The clanking of footsteps made their way to Einaris' cell. The sun's elevation in the sky suggested it was around midday. She slid off her bed and scanned the room for some kind of weapon. Her eyes landed on the knackered wooden chair positioned by the cold wall. Einaris gripped it tightly and pulled it to her chest, the legs pointing outwards.
*****
Einaris was pushed roughly into the helicopter seat despite her struggling. Einaris kicked and screamed as they tied her hands with thick rope behind her back and around her body. She felt a twang of pain which she knew to be Pax being taken as well. With a final grunt of annoyance, the man slapped her hard across the face, leaving what she thought was probably a
large red mark, and slid the door shut with a slam. Einaris was left in the passenger seat, breathing heavily, the oblivious pilot flicking switches and muttering into a headset.
She snapped her head to her left as the opposite door opened and Raina slid elegantly into place beside her. Einaris balled her fists behind her back wanting nothing more than to strangle the woman who had been kidnapping Elementals for so long. However, she kept her composure as much as she could, despite earlier, knowing full well that if she was seen to be helpless or angry it would come across as weak. Better to act like she had the upper hand and was intent on using it.
In the co-pilot seat, a man she had never seen before entered and sat calmly, as if he was taking a trip in a public aeroplane. He was bald save for stubble around the base of his small head, and his eyes both looked in separate directions. He gazed around the helicopter, finally landing on Einaris, giving her the impression, he was not quite sane.
"We land in half an hour." he said to no one in particular. His voice gave her the chills, and she fought the urge to try and strangle him too.
"Good." said Raina. "The sooner we begin, the better."
Einaris glared at her, daring her to glare back. Her blue flower dress glinted in the low light, and her dark hair perfectly framed her face. Finally, she lifted her gaze and turned to Einaris, her long eyelashes flicking slowly.
"Whatever it is," growled Einaris. "Whatever you think you're doing, it won't work. I won't give you what you want."
She gave a small smile, as if to a troubled child. "You will. And what we want is simple."
Einaris felt her heart beat faster in her chest but fought to keep a stone-like face.
"We want you to tell us about the day after you died."
*****
Einaris is standing at the edge of a wide cliff, the gentle breeze caressing her face and ruffling her clothes. The smell of the sea spray from below makes her smile and the grey clouds dapple the sunlight on to the water in pools of gold.
Einaris is content. She closes her eyes and listens to the sounds of the water crashing against the jagged rocks below, before opening them and noticing a figure beside her.
She recognises him yet can't quite place what he looks like. He smiles warmly but doesn't meet her gaze. Instead, he stares out to sea, as if looking for something. She furrows her brow and turns to him, about to ask him who he is, when he speaks.
"Listen to her," he says. Einaris' smile drops slowly from her lips as she tries to figure out who he's talking to. She notices the sky turn ever so slightly darker and the wind pick up. The man turns to her, still smiling, yet his eyes seem pained and... horrified. "Who ordered this?"
She doesn't understand, but before she can reply, the sky turns dreadfully stormy and the sea whips higher and higher until it reaches the cliff top. The wind buffets about like a tornado. Stronger and stronger, until Einaris is dragged slowly towards the edge.
"No..." she whispers, barley anything in the racket. She turns to the strange man, but he is no longer there. She is alone, being pulled closer and closer to the edge of the cliff.
"NO!"
She gasped awake, her entire body shaking and her hands clammy from sweat. Her head throbbed painfully with every booming heartbeat and she could feel the blood drying around her blurred eyes. Einaris groaned as she attempted to lift her hands, but they were tied beside her, and the effort sent shockwaves of pain rolling up her body.
She was on a sort of table – that much she could tell, and her hands were bound tightly to metal railings on either side. Her eyesight was splotched and blurry, and she wanted nothing more than to close her heavy eyes once again and fall back into a dark sleep.
However, she knew that if she blacked out again, the visions would return, and she wasn't quite ready to face that again.
She lifted her aching head and peered around the small room she was in. It was dirty and rough, the only light filtering in from slats in a boarded window. There was an old mannequin standing in the corner, smiling slightly sinisterly. Apart from the table she was on and that, she couldn't quite see anything else, though she suspected whoever had put her here was close by – watching to see what she would do.
"It seems you passed out."
