Axel stood up and rubbing his eyes. Everywhere he looked was white as far as the eye could see. There were white tables, white chairs, as well as the walls and floors of the room. Even the clothes he was wearing were white. The only that did not appear to be white was the huge door that he had come tumbling through earlier.

As he marveled at the weird setting he was surprised to see an old man with long white hair and a beard sitting across from him at a long table.

The old man was picking up flash cards and examining them and then placing them back down.

“Who … are you...and where am I?” Axel asked

“Well that's one way to act act after barging into someone’s home!” The old man bickered.

“What?” said Axel confused.

“You boy are in my mind!” And let me tell you things were confusing enough before you showed up!” The old man yelled

“What…? I’m in your mind? What do you mean?”

The old man just continued to shuffle through the cards, lifting up each one with a look of disappointment as he placed them back down.

As Axel observed his strange behavior he realized there was nothing on the cards. The old man was picking up and examining cards that had nothing on them.

“Hey... old guy…. why are you looking at pieces of paper with nothing on them?”

“It's not about what's on them it's about what's going to be on them!” He yelled arrogantly. Picking up one paper and putting it down.

“What are you talking about?” Axel said puzzled

Letting out a sigh the old man slid a piece of paper and a pen across the table to Axel.

“Okay, now I want you to write something on that paper”

“Okay….” Axel said, giving the old man a strange look. He began to write the letters AX before he was interrupted

“You are writing your name aren't you?”

“Yeh how did you know that?”

“Write something else for me and the answer will become clear,” The old man said smiling. “Write something that only you would know.”

Axel reflected on the memories of the day. The dream of the square, O’Brian’s appearance, his run in with Lance. There were so many things to choose from.

After reflecting on his peculiar encounters with O’Brian he began to write the quote that O'Brien had mentioned earlier.

“In this world” Axel began to write.

“Of magnificence both beauty & chaos are in the eye of the beholder” the old man said.

Axel looked at the old man finally seeing the point he was making.

“So...you can read my mind?"

The old man rubbed his forehead and sighed before correcting Axel.

“No... Unfortunately I was not blessed with that gift.” He grumbled picking up another blank piece of paper.

“I was given the misfortune of being able to see the future”

Axel’s jaw dropped onto the floor. He knew Shifters were capable of truly amazing things but never thought this could be a capability. Controlling time and space was a power so incredible he could barely fathom how anyone would marvel at it.

“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed. You could travel back through time…... or travel to the future!"

“Like Spiderman!”(Axel)

“Like Spiderman!”(Old man)

They said in unison.

Somewhere in Axel’s reaction the old man had been copying the words Axel was speaking in perfect synchronization. As amazing as this was the old man seemed to be annoyed and bothered, made apparent by the childish voice he used to imitate Axel.

“Imagine every conversation, no every event in your life” He said sighing. “Was repeated in an endless cycle. No matter how hard you tried. Everything you did, you had to do twice. And depending on how bad you wanted to understand a situation, sometimes you could do things ten thousand times before you actually did it once!

Axel leaned back in his chair feeling attacked by the old man.

“Let me tell you!” He grumbled, “This conversation has a level of dullness I can't even begin to explain to you! It's like I'm repeating myself out loud and then hearing you repeat what I've already heard you say reacting to what I am going to say which I already know!

Axle’s eyes begin to spin around in circles.

“Who are you exactly?” Axel asked

The old man stopped shuffling cards and looked up at Axel. His face was tightly held together in a disgruntled expression.

He let out a sigh before addressing Axel.

“I'm just an anxious old man who’s waiting to die” “But enough banter you want to awaken your powers correct?”

Axel had a look of astonishment and opened his mouth before being cut off by the old man.

“ Yes yes it’s amazing I know that... now let me give you all the conversation of how I know without going back and forth I really like to save myself from repeating that conversation in my head out loud.”

