Noun Sane

Take away the problem and they will soon seek what you have, livelihood under finances, the price no leader can pay. President Justin Briggs last words as I watched his eyes fade from this life. My wife grabs my hand as she leads me towards the door. Light from the sun hurts my eyes as the street sounds grew louder, the traffic, crowds, sirens, while approaching the car. Riding down the road my wife tells the driver to take us home.

As I'm looking out the window, I see america turn into a festival, an overall twist of emotions on the faces I just gave freedom to. It's not what you think, 'I tell myself', I did not murder anyone, I'm not in office or a politician at all, I'm just a common citizen who decided to have his own government.

Before I could think back to the beginning, the driver stops the car, my wife yells my name and points ahead to some kind of red-looking animal in the middle of the road.

I looked with confusion, his body, looks like of an ape, with a head of a lion, and stood at least twenty foot tall. The animal pound the street like a wave, flipping my car to the top of a building.

Trapped upside down in the car, I looked around and see my wife crawling out, my driver dies from the impact, and there's something else slowly walking towards me. A different animal, dark purple and black, seems like large eagle body with huge wings, but with the face of a shark. My wife hid under another car holding her left leg as she looks into my eyes with fear. The red animal jumps up to confront the other, and they began to speak, ENSLAVE FLESH NOT ENOUGH, ALL MUST PERISH.

My phone starts to go off and draws the animal's attention, as I'm trying to break free, the animals rushed towards the car knocking me loose until I begin to fall from the building.

The purple and black animal flew towards me as I'm falling and begins to strike, but an explosion from the building blew him away. Dizziness occurred as I'm falling, my mind blacked out as I'm thrown into some kind of flashback.

I see my past life in what appears to be a strange mirror or portal, did I die I thought to myself, no, no, I didn't feel any impact, I was still falling, maybe there's an answer somewhere inside.

Summer 2005, a seventeen-year-old KAL McKnight, born June 5th, 1988, in New Eayko Louisiana. I see the sights of the town, a poor swamp town, mostly restaurants, gas stations, and retail stores. My old neighborhood appeared, GLAVE ST, yeah, I remember, small yellow brick house was my childhood home, this memory feels strong.

I gain the wrong reputation in that house as a kid, classmates and parents would tease me, being from the monk vampire family that never goes anywhere, when all along I was just a poor kid who was tired of window shopping just so I could pretend to relate.

I walked up to the house, open the front door, and see a string of memories. This one shows me alone until I was sixteen, and then later found out I had a sister. I didn't want anything to do with her, I wanted to bury my past away from all mistakes, two weeks later, she died in a car accident. My anger for my parents made me question everything I believed in. I left the house and instantly stepped right into another memory, wait, I remember this one, June 2nd, 2005, Megan Robinson was my girlfriend at the time, but something went wrong.

So it goes, she called me on the phone and tells me not to come over because she wasn't feeling well and hung up as she coughed. I could always tell when she was hiding something, so, I grabbed some medicine and decided to head over, knowing her parents were out of town.

I make my way to her house and notice the front door was only half closed, I stepped inside and the volume on the television is sky high. I head upstairs, stepping over clothes, and the air is filled with cologne, I make my way to Megan's room, open the door, and to no surprise, Megan and my cousin Eddie having sex. Megan bounced up out of fear and says my name, I didn't do or say anything, I slowly closed the door, walked downstairs and headed home.

Outside the memory and despite what happened I keep thinking about the loud TV, a story on the news about President Briggs being investigated for murder in Mexico, I passed out. I awake all of a sudden at my old local park, Salt Brick Hill, I hated this place, the one place in town that won't allow you to be good, must be a memory here. All I can think about is my wife Rosa, I hope she's OK, and those animals, where did they come from?

Seems like my memories are tied to the current time, I heard the story about a Hispanic escort and a corporate name having a child, but rumors and the media doesn't always click. I walked towards a bench close by and see an empty cup right where I was going to sit, I picked up the cup and realized how can I touch things beyond the limit of a memory.

Out of nowhere, a voice says, WELL DONE SIR, YOU'RE STARTING TO LEARN THE POINT OF THE PAST. A bright yellow light to my right starts to glow, and from the light appeared a man in a white suit with gold looking skin. I yell who are you, and he replied, YOUR HOST AND GUIDE GOOD SIR, GRANTHAM ZERO AT YOUR SERVICE. What is this place I asked, he responds, THIS MY FRIEND IS THE CROSS VOID, MAN'S OWN PERSONAL PARADISE. JUSTIN OR PRESIDENT BRIGGS BECAME SO IN LOVE WITH LIFE AND POWER THAT HE SECRETLY AND ILLEGALLY DEVELOPED EXPERIMENTS SEARCHING FOR WAYS TO CONTINUE HUMAN AMBITION.

