Cyrus sat through his first and second classes, completely unaware on the material his teachers were teaching. All he could focus on, was the voice, and what the circumstances were: why him, and how she spoke to him, were but a couple of the questions occupying.

"...And that is why an equation with x2 in it, graphs out a parabola." Cyrus' math teacher walked over to Cyrus' desk, and looked straight into Cyrus' eyes. "Right, Cyrus?" Caught red-handed... Cyrus lamented.

"Naturally, Mr. Grey." For a moment, he saw concern flash across his teacher's face.

"Talk to me after class." Mr. Grey commanded, returning to his lecture. I need to focus, Cyrus thought It won't do me any good to run around in circles, anyhow. Suddenly, the end-of-class bell rang, breaking Cyrus from his thoughts with its repeating, single-tone chime. As his classmates walked by, Cyrus could hear whispers both mocking him and consoling him.

"What's on your mind, Cyrus?" Mr. Grey opened, taking a seat next to the blue-haired student.

"Nothing; just tired I guess." Cyrus didn't like lying, but he thought it best not to trouble his teachers. They weren't involved. If there was something going on, he didn't need them in the way.

"If you say so, but shape up, 'kay?" Cyrus nodded, beginning to pack u[ his belongings. It was lunch, and he was hungry.

"Oh, also, Cyrus, I need you for lunch!" He stopped in his tracks, wheeled around, and marched to Mr. Grey's desk. The teacher handed Cyrus a photo of a European-looking, blond-haired, and blue-eyed girl with red highlights.

"She's a new student, starting today. Mr. Grey said, answering Cyrus' unasked question. "She should be down at the office lobby by now, and you're to show her around—exempt from your next classes of course."

"Why me? Shouldn't a teacher be doing this?" Cyrus wondered aloud.

"You're the only one who speaks German; she doesn't speak English—or a lot, anyway. She'll be following you around school as long as she's here, or until she becomes functional in English." Damn... Cyrus sighed, exasperated, and nodded. As he left the room, he heard Mr. Grey call to him.

"Name's Alice!" Well, at least this may be interesting...may...

Cyrus stood outside the office doors, looking in at a girl on the lobby's couch, who was staring at the aquarium by the wall. He sighed grumpily, but put on his best smile, opening the door. He had better things to think about, than some foreigner.

"Allons-y." He mumbled, using one of the two or three French phrases he knew. The sound of the door closing behind him must have startled the girl, causing her to jump. She turned around, her azure orbs catching Cyrus' own crimson ones.

"Hello, you must be Alice." The girl perked up at her name, but otherwise stared blankly, as if trying to guard herself. Odd... "Oh, sorry! Bist du Alice?" The girl nodded, almost immediately relaxed. This is him?

"Der Rektor hat mir von dir erzählt. Du bist Cyrus, nicht wahr?"

"Könntest du das wiederholen?" Cyrus asked, not understanding. I need to brush up on my German, again. Getting rusty. Alice repeated herself, as requested, but Cyrus still didn't understand. She had said his name, so he proceeded on, assuming she was asking his identity. Luck was on his side, he had guessed right. He opened the door behind him, gesturing for her to come with him.

"Ich zeige dir jetzt alles." I don't understand a word this girl says! Cyrus raged, inward. I'm fluent, but not a word she says makes any sense. I can speak just fine, but I can't listen? What? Cyrus watched Alice leave, wondering if she was steeling herself, again. Why would that be? My eyes must be playing tricks.

"How old are you?" Alice asked, breaking Cyrus' train of thought. It seemed to be happening a lot today, he mused unconsciously.

"Sixteen. You?"

"Wir sind gleich alt." Alice replied, regressing from English. "I am sorry. I do not know how to say it in your language. Cyrus smiled, leading her through the wide hallways.

"Thank you." The blonde said, playing with her long, plaited hair; a nervous habit, as Cyrus had noted during their long excursion. "Aber ich wünschte du würdest meine Sprache verstehen." She continued. I understood that! Cyrus' surprise leaked onto his expression, triggering a reaction from Alice. Fear? I've spent too much time with him! He said to be quick with this man! It's been much too long!

"Tut mir leid, Scramble!" Alice shouted, running off. Cyrus thought to himself. But I didn't catch that. Cyrus froze in place, eyes widening.

