Elements Short Story Competition (mystery/Sci-fi/romance)

[Kurohami]

I was trying to write a sci-fiction, but I couldn't think of anything for hours, so I decided to write a mystery? Romance? Both? Neither? Anyways, here it is (it's a bit long, 2012 words. Wait?! "2012"? Did I do that on purpose?):

Love in the Abyss

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  Detective Greeph is deeply troubled by the case: the captain of the giant frog army named Remo Mont had died during a flooding of the Feral Canyon. Frogs are granted the ability to swim a long long time ago by The Creator, so how did the captain die? It is a mystery worthy of someone like Greeph to solve.
  From the intelligence gathered from the high ranking members of the giant frog army, the captain was behaving rather strangely for weeks before his tragic death in the bottom of a flooded canyon. It is hard to tell whether that have something to do with his death, but Greeph has no more clues about the case other than this; so he decides he should visit the Frog captain’s family for further clues.
  The captain’s family owns a cozy little den in a muddy pond, where mosquitoes and damselflies flew every day when dusk descends, it has everything a frog would dream to have; it’s a paradise. Greeph slaps on the front of the den with his front paddles. That’s when he heard sounds of mourning inside. After a few moments, a grief struck old female frog stepped out of the den to greet the detective.
“Hello, madam, you are?”
“I am Mrs. Mont, Remo’s mother.” said the old frog.
 I am detective Greeph, I am investigating your son’s case, and I need you to assist me in my investigations.
“Not right now, Mr. Detective, sir, we are about to held his funeral. The criminal doctors just sent back his corpse.” said Mrs. Mont, sobbing in between words.
“Alright, do you mind if I attend?” Greeph asked politely.
“Not at all, not at all, you are most welcome to attend his funeral, detective Greeph.” said the old frog.
Greeph set out with the Mont family, walking along side Mrs. Mont, with Remo’s two brothers bearing the coffin.
“So, Mrs. Mont, have you noticed anything unusual before Remo’s death? I mean it’s hard to imagine a tough frog like him dying from a flood, he is the most physically adept frog around.” asked Greeph, as they hopped along the wet, muddy forest floor towards the ancient frog monument.
“Something unusual? Well, nothing really. I mean, he’s kind of depressed, and somewhat desperate about something, but he is like that all the time, too much stress from his work, I suppose. Nothing exceptionally strange, really.” said the elder frog.
“Oh, have you ever talked to him about that? About his moodiness?” asked Greeph.
“Urrrgh, we’ve tried before, all of us did,” said Mrs. Mont, gesturing towards the two brothers carrying the coffin, “but he wouldn’t tell us anything, and he often get mad us for asking, and told us that he is working with top secrets that we have no business to ask about, so we gave up eventually.”
“Oh, okay. I should have expected that from a military family.” said Greeph apologetically
  After a little while, they have reached the monument where reputed giant frogs are buried for generations. The brothers set down the coffin in a well decorated pond, and retreated to join their mother and Greeph. There was a moment of silence as the four mourned for the brave captain who had passed away, leaving behind such mysteries to be solved.
  Out of the corner of his eyes, Greeph saw something bluish moving among the bushes somewhere behind him. With a lightning fast backward somersault Greeph leaped towards the bushes. A blue abyss crawler streaked out of the bushes and zoomed into the woods. Greeph followed without a thought, keeping hot on its tail. That thing is really fast, despite being the best tracker for miles, Greeph is barely able to keep up with it. Hopping from branches to branches, Greeph managed to keep the crawler insight. After a long and tiresome chase, the crawler zoomed into a large lake and disappeared into the abyss. Greeph swam around the lake, still not giving up hope, but the crawler did not surface. Despite being a good swimmer, Greeph could not dive very well, he lost the crawler.
  Pissed off, Greeph got out of the water. It’s no go going back to the funeral; it’s probably over by the time he gets back, so Greeph set out to the criminal medical examination office located at the other side of the forest.