MR BRIGGS FINALIZED A PRODUCT NAMED ETHIL, A MENTAL TABLET PILL THAT ONCE TAKEN, YOUR MIND IS CONVERTED TO A WORLD OF MEMORIES AS FAR BACK AS TWENTY YEARS. THE CROSS VOID ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF, FROM MATERIAL THINGS TO PULLING IDEAS FROM YOUR MEMORIES, THINK OF A CITY, AND IN SECONDS IT'S BUILT. NO CURRENCY, NO HUNGER, NO WARS, AND YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE.

THERE ARE OTHERS WITH DESIGNED RESIDENCE FROM EVERY IMAGINATION OF LIFE. HOWEVER, MR MCKNIGHT LIKE SOME GOOD THINGS WITH MEN, THERE IS A PRICE. ONCE A PERSON DESIDES TO LEAVE THE CROSS VOID WITHOUT KNOWING THE RULES, THEY BECOME HORRIBLE CREATURES WHO'S PURPOSE IS TO CHANGE OR DESTROY ANY RACE THAT'S NOT THERE OWN. SO, MR MCKNIGHT ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS (he says), before I could begin to ask, I looked up and noticed the clouds begin to come down, the ground starts to shake, and then I hear a loud roar behind me.

I turn to look and there again was another one of those red animals, except this one was bigger with red hair and two gold horns on his head. The animal begins to speak to Grantham, THE REPORT, he says, GRANTHAM glanced at me and says, I BELIEVE I'VE FOUND THE SOLUTION SIR, JUST A BIT LONGER IF YOU CAN SPARE. The red animal replies, (PROCEED, SHOW THE VILLA).

The animal walked into a cloud and disappeared upward into the sky. I looked at Grantham and he has a sinister smile as I hear what sounds like a stampede coming closer and closer. Forced to cover my face from the smoke I later raised down my arms and saw these five huge black and purple cats with smoke coming from their eyes. MR MCKNIGHT, ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE TO YOU THE MAJI CATS, THE TRAINING COMPANIONS OF THE CROSS VOID, (training, I said). STRANGE AND FURIOUS CREATURES ROAM OUTSIDE THE VILLA, WE MUST PREPARE YOU AS WE MAKE OUR WAY (says Grantham). AFTER YOUR TRAINING I WILL ANSWER ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS, SO, LADIES ARE YOU READY.

The ground shook lightly under my feet as a rumble sound could be heard drawing near the surface, a large cage came up from the ground surrounding me and all five of the Maji cats. MR MCKNIGHT TWO OF THESE LADIES WILL STRIKE FROM THE FRONT, THE OTHER TWO FROM BEHIND, WHEN YOU EVADE, THE FINAL LADY WILL STRIKE.

THE FIRST LESSON FOR YOU IS DEFENSE, WHEN THERE IS NO ANGLE OF ESCAPE, YOU MUST DEFEND AT EVERY CHANCE. I stood still, no heavy clothing or shield and thinking what have I got myself into, but for some reason I felt ready, as if my body could feel everything around me. STRIKE (says Grantham), the four cats front and back lunge at me with speed I never thought possible, I jumped up straight into the air, the final cat jumps to attack, time starts to turn slow as my skin begins to turn gray. All of a sudden, black wings grew from my back and created some odd energy field, the final cat went into stasis and was shocked away from my wings.

My hair keeps getting longer until I could feel it on my lower back, I could see and feel smoke from my eyes like the Maji cats, but it was purple. Grantham what's going on with me (I asked in frustration), ALL WILL BE KNOWN AFTER YOUR TRAINING, BUT FOR NOW I NEED YOU TO FOCUS, (says Grantham). YOUR NEXT LESSON IS ATTACK, AND THE SOURCE OF YOUR ATTACK IS CALLED PSYCHIC MYSTIC, A DIM PURPLE BASED ELECTRICITY DESIGN TO CONTROL OR DESTROY.

