… Flora’s mind was in an ocean, swimming aimlessly between the waves. It was nowhere that she went to, nor anywhere that she came from. The only thing there to be was above her, a cool, grey sky. She felt cold, enough to make her aware of the surroundings, and yet she was numb. Each one of her extremities, such as her fingers or her nose, felt the least. Yet all she wanted to do, was to rest. It became the opposite to how her morning has been. Ever since she learned about her mom, she couldn’t help but move. She couldn’t sit still. She couldn’t think about anything but her. She though she could get her mind off of it by performing her duties as one of the warriors. Maybe to see if she was actually worth it. Looking at it so far, it probably wasn’t a good idea. She wasn’t never going to become a leader. She never had what it takes to become one. She didn’t even had what it takes to become a warrior in the first place! She was nothing. A kid who happened to be a waste. A nobody’s business. She should just let herself be washed away and- Yeowch! I heard you already! Geez, that was actually loud! Since when can you be loud inside the mind? Flora tried to move her head around, only to find something getting in the way. Something was restraining her head and neck, despite the fluid surface she was lying on. She noticed the same restraints extended down to her shoulders, arms, stomach, legs and feet. Already getting uncomfortable just by feeling them, the restraints unexpectedly became even more constricting. What’s going on? Why am I…? I am now! I think…Like, it’s like I was falling asleep or something! And it’s super cold too! I can’t feel my fingers! Or my toes! Wait, do you know where everyone else is?! Are they safe!? Well that’s just unfortunate… Flora took a whiff of the cool air. Something about it was familiar, so much that despite herself being in an ocean, she thought that maybe she was actually back home. She’s been to enough beaches to know how an ocean smelled like, for one. If they were probably back home, then there was a likelihood that this “fluid” and the “restraints” were all part of the Torque. If she could only know if the others are okay, but who was to say she couldn’t just call their names? That sounded like a plan, she should try yelling something out. Then again, the sky started to wiggle its clouds at her. What a funny image, a wiggling cloud. Like a warm, but less gross. She actually thought about again, how great it would be at those clouds, far away from all those troubles… She’ll just fall upwards, further and further away. No one had to wait for her. All she had to do was disappear for a while, to feel at peace, to forget about everyone… All into the abyss… … It was a cold splash of water that woke Chester up. Blinking fast, then sputtering, he quickly lifted himself up on all fours. There was an acute pain in the upper half of his stomach, making the poor boy wonder if he just ruptured an organ. He grunted a bit, wanting the pain to go away, but his eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, while checking for his sword. It was thankfully there, according to Azure. Great to hear, replied Chester. I think I need a minute, or something. It’s there that Chester quickly realized what just happened. He explored the ground beneath him, tentatively, getting the feel of the mud and the ice. He got up to his feet, holding the sword high enough to block his face with the blade. Turning around, did he finally saw the clown. He was sitting idly on the fence board, barely bending it with his weight, while casually trimming his nails that ripped through his gloves. There was a giant, unnerving smile stuck on his face, which looked permanently stuck. For that moment, Chester quickly began noticing everything else that has become wrong with the clown, like the scars, the eyes, the clothing…The general has seemingly became less put together. “Well, well, well, well, well, well, well…well,” the clown said, teetering his head, yet not moving his mouth, somehow. “Look who has woken up from his nap! Gosh, I thought you’d never do!” Chester got a better grip of the sword. The pain had slowly subsided, thankfully, but Chester felt a bit shaken. warned Azure. I got it! Chester took a quick whiff. “Nice try there,” admitted Chester, letting the air out, “you took me by surprise.” He then noticed Pierre, or his body, idly passing his side. His hands were wet. The young crow made his way to the clown, then turned on his heels, then took an idle stance next to him. “What are you trying to do here!?” Chester yelled, “What did you do to her!? “Oi-Hohohohohohoho! My boy, you don’t think I would ever come here and have fun with you…without having fun doing that, hmm?” The clown climbed off of his perch, then moved to “Pierre.” He gently laid his hand on to of the white feather on Pierre’s head, before commencing stroking it. “Oh, I am not going to let this be as is, without making sure I can wring as much suffering and pain as I can from