THE 8 WONDERKIDS

Chapter 18: A hidden past

The moon was full, It's 3 AM in the morning, Sarah was asleep, Zet was nowhere to be found, and Arya decided to sleep for a bit before going with Zet where he said he will take her.

8 AM, Sarah was already awake, she went to look for Zet after she noticed that something happened yesterday that she didn't know about, she searched everywhere he could be in.

Sarah: Zet...where are you ?

Zet was on top of a tree near the tent.

Sarah: Zet ?

He heard her calling him.

Zet: over here.

She climbed the tree and sat next to him.

Sarah: hey.

Zet didn't reply.

Sarah: so...do you mind telling me what happened yesterday ?

Zet: today me and Arya are going somewhere far...do you want to come with us ?

Sarah: I can come...but first you have to tell me what happened.

Zet: she kissed me.

She looked at the ground.

Sarah: huh...well I was waiting for it to happen,

Zet: what do you mean ?

Sarah: you did enough for her that she likes you now...plus you do share the same feelings...don't you ?

Zet: no...why would you think that ?

Sarah: Zet please...I've been with you long enough...I know when you lie...and I know that you like someone and care about them If you hugged them.

Zet: I don't I'm not lying...just like I told her I hugged her because I was grateful...end of the story.

Sarah: look whatever was the reason you are upset for her kissing you...I'm sure you will figure it out...eventually.

Zet: well...I guess I will have you coming with us too.

Sarah: where are we going ?

Zet: you always wondered where I came from didn't you ?

Sarah: oh...*chuckle* finally.

Zet: yeah...finally...anyways let's change the subject...what were you working on all this time ?

Sarah: you said you wanted to gather all the wonderkids...but we have to save her father first...so I was making a plan on how to find out who is "him" and save her father.

Zet: ok ?...you got a plan ?

Sarah: yeah...it's just not really flawless at all...anything goes wrong and we're done.

Zet: we'll talk about it later...for now let's wake her up...we need to go...it's a long walk.

Sarah: how about I go wake her up...you know so things don't get awkward.

Zet: is this what happens after a girl kisses you ?

Sarah: if you don't want the kiss yes...all the time...until you accept it or forget it.

Zet: how do YOU know ?

Sarah: don't worry...I didn't kiss or been kissed by anyone...I just saw it before.

Zet: just go...I'll wait here.

Sarah left to wake Arya up, she arrived at the tent and looked inside, but didn't find her.

Sarah: Arya ?

She looked outside, she now has to find Arya too.

Sarah (mind) : not you too.

She started by looking around the lake and found her near it sitting on the ground.

Sarah: there you are.

Arya: oh...hey.

Sarah: how are you ?

Arya: I'm fine...did you find Zet ?

Sarah: yeah...he's not far...he's waiting for us...we need to go.

Arya: did he tell you ?

Sarah: he did.

She put her hand on her shoulder.

Sarah: relax It's fine...don't think about it too much...he's just not the guy to interact with others in any way.

Arya: I just want to know If he's mad at me ?

Sarah: no of course not...he's upset because he is not used to any of this...it's just something he doesn't understand at all...what do you know...he might change his mind about all of this or he might not...but no matter what he won't leave you...and you won't either...because you both matter to each other.

Arya: did he tell you where are we going ?

Sarah: he did...we're going to the place he came from...but still this trip isn't for me...he told you he wanted to show you something...knowing where he came from isn't the reason why we're going.

Arya: should I talk to him when we go ?

Sarah: no...just so you don't make things awkward...listen to him before talking and give him some alone time...and you should be fine.

Arya: *sigh* I'll try...thanks for all of this...I really needed it.

Sarah: well...he needed the same thing too...but he doesn't say thanks a lot...see what I mean ?

Arya smiled.

Arya: yeah...I guess I do.

They returned to the tent to grab their stuff for the trip, they then headed to the tree Zet was on.

Sarah whistled.

He jumped down in front of them, Arya couldn't look him in the eyes, she kept staring at the ground.

Zet: are you ready ?

Sarah: yes...wait you don't need any supplies ?

Zet: I'll be fine...let's go.

Sarah: oh yeah right...I stole a map of all of las vistas from the wolves...so we don't need to ask for directions anymore.

Zet stopped.

Zet: seriously...you just came up with this now ?

Sarah: I was busy ok ?

He sighed and looked at the map.

Zet: we'll go north...after we are out of las vistas we have to reach the top of a mountain.

Sarah: we'll climb a mountain !?

Zet: you can't I know...this is why I will carry you to the top.

He then looked at Arya for a couple of moments in silence, she was still looking at the ground.

Zet: alright...let's go.