“Instead there's a door behind us can you see it? It is the only thing in this room that is not white.” “That is the door to your mind. Open that door and you will find what you are looking for inside,”

“Uhhh and Yes is the answer, it really is that simple, however in order get what you want you have to make it all the way through your door without waking yourself up. If you fail to do that you'll fail to reach the other side.

Axel slowly approached the door. It was a dark black double bolted door with two doors on each side. On the door the word “Memories” was written across the top.

He looked back at the old man apprehensive about what lore on the other side.

“Good luck!” The old man said

Axel took one final breath before opening the double doors to see what was on the other side.

As he stumbled into the room Axel came to the same room in his house he was in earlier in the day. He began to find himself pinned to the wall by an invisible force once again.

The same scene played earlier with a great fire expanding and a man with dreadlocks people shooting out from the fire.

“From the flames of Prometheus I lay these embers upon this child.” Die now in flame and from the ashes and be reborn! “The voice chanted.

Axel looked into the dead black eyes of all of his assailant. Flames began to engulf his body as he felt his flesh incinerate. Axel let out a scream as flames worked up to his neck. It was only a few moments left before his will gave out.

“GET ME OUT WAKE ME UP!” He screamed coming to his senses.

As Axel began to wake up he was flung out of the burning house and dragged by an invisible hand into the White Room. As the hand dragged him up and out of the white room the old man looked up at him shaking his head.

“If you want to reach your higher self, you must let go of the pain that is weighing you down only then will you ascend.”

“Ahhh!” Axel said waking up in his bed. He was home, and this time for real.

He tossed over the blankets covering him and sprang out of his bed in a paranoid fit.

He pinched himself and squeezed his face making sure he was awake for sure this time. The ocean, the white room, the old man, O’Brian they were all gone without a trace. His clothes also seemed to have no evidence of being tossed into an ocean, or being mottled with mud. He stood into the mirror puzzled by his look.

“Was it all really just a big dream?” he said scratching his head

RRRMRMMRRNRBBR! came a sound from outside

The sound of a motorcycle roared pulling up outside of his house.

Alarmed Axel jumped to his feet and went to check out the startling sound.

Axel ran outside his house to catch the imposter. A short journey given its relatively small size

Axel lived in a small cabin house in the middle of nowhere. It was a small 1 floor home with 1 bedroom, a small living room, 2 windows and a small kitchen. There were no surrounding houses for miles, and nothing but a dusty trail that led to the western badlands. Axel made his way to the back of his house where the trail met his house to find the motorcycle.

There he found the motorcycle. It was actually hover cycle, a motorized bike that compressed and released air to pilot the bike powered by ether.

When Axel came upon the bike it had ceased running and no one was on it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Crash!

The sound of broken glass echoed through the inside of his house.

Axel ran back into the house. He looked around the small enclosed space finding no evidence of the intruder. After taking another look around the living room, he crept into his bedroom looking for the imposter.

"Your guards down Ax" a voice exclaimed.” He looked to his right and saw no one there.

Wham!

The imposter dropped down from the ceiling smashing him into the ground.

[https://i.imgur.com/3bDh3bm.jpg]

“Vincent,” Axel said looking up.

He could barely see with his head pushed down on the floor but holding him down was a slender man dressed in black and red. He was in his mid-20’s with a neatly groomed face, deep scarlet red eyes and hair. Silver chains dangled out of his pocket to match his gothic figure. The last piece of his outfit was his black bandana that hung over his head also marked with a V.

[https://i.imgur.com/sZBZQFf.jpg]

The man let go of Axel and allowed him to get to his feet. He struck a martial pose anticipating his opponent to retaliate.

Axel rising to his feet leaned to the side and got into a fighting stance as his opponent met him face to face.

“Ha-ha” the man muttered “your stance is so weak”.

He leaped into the air and kicked Axel on his side sending him flying out of the open house window.

Axel tried to get up but before he did the stranger was already on top of him.

“Ok OK… you win... I give up” Axel relented

“Not this time but next time for sure!” Axel said.

