Chapter 11

The sun's orange rays poured in Mr. Fry's classroom as the evening was fast approaching. A mixture of panting and sobbing filled the room that was dead silent otherwise. Maze remained on Mr. Fry's desk, her tears flowing out with no end. The lump in her throat, the throb in her head and most of all the void in her chest all tortured the former Head leader. Mr. Fry lay under the blackboard, his nose bloodied, and his eyes rolled back with an obvious red bruise staining his pale cheek. On the floor in front of Maze sat Nami. She was trembling. Sweat trickling down her scalp as immense waves of pain enveloped her right leg.

________________________________________________________________________________

<A few minutes ago>

Nami had just finished changing back into her uniform and as always, she was the last to leave. Well with the exception of Mitchell who waited patiently for her.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Nami said as she walked up to him.

"Not at all, you changed much quicker than I thought. Are you sure you're a girl?" Mitchell teased.

"I am, or do you want to see for yourself?" She retorted.

"Eww, no I'm fine. Don't want you swinging out something bigger than mine now, do I?" He laughed, getting an eye roll from Nami.

"You're disgusting." She said as she walked past him.

The two walked out together with Nami keeping a noticeable distance between them.

"Aww, did I strike a nerve?" He asked humorously. Nami grunted and stepped a bit further from him.

"I suggest you shut up before I punch your teeth in." She threatened.

"I'm sorry okay. I'll never speak about your BBC again." He teased.

Nami went quiet as they began walking towards the gate. The silence continued until they both heard a call coming from the school entrance.

They turned to see a student running towards them, they were right under the gate at that point and that student was too far for them to tell who it was.

"help!" They heard, but it was still too distant.

"Help!" The student shouted yet again.

"HELP!" They could tell that it was Chris running towards them, and they both had a confused look on them. Chris stopped a few feet away from them panting out of exhaustion.

"What's the matter?" Mitchell asked. He waited as Chris caught his breath. Both Nami and Mitchell had their guard up as his breathing became even.

"MAZE IN TROUBLE!!" He shouted and instantly Nami's face turned to that of horror Mitchell still took some time to process it, but while lost in thought he heard a loud bang go off next to him and a gust of wind and dust followed right after. When the dust settled Nami was gone.

Traveling through the many corridors of the large school was a difficult task especially at the speed that Nami was traveling in. She found herself bouncing off lockers, walls, and windows in order to make many of her sharp turns. Until she reached the class. Without a second thought she jumped in and spun so quickly her body turned into a blur. Before Hunter could turn to see what was going on he was met with a kick that slammed him against his blackboard before slumping on the ground unconscious. Nami landed on her feet before being grounded by the waves of pain the came after.

10 minutes passed and Mitchell had finally caught up, only to see Nami groveling in pain on the floor. He looked up to see Maze on the desk and Mr. Fry out cold on the floor under the blackboard. When Chris came in the first thing he saw was Maze crying on Mr. Fry's desk and his teacher on the floor.

Chris didn't even hesitate as he jumped on Mr. Fry with bloodlust written all over his face. He began throwing punch after punch at the unconscious teacher with tears streaming out of his eyes. Mitchell stepped in and pulled him off. Chris kicked and screamed "I'll kill you!" at the unconscious man.

"That's enough, Chris!" Chris relaxed himself, knowing that he wasn't going to overpower the much bigger man. He dropped to his knees in defeat and began crying. Mitchell was confused with what to do and just backed off giving the boy space.

"The security room, where is it." Nami demanded, having a mix of pain and anger in her voice. Mitchell looked at her worriedly but turned away to hide his expression.

"Upstairs, the 4th room to the right." He answered, feeling a slight hint of regret for giving her that information, knowing full well what she was going to do with it.

As expected Nami forced herself up and began limping out the door.

"Nami!" Mitchell called.

"Look after Maze and Chris. There's something I've got to take care of." She said.

Mitchell kept quiet. Knowing that there was nothing he could say to stop her. He sighed once she was gone and went to comfort Chris.

________________________________________________________________________________

Nami limped up to the 3rd floor of the school, following Mitchell's instructions, she landed in front of a door with a gold-plated sign that read Security. She twisted the doorknob and as expected the door was unlocked.

