Dedicated to Nobody_Cares_For_Me
---
Chapter 29 - Trails
---
“Shift, get down!”
Raph didn’t get a chance to see if Shift had managed to dodge the mind blast from the purple colour concealed on the upper floor, already under assault from that purple colour’s green friend.
He ducked under the swipe, complete with colour-morphed claws that missed his skin by inches. The green colour’s eyes flashed in annoyance under her black face mask as she drew back both hands slightly in preparation for a lunge. Knowing he couldn’t lean out of that one, Raph dove off to the side, forcing the green colour to chase him.
About... now.
Raph lashed out with his red colour-formed staff, catching the green around the ankles and tripping her up as she ran towards him. As she fell to the ground, Raph pounced. With his weight pressed into her back he dragged her hands, still equipped with claws, together into the binders.
She struggled, of course. They always did. But once he managed to down the females that relied on some form of melee for their colour, they usually stayed down and this one was no different. Most of them just didn’t have the strength to meet his own.
“Bastards.” She attempted to spit on him but it missed and landed on the concrete about a metre away. “You can’t stop us all, you know. We’re going to win against you cowards eventually.”
“Yep, sure,” said Raph as he finished locking the binders and set them to ground their prisoner. “Let me know how that works out for you.”
“You all think you’re so clever,” she said. “Prancing around in your little colour suits, protected by the Elites when it’s too much, bah. You’re all useless! If I had--“
Raph didn’t hear the rest of her rant as he ran off to rejoin the fight.
Zoe was tied up with some other orange colour who was taking control of various looking electronics around the museum displays and setting them on what Raph could only guess was death mode. It would have been funny, a little box of plastic and glass charging at her with antennae raised if not for the fact that the ancient television was actually trying to impale itself on Zoe’s head.
Talia had taken the purple that’d tried to mind blast Shift, while Shift was caught up with another red and blue colour in the corner. Judging from the way he was dodging their attacks and trying to get closer, he didn’t have much, if any colour left to fight with.
I got you, bud.
Raph ran over, colour already solidifying in his palm to a useful shape. Three steps in, he pursed his lips, released a whistle that ascended in pitch and threw the bolas at the trio.
Shift dove left at the sound of Raph’s whistle, just in time for the bolas to go flying past him and crash into his attackers. Even though it was out of his direct touch, Raph managed to manipulate the balls on the end to swing in his advantage, getting a third full rotation out of the bolas before he lost it.
The surprise impact made the red colour’s katana dissolve back into unmoulded colour while the blue almost dropped the runes he’d been preparing. The bolas didn’t hold them long as the red moulded a dagger and sliced through Raph’s already fading ropes but they’d done their job.
Shift kept left while Raph edged right, forcing their attackers to turn back to back or risk an unseen strike.
The blue colour faced Raph, and he seemed to know as well as Raph did that he was going to lose this match up. Despite that, his fingers closed around a rune stone. Blue light trickled from between his fingers as he activated it and threw it at Raph’s feet.
Raph hated runes. More to the point, he hated fighting against people who used them because you never knew what the hell they’d just pulled out. It could have been a miniature smoke cloud, or it could have been something that was going to collapse the building around them -- although from the looks of this guy Raph was better on the first.
The stone exploded as it hit the ground. Raph leapt back, searching for any sign of change only to find when his feet touched the ground again, they couldn’t get traction.
“Of all the runes,” said Raph as he tried to keep his feet. “You pick that one?”
The blue colour didn’t reply, his hand already back in his bag of runes and his face a mask of frantic desperation. He started pulling out another rune, but one rune was all Raph felt he could deal with for today. Pooling his colour, he morphed back his staff and used it to jab the blue colour in the chest and send him sprawling.
Raph staggered forward and made a grab for the rune bag. The blue colour resisted, but Raph was stronger. Two solid yanks and the bag was out of the blue colour’s hand and skittering across the floor far, far out of reach.
He clamped one half of the binder over the blue’s hand. “You stay here.”
Traction was returning to Raph’s feet as he stumbled towards the red colour pushing Shift into a corner. Shift had scored a hit on the red at some point if the small colour dagger in his hand was anything to go by, but he wasn’t winning. Just buying time.
