The Changes

Part 17: A Different Point of View

    With a wave of his hand, Kaleiron opened a swirling vortex and pulled me inside of it. I felt as if I was being pushed through one of those tubes from Mario Party or something. My stomach felt very uncomfortable and I started to feel nauseous. Thank god that that sensation only lasted for a few seconds. Once I found myself on solid ground, I pulled my arm away from Kaleiron.

   I studied where we had landed, but there really wasn't anything to look at. Literally. The whole entire place was empty. No people. The walls and ceilings were completely white besides the exception of a clock with a golden frame, that was completely still. There were only three things besides the clock on the wall. There was a wooden table in the center of the white room, and classic wooden chairs. Kaleiron walked forward and pulled out a chair for me. I scowled, but sat down. He sat across from me. Curse him for being so polite.

   "So, get it over with," I grumped, crossing my arms. 

   He chuckled. "Veronica, I'm not going to kill you."

   "You aren't?" I asked in surprise.

   "Sadly, no," he said as he shook his head. "I only brought you here to give me company."

   "What?" I widened my eyes in shock and surprise. "You just took me away from my friends and family for yourself?"

   "Look, I haven't really lived for thousands of years," Kaleiron confessed. "It was a lie. Well, everybody believed me to be a sign of bad luck, a bad omen. They blamed me for the deaths of my parents. After that, no one really cared for me. You and your family were the only people that thought of me as a normal kid. You were like a sister to me." He smiled weakly at me from across the table. I was still angry, but I softened my expression. I felt like he was telling the truth.

    "Anyway, I don't really want to take over the world. That's dumb. Every time a villain tries that, they always fail," he chuckled quietly, but when he saw my angry expression, he stopped. "You know very well, that I like trouble. This was all a joke, and I would never really take over the world. How would I even run it?"

   "A joke at the expense of people's lives!" I responded angrily. I was livid. This was so much like Kaleiron. He played practical jokes without thinking of consequences. "How in the world did you get an army like that? How did you get so many people to work for you?"

   "Oh, you know, after my foster parents had passed away, I inherited the family riches. I hired people to work with me."

   "You're mental! You were dealing with terrorists. Wait- how did you even get wolves to compromise?"

   "Meat."

   "You're very funny, Kalieron." I rolled my eyes. "You killed so many people just for a joke? You were about to murder my family, mind you!"

   "I wasn't actually going to do it. I brought you here because I had been lonely for so many years. I wanted someone to soothe my lonely soul. Please, help me." He gave me pleading eyes. Up close, I still couldn't see the exact color of his eyes. They constantly shifted, making it hard for eye contact.

   "Look, you can go back to the real world, and live a normal life. We can still be friends and everything, maybe even find you some more friends!" I said. "You can start all over again."

   "No, I can't." He shook his head sadly. "I was actually helping someone else conquer the world. He said that if I did this, then maybe I could find you again."

   "What?! Kaleiron, you idiot!" I screamed, standing from my chair. "You're crazy! How could you do that? You would've found me sooner or later. I know I moved far away because monsters kept hunting me down. I didn't know why they were, but they were always after me. I moved somewhere else for safety! You would've found me sooner or later! We have the internet now!"

   "I just was tired of everybody in the orphanage. They treated me like some kind of virus. So I ran away."

   I groaned. "Now you have to help us! Help us take down this guy. Who is he anyway?"

   "His name is Vladmir. He gave me strict orders not to turn on him. He has people anyway. He even has Mages at his hand. It's not safe. We'd be fighting a losing battle."

   "Is he a Mage though?" I challenged. 

   "Uh, no."

   "At least that makes it easier for us," I mumbled.

   "But there will be many obstacles in our way."

    "Who cares, this is for the world right?" I replied, flashing him a grin.

    "Alright," he sighed, pulling himself off the chair. Once again he waved his arm over the air, and we disappeared again.

----

    Once we had stepped out of the portal, my friends were still standing there. Marissa was sitting on the floor, her head buried between her legs, Amber patting her back absently, her eyes blank. Ethan was very intensely studying a blade on one of his knives, while Barry, Ashton, and Leyna talked about random things, their eyes darting back and forth, as if expecting me to come back at any second- which I had.

   "Hey guys! Did you miss me?" I said.

   They all looked up, sitting there in the frozen landscape. Then, they stood up and swarmed me. They asked me a million questions which I didn't hear. Then, Leyna said,"Why is he here?" 

   They all looked up at Kaleiron. They got into a stance, ready to charge, but I stood protectively in front of him, my arms spread out. 

   "Guys, he's not bad, he's just misled," I grinned, but they weren't reassured.

   "Sure, but he could just turn on us any moment now," said Ashton, giving him a death glare.

   "I suppose you're right... But it's seven against one right now." pointed out Marissa.

    "HE FREAKING CONTROLS TIME" said Barry obviously still freaked out.

    "We've got to work with what we've got right now. Another evil dude is trying to take over the world right now, can't remember his name though. That's not important. We've still got to deliver the stone to D.C."

    "Alright, we don't have much time," said Kaleiron, staring at the ground. I could tell he was guilty for terrorizing people and nearly killing my friends.

   "I guess I need to become Ashton the Dragon again?" joked Ashton. He instantly morphed into a dragon and everybody was about to board before Kaleiron said: "No need for that."

   He created another portal and bowed. Ashton became human again and scowled. "Stealing my thunder, eh?"

   "Excuse me?"

   "Nothing."

    "Doesn't that sap your strength?" questioned Amber.

    "It does, but not much when you have a lot of practice."

    Kaleiron gestured towards the portal. "Should we trust him?" said Barry. I knew he had trust issues, like me. 

   "It's fine," I assured him.

   He nodded and stepped in first. I followed after him and the rest of the squad followed behind me.