“Sure… Hahaa” said the stranger helping Axel to his feet.

“You did well so... I decided to get you something.”

The stranger reached into his trench coat and took out a comic labeled The Amazing Spider Man #2.

“Awesome! You’re the best big brother ever!” Axel shouted as he ran into his brothers arms

“I know I am, I'm just bad at everything else” he chuckled as he sat down at the table.

Axel was really into comics. They were forgotten by most children his age due to their restricted reading status branded by the S.P.A. The only method of getting one were in the underground black markets in the badlands, and they always came in printed text.

He looked to the heroes of the 20th century as guidelines for himself. After all he felt like a little superhero in training, and the S.P.A was the superhero academy.

“You wouldn’t believe what I went through to get that thing!” Vincent said laughing

“Some crazy goth girl tried to get her uncle to beat me up! All over this comic book!”

“HAHA it was worth it!” Axel said twirling the book around

“So tell me how is your training at school doing? Did you unleash that yearning potential yet!?” Vincent said in a sarcastic voice

Axel turned around annoyed by his brother’s question. His brother was fully aware of his no power situation and mocked Axel for the pursuit of his dreams.

“Listen bro…. it didn't happen today but just you wait one of these days I'm gonna show you, I’ll show all of you!” Axel began

“Woah Ax don’t talk like that you sound like a mad scientist” Vincent said raising his arms

“An angry scientist?” Axel asked.

Vincent blinked his eyes rapidly in disbelief. “That right” he sighed, “The kids of this generation have no attachment to the outside world.”

“Amazing” he remarked. “Kids these days….”

“Shut up your only like 4 years older than me!”

“7 Ax 7 can't you count! Wow is there anything you learn at school at all!

Axel now ripped in frustration glared at his brother.

“Vincent if you weren't my brother Id-”

Axel paused remembering the disappointment of everything he’d gone through earlier in the day. He hadn't been able to survive a day of high school, what was he doing making threats at his brother?

“Never mind,” he sighed.

“Hey Ax what do you say we take your powers for a spin?” Vince remarked picking up on his brothers depressed state.

“No… not again Vincent last time I could barely walk to school let alone “unleash my full potential” he said drawing quotes with his fingers.

“Common what do you have to lose bro?”

Axel looked up into his brothers eyes and saw something in them he had not seen in quite some time. Shining in his brothers scarlet eyes and thumbs up expression he saw hope.

“Fine” Axle muttered,

“Yahoo, Ima make you brolic bro!” Vincent hollered as he grabbed Axel and whisked him outside.

“Ok let’s see now, you shoot lugies right so maybe you’re a water type?”

“We already”-

“Uh uh uh listen to your big bro.”

“We both saw back then that you obviously have some water power.”

Vincent was referring to the time he had given Axel an apple that Axel had choked on and spat out of his mouth blowing a hole in the house.

Vincent lifted up a keg of water and whipped it at his brother. Axel raised his hands up in attempt to stop it, hoping he had some kind of aquatic ability. As Axel tried to telepathically stop the keg, it sped past his open arms and slammed into his forehead breaking open and drenching him with water.

“Well….. I... guess not” Vince said scratching his head.

“Maybe you’re an acid type!

“Try making a huge wad of spit.”

HUCK PTU!

Axel started to lob blobs of spit onto a piece of wood.

“Hmm not enough keep spitting!”

Axel spat until he ran out of saliva.

“Hmm,” said Vincent “No corrosive properties... and doesn’t seem to be a type of adhesive either.... Hmm I wonder.”

Vincent grabbed Axel's hand and took out a pocket knife. He slid the tip of it into Axel’s fingertip subtle pricking it.

“OW!” said Axel as Vince caused a tiny drop of blood to run down his finger.

Vince forced the tip of Axel’s finger into the pool of saliva he had just spat out. After holding him there for a few seconds, he let out a sigh.

“No regenerative powers either? Sorry Ax I’m stumped.”

