"You can turn if you want to," Mana said absently. Her eyes were a little glazed as she looked at us from over her shoulder. The white light from the Source reflected a little on her eyes, so it appeared as if they were glowing as well.
Dancer hesitated a moment before he spoke. "That might be for the best," he said, tugging her sleeve. "Mana…" he began. He trailed off and gave me a desperate look.
You try and talk to her, his mouth formed.
I looked at my girlfriend and sighed. This was not good. For the past minutes, Mana seemed totally captivated by the white nimbus that surrounded the Source. It illuminated the whole cave, the light shattering over the shiny stones in the ceiling. It gave everything an eerie atmosphere. Mana was standing a few feet in front of us, limiting our view on the Source to only the bright white glow. I didn't really want to see, though; the whole cave seemed to vibrate in its sheer power and magnificence. That was definitely enough for me. I had a hard time breathing. Dancer, young as he was, was totally right.
We had searched ages for the Nexus of Powerlines, the so-called Source, to end this ever-lasting war. If we could tap from the Source of life and energy of our planet, we might obtain a power so great, that they would leave us alone. Forever. Maybe the Cyrans would fear us and go away. We had hoped so, and against all odds, the mighty nexus of power had been found by three teenagers who were on a summer holiday and were following a forgotten sage. It was idiotic, insane, and yet it had happened. Here we were.
The Source exceeded all expectations. All people of our planet were looking and dreaming of it, to chase or kill the Cyrans off forever, but now that we had found the dream of every human on this planet, we were afraid of it. At least, Dancer and I were. Mana wasn't.
It was so… powerful. So intense. From what I felt of it, tapping from this Source would definitely make us capable of freeing our people of the enemy. At last we might destroy our enemy… and possibly our planet and this side of the galaxy as well. How could anyone expect this? The powerlines were what kept our planet together, the powerlines were what bound all life energy to the cycle of life, what gave us access to a higher state of consciousness that allowed us to do things that other lifeforms might consider as 'magic'.
For the people of Terra it was as natural as breathing, a talent as common as like, singing or art. Some people were better at it than others, but we all could use it to some extent.
And here we were, right at the Nexus of it.
Dancer was trembling, I was almost paralyzed by fear, but Mana… Mana seemed… anxious. Ambitious. Excited. No, this was definitely not good.
"Mana, love," I began gently.
She looked over her shoulder again. "You can turn if you want to," she repeated. "Now that I have found the Source, there is no turning back for me. Imagine what we can do. At last. At last we have the power to free ourselves and the planet and our people."
Mana and Dancer's family had suffered greatly under the reign of the Cyrans. Scared as they were for our 'magic', they hunted down everyone who possessed a talent that was more than average. They were rooting out the talented among us very efficiently. Mana and her little brother were probably among the most talented people in the world now – only because their parents had taught them to hide their powers. They moved around a lot, and my relationship with Mana had always been overshadowed by the fact that they could move away to the other side of the world any second. They led a hunted life, and Mana felt a deep hatred towards the Cyrans. Deeper than most people. Mana had always been very passionate in everything. She always seemed more intense than other people; her expressions, her behaviour, her ambition, her love, it was all so intense. That's what made me feel attracted to her in the first place. She made me feel alive.
"Mana, the Source has enough power to destroy both of the races," I said. My voice was trembling. "It's dangerous! We could never, ever handle it, not with all the talent in the world! Can't you feel it?"
"Are you afraid, Loran?" she asked me, and laughed girlishly as turned to face me. Her darkred hair danced on her shoulders, and she locked her green eyed gaze onto mine. Her pretty eyes sparkled feverishly.
"I am," I admitted wholeheartedly. "Using this can wipe us all out. We do not even know if we can move it, or how we can tap from it. If we start using it... wouldn't it unleash something we cannot handle?"
"Of course we can," Mana smiled. "It won't be that much different as tapping the energy from the sun or other living beings." Her cheeks were flushed. She looked as if she was having a fever, but the serene, yet agitated smile on her face told me otherwise. She looked just like all those times we've had marvelous sex – wild, happy, excited… so beautiful. Like the girl I fell in love with after skydiving together. I could just look at her for hours right now, but this was not the moment! Mana shouldn't feel like this!
"Mana, what has gotten into you?" Dancer wiped the tears from her face. The boy was crying – which was to be expected with his sensitivity to the power – the intensity of it must have been draining him. "We can never handle such power! I wouldn't even know where to begin! We have to get out of here!"
Mana had turned herself to the Source again during Dancer's little speech. She had less than little respect for her little brother. But at his last remark, she jerked up and twirled around to face us again. "I'd sooner die!" she exploded. "This is the key to eternal freedom! Don't back out because you're a scared little baby now – this here, this could do so much, it would bring peace to our people. Can you imagine… we have never lived in a world without the Cyrans, without their reign of terror. They say they're ruling us, because they're superior to us, but we all know that they're slowly exterminating us. 'One species must survive above all others', it said once on a statue in Libeira. It was in Cyran so no one would read it – but I saw the Cyrans smirk over it, and I wanted to know. It took me months to decipher it, but that's what it said. Our people do not read Cyran out of disgust, but I, I read it… that's what they think, Dancer, that's what they want! They want to rule supreme. Do you think they care what happens to Terra, or our people?" she raged. "And here we are, looking at the Source of power, of freedom, and you back OUT? Because you're scared?!" She hit Dancer square in the face. I grabbed her wrist, and she turned her anger against me now. "And you, mister sissy, you want to back out, too?"