THE TECHNIQUES THAT I AM ABOUT TO REVEAL ARE DEADLY AND SACRED, THEY SHOULD ONLY BE USED FOR VINDICATION. MAKE A FIST TO DRAW YOUR SWORD PHOENIX ROSE, WITHOUT YOUR WEAPON YOU STILL CAN DEFEND AND CONTROL, BUT WITH IT ANYTHING AND ANYONE IS FRAGILE. I ball my fist and from my right forearm came the most crystal black diamond katana that I've ever seen.

I held the grip and it felt alive, I could see it looking my eyes, then it stop, waiting and ready. MR MCKNIGHT YOUR MOVES IS BASED OFF YOUR MENTAL STATE OF MIND, NOW PLEASE LET US BEGIN, THE MAJI LADIES ARE IMMORTAL SO DO NOT HOLD BACK. STRIKE LIGHT IS YOUR FIRST ATTACK, A WIDE FRONTAL THREE COMBO SLASH, IT HAS RANGE, PRECISION, AND SPEED, WHEN YOUR READY MR MCKNIGHT. A Maji sets me in her sights as she prepares to strike, I plant my right foot forward, phoenix rose in my right hand as I hid it behind my hip.

The Maji takes off towards me but starts to mirror a ghost, I charged forward off my right foot so hard the ground followed right behind me. Maji extends her four claws and swings, my wings reflects and shatters her claws as she steps back off balance, I used strike light as if using a hot electric light, ONE, TWO, THREE. She was sliced into three parts, her head was smiling and said (amazing McKnight, you're a legend in the making).

As she become hold again, she tells Grantham I'm ready and begins to circle around me. I look at my body, and this world in disbelief wondering how is all of this possible. MR MCKNIGHT THAT WAS EPIC, YOUR SECOND TECHNIQUE AWAITS YOU WHEN YOUR READY, "says Grantham". THIS ABILITY IS CALLED COIN WATER, AS YOU STRIKE, YOUR BODY WILL COUNTER ALL ATTACKS. THE MAJI CATS WILL ALL STRIKE AT ONCE, UNTIL YOU GET THE HANG OF THINGS.

I couldn't believe it, for the first hour, I combo and counter like it was nothing, which makes me wonder who this guy really is, he had to know me in advance, but until I can find a way out, I have to play along for now. MR MCKNIGHT YOUR FINAL TECHNIQUE IS ONLY A LAST RESORT, GRAVE WAVE BY NAME, A WORLD SIZE BLAST THAT SHOULD ONLY BE USED WHEN THERE'S NO OTHER OPTION, WHEN THE TIME COMES, YOU'LL KNOW WHAT TO DO.

The Maji cats request to head home as they grew tired of training, OF COURSE MY LOVE'S, "says Grantham". As the Maji fades in the distance I looked at Grantham and asked, the large red animal before my, "training", who was he? Grantham responds, HIS NAME IS GREGSAW, THE FIRST ANIMAL OF THE CROSS VOID, LEADER AND KING OF THE ZEGA RACE. THE PURPLE AND BLACK ANIMALS YOU SAW ARE KNOWN AS THE AIYNAY(A-NAY), LEAD BY LEGNA, RULER AND QUEEN.

WHEN MR BRIGGS CREATED THE CROSS VOID, HIS SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO SHIFT HUMANITY INTO AN ETERNAL AFTER LIFE, WHERE HE COULD RULE FOREVER, WEALTH AND ALL. BRIGGS NEEDED A SUBJECT TO SEE IF THERE WERE ANY SIDE EFFECTS, HE DECIDED TO USE HIS PET APE GREG, WHO WAS ILL AND DYING.

THE THING ABOUT ANIMALS THEY SEE AND NOTICE ALMOST EVERYTHING AROUND THEM, GREG KNEW WHAT TYPE OF MAN BRIGGS WAS AND HE TOOK THAT EMOTION AND BEGAN TO CHANGE. GREG GAIN THE ABILITY TO SEE THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF OTHERS, AND BEND THE CROSS VOID TO HIS WILL, AT THE PRICE OF NEVER LEAVING. BRIGGS SEARCHED FOR VOLUNTEERS FROM STRESS LIKE PLACES, HOSPITALS, HOMELESS SHELTERS, AND EVEN PRISON SENDING ONE TEAM AFTER ANOTHER TO PUT AND END TO GREG.