“It’s ok Vince I didn’t think you could help anyway,” Axel said covering head with his hoodie as he sat down.

Suddenly Axel felt a rush of heat on the back of his head, like someone was staring at him. Quickly turning around he saw no one in the barren landscape of the dirt trailed outskirts.

“619” He said remembering the events from earlier.

He had still yet to figure at what point he had slept and when he had awoken.

“Vince….. What is the Gates like?” Axel asked.

Vince took a seat beside Axel on the side of his hover cycle punching Axel in the shoulder.

“C’mon Ax, You’re a far ways off from ending up in that place, why do you want to know about it?”

“Someone from the G.A.T.E.S came to my school today, and they said they knew what I was going through… I think they had no powers just like me.”

Vincent eyed his brother cautiously while stroking his chin.

“A G.A.T.E.S patient came to his school huh? That’s unusual” he thought.

“The Gates is a scary place Ax, Vince lamented.” There's a reason the vast majority of Shifters there are closed off from society.”

“The Gates is psychiatric facility that both tests and treats Shifters with various problems. They range from the most clinically insane Shifters, to some of the most docile, including those that have lost their powers.

“There are other Shifters with no powers?”

“Yes”

“Basically when a Shifters powers are not present they are usually sealed away. Usually it is because of an incident in the past or a horrific experience. Only life and death experiences will allow reopening of these skills in to in the process save the shifters life. It’s there At the Gates they use drugs and simulations to simulate these experiences. But there are other things that go on at the gates many people don’t know about like-

Bang! Bang! Bang! Came from the door.

“Hold that thought Ax Darrius’s crew is here.”

Vincent opened the door to find three men standing on his doorstep. One with a dark coat and a hat covering all but his green teeth. The other two were enormous twins with a set of animal tattoos. Gille Larry and Harry had arrived.

“Does he really need to send an eagle to get a payment from me?” Vince answered.

“With your reputation he should send all four of us down here!” Gille said sarcastically.

“Well here it is and here’s next months too.”

That’s my man Vince right there” said Gille “Man the people of this town could learn from you folks always on time with payments.”

“Yeah Yeah, just make sure my brother is safe I’d watch him myself If I had the time.”

“Yeah yeah we’ll keep the little squirt outta harm’s way”.

“Who ya callin twerp you lard head!” Axel snickered.

He was always brave whenever his brother was around.

“Can it squirt! You’re lucky your brothers a good man, Darrius could use a new waterbody for the colosseum” Gille jived.

Axel jumped up and tried to yell something at Gille but was stopped abruptly by a close line from his older brother.

“Owww” he squeaked, completely swooped of the ground day his brother’s forearm.

“Well if that’s all I’ll see you gentlemen later,” Vince said putting Axel in a headlock.

“It's about bedtime around here Haha gotta put the little one to sleep” he laughed.

“Hey let me go!” Axel said, trying to fight his way out of the headlock.

“Adios” said Gille.

And with that the trio disappeared.

Vince began to put on his biking jacket and goggles getting ready for departure. As he collected the last of his things, he saw his younger brother staring into his eyes with a puppy-dog expression.

“Oh c’mon what are you looking at Ax! It’s almost your bedtime!”

“Are you leaving Vin?” Axel asked

“Ax c'mon don’t give me this... it’s the same it's always the same” Vince said shrugging his shoulders.

“I come back once a month to give you food and money and that’s it Gille takes care of the rest. That, and you have the flare gun for emergencies.”

“Bro what am I going to do... the final exams are in 2 months if I don’t pass I’m either going to the G.A.T.E.S or the badlands and I don’t want to go either!

Vince clenched his fist letting out a sigh. “I don’t know bro… that one you’ll have to figure for yourself…”

“But bro… I don’t know what to-“

“I know Ax… believe me I know… But if I get involved… its only gonna make things worse, for now go to school and maybe things will work out. OK?”

“OK….” Axel sadly pouted.