∞

 
Greeph marched into the medical examination office and greeted his old friend Laurence with a curt nod.
  “So, what have you found out from examining the corpse?” Greeph got straight into business.
  “It’s quite interesting indeed.” said Dr. Laurence and he gestured for Greeph to sit, “it is determined that the manner of death is indeed drowning. However, from the physique of Remo, it is speculated that he should be able to stay in the water for a very long time, and his leg muscles should easily overpower the strongest waves in that flood. It is very unlikely that he would have drowned in that flood, there’s a strong suggestion that other factors might be involved. His brain activities and hormonal levels were also at abnormal levels at the time of his death, so I speculate he might have been under some kind of influence, like a drug.”
  “A drug? Surely you should be able to tell from your tests whether Remo was induced with some kind of drug?” asked Greeph.
  “Not necessarily, there are quite a few known drugs that could volatilize very quickly and become untraceable, and we don’t know every kind of drugs in the world.” said Dr. Laurence grimly.
  “Who do you know in this region that could utilize such a drug?” asked Greeph.
  “The water faction is famed for their mastery in alchemy. There is a good chance the flood was caused by them too.” said Dr. Laurence.
  “Hmn ... Very suspicious. I caught an abyss crawler spying on us when I attended Remo’s funeral, but it got away.” said Greeph, deeply absorbed in thought.
  “Really? How long ago was that?” asked Dr. Laurence with growing urgency.
  “Not long, I came here right after it got away.” answered Greeph, “Why?”
  “I think we could still trace it, I have developed an apparatus that could trace living creatures by the particles they leave behind, but only if the trail is still fresh.” said Dr. Laurence.
  “Even in the water? It dived into a lake when I lost it.”
  “Yes, even in the water. Now we better get going, before the trail disappears.” said Dr. Laurence urgently, “take me to the place where you last saw it.”

∞

  Dr. Laurence took a sample of particles from the bushes where the abyss crawler have soar through with great speed and started analyzing it with his little apparatus. Greeph watched over his shoulder attentively, though he hardly understands the variety of numbers and symbols on it.
  “Okay, I think I have found the trail, lock, here you go!” said Dr. Laurence, handing the apparatus to Greeph, “just follow the trail on that screen and you’ll eventually found the crawler, if you are traveling and a greater net velocity than it is of course.”
  “You are not coming with me?” asked Greeph in surprise.
  “Aren’t you always a lone wolf when working on cases? And do I look a tracking expert to you? I provide you with the weapon, you use it, that has always been our partnership, hasn’t it? Now get going.” said Dr. Laurence rather bossily.
  “Alright, I was just asking.” said Greeph and he took the apparatus and set off.
  Not long after, he arrived at the lake. He attached the SCUBA gear and dives head long into the lake.
  Deeper and deeper he dived, until light is no longer penetrating and everything is enveloped in darkness. Soon, the trail led him to the bottom of the lake, and he swam through an underwater tunnel, towards the darkness and unknown.
  Greeph turned on his flashlight rather unwillingly; he knows it would forewarn the crawler of his arrival. He swam in the seemingly endless underwater tunnel for hours. Finally, he saw the abyss crawler behind a rock. The moment they locked gaze, the abyss crawler fled. It soars through the water like a dark blue arrow, fleeing deeper into the tunnel. Greeph followed, his legs thrusting with all his might. With the apparatus in his hand, he would not lose the crawler this time.
  The underwater tunnel is like a labyrinth, with many branches that he could have otherwise gotten lost without the tracker. After what seemed like another hour of tracking, he felt the elevation increasing—the tunnel is bending upward towards the surface. Knowing his target is getting desperate, he accelerated. After another hour of painful swimming, the trail is becoming more and more solid, he’s close now.
  Before he knows it, a pale beam of light appeared, the surface is near! Swoosh! Greeph zoomed out of the water and landed with a thud. He saw the tired abyss crawler crawling behind some bushes. He hopped towards it. It seems to have lost all the strength to run away.
  “You can’t run any longer, you are finished. Now, answer my questions. What do you know about Remo’s death?” asked Greeph menacingly.
  “It’s not my fault! I swear, I never meant for it to happen!” cried a weak feminine voice.
  “Not your fault? That’s not enough, tell me more! What did you do to him?”
  “I didn’t murder him. I didn’t want him to die! I loved him!” wailed the weak voice.
  “You loved him?” said Greeph, mouth agape, deeply puzzled by what he just heard.
  “Yes, and he loved me too! He said we were going to be together forever! But he couldn’t stay underwater for too long, he just couldn’t.” the little voice is cracking.
  Greeph is shaken by the story that is pouring forth from the female abyss crawler. So, that’s what happened!
  Remo and July met on the battle field between the water minions and the life forces a year ago. They were both swept up by the flood caused by the elemental manipulator of the water faction. To prevent from being tossed above by the waves, they instinctively grabbed on to each other. After floating for half a day, they finally washed ashore on a neutral land. The experience has developed a deep affection between the two tender beings, at the time they didn’t know what it was. They parted, ashamed of what had occurred, they returned to their own faction without telling anybody what happened. The war ended after series of battles. A peace agreement was reached between life and water factions. Then, Remo remembered the abyss crawler who spent an afternoon in the waves with him, and he developed a mounting desire to see her. Remo searched at the boundaries between water and life every time he is free from duty. Finally, the two met at a lake shared by the two factions. They spent the day together, telling each other tales of their own side rebuilding after the war. They soon fall madly in love. To avert from the eyes of on lookers, they set their dates under the depth of the lake. Unfortunately, Remo cannot breathe underwater, and he had to surface every now and then. Then July proposed for Remo to try a breathing potion they have developed that could enable Remo to breath underwater. Remo drank the potion and his lung was instantly filled with lightness. They dived deep into the abyss, embracing in romantic dances. At that moment, the world has stopped around them, and to them, only each other mattered. In the middle of the ecstasy of their joyful frolicking, Remo’s potion’s effect failed, he suddenly found himself short of breath. July become frightened and urged him to surface immediately, but Remo refused, knowing that he could not make it to the surface, he embraced July and they held each other tightly until Remo left the world with a smile on his face.