She cautiously walked in and saw the large number of monitors that overlooked the entire school. She looked for the camera that overlooked Mr. Fry's class. She saw everything was as she left it, but as she was watching she heard the door open behind her and slowly turned to see a guard standing in it. He wore an all-black uniform with security written in bold on his chest and black shades to cover his eyes.

"You're not supposed to be here missy." He said.

"Cut the crap, I know you're in there." Nami said, narrowing her gaze at the man. He began to chuckle.

"Nothing gets past you now, does it?" He said as he took off his shades confirming Nami's suspicion.

"What you're doing is sick." Nami said holding back her anger as much as possible.

"Oh, is it now? If you'd ask me, I'd say that bitch had it coming." He answered.

"Nobody deserves what happened to her." Nami said, still trying to hold in her anger.

"Oh, could it be that you've experienced what would've happened to her?" Nami flinched as a sudden memory invaded her thoughts. A chill went down her spine and she began to feel sick.

"It looks like I struck a chord there Nami, or should I say Namibia?" Nami froze, knowing full well that it was only a matter of time before the puppeteer had her figured out, and after that she wouldn't be able to resist their control. The guard began approaching her.

"Maybe I can pick up where I left off with Maze, only this time. I'll have me some BlackSilver on my plate." He whispered in Nami's ear sending chills throughout her entire body.

[Move! Punch! Do something!] Then a lightbulb went off in Nami's head.

"The ability to read minds while possessing someone's body is impressive, I must say..." The puppeteer froze for a second.

"Do you actually think I'd tell that Southerner Mohammed my actual name, to me he's just another piece to my puzzle." The guard laughed.

"Wow you nearly had me there for a second, but I know a bluff when I see one."

"Good, I can also tell when a Mage is running short on Mana. You should check your nose for nosebleeds." Nami said smugly. The man touched his nose, and his eyes grew wide in shock. Nami was referring to the Puppeteers actual body since the two bodies weren't linked and it was only the Puppeteers body that was receiving the effects of overexerting their Mana supply.

"I've been keeping count of all the times you used that possession ability of yours and a little birdie told me between possession and hypnosis, possession is the most taxing. If I were to estimate, 3 or 4 times is your limit. After that you'd have to wait a few days to restore your Mana pool." The Puppeteer began walking back with fear written all over their face. Nami had a menacing smile on her lips and genuinely looked to be enjoying herself.

"I've dealt with Mages before; you can even go as far as saying I'm an expert on them..." The guard fell on his bum as Nami began walking over him.

"You know, once I figure out who you are, I'll make sure you regret doing this." The man smiled nervously.

"Well then Namibia, It's on." The man's body slumped over as he fell out of consciousness. Nami let out a heavy sigh and began walking back to Mr. Fry's class. Her knee had gotten a bit better, and she made sure not to put too much pressure on it while walking. Her nose began bleeding which caught her by surprise. She felt dizzy and nauseous on her trek back to the class, but she powered on, not knowing what the causes of her symptoms were.

Just as she arrived at the class, she felt a heavy pang in her head followed by a major headache.

"Nami!" Mitchell called as he went to grab her before she collapsed.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He asked with panic in his voice.

"I'm fine just give me a moment to breath." Mitchell sat Nami down by the door and stepped back to give her some room.

"I don't think Chris is our guy." He reported.

"Yeah, I figured that much when he came asking for help." Nami didn't know why but she was relieved that it wasn't him.

"That burst of speed earlier, I was meaning to ask this later, but with the way you are now I doubt I'd get a better opportunity. So, Nami, are you a Mage?" Mitchell asked.

"You want to know whether or not all my feats come from me using magic?"

"I know you probably don't want to answer and that it might be some personal information or something, but you were able to go toe to toe with our former Royal knight and nearly defeated him. I just want to know if you were using magic is all."

