Colin's posts

Ash just rolled his eyes.

"Given what I just saw, I don't think he could have done anything to you." he told her.

"I doubt he could have summoned the resistance to." he admitted.

"If I were to wager a guess, you evoked the same level of power, fear, and authority as Vanessa." he then said further. "And as soon as anyone does that, he tends to wimp out quickly." he went on.

"So yeah, I suppose there was a 1% chance for him to have fought back or reacted violently, but odds are that wouldn't have been a problem for you, anyway." he added with a shrug.

"Seems like you could kill both him AND me with a flick of your wrist."

"......" Lindsay was silent.

"Sure." he said.

"I... I should go." he then said further.

"I need to go to the Unit." he finished.

With that, he quickly disappeared in a burst of red flames.

"Guess he's going to destroy his research." Ash commented.

"I think that's the only place he's been storing it."

"....Eddie...?" Lindsay asked.

"Seems the future is SO bad, that we go by Eddie and Joe." Ash told him.

"You know, shortening our middle names and going by something that sounds more normal, and makes it easier to hide and blend in." he explained further.

"...I..." Lindsay stammered.

He then just hung his head, dejected.

"...I think he's done with trying to do science stuff, so... that's good?" Ash said to Vic.

Lindsay nodded again.

"I'm done with science." he told her.

"Completely done. No more." he said further.

Ash just shook his head.

"And how do you do THAT?" he asked.

"Just 'poof' and you're there?"

Lindsay was unresponsive for about 10 seconds, before his eyes opened.

And he almost freaked out when he saw who was hugging him.

It wasn't a violent freak-out, but his eyes flashed with panic and fear, before he somehow managed to calm himself down.

"No, she didn't permanently kill you." Ash said to him.

"Odds are she would have without a second thought, though." he went on.

"So. Have you learned your lesson?" he asked.

"...yes." Lindsay replied.

"I'm scrapping the project, destroying all evidence of it, and I think I'll just use all my spare time to... plant trees or something." he said.

Lindsay almost looked like he would turn into a vegetative state at that point.

He looked at her, horror and fear in his eyes, before nodding quickly.

"Y-yes." he stammered, his heart beating far faster than was healthy.

And whether it had been the mana influx, or the sheer terror he was feeling, he looked to either pass out, or die.

"Great." Ash growled.

"Well, I suppose scaring your victim to death is one way to force them to bend to your will." he commented.

"Congrats. Pretty sure you've stopped him from going through with his plan." he told her.

"...and once he comes back from this, we'll see if he ever decides to tackle some problem ever again..." he then muttered.

Lindsay was... silent now.

But it looked like he was trying to talk. To move.

But something was holding him back.

"....." Ash watched this, before looking at Vic.

"Okay, I think he gets it." he told her.

"Do you legit want to KILL him?" he asked her.

"Or... yourself, for that matter."

"What?" Lindsay asked.

"How is that removing what a human is?" he asked her.

"YOU'RE a human. Mom's a human. Mages are human! Well... 99% of them are." he corrected himself.

"Wait... their soul?" he asked.

"Is mana THAT deeply tied to it?" he asked further.

"Seems so, bro." Ash commented.

"N-no..." Lindsay stammered.

"That... that can't be..." he said.

"Pretty sure she knows what she's talking about it." Ash chimed in.

"...." Lindsay was now silent, before falling into a chair.

"How...? Why...?" he mumbled.

"All I wanted was to try and make the world a better place for all." he commented.

"Well, road to hell and all that." Ash said offhandedly.

".....what?" Lindsay asked, his tone quiet and surprised.

"No... no, that... that can't be..." he said.

"How...? Why...?" he mumbled, now seemingly lost in his own mind.

"The... the formulae should... but... it'd be a slow-release..." he went on.

Ash just sighed.

"I think it's like poison." he said.

"Doesn't matter if you guzzle it or have a slow steady drip. It'll kill ya."

Lindsay was a pacifist. Very much so. He detested conflict of any kind, right down to arguments. He would debate and discuss, but he would always back down from an argument. However, his eyes showed that this time might just be the exception.

"Wait, what?" Ash asked.

"Activating mana in the average person? Are you serious?" he asked further.

Lindsay just turned to him.

"We are hated and feared because we are different." he said. "If all had access to their mana, then perhaps we could all understand each other, and the conflict would cease." he told him further. But before Ash could respond, Lindsay turned back to Vic.

"How do you know of that?" he asked her.

"And how dare you make such assumptions? You allude to my project showing I don't care for my family or the people of this planet!?" he exclaimed.

"I WAS about to give up on it, yes, but I was recently pushed into continuing. And I AM making progress."

"....excuse me?" Lindsay asked.

"That's a very harsh assumption to make." he told her.

"And my side project? You know nothing of it." he continued.

"It's not applicable here, anyway." he went on.

"Is this why I was brought here?" he then asked Ash. "To be insulted?" he asked further.

"Is this some kind of twisted humour?" he then asked him.

"Wish it WAS, bro." Ash responded.

Lindsay looked confused for a moment, before shrugging.

"I... what kind of a question is that?" he asked.

"My family mean more to me than anything else in this world." he told her.

"And the people of this planet all deserve to have the best possible lives."[/lb] he went on, before pausing.

[b]"Ah, well, within reason. There are some that deserve less than others for the choices they've made in their lives, but... that's splitting hairs, one can argue." he then clarified.

"Why?" he then inquired.

Got it. Be there shortly. was the response she received.

And sure enough, about a minute later, there was a knock on her door.

She made her way there and opened it, seeing both her brothers there.

"...oh my." Lindsay said.

"You were certainly not kidding about the power in this room." he told Ash.

"Told ya." Ash replied.