Raph raised his staff and brought it down across the red’s shoulder blades. The red lurched back, recoiling at the pain, and Shift took the chance to knee him in the stomach which quickly brought him down. With the red colour on the ground, Raph restrained their arms and reached for another pair of binders on his belt only to find none left.
“Shift?” said Raph, holding out a hand expectantly.
Shift blinked at him, running a hand through his hair. “Huh?”
“Binders?” said Raph. “I’m out.”
“Oh.” Shift unclipped a pair from his belt and passed them over. “Here.”
Raph secured the red colour quickly and pulled him to his feet. They picked up the blue colour along the way, placing them next to the green colour Raph had brought down earlier, now joined by Talia’s purple and Zoe’s orange who gave up after realising he was the only one left.
“So,” said Raph. “Don’t suppose any of you want to make this easy and tell us what such a large group was doing raiding a museum display of ancient electronics and their inner workings?”
The green colour sniffed her nose, but that was the only reply they got.
“Fine,” said Raph. “Tal, watch them for a sec.”
“Can do, boss,” said Talia. She flexed her fingers and grinned at their newly captured prisoners.
Raph jerked his head at Shift, who still looked like his mind was anywhere but the museum despite having his head almost taken off on several occasions in the past five minutes.
“Piece of tech get you?” asked Raph, nodding at the rapidly fading cut lengthways down Zoe’s arm. Her suit mended with her, and after a moment there was only a narrow bloodstained path to indicate she’d been injured at all.
“I’m okay,” said Zoe, scrunching up her nose. She pressed a hand to the back of her neck. “He took control of one of the aeroplane models and kamikaze’d it into the back of my head, which kinda hurt. But I’m good now.”
“Speaking of orange colours,” said Raph, tapping his wristlet. “Kione, you there?”
“When am I not?” came the reply.
“We need whatever intel you can get on this group. Only thing they have to identify them are black facemasks with white thread and some kind of half-cloak thing that hangs over one shoulder. Think you can find anything?”
The sound of Kione’s keyboard was audible before Raph had even finished. “If it’s there, I’ll find it. And,” he added quickly. “That report you saw on the Elite database earlier was correct. A nameless someone did leave notorious colour villain Aesthol on the HQ’s steps this morning some time around six, completely unconscious. Just thought you’d want to know.”
That wasn’t something Raph expected to hear. They’d been tracking down Aesthol’s location for the better part of a month and come up with nothing. “Well, that makes our lives easier. Guess he got on someone’s bad side.”
Shift brought his own wristlet to his mouth. “Kione, any word on Athira?”
More tapping, and then a sigh. “Nope. She’s still in her room, buddy, just like every other time you’ve asked. Hasn’t moved since she got back at seven this morning.”
“Keep an eye on her for me. Please.”
“What are you, her nanny?” said Kione.
“She’s probably just meditating, Shift,” said Zoe softly. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “You have to give her space.”
Shift was silent for a second before glancing up.
“I guess,” he said, although Raph figured the answer was more designed to placate Zoe than stick to the truth.
“How much sleep did you get last night, Shift?” asked Raph.
Shift shrugged. “A few hours, I guess. Why?”
Raph rubbed his forehead. “Go back to base. You have the rest of the day off.”
“What?” Shift frowned. “You need me, if you get attacked by another one of these groups--“
“We’ll be fine,” said Zoe. “Besides, you won’t be doing much good if you fall asleep mid fight, will you?”
It was meant as a light tease, but Shift’s face hardened. “Yea, guess you’ll just have to save me from that too, right?” He shook his head. “Fine, I’ll go back. I’m going out on patrol tonight though. Deal?”
“Deal,” said Raph.
Shift walked off. Raph half expected him to crash into a wall with the amount of attention he was paying.
“You think they’re lying to us?” said Zoe, chewing the inside of her lip.
“I don’t know,” said Raph. “I’m not sure I buy this whole patrol story. I mean, Athira just happens to be out even though we never see her leave, calls for backup from Shift who also manages to sneak out unnoticed, and he doesn’t get back until five AM and she doesn’t get back til seven?” He clucked his tongue. “Something doesn’t add up.”
A smile grew across Zoe’s face. “Maybe they snuck out together,” she said slowly. “Y’no... like a date.”