"The instructor was holding back, if it was a real match, I would've lost a lot sooner. I admit that my strength and speed are just beyond what a normal human can do, and it is valid to think that I'm using magic to boost myself. But I can assure you that I am incapable of using magic. My uncle tried to get me to unlock my Mana potential, but after several tries, we figured that I was in capable of becoming a Mage. So, instead of worrying about that I spent most of my years training with my dad. I don't know if that justifies my speed or not, but it's the honest truth. I trained so hard I became able to do superhuman feats. Feats only possible if magic was involved." Nami admitted and she could instantly see the confusion on Mitchell's face, which was what she was expecting. What she wasn't expecting though was him laughing at her.

It was her turn to be confused as she couldn't find anything funny with what she just said.

"You need to hook me up with your dad one day, He seems legit for training non-mages like us." He said with a big grin on his face. He sat next to Nami who still looked at him questioningly.

"I used to think in order to become a Royal knight I needed Magic, so I tried everything possible to try and unlock my potential. My dad convinced me to stop though. He told me to focus on my physical training instead of trying to unlock my potential, because people who aren't magically gifted can only do what they can to get to the top. I can't beat Brian or you for that matter in a fair fight. So, I use any means necessary to get what I want."

"Petty much?" Nami teased.

"I don't care what any of you think, because last I checked life didn't come with no rule book." The two laughed together before stopping and catching a breath together.

"We should probably take Maze home before it gets too late." Nami said while standing up.

"Someone seems better?" Mitchell commented.

"I can't be cripple forever now." Nami said, putting on a brave face despite the mild pain she felt in her head.

Just as Mitchell got on his feet, they heard a loud scream coming from Maze which stole their attention. They'd been chatting for so long Mr. Fry had woken up from his unconscious state. Chris was already standing in front of Maze with his arm out to shield her from him.

Nami and Mitchell rushed in front of Chris ready to protect him and Maze.

Mr. Fry rose with tired groans coming from his throat. His face painted with blood dust and his hair a mess. The bruise on his cheek had begun swelling, it made him look undead as opposed to his normal handsome demeanor.

He slowly walked up to them causing both Nami and Mitchell to tense up. He dropped to his knees, catching the two fighters by surprise.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me." He said bowing so low his forehead touched the floor. Nami began to ease up.

[With the way today went I've become a little too jumpy. I've got to act cool.]

With a deep breath Nami approached the man.

"Mr. Fry, sir."

"I'll repent, I'll turn myself in, just please accept my apology!" He shouted. Nami bent down and put a hand on his back.

"It was not your fault."

"Yes, it was! I put my hands on her...I knew that I was doing something wrong and yet I still did it I still---"

"Someone took control of your body, sir! You were possessed by a Mage." Nami justified.

"No, I wasn't..." Nami's eyes grew in shock. "I-I saw, I felt, I heard everything. She said stop and I couldn't, I-I didn't want to hurt her, but I couldn't stop. I wasn't possessed, I was enjoying myself!" The man went off in psychotic laugh that enraged Chris. He tried to jump on him again, but he was stopped by Mitchell's strong grip. Nami looked at the man in pity.

[So, it was hypnosis. They used his emotions for Maze and...] Nami could feel anger boiling up in her, but she calmed herself immediately.

"Let's go then." She said in a flat tone. Mr. Fry looked up at her in confusion. The remnants of dried tears drew lines down his dirty face.

"You've confessed to your sins, so let's go repent." Nami said stretching her hand out to him. He looked at it and hesitantly placed his hand on hers, that's when his eyes grew in shock.

"I'll call my uncle so he can take you guys home."

"Wait!" Mr. Fry called. "Maze cannot go home yet, she is afraid of what her parents might do to her." He said in a somber tone. He looked at Nami pleadingly and Nami responded with a head nod.

"Fine, then I'll ask my uncle to take you to my place. We still have a lot to discuss." She said looking at Mitchell.

"What about you, Chris? Do you want to go home or stay over at my place?" Nami asked. Chris looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"Take me home, please." He said looking disappointed in himself.

"Well then, it's settled. Let's go Mr. Fry." She said pulling the man to his feet.

They were the first to leave the class and Mr. Fry couldn't help but stare at his hand.

"What's wrong?" Nami asked, feeling uncomfortable with the silence between them.

