A Timekeeper’s Awakening

Cron stood awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do. He wasn't sure how to prove his Orgone. He only cast it when he was in danger. Lia was staring at Cron, getting annoyed.

"Well, any day now," Lia said.

"Um, how do I show you exactly?" Cron asked.

Lia rolled her eyes. "You said you cast your Orgone before, so you can do it again."

"Yeah, but that was because I was in a very tense situation. I just felt a beat in underneath my body, and well, I forced it out."

Lia shook her head. "For someone who is a bookworm, you sure don't understand Orgones."

Cron thought back to the fundamentals of Orgone books. He had an idea of what it was like. "I did read about them."

"And what did those little nerdy books tell you?"

"That Orgones are a part of the soul. It's like bringing out your essence from your body to the surface."

Lia scoffed. "How lame, that's not it at all."

Cron was confused. "How? Isn't it a part of us?"

"Think about it this way: it's like a shield in your back pocket. You bring out your shield when you need protection, right? Well, treat the Orgone the same way, and you should be able to cast it. I'm pretty sure Omar thinks the same way, right?"

Omar was surprised at being called on for the conversation. "Oh, uh, I didn't know I was getting involved."

Lia glared at him. "Then, how would I know if he has all three Time abilities?"

"Uh, our words?" Omar tried.

Lia glared more intensely at Omar. "Answer the question you."

Omar was a bit scared at her words. "Oh, right, um, yeah. I guess it does feel like a shield. I only cast my Orgone when needed because it drains me otherwise."

Lia looked Omar over. "You don't do breathing training, do you?"

Omar shook his head. "I don't want to use it that often. Mine's Slow anyway, so it's not that useful."

Lia laughed. "Compared to me, yes. But if you're creative enough, Slow can be useful. Anyway, my point was made. Think of it like a shield, and you'll be fine, Cron."

Cron thought about it. He nodded, then closed his eyes. Cron tried to think of bringing out a shield. He was concentrating on forcing the Orgone out. But, to his friends, it looked like he was standing there.

"Uh, what are you doing?" Lia asked.

Cron opened his eyes. "Trying to bring out my Orgone?"

Lia sighed. "It's okay if you don't have an Orgone, Cron."

"But I do!" Cron defended himself. "I cast all three last night. I just need the motivation to use them again!"

Lia eyes widen at an idea. "Oh, motivation, you say?"

Cron knew that look meant Lia was planning something, which might hurt. "What are you planning?"

"You two come to the field," she said, using her Speed Orgone to zip to the field.

Cron sighed, but he and Omar jogged to meet her. Lia was standing there with a grin. "So you want motivation, right? Well, I have one for you."

Cron gulped, and Lia immediately dashed to him, pushing him to the ground. Her action completely blindsided Cron, who looked at Lia in shock. Lia, however, stood with a grin.

"Come on, use your Orgone to stop me," Lia said.

"I wasn't ready for that," Cron said as he got to his feet.

"Too bad, try again," she said, using her Speed Orgone again.

Cron once more was shoved to the ground. He was getting annoyed at her antics.

"Come on, Cron. You gotta stop me," Lia said.

When Cron got back to his feet, he looked straight at Lia. He needed to use the Stop Orgone to win. At that moment, he felt an invisible force beneath his skin. Without another thought, he thought about stopping Lia in her tracks.

Lia zipped to Cron like before, but before she reached him, she was frozen. Cron was amazed at what he had just done: He stopped Lia and cast his Orgone! He lost his train of thought, and going at a normal pace, Lia shoved Cron to the ground.

Lia looked at Cron in surprise. She was overjoyed that her best friend finally had an Orgone. "Cron, you did it! You have an Orgone!"

Cron stood back to his feet. "I got two more, remember?"

Lia shook her head. She didn't believe that, but she was willing to give him the doubt. Again, she got ready to use her Orgone again. Cron was ready; instead of using Stop, he would match Lia and use Speed. It should be proof that he had more than one ability.

Lia charged towards Cron. At that moment, he summoned the Speed Orgone to match her. When both their Orgones collided, they both bounced off from each other. Cron fell to his feet, but Lia landed.

Lia was in complete bewilderment. She had never seen anyone use two Time abilities in her life. She has always heard rumors, but she never once believed them. But there it was: Cron used two Time abilities!

She then looked at Omar. "You," She said as she pointed.

"Me?" Omar asked in shock.

"Yes, you, use your Slow Orgone. And you, Cron, do the same."

Cron stood to his feet and nodded. Then he looked at Omar; he looked nervous using it, but he nodded, too. Cron wasn't sure how to show off his Slow Orgone. But he assumed that as long as he and Omar Orgones touch, it should be good enough.

Cron walked over to Omar. He didn't activate his Orgone until he knew he was close enough to Omar. Once Cron felt satisfied with the distance, he again thought about casting Orgone. This time, the Slow Orgone.

Cron then slowly walked to Omar, who walked. As they got closer, Cron braced for the forceful push of Orgones colliding.

Once their Orgones touched, they both flew back! Cron didn't expect a sudden pushback from the Slow Orgone. He tumbled back for a few moments until he stopped.

He then sat up, seeing Omar on the floor, but he did not get up. He gave a thumbs-up to let everyone know he was okay. Cron then turned his attention to Lia. Lia's eyes had never been wider.

"You have all three!" She cheered. "This has never happened before! What should we do?! We should tell everyone you would be so famous!"

Cron chuckled as he got up. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"What, why?! Don't you think people would love to know?"

"It's not that after being called Timeless and suddenly having all three Orgones would be somewhat suspicious. Look at Rom; he accused me of having an Imbued Item."

Lia sighed. "That's true; negative attention is never good." Then Lia snapped her fingers. "Wait, I have an idea! We can talk to my cousin!"

"You're cousin?" Cron asked.

"Yeah, he's super smart! So, maybe he could help you with your abilities."

"Wait, why wouldn't I just study here?" Cron asked.

"You said yourself you don't want people to know. And my cousin keeps a lot of secrets. Also, he teaches only upper-class students here."

"Okay, how would you convince him to help me?"

"Because I'm just that cool," Lia smiled. "Anyway, after classes again tomorrow, cool?"

Cron thought about that. Whoever Lia's cousin was, he hoped they could help. "Okay, that sounds good. Thank you, Lia."

Lia shrugged. "Don't mention it. You hear that, Omar? After class tomorrow."

Again, Omar gave another thumbs up. Cron looked at Lia in surprise. Lia shrugged again. "What? He knows, too. Might as well bring him along."

Cron agreed and helped Omar up. Tomorrow was a new day for Cron. He would meet a teacher who knew so much, but before that, he would have to endure the classes of academy life.