I answered her angry glare with a calmness I did not feel. "Mana. You do not know what you're dealing with. You could kill yourself in destroying the Cyrans."
"I don't care!"
"But I do!"
"Fuck you!" she screamed.
"Damn Mana, besides killing yourself, me and Dancer here on the spot, you could also blow up the whole solar system because you cannot contain the flow! Think about that!" I thundered, almost surprised over how much anger I could display to my girlfriend. Here was the girl I loved more than life itself, and I yelled at her. I could not believe myself. Never thought we would end up this way. Mana and I were definitely not our normal selves. It must have been that accursed power that was glowing so seductively only a few metres away.
"We got to try!" She wriggled her wrist out of my grip and looked at me with furiously sparkling eyes. "I'd rather be dead than another minute slave to the Cyrans!"
"And
who do you think you are you can make that decision for the rest of the
Terrans?"
"Well, what do you want to do? Go home and ask if they can investigate it? The
Cyrans will find out and destroy us anyway. They always do. You see…" she
gasped for breath for a second. "There's… no… turning… back… NOW!"
Somehow I had anticipated it, some deep down part of me knew what she would do during her tirade, but neglected to act on this suspicion. Why didn't I stop her?
As she blurted out the word "…NOW!" Mana jumped at the Source, reached out her hands and opened herself to the energy.
"NO!" Dancer screamed, getting up.
Mana laughed almost insanely as we felt her drawing in upon the power, upon the life energy of this planet. She screamed in pure extacy and threw her head back. She is still beautiful, I thought densely, when suddenly half of the cavern's roof crashed down upon us. Mana had already drawn all the life out of the cavern, and she would draw more. We would probably end up buried under stone if she'd go on like this.
Dancer helped me to my feet. One look was enough for me to understand.
We both threw ourselves upon Mana. My love, my girlfriend, my everything… she was going insane with the sheer power that was filling her right now. For one moment, as I threw my arms around her and knocked her off balance, I shared in her power.
I had never been very adept with magic and power like Mana and her little brother. I was kind of average, able to do the basic tricks that every child learns in school. This one heartbeat of sharing in Mana's power practically burnt me out forever. It was as if a huge tidal wave crashed over me, tossing me over and over, stealing my breath and stopping my heartbeat. I fought desperately for some control, trying not to lose myself in it. At the same time, it felt so good. Pure extacy seared through my veins, pleasure and joy in being alive. This was life, this was energy, this was the most intense moment in my life, multiplied by ten.
Nothing… absolutely nothing had ever…
…so good…so good…
I was losing myself and I knew it, but at that moment I didn't care the least bit. I allowed the wave to take me over, to be me and to swallow me at the same time. It felt so right.
Until my consciousness briefly touched Mana, something I had never managed in class. And then I knew. I remembered. We were lying on the floor, and Mana was clinging onto the Source with with all her willpower. Like a parasite.
Dancer jumped upon his sister and hit her in the face repeatedly. "Mana, Mana!" he called out desperately. "Let go, let go, you can't handle it!"
She fought like a beast, and managed to hold us off for quite some time. The ceiling was rumbling, and dust was clouding the air in the cavern. Things were not looking good when Dancer finally managed to pry her loose from the Source. I could not even follow what he was doing, it was some sort of mindblock I guess. Mana kept screaming incoherently as we tried to drag her away.
"Fools, fools!" she screamed at some point, when we were halfway through. "How could you, how could you cut me off?" An immense explosion knocked us down. The ceiling rumbled again, and the exit was not yet in sight.
I scrambled up. Dancer was looking at his big sister with big terrified eyes. "Did you do that?"
"Damn right I did!" Mana got up as well, clenching her fists. Her hair was in disarray and tears were streaming over her face. "Look, I can do it again, you idiots!" Another explosion. Dust and little pieces of rock came down. The sharp edges cut my face and arms. "Traitors!"
"Mana," I begged, "let's just get out of here, alright? We'll surely die if we stay here."
"You are betraying our people, Loran. Don't you understand? I should kill you here and now for this betrayal to humanity!"
"Are you insane?!" I freaked. I could not believe it. This couldn't be true. I had to be dreaming or something – my own girlfriend was telling me to die. My whole world came crashing down with the crumbling ceiling above us.
Dancer touched my arm lightly. The immense fear in his eyes was unbelievable; and a smell told me he had lost control over his bladder. He was seeing things with his enhanced vision, he had to be. I tried to do it as well, opened my enhanced vision, the sixth sense as people called it. It didn't work, which was to be called weird with the pure energy crackling around us. After a second try, it worked. I saw her now how she really was… my heart stopped beating for a few seconds.