[Glitch]

Whew, finally finished.  I'm not sure it's a winner, but it's pretty darn good.  I especially like the beginning.

[SunnyGreens]

Whew, finally finished.  I'm not sure it's a winner, but it's pretty darn good.  I especially like the beginning.

♫ This is Major Tom to Ground Control...♫

Sorry, first thing that went through my head when I read it.

[johannhowitzer]

Here's a romance.

Luka

Luka... where are you?  I can't find you.
   I never gave a second thought to what to eat for dinner before.  The galley always had
the same options, and like most people I had my usual.  Now and then I'd mix it up, but it
was always on a whim, never pondered.
   Put me in the same room with this girl, though, and I was frozen.  Lobster?  King
crab?  Calamari?
   “Otto says y'ain't seen yer folks in nigh on a year now, Font.  Not getting along?”
   Answer in the affirmative and you've speared yourself in the foot.  Deny it and you
prove it's true.  So... stalling.
   “Yeah, don't make my sides leak.  You gonna order?” I said.
   “Done it, love.  Nerves playin' you fer a fool, put the burnin' menu down and talk to
me.  I keen for this and yer still dumbfaced?”
   Why is there never any room for subtlety?  But she had a point.
   “King crab, I hear it's to die for.”  The waiter cracked a slight grin.
   “That's a first, Font.  And it's upside down.”
   Handing over the menu, I let out a long breath and leaned back.
   Luka giggled.  “On a date'n lookit you.  Heard you's a big ladykiller in yer School
days, were them rumors just hearsay?”
   “School was different.  All soldiers, not classy, no different for the ladies.”  Looking
away, I took a long sip of what I assume was water.  “What is this, filtered?”
   “I'm classy now?  Fontaine, I 'spected eats but not a show!”
   “I have high standards.  Women in School were easy, and only halfway pretty.”  Ah,
there it is, hard to see in scarlet cheeks but I got her to blush.
   “P-pretty, me.  You charmer.”
   Silence, but she was playing with her hair.

