My heads spins like I've upside down for much too long. Pain from additionally cracked ribs beg me to collapse, but blind rage controls me as if I'm possessed. I can't escape this old person that is another part of me.

I think I hear Kai's voice, but my ears sound like they are beneath the water, muddling my surroundings. 

Why is it so hot in here? I feel like the sun is baking my insides.

Vidya. She needs to die.

This thought drives into my head from another time, taking control of all my actions. Kai, she isn't safe here. Maximus tried to kill her. He let Vidya sale me to the government, he knew and did nothing. We're in danger, it's not safe here.

The world seems distant and surreal, as if what I lived is nothing more than a nightmare. But the emotions controlling me are all too real, untamed, and dangerous. I fear for Kai's safety, from not just Maximus, but myself. I need to gain control.  I can't. But I must.

A single word penetrates my conscious mind, it calms the whirl wind surrounding me and allows my vision to clear.

"Mother."

The fact that certain words hold control over me hurts. It makes me feel like an unnatural monster. But that's what I am aren't I? Once my memories manage to sort themselves beyond emotion, I may be able to see facts clearly. All I know is I'm not human, and neither is Kai. We are something created by Vidya, Kai she kept, but me she abandoned.

Why? I wish I knew.

All I feel is an empty loneliness, that no one in my life took the time to notice.

Once my vision full clears, I regain use of my limbs, lowering Kai to the ground. Even though she has no idea, just by rambling she's saved us both. Her ability to say many words in one breath is like a super power, one I appreciate and find adorable.

My neck gets hotter than the rest of my body. Did I think adorable? What I meant to think is useful, that's the perfect word.

"Hello? Are you in there Grayson? You look a bit less possessed now, but I still haven't heard any reply, and now your face is redder than an over ripe tomato." Kai declares, as all my senses return to normal.

I cough leaning against the wall awkwardly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, I was just uh, sleep walking."

Nice lie. Why are we lying to her anyway? Oof, I hate how I keep thinking of myself as two people, this is kinda creepy. The guy I was isn't who I am. I forgot all that stuff for a reason, and it should've stayed forgotten. Especially since I still have no idea what happened to Kai's parents. All I learned is I hate them, her mother especially, well 'mother' they aren't biologically related from my understanding.

Kyle doesn't know. He has no idea what she did, no clue what Kai is. And Vidya wanted it to stay that way, even after Maximus found out. That's all of the details that came into my mind clearly. Everything else is a jumbled up nothingness. How do you tell or convince a cute stranger that her mother is a deranged mad scientist?

I need to talk to....

"Max!" Kai screams, just as an object collides with my head.

My body crumples to the floor, slipping into unconsciousness.

...............

I wake up gasping as frigid water is poured on my head. My reflex to wipe it off my face is stopped by some sort of wrist restraint. Blinking the water out of my eyes, I see metal clasps that are secured to a chair. Oh boy, what did I do to Maximus while I was in that emotional hurricane state?

"Look who's finally awake, are you in the mood to send a few punches flying? Or has the passed? After you attacked me, I saw you run after Kai. It took awhile after that pounding, but I managed to get up. By the time I reached your location, you were back to an innocent boyish attitude. Is that a farce you put on just for her? Or is this psycho stuff attached to an on and off switch? I'm not going to say anything until I know what you know, get talking." Maximus declares sitting down in a seat on the opposite side of the room with a small oddly shaped gun he trains on me.

I sigh, I just want to take a break from all of this craziness and have a moment of normalcy. But that's just not how my day seems to be going does it?

"I know you tried to kill Kai, and Vidya forbid you from interfering in her 'experiment'. Neither of us are human, and you know that. Before I lost my memory, she sold me to the government, which you also knew, but did nothing about. Kyle wasn't told about any of this. He thought they kidnapped me, you let him think that. What kind of a friend does that? You're all monsters." I spat.

The irritation and general resentment I feel for him is unable to stay hidden beneath the surface any longer. Perhaps it is uncontrollable because I am weary of this charade they all play, or for the one I made myself walk through. I have always tried to look for the good in everyone, even those who hurt me, there has to be a reason for their actions, they couldn't possibly be all bad. But as I look into the eyes of a man who knew of so much bad and chose to stand aside, I question if all of humankind is truly a wicked, soulless species.

"How much did she pay you to keep it quiet? Thousands? Millions? Or was it your gesture of friendship?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

Maximus adjusts his shattered spectacles. "It was not either of those things, Grayson. I did not know of your existence until Vidya brought Kai here. After the crack opened in this universe, I investigated and found out what Vidya had done. But I knew it was too late to fix things. With whatever you discovered in your search while in captivity, I'm sure it just pointed to you being an artificially created human. But, there's more to it than that."

