The long-lived teen known as the plague had a new problem since remembering that name. Along with remembering the plants he caused to wither, it helped him pick out a new area he traveled through. Apparently it was his time in the Pacific Islands, which is where he learned his current regeneration technique. 'I don't think it has anything to do with how long I've lived. Maybe how young I look.'
Anyway, his current annoyance was the article before him; his half-naked younger self passed on the field after raiding the orchard. There was half a fruit in his mouth. Honestly, the situation was a little embarrassing. 'I'm gonna have to pay for that damage, aren't I? Or are we even after they tried to throw me in a volcano...probably not.' Especially because he caused more damage after that fact. Smashing the side of a volcano and causing lava to flow into town kind of damage.
'Ugh, I was under the effects of the demon hour for a month after that.' That month had been mostly at sea, but he could still do bad things at sea. The boats that crossed his path at the time could attest to that. 'Raid someone's yacht. attacked a kelp farming boat,' a few other things he wasn't proud of.
Well following that he things he saw onto land somewhere much colder, "so based on he time of this article that means i went southish. where I'm not sure."maybe south amirica?" he looked for some aritcals and found something." but that's at least a year unaccounted for." sighing he saved the information before turning to his homework. he had had half an hour before the bell rung ending Sam's free period. "alright then, packing up his things he went to his science class.
It wasn't bad; it helped that the class touched on a lot of practical topics for this day and edge. Today they discussed the topic of mana, specifically how it affected the gases of their atmosphere.
'How well done,' the helper commented as Sam listened to the teacher explaining the diagrams showing how mana interacted with gases, how it altered some, and how it was more reactive with some and less with others. 'Your planet's understanding of this energy type is growing well.'
Sam hummed in response, making sure his notes were correct before answering. "How well?" The helper carefully explained that it was compared to the collective knowledge across the universe. 'About 15% to 17%.' Sam blinked, "Well, shit." Thinking it over for a long moment, "I think I'm going to be in school for a long time even when I leave this planet."
The helper then began to list many, many education options that he had open. 'Since I'm probably going to be busy with numerous things, I should probably not join something that has me on campus full time. Maybe hybrid classes like I'm currently attending. 'They have that, right?' he pointed the question at the helper, who stated that they had more than hybrid classes. With the right amount of money, he could pay for teachers to come and teach him personally. he could take decades to complete classes. Or he could do them in the matter of weeks thanks to time dilation and manipulation.
'The current record is 3,841 degrees within an Earth month thanks to some high-level time manipulation. They fainted, but they are very successful now.' Nodding, Sam quickly decided he wasn't doing that, well, not on that scale at least. 'Might do it for a course or two, definitely need it for parts of my education to reach universe scale... how much does this cost?'
The answer was surprisingly little; in fact, it was damn near free. "Well, alright then. Of course, having an entire planet dedicated to it probably helps." Sighing, he got off the train and headed home; he wasn't in the mood to do much. He got his homework done for the reason of getting it done, then he kind of just took a nap.
It was a delicious nap; when it came to an end, he found himself in a very good mood. Which was great news for his lawyer, who came with bad news. "What do you mean they want my blood?"
Pulling at his collar, he looked at the raven before him. "Well," the raven held up a hand. "Do they want my blood physically or metaphorically?"
"Metaphorically," Sam dropped his head in relief, " that could be done." The lawyer paused. "I thought you'd be fine with another fight." Sam nodded. "Details and context!" his father shouted from where he was making virgin cocktails. "Fighting is one thing, but my blood is not something that should be harvested and gifted."
"Why would they want your literal blood?!" Sam answered, "blood magic" like it was a simple thing. His lawyer slammed a hand on the table, "That's illegal!" Sam blinked, "Oh really. " That won't stop some people." The lawyer sighed because of how true that was, then he looked at Sam for a long moment. "I don't want to know your history with blood magic."
"I wouldn't tell you anyway," Sam cheerfully bared his teeth," that history is staying buried with the people who harmed me." For a moment, the man saw scars along Sam's skin. Then the raven blinked, and they faded. "I'm going to get something to drink." his drinks turned into a very sweet dessert that would wash away the taste of memory.
The taste of his blood and teeth, the taste of his screams and vomit. His tears, the flesh of others. But it was pushed away by the blueberry milkshake with whipped cream sprinkles, chocolate, and a few other things.
No more bad memories were brought up for the rest of ther coverstion, Sam was sipping on the float as he sat on the roof looking at the stars. "oh man, i havn't had a flash back that clear in a long time." he was glad they were many sweets in the house or he would have tried to resort to washing it out with soap. "this is a much better reponse."
'With your regeneration and energy-storing tattoo, you still have to worry about developing an eating disorder.' Sam blinked before letting out a small laugh. "That sounds like an experience I don't want to try." he already had a few mental problems. "I'll keep an eye on it, in the meantime. He looked to the north. " You're not the police!" Then he moved; they tried to run. No, they were succeeding.
"Wow!" Sam blinked as he was quickly outpaced," I don't know this!" Pushing some mana to reinforce his body, he picked up the pace. But they were still moving too fast, coming to a stop. Sam felt them stop. "So they just don't want to be caught," he laughed, and sketched a rune onto the bottom of his shoe. "Too bad." The next time he moved, it was with a bang.
Not only did these runes increase his speed. but they also helped him make footholds in the air. This prevented him from slowing down between rooftops, infact due to the increased foothold, he was closing the distance.
