Chapter 5: Converting the Non-Believing

(This chapter is weird... you've been warned!)

The halls of the Verità were silent & there was no one about. No word was said as one warrier passed the next. Silence was their friend and the Verità had a calming effect on those who entered of their free will. Silence was the friend of the Verità and as such, many had lost the will to speak and communicated instead with hand signals...

In the corner of the building near the east gate was the conference room. Silence may have been the friend of the halls but inside the mood was anything but calm. Sitting at the head, General Pikkins was in a pickle as he reviewed previous events with his warriers. Shaking his head the General cut off his senior advisor speaking and said, "I do not care about whatever scienctific methods brought the demon to our city. I don't know why he has came but I do know he is a loose cannon and must be converted or destroyed". While the General had been speaking, many in the room felt it upon themselves to do whatever their General had told them. Such was his effect and how he had been able to move up the ranks quite quickly for a commoner.

By the time he had finished speaking, all in the room had stood up and saluted and marched out. Smiling grimly to himself the General chuckled and grinned. "Still have it". Nodding to himself he muttered a few words and vanished leaving the room as silent as it had been before. Looking as though it had not been touched in a few thousand years. Such was the way of the Verità.

I stepped through the portal to earth and found myself surrounded by a crowd of reporters while I was butt naked wearing only a black pendant. Frowning I surveyed my surroundings and noticed that I was surrounded by a crowd that seemed to go on for miles long and no one seemed to care that I had nothing on. Strange I thought, but then I saw that everyone's attention was pointed to the platform that was behind me. Quickly I conjured up some clothes and sighed in relief at not having to display myself any longer.

Now that I had a second to think, I examined the pendant and noticed that there was a single sigla on it, "?". Chinese, I mused, it looks like the Chinese word for... lock. So Figlio doesn't trust me, good judgment I thought. Nodding to myself I searched the lock's magical structure for a seam and was shocked to find how easy it was to break. Tracing the Chinese word for key in the air, "??" the lock instantly broke open and dissolved.

Grinning I turned my attention back to the stage and noticed that it was ridiculously quiet for the amount of people present. Everyone seemed to be holding their breathe waiting for something to happen. The slow build of anticipation that made everyone tense even affected me and I licked my parched lips wondering what was going to happen.

And then it happened, no fancy light shows, no destructive bombs, people being executed just an old man with a cane with the insignia 'General' on his left shoulder. He looked old and everything about him screamed experience. He had a half smile sort of look and... Around his neck was the gold pendant Figlio wanted! Thinking this task would be easy, I concentrated on displacing the time continuum and summoning the pendant to my neck. Instead of feeling the solid gold around my neck, nothing happened except for the General to look in my direction and give me a grim smile.

"My friends," The general started, "today I have called you to discuss a very important matter. For within our midst is a coward. One who comes with the intent of destruction of the very foundation of the Verità. He is from a distant universe and has been corrupted by the Dark Ones. He is in this very crowd" With that the General waved his hand and suddenly my picture was in the air for everyone to see. Attempting to turn invisible, nothing happened and I started to get frustrated when my powers once again didn't work. Of course by that time everyone had saw me, and after a quick fight I was subdued and brought to the front.

General Pikkins had a plan, when he walked on the stage he knew exactly what to say to convince everyone to find the demon that their arch enemy Figlio had sent. He scanned the crowd for signs of Figlio's seal and tensed when he didn't find any. He started to feel a little uneasy, his plan needed for the boy to be in the crowd. And then he felt it, it was done so clumsily he was able to block it without any second thought, and looked around. As he found the boy he smiled grimly at him while he made a mental picture in his mind how he looked like. Starting his speech he made sure that the boy wasn't going anywhere. When he was finished talking he waved his hands and the boy was found and subdued. Brought up to stage the General prepared to transport the two to the privacy of his room for interrogation.

The boy tried his powers a few more times but each time it was done so bluntly that the General was able to block it and weaken the boy's power a little more. He was not surprised that the boy was so young and he also wasn't terribly concerned about that fact. Younger boys had been sent and he supposed that the younger they were, the easier they were to lie to and corrupt.

Nodding to himself he did a closing speech, gave the crowd some reassuring words and transported himself and the boy to his room. The boy had lost consciousness during the ride and he quickly and efficiently tied him up using his strongest restrainers. No sense in taking chances he thought. With that he left the room waiting for the boy to wake up, so that he could interrogate him and convert him, or if that didn't work, destroy.

I woke up feeling numb and disoriented. I suppose it served me right for trying to go against one of the top brass even if he was the opposition and I felt as if Figlio had sent me on a fool's errand. Curse that bastard, I thought. It's his fault I'm in this sort of mess. Trying to get up, I noticed I was restrained with some odd looking hand-cuffs. Using my super-enhanced strength (or was it?) I tried to pull the bars apart and not-surprisingly nothing happened. The room opened and that cursed General slowly made his way to me, with a glass of water in his hand.

Not exactly feeling the most trusting at that particular moment, when he offered me the drink, I spat in his face. Yes I thought, that was really going to help my situation. The General just wiped the leftover residue off his face and gave me that same grim smile he had given me when I was in the crowd.

Opening his mouth the General said "Why did the dark one send you? Why did he send someone so incompetent he couldn't even take off a token necklace off my neck. Was this supposed to be a joke?" All the while he was talking I started feeling worse and worse. A fucking token necklace? To say that Figlio sent me on a fool's errand was questionable. To have actual proof that the bastard just sent me so I could be caught by some old fart who could block my powers made me start to get angry.

I felt a sizzle where my cuffs were and I noticed that in my anger I had finally been able to reach some faucet of my powers. I looked at the General and I saw that he had stopped speaking and now he was observing me with those eyes of his. Deciding to try my luck one last time, I played him on. I made an apologetic smile and raised my hands in a I mean no harm sign. Then when I saw his shoulders had relaxed, in a movement so fast it was humanly impossible, I cupped my hands together and hit him, black crane style... Only to have my hand hit away so fast that I couldn't even see it and only knew I had not scored a hit by the sore spot on my wrist where he had hit me.

The General stood up and said "You have proved how corrupted you are. You are in need of cleansing and after that re-education." Not liking the sound of re-education I felt I had to give it one last attempt. Mind Control, as fast as the crane, I dove right in past his defenses and I was in his head for a total of 3.47 seconds before I was pushed out and mentally thrown against the opposite wall. Continuing he said "if after all our attempts to change you, you do not co-operate, you will be destroyed your body cast into oblivion your name never spoken in this universe again."

With that he was next to me, ripped off my shirt, threw me down to the ground and placed his hands on my back. At first nothing happened and I had a bravado thought of how his stupid tricks weren't going to work on me. And then I felt it, a slight discomfort and then bang it felt like my mind was on fire. Memories of every single event in my life flew by in my mind. The terror of my parents, the abuse of my sister, the lack of friends, the torture by my classmates... All my life was right in front of my eyes. With each thought some part of my mind started passing judgment on my actions. For the most part my mind was at peace with everything I had done. Some things it did not approve such as hacking into the computers of my bullies and wrecking havoc upon their household, but for the most part I was okay with what I had done in my life.