Chapter 21: Chapter 21

He struggled, his breaths being swallowed by his ocean of darkness. He strove to reach the top, to be let out of this lonely darkness but pressure wouldn't let him. Any moment from now, he could be drowning and once again sink into the unknown. This was the adverse affect of his animalistic nature. It always drowned his consciousness while the monster in him took over.

As he drowned, his eyes sealed shut and all that flooded his head was Doctor Roberts talk.

************

"I have DID. Dissociative identity disorder." Theodore affirmed and if the Doctor had been worried or even had any hint of awe, he perfectly hid it.

"It happened after the explosion."

"That is disappointing." The Doctor solemnly avowed while he nodded slowly. "So how many personalities do you have?"

His eyes met the Doctor's.

"Three." He paused as his gaze darted to the chess board. "There's Tara, a girlish teenager who thinks she's high school most wanted hottie and a fashionista. There's me and the last one."

"Who is the last one?" Doctor Roberts asked cautiously, with his gaze solely focused on him. Theodore gulped down his saliva in a bid to swallow his fears.

"Ralph." He whispered. "The suicidal, homicidal character fueled by self rage. He his the only personality that easily slips into my animalistic nature. And trust me, you don't wanna see him."

Doctor Roberts nodded with a stern expression dawning on his face.

"When last have you had one of those personality changes?"

"Weeks ago." Doctor Roberts hummed.

"I can actually retain myself if I don't lose focus." He muttered.

"So if you have many things bothering your mind, you revert?" The Doctor questioned. He sighed but then Doctor Roberts suddenly donned his usual smile.

"I'll have to enroll you for Cognitive therapy. It will definitely help in reducing your chances from slipping."

***********

His ocean blue eyes jolted awake amidst the darkness. His palms curled into a fist; he wasn't going to succumb to his monstrosity. Not this time. He sealed his eyes again, this time in a bid to overcome his monstrosity. Focus.

His eyes opened again but this time in a weakly fashion. He wasn't greeted with an oceanic darkness but the loamy soil of his training room. The little birds chirped, while some built nests on branches and a few naughty ones pecking on his ruffled blonde hair.

He huffed and immediately, he felt pain shoot from his stomach and across his arms. He arose lazily whilst reviewing what mess he had orchestrated. The walls he remembered to be seamless were now designed with several claw marks. Stretching to a relatively long length. His clothes were tattered with hints of blood droplets.

"Welcome back, Theodore." The walls sounded sonorously but he wavered not. For the voice was soothing and all too familiar.

"I hope I didn't cause too much damage, Service." He answered to no one in particular while he rubbed through his messy long hair frantically.

"Well, you did cause a lot of damage but everything is perfectly under control." The AI stated courteously. Theodore sighed.

"You were gone for a week too." Service added and his eyes exclaimed. Mouth agape and shock ripples grinding his spines.

"A week?!" He blared. His voice hinting heavy doses of disappointment. This was the first time he had lost control for so long.

"Affirmative." Service pronounced.

"I recommend you take a warm bath and have some nice meal before we continue your training."

Theodore arched an eyebrow in confusion. He was locked underground in a stimulated forest, where could he possibly have a warm bath and a meal. But those thoughts soon tousled as the wall by his right gradually slid open. Revealing a beautifully furnished apartment.

"Doctor Roberts never ceases in surprising me." He voiced inadvertently as his legs marched him into the apartment.  ---

"Need I remind you, Theodore," Service's voice protruded in the apartment while the wall shut behind him. "This apartment is only accessible for four hours per day and the rest of the hours shall solely be for training." The AI stated sternly.

"I know!" Theodore remarked as he strolled into the bathroom. "Now please shut up and make a bacon for me. Thank you."

"As you wish." Service answered courteously.

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An heavy sigh escaped Theodore's breaths as he emerged into his training room dressed in a dazzling black singlet and sweatpants. His clothes only had one design. A Golden Globe with an inscription, The Shining, at the top left of his chest.

He reviewed the stimulated forest uninterestingly, wondering how he was supposed to find a buzzing fly. At the same time, he was scared of slipping into monstrosity. Either ways, he needed to complete his training if he wanted to see the sunlight again.

He strode to the center, heaved a light sigh before sealing his eyes shut while tiny orange waves escaped his body encompassing metres around him. He could feel the usual things his senses picked but this time, he needed to find this fly and not revert into monstrosity.

There was only one way.

############

"Curse you Doctor Roberts!" Collins screamed through his ceaseless pants. His heart racing like sport cars, his adrenaline pushing him to dash faster. "Somebody help me!" He yelled whilst running as fast as his legs could take him. Even though he wanted to stop, even though his breaths came out in tiny bits, the growls of hungry lions fiercely chasing him was enough to make him stay motivated. But with every step he took, his pace was slowing. The predators were almost at him.

"Somebody help!" He screamed again, sweats breaking all over his body.

How he had gotten here, he didn't know. All he knew was he fell through a portal landing him in the midst of hungry lions. He tried teleporting back but his energy seemed to have depleted but at this pace, he was going to be dinner for this animals. His eyes exclaimed as he caught glimpse of a rock few meters away.