"Oh, uhm, it's nothing, just...your hands...they're so...small. " He stuttered out.

"I'd like for you to refrain from talking about my hands, and any other body part of mine for that matter." Nami retorted.

"Oh, uhm, my bad." The silence between them returned as it was a long and awkward walk to his car.

________________________________________________________________________________

<Night of the party>

Chris sat awkwardly as he watched Duncan and Tiffany talk about who they should go after.

"This night is fucked." Duncan groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"What do we do Duncan?" Tiffany asked in drunken panic.

"Goddamn it, Brian! You just had to fuck up everybody's night." Duncan cursed under his breath.

"Duncan!?" Tiffany called.

"Fuck, Tiffany just give me a sec!" Duncan shouted causing Tiffany to flinch.

"Fuck it, you go after Brian and try and convince him to make up with Maze. Maybe we can still salvage this night." Tiffany obediently nodded as Duncan walked out first.

"I'm sorry for this Chris. We probably fucked up your first party experience. You know how it is with friends. They always fight." Tiffany walked out leaving Chris by his lonesome in the quiet room.

His limbs went numb and all he could see was black. It was as if every light had been switched off. He couldn't breathe, but he also didn't feel the need to breathe. Chris was confused and mentally panicking. By the time he had snapped out of it he was hiding under a bush in Maze's backyard with a phone on record.

He blinked a few times to be sure and after that the feeling in his entire body had returned to him, that's when he realized what was happening before him. His body froze as he watched Brian and Tiffany get caught by Maze. She stood there for a brief second before turning back to her house and running in.

"Oh, shit!" Brian exclaimed as he began walking out of the frigid water only to be met by the ice-cold breeze around him.

"Brian?" Tiffany called at Brian who was too busy pacing in frustration.

"Brian I-I'm sorry. This is not what I wanted." Tiffany cried.

Brian looked at her and pulled her out of the water.

"Grab on tight to me." He said.

"But---"

"Just do it or you'll catch a cold." He said. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him. He held on tight to her and then a green light began emanating from his skin.

Enhancer Type: Berserker

Both started to get warmer as the water on their clothes slowly began to turn to steam.

"I'll dry us up so just give me a few seconds, okay?" Brian said.

"Let's leave before Maze has to tell us to." Tiffany said as she began to let go of Brian.

Brian's arms still held tight around her waist.

"I'm not done yet." He said.

"Come on, Brian, we've done enough damage for one day." Tiffany said finally convincing Brian to let go of her.

________________________________________________________________________________________

<Present day>

Nami sat quietly in the passenger seat next to Mr. Fry. Their drive wasn't really going anywhere as they just spun around the block a few times.

"I love her." Mr. Fry broke the silence in between them and earned a weird look from Nami.

"I know she's my student and we can't---I can't be doing this stuff with her, but that is the honest truth." Mr. Fry admitted.

"I am assuming that you've been aware of your feelings towards her for a long time now." Mr. Fry lips perked up in a goofy smile.

"I have, for 2 years now. The first time she came I didn't think much of it, she was just a student who sought guidance and I was there to guide her. I was going through some tough times in my life when she showed up. I hated my job, and my high school sweetheart divorced me and took my house and my son. It was a shit storm."

"Confession right before conviction, I see." Nami commented.

"Hey, I got to confess to someone or else I'll be miserable for the rest of my life." Mr. Fry answered in a joking manner.

"It took a while for me to fall in love again, but after half a year of private conversations with her I started noticing it. So, I did the responsible thing, I was still friendly, but a little more closed off than what I was usually like with her. I treated her like a favorite student instead of a love interest. Admittedly, I held on to that hope that someday once she was done with college and had her own job then we would start seeing each other more seriously."

Nami held back a couple of comments about that, and Mr. Fry noticed.

"I know how it sounds, but I was...I am a broken man and I deserve what's coming to me." He finished.

"Y'know, you're not that bad one on one, I can see why many of my classmates have a crush on you." Nami complimented.

"Oh, please don't flatter me, I know there's something you want to ask me." Mr. Fry said, getting straight to the point.