Mana was surrounded with a nimbus of white light. As she clenched her fists, sparkles buzzed around. She was filled with the power to bursting, filled with an energy so intense, and yet she wanted more. Wasn't it enough?
"I feel so… alive…" she sighed. She had already forgotten my words, our existence. Caught up in the power as she was, her mind was slipping. She was probably drowning in the energy – even in that short moment she had taken more than she could handle. It was exactly what Dancer and I had feared. A feeling of inevitable dread came over me.
"Let's get out of here Mana. Let go of the energy." Dancer said, taking his sister's wrist.
Mana finally seemed to notice her brother. "Why would I?" She sounded strangely sane again. Almost serene. What in the world was happening to her?
"You're glowing, Mana," he pointed out dryly. "I don't see how this can be positively healthy."
"Shut up Dancer," she told him friendly. "Now that I have this power, I can free our people at last. I need just a little more…" She already turned back to the Source, but Dancer's grip didn't let go of her.
"You won't. It will kill you Mana, and the Heavens know who else will pay for it."
"The Cyrans will pay," she replied just as dryly, but then she dropped her patience and friendliness. "Now let *go* of me you brat, I WILL have that power!" She threw her head in her neck and screamed.
What happened then was something that even my untrained senses could feel. Somehow, Mana was tapping from the Source without touching it, now. She was definitely powering up.
Dancer let go of her, stumbled and fell, looking in anguish at his sister. "Mana, please, no…" he whispered.
White light began to surround her, swirling and flaming, intensifying as her screaming continued.
I had only time to for one glance at Dancer, who was unable to do anything against her. All his talent was useless in a situation like this. Mana's power exceeded his by far now. I curled up like a ball, but I was only halfway when my girlfriend stopped screaming and her power up exploded… together with the rest of the cave.
I awoke because Dancer was smacking me in the face. "Loran, damn you, wake up! I know you're not dead. Wake up!"
"Yeah, yeah," I groaned. "I'm awake. Kinda." I opened my eyes a little and squeezed them shut immediately. Bright sunlight seemed to burn my brain.
"Argh," I blubbered, "that smarts." I could not quite remember what happened, but the memory returned quickly as I felt Dancer digging me out. Rocks all around me. My whole body ached. "Where's Mana?" I asked, afraid of the answer.
"I don't know," the boy said. Tears were running down his cheeks, leaving trails in dust and blood. He looked terrible. "I can't sense her presence. It's as if she died or something. Or maybe the Source's scrambling my intuition. I can't make anything out… Come on Loran, help me a little to get you out. I can't do this by myself!"
I wriggled my legs loose and looked if it was alright. The only thing that hurt was my right ankle. I could not figure out if it was broken or just too heavily strained – we would see about that later. For the rest, I was only bruised and battered all over. What luck.
"I threw up a shield in the last possible moment," Dancer explained. "I was able to protect myself, and you partly. Mana was too far away. If only I had reacted sooner, I could have saved us all…" His lips trembled. "Damn, how am I supposed to tell this to Mum and Dad?"
I gave him a quick hug. "We'll just tell what happened. Have you searched for Mana?"
He nodded slowly, suddenly looking like a lost child. He was only thirteen years old, how could I expect adult behaviour from him? His eyes, as green as Mana's, were red from crying.
"How long have I been unconscious?" I asked.
"Over an hour. Since I knew you were safe, my sister was my first priority." He sobbed. "But I can't find her. Loran, will you help me?"
I got up slowly to avoid dizziness. "Of course."
We got ourselves on steady ground again and were standing with the arms around each other when it happened.
A sound from behind did Dancer spun around. I almost lost my balance, because I had been leaning on him. My heart skipped a beat and I almost fainted in shock. My nerves were so ragged, I was about to yell at him when his gasp make me look over my shoulder.
And there she was.
Silhouetted in the setting sun, there she was. My Mana, standing on a pile of rocks, glowing with the power. It was now visible without drawing on our talent.
She was sparkling like a goddess, her darkred hair waving in the wind, her arms in her side, and a white nimbus around her. She looked so intense and powerful. It was impossible not to look at her. She dominated everything with her sheer presence. How could we have missed her before?
Her voice as passionate as it always was, but louder than it used to be. It made my teeth rattle. It was not exactly as if it would get us deaf, it was just… overwhelming. And so she spoke. "Weaklings, traitors! You backed out of our only chance to free our people! You're too scared. Too weak." She paused for a moment, looking at us with those sparkling green eyes.
I met her gaze, trembling. Oh Heavens, I was so scared.
"I understand now," she said, her voice softer, more casual. "One species must survive above all others. I intend that to be us, not the Cyrans. And with this power, I will make it happen. I'll end this war alone. To do so…" her voice trailed off, filled with wonder. "It would send me above the gods." She grinned girlishly, like the Mana I used to know. "I will free our people. I will use this power." She threw her head in her neck and laughed. "I… I will have that power!"
And with those words, the glow around her burst into joyous flames, crackling with energy.
That was the moments I wet my pants as well.
That was the moment that we realized we could not stop her. Period.
It was the end of the world as we knew it.
** Inspired by Hard Creation – 'I will have that power'