The voice caused her to tense, pulling slightly on the ropes which bound her. It was the man from the helicopter – the one who had sat in the co-pilot seat. The one with the eyes askew. She twisted her head left and right, ignoring how it throbbed with movement and spotted him sitting in the corner behind her. He sipped from a glass casually and placed a book he had obviously been reading to the side.
"Now, maybe you're ready to share what memories you were seeing." he said softly. Einaris turned away and looked up to the ceiling. She noticed a ring of blue around her head and craned her neck backwards to see it more. It reminded her of a small CT scanner. 'The Doughnut of Death' as Kestrel used to call it. There was a faint buzzing that she hadn't previously noticed, and the blue ring pulsed above her head. A dreadful feeling set itself in the pit of her stomach as she wondered what it did – and to whom.
She breathed heavily through her nose and turned back to the man. His words pulsed through her brain. Memories. The one word that had so far described her recent life. She may have only just got back her memories, and they may have been vague and unconvincing at least, but she was determined not to give any to this man or anyone he worked with.
"I saw... Wales..." she said, making up the first words that came to mind. She knew he wouldn't believe her, but she couldn't resist. She watched as he dropped his gaze – disappointed.
"Wylde, we're gonna have to turn the machine back on and open your mind." he said, ignoring her previous statement. He stood up and walked to the end of the table-machine-thing, so that Einaris could see him fully. He was wearing a crumpled back suit, scuffed with dirt, and what looked like a security tag hung from his chest pocket. Einaris could only just make out the name – Dennis Gretzky. It could very well have been fake, but Einaris couldn't quite care less at that moment, for Dennis had just threatened to open her mind.
"It's time to stop fighting." he said. "If you don't, you won't survive the process."
"I'll let you kill me before I give you anything." she growled back.
He walked closer suddenly; his hands tucked neatly behind his back. Einaris said nothing. Just worked her jaw and continued to stare. "The Oracle saw that."
"I hate to break it to you, but your 'telepathic-fortune-teller-friend' is a fraud. Otherwise, they'd know all these answers, and I wouldn't be here."
Gretzky nodded, as agreeing with her. "It's true, this is strange. My friend can see that you died. You went cold. Your spine was shattered. What the Oracle can't see is what happened after. How they brought you back from the dead. For some reason, Einaris Wylde, you're different. Now," He cocked his head. "Why is that?"
Einaris gave a small grin, despite the steady rage building in her chest, like an earthquake.
"My friends didn't do a thing."
A small smile was returned, and he dropped his head, as if in sadness. Einaris glared at his back as he turned away and picked something off the grimy floor with a scrape.
"So," he said, with a type of finality. He raised a long, black stick, with a curious, large metal prong at the tip. "We have to do this the hard way." A button was pressed, and the tip sparked dangerously with blue electrical currents.
*****
A loud click split through the darkness of the cell and Atti, Sara and Melanie looked to their door. Their eyes were wide.
Men in neon hazard suits, completely hiding their faces, unlocked the cells and walked in loudly.
The elementals drew back.
Melanie's Soul, a hedgehog-spined serpent coiled behind her and she shifted her lightly made-up eyes.
Then Atti did something no one expected:
"OY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, CAPTURING US ELEMENTALS?!"
Sara's eyes widened and her head turned to Atti, then she grinned. "Melanie, distract them." she whispered.
"Y-YOU ARE IN UNBELIEVABLE TROUBLE! I M-MEAN THERE IS AN ARMY COMING R-RIGHT NOW SO YOU BETTER RELEASE US!!"
Melanie frowned, "How?" she responded.
Sara shrugged, "Just do something."
Melanie stammered, "Uhh, hey-"
"You really are thick aren't you." the muffed voice from the hazard suits responded, ignoring Melanie. "We need you, elementals."
"W-WELL, LOOK AFTER US THEN. I M-MEAN, WE CAN HELP YOU!"
Melanie cried out in disbelief.
"What do you mean?" the voice asked. The head of the other man shifted to look at Atti.
Sara crept behind one of the men.
"I-I MEAN, IF YOU KEEP US SAFE, WE CAN GET YOU MORE ELEMENTALS!"
The men started laughing, and the suits rippled. "You don't think we've heard that be-"
The man fell flat onto their face.
The other man whipped round. "Wha-" Then flopped like a fish.
