Lily
"Give me the Gem!" I turn around to face the crowd of students behind us and to my dismay, nearly all the seats are filled. Closer to the front there's a girl, speedily heading towards us as she runs down the stairs two at a time. She's the one who yelled for the Gem, and the same girl from earlier. The one who bumped into Richard and called him a "cutie" before walking off. I freeze when I notice she's holding a knife in her hand, and she's getting even closer. I turn to see what Steve and Richard are going to do, but they aren't moving at all. They're both frozen in place, focused too much on the girl.
"Brittany?" Steve yells, jumping off the stage. I move to Richard's side.
"Who's that?" I ask.
"The Damsel." He mutters a few curses, holding out an arm in front of my chest, and then stepping in front of me altogether. "She must have been wearing a Cryptic of some sort." I peek out from behind his shoulder, moving my braid behind my shoulder so that I can see better.
"Give me the Gem!" Brittany commands again, holding her knife up in the air so that everyone can see it. I watch as she slowly spins around in her short, frilly black and gray dress. Her blonde hair isn't in a bun anymore, instead it's resting around her face in pretty waves all the way to her chest. Brittany keeps spinning, the knife up in the air. Soon the students start to realize what's actually going on, some screaming and others running. Most of them are running thankfully, ditching their seats and retreating for cover.
A girl tries to run past Brittany but she grabs her and puts her in a headlock, pressing the knife against her neck. The girl screams, and so do the students close by, but Brittany whispers something to her, so the girl stops thrashing. She yells at the students that are still close to her, and they run off. Whoever Brittany is, I guess she's focusing less on "killing them all" like her leader said and is more focused on "getting the Gem." She wants me.
"I'm not fooled that easily, petty girl. Show yourself." She's almost to the bottom of one of the stairway she's on, one of the many that are in this huge amphitheater. But she's on the one that's directly in the middle, the one straight ahead of us. "I can see you, you know that right?" She flings the knife at us, and I immediately flatten myself against Richard's back. I feel a rush of wind as the knife passes, and when I peek out again I notice there's a tiny tear in the sleeve of Richard's tunic.
"Watch it!" I yell. I walk away from my Richard. I'm not going to be the cause of anyone else's death if I can help it. I didn't know Celeste, but she died trying to protect the Gloaming from getting to us. She died trying to keep the Gloaming from getting to my necklace, from getting to me. She's dead because of it, and I can't let anyone else die for the same reason. I jump off of the stage, starting to walk towards Brittany.
Steve leaps in front of me, grabbing my arm and pulling me back right before I can go up the steps. He pulls me backwards so that I'm behind him, making me groan. Why do I have to be hidden? I can handle myself. Sure, I don't know how to use my fancy powers like these two, but I'm sure I can do something. Richard jumps off the stage, his feet pounding as he lands as he comes to stand in front of me as well. I can tell he's looking around, trying to find any other threats that might be in the room. Ideas start to pop into my head, and I go through them all. Maybe I can stall for him.
"Stay back!" Steve yells, thrusting an arm towards Brittany. Her arm flies backwards, and the girl that was in the headlock screams, her black hair flying out behind her as she lifts up her long red dress, running towards us. She's free. Even though some of the student's uniforms match each other in color, it's like everyone has altered their clothes so that nobody is the same. The girl keeps screaming until she's shoved herself between Steve and Richard, but she yelps again when she sees me standing behind them too. She's actually quite pretty, with a clear complexion, wide, sparkling eyes, and raven black waves of shiny hair that reach her shoulders. Steve and Richard look back at us, but then step closer together to try and block both the girl and I from view. The girl's eyes are still quite wide, and her breathing is too fast.
"Hey, it's okay," I whisper, holding up my hands to show that they're empty.
"No, no it's not!" She whispers, but she's still much louder than it should be. "You're the freak girl." She straightens up, looking me up and down as if scanning me. The fear has left her face and has been replaced with something that's definitely not friendly.
"What?" I take a step back from her in shock, and her lips crack into some sort of smile. It's probably meant to be kind or friendly, but I can't help but feel like she's hiding some hatred behind it. She places a hand on her hip.
"You don't know, do you?" She takes a step closer to me, pushing me out from behind Steve's back. She's wearing heels, and my heeled leather boots barely count as heels so it feels like she towers over me. "Ever since you traveled to Avalon with Representative Perla people could tell you're different. They know you're not normal. Freak girl." She smirks at me, shaking her head. I look up into her dark brown eyes, and it's like I can't move. Is that how these people see me as? A freak?
"Back off," I whisper. She stays still, moving her other hand onto her hip.
"Make me." I tilt my head at her, blocking out the yelling that's going on between Brittany and the boys. I shrug at her.
