Day Seven, Eight, Nine, & Ten

Monday breakfast...

Ayashe sat beside Isa with her tray of breakfast food. She studied her face for a moment before Isa's eyebrows finally knit together and she stared back with exaggerated annoyance.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"What do you remember about the last two days?" Ayashe picked up her banana and opened it to take a bite as she watched Isa.

Isa gave her a skewed expression and awkwardly picked up her orange juice for a sip. "I got another migraine and went to the infirmary.... slept more the day yesterday... what's wrong with you?"

"Inci--er.. Isa... something's not right." She looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. Most everyone was minding their own business but the group of kids the girls usually hung out with was heading over "..shit. I'll tell you what. Don't say shit. I'm gonna write you a note." And she turned to the group with a bright smile while they greeted Isa with 'glad you're back' and 'glad you're feeling better.

Across the way Ayashe noticed another kid, a younger kid, was watching them with more interest than necessary. He was about fourteen with dark hair and thick eyebrows and he bore a few scratches across his chin and cheek. Ayashe recognized him as a freshman. She locked eyes with him for a moment but said nothing until she went back to eating her food.

Isa and Ayashe went to their first class but things were even stranger than Warpaint thought they would be... The Professor, who she had seen nearly every day on campus for the past two years, was nowhere to be found. The class was taught by a substitute who couldn't seem to keep the attention of the kids.

Isa picked up the piece of paper that Warpaint dropped on her desk. Her notes weren't like normal notes. When she unfolded the paper the figure of a girl with long black hair spoke to her in writing, the speech bubbles appearing, letters scrambling before they formed words that scrambled again once Isa was finished reading. "They are trying to make you forget. We have to remember. They are lying to us. Something is wrong. Tell me. What do you remember of your dreams?"

Isa looked at Ayashe.. then back at the paper. Then she wondered... if she touched the paper.. could she tell the ink to form her words, too? Ink was a form of matter... it should.. it did! It worked! The words unscrambled then scrambled again. Isa had to contain her excitement so that no one would notice. She found a moment to drop the note back on Ayashes desk and waited for her to respond.

When Ayashe unfolded the note the words unscrambled again, "I don't remember my dreams. Maybe you had a nightmare. I'm sure everything is fine." The image of the girl Ayashe had drawn looked crestfallen at Isa's response.

She pursed her lips and frowned. Show no mercy, that's what the War Spirit said... I will not forget, she thought... I will get us out of here. More memories came back to Ayashes mind.. this feeling of being trapped... tricked... just like being in the boarding school and not being allowed to leave. She got out of there. She can get out of here.

Ayashe was not a model student. She did her work, but she was often causing trouble with the teachers. She was described as having problemse with authority and being a ring leader when kids got out of control. Recently she had been pretty well behaved but while they seem to have given her more slack she knew they were still watching her and waiting for her to screw up. Now with Isa she figured they were watching her closer. The girls would have to be careful... but she had faith in the War Spirit's teachings.. she had to.

After class, Ayashe saw the boy again leaving his classroom and watching the two of them. She couldn't help herself. She walked straight up to him and raised her arms out, "What? Why are you staring at me and my friend? We're too old for you."

The kid, who while younger was actually taller than the two girls, looked from Warpaint to Incite who was walking up behind her. "....you guys know." He glanced around. "It's all fake.."

At first, Ayashe was confused. Know what? But when he continued she went wide eyed and jabbed the kid in the gut. "Shut up, you're gonna get their attention." Brown eyes darting around as the kid doubled over and cringed.

"You're one to talk? Why'd you punch me?! Like that's not gonna get attention!" The boy groaned and stood up straight again.

Isa chuckled, finding the whole sucker punch amusing, "Nobody saw... anyway what are you guys talking about?"

He looked at Isa and narrowed his eyes then looked back at Ayashe. "Her mind isn't clear. Look.. stay up past lights out..." he glanced around. "I'll find you." Then the boy shuffled along his way with his hands in his pockets looking unassuming, leaving the two teen girls looking at each other with curiosity.

------

Monday evening after lights out, back in the cabin...

"Maybe he knows a way to sneak in?" Isa suggested as she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders. The days were mild here but the nights were a little chilly.

Ayashe sat on her bed with her sketch pad. Lights out generally meant lights out, but she had her flashlight pointed at her sketch pad so she could doodle while she waited for that kid to "find them" like he said he would. "Maybe. I doubt that, though. Maybe he--" suddenly she dropped her pencil. Both girls eyes went blank and they stared straight ahead going stark still.

