The White Awakening
1267 Words
Music blasted through the enormous party hall.
Lights flashed.
People laughed.
Glasses clinked together.
The entire place was alive with energy.
Madam Seraphine stood among wealthy guests, smiling and chatting as she secured connections for future contracts.
Meanwhile, Sophie, Nonke, Gabriel, Bianca, Guen, and T.L sat together near the counter.
Nonke raised another bottle of beer and took a long drink.
T.L stared at him.
"You're really getting the beer part in you."
Nonke wiped his mouth and grinned.
"What can I say? We always come here for parties."
He took another sip.
"Well..."
He smirked.
"Parties disguised as missions."
T.L blinked.
"What?"
"A mission?"
Bianca laughed.
"Yeah."
She leaned closer.
"We come for the party."
Then she lowered her voice.
"But read between the lines."
Gabriel nodded.
"Madam Seraphine always says we're attending a party."
"Then halfway through she suddenly remembers there's a mission."
Everyone chuckled.
"Exactly," Guen said.
"It's basically her thing."
Before anyone could continue—
Madam Seraphine suddenly appeared beside them.
Her expression was serious.
Immediately everyone straightened.
"Listen carefully."
The group became attentive.
"There are four men here tonight."
She pointed toward the crowd.
"I want you to focus on the fourth one."
"What does he look like?" Sophie asked.
Madam Seraphine answered immediately.
"Black hood."
"Dark glasses."
"Black armband."
"He belongs to BLACKCLAW."
The name alone made several of them tense.
"And he has something I need."
"What?" Gabriel asked.
"A book."
Madam Seraphine's eyes narrowed.
"I need that book."
"We need that book."
She pointed into the crowd.
"Find him."
"Now."
Without another word Sophie, Gabriel, Guen, Bianca and Nonke disappeared into the sea of people.
T.L remained behind.
She looked confused.
"I thought this was a party."
Madam Seraphine sighed.
"I know."
"I should've told you earlier."
She smiled slightly.
"But this is how we train."
T.L thought for a moment.
Then asked,
"This BLACKCLAW..."
"What is it?"
Madam Seraphine shook her head.
"Not it."
"Them."
Her voice became darker.
"They're a powerful anti-government organization."
"Scientists."
"Researchers."
"Power hunters."
T.L listened carefully.
Madam Seraphine continued.
"They capture gifted people."
"They remove powers."
"They perform experiments."
Her eyes hardened.
"And sometimes they 'help' people."
T.L frowned.
"Even when those people don't want help?"
Madam Seraphine nodded.
"Especially then."
T.L's face darkened.
"That's horrible."
Then she stood up.
"I'll help."
Madam Seraphine smiled.
"Good."
T.L walked away.
As she disappeared into the crowd, Madam Seraphine continued watching her.
A thoughtful look crossed her face.
Far away, Sophie and the others searched every corner of the building.
Sophie sighed in frustration.
"Come on."
"How is it possible we can't find one guy?"
Gabriel nodded.
"This is the first time Madam Seraphine has given us this much detail."
Guen groaned.
"We should've found him already."
Meanwhile—
T.L wandered toward the quieter back halls of the party building.
The music became distant.
The crowd disappeared.
Then—
She froze.
There.
Standing alone.
Black hood.
Dark glasses.
Black armband.
Exactly as described.
T.L pointed.
"Hey!"
The man turned.
His eyes widened.
T.L walked toward him.
"Give me the book."
The man's eyes widened further.
Then—
He ran.
"What?!"
T.L immediately chased after him.
"Hey!"
"Get back here!"
They raced through hallways.
Around corners.
Past storage rooms.
Straight into the restroom area.
The man looked behind—
CRASH!
He tripped over a janitor's mop bucket.
The bucket flipped.
Water splashed everywhere.
The book flew from his hands.
It landed on the floor.
THUD.
T.L looked down.
Then froze.
Her heart stopped.
The cover.
The symbol.
The markings.
The title.
LATOT
SIXTH DIVISION
T.L immediately jumped backward.
"No."
The man looked confused.
"What?"
T.L took another step back.
"No."
"Nope."
The man slowly stood up.
The book remained on the floor.
He looked at her.
Then at the book.
Then back at her.
"Aren't you taking it?"
