I begin to hyperventilate, sucking in gallons of air. My surroundings shift with a smoky blackness like a thick dark fog, but it doesn't envelop me. Besides the sounds of my ragged breaths, there's nothing else I could even faintly hear. "Grimm."
"I'm here," he says, hovering in front of my face. A light glow seems to shine on him like a candle in a dark room. I glance down at my own palms and see them shimmer too.
"Where are we? Are we dead?"
"Don't be frightened. I've only brought us to somewhere safe and undetected," he assures and my heart seems to calm down. "I have isolated you from the physical world and returned you back to the simpler plains of your mind."
"What?" I splutter- even I couldn't understand the complexity of his words.
"To simplify matters, I've pulled you from the real world and into your brain. In the real world, you have only temporarily disappeared."
Surveying the area, I see nothing but smoke that could go on forever. "My brain looks sort of empty."
It's only natural-" I throw him a disapproving look. "-I mean this is the deepest part of your mind. Only old memories you don't have to remember occupy these spaces. Try not to stray too far away."
I was about to ask if there's a way out when I feel a pull at my side. I turn to the same direction, but there's nothing but endless smoke. I reach my arm out and the smoke seem to whirl around my arm instead. Without warning, I jolt towards the same direction, feet skidding against the ground.
"What's happening?" I ask, panic rising. The smoke seem to eddy and churn now as if in anticipation. "Grimm?"
I turn to Grimm, but he isn't there. "Where are you? Come on this isn't funny!" Even though he wasn't the type to tease and prank for fun, I sincerely wish that he's joking right now.
Silence came as its reply. It dawns on me that I'm all alone then fear cuts through me like the sharp edge of a knife. I know that Grimm would never leave me unless something inexplicable happened to him. His words were genuine when he assured me that he wouldn't.
With my heart beating painfully against my chest, I quickly decide to start walking and hopefully reach somewhere- anywhere. I catch a yellow light from a distance, flickering behind the mass of smoke. Overcoming my dread, I run for it like a moth to flame.
My surroundings begin to shift and solidify. When I halt in my tracks, the ground turns to concrete and the sky a dark purple hue with twinkling stars. When I rub my eyes, I realise that my hands are tiny and my arms are short and stubby. A small red dress adorn my body. Complete with red kindergarten shoes. W-what am I wearing? And why do I feel so short?
Shattering the silence, a head-splitting boom reverberates through the air. Police sirens begin blaring from down below and the thunderous flapping helicopters above me shake the sky. It dawns on me that I'm atop a building...again!
One of the helicopters shine a bright spotlight over me. A loudspeaker announces, "Police! Stop now. Keep your hands in sight!"
I yelp when a huge hand pulls onto my collar. It drags me forward as my shoes scrape onto the ground. "Where is he? I'm waiting Chiroptera!"
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court." Armed men clad in black point their weapons at me... or someone behind me. Although I neither have the intention nor the notion to do so, I start to wail. High-pitched cries of a child tear through my own throat.
The hand grips my collar even tighter. To my horror, it lifts me a feet into the air and then dangles me over the ledge. I'm left speechless, staring at the thousands of feet I'm from the road below. Vehicles and crowds of people litter the ground below, but the whole area seems familiar.
I recognise a stark white structure shaped like a lotus flower- the ArtScience Museum. At the horizon were artificial structures like tall trees graze the sky- the Super Trees. To the opposite direction is a huge ferris wheel- the Singapore Flyer was the largest I've ever seen in my childhood.
I'm back in Singapore.
A flurry of emotions overwhelm me while I feel like my nerves are set alight. As I dangle thousands of feet in the air on top of the iconic Marina Bay Sands, I feel disoriented.
Am I still wandering inside my own mind? It all feels so intricate and so very real.
"Ignition," the voice behind me says. When I tilt my head back, scorching hot flames blast out from the man's enclosed fist. The police retreat back before they could be singed by the bright flares. I can clearly now observe the man taking me hostage. He wears a mask like that of a superhero and a ruby red suit with black and grey feathers that decorate his arms.
I would recognise the Crimson Sunbird anywhere.