   “Dad... died last year.”  She instantly recovered.
   “Oh, Font... I'm so sorry.”
   “Done my mourning, don't be walking on clamshells, please.”  Pause.  “Mom gets
frantic every time she sees me, like I'm gonna step on a depth charge tomorrow.”
   “Ain't fair, you know that could happen.”
   “But I stay away so she can have some peace.  She gets a letter every so often, just so
she knows I'm alive.”
   Silence again, she's looking out the window.
   “'S gonna change right now.  A mum deserves t'see her boy least three times a year.
You'n me, we're going, don't say no less y'want me to walk.”
   “Now who's not being fair.  Can I think about it?”
   “Shoot, a year ain't no more for a day.  Take the 'ole burnin' week.”  Another pause.
“Talked yerself dry?”
   Didn't notice my shoulders had tensed up until I relaxed.  “Peace talks aren't going
well.”  A decade had passed since the Antipodean War, and the attempt at a cease fire by
the diplomats of Chronopolis.  We hadn't heard from Infernus or his lieutenants until they
showed up unarmed at our gates three months ago.
   “It don't mix, that's why.”
   “I heard Glundarg got involved.”
   “That's news!  They doin' pokin' their big fat noses here?”  Fear in her eyes, the first
time I'd seen it.
   “They're poking their big fat everythings.  Council suspects conspiracy, as always.”

   Our food came, followed by choice remarks about the quality of the water, and choice
replies.  I started to pick at the left claw.  “My CO thinks we could be shipping out within
the month.”
   I'm sure it was only a minute but it felt like we ate in silence for thirty.  Just like mom
at dinner.
   “I'll keep writing to mom, I always do.”
   “This ain't recon or salvage, Font.  Could be war, like in history class.”  Burn these
pauses, why can't I say anything right?  “Should see yer mum and set it right, 'fore you go
lose yer second chance.”
   “I'm not going to die, Luka.  I'm ballistics, we have the lowest mortality rate.”

   I've only seen it happen once before, but you never forget it.  One second we were
mincing our food and avoiding eye contact, and the next the galley was swarming with
ash eaters.  They came out of the air, which meant someone was messing with Time
energy.
   Luka got up first and jumped onto the table.  I stood on my chair and started the
incantation for an icebolt, but was too slow, the chair burned to cinders under my feet.
When I stood back up, she was gone.
   Several militiamen patrons had formed a ring a few yards away and I ran to join them,
first grabbing a spear from behind the bar.  We were quickly surrounded, but some of the
men must have been infantry, because the galley was secured inside of five minutes.
   “Did you see a redhead in a dress run off?”  I asked the man who had taken charge.
   “Only about six of them, unless you'd like to be more specific.  Most the people who
took off ran out the back.”
   With no more than a nod of thanks I hopped over the bar and found the back entrance.
The street was a sea of confusion, a handful of our Dragons in the air.
   Luka... where are you?  I can't find you.
   A couple streets over I saw a squad of Glundarg Firemasters.  We'd been stabbed in
the back, not just by those who pretended to seek peace, but also the mediators!
Chronopolis was notorious for staying out of disputes like this.
   Running down the street calling for help, I passed an alley and flew face first into...
Luka!  Picking ourselves up, we ducked into the alley.
   “Font, where'd they come from?  I'm frighted!”
   “Doesn't make sense.  How'd they get down here?  Time and Gravity I can see, but
Fire elementals fizzle out.”
   “Doesn't burnin' well matter, does it?  What now?  You gotta pr'tect me!”
   “Yeah, some date this is turning out to be.”
   “Yer still crackin' wise with firebolts flyin' about?  How about--”  Her chest
perforated by a stray firebolt, she slumped into my lap, eyes still open.  I'd seen people die
a few times, but they were soldiers, or in a hospital bed.  To see such beauty destroyed so
violently was more than I could take.  I flew into a rage, my vision clouded red, the
knuckles around my spear white.
   A squad of Firemasters entered the alley.  My spear found two of them before I was
subdued, my face pressed into the scaly road, and Luka lay still before my eyes.  Never
lovers, but after School got out she became like a sister.
   I never told them anything, doesn't mean they didn't take weeks trying, until my lips
were cracked so deep I couldn't speak.  So instead I write, from deep in an infernal prison.
   Luka, where are you?  I can't find you.


[Possible edits to come, and I apologize for the few bad puns.  I decided to keep the Elements references to only what was necessary to tell the story.]

[johannhowitzer]

Ok, SG, I just noticed in the rules you stipulated that romances must have happy endings (I don't agree).  Does this mean I'm disqualified?

