If Yori could lean ba his chair, he would have at that moment. The ominous presence of the mawofold for Yori, making him realizing that he should no longer have expectations on his limits. ‘…what do I do? I…’

  Yori felt a new yer of sweat cover him as his mind spun in fear. He didn’t know if he had the will to resist whatever they had pnned. If the situation was normal, he thought that he might stand a bsp; Yet there was nothing normal for him. They could literally make anything they o break him, that sihought spread unendihrough his body.

  Time passed quickly at an unknown pace to Yori. He became entranced within his paralysis. Not until a heavy hand firmly gripped his shoulder did Yori snap back to reality. His eyes blinked, removing the st image and updating the surroundings.

  The pt of everyone ged and he khat he entered a different moment. The woma his sight and the first man he spoke with held to the er. Only the fear indug man still held a spot simir to before. Yori suddenly gasped on air, realizing that he held taking in a breath.

  The Atntean leaned in a little further to Yori. “So you’re silence means you pn to resist.” He looked up over Yori’s shoulder at the reparing behind him.

  Still trying to catch up ohing, Yori didn’t even know how much time had passed. Everything suddenly seemed to move quickly beyond his pabsp; They forced him to follow with the pace they dictated to him. Realization came te, when he uood the meaning of the man’s words. ‘…but I haven’t even decided yet!’

  Yori felt like the path in front of him shifted and forced him down it with hands shoving him the entire way. He wanted more time, but felt guilty in thinking that he should need any for such a decision. Each sed he hesitated, the lohat he hurt his sister. ‘…Yumi, I must hold strong…’ His back stiffened a little and straightened as he prepared himself and presented his captors with a decisive stare.

  ‘He’s really going through it…didn’t think it would e to this…’ thought Simonides. The full abilities of Athene had never been required in an interrogation. A simple intrusion would always be enough. Usually, the pain attributed to the resistance was enough to break those sidered unbreakable. Simonides imagihat with these powers, a pletely safe method without pain ossible, but interrogations rarely worried about the delicate nature of the individual.

  The sight of a teenager made him question his resolve to carry out. ‘They’re all just kids and we’ve already fought them. This shouldn’t be any different.’ He gave a nod to Atheo begin.

  Uainty to the degree of pain made Yori’s anticipation rise further. He rolled his fingers roughly against his palms, doing anything to calm himself and prepare. The restricted movement of his body made the uurn into a foul substahin his stomach that threateo enter his throat. Yori swallowed roughly trying to keep everything down. ‘…sister…’

  A red ring waded through the ground expanding beyond the tent to disappear from sight. The ground remained unged, but behind Yori’s chair, a wide metal tube extruded up from the surfabsp; As it tio grow taller, a base formed and bolted itself into the ground for support.

  Ohe tube reached shoulder height rusioed from the metal. Pstic like arms formed stretg out and gripping firmly to Yori’s shoulder, the tact made his body jump however little possible. The top of the tube ended behind the head and spread out into a wider mouth opening. From the opening sprung more than a dozen wires with small circur discs attached to the end. Moving around like tentacles of a squid, the wires spread around all sides of Yori’s head h in position.

  On the final firmation signal from the Captain, the wires dove in burying uhe hair. Yori looked only slightly disturbed by the a and almost fused expeg something worse. However, he let up too early. His head jerked back suddenly in pain as all of the wires ied needles through his scalp and made pinging tact with his skull.

  The slight scraping of the needles against bone didn’t unnerve him the most from the experienbsp; Rather, the eg that pulsed through his brain threateo unhinge him with sensations that he couldn’t quantify. It didn’t feel like a headache or painful aainly not pleasant, but closer to water being poured directly on his brain and bsted out to leave everything ringing.