Vincent finished putting on his helmet and walked out into the dirt pathway to his motorcycle.

GGRRRRMMMM

Axel stood by marveling at the biking as it started up lifting itself off the ground with a boom of compressed air.

“Hey Vince!” Axel shouted

“Thanks for the comic book!”

“Anytime bro! I'll be back next month, just hold out until then, I promise, we'll figure this powers thing out!”

“OK” Axel shouted back.

And with a dirt blasting whirl winding away, his brother was gone.

As Axel said goodbye he returned back to his bedroom, to the house he had lived in as long as he remembered, an empty one. He thought about the strangeness of the day and the dreams that followed finding no end or beginning to either one.

“This just keeps getting crazier and crazier” he said as he plopped down onto his bed. “The events of today feel like they happened over a month, not one day! I'm freakin exhausted!” he exclaimed.

“Well at least I'll finally get some real sleep. He smiled and wrapped himself up in his blanket. “I think I’ve had enough for one day”

“Yeah me too.” Answered a voice from beside him.

Axel jumped out of his bed to find the old man in all white sanding over him eating a package of jelly beans.

Axel had again found himself in a white room... This time however, there was no table, Axel found himself lying down in a white bedroom. The bedroom was identical to his, the shelves lamp light and sheets all looked the same except for their white color as well as the lack of walls, ceilings or any type of boundary in the ever expanding white background it was placed in...

“Welcome back!” The old man said reaching out his hand.

“What happened to the table???” Axel questioned.

“Weeeell I figured if I was going to start having guests that I should do a little remodeling! Would you like a jelly bean?” He asked earnestly, extending the bag towards Axel.

Axel gave the old man a strange look before grabbing a green jelly bean. Just before Axel began to put the bean in his mouth the old man busted out in laughter.

“What”? Axel asked.

“Oh it's nothing! Enjoy!” The old man said smiling.

Axel shrugged his shoulders and threw the bean into the air catching it in his mouth.

“BALAHAHAHAHAH” He cried spitting out the jelly bean on the floor.

The old man laughed to the point of tears after Axel’s reaction.

“That tasted like grass!” Axel yelled.

“That’s because its grass flavored!” The old man exclaimed.

“WHHHHHHHHHHATTTTT”

“You see Axel, these are my favorite snack! Even with my loathsome ability to predict the future, because there are so many possibilities of flavor, even I can't be dulled! In addition to that, I always know what flavor someone else gets before they swallow which comes in handy in situations like this!” He said grabbing his sides.

“Well” Axel laughed “At least you're being a lot friendlier than the first time.”

“Well I was expecting a guest this time so I made “mental preparations” Yasee what I did there?!”

The old man passed out a slice of white cake to Axel who quickly began consuming it.

Halfway through garnishing his slice Axel stopped and stared openly at the old man with a blank expression.

“Wait!” He remarked

“I’m not here to eat cake!”

“Oh? Should we play a board game then! I suggest Shiftopoly! Even with all my powers I still lose at that one.” He chimed

“No more messing around!” Axel said defiantly

“I’m going to awaken my powers!” He said leaving the room and heading to the black doors.

“Oh don’t bother doing that today” the old man remarked… I’ve already seen the outcome… Instead why don't you just stay here with me! It's been a while since I’ve had a chat with a real person! Although it is happening in my mind… Still I’d say it's rather refreshing!

“No” Axel said determined. “I'm going to do something about it.” He said opening the doors.

“Ahhh boys will be boys” The old man grumbled as Axel entered.

As he entered the room Axel came face to face with the same mummified romancer and screamed as flames engulfed him again.

Although he had made it further than last time it wasn’t 30 seconds before he attempted to wake up saving himself from the painful experience.

Swinging through the doors and flying through the hallway he caught the eyes of the old man on his exit.

“I told you!” he laughed as Axel disappeared out of the white room.

Axel could see him chewing on jellybeans smiling as the invisible hand dragged Axel away.