“A date?” repeated Raph. “You mean, Athira... and Shift?” He paused, trying to picture it. “There’s no way
“You know Thira,” said Zoe. “She’d probably die first than be caught by paparazzi with someone like Shift. But if she’s not caught, who knows?”
Raph turned away from the door as Shift disappeared through it and headed back towards the prisoners.
He wanted to believe Zoe’s theory, he really did. It explained Shift’s tension if it’d gone badly -- to a degree at least.
But other thoughts revolted against the idea. If they’d been out together, why had Athira requested the day off to meditate, something she usually did after using large chunks of colour? Why was Shift, a guy usually cool as a cucumber, suddenly upon the edge of panic about her location? Had they been attacked mid-date? Raph had a feeling he wasn’t going to figure it out unless one of them told him.
“Who knows, Zoe,” Raph muttered. “Who knows indeed.”
*+*+*+*
When the moon hung over the centrepoint city tower, brighter and more beautiful than any of the building's lights could ever hope to be, Athira gave a silent sigh and pulled the drapes shut over the small window by her bed.
It's time.
She glanced at the bottom drawer of her cabinet, somewhat hesitant to trade her indigo cloak lying on the bed for the one that would make her the Owl. Tal?
Thira?
Athira went to voice her question only to find it gone. Instead, she stood there staring at the drawer and unable to clear the lump from her throat no matter how many times she swallowed.
If we're doing this, said Talon, uncertain at her silence, then we need to get moving. If not, I'm happy if you just want to read me another bed time story.
No. Athira shook her head, more for her own benefit than Talon's. We're doing this. We have to find out what this project the Elites are going to subject Zoe to and destroy it before it destroys her.
The image of Zoe drugged up on some Elite compoud was more than enough to get her moving. Athira opened the draw and retrieved the Owl cloak, fastening it around her throat with Talon's amulet like she'd done a hundred times before. The soft material brushed against her bare arms, but she no longer found comfort in it. Instead, as her fingers brushed over the indigo fabric to conceal the speckled white and brown, a jolt of warmth shot through her.
She shut it down and chucked the indigo cloak on over the Owl's. "Get over it," she told herself through gritted teeth. "It's fabric. Move on."
That done, Athira swept out of her room and turned right, heading for a different exit to the one she'd used last night. Kione, Talia and Raph especially had all questioned her after she returned, asking questions she didn't have answers for. She was only saved by Shift, who'd shuffled bleary-eyed towards them to tell them she'd been out on patrol and needed some back up.
But seriously, heat sensors? Why? Why even bother!
Well, obviously to catch certain black colours when they sneak out of towers, for one thing, replied Talon.
Yep, replied Athira. That's the first problem I'm going to solve after this Elite project is gone. A person-sized heat pack so I can leave whenever I need to.
She could almost see Talon's curious look as his voice echoed through her head. Does... that mean we're staying here instead of moving on?
Athira clenched her jaw. And leave Zoe to be Elite fodder again? She shook her head. No. Until she comes with me or I've burned them to the ground, we're not leaving Sirah.
And it's definitely not because you're sort of liking it here, right?
She snorted. Are you kidding me? Rules, restrictions, limited morons to apprehend...
Her list trailed off as she passed Shift's door.
Athira stopped, staring at the smooth grey metal imprinted with his name. Her fingers flirted with a flicker of colour, like it expected her resolve to weaken at any moment and give the command to open it.
She closed her eyes and kept walking.
It's not too late to--
Don't.
The common room was concealed in darkness that spread from the shadows in its corners, bathing everything in silence. If she hadn't known better, Athira would have assumed she could slip through relatively unnoticed.
Sure enough, Kione's sleepy voice came through some hidden speaker. "Athira? What are you doing up?"
"Can't sleep," said Athira as she passed through the room. "Going on patrol."
His voice followed her down the corridor as she headed for the side door hidden from street view. "Athira! You can't just--"
"Then there's an emergency call, whatever." She opened the door with her colour. "I'm going out to throw things around, preferably someone making a nuisance of themselves rather than the furniture."
"At least take your communicator?" he tried.
"It's not a regulation until you're a fully fledged member of a colour team," said Athira. "Don't have to."
She shut the door, locking Kione's voice behind her as she quickly descended the stairs and took the leftmost tunnel that'd lead out the closest to the manhole, discovered when Chloe and Beth abducted her for 'initiation'. Think Kione'll believe that excuse?