[Scaredgirl]

Ok, SG, I just noticed in the rules you stipulated that romances must have happy endings (I don't agree).  Does this mean I'm disqualified?

Nah. That's just a description I took from the web. It's not a strict rule.

[Kuroaitou]

Darnit! I can't seem to make this story any shorter than I wanted to. I hope I don't get automatically disqualified for having my sci-fi/very slight mystery over 2000 words. >_< There's no MAXIMUM word limit, right Scaredgirl?

NOTE: Although the majority of the names of the cards were not specifically said, the descriptions should be good enough to help you decipher what spells, creatures, and permanents are in the story. 

From Twelve to Tears

Tracy Chu held the fast forward button until she saw a glimpse of herself leaving a confined white room with a tub of water. She let go of the button and sighed, staring lifelessly at the video; one of the remaining relics of the world was being tested in a small laboratory… and it was destroyed three days ago by a terrorist.

“Dr. Chu.” a blond woman said behind her, awkwardly pausing before continuing on. “We need you now.”

Tracy watched as a jagged pink-tinted blade was slowly lowered towards the water, where she noticed that sparks already began to fly off the sword without any electric current being applied to the weapon beforehand. As it neared the tub of water, the liquid began to shift colors and swirled violently into a whirlpool, splashing and partially floating into the air, ignoring the basic laws of physics and chemistry. Suddenly, a small bolt of lightning jolted outward from the water to the device holding the blade, and the water began freezing, evaporating, and mutating into different substances. Steam erupted from the water’s surface upon contact with the tip, and a small explosion of fire spewed from the hilt towards the ground, leaving a trail of sand and soot. Two red lights flashed on the side of the screen, and the blade was hoisted up swiftly. A small leaf sprouted on the tip of the blade and fell gracefully onto the edge of the tub; as soon as it made contact, the tub shattered in pieces, spilling out all of the contents onto the floor. An extreme flash of light was emitted towards the camera, and then it cut out to complete darkness before the video ended to a blue screen.

“Chu.” The woman stated in a more impatient tone of voice.

Tracy stood up and turned around, taking note of the shorthaired agent glaring at her. She brushed her lab coat, adjusted her glasses, and responded, “Linda, you know how I feel regarding torture.”

Linda picked a thread of lint off her suit and retorted back, “Then you should know how much torture he inflicted upon you and your colleagues after destroying nearly all of your research, as well as killing some of the brightest minds in the world.” She cleared her throat, “Obviously, being restrained in a controlled environment is considered ‘torture’ for someone who managed to bomb a museum, incinerate two government facilities, and destroy a damn Buddhist temple.” Tracy looked away in guilt, forgetting that several of her ‘friends’ were transformed into piles of ash and scarred flesh.

A door swung open; two guards wearing hazard suits and wielding assault rifles entered, taking position at opposite sides of the exit. Linda left the room quickly, and Tracy followed, glancing at one of the soldiers – everything appeared to be black and white.

------------

Layers of mist permeated the cell. A thermometer was hung on one side of the room, reading a little lower than 30 degrees Fahrenheit in red. Each wall carried a mirror, and one soldier was stationed at each corner of the room pointing a tranquilizer gun at the restrained individual in the center being sprayed by chilling water. The soldiers themselves wore insulated vests, helmets, and boots to resist the cold, but the man in the center shivered endlessly, his hands and feet already turned lavender. He had no hair and was shirtless. His scars ran up and down his toned body from head to toe. Each gnarled line led itself to a different area of his body, and each scab appeared to be in the form of a random yet symmetric shape. His face was blanketed with these scars, but the most bizarre aspect of his face was of his eyes – he had no pupils or even an iris. They simply radiated an orange glow.

“Tell us your name.”

The man looked up, turned his head from one mirror to the other, only wincing in pain when he tried to look behind him. Another voice repeated the same demand in an angrier manner, and all he could do was scream and fight his bonds. He spit a ball of flame at one of the mirrors in frustration, but it ended up dissipating before his eyes, leaving behind a small ring of smoke. Ventilation gates opened up inside the room, and soon, clouds of mist flowed inside; the man shivered once more, looked at another mirror and flashed his teeth before letting his body and head dangle towards the cement.