He was inside their minds eye. Both girls would see him standing between their two beds.

"...Okay now this is just creepy as fuck.." Isa commented, staring and still not moving.

"You don't do this when we're asleep do you?" Ayashe asked, also maintaining that blank expression.

"No! Jeez! I can't do this for long, I could get caught. I just pretend I'm asleep and think I'm dreaming... Anyway listen. Their brainwashing doesn't work on me. They think it does because I fake it. But you guys are waking up. They've got everyone here under their control." He warned them, speaking quickly and precisely. "I've been searching for other kids who can't be controlled and you two are the closest." He looked to Isa, "Incite. I know you've collapsed a few times. You're not having migraines or seizures. You're remembering and you're going into sensory overload because your brain is fighting to make things right and they're constantly trying to brainwash you." He looked back to Ayashe, "Warpaint, you're finally remembering things. They're going to try to control you even harder now." Then he looked between them again, "We need to wake everyone up the way you guys are waking up now. These guys are using us for our abilities and something doesn't feel right."

Ayashe was taking it all in but he was going so fast she put a hand up, "Hold on, hold on. How do we know you're not bullshitting us or that you're not going to sell us out??"

The boy shook his head, "You don't, but I can see it in your mind. You know something's up. You know we gotta get out of here and give these kids their brains back."

Isa blinked a few times. "...who ARE you?"

"My name is Will. The stupid name they gave me here was Intel. I can read minds and stuff. Obviously." Motioning between the two of them as he said that, then shrugging. "What they don't know is that I can astral project, I can teleport and I can resist being brainwashed. My dad used to say it was because all of that had to do with my subconscious.. yadda yadda whatever. Look, they're gonna sense me soon. Just.. as soon as you wake up in the morning write down your dreams.. When we're asleep it's the only time they can't control us 100% so it's the closest you get back to your real mind." He paused and looked at them pointedly. "As. soon. as. you. wake. up."

And then he was gone.

Isa and Ayashe looked at each other. Isa blinked a few times, "....He's pretty smart for a kid..".

-------

Day Eight, Tuesday Morning...

Isa woke the next morning with her head pounding but she did remember to write "WRITE DREAMS" real big on her notebook before falling asleep the night before so she grabbed the pen and started writing before she was even fully awake...

"Cute guy named Ki... Falling off a roof... Huge kitten... Woman named Callie... hot guy on a motorcycle.. werewolf.. Graveyard.. Pizza.. El Paso.. Sign that says RHS... Angels... Mermaids.." She blinked several times... it was already beginning to fade but she fought to keep focused. "Remember. DON'T FORGET."

Ayashe had picked up her sketchbook and was in a near trance as she poured her visions onto the paper. An old woman. A wolf. A crow. A beautiful woman with long dark hair. The images seemed to dance around the page and interact with one another, the smiling faces of the women peering back at her when she finished. She looked over at Isa as the announcements ended. "....Do you feel that?"

There was a throbbing pain in their heads while they tried to remember and fight against the subliminal messages in the morning announcements... Isa nodded. "...what if I pass out again?" She started to look worried.

Ayashe frowned, too. "Then I'll make sure they don't come get you." She looked down at her paper. "...I think I'm seeing it all now... those announcements. If we force ourselves to remember things about ourselves instead of just letting that stuff go in our ears. If we focus. They won't be able to control us." She grabbed her backpack and stuffed her sketchpad in. "Come on, let's get ready and head to breakfast so they don't wonder where we are.. but every time the announcements come, grab your notebook. Try to remember."

They looked at each other and nodded.

------

Will caught up with them on their way to breakfast, walking near enough to talk to them without anyone wondering why the freshman was now hanging out with the senior girls. "You're waking up now, Isa. I can see it... Look, I have a plan. I've been working on it for months a little at a time. They don't know how strong I am. I can help everyone in here but in order to do it we need to stop the announcements. We need to get to Blackout. He's the one that handles the mind control, changing peoples memories and stuff. The three of us combined... we can do it." He glanced in their direction.

Ayashe smirked and nodded. "I like the way you think, kid."