you! Look at it this way, I am an unnatural abomination, a creation of darkness and whatnot, who seeks the despair of others to thrive. I need SOME sort of entertainment alongside that too! Plus, to let you on a little secret, I’m not that good on hand-to-hand fights myself.” He grabbed Pierre by the back of the collar, and liften him into the air with just index and thumb. “Not that you ever, of course, destroy me, but it is quite a liability. So that’s why I like to take on these types of games, which also happens to be…fun!” The clown raised his free hand. Concurrently, so did “Pierre’s” own hand, taking the same position. They both then made a circling wave to Chester, as the former let out a sinister chuckle. Chester’s teeth were being gritted. This clown was annoying him, despite the fact he hadn’t done much, except for teasing. And Chester knew exactly how teasing worked. He had done it himself numerous times! And yet, these things just added to his frustration. He wasn’t going to let that clown win this that easily. Azure said. He was analyzing their initial attack. Suddenly, Chester could feel himself calm down, just a tiny bit. Wait, you think he made Pierre’s dinky fists hit us? Since when he is strong enough to do that!? He could barely lift a watermelon without a problem! deduced Azure. Huh? Wait, are you telling me…me and everyone got magical powers…and we didn’t even know that!? The clown gave a hearty laugh from afar. Chester returned back to reality, and settled into his stance again. The clown had let go of Pierre already, and was in the middle of rubbing his palms together. “Let me guess, you were still wondering how I attacked you earlier? Hohohoho…Well, how about I make this easier for you, by showing you exactly how I did it!” The clown waved his hand once. “Pierre” lunged right at Chester, in manner that looked like he was just thrown by an unseen force. Chester watched this with bulging eyes, as the smaller crow boy was flying into his face with a kick. The blue warrior raised his hand in time, thanks to Azure, blocking a surprisingly strong swing of the leg. Right there, Chester became fully convinced about how powerful “Pierre” actually was. prompted Azure, making Chester release his sword. He pushed his hand forward, but the boy had already gone out of his reach. “Nuh-uh-uh-uh!” taunted the clown. Chester tried to locate the small marionetted boy, but the latter already positioned himself right below the former’s armpit. He punched right into the torse, somewhere below the ribs, flaring up again the same pain that Chester initially woke up with. Chester grunted in mix of hurt and frustration. “Right in the belfry!” the clown announced. “Oi-Hohohohohohohohoho!” “Stand still!” Chester growled through the teeth, then dropped and spun himself to do a backward sweep. Pierre quickly jumped, but Chester took this chance to reach his hand again. If the latter was more agile, he had definitely gained reach in return. “C’mere!” Chester wrapped his hand around the crow’s ankle. The latter barely had time to react, when Chester pulled him off balance with just one tug. Chester smiled triumphantly. “No more running from you!” He pinned “Pierre” right into the ground. “Alright, how do we turn you back normal-“ “Enjoy this!” yelled the clown, right in the middle of the swing. Chester didn’t have time to realize that it was a hammer’s head that came at him, as he flew into the air for a few feet. It was high enough that the orphans could have seen him pass by their bedroom window. They didn’t, because of Chester’s earlier specification that no one should peek outside, something that Matthew took to heart. Which was why both Brian and Yuri were the only ones who noticed the blue blur that arched in the sky. “You saw that!!?” “Sure did!” they told one another. “Get down!” shushed Lily at them, only for a sound of something crashing to spook all of the kids. Matthew in particular felt all of his fluff and feather stand up all over his body. “You heard that!?” gasped Cindy. “Something crashed!” “Something big, like a car!” Gawain exclaimed. “Or a truck!” Gavin exclaimed. “Or a meteor!” Gawain one upped his brother. “No way that’s a meteor!” Gavin protested. “Who said so?” Gawain retorted, but Lily put her leathery finger up his muzzle. “Guys, keep quiet,” Lily whispered to them. “Sorry,” both of them said to her. In a second, silence overtook the room once again. Matthew could only hear some murmurs of the kids just asking simple questions, such as how long it will take or what the other was doing, or if they wanted to play a game. It was a game of silence, where those who can endure the most will be rewarded. Not that anyone knew what the reward was, except for Matthew. In his mind, it was all a matter of, well, several things, like survival, and maybe being able to follow the promises kept. And his promise of keeping them away from danger will be kept by him, no matter the efforts. And so, Matthew kept himself tightly in one spot. His head held