't Shadow.
   "Who... Who are you, and what are you doing here?" I interrogated. I stood up from my seat and quickly glanced over at my bow. It was still on its stand.
   Before my question could be answered, the sound of footsteps outside the door caused the figure to move away from it and attempt to hide elsewhere. While he was distracted, I darted for my bow and called for whoever was stood outside.
   "GET IN HERE, QUICKLY, AND HELP ME!". I loaded my bow in a split second and aimed it directly at the figure's chest.
   Rashaun burst into the room once more, this time wielding his sword. The figure's face was concealed by a shadow cast on the wall.
   "Step into the light so we can see you properly!" Rashaun demanded.
   "How ever much I would love to stick around, I've got places to be and people to see. Perhaps we can arrange a rondevu another time.".
   "No chance!" I cried. I shot an arrow straight at the figure, but the arrow ended up stuck in the wall.
   The figure has disappeared into a cloud of coloured smoke, just as the clones had done. Staring at the cloud, I became certain of one fact. That figure was a copy of the person in my head. In everyone's head, if he so desired.
   "He was a copy?" Rashaun contemplated, putting his sword away.
   "The question is, who of?". I put my bow over my back and let out a huge sigh. "I hate this so much...".
   "Everything will be alright. We just have to stay strong.".
   While his words were reassuring, I had to hug him tightly and let the tears flow. Staying strong was something I did often, but I'd never felt as helpless as I did in those few moments. Never.
   "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused... I try to stay focused and brave, but sometimes... It's too much...". I started to wipe the tears away and took a deep breath.
   "I understand. We can't determine what the future will be, but we can lay a foundation for fate to build on.".
   "That was deep...".
   "Yup.".
   "Well, I think it's about time I actually left this room and socialised for once in my life...". I smiled at Rashaun and together, we left the blue room behind and walked down the grand staircase.

   "It's about time you joined us!" Ozy called from the Sherlock Holmes-styled armchair.
   "It's good to see that you're alive and well." I smirked.
   "Not everybody wakes up looking this fabulous." he replied. "I just take in my stride.".
   Anton threw a cushion at Ozy's face and sniggered, triggering a full-on pillow fight.
   "Oooohhh, you asked for it!". Ozy grabbed a cushion next to him and aimed it at Anton. However, it missed and ended up hitting Rashaun. "Oops...".
   "You know what this means?" I asked rhetorically and excitedly. "PILLOW FIGHT!".
   We each grabbed the nearest cushion and began bombarding each other with them. Feathers exploded across the room and for a while, things just felt normal. We didn't care about where we were - we just lived in the moment and enjoyed each other's company.
   The war lasted for about fifteen minutes. It doesn't sound like long, but for all of us, it felt like our entire childhood. By the time we'd completely obliterated every cushion in the room, we were all exhausted from laughter.
   "We really need to do that more often." DD said, brushing the white feathers out of her hair.
   "Definitely.".
   "Ya know, I really didn't think you'd get involved with that, Shadow.". I was being honest. He had always seemed so reserved, but after he dived behind a sofa for cover and began pelting us with small cushions, we all saw a different side to him. A more spontaneous side.
   It was weird.
   "I say we make it a family tradition!". Ozy sometimes came out with some weird (albeit quite interesting) ideas.
   "Wait, seriously?" Anton asked.
   I stood back and watched everyone discuss Ozy's proposal. I also looked at all the faces in the room. I saw smiles that I thought I'd never see again, and it was humbling. We were actually having fun in a place that we were trapped in. It's quite funny how it works.
   I joined in the conversation, presented a smile and thought of the good times: the memories from before we'd received those wretched invitations. It made me want to cry even more, but I'd shed enough tears for one day to leave a dent in my tough-girl reputation.
Conscience? You still there?
Yes.
   I wanted to tell you something.
   Oh?
   Yeah. I wanted to say that I'm looking forward to the day we meet.
   And why is that?
   So I can personally send you to your grave.
   And with that, he was gone. For how long, you ask? I hoped that it was forever.