Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 33 - Potentials

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Chapter 33 - Potentials

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Being the leader of a Colour team in Sirah meant Raph often didn't get a full night of sleep, but rarely was it the intruder alarm that woke him up. 

Raph sat up, whipping the covers off and forcing his eyes to adjust and scan the darkness despite the way they blurred. The alarm would set off a series of protocols, one of which locked down the bedroom doors to give them time to assess the threat. The Elites insisted on it, although it didn't do much if the threat was already inside the room. 

He seemed to be alone. Raph kicked the remaining blanket off his feet and moved towards where his colour suit hung, putting it on with a well practiced movement. He was always armed, but having red for his colour meant some defense was required. Taking a few hits was almost a certainty in most fights, and his suit was designed to deal with them. 

It took him a second to remember the specific code to lift the protocol locking the door, but a second later the grey metal sheet rose back into the ceiling to reveal the hallway beyond.

Zoe was already there, halting her stride when she heard his door. Unlike him, she hadn't bothered to change into her suit and stood in the pajama singlet and shorts she usually slept in. 

"What's going on?" she asked. 

Kione's door opened and he poked out his head. The colour of his skin made it hard to see against the darkness. Athira's door remained locked. Raph doubted she was even in there. 

Doesn't matter. "Shift's on patrol tonight, Talia's on guard duty," said Raph, waving Zoe and Kione forward. "Which means she sounded the alarm."

Sure enough, Talia's voice came through the communicator that lived on Raph's wrist. "Foyer. Now. Shift's hurt, Athira's with him."

She didn't have to repeat the words. Raph's mind did that for her. 

Shift's hurt.

Possibilities ran through his mind, each one more unlikely than the last. 

Shift had been caught by surprise while out. He'd been targeted by a villain group specifically and taken down, barely managing to escape. He'd stumbled upon a nest, or someone on the Elite's wanted list and tried to take them on solo.

He'd been somewhere that he shouldn't have been. 

With Athira. 

He tried to tell himself he wouldn't blame her when he heard the story, but he knew it was going to take something special for that to happen. Athira or not, Shift was a younger brother to him. Too well natured for his own good. Too willing to accept that someone might be something they're not, if it meant giving them a chance to change. 

I'm starting to sound like Talia. Guess her nagging got to me. 

That, and all the strange, unexplained occurrences. Like why Shift was worried about her presence at the tower, why she kept sneaking out, and why the Owl had supposedly been spotted at several places around Sirah and reports were still coming in about her activities despite Athira denying all knowledge. Or just avoiding the topic all together with meditations. 

They reached the foyer. Shift was laid out on his stomach near the edge of the room, the two girls kneeling over him. Raph recognised the Owl's signature cape on the ground beside Athira and a knot formed in his stomach. 

She didn't attack him... did she?

He forced himself to wait and ask questions later. Blue colour flickered at Talia's fingers as Raph caught sight of a previously prepped rune stone the size of his fist in her hands, but his eyes were drawn back to the bloodied purple rags on the floor beside Talia.