----- Tree of Life -----The only reason why Kimberly was running around the ruins like a parent trying to find a lost child was because almost as soon as the group was teleported to their current unknown location, Kimberly noticed that Jynette, Thael, Katherine, and Fredrick were not with them. Kimberly immediately began to panic. He had to find them. After announcing to the smaller group that he would investigate the area for their missing members, Kimberly frantically started his search. He looked everywhere that he could. His ears tried to find the slightest echo of each of his friend distinct sounds. He even used his dog spirit to find a sent. Yet, he failed to find any trace of them. It was obvious the four were nowhere near them. A significant amount of time passed for the black haired giant to finally admit that, however.
Kimberly stood on top of the highest structure in the ruins that barely managed to exist. He was tired, mentally and physically. So much ---too much--- had happened in a span of a few days: the past hours, especially. His friends going MIA only added more to the anxiety. Kimberly cursed himself, although he was well aware that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the current situation from happening.
Some “prince’s stallion” I am. Damn it! Wasn’t this exactly why I decided to join WARG? “To increase the chances of their survival? Kim, you made that promise to yourself as a medical expert, not some…. Anti… displacement device mabober. Then again, you also joined because you didn’t want to be left behind.”
Kimberly almost fell off from where he stood at the familiar voice. He glared at his roommate who was levitating next to Kimberly in the air. Ghost smirked, “you do get lonely very easily.”
You! YOU!“Me! ME!”
Where were you this whole time!?“Aw, did you miss me?”
Stop that. I had enough of “not giving me a straight answer” for one day. Where were you?Ghost shrugged and folded his arms, “somewhere in your mind, I would think.”
I---… Kimberly stopped midsentence, when Ghost raised his hand.
“I’m quite serious when I say that I have no idea what happened, Kim. I’ve been feeling… weird since the Caudata. It only got worse to the point that I guess… I guess I lost conscious when we met,” Ghost paused, searching for names to fit the face(s), “Sofia and Verena.”
Sofia… AND Verena? Who’s Verena?“Well, I don’t know. That other chick! I can’t tell the difference between them! It’s not like how Mil consumed the Caudata! It’s not so… Why are you looking at me like that?”
Kimberly stared at Ghost as if he was a madman who claimed that all life was made out of cheese.
What on earth are you talking about? Ghost returned the look to Kimberly, “what on earth are YOU talking about?” And so began the game of “who can make the most perplexed stare”. Unfortunately for Kimberly, his inflexible facial muscles ---created from one of the hardest stones on Atlas--- made him look more angry than confused. The game would have ended in Ghost’s victory if the game had not been cut short when their ears caught wind of Aaron’s yelling.
"WHY DID YOU STOP ME!! I COULD HAVE KILLED HIM, I COULD HAVE BURNED HIM TO CINDERS BUT YOU HAD TO STOP ME WHY??!! IS IT BECAUSE YOU STILL LOVE HIM? HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY LOVE THAT MADMAN.....!" A pillar of fire came shooting up from the ground, into the sky. As a Guardian, Kimberly could feel the power of Aaron’s spirits become stronger even from a distance. As he saw the fire die out, Kimberly jumped down from the structure and jogged his way back to where he thought the fire came from; the place where the remaining WARG group should have been.
On his way to the group, Kimberly spotted Aaron stomping off into a different direction. The expression on his face and from how unsettled his spirits was, Kimberly hesitated to say something to Aaron. It was only after Aaron was quite a distance away from him, did Kimberly finally decide to follow his friend.
After spending some time with Aaron ---though most of it was spent with Kimberly standing silently, listening to whatever Aaron wanted to say, healing any physical wounds he may have had since Kimberly could not heal the heart, and making sure his hotheaded friend would not do something stupid--- the giant eventually left Aaron to his own thoughts. Before leaving his friend, Kimberly told him, “please… don’t just… disappear… whatever you choose to do… please… at least tell us.”
Although he was fully aware the possibilities of the MIA friends being present was slim, Kimberly still felt disappointed when he returned to only see Olivia, Emily, Remiel, Royce, Magdalena, and Sofia ---or was she Verena? If anyone asked if Kimberly had any luck finding anything to indicate the whereabouts of their missing friends, the giant shook his head weakly. Now that he was much calmer than before he ran around in panic to find his friends, Kimberly finally took the time to check if anyone required healing or checkup: especially Remiel, from his brief fight with “Samuel” and Emily, who still had not received proper medical attention since the Caudata. Kimberly sighed once he did what he could, wishing there was more he could have done.