What, that you got angry and wanted to take it out on someone's face? said Talon. Blasphemy!
For a bird, your sense of sarcasm is way too developed.
Hard not to after listening to you all day.
In the tunnel, Athira took off her indigo cloak and placed it inside the wall, out of the way from prying eyes. Now garbed in only her Owl outfit, she slipped through the ceiling to the surface of the roads above and let her colour carry her off into the night air. With a final glance at the sleek outline of Indigo base, Athira cast its image from her mind and kicked her colour into full throttle.
She felt Talon shifting restlessly in her mindscape. Y'no, we can--
I don't want to talk about it.
Talon paused. Fine. But we're going to talk about your mindscape today and shutting down Rathe's avatar in there.
Athira's flattened hands curled into fists in front of her face. What about it?
You were listening to it, said Talon. Actually replying to what it said.
So? Trying different things. You said so yourself we should.
Talon couldn't be dissuaded. Is there something you're not telling me, Athira? It sounded pretty familiar with you, referencing various times that it shouldn't be able to see without getting past me first. If it's leaking into your thoughts from somewhere, we need to fix that.
Her ensuing silence only made him push harder. Athira, talk to me!
Athira stopped flying, grabbing the sides of her head and tucking her legs underneath her. "I don't know, Tal!"
Deep breaths, said Talon. His voice was softer now. Forgiving. What do you know?
Athira drew a quick breaths in through her nostrils, shoving the air back through them when her lips refused to part.
I don't know, it's just there! It doesn't sound like Rathe, but it's coming through when I'm angry, and I can't shut it up! Last night when Crush almost had Shift's skull for a trophy, it was whispering to me, telling me to break everyone--everyone--for letting that happen! Whispering, mumbling, cracking into my head and I couldn't stop it!
We can--
No, we can't! Athira struggled to keep her power contained in her body. That's why Shift can't come tonight. Because if that happens again, I don't think I can stop myself from listening to it. She managed to slow the rambling thoughts. I wanted to, Tal. I wanted to hurt them. Make them pay for even touching him.
She started moving forward again as Talon mulled it over. I haven't sensed anything entering or leaving your mindscape, which means it's an external source. If it was in here, I'd hear it, and somehow you're on a seperate channel to them. Could it be the Sleeper?
The Sleeper's colour sets mine crazy, replied Athira. So I doubt it.It's only started since we found Reader in Sirah, and the disturbances were going on long before that.
It's just one mystery after another with you, isn't it? said Talon. Not that I'm complaining, keeps things interesting in here. I'll keep an eye on our sleepy little Rathe in here and tell you if anything changes.
Athira spied the manhole and a patch of suspiciously darker coloured grass beside it. Thanks, Tal.
Any time.
Athira lowered herself to the ground, directly beside the patch of grass. She considered landing on top of it for a moment before realising it wasn't the best way to impress herself on a kid she needed help from.
"Nice night for a walk, isn't it?" said Athira.
"We're staying hidden until we're down there," came Nobody's voice. "If you'll do the honours of opening the manhole so we may continue?"
"Everything's fuzzy in here," complained Tracker. "It's hurting my eyes."
Nobody sighed. Obviously it wasn't the first time Tracker had voiced her concerns over the effects of Nobody's light bending. "Deal with it, kid. It's this or risking you being chased by a bunch of Elites after seeing you with the Owl."
Athira engulfed the tunnel's cover in colour and pushed it aside as Nobody spoke.With the obstacle removed, the patch of darkness moved towards the hole like the shadow of a cloud and sank into its depths. Athira followed it and replaced the cap as she floated down.
When Athira's feet touched the stone of the raised sewer floor, Nobody released her hold on the light rendering her and Tracker invisible and pulled a light out of her backpack. The dank smell Athira recalled from being dragged around by the twins hit her in full force, and judging by the way Tracker screwed up her nose, the purple kid didn't appreciate it either.
She turned her accusing stare on Athira. "You better appreciate this, Owl. Milly and Layla get to watch Colour's Rise tonight while we're down here."
Nobody looked about ready to strangle her. "You want me to tell Reader you'd rather watch some movie than help the Owl?"
Tracker pouted. "No!"
Nobody drew breath to reply but Athira knelt down in front of Tracker and pulled down her cowl, letting the grey mask hide her features.