Sara whipped the set of master-keys from the lock.
Behind them, Sara grinned widely, "C'mon, I've got the keys we need to find Kestrel, Henrik and Aris, they must be here somewhere."
They ran out of the door and unlocked Melanie's cell, before sprinting into the corridor of the Prison Wing. Then they came face-to-face with Henrik.
"Woah, how did you get out?" he cried.
"Yeah, nice to see you too." Sara said.
Henrik tilted his head as the rest of his friends joined up behind him, "Who's she?"
Melanie waved awkwardly, "I'm Melanie and here's Shara." the serpent padded over nervously.
"Nice to meet you, Melanie. Now we need to rescue everybody here." Henrik announced.
"Um, who gives orders here?" Allie challenged.
"Err, sorry. Ma'am." Henrik said quietly.
"Flanna and Kill-" Allie was cut short and reached to her neck. Phenoxa squawked and became a flickering image.
"Quick! Get it off!" Flanna yelled, "It'll block your-" she too was cut short.
Kestrel ducked, "We need to find my sister!"
Melanie shrieked as a dart hit her and the power inhibitor entered her blood flow.
Aquila drew out her bow and arrow and aimed it at the six men in hazard suits. She fired six shots which hit them directly in the legs. They didn't buckle, but an image of armour shimmered.
"Aw, c'mon, refracting light waves to make invisible armour. That's not fair." she cried.
Allie grunted, "Do we even care about that? RUN!" she sprinted down the corridor, but they were flanked by more men. Flanna reached to draw out her trident, but remembered it wasn't there. Neither were her daggers. She sighed and balled her fists.
"What do I do?!" Kestrel cried, dodging power inhibiter darts. "I don't know how to fight!"
Henrik smiled slightly and sided Kestrel. He drew out his katana. "Still an ounce too heavy." he joked. "Try using your powers."
Atti screamed and Topolino's flame burst out. He was hit too.
Sara roared over Atti's hysterical screams, "What do we do?!!"
Killian reached to the floor and clenched his eyes shut.
"Protect Killian!" Allie ordered as Cora channelled bursts of red fire at the men, forcing them back a bit.
Aquila shot several arrows at the men as they closed in again.
Suddenly, the ground quaked loudly beneath them and cracks formed in the concrete floor.
The men were shaken backwards.
Kestrel thrust her hands out, and a beam of electricity struck the men. They jolted and fell backwards.
Henrik grinned and Killian cried with joy, but his face was still strained.
Another shake shifted the ground as more power inhibitor darts flew past Flanna again. Both their Souls jolted. Colt darted towards the men and Cora's flames flew past. But before Colt could reach them, she faded. Ember chased after Colt and bared her teeth at the men, one of them kicked her and Cora slammed into the ground.
Mia had generated a giant storm by then and rain lashed down on all of them, soaking them. Seraphina hid behind her and Dash had curled up on her shoulder.
Kestrel rubbed her now dripping face.
Cora stood up again and she and Seraphina threw their hands out to create a powerful burst of fire, but the downpour turned it to steam. Cora cried out and Seraphina screamed as a dart hit her on the neck. Dash ran round in circles before collapsing.
Sara whipped her head upwards and clapped her hands together, crushing the water into one jet. She thrust it forwards and it hit three of the men directly in the chest and they were flipped backwards onto their backs.
Kestrel shot a burst of wind at the men as they tried to stand back up and Henrik doubled it.
Another two cracks split the floor, this time separating the elementals from the men on both sides. Killan collapsed as Atti ran over screaming.
Allie touched Killian's shoulder for a brief moment and turned to the men. "Kestrel! Henrik! Push the cracks further apart!" she yelled.
They nodded and suddenly another storm ran rampage in the corridor, colliding with Mia's weaker one to create a massive storm stretching all around them.
They were in the eye of the storm.
"Sara!" Kestrel called through a strained voice, "Could you blast a hole in the ceiling please!"
Sara nodded and a shockwave of water burst through the ceiling and flooded the floor above.
The air was extremely dry in the corridor now, and the elementals started to cough.
"We need to get up!" Atti screamed.
The storm buckled as Mia fell to her knees. "I'm OK... I just... just need a break." she faceplanted the floor.
Henrik couldn't turn his head, but the storm grew more savage.