"Alright." I shove her backwards. She shouldn't have gone far, but she trips over her heels, stumbling until she reaches one of the blue chairs of the amphitheater. Did I really push her that hard? Thankfully the chairs are built into the wooden foundation of the floor, so it's not the chair that falls, it's the girl. I glare at her, hoping she'll stay down. She may be rude, but I don't want her to get killed. I still need to stall for Richard and Steve, who have paused whatever they were talking about with Brittany to look at what I've done to the girl. This is my chance.
"Hey, you!" I shove past Steve and Richard, walking up to Brittany and wrapping my hand around my necklace for extra protection. "What do you really want?" The girl sighs, laughing at me.
"How many times do I have to say it? I want your necklace! The Gem!" Her voice sounds a lot like Gwen's voice. A mix between a British accent and an Australian accent. Everyone's voice here sounds like a different degree of royalty, and despite being with the Gloaming, Brittany still sounds as regal as Gwen. "Just give me the Gem," she repeats, scowling at me
"Why?" I question. "If you really wanted this Gem, you probably would've tried harder to take it by now." I feel a hand wrapping around my free arm but I shake it off, grabbing my necklace with two hands now. "Is it really what you're here for? Why do you want the Gem?"
"Why do you want it?"
"Same reasons as you."
"But you don't know my reasons."
"How do you know that?"
"What? Just, just give me the Gem!"
"You didn't say please."
"I don't need to." She thrusts out her hands in the same way Steve did, and suddenly I can't breathe. I move my hands to my neck, as if I'll be able to take away the invisible hands cutting off my air. I'm being lifted off the ground too, kicking my legs even though it's not doing anything. I'm forced through the air, my back hitting Steve and Richard's shoulders before I slam into the edge of the stage. It cuts into my back and I yell, my body feeling as if I'm being crushed underneath a large weight.
"Let her go!" I can't tell if it's Richard or Steve who screams the words, but either way I drop to the floor, coughing and gasping as I take in fresh air. I end up spitting on the ground next to me, crawling back in Brittany's direction. When I finally have enough air to focus on something other than breathing I see Steve and Brittany, fighting up in the air above the chairs as if with invisible ropes and spears. For some reason it looks like Steve is dodging Brittany's attacks though, relenting and trying to communicate with her.
"Are you okay?" Richard asks, helping me up from the ground. We're by the bottom of the staircase in front of the stage, but Steve and Brittany are gradually moving up the staircase and past all the blue chairs.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I watch as Brittany sends Steve flying backwards, right towards us. I jump out of the way as Steve flies right into Richard, sending them both to the ground. "Well, now you're not," I mumble, helping him up as Steve jumps to his feet. When I turn around Brittany is only a few steps above us, laughing as she studies us. Steve and Richard step in front of me once again, but they don't come even close to blocking the entire stairway. I could easily walk around them, but this time I don't feel as bothered having protection.
"You think fighting and stalling will do anything for you? No matter what you do, this will end with me winning. I have all the time in the world. Your precious Head Guardian is about as good as dead, so there's no one to come and save your sad little lives. It's me, my companions, and an army at my command versus the two of you. I alone am stronger than the two of you anyway, so you might as well hand over the Gem before I call in others to make you do it."
"Against two?" I ask, interrupting her rant. "Don't I count for anything?" I try to think as I come up with what to say. What does she mean an army and her companions? By the looks of this empty room it's one versus three, and even if I don't count for anything it would still be one versus two. There must be other people with her that we don't know about, and with how large this place is, they could have surrounded us without us knowing it.
"Yes." She takes a step up the stairs so that she can see me over the heads of Steve and Richard, and I can see her. "You do count for something, Lily." I straighten up. How does she know my name? "You count as my hostage." Richard goes flying backwards once again, flying off the floor and back onto the stage. Steve fights her wind though and jumps into the air, but she pulls out some sort of short gray rod, pointing it right at him. It blasts a large wave of wind and creates a large bang, and by the time I look at Steve again he's twitching on the ground right next to me. When I turn around Richard is running back across the stage, but Brittany points her weapon and knocks him out too. In the silence that follows I slowly look back at Brittany. Well, that's just great.
"Aw, seems like you don't have your little boyfriends to save you now, do you?" She starts walking, coming close enough so that she's off the stairs and standing right in front of me. I frown at her, lifting up my arm so that my fist is pointing at her face. This Tydor better work. I pause, seeing Brittany's face up close for the first time. As I study her almost clear blue eyes I realize... Brittany is just a girl. Just a girl on the wrong side. And I hesitate, for a second too long.