But wasn't he a superhero in Singapore? I heard that he was famous since he represented the country's national bird. It's been several years so I could hardly remember the details.
Without warning he turns back to me. His vermilion eyes locked gazes with me before he so casually tosses me off the roof.
And here I go again for the second time today. A child-like scream erupts from the throat as the wind whips my short hair and clothes in every direction. But before I could feel the plunge towards the ground itself, I land gently into a pair of arms. They wrap around me protectively and even affectionately.
Golden eyes like the morning sun carefully inspect my form. "Dad?"
Even though time let me forget, atleast right here and at this instant, I could tell that behind the red velvet mask is my father. He smiles. "Hey there, little moon."
Dad wears a bat-themed suit similar to my own. Only that it was a much lighter shade and peculiar bat wings decorate his arms. We land safely onto the ground and civilians crowd around us. He passes me over to a woman with peach-coloured hair. "Get her to safety."
"Chiroptera! Let me show you what it means to be superhero. If you run now, I'll burn down the whole of Marina Bay Sands until it's nothing but ashes ."
Dad sighs. I stammer, "D-dad, dad, I'm scared."
He tilts my chin up with a careful claw. "Don't worry. If anyone wants to hurt you, they will have to go through me."
He takes off, meeting the Crimson Sunbird on the rooftop. He says, "Not that I don't think you have the ability to do so but good luck setting all three buildings up in flames- it's a tourist attraction for a reason."
The woman with the peach-coloured hair pushes out through the dense crowd and flees to somewhere unknown. "Be brave, sweetie."
Words form on my lips- beyond my control. "Mom, is dad going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine. I don't know anyone stronger than him. But I'll have to return back so behave yourself when you're with Master Shou." Now that I can see her up close, she looks exactly like me- or I look exactly like her. Right from the wild hair to the minuscule features of her face, I look like her carbon copy. The only difference is that her eyes are as blue as a cloudless sky.
My childish voice replies, "Okay." But, who the hell is Master Shou?
"The Crimson Sunbird is still on a rampage," a lean and withered old man says. He wears a long gray robe that drapes over him and brushes the ground.
"We'll return his miraculous to you as soon as he's defeated, but for now please take my daughter with you," mom says as she places me down gently. I have to tilt my head straight up to meet the tall master eye to eye.
"She has grown shorter."
"I think you've just grown taller," I say cheekily.
Mom touches her air and whispers something to her communicator. "Please get to the Merlion and stay as close as possible. It's-"
"Yes, it's the blind spot and the safest location in case that the battle breaks farther out. Defeat the Sunbird immediately before it could happen." He begins pulling me away by the arm.
"Wait," I say, feet dragging onto the floor. "Mom, you're leaving too?"
"I'll be back, I promise. Once this is over, I'd like to introduce you to some people you might like. They're your age."
"Is it Adrien?" I say, hopefully.
"Little moon, Adrien's all the way in France. You haven't met these kids yet, but I think you'll like them too."
"Come back soon," I say, stretching out my arms expectantly. She bends down and hugs my small figure before quickly placing a kiss on my forehead and withdrawing.
•●•●•●•●•
"Selene!" Grimm yells urgently in my ear.
Jolting awake, I jerk up to a sitting position. I groan as I rub my temples. "Where are we?"
"Our whereabouts are unknown. I sensed a tugging force towards a direction and appeared here. We've returned back physically but not in the same space."
"Hold up," I say, looking around. I recognise the retro sofa, posters of music artists lining the walls and the untidy study corner. "This is the Couffaine's house."
"W-wait where are you going?" Luka's muffled voice can be heard from the other room.
"Pardon me for arriving unannounced but there is an issue I must address," a gruffer voice replies. The door to the living room slams open, making us flinch. I splutter while Grimm's eyes widen in surprise. An old man- beard longer and greyer than the vision I saw before- steps into the room. "I can sense it."
He stops and tilts his head towards our direction. His eyes are no longer a dark brown and are instead, milky white and lacking pupils.
"Master Shou?" Grimm asks breathlessly.
"Welcome back, Kwami of Isolation."
•●•●•●•●•
This took me so long to do! I kept rewriting this chapter because I felt like it isn't complete, but I can't force it!!!