Isa hoisted her bag over her shoulder and yet another flashback hit her. Her plain gray sack looked like an Alice in Wonderland satchel and there was a kitten poking its head out of it... it made her miss something she didn't know she had. When her attention returned to the present conversation she grinned, looking toward the cafeteria as they neared the doors. "Like a gender swap Harry, Ron and Hermione...".

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Day Nine & Ten...

They would spend the next few days passing secret notes as Will explained his plan to the girls. Isa had to contain her excitement. Something about getting into trouble and going on an adventure got her heart racing and adrenaline pumping. They'd have to move quickly during lunch on Friday. There was a small window of time where the kids were allowed to socialize and relax before they went on to their next round of classes and that's when they would make their escape. Ayashe's experience and powers would be useful but Isa's ability to manipulate the environment around her would be key and with Will's telepathy they made a pretty good team.

Meanwhile, as the days went on and they repeated the memories from their dreams while the announcements played, Isa began to remember more and more of who she really was.. and where she truly belonged. It was all building up inside of her, but Will was able to help her remain centered and balanced so that she wouldn't have another melt down. Her parents.. her parents were dead? And she was abducted... She had a boyfriend.. a best friend.. two best friends.. a kitten.. a.. a mother.. Someone who loved her as if she was her own.. It was too much to take in all at once. The task at hand would require all of her focus and more than that, it would require her to stay on her feet and in the moment. She stuffed all of those feelings, thoughts, memories and emotions into the back of her mind for the time being and focused on the now.

------

Day Eleven, Friday Afternoon...

The first obstacle would be getting into the office building without being noticed. As the kids left their last morning class, Isa and Ayashe separated themselves from Will. Remembering where she came from also helped her remember things that Derrick had taught her about breaking and entering and being stealthy. They were able to make it away from the teens group easily and it was only a matter of time before they were inside the main office building. Derrick had also taught her about different security systems and locks. The more she knew, the more she could manipulate. The simplified explanation that Isa always fell back on was that she could tell things what to do. She told the keypads to enter the last sequence that was used. She told the doors to unlock. She told the cameras to turn away. Will maintained contact with her and Ayashe telepathically as much as he could without catching the attention of the other more telepathically aware mutants which meant he would go silent minutes at a time, but the girls kept moving toward the goal: Blackout's office.

As Isa did her thing, Ayashe, who had filled her bag with spray paints and large sticks of charcoal, followed behind her. When they approached a new door she drew a small eye on each which would then come to life and swirl around. Through it, Ayashe could see what was ahead. Once they passed through, it would be their lookout while they moved on.

"In video games," Isa thought, "if it's this easy getting in it's always gonna be a battle to get out...".

"Just focus on Blackout. Announcements will be starting soon. We get him.. I can handle the rest." Will was impressing the hell out of the older girls. There were other kids with telepathic and psychic abilities that weren't quite as strong as he was in resisting the brainwashing that was going on, but once he freed them from the constant subliminal takeover he was sure that he'd be able to reach them and together they could "wake up" the rest of the mutant teens.

Finally they made it into Blackout's office. There was a machine that looked like a mixer and a microphone attached. Blackout didn't need to be there in order to run the announcements as they were on a scheduled loop. Once inside, Isa went to work on dismantling it while Ayashe kept watch.

"...So.. when we get out of here.. where you gonna go?" She asked Ayashe.

"First I'm gonna see if I can find my shit.. then I don't care where." Ayashe remembered now. She had no parents. The old Crow woman who was taking care of her died years ago. Her dog was a rez dog, he was back at the reservation she'd left behind. She wanted her bike, her mask, her bag and that was it. "Besides, I've got Matwaûquand. He's always been there." She smirked over her shoulder at Isa. "I've always wanted to travel the world. Running's as good excuse as any."

The sound system was thoroughly destroyed. Isa made sure it was totally inoperable. Then... just for fun she put her hand on it and twisted her fingers.. the whole surface scrunched up as if she'd crumpled it like paper. She grinned, pleased with herself, and looked up at Ayashe, bouncing her eyebrows. "They're gonna be so fucking pissed."

But Ayashe's grin quickly faded. "Aw fuck... He's coming. He's a telepath he can see everything. Fuck fuck fuck we gotta get outta here!" The girls went for the door but Ayashe put her hand out to catch Isa. "He's alerted the others. We can't go back out that way."

Isa growled, "I knew it! Just like in the video games." She instinctively took a defensive stance, then looked around. "Windows? Will, can you hear us?!"