"Save it." She pushes my arm down and shoves me backwards, but I stay on my feet. I'm running out of ideas. Steve and Richard passed out, Eric and Amaryllis are who knows where, and Gwen could be dead. So that leaves me with... me. Brittany smirks, understanding the same thing I just did. "There's no one to save you now. But do tell me before, you know, I call in my fleet to capture you and your friends." She smiles and looks around the room as if her so-called 'fleet' is just waiting to be called by her. "Why do you really want to keep that Gem? Why fight for them? Why not just hand it over and move on with your normal life?" I smile at her. She's just as curious about me as I am of her.
"It was never a normal life," I reply. "This Gem was the piece I've been missing all this time." We stare at each other for a bit, but I decide to ask her a question before she can attack me. "My turn. It looks like you and Richard and Steve know each other. Why is that?"
"Like I'd tell you," she leers. I tilt my head at her.
"You haven't knocked me out yet or taken this." I hold up my necklace, which starts to pulse and glow when I touch it. Brittany's eyes widen at me, but I pretend not to notice. "Why is that?" She doesn't speak for a while but then she laughs, glaring at me.
"You idiot, acting like you know everything. Acting like everything the Representatives have told you explains everything. Like it's the truth." She laughs some more, and I take a step back from her this time. How long is it going to take for Steve and Richard to wake up? "Don't you see, I haven't knocked you out because I'm not the one who's supposed to do it." She smiles, singing as she backs away from me. "Oh, Miranda!"
I collapse, someone kicking my legs from behind. I quickly move myself, rolling and then hopping onto my feet, turning back around to see who kicked me. It's the girl. The one with the black hair and the red dress, the one who called me a freak. She must've hid behind the rows of chairs so that she could spring out when Brittany called for her.
"Your name is Miranda? How unfortunate," I sigh, backing away from them and towards the first row of blue chairs. The girl laughs and creates some sort of spear, which looks like it consists of both fire and lava.
"Why unfortunate?" She growls.
"Because I'm going to make sure no one ever hears it again." They both stare back at me with blank looks, and even I'm surprised at the words that came out of my mouth. Before they can do anything to stop me I raise my arm, about to fire my Tydor, but Brittany is quicker. She flings a knife through the air, and I have to pull my arm back so I don't get hit. I start to panic, unsure of how to use my powers in such a crucial moment.
"Now who's unfortunate?" Miranda lifts up her hand, pulling her arm back as if to throw her spear. I'm about to move when I hear a crack of thunder right in the middle of the room. I yelp in surprise, stumbling backwards and almost falling into the chairs behind me. Where did that come from? My ears are already ringing when another boom of thunder sounds, and I can tell Miranda and Brittany are just as confused as I am. Another one sounds loud enough to make Miranda drop her spear, and I lift up my arms when lightning strikes the ground behind her, making her scream as both she and Brittany fall over. I stumble backwards again, only to bump into someone behind me. I scream, about to jump forward, when I feel hands on my shoulders. The person turns me around to face them, leaving me looking at a complete stranger. I slap the boy's arms, trying to get his hands off of me.
"Relax. Stop panicking." The boy pushes me out of the way and moves past me, but as he does so he turns me around once again so that I'm facing Miranda and Brittany. He flicks his wrist and aims his hand at Miranda once I'm behind him, and a flash of lightning shoots out from his hand. In a flash, Miranda is on the ground, thrashing until she eventually stops moving. I don't have the guts to ask whether she's dead or not.
"Who are you?" I ask, watching as he shoots another bolt of lightning at Brittany, which she dodges.
"Your worst nightmare," he states with a smirk, turning back to look at me. His waves of dirty blonde hair fall over his forehead, but when he shakes his head slightly to the side he moves it with his hand so it won't cover his eyes, which really stand out. His eyes are a mix of both blue and green, but in the middle it seems as if they're an explosion of colors, making me want to squirm under his intense stare. Well, until he's thrown backward by a sudden blast of wind. Which, under the circumstances, shouldn't make me laugh. But it does.
"The name's Brayden. And you are?" He hollers, catching himself and leaping through the air. He's one of the Guardians. I wonder what brought him here. He lands on his feet maybe ten feet away, and then leaps back up again. He jumps way higher than he should be able to, and while he's in the air he flashes a bunch of lighting bolts at Brittany. Somehow Brittany manages to dodge them all, changing the air around her so that the bolts all stop in front of her and hit the ground.
"I'm Lily!" I shout back, watching as he lands right in front of Brittany, pulling a blade from out of nowhere and swinging it at her neck. Brittany pulls a sword from out of another hidden pocket in her dress, and soon they're swinging and ducking and dodging one another while moving up and down the stairs. While they're distracted I back up, glancing at Steve but then hopping onto the stage to reach Richard.
"Hey, wake up." I nudge Richard, but he doesn't move. He's lying still on the floor of the stage, and he looks as if he's asleep. Asleep is much better than dead. "Hey," I repeat. Louder this time. Richard stirs, groaning. Good. I glance back at Brittany and Brayden, scooting off the stage and crawling over to Steve. I shake him, but nothing happens. I shake harder, waiting until he responds. Still barely anything occurs, and I have to block out the sounds of thunder and lightning as I glare at Steve, still shaking him.