He pauses. It's obvious he is internally debating how much he should tell me, if any. "Even though I'm wary of saying anything, you have a right to know what your true origins are. Before you and Kai were even a thought, we traveled across many galaxies. One in particular that we returned to had a void form as a result of our presence, or so we thought. Vidya had made friends with a particular humanoid and her children. She managed to rescue one of them, but he couldn't survive in our atmosphere and died a week later."

"Something in her snapped after that. She just wasn't herself anymore, and abandoned our project. I didn't find out till later she started one of her own. Using the DNA of that child, she recreated the species through the partial use of artificial means. You are descended from a dead race. Something she did not consider, is that there's always a consequence when something unnatural like this is performed. The same day as your creation, another world died. Because what you are, is a living, breathing, galaxy. Capable of creating something from what seems like nothing, but is truly the death of other living things. I told Kai the truth that I used to know, tha the voids appeared from our presence in other dimensions, because she cannot handle all of it."

"At least not yet... " He stops for a moment, lost in thought.

There's more to his reason as to why he doesn't want to tell Kai the full truth, but I chose not to press him.

"Vidya tested both of your powers more than once, they created black holes and swallowed countless dimensions. I originally thought these were a result of an unnatural presence, but after I found that the timing of each one lined up with a specific energy pattern, I traced it to you and Kai. Every time you were forced to use your abilities, a black hole appeared to swallow up a world, to provide you with the energy to complete it."

"Then how does that explain the original reason for my supposed ancestors death? What caused their destruction?" I ask, quickly noticing how that would not have lined up with either of our timelines.

"On that planet, certain children were born with the power, but were forbidden from using it. I conclude that on that day, one of them did, and it doomed them all. There were rumors of uprisings, of certain folks wanting to use their illegal abilities. But not all of them were aware of the consequences, it was shoved beneath the rug so to speak. If they had openly talked about it, all of this could've been prevented." He replies standing up. "Though that simply isn't how governments run is it?"

"Now that both of you are here, earth is in danger of being destroyed. You two being together creates an invisible pull of the planets energies towards yourselves, ripping open the already present crack in our reality further. The best thing for everyone, is for you and Kai to be as far from each other as possible, bringing a balance to the dimensions in between. I'm glad Kai did not end up killing you. I originally thought that would have solved our problem, until on my flight back, my researchers reported back to me and discovered that upon death, you yourself would become a void and swallow everything in our realm of existence."

"Why are you keeping all of this from her? Do you plan on tossing her into some random galaxy without reason? That's not right." I declare as he turns his face away from me.

Even though I have only known Kai a short time, I've taken a liking to her. She's kind, sarcastic, and rambles like no tomorrow. But what scares me most for her, is the blind, innocent trust that she'd given me. At first she was cautious, but in the basement, she could've gotten hurt, had she not found the word to bring me out of that state. Putting her alone in a strange dimension would be like tossing her to the wolves. Maximus wouldn't do that, would he?

"If you had been there the day she came into my home, distraught after losing everything, you would want to protect her like I have. Despite knowing what she is, I can't help but see her humanity, she's like a daughter to me. I don't want to lose her." Maximus states taking out a needle.

I adjust my body, shifting uncomfortably. "But you would send her far away without any knowledge? What's in that?"

"A tracker that will allow me to monitor your bodies chemical levels. To bring Kai the closure she deserves, I need to send both of you back into the world you have become familiar with as your home. But I refuse to do so without certain precautions. This will release a substance to make you fall asleep if your levels reach what they did when you attacked me. That way, if you go crazy again, she will not get hurt." Maximus replies, grabbing me by the hair and stabbing the needle into my neck before I have a chance to protest.

"What if they change because of us getting attacked? Or discovering something disturbing?" I ask, trying to understand the full effects of what he just injected me with.

"This device isn't untested, you should be fine. Just don't think of murdering anyone, sometimes that makes it go a little crazy." Maximus states patting my shoulder before releasing me from the chair.

"Go down the hall, pass by three doors and turn to your right. That will lead to a bathroom full of medical supplies. Clean and patch yourself up, then go up the stairs at the end of the hall. Breakfast is in an hour, don't be late. If you do anything unpleasant, prepare to take a long nap." Maximus says leaving me in the room with the door open.

Staring after him suspiciously, I wait for him to come back with a change of heart. I do not understand that fellow, the strange Maximus Hamilton.

The hatred I felt for him seems to be almost non-existent, after hearing him talk about how much he cares for Kai. But, how can he feel that way about someone he attempted to murder as a toddler?

Nothing about his affection makes sense to me, but then again, Vidya's towards Kai does not either.

I can't believe he plans on sending us back into my dimension. The entire government knows what I am, they will not stop until I am captured or destroyed. Sending Kai there with me is suicide, not only are we likely to die, but we'll take everyone with us. Perhaps even worse. For what happens when two black holes meet?

Our death would likely destroy every dimension that has come in contact with mine. Which would include the place Kai grew up on, earth.

WC 22,872