Suddenly, his target dropped to the streets, reaching down them with the speed of a race car. "Works for me!" tapping at the invisible keypad. From deep black smoke, his car formed, hitting the ground. He pressed on the gas, "Let's see if you can outrun this."
the question was who the fuck was this, "I've never seen this teqhince. i know this isn't pure physical abitly." that left difference traces, there steps were so light depsute the power behind them. "the world still advances." clicking his teeth, he reached out and shifted the gear shift, curling sping around some cars. "probably gonna get a ticket for that."
Making a sharp turn, he hit the brakes, coming to a violent stop at the brick wall. "Mm, they did well." Tapping his hands against the steering wheel, he considered something for a long moment. "I can either wait for them to try again, or..." he didn't really care for the moment. So he let them be for the moment. "I'm going to have to work on that, though."
"How long has it been since I've had to chase someone down like that? That technique, though, was certainly interesting." Pulling back onto the road. He drove home. Keeping his senses open for the possibility of something watching him. Outside, the cops who finally caught up. "I'm happy you're smart enough not to try threatening me," he commented as he pulled into his house driveway. Putting the car into park, he relaxed in the seat.
"But seriously, who was that? Why the punta is it bothering me so much? sighing, he reached out and turned on the radio. Listening to that to calm himself down, tapping his fingers against his dashboard. " Something really bugs me; is it something I've encountered but don't remember? Am I just being paranoid?"
"Probably not, I've got too many enemies... " I wanna see my older brother." he thought about leaving the island, but the cops wouldn't like that. "I've never wanted to have a court date come sooner. Am I just lonely? How can I be lonely?"
tapping his foot, "Is it because of the flashback?" Letting his head rest ahead of the wheel, he let out a small laugh. " fuck!" he cursed again in Russin and Latian. Before taking a deep breath, "Of course those memories made me lonely. The only thing I could call friends was a demon and a toddler." A breathless laughed, " I will always call them a friend. They helped me escape. But I know through and through they didn't help me out of kindness. Not at first; hell, it wasn't until near the end they really started to soften towards us."
But all the Sam he was thankful; he missed them. he really did; a few tears fell down his face. Taking a shuddering breath, he worked to calm himself. The ache of old loneliness didn't fade, but he wasn't being consumed by it.
"Ah, ha. okay, lord of lust. Witch of moonlight curses, swordman of the meteor blade. What are you going to do now?" he was lonely, so the obvious solution was the connections he had in time. Easily solvable; his parents should be home soon. His best friend was less than a twenty-minute drive, his younger friend next door. Random people he talked to over the years; there were people he could definitely talk to. Getting out of the car, he took in the light of the setting sun, letting it warm his heart, shaking off the cold and lonely memories.
"I am not alone, I am not alone." With that, he stood up and walked across the street. Tyrone was half surprised to see him. he barely reacted when Sam picked him up and settled him in the raven's lap. "wanna watch a movie?"
"Sure? any suggestion?" Sam tilted his head in thought. "I hear a new space movie came out; it's supposed to be good." By " heard he means hearing his classmates talk about it. It took a while to find the right film and put it on the TV, time that was used to prepare snacks and drinks.
The movie wasn't bad; the plot was good. The story wasn't deep, but they had hints of depth that touched you. They definitely spent a lot of the special effects budget; the actors played their roles well. 'Was I always this critical of movies?' he thought as he picked it apart piece by piece. Just like his brother taught him.
'Yeah, as an actor, he saw a lot of reasons movies didn't turn out well. He also held himself to some high standards and liked to review his movies. It was something Sam found annoying, but at the same time he loved joining him to watch the movies. Pointing out flaws or places they could have done better. 'I think my entire love of movies came from this one man.' How had he not realized this, then again? Was that the nature of love?
Somehow it made the decision to erase his own memory that much worse, for love left its mark on you. The love of his teacher left him with the technique to wield the power of the midnight hour. The ability to analyze the supernatural phenomena he's seen. His older brother taught him flair and how to act. How to care for himself, how to care for others. What other lover has he forgotten?
Was it people he knew and loved, the reason he wielded his word like a meteor hammer half the time? Maybe how he came upon the ribbon itself, how about the tattoo that held the energy for his regeneration technique? he remembers when he first used it, but not how he got both. When did he decide that transforming through his power was a good idea?
Why did he fight that god? Why was he in the forest the Vegal couple found him in?
"Oh, that stunt is so unrealistic!" Sam shouted, "You need to expend a large amount of mana to do that!" Tyrone looked at him, "You have done too much shit." Sam snickered, "So much shit, my brother used some of it in his movies."
"Yeah, you've started talking about him recently. I can't believe you knew such a famous guy." Sam blinked," I know several famous people. My parents are famous hunters who retired; even now, they are greatly successful in their chosen careers. Most of my clothes were made by my fashion designer dad. " Sam gestured to his shirt, his red and blue shirt. The red had embroidery of dancing flames; the blue had embroidery of glistening ice.
"How is this stuff not hanging in art galleries?" Sam smiled smugly, "Some of it is!" Chuckling, he turned back to the movie. Okay, see, that is a doable and practical stunt," he gestured to backflip off the train into a river. The shark monster in the river was less than happy. "Always go for the nose when fighting sharks. At the very least, block the teeth, though you can always go through the mouth to defeat them."
"Of course you've fought sharks; why did you fight sharks?"
"They can be very rude; a bunch of teenage assholes thought it would be funny. Well, I got the last laugh!"