"I CAN'T HOLD IT!" Kestrel yelled. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! DRAG MIA AND KILLIAN!"
Atti nodded as he managed to carefully remove Allie and Flanna's inhibitors. Allie just stared at Atti and Sara.
"Are you Jeger then." she said.
"WHAT?!" Atti yelled.
"Are you Jeger." she said, louder this time.
"YEAH!... GOTTA TAKE THE THINGS OFF EVERYONE ELSE!" he said, removing Seraphina's and Melanie's.
Kestrel turned her attention away from the storm and to the elementals. She clenched her fist as they were all raised, shudderingly, up to the next floor.
A gap amongst the storm formed and a loud snick filtered through the other noises.
Then, the storm began to evaporate.
Henrik reached to his neck.
Kestrel shook her head and lifted him up with the others despite his protests. She couldn't hear them anyway. "JUST GET EVERYONE ELSE SAFE!"
Another noise, this time quiet, almost silent, shot through the air and Kestrel whipped her head around, just a fraction too late. She didn't bother drawing her hand up to her neck. She knew.
*****
Sacrificing ourselves, well that was a bit heroic.
Shut up, we had no choice. Besides, this is our best chance of finding Einaris.
We didn't even save the others though, did we. And besides, you don't know what they'll do to us. Come on Kestrel don't try to be smart; you'll just fool yourself.
Wait that's it!
What's it?
Oh, come on, don't tell me you can't see it? You're Moon, right?
Huh, oh yeah... So, I am.
So, where are you?
Fair point, straight answer: I really don't know... Your head, I guess. I seem to have no true physical form, like I'm connected to you.
So, you can shape-shift?
Well, hypothetically, but I think I am connected to your personality, experience and stuff.
Ok... Wait, if you're in my head. Where am I.
Good question.
And also, is this technically a monologue?
Another good question.
Do all Souls speak in our heads?
Yet another good question.
You know how Mia can read minds, does that mean we can also receive from her?
Ooh, another good question.
Are you just going to keep saying 'good question' or are you going to answer me?
How would I know?
Err... You're me...
Oh, yeah, that happens a lot. You know, it's rather confusing.
Yeah, I can relate.
Well, you would.
Yeah, I guess so. But seriously, where are we?
I really couldn't say... What can you see?
Err... Nothing.
What can you hear?
Err... Nothing.
What do you feel?
Strange... nothing at all...
How long was this conversation?
Err... I guess ever since I could think to myself.
Yeah, those Lackers are missing out on so much.
Yeah... We really need a better name for them.
Nah, it's fine.
Wait, what happened before this conversation?
Erm, you were hit by a thingy-thing and then you ran into them guards.
Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I.
Yeah, it was pretty heroic.
It was, yes.
What do you think's going to happen now?
Hard to say. Wait a second, am I asleep.
How would I know?
You're me.
Oh, yeah. It really does get confusing.
You tell me. You are me after all.
Yeah... I guess so. This whole elemental school thing, what do you think?
Well, it is pretty cool. The building is absolutely amazing. The lessons are so fun. The rooms are alright. But I do miss Mummy and Daddy.
I can relate. Though technically I don't have family. Then again...
What are Mummy and Daddy's Souls.
Er... Mummy's is a fox made of water and Daddy's is a fire wolverine.
Cool.
Yeah, it is really.
But wait, can you hide information from me?
Yeah, I guess so...
Is there anything I need to know?
Give me a minute...
...
Yeah, there's this thing that keeps being mentioned. Something about you and Einaris being the last of this Asterian bloodline.
What does that mean?
Dunno, something cool I expect.
Yeah, probably. I mean, I'm surprised that I'm not very surprised about... Well, everything.
Well, it is kinda in your blood.
I guess. I don't even know why I left home in the first place or packed my bag. I mean, it made sense at the time...
That'll have been me Calling you.
Was that a capital 'c'?
I don't know, you tell me.
Well, you know more.
It depends really. But I guess.
So, I've kinda just gone with the flow up to this point. But now I have this free time, I want answers.
OK, but your friends probably don't know this.
That kind of thing doesn't bother me.
Yeah, I can relate.
Well, you would.
What do you want to know?
I guess... Am I human?
That's a good question.
And what about the answer?
Erm... Kind of complicated...
Just tell me.
In short: No.