His pace intensified as he headed towards it. And at the last moment, where he almost fell prey, he climbed the middle height rock.

"Curse you Doctor Roberts." He groaned, unable to catch his breaths as the Lions encompassed around him. Stealthily waiting for an opening to attack. He panted ceaselessly before finally able to muster enough energy. But rather than teleport like he expected, blood only toured out of his nose. He almost collapsed and then realization struck him. Travelling through his portal had drained him and landed him in a Savannah. A place he had never visited. Something that had never happened to him before despite his experience in his powers. But the growls of this hungry animals wouldn't allow him wait, they could grab him at anytime.

Hence, he struggled to find his stance and once again. He began building energy again, slowly imagining his training room again. And when it peaked, he fell through his orange portal again.

"Ahhh!!" He screamed till his face thudded against the cold metal floor. He was back, he almost heaved a sigh but his overwhelming pain wouldn't let him.

"Welcome back Collins." Doctor Roberts chirped as the elevator door slid opened. But Collins writhed in pain as he sat on the floor, still trying to get his breaths.

"I swear, I need an urban bath." He groaned.

"Took you long enough." Doctor Roberts smiled as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "Where did you teleport to?" He queried on a stern note.

Collins held the Doctor's gaze for a while before his lips parted.

"Usually, my powers only permit me to travel to places I've been too before or seen but this time. It was different." His lips pursed as his mind replayed his life threatening ordeal. "I landed in a savanna being chased by hungry lions."

"You could have simply teleported back." The Doctor replied but Collins could see, the man restrained himself from laughing.

"I wish but apparently, I couldn't. It was like I was drained off energy." He grunted.

The Doctor hummed.

"Do you know you were gone for three hours?"

"Hours?" He frowned. "I thought I was only gone for like thirty minutes."

"No." The Doctor wriggled his head. "It appears that your portal altered your own time. While you thought you were gone for minutes, it actually took hours for your Portal to land you back to reality."

His frown deepened.

"And why is that?" He sharply asked but then the elevator slipped open for Mira to step him. My eyes exclaimed and then he realized he had completely forgotten about her. She was with him when he teleported but he was puzzled how she was here. Safe and unscathed.

"Wait a sec, how is she here?" He pointed.

"While you were unable to teleport yourself successfully to the right place, you were able to teleport Mira successfully." Doctor Roberts explained.

He gasped.

"So you mean, while I was busy running away from animals that want to make me as Dinner, Mira was safe all along?" He pitched in disbelief. Doctor Roberts nodded.

"Now the question is, what really happened when you teleported? What went wrong?" Doctor Roberts asked while Collins finally arose. He thought about the whole incident again, before exhaling.

"Whenever I travel through my portal, I first pass through a small wooden room but this time." He glanced between the two of them. "This time it felt like I was tossed into a dark ocean alongside Mira. Then all of a sudden, the tides separated us. And that's how I landed in the Savannah." He paused.

"And when I tried to teleport back, I couldn't. My energy was drained off that teleporting at that instant almost Killed me."

The Doctor hummed again.

"So have you seen it for yourself now. That you have a weakness. In fact, weaknesses."

His teeth gritted while his palms almost curled into a fist. The Doctor hadn't mentioned his flaws yet but Collins already hated it.

"First of, You take at least five seconds before you can use your powers. Secondly, You can't seem to transfer any matter that is greater than or nearly equal to yours. And the final one," The Doctor gestured. "Teleporting matter greater than you, will deplete your energy completely and land you somewhere in an instinct of time you never existed in."

"Oh great. So from just this one time you've already jumped to conclusions." He rolled his eyes.

"It's partly a theory but deep inside I'm sure you know I'm correct." Doctor Roberts replied while Collins hissed. He didn't want to accept the truth that his powers that he had once thought were perfect weren't.

"So now that you've proved I have weaknesses, what's going to happen now?"

"Training, to combat those weaknesses of course." The Doctor began a snail pace around him.

"We'll have to work on the timing of your powers and how you can boost, build and conserve your negative energy. By the end of your one month training, you should be able to teleport in a millisecond and teleport people or things greater than your size."

"And how do you suppose we do that?" He peered at the Doctor suspiciously.

"This room of course. This room is equipped with lasers programmed to shoot at you per second. Your first week here will be trying your very best teleporting to dodge them."

His eyes widened and then he reviewed the innocent looking room again.

"You must be dreaming if you think I'm going to stay here for one week with lasers shooting at me!"

"It's for you and your team's own good. And knowing the type of person you are, I'm sure you'd want to escape of this place." The Doctor stopped before him, holding his gaze carefully.

"There's a chip in your body. The moment you leave this vicinity for a second, the chip is programmed to electrocute you straight to unconsciousness." He smiled but Collins frowned as his heart skipped a beat.

"So for your own good be a good employee and train." Collins watched in horrific awe as Doctor Roberts and Mira migrated to the elevator.

"I'll see you in one month time."

"Wait so I'll be locked here in this room for one month?!" He yelled exasperatedly.

"Yes. Service will put you through and attend to every of your needs." The Doctors said with a tiny smile. "Enjoy." He waved till the door closed. But Collins grunted, locked in a room for one month training was definitely going to be an hellish experience.