They all went north and walked in a straight line until they saw the mountain.

It's 5 PM, they were walking with no conversations along the way, the silence was surrounding them from every corner, they have finally arrived at bottom of the mountain.

When they looked up at the mountain they couldn't see how tall it is, they got concerned.

Sarah: how tall is this mountain ?

Zet: tall enough...now...who's first ?

Sarah: get the bags first and check if it's safe.

Zet nodded then took the bags and flew up.

Sarah looked at Arya, she noticed how anxious she is.

Sarah: hey...you ok ?

She looked at Sarah with widened eyes.

Arya: I can feel the awkwardness even without talking to him.

Sarah: ok I know that you are very nervous about it...but you really have to relax...all you have to do now is listen to him...I'm pretty sure he will tell you something important.

She looked at the ground again to think before raising her head and nodding to Sarah.

Zet came back down.

Zet: all clear...now who's next.

Sarah: take Arya.

He carried her.

Zet: hold tight to me.

Arya tightened her grip on Zet's back while nervously blushing.

He took off with her between his arms, she closed her eyes and waited for it all to end, they arrived at the top shortly after.

Zet: don't move from here.

he then came down to pick Sarah.

Sarah: are you sure you won't drop me ?

Zet: on accident ? no...on purpose ? probably...now hold on tight to me.

They have reached the top through the clouds around the mountain.

Zet: here we are...welcome to my home.

When Arya and Sarah saw what was on top they weren't surprised or amazed, there were a lot of rocks colored burnt black randomly placed on the ground.

Sarah: this your home...what a let down to be honest.

Zet: I see what you're seeing...It wasn't like this until I destroyed it.

Sarah: you destroyed your own home and ran away and ended living in my house in a burrow ?

Zet: I'm sure you're asking why...well let me tell you a story...let's set down here.

They all sat down.

Zet: this story goes back to when I was 12...what you are looking at is called the shadows temple...this is where I was put by my parents when I was a baby before they left with no return...this place has evil running everywhere around it...it's called the shadows temple because the actual name of a wonderkid is not really a "wonder" kid.

Arya: huh ?

Zet: our real name is the shadow kids...we were born to rule the earth by enslaving killing and torturing anyone who stands in our way.

Arya: but...

Zet: I know you have a lot of questions...just listen to the end...I changed our name to wonderkids instead...because it's not who we are...not anymore that is...this place is where a shadow kid goes to when they are born...they get raised by the masters who lived here...as a shadow kid...you were supposed to become the evil overlord of your own power...as an example...I'm the lightning shadow kid...the one who everyone should fear because I have powers that can burn bodies alive in a matter of seconds...now this part of the story where we can explore around.

They got up and started walking around the temple.

Zet: the black stones were the color of this temple...but they were darker...they were scary just from looking at them...these stones used to shine like a dark crystal in the day and used to become invisible in the night...but now they are dusty and old...now I can tell you the story that includes me...I used to live my whole life preparing to become the ruling shadow kid...this place isn't just for Shadow kids though...it's also for their army...normal kids were here too...they were trained in tough ways at a young age...so they reach their potential of being the fearless invincible human army that is ready to die for their king...me.

He looked up at the ceiling and sighed.

Zet: when I was training here...I once saw this girl...as old as me she was pretty cute ambitious toughest in her group...she was doing her best in order to become what she is meant to be...she was not the kind of girl that likes to be distracted...when I saw her I tried to talk to her multiple times...she was not interested in talking to anyone...she didn't care about anyone and I was no difference...every time I tried to approach her I was ignored...she never looked at me...*chuckle*I probably had a crush on her...but my intentions were only to become friends with her...I wasn't aiming that high anyway...I kept trying to talk to her over and over again...she kept ignoring me...until she had enough...she looked at me with an angry look before talking.

The girl: what do you want...why do you keep trying to talk to me ?

Zet: when I was a kid I wasn't like this...I was naive...stupid and way too friendly...which i guess you can tell wasn't a good thing t have around this place.

Young Zet: I got this...for you.

Zet: I gave her a flower...I was trying to gain her attention...when she saw the flower her eyes widened in surprise...I was the first person to ever be nice to her...she took the flower.

Young Zet: I want to be your friend.

Zet: when she heard me saying that I want to be her friend...she walked away...she couldn't comprehend what happened...she didn't know what being nice or being treated nicely is...I came back other days...I was trying to get her attention again...she didn't ignore me anymore but she was avoiding me...keep in mind that she did not know that I was a shadow kid...there was only one other shadow kid...he was acting like he is the king of the temple...he talked to every soldier like they were his peasants...his name was Sanji the fire shadow kid...he was 4 years older than me...when you get to the age of 16 this is when your training equipment become alive...you start to kill humans instead of objects...so he left the temple while I stayed in it.