"I like your perceptiveness, now to get down to business, I am going to need all the information you have on every learner you talked with." Mr. Fry chuckled.

"No can-do missy, don't you remember, whatever is said in my class stays there. It doesn't matter if I'm going to jail, you're not getting that information."

"Okay then, tell me what happened to Maze last week. She was absent for a whole week, and I have a feeling you were involved one way or another." The look on Mr. Fry's face darkened as he let out a heavy sigh.

"You're right, something did happen. She ran away from home." He said.

"It was Monday morning, I was getting ready to go to work, but then suddenly when I opened my door, there she was. She was in her uniform, panting as if she had just run a Marathon. She didn't have to say anything to me cause I already knew. So, I let her in. You see Maze's family own "Amour", which is the second largest fashion brand in the world. She's the only child of two powerful people, which is why she feels pressure to do her best. Maze didn't want to get things using her family name, so she worked hard, day in and day out to gain recognition that superseded her family name. She wanted to become her own person. I would tell her not to overdo it, but she'll always find some way to convince me otherwise. And she carried on with a proud smile on her face, knowing that she could become more than just her family."

Nami had a thoughtful look on her face as she was digesting what she had just been told. Remembering what the Puppeteer said to her.

[She had it coming? Who could she have wronged to receive such a punishment. Is Mr. Fry telling me the full story?]

Nami put those questions to the back of her mind.

"Earlier today she was stripped of her title of Head girl. It came so quickly she began to panic halfway to my class. Once we were alone her anxiety got the best of her, and she fainted. I've never been more scared in my life. I'm pretty sure you know what happened next." Nami nodded.

"So, what happened when she was at your place?" Nami asked.

"Well, I bought her a fresh set of clothes that she could wear since my wife's old clothes didn't fit her. It was the weirdest week in my life I tell ya. I tried to convince her every day to come back to school and she'd resist more times than not. When she eventually came back, I was scared for her. But she put on a brave face and dealt with the ridicule she faced from her classmates. The final straw snapped when she was in the principal's office." Mr. Fry sighed.

"Listen, Nami..." Nami looked at the man next to her, giving him her full attention.

"Maze is a strong woman, but she collapses easily if she has no one to support her, so may I ask you this selfish request to look after her for me? Regarding what happened at the party I doubt she will be speaking to her old friends, so please be there for her." Mr. Fry pleaded. Nami could see the pain in his eyes and knew that his request was genuine.

"I will. I will protect her for you." Nami said with a determined look in her eyes.

"Thanks. Well, I guess I should take you back home, before I cause any more trouble." He said with a satisfied smile on his face. It wasn't a long drive to Nami's place and the silence between them was mostly comfortable, but Nami could sense there was something else he wanted to say. She didn't pry mostly because if he wanted to say something he would say it.

Mr. Fry stopped in front of Nami's home and gave a big sigh.

"You know, I wonder how prison food tastes like?" He joked.

"Guess you'll just have to find out yourself, sir." Nami commented with a quirky smile on her face.

"I guess so, and don't call me sir. Y'know since I won't be a teacher for very long." He said in a joking manner.

"Okay then, what should I call you? In case I ever come to visit that is." Nami saw the smile light up in his face.

"Oh, you'd want to visit lil ole me, I'm flattered." He laughed.

"My name's Hunter."

"Nice to know you, Hunter. Of course, you already know, but for courtesy's sake, my name is Nami." Nami introduced.

"It was nice knowing you, Nami. You gave me hope that there are still good people out there."

"It was a pleasure Hunter, don't drop the soap."

"That was uncalled for." Hunter said in a chuckle.

"I've always wanted to say that." The two laughed together.

"Before you leave can I ask one last favor." Nami looked at the man and smiled acceptingly.

"Tell Maze that if she wants to, she can visit me anytime. Locklehome is only a few miles away." Nami nodded and closed the door.

With all the pieces slowly coming together Nami could sense that she was closer to discovering the identity of the Puppeteer. Unluckily for her the Puppeteer was learning more and more about her. She knew she was in a race against time and that losing wasn't an option. With a determined look she stared at the rising moon with her convictions solidified.

________________________________________________________________________________