"Wait!" He shouted. Scramble?! "Alice, wait!" Cyrus raced down the hallway that Alice had disappeared on. That voice, last night—it was her! The hallway he turned into was an exit hallway, with no doors but the ones on the far side of the corridor. She must have gone through here. Nowhere else to hide! He charged forward as fast as his legs would carry. Classes weren't out yet, so he was free to move.

Cyrus kicked open the doors, mid-stride, coming into the fresh air of the front courtyard to his school. The school library extended farther than the school did, obstructing his right side. Quickly, he scanned the space he could see. The courtyard was expansive, but very flat, with little obscurities. There were only a few trees dotting the landscape, but none of which were big enough for a person to hide behind without being caught. Not here. She must have gone around the right. Again, Cyrus took off, hooking around the corner, only to run smack into someone's chest. The force of the impact knocked Cyrus on his back. He looked up to see the face of the one man he didn't need to deal with right now: Felix, a school thug. Tagging along, were two of his friends, and all three were very fit, as they needed to be, in order to dodge the cops and beat down whoever got in their way. Cyrus was never on their good side, especially now.

"Hey, punk, wat—hey, it's Cyrus!" Felix roared with laughter. I don't need to deal with these guys now! Felix stared at Cyrus' hard expression. "Look guys, little Cyrus is gettin' mad!" He teased, laughing. Cyrus flipped onto his feet, looking for a way around them. Felix's friends had already started to circle around. This was how it always was.

"Outta the way, Felix, I'm busy." Alice could be anywhere by now! Instantly, Felix's expression changed. The time for fun and games was over.

"What did you say, punk?" He asked threateningly. "You run into me, and expect to jus' be rude and run off?" He was making excuses to get angry at Cyrus, and everyone knew it. "I think someone needs to learn a lesson." Cyrus braced himself for a beating. He, like most people, had been in a few fights, but the skill of combat wasn't one of his most highly honed.

"Time for a beat-down!" The three attackers cried, pumping themselves up. Felix attacked first, ramming a fist into Cyrus' jaw, sending him spiralling to the floor. Cyrus immediately felt the sharp jab of feet hitting his gut. Tears of pain formed in Cyrus' eyes, blurring the scene. One more kick sent Cyrus rolling end over end, landing on his back. Determined not to get injured anymore, Cyrus scrambled to his feet, adopting some semblance of a defence.

That's when he saw her; Alice peeked around the other side of the library, back pressed against the wall. Cyrus glanced between her and his approaching attackers. In his mind, Felix and his gang morphed from people, into objects. They were impediments to his progress, nothing more. To Cyrus, Felix was a crumbling wall. Walls in that condition should be destroyed, Cyrus reasoned, they might hurt somebody. Cyrus' mouth turned into a hard grin, almost feral in nature.

"Look Felix, kitten's got claws." One of Felix's friends taunted.

"Yeah. The kid's gotta learn his place." Felix rushed forward again, launching a fist. Cyrus twirled down like a screw, avoiding the attack, and driving an elbow into Felix's side at the same time. Cyrus drew back a step, using the space to throw a kick into Felix's face. Felix drew back in pain, blood dripping from his nose. The wall was cracking, giving away.

"What are you waiting for?! Get him!" He screamed, fuming. Cyrus' show, however, had put quite an impression on Felix's friends. They looked at each other, thinking carefully.

"No way!" They yelled, fleeing. Felix looked back, and Cyrus used the chance. Felix quickly looked in Cyrus' direction, but all he saw was a flash of blue, and felt a surge of pain. He fell to the ground, grabbing his groin.

"I-I'll get you.." He growled painfully. Cyrus stood over him, silent. The light reflected off his crimson eyes, scrunched together in anger. They almost seemed to glow. Almost.

"If you ever get the chance, it won't be for a while." Cyrus threatened, driving the point home by stomping on Felix's ribs. He felt something under his foot crack, and only a single thought crossed his mind: This impeding wall has shattered.

Unbeknownst to Cyrus, Alice watched the whole thing, growing increasingly worried. This is my fault. She thought. I spent too long with him. The sight of Cyrus looming over a body was a sight she was familiar with. ...But, something's off. This isn't how it was...

When one believes in something with enough vigor, their senses lapse, and nothing is an obstacle…and nothing is too extreme. When one believes in something with enough vigor…they become monsters.