A soft breeze combed itself through Kimberly’s long hair and beard, gently caressing his cheek.
The sound of singing bowls called for Kimberly’s attention.
For the first time since their arrival, Kimberly looked directly at the mystical tree. The wind blew again, pushing the tree’s branches, making sounds that no normal tree would have made: singing bowls. Or maybe Kimberly was just simply hearing things again? It would not have surprised him if that was the case.
Kimberly had never seen a Tree of Life in his entire life, yet it made him feel nostalgia. A majority of the spirits, especially the plant spirits, seemed to agree with their host. They floated closer to the tree as if they were finally going to a place they belonged to, but then stopped abruptly. Though they did not have heads to turn, Kimberly could feel the spirits shifting their attention onto Kimberly. They were waiting for him.
The closer he got to the tree, however, the more he felt like something was attempting to pull him away, until finally the giant could not get any closer. An invisible wall prevented him from advancing. He was an animal trapped in a zoo, staring freedom in the face, but unable to make it his own. On the other side of the invisible wall, Kimberly’s plant and earth spirits continued to beckon him. How much he would have loved to go with them: the Tree of Life felt so welcoming. What was holding him back like shackles, then?
Hearing the sound of chains rattling behind him, Kimberly turned around. Ghost and the remaining spirits that resided in Kimberly ---the animal and sound spirits--- stood as far away as they could from the tree while keeping close to Kimberly as they possibly could. The sight confused him: why did they, more specifically Ghost, seem so uneasy about the beautiful and comforting tree?
“Kimberly,” Ghost said, “don’t go any further… I-… I can’t go pass that line.”
The black haired giant turned back towards the invisible wall, touching it to confirm that “this” was most likely the “line” Ghost was referring to. Could Kimberly forcefully break his way through it? From how everyone else ---his friends that he knew existed in real life--- was able to get closer without much of a problem, Kimberly could only assume there was no real danger.
Why not?Ghost smiled weakly, “because your grandparents told you ghost stories about beautiful trees that lulls you into a false sense of security before they take your soul.” The man graciously added a ghostly “Ooo!” sound effect into the last part of his sentence.
Wow. That was years ago and totally out of context. The Tree of Life doesn’t rip out the soul of the living right from its body---…“They just take spirits to a ‘better place’? Yeah. That sounds like the afterlife. Nope. No. No. We’re staying right here. Alive... or whatever it is in my case.”
Seriously? Didn’t you see the others get closer and be perfectly fine? “Still, I’m scared sh*tless. My fragile heart cannot bare such fear, oh good sir.” Ghost’s facial expression and tone were sarcastic, but Kimberly’s eyes caught the slight shivering in Ghost’s legs.
Kimberly sighed and backed away from the invisible wall.
Okay fine. I won’t go near the tree. It felt like a missed extraordinary experience, but once Kimberly saw Ghost’s relieved smile, he thought that maybe he made the right choice.
And you said I was the one who gets lonely easily.“Come on, you’re the only constant source of social interaction I have! I think it goes without saying that I’m a loner.” Ghost glanced over to the direction the remaining WARG members were at: People that he had seen just as many times as Kimberly had, yet was never truly able to interact with them like any real being could have. Whatever was passed the “line” probably meant that Ghost would be left behind, somewhere alone. Or at least, that was what Ghost seemed to think would happen.
Kimberly turned to the earth and plant spirits.
Sorry guys. I can’t go over there… but I won’t force you to stay here. That tree… that tree feels… like paradise. So I understand you wanting to leave. If, you do go, let me thank you guys… You’ve been a great help. I wouldn’t have been able to get this far without you. The spirits seemed to be disappointed in Kimberly’s final choice and he thought they would just go on without him. Instead, they returned to him, bringing along quite a number of new spirit friends along with them. He felt his powers as a Guardian increase. He thanked his old spirits for choosing to stay with him and welcomed the newcomers.
While Kimberly returned to his WARG friends, he heard Ghost complaining to the plant and earth spirits for bringing fungus and bacterium spirits back “home” in the background. As entertaining as Ghost’s ranting must have been, Kimberly ---everyone--- had more pressing matters to attend to.
There were too many unanswered questions, but also so much information that was just thrown at the group without time for them to processes it. They didn’t even know where the remaining others vanished and they still had a plate full of problems already. The team needed to organizes their thoughts and their feelings. Kimberly asked the question that everyone was not entirely ready to reply to, “what… just happened… back there?”
And what were they going to do next?
High Moon
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