"You know what, though?" she said, trying to add a note of mystery to her voice. "Milly and Layla don't get to go on an adventure with the Owl, do they?"
Tracker considered it. "This is an adventure?"
Athira nodded. "Yep. It might not look like much, but there's things hidden around every corner here, secrets and things much more exciting than anything in that movie. And you know what?"
"What?" Tracker breathed.
Athira pointed a finger at her. "You're the key. Without you, I can't find what I'm looking for, and my mission is for nothing. I don't need Milly or Layla. I need you."
Tracker's eyes went wide. Behind her, out of the young eyes fixed on Athira's silver mask, Nobody suppressed a smile.
"Right!" Tracker jumped on the spot. "What do you need me to do, Owl?"
Athira stood up and gestured to the long tunnel ahead. "What I need you to do is look around while we're down here, see if you can pick up any trace of another colour -- especially if it's a kind of glowing violet. If we find it, we're going to follow it. Think you can do that?"
Tracker frowned. "Violet doesn't exist any more, though. At least, not really."
"I'm pretty sure that's what you told me about black when the Owl first popped up, wasn't it?" said Nobody.
Tracker didn't have an answer except a shrug for that. She closed her eyes, hands at her temples. When her lids flickered open, her irises had turned a deep shade of purple, outlines in violet rings.
She marched forward. "Let's go! Owl, you have to stay back so your colour doesn't get in the way of the trails. If you cover them up, I'm never going to be able to find them."
Nobody shook her head but followed nontheless.
Athira did as Tracker requested, finding it strange to be taking orders from someone who barely reached her shoulder. She hung back some ten metres behind Tracker and Nobody, which was the distance Tracker claimed that her colour stopped consuming the residue of others.
Tracker hummed a tune Athira didn't recognise to herself as they searched the sewers, the almost haunting melody floating past her ears and into her mindscape.
It's a pretty song, said Talon. I feel like I've heard it before.
Reader taught her it, said Athira after confirming the fact with Nobody. Said it's how he found the purple's spirit animal. Won't stop singing it, says her colour likes it.
Nobody held up a hand for Tracker to wait while she disappeared into a side tunnel. Athira took that as her cue to stop and folded her arms. She kept a keen eye on Tracker and her surroundings, ready to pull the kid from danger at a moment's notice.
That was the deal -- she could use Tracker's colour if she'd put everything on the line to protect her, should something go wrong.
"I don't care who you are," Nobody's voice echoed around her head. "If anything happens to that kid because of you, I'll hunt you down myself."
It was strangely remniscent of Athira's feelings towards Zoe, so she'd agreed. With a name like Tracker, Athira hadn't expected her to be so young and already involved with Reader.
I like it, said Talon after listening a little while longer. You should learn it for me, you have a pretty voice in a morbid kind of way.
You're the bird, not me.
I don't think I could replicate that tune if I tried.
Nobody reappeared looking slightly flustered but signalled the O.K to continue forward. She glanced back over her shoulder at Athira before snapping her head back around, which struck her as odd. As Athira passed the tunnel she'd seen Nobody slip into, she paused and glanced around.
Other than the sound of dripping water and the suspicious puddles lurking at the edges, it was completely empty.
Athira pulled up her cowl, finding security in its depths and kept moving.
There was something not quite right in the footsteps bouncing off the sewer walls now, but Athira couldn't put her finger on it as her senses went into overdrive. Her own steps were barely audible, Tracker's were light and Nobody's were steady and solid -- or they had been, before she came back from that tunnel. Now, they sounded like she was dragging her feet, putting her foot down twice to create an echo of each step.
Sure you're not overthinking this? said Talon.
You can feel it too, said Athira. Don't tell me you can't. What do we do?
Talon thought about it. Depends what you're willing to give up.
Athira studied the sound of Nobody's gait for another six strides before she needed no further convincing.
There was somebody else with them, walking in Nobody's shadow and hidden by her colour in the puddle of darkness the light didn't reach.
*+*+*+*
A/N - I read through it, but if anything's funny I blame my new computer and the lack of MS Word on it at the moment. Freebie versions are okay, but I want my wordcount back dammit. And my italics. WHERE ARE MY ITALICS, COPY PASTE?
Please comment/vote ^.^