  The sensatio him unbanced and ready to fall over. He felt as though he hung on the side of a wall with only the chair that kept him from falling, yet k not to be true. His sense of dire ged again almost as quickly leaving him on a steep slope, the sudden shift made him want to throw up. ‘This ’t be all of it… disorientation, no it probably hasn’t even begun…’

  Assumption turo certainty for Yori. The sensation calmed and his baarted to return, but a stabbing pain rammed through the back of his head. Yori coughed and gasped in surprise. It felt as though a spear pluhrough his head and poked at the back of his eyes. He wao lift his hands up to feel if any of the pain he felt was real, but he could only hope. His body felt as though it emptied a liter of sweat in seds as the pain tinued in pulsing fashion so that he couldn’t bee even a little aced to it. It uhrough his brain cutting, stabbing, poking and scrapping as it dug deeper.

  Further in the pain traveled, the more he k began to search for the ahat they sought. ‘I ’t…let them…’ He didn’t even know if a scream came from his mouth as the digging tinued. The more he wa to stop the worse it became. Yori was certain he had to be screaming. The screeg in his brain ripped him from all of his senses of reality with only pain as the only feeli. ‘…Yumi!’

  Chapter 128 – Breaking Through

  ‘…Yumi!’

  Yumi’s head snapped bad her eyes opened wide, but the sky dider her vision. She saw a lowly lit tent and two figures in front of her. It felt like she sat in a chair and an oppressive force smmed down around her. ‘Where am I?’ Another bolt of pain through her head made her jump a little. ‘…the pain…’

  Her vision turned down seeing legs rattling at the legs of a chair she had never seen before with a body that she reized, but knew not to be her. It only took moments to make the e. ‘Yori!’ In that instant, she felt that she stood o him and saw everything. She had finally returo him a safe again.

  However, darkness fell over her suddenly and she lost sight of everything. ‘Yori! Where did you go!? e babsp; Brother!’ Yumi threw out her hands trying to grab on to him, but found nothing. Emptiness surrounded her and she was alone, again.

  A dot of a light sprung free from the endless void to give her dire. She stretched up towards it, as it grew wider to fill her view. Yumi jerked forward suddenly in darkness again screaming. “Yori!” The darkness around her didn’t feel as imperable as before and gave her warmth. She looked around seeing a fire set and the outlines of her friends. “Huh?”

  “You’re awake,” said Fumiko, the o Yumi. She shifted her position a little to approach Yumi now that she woke. “You had us a little worried.”

  Yumi searched around trying to find her brother. ‘I just saw him! I know it! But he’s gone…now…’ Her shoulders colpsed a little with the hope she had fading away. It took her another mio sort her presey and past. “What happened?”

  “You screamed in pain and colpsed. You fell unscious soon after.”

  “Unscious? How long have I been out?” She stood up quickly realizing that the daylight had long since disappeared. All arouhe stars in the night sky surrounded her providing an unfamiliar view. Her legs felt weak a moment after the rush passed away and she stumbled. Fumiko ran to catch her quickly enough before she hit the ground. “Ugh…I feel so lightheaded suddenly…”

  Fumiko grimaced a little at the carelessness. “You probably shouldn’t stand up so quickly. You’re still not fully awake.”

  “But!” Yumi struggled in the hold wanting to stand back up. She had to keep moving. “My Brother’s out there still! I ’t stop!”

  “You ’t rescue him if you’re uo walk!” Her voice got the attention of Yumi and froze her in her arms for the moment. “Rest a little and we’ll tinue once you’re ready. You won’t do him any good as you are now.”

  Yumi wao protest further, but between the gre from Fumiko and the loopy feeling in her head, still she relented. “…alright…” Fumiko eased her back down to the grass. Once seated, she pulled her legs up close to her chest. Across from the campfire, Seiji id back away from the light making it difficult to tell if he was asleep. Chiharu leaned forward with her legs crossed and eyes closed. Her body looked pletely still with not even a breath disturbing her. Yumi didn’t even know if she was alive.

  With Yumi settled down, Fumiko felt that she could rex and sat back down at the fire. She saw the distant and uled look of Yumi as she tried to figure out what happened. The abruptness of her episode made them all fused and wanting answers. Fumiko leaned a little closer to Yumi, not wanting to bother the others. “Are you in pain still?”

  It took Yumi a moment to notice that Fumiko asked her a question. She tilted her head up towards Fumiko slowly. “No, I’m fine now.” Yumi thought about it, the se from before. Each stabbing and rippi pletely real a did not even feel like it happened. “I… I…”

  “Do you know what caused it?”