T.L pointed nervously.
"On second thought..."
"You should keep it."
The man blinked.
"What?"
T.L nodded rapidly.
"Yeah."
"It suits you."
"Looks great."
"Very fashionable."
The man stared.
T.L slowly backed away.
"Okay bye."
Then she turned and ran.
The man remained standing there.
Completely confused.
After several seconds he simply picked up the book.
"What just happened?"
Back inside the party hall—
Sophie and the others returned.
Frustrated.
No luck.
No target.
No book.
Then T.L appeared.
Madam Seraphine immediately approached.
"Thank God."
"Did you find him?"
T.L froze.
Inside her head panic exploded.
I let him go.
God.
It was another LATOT book.
I'm not fainting again.
Not today.
It's a party.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Don't just stand there.
Good thing she can't read minds...
Otherwise I'm finished.
"T.L?"
Madam Seraphine asked again.
T.L forced a smile.
"No."
"I didn't see anybody."
Madam Seraphine studied her for a moment.
Then shrugged.
"That's fine."
"Maybe he left after realizing we were here."
She smiled.
"Enjoy yourselves."
"It's your lucky day."
Then she walked away.
T.L quietly released the breath she had been holding.
Sophie groaned.
"Where did that guy go?"
T.L quickly changed the subject.
"Could we not worry about missions for one night?"
Nonke raised his beer.
"Now you're talking."
"Mission later."
"Party now."
Everyone laughed.
Moments later they were all on the dance floor.
Dancing.
Laughing.
Enjoying themselves.
For the first time in days—
T.L almost forgot everything.
Then—
Something felt wrong.
Her vision blurred.
She stumbled.
The music sounded distant.
"T.L?"
She slowly moved away from the dance floor and sat down.
Nonke followed her.
"What's up, girl?"
T.L rubbed her eyes.
"My vision..."
"It's blurry."
Nonke laughed.
"First-time beer effects."
T.L looked uncertain.
"Really?"
"Yep."
Sophie arrived.
"What happened?"
Nonke pointed.
"Beer effect."
Sophie immediately frowned.
"I told you not to encourage her."
Then she crouched beside T.L.
"T.L?"
"You okay?"
T.L slowly shook her head.
"I don't think..."
"This is the beer."
Sophie's expression changed.
"What?"
The air suddenly became strange.
Charged.
Like standing beside a giant electrical transformer.
People nearby looked around nervously.
"What is that feeling?"
One guest frowned.
"Is something wrong with the power supply?"
The lights flickered.
ON.
OFF.
ON.
OFF.
Then—
BOOM.
One chandelier exploded.
Everyone screamed.
BOOM.
Another light burst.
Then another.
Then another.
The entire hall erupted into panic.
"T.L!"
Sophie grabbed her shoulder.
"T.L!"
T.L looked up.
Her eyes glowed.
"I think..."
Then another voice spoke.
Not hers.
Ancient.
Powerful.
Echoing.
"It's me."
WHOOM!
A massive blast of white energy exploded outward.
Everyone was thrown backward.
The music died instantly.
Tables overturned.
Glass shattered.
Wind tore through the room.
Slowly—
T.L rose into the air.
Her hair turned pure white.
Her eye lenses glowed brilliant white.
White energy flickered across her face like living lightning.
Her two Tribrid marks blazed with light.
Then—
The crown mark on the upper right side of her back ignited.
Pure white.
Brighter than the sun.
The room fell silent.
The DJ stared.
His mouth hanging open.
"What..."
"is that?"
Madam Seraphine turned.
The color drained from her face.
"Oh my God..."
Her voice barely came out.
"A Full Total."
Sophie stepped backward.
Nonke dropped his beer.
Bianca couldn't breathe.
Gabriel stared in horror.
Guen looked completely frozen.
Every guest in the building backed away.
Terrified.
Above them—
T.L floated in the air.
Surrounded by a white whirlwind of impossible power.
And outside—
The world began to break.
BOOOOM!
The ground cracked.
People screamed.
Earthquakes ripped through the streets.
Cars flipped.
Buildings shook violently.
Fire burst from the ground.
Windows exploded.
The night sky itself seemed to tremble.
And at the center of it all—
The Full Total had awakened.
- Writer