"Wake up!" I whisper, flicking his nose.
"Wha?" He yells, sitting up immediately and bonking my head with his. I mutter to myself, rubbing my forehead, but I stop when Steve stares blankly at me. I wave my hand in front of his face but he doesn't react much, blinking and then tilting his head at me. What's wrong with him? I study him as best I can but there's nothing visible that's wrong with him. Maybe he's still recovering from whatever Brittany blasted him with.
"Hey, Brayden! A little help!" I yell, turning back around to watch him fight.
"Brayden's here?" Richard asks. I look back and Richard is standing at the edge of the stage behind me, watching Brayden fight Brittany. I remember Brayden being mentioned earlier as another Guardian, but I can't remember the Tribe he was from. Um... I don't know. I think it was "um" something.
"What Tribe is he from?" I mutter, glancing at Steve. He's getting to his feet now, and he looks a bit better than before.
"Umbani. Lightning and thunder." To prove his point Brayden shoots a bolt of lightning at Brittany, but he misses once again. After watching them for a while I turn back around to see if Richard needs help, but he isn't there. He's gone. What? Where did he go? I turn back around but Steve isn't here either. I search the amphitheater as much as I can, but Brayden and Brittany are gone as well. Weren't they just in front of me? They couldn't have just disappeared. I stop moving, realizing there are no noises at all. Everyone is gone. The room is completely empty. I back up slowly until my back is against the stage, staring at the staircase which just a few seconds ago hosted the fight between Brittany and Brayden.
"Light does such strange things, doesn't it?" I whirl around, but no one is there. The voice sounded like a male, a teenage boy's voice, but it came from everywhere. Almost like there were a bunch of speakers everywhere and he was the one with the microphone connected to them. "Relax." The voice echoes, surrounding me and filling my ears. Relax, relax, relax. I feel someone tapping me on the shoulder, and when I turn around there's a boy standing behind me.
He has smooth black hair that's a bit messy, but still kinda uniform around his head. He's wearing glasses, but the actual glass isn't clear, it's tinted with a bunch of different colors that are reflected with his every movement, and it almost looks like oil on water. He's pretty skinny, and just a bit taller than me. His skin is pale and he looks pretty normal, but I can't really see his eyes behind the glasses he's wearing. I back away from him when the air behind him starts to ripple, looking just as colorful and wavy as his glasses before going back to normal.
"Who are you?" I ask quietly, my voice sounding tiny compared to the one that had echoed everywhere just seconds ago.
"I can't tell you that. The Gloaming has to think you have no connection to me. I can't explain things right now, but I'm not going to hurt you. Right now Crimsonfang, ah, Brittany, thinks that I'm using the illusion I've created to kidnap you, which in fact I will be doing... but you need to know this first. The Terra Firma Gem that you're wearing around your neck right now is very, very powerful. Ghostclaw won't hesitate to do anything to get it for himself.
"Now, I think you should know that I knew your parents. Your real parents. They were powerful too, and if the Terra Firma Gem has chosen you, that means that you now have its power. It's letting its power course through you, and as a Terra Firma yourself, you can wield it. You can use its power against Ghostclaw and against the Gloaming. Don't let anyone take it from you, and use it to your advantage." He's talking so fast, I can barely take in what he's saying. He must be the double agent Steve talked about, the Guardian undercover with the Gloaming.
"But how am I supposed to use its power?" I question, trying to talk as fast as him.
"Just think about what you want to do, and how you feel. Eventually it will connect. The Stardust within the necklace is yours to control. Just a tip though, whenever you connect with nature and your powers, be firm. And I mean really firm. You won't be able to start an earthquake by saying "please." By the way, if you ever come in contact with me, don't act like you know me." He stops talking and stands really still, listening for something. Shaking his head, he turns to me.
"Sorry Lily, but it's time for me to take you. There was never an army here with us. Ghostclaw knew that just Brittany, Miranda, and I are strong enough to take you guys down if we do it right." He pulls a cloth out of one of his pockets, meeting my gaze and pulling off his glasses. "Change his mind when you can." He moves the cloth closer to my mouth, but I pull away.
"Wait, I have so many questio-"
"I don't know how long you'll be a hostage, but you'll find a way to get out." Ethan, I think that's what his name is, interrupts, pushing the cloth to my mouth. I end up inhaling the sweet scent, which starts to make me dizzy. "The rock that your cell is made of is weak, so use that to your advantage." He says something else too, but it's too late. The sweet scent has taken over all my senses, making me go numb and convincing me to drift away to unknown places.