------------

“We might need a translator.” A scientist remarked. He scribbled something on his clipboard before pressing the OFF button on an elaborate keyboard. Afterwards, he swiveled his chair towards another area and began hitting switches in a designated pattern. From orange to yellow, each key lighted up as he flipped them the opposite way.

“Or you can probably ask better questions, Jeffrey.” Linda leaned back towards the wall, sighing.

Tracy looked at both of them before looking through the window. Who was this man? How did he get here? And why was he destroying these weapons that were discovered through excavations?

“Well, the only thing we do know about him is that he’s somehow capable of spontaneously combusting objects, and that his internal body temperatures are so high that his DNA should be decomposing, yet he’s still stable.” Jeffrey drew a line through a paper on his clipboard, flipped the page, and began reading again. “If it weren’t for our security, he might have destroyed the last out of the twelve as well.”

“You mean the glorified Taser?” Linda asked.

“…Yes. The blade of ‘aether’.” Jeffrey corrected her. He trailed off about how the weapon was found inside a unique capsule that had led to discovery of the other ancient artifacts, and how each one represented a different substance or idea. There were twelve in total.

Tracey noticed a soldier in the room picking at his neck before readying his weapon again. In that moment, the entire building shook and the lights above them flickered – as she looked through the window again, the man was staring up into the ceiling, as if he was relieved.

A computer-generated voice stated: “Security breach on level D.”

------------

“You have got to be kidding me.” Linda said, pulling out a pistol and readying herself. Before she headed towards the exit though, unknown words reverberated within the observing room, and as Tracey turned around, she found herself staring into the icy-blue eyes of an old man wearing robes. Linda took aim and fired, but saw the bullet stop mid-way towards the man; transparent teal plates emerged from the space between them, and the stranger lifted his hands. He discharged a ball of lightning from his hands towards the agent, shocking and knocking her out instantly. Jeffrey leapt from his chair and started sprinting frantically towards the window out of fear, but upon nearing it, saw another robed individual literally fly through the glass without even breaking it. The creature removed its cape away from its face, revealing the face of a black crow – as Jeffrey stumbled backwards, his pants had started to darken around his groin, and he fainted.

Tracey turned back at the person behind her with the oval plates surrounding him, and saw him glaring at her. She closed her eyes and took a final breath, only to hear a gentle, but echoing voice.

“Please. Do not fight me. We just want to take back what was given to you accidentally.”

Tracey looked up and saw him extending his hand towards her. She hesitated, but slowly extended hers as well, only to her gunfire within the cell. Turning around, three soldiers were lying on the floor with what appeared to be spears of ice embedded in them, while one of them was completely frozen, encased in a block of ice. A woman knocked onto the glass with curly cerulean hair that flowed in the air, giving a soft smile. Her long dress was braided endless into different patterns, covering the majority of her body up. She apparently waved at the blue-eyed man inside the observing room, and opened her eyes to reveal what appeared to be sapphires. Tracey looked back, and saw the crow-person kneel towards the monk.

“I am Aetheric. You may call me ‘Eric’ for short. The woman and man within the cell are Aririus and Terofuze.” Eric looked into the glass and shook his head, while the woman, Aririus shrugged her shoulders and began poking the chained man, aggravating him. “I knew I should have asked one of my other siblings to come here.”

“W-what… exactly are you, E-Eric?” Tracey stuttered, swallowing in fear.

Eric turned to her and beckoned the crow to keep watch over the two within the cell. “I… suppose it would be difficult for you to understand who, or what, I am. However, I will explain everything and ensure your safety should you lead me to my Electrocuter.”

The crow-being ran past her and phased into the cell, drawing a small sword. Tracey nodded slowly, and opened the door. As she stepped into the hallway, she realized that the hall was flooded, but the water was going away from her wherever she stepped. Eric moved beside her, and began following her as she robotically walked down the hallway. When they turned the corner, two security guards pointed their weapons at the both of them and sent a barrage of bullets in their direction, only for them to be stopped by the transparent teal plates Eric had created earlier. A spiral of light blue energy wrapped around his body, and he began launching multiple bolts of electricity at the guards, electrifying them each time until they fell onto the floor unconscious.