No, I didn't forget to post this...never...yeah. Anyway, how'd you like it? I'd like to extend my thanks to RPG_Hacker for doing a little bit of German translating for me: thanks! There will be more in the future, be sure of that XD I've been doing two things differently for this story thus far: I have a--semi--thought-out plan for the plot progression (oddly enough using the meanings of The Tower tarot card),and I'm giving titles to the chapters. We'll see how well that goes XD

I'm just all over selling my soul this month. If you head over to my...twitter account. *dies inside* There's a link to how to get it.It's not being released until December, but hey--it's a chocobo!

If the link doesn't work for you, just change the region of the site you're on, to your region.

Now then, to New Super Mario Bros.Wii! Away! I'll have something up about that, when I've finished. Currently on World 8 of 9.

P.S. I've been lazy about it, but I'll try to post the next chapter of Torment (not that anyone saw the prologue >_>) tomorrow-ish.

I went and sold my soul to the devil: My poor soul

"I've seen a lot of horrible things, and imagined many more. Every time, I'm the guilty party. Is it coincidence, or is there a reason? What don't I know?"

Cyrus woke up with a start, every sense on alert, just like many other mornings. He glanced at his clock, and decided it was time to get up. With the grace of a tiger, Cyrus slid out of bed, eyes darting around. Nothing. Why do I keep feeling this way? He took a step towards his dresser, only to trip over his own feet, clutching his head in pain. Cyrus gripped his face, sliding it though his blue hair, slick with sweat. What a way to wake up from a nightmare...

Cyrus laid on the floor a few minutes, waiting out the pain. Quickly, it subsided, and Cyrus focused on getting dressed: nothing fancy, only a black t-shirt and black pants. Dressed and calm of mind, Cyrus walked into the adjoining room, the kitchen-dining room, and started making toast, his favourite breakfast.

Ten minutes later, Cyrus was seated on the living room couch, staring at the ceiling. It was early Sunday morning, so Cyrus' father was out grocery shopping, and his little brother wouldn't be home from a sleepover. He has the house all to himself—and he hated it. He hated being alone, or rather, he hated the silence. Silence meant his mind was free to wander, and it always drew to two things: his failures, and the nightmares.

"No, please!" A woman's scream echoed. In her eyes, reflected those of another: cold, red, and cursed with the devil. The eyes of a killer. The woman watched her attacker hesitate. Their eyes darted to the side and back, as if indecisive. Only a second passed, before they levelled their weapon with the woman's frightened sapphire orbs.

"Shut up." The single gunshot was all that followed.

The cacophony reverbed inside Cyrus' head several times, breaking his reflective state of mind. This nightmare was a first-person experience, unlike the others, which were third-person. Whose eyes were he using to see the dream? Cyrus walked to the large, wall-mounted mirror in the living room, staring hard into his eyes. He had seen the assailant's eyes in the woman's, and they were harbingers of death. Cyrus stared into his own crimson eyes, wondering. Do my eyes really look so demonic? As he stared into them, his eyes were soft-featured, innocent. The mask of identity? He shook his head to free himself from such thoughts, sighing. I need some noise. No use dwelling on things.

The day came and went without anything out of the ordinary. Cyrus spent his time with homework. His eleventh-grade homework kept him very occupied. Before too long, Cyrus was finished, and looked out of his window.

"Wow. It's night time." He said to himself. "Time for bed, I guess." He went to brush his teeth, before he flicked off the lights, and crawled into bed. Already, he could feel his consciousness drifting, headed for the darkness he sealed away in a corner of his mind. Sleep... He commanded himself. Hurry... Mercifully, Cyrus fell asleep quickly, drifting into blissful unconsciousness. Tonight, there were no nightmares to haunt him, just peaceful darkness. That was, until the spell was broken.

"Cyrus!" Being a light sleeper, Cyrus' eyes flew open immediately. "Cyrus, wake up!" The blue-headed boy sat up, once again alert. He peered into the inky black that pervaded his room. It was still night, meaning the voice wasn't his father's, and Cyrus' brother, Aaron, never woke up at night. Besides, he thought They don't have the voice of a girl... Cyrus didn't live with his mother, meaning it couldn't be her.

"Wake up!" The voice shouted. Cyrus couldn't tell where it was coming from. Left? Right? In front, behind, above, or below?

"I am awake." Cyrus growled under his breath. He pinched himself, secretly unsure. It hurt, just as if he was awake.

"Heed my call..." Cyrus was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Answer mine!" He hissed, reaching for his mp3 player. "Good night." Cyrus closed his eyes, listening to the soothing sound of a piano. Inward, though, he was worried. Who was this? Nearly asleep, Cyrus' eyes opened one more time, pale-faced.