Will had gone "offline" for the time being but he was there now. "Take care of Blackout. Like I said. I got the rest. Just TAKE CARE of him. If you run now the job isn't done."

Ayashe's lips twisted in a half smile. Show no mercy, that's what Matwaûquan said.

The door to Blackout's office burst open and there stood the man, 6 feet tall, athletic build, black hair and black eyes with pale skin. Behind him three others filed in, all dressed business casual for just another day at work.. with guns.

"What are you kids doing up here? These aren't toys." But Blackout knew they were not playing. He grinned as he approached them, both hands outstretched in a "stay calm" sort of gesture.

Isa was grinning, too. She picked up a chair which quickly unfolded itself into a solid long bow staff, dropping the padded portion onto the ground. Ayashe was pulling out a can of spray paint with her eyes taking in the movements of all four individuals. Will's voice rang out in their heads again, "I've got you blocked. He's trying to clear your memories again but I'm stopping him. Get him quickly I can't hold it for long!" Isa rushed forward, throwing the butt of the staff in a lunge for Blackout's solar plexus then drawing it back in and upward to slam against his chin as he came forward from the first strike. His teeth snapped together, causing his gums to bleed but he reached forward and wrapped his arm around the staff to try and pull Isa in.

Ayashe started spraying the red paint in wide circular motions as if she were drawing ropes in the air. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as she directed the chemicals and they formed a thick braided whip that wrapped around the wrist of the nearest foe with a gun, breaking the grip to drop the gun on the floor then coiling up to snap and break their wrist. She drew it back in a continuous motion and forced the woman to barrel into the other before releasing her, winding up the whip to attack again. The fourth attacker had his own tricks. Since they knew it was Ayashe and knew her powers, they brought the water. The man rolled his hands then Ayashe's painted whip was doused with a continuous stream of clear water as if someone hit it with a power washer.

The fight continued, Isa changing furniture into weapons as well as using her own knowledge in hand to hand combat before she was able to get her hands on a gun. Ayashe's fighting skills were sharp, even stronger than Isa's even while stylistically different. Unfortunately both of the girls had suffered a loss of endurance since they'd been cooped up in this camp that was more interested in subduing them than teaching them how to stay on their feet in a fight. They were getting tired. Pure adrenaline kept them moving. Finally Isa had grabbed one of the guns. Ayashe snapped the neck of the water bender and grabbed a gun herself, shooting the wrist broken mutant. By this time more were coming. Blackout was still on his feet, he'd backed out of the way while the others did the dirty work of wearing the girls down. Isa pointed the gun at him and shot only to have the bullet veer away from him and into the wall as if pulled by a magnet. In fact.. all of the guns yanked themselves out of the girls hands and off of the floor, jolting upward, unloading themselves, then sliding out of the room as Christian stepped inside followed by a beautiful woman with long brown hair. The woman, who the girls recognized as Christiana the tailor, looked as though she was casually strolling through a garden and gazing at the bodies on the floor like they were interesting plants. Christian had both hands up as he walked toward the girls. "Party's over, girls... It's time to go back to school." He glanced at Blackout who was walking toward Isa with the intent to knock her out again.

The girls slumped forward, looking defeated. They couldn't reach Will so they assumed he was either dead or working on something. A glance was passed between them. They weren't going to give up but they weren't going to let the others see that.

Christiana smiled and linked her arm around Christian's. "I'm kind of proud of them, actually. They killed these two and Jeff and Tara were always terribly annoying.. and had awful taste in clothes. Always had to fix things for her." Her gaze fell on Isa and Ayashe next, "Nice work, ladies. But my brother is right, it's time to end the fun."

Blackout grabbed Isa by her hair and yanked her head back, looking down at her. "You broke my radio..."

Isa grinned. "Fuck you." And reached up quickly with that last burst of adrenaline, gripping his chin and the back of his head and twisting hard and fast. The man's fingers fell from her hair and he crumpled to the ground as she stumbled back, looking down at him. "Fucking condescending prick," She had time to give him one extra kick before more mutants rushed in to knock the girls unconscious and take them down to the basement.

Christian and Christiana looked at each other. "....These kids are more trouble than they're worth. Why are we here?" The woman asked.

"I'm starting to question that myself." He shook his head, looking at the mess. "...Kids these days... no respect for authority." The two of them turned and chuckled, heading out of the office to go and make the report to The Boss.

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