low, thanks to his flexible neck, enough to hide behind the bed. His legs were held in his arms. He barely rocked, for the sake of not making even a sound. He was doing the perfect job of hiding himself from danger. Nothing will attack him, as long as he will hide near the bed, make no sound and do nothing else. The children will be safe as long as he does as he was told. It has to be so, those were the rules, correct? “I need to pee,” Bobby said, within his earshot. “Hold it in, dummy!” whispered Brian. “I really have to!” the former moaned. Matthew listened to few more complaints. Few things came up in his mind, such us the theoretical philosophy of choice, and how everything was predestined from the beginning. A person has been imbued with power of choice, since the dawn of time. This power of choice grants them an ability to ignore even the most basic of animalistic instincts, right down to basic needs. One could say, learning to ignore the basic need was a sign of enlightenment, an enriching exercise that could open a person’s mind to the beauty of the world, and perhaps should be practice at a very young age. That was what exactly he should say to him, thought Matthew. “I go with you,” whispered Lily, grabbing Bobby’s hand. Matthew turned his head, and then watched as the little bat-girl carefully crawled with the young penguin towards the door. The goose had definitely noticed how much the two seemed to have good trust with one another, being able to confidently pass through this rather tumultuous moment of their lives. Such act of calmness, perseverance and bravery were all exceptionally praiseworthy, and even he himself see no need to say otherwise. Of course, being the older kid, it would be even more praiseworthy for him to be the one to actually take charge, but who was to say that kids shouldn’t take initiative? “Try not to die!” Brian told them. “We won’t,” Lily replied flatly. “Please don’t die!” Mimmy exclaimed. “We won’t don’t worry!” Lily said, right as they reached the door. “We’ll go there and be back. Nothing will happen.” Of course nothing will happen, Matthew agreed in his mind. Of course, considering the slew of nightmarish powers that that horrifying clown had shown them yesterday, who knew what kind of things they would face if they were out of that door. He might had been already standing right outside, waiting just for them to open, then come inside and eat them all in one gulp. Of course, he could have easily done that much earlier. Maybe he really was too far away to even hurt them. But again, they were dealing with an unknown variable right here, and if Matthew knew about unknown variables, it was that they were really unknown. “Ok, get ready,” Lily said to Bobby, before reaching for the doorknob. Matthew once again thought about the clown. There was nothing stopping that monster from coming after them. Maybe it was him that crash into something earlier. Maybe it was Chester who was winning the fight. He could check, but that would require looking through the window, and he couldn’t have that. There must be a more logical way for them to come to a decision- “See ya!” Bobby said, waving his hand, as he and Lily peeked into the gap of the door. They scanned the surrounding carefully, as if to see if something were to attack them. What if were something to happen to them? “Let me!” Matthew yelled. Each and every orphan in the room jumped, as the goose cleared his throat with honks. “Not to worry, young one, I, as a responsible elder, shall take you to your restroom,” he said, now standing, taking Bobby by arm. He turned to Lily, “And you, young lady, can stand behind without a worry! This will only take but a minute!” Lily looked at him in surprise. Behind them, Matthew could exactly the type of feelings she had for the whole situation. Feeling such as fear, anxiety, panic! And yet, this little girl chose to ignore them to help a fellow orphan without batting an eye. This was the true camaraderie! The true power of choice! And Matthew, himself a person with same power, felt it in himself to exercise it just as well! Besides, it was a simple act in grand scheme of things, which, as he said, could only take a minute, tops. “I think I wanna poo too,” Bobby suddenly mentioned. The goose hummed. “Perhaps more,” Matthew added. “Alright, let us not delay, not before the clown comes.” He grabbed the door handle, “Now, ready? Then go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!” Lily watched the two boys dash into the hall, then slam the door shut. There were some shuffling until another door slam was heard, presumably as Matthew found where the restroom was. She turned away from the door, returning to sit with the others, still looking surprised. “You think Chester will win?” Yuri suddenly asked out loud. Each orphan exchanged looks. “Eh, I think’s he’s probably fine,” Lily replied first, shrugging simply. “Who wants to play a game?” All of the kids agreed in unison, before moving into the circle. This won’t take long. …