------------

“In my world, I am what you would call an ‘elemental’.” Tracey looked at him before he raised an eyebrow at her, and she continued her path. Eric continued, “One of my kind was skillful enough to have taken precious artifacts from his enemies, but found himself bored when no one could effectively stop him. Out of curiosity, he managed to enter this hostile realm of creatures and began dispersing the weapons to see if there was someone who could wield them as successfully as he could, but instead, they remained buried and unused, or placed into containers as treasures. When our Oracle had foreseen your treasures transformed into lethal devices, we needed to stop your potential destruction.”

“You mean, the weapons at the museum?” Tracey pressed her lips and began searching for what to say as she neared the room. “I don’t believe we were going to make more weapons out of—I mean…”

“You were studying how to handle a weapon that could transmute the elements. Discord – the chaotic properties, if mass produced, would be enough to decimate populations of your kind, if I recall.” Eric assumed.

Tracey tensed up, but realized the accuracy of his judgment. “I don’t understand why that man couldn’t have just taken the weapons back instead of creating so much destruction.”

“Terofuze lacks subtlety,” Eric blurted out, but quickly corrected his statement, “…these weapons are not tolerated by some of my brethren, as they were used against him and his family countless times over.”

“You have family?” Tracey inquired.

“In a way, yes.” Eric answered, before releasing snapping his fingers. Another guard came sprinting behind them, but a huge spider had blocked his fire and shot a web into the guard’s face before fiercely assaulting him, and Tracey dashed away towards the final hallway where the ‘blade of aether’ resided. He went on to say, “While we’re not related by blood, all twelve of our ‘families’ are essential to the balance of our world.”

Tracey entered a 7-digit code before the metallic door slid open. She turned and saw Eric stride past her, stopped, and he then resumed walking towards the encased weapon after asking, “It appears that you don’t have any family left, do you?”

------------

He grabbed the weapon and conjured a small dark blue ball that expanded into the same small teal-colored transparent plates as he had before, shielding himself from the barrage of lasers and bullets coming from within. As Eric left the room, Tracey heard one bullet fired toward her direction and felt someone pinch her left shoulder blade. When she turned, Linda was barely standing up, shaking, and pointing the weapon clearly at her face. The agent pulled the trigger again, but the empty barrel echoed. Eric clapped his hands together and a large amount of aquamarine energy swirled around him; tearing his hands apart, a leviathan with claws and fangs hurled itself towards Linda. When the dragon was finished, it phased into the ground, and the only part remaining was a bloodied hand clutching the gun.

The two other elements appeared around the corner after glancing at the hand. The man with the scars, or Terofuze, muttered something in a language she couldn’t hear. Glimpsing at herself, she realized her coat had been bloodied- no, she was bleeding to death. Lowering herself, Tracey fell to her knees, and then lay on her side, looking up at the three of them.

“She’s not going to survive either.” Terofuze hissed. Eric looked away and opened a portal into a blurred vortex of clouds and light. He looked at Tracey with forgiving eyes, but decided not to say anything.

“Wait!” Aririus demanded. “What if we can bring her back to Vitiel to heal-?”

“No, we cannot.” Terofuze flatly refused. “She has no power, she’ll die there within days.” He jumped into the portal, igniting his entire body within the process and gleefully yelling.

Eric turned to the portal, then back at Tracey. “Would you be willing to leave this world for one that would welcome you?” Aririus gasped at Eric’s question, and shifted her eyes onto Tracey, who slowly nodded before shutting her eyes. As the world became quieter, Tracey heard a few words before falling into a deep sleep:

“Do not save her life. Give her a new one.”

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She found herself on a cloud, unable to feel the majority of her body. However, within a few seconds, she realized that she was wearing some sort of silk dress and was barefoot. Where was she? Was she dead? How did she come to be?

Unable to solve these questions, she began crying out of fear, only for her tears to mix with the space around her. A woman wearing the same clothing as she did had materialized in front of her, with different facial features and teal-colored hair. The teal-haired woman came to lift her up, and wiped her tears away before fading away.

“My queen.”

The woman turned around and saw someone she recognized – Aetheric. Beside him stood Aririus; both of them were smiling.

“We need you now.”

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^^;;; Hope you enjoyed reading this!