Sarah: what happened to him ?

Zet: I don't know I never seen him since...back to her...she used to sneak in the night...she loved to sit on a tree and watch the moon rising...one day I saw her sitting there so I climbed the tree and sat next to her.

The girl: oh...It's you again...what do you want ?

Young Zet: I told you...I want us to be friends.

The girl: and why would I do that ?

Young Zet: you never talk to anyone...don't you have any friends ?

The girl: I don't need friends.

Young Zet: why ?

The girl: focusing on my training is my first priority...I will never let anything distract me.

Young Zet: so you don't want to have one friend at least ?

The girl: no...I don't want friends.

Young Zet: but why don't you want to...have you ever tried ?

The girl: you know what...fine I'll try it if this will get you off of me...so what do friends do ?

Young Zet: they hang out together...talk about things they both like...like watching the moon.

The girl: you like watching the moon ?

Young Zet: I come here sometimes to watch the moon and the sunrise...it's beautiful.

The girl: yeah...it is...hey you are not as bad as I thought.

Young Zet: really ?...thanks...I guess this means you want us to be friends ?

The girl: yeah sure...you seem ok.

Zet: we kept talking that night...we had a lot in common...we liked the fact that we both were lonely and found each other...she was smart I wasn't...she was the opposite of me...I was shy and scared of a lot of things when she was fearless...she could survive on her own while I needed someone to take care of me...and she was there for me...we used to come to the same tree almost everyday...we liked each other so she started to trust me more and more...we became close friends...she had secret places to go around the mountain.

The longer he went on, the worse Arya felt for what she has done.

Zet: she knew what she was doing...she used to take me to a cave that was on the side of the mountain...It was beautiful...we used to go everywhere together...we wanted to be friends for the rest of our lives.

A smile disappeared from his face as he continued.

Zet: we were living in joy and happiness together...until the time the masters have noticed how close we were...and the fact that I was a shadow kid that is best friends with one of his soldiers.

He started tearing, lights were reflected on his watery eyes.

Zet: they decided that such distraction is not tolerable...they made us fight for our lives...against each other...one of us dies or we both do...we had to kill each other but none of us dared to do anything...when we started they told her to pick a weapon...but I didn't...she was confused why I didn't get a weapon...until I had lightning energy running in my hands...she realized at that point that she was best friends with her own lord...I had to keep this secret from her because I knew I would lose her If she knows who I am...we had to fight...she couldn't touch me and I couldn't summon energy strong enough to hurt her...I was full of emotions...we had to do something before we both die...she dropped her weapon and kneeled on the ground.

The girl: I won't fight you Zet...and I won't let you die either...please...end it.

Zet: I started to cry and shiver...I had to do this there was no way out of this...I closed my eyes and hugged her...she hugged me back...then I blindly summoned enough energy that made her heart lose its normal beating rate...I could hear and feel her heartbeat beating slower and slower...I knew she was dying...I cried on her shoulder.

The girl: *panting* it's ok...one day we will meet again...thank you for making my life better Zet.

Zet: her eyes closed slowly...she died in my arms...I killed the only one who ever meant to me something with my own hands...at that moment I snapped...I was no longer able to control my powers...I destroyed everything and killed everyone in this temple...no one was left alive...I burned everything...and this is what you are looking at right now...I buried her in the cave we used to go to...*sniffle*her favorite place...I ran away since then and never dared to come back here...she was the only one who I ever cared about.

Sarah was looking at the ground unable to speak and Arya was crying looking at him.

Zet: now...I'm sure you are wondering about her name...Arya...her name was Kate.

Arya's eyes widened, she remembered, when they were at the wolves observatory, he gave her the name Kate.

Zet: there are multiple reasons why I got you here Arya...you remind me of her so much...this is why I no longer care about others...so I don't hurt them...I will always be by your side but I don't want to hurt you.

Arya's eyes were flooded with tears, she then rushed and hugged him, he hugged her back.

Arya: *sniffles* I'm sorry.

Zet: it's ok...you're not the wrong one here...it's me.

He kneeled down and kissed her on her cheek.

Zet: here...so you now can't say Zet has never hugged...kissed or cared about anyone.

Moments later, they then sat down on the same spot the tree was in, they watched the sun go down and the moon rise up.

Zet: oh right...I forgot to mention something.

Arya: huh ?

Zet: I'm an ace...an asexual.

Arya: wait really ?

Zet: yeah.

Sarah: good job Zet...you ruined the moment.

They all laughed, as the watched the sun set slowly, while Arya leaned on Zet's shoulder and closed her eyes, he smiled looking at her.