"Let your soul wake, Cyrus." Cyrus' music was loud, and in a crescendo. There was no way that he could hear someone speaking. He couldn't even hear himself think.

"Can you hear me?"

"I can hear you just fine." Cyrus hissed, removing his headphones.

"...Or can you just not speak it?" The voice's words echoed in Cyrus' heart, silencing him, but he didn't know why. Or can I just not speak?

"...I'm sorry, Scramble..." The voice, after apologizing, quieted for the rest of the night.

Groaning, Cyrus rolled out of bed, much like the morning before. The only difference now, was the pervasive fog clouding Cyrus' mind, instead of the piercing alertness that he usually had. Something had happened last night, he was sure. All he had, though, was ghostly images and a woman's voice, in a language he couldn't understand. An Asian language, maybe? Cyrus strained to remember, the fact he couldn't was eating away at him. He felt like he should know.

"Cyrus? Time to get up!" Cyrus' father called. "School today!" I'll figure it out later... Cyrus decided, getting dressed. However, he was slowly piecing it together. Slowly.

Despite trying not to, the now clear memories of last night were all that he could think of, as Cyrus readied himself for school. He suggested to himself, and quickly dismissed, many languages that the voice could have been speaking in. He was missing something, it had to be! It finally came to him, as Cyrus was about to leave his house.

"Bye Dad!" He called over his shoulder. His father's muffled answer fell on deaf ears, lost to Cyrus' thoughts. German! It was German, how could I not notice?! Instantly, something became clear, something he had missed, even when he had originally listened to the woman talk. Cyrus' concentration was focused on two phrases: "I'm sorry, Scramble." and "Or can you just not speak it?". The question, Cyrus decided Must be the woman asking if I could speak German. He wasn't entirely sure, but the idea satisfied him for now. His reason for thinking so, was the apology. The phrase, he realized, has been recalled wrong. What he missed, was the phrase actually being "I'm sorry, Herr Scramble". That one...I'm sure of. Cyrus, standing in the middle of the street, laughed out loud, earning him a few stares from onlookers. One mystery solved. That wasn't so hard. Cyrus still had a couple questions, but it was best to let the issue sit for a while. Only a few moments passed, though, before a single question popped into his head, and it was arguably the most obvious: Why did she call me "Scramble"?

Speech can be interpreted many different ways, much like music, literature, or art. Is that why there isn't but a single language? What's the reason?

I know, I know, I said I'd get this posted on Halloween, but a series of unfortuneate circumstances led to me not being able to. For example, a couple weeks ago, my laptop's moniter suddenly stopped being backlit, meaning the screen was almost completely opaque. I had it hooked up to a desktop moniter, but that died too. So, for a few days, I've been in the dark, as far as computer-access goes, until my dad and I bought a cheap moniter to hook up to the laptop. Appearently, repairing it will cost about $100, so we're holding off for a little bit.

Anyways, read and review, as always. I'm a little rusty, and I was never good at writing prologues, so hopefully the writing isn't too stiff. I've got another chapter on paper, so I'm gonna go type that up. Laters.

P.S. Can anyone guess what religious tale/icon I'm attaching to this story? The last line should help you.

Then you guys could hear from me more often, seeing as I find myself being less and less able to sit down at the computer for any length of time. When I am, I'm usually watching Giantbomb videos, or writing. Speaking of which, I've started writing something, and the prologue is geared up and ready for Hallows Eve. Friend and fellow user RPG_Hacker is helping me out with it a bit (or will be, when I finally get around to typing out the parts I need him for).

As for games, I've been going back to the Golden Sun series. I'm playing The Lost Age now, with Persona 3 on the side. I can't wait for P3P to come out in English! I just have to finish FES, so I can start on the Female route (because that's different?). Also, I dropped into my second full playthrough of Mana Khemia 2. I'm so happy about that, considering the last one took 70 hours...

Can't remember if I mentioned this or not, but my 360 RRoD'd (laugh it up >_>), so I've been going to my PS3 for console-time. My friend is letting me borow his copy of Uncharted 2 so I'll finally be able to sink my teeth into that game. I loved the first Uncharted, and I played the hell out of the Multiplayer Beta for UC2. Can't wait.

That's all I got for this quick blog, so leave a comment convincing me not to join Twitter (or convince me to join, doesn't really matter). I've got kung-fu soon, so...adios!

P.S. Just recalled that I don't have a title for that Halloween-premiering story. Damn...