PART OF BRIGGS TEAM ESCAPED AND RETURNED TO EARTH AS HORRIBLE ROGUE BEINGS, THE OTHERS AGREED WITH GREG AND WAS CONVERTED AS A ZEGA. BRIGGS KEPT HIS ROGUE FORMS HIDDEN, PREPARING FOR GLOBAL WAR, ZEGA AND AIYNAY ALIKE. THE RULES OF THE CROSS VOID IS THIS, ONCE AN ANIMAL ENTERS THE CROSS VOID, THEY BECOME ZEGA OR AIYNAY WITH UNIQUE ABILITIES AT THE COST OF NEVER LEAVING, ONCE A HUMAN ENTERS THE VOID, THEY CAN REMAIN HUMAN AND LIVE HERE FOREVER, OR TRANSFORM INTO THERE CROSS FORM AND LEAVE WITH A CHANCE TO KEEP THEIR CROSS AND HUMAN FORMS.

LEAVING AS A HUMAN ONLY WILL RESULT TO YOU LOSING YOUR SOUL TO THE CREATURE YOU BECOME. I looked at Grantham with a frown and asked, what's the origin of the aiynay race? WELL MR MCKNIGHT, LEGNA IS A CROSS BREED LIKE YOU, HER TRUE NAME WAS LANNA, ONE OF THREE CHILDREN OF PRESIDENT BRIGGS.

LANNA BRIGGS AT FIFTHTEEN OVERHEARD MANY PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HER FATHER'S PROJECTS AND DECIDED ONE DAY TO GO AND SEE FOR HERSELF. Grantham starts pulling up all the memories for me to see when all of a sudden it begins to rain.

Grantham notice and says WAIT, IT DOESN'T RAIN IN THE CROSS VOID THIS MEANS A GATORBLADE IS NEAR BY. 'A Gator blade', I said with confusion, GATORBLADES CREATE RAIN AND USE THE AIR FROM WATER TO STRIKE AND DISAPPEAR CONFUSING IT'S PREY. WE SHOULD HURRY MR MCKNIGHT, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR SUCH A FOE AS SMALL AS THEY ARE, I'LL EXPLAIN MORE ON OUR WAY TO THE VILLA.

We prepare to leave salt brick hill through an underground path as Grantham used his hands for light. Once again, my thoughts are with Rosa memories of us begin to show right in front of me. AH, LOVE, THE STRONGEST MEMORY OF ALL, DUE TO HOW RARE IT IS, IM SURE YOUR WIFE IS JUST FIND MR MCKNIGHT. As we carry on, I change the subject and asked about Legna as I suspect he knows more.

YES, YOUNG LANNA ONE NIGHT DECIDED TO EXPLORE THE SECRETS OF THE CROSS VOID, (he pulls up the memory), AS SOON AS SHE TOOK HER FIRST STEP IN, GREGSAW APPEARED AND THREW HER INTO THE MEMORIES OF HER FATHER. MR BRIGGS IS NOT A GOOD MAN MR MCKNIGHT, LANNA SAW HER FATHER BURY HER MOTHER AFTER SHE WAS REPORTED MISSING, SHE SAW HER FATHER HIDE MEDICATION FROM AN ILL COWORKER WHO SEEN TO MUCH.

MR BRIGGS BLACKMAILED AND DESTROYED MANY FAMILIES, LANNA WAS SO ANGRY SHE DIDN'T REALIZE SHE CHANGED INTO HER CROSS FORM, SHE SAW GREGSAW'S PLANS AND POWER AND AGREED TO HELP, HER RACE OF AIYNAY WILL BE RULED BY THE NAME LEGNA. WE'RE NEARLY THEIR MR MCKNIGHT, AS I WAS SAYING, LANNA LEFT THE CROSS VOID IN HER CROSS FORM WHILE KEEPING HER HUMAN FORM WHICH HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE.

GREGSAW'S PLAN WAS TO FIND SOMEONE IN THE EARTH WORLD WHO COULD HELP THOSE WHO LEFT THE VOID, MAINTAIN THEIR SOUL. AFTER TIME HAD PASS GREGSAW TRACKED LEGNA'S MEMORIES AND SAW SHE WAS IN TROUBLE, ROGUE FORMS IN BOTH ZEGA AND AIYNAY ARE CHANGING HUMANS, AND THEIR GOAL IS TO MAKE EARTH WORLD THEIR HOME.

We exit the path from the underground and I see the most beautiful place. WE NEED YOUR HELP MR MCKNIGHT, LEGNA WAS TRYING TO GIVE FORMS A CHANCE, BUT THE ROGUES ARE TAKING OVER, BEFORE YOU SAY ANYTHING, PLEASE LET US REFRESH AT THE VILLA.