  “No… I’m not sure it really happened.” The lohat she thought about it the faster the sensation evaporated. She tried to hold on tighter to the feeling as much as it scared her, but it fled from her. “I don’t know if it was me.”

  Fumiko tilted her head to the side in fusion. She didn’t expect a simple answer, but the responses from Yumi made less sehahought possible. “How could it not be you? You were in pain and screaming. I’m pretty sure that means something happeo you. Was it one of the enemy maybe? We didn’t see anyone, but maybe you felt something like before?”

  Yumi shook her head. The feeling that she had before when attacked didn’t have the same feeling. “No, it wasn’t the same. I don’t uand all of my powers very well, but those I think are premonitions that I have. I feel what will happen if I don’t absp; This wasn’t the same.”

  “Maybe it was them using their powers to cause you pain.”

  “But they didn’t attabsp; It would not make much sense if they just stopped.”

  “Perhaps they wao dey us?”

  “I guess…” Yumi searched through the remnants of what remained for her. ‘I remember thinking about Yori then, but why?’ Her brother had e to her suddenly when she felt the pain. It felt like a rea or instinct to her. She didn’t uand why she thought of him when the pain hit her. “It ’t be a ce…”

  Yumi’s voice barely made it to Fumiko, but she put together the words. She found something. “What is it, Yumi? I remember something?”

  “I’m not sure, but I thought of Yori when it happened.” Her mind scoured over the pieces. She recalled the strange feeling she had of being with her brother. The tent came back to her and the people. “I saw that man!”

  “Who?”

  “He was standing with the other soldiers that attacked us. I saw him with Yori! I know it!” Yumi stood up on her feet feeling energy ba her body. Yori was alive and she stood o him. She turned over to Fumiko more certain about where he was than before. “I know where my brother is!”

  Fumiko rushed to her feet trying to slow down Yumi, sensing that she might run off. She grabbed onto Yumi’s shoulders to ground her. “What’re you talking about, Yumi? Who did you see?”

  “I know, Fumiko! It’s clear to me! I was with my brother!” Yumi nodded reaffirming her certainty to herself. The fusion on Fumiko’s face did not even process through her head. Her mind pletely narrowed to a pinpoint on the e she made. “He’s tied to a chair in a tent. I felt it. I saw it! The soldiers had him. They’re trying to get him to talk and he’s struggling to hang on! I have to get to him now!”

  “Yumi! Get a hold of yourself! You’re not making any sense!” Fumiko found that she o use her strength to keep Yumi from moving. She struggled in an absent seh her, as though not really seeing Fumiko. “Yumi?”

  “He’s waiting for me! I have to go now!”

  A solid wind pounded into Fumiko knog her off her feet. Fumiko didn’t know what happened in the moments with her head reeling. She looked through blurry eyes from the grass to see the feet of Yumi march off from the camp. It took her even loo pull herself back up to her feet, the pain iomach still lingered. ‘What was that?! What got into her?’ Fumiko turned over to Yumi in the distanbsp; “Yumi! e back!”

  A white square room surrounded Yori with a simple white table and chair. He sat before it with his hands resting in his p. All of the pain disappeared, but he didn’t know when it happened. Yori searched around the empty room seeing no windows or doors. It was a solid seamless room and even the bright light of the white made the table blend with the room. He wasn’t certaihe table began or ended. He wasn’t eveain if the table was still in front of him. ‘Where am I? I am still being interrogated?’

  ‘This is the beginning,’ stated a woman’s voice.

  Yori flipped around trying to find the voice, but saw no one behind him. When he came to look forward a woman stood before him that he knew had not before. He narrowed his eyes trying to uand where she came from. “You’re…” The longer he stared at her the more familiar she became to him.

  “Yes. And I have already accessed everything within your mind.” The white room suddenly fshed and hundreds upon thousands of panels dispyed around the walls. Images pyed in motion clustered one on top of another. Eae housed a memory of Yori’s. Everything that made him stood pletely open. He already had lost.