No. 23: Negotiations gone South

No. 23: Negotiations gone South

It didn't take long to get the boys to their positions at various points in the house.
Cliff and Stryder were standing down at door, watching the Professor making his way to the line of black. Venn was positioned at the roof with a control panel in his hand, when Terra came bounding up behind him. He glanced at her, then took a double take.
"You went and changed?!" He gapped.
"Well yeah! I can't very well fight in a skirt now can I? you idiot!" She remarked with a grin. Venn shook his head in wonder. Never had he seen her in jeans before, though if he allowed himself, he'd admit that she looked good in them.
Kaleigh had given her a change of jeans and a pair of boots she had found in one of the various rooms in the mansion. At first Terra didn't understand the how Kale could think of clothes in their situation, but when she pointed out she was in a skirt it fell in line.
So here she was, in jeans for the first time in years, about to fight for her life.
"You ready for this?" Venn asked.
She glanced over at his dark green energy mark and shook her head.
"Nope. Not at all. You?"
He chuckled nervously, but agreed with her whole heartedly.
"Yeah...Same here."

.:+++:.

"Can you hear anything they're saying?" Cliff asked.
"No." Stryder said. Cliff rolled his eyes.
"Some Savior you turned out to be." He grumbled.
"But I can read their lips." Stryder added.
"Ah! Well that's something we can use. Come on, lets get closer."
Just then Kaleigh bounded around the corner.
"Oi! what are you two doing? Where's Brandon?"
"We're just going for a stroll," Cliff said with that stupid grin she'd learned to be wary of.
"Oh yes, with fifty armed men out there. Lovely time to have a stroll." She stated, faking a British accent.
"You two I swear! Where's Brandon?"
"He's in the Professor's room remember? He's got to watch the Professor to give the rest of us a signal."
"Okay, I've got to go see if he needs any help. You two stay out of trouble got it?! If I see you two doing anything remotely suspicious I will blast you off the ground."
Cliff rolled his eyes again and nudged Stryder's arm, and then the two were off. Kaleigh sent up a prayer of safety for them and the rest of their team.
Then she bounded off again for the Professor's office.

Cliff led Stryder down the fields through the trees that lined the property.
"We close enough now?" He said in a hushed whisper.
"Yeah, should be fine." Stryder mumbled. "You don't happen to have binoculars do you?"
"Um...no I don't happen to have binoculars. It's not something I carry on my person all the time. Though now that I think about it I probably should because it would be so useful in situations like this, or keeping an eye on my sister, or making sure no one steels my food."
Stryder rolled his eyes and completely ignored him half way through Cliff's rambling. He concentrated on the Professor, who was addressing the line of fifty men.
"What's he saying?" Cliff cut in.
"He's asking for the leader to step forward."
They waited anxiously for someone to do as the Professor said. And when he did, Stryder almost choked.
"You okay?"
He nodded hastily and gained composure again.
"Yeah. They're introducing themselves. The guy in black's name is Sage."
Cliff studied the enemy closely, but wasn't impressed by much.
He was tall, and sort of gangly looking. He had black hair that hung in his dark eyes that looked like black holes. He wore black combat boots and some sort of black armor that wasn't as big as the normal armor Cliff had seen police men wear in TV shows and such. But covering the armor, was a trench coat, making him stand out against the others who just wore the uniform armor.

"What are they saying now?" Cliff asked quietly.
"Professor is asking for them to just leave. He's trying to deny the fact that there is anybody here. He's trying to say all the kids are gone on holiday." Stryder answered.
"That's a reliable excuse."
"Yeah. Except it didn't work."
Cliff sighed. "What'd the trench coat say?"
"He's had the school under surveillance for weeks, and knew we were here." Stryder said, chewing on his bottom lip.
"Well we're not surprised. That's a reasonable step to take. Plus they had a freaking spy in the school so yeah that's to be expected."
"Why do you have to be so reasonable." Stryder muttered.
"Huh?"
"Nothing." He said quickly, rolling his eyes before turning his attention back to the two figures in middle of the field.

"Sage is now asking for him to hand over the Elemental's and promising he wont hurt the Professor, or anyone else that's on campus."
"Yeah well the Professor's obviously going to refuse." Cliff mumbled. Stryder nodded in agreement as he watched the Professor do just that.
"He did. Now they're glaring at each other and he's walking away."
Cliff inhaled sharply at the Professor's daring move by turning his back on the enemy. But when he watched the guy in the trench coat give a hand signal, a cold chill ran down his spine.
There was a single bullet shot, and the Professor was thrown to the ground.
"No!" He cried.
Stryder jumped on Cliff, trying to keep him back in the cover of the trees.
But Cliff's Element took advantage of his emotional state and burst forth like a dam had broke.
Stryder swore as he heard the thunder clap loudly above. He glanced up and watched as black clouds rolled in fast, as if he was watching it through a sped up camera. Rain poured down violently, soaking everything in a few seconds flat. But what he didn't expect, was the sudden crack of lightening that exploded the ground in front of the enemies line. A scream pierced the silence, and the ground rumbled.
"You have got to be kidding me. Just my luck get stuck with a bunch of freaks who can't control anything." Stryder muttered under his breath as he struggled to keep Cliff where he was. Stryder knew that Cliff wouldn't stay where he was, and knew that he'd pick a fight if he let go.
Stryder saw the Professor shift in his peripheral vision, and knew he wasn't dead yet.
He made a split second decision and threw Cliff against a tree, causing him to hit his head and pass out.
"Stupid idiot." He grumbled, then turned back to the enemy line.
The ground was still moving under them, and the rain prevented much sight to be had.
He ran out of the safety of the woods and to the Professor.
Stryder slipped on the wet grass that he realized was mixed with water and blood. He turned Wallace over, he saw that the bullet had gone through his shoulder, severing an artery, which would account for all the bleeding. Stryder's hands came away red, but he ignored that fact.
"Come on Professor. We've got to get you out of here." He said, straining to pick up the Professor's weight.
It was a struggle to get the Professor to the woods with the fear that the enemy would shoot at him, or worse.
But Kaleigh, and Venn made sure they were occupied. The grass under them grew into vines, wrapping around their feet. The lightening and water electrocuted them extensively, agonizing screams filled the air, the smell of scorched skin filled his nostrils, making him nauseous.
The strain of keeping the Professor up right, and moving was an impossible task. But the knowledge that Kale and Venn couldn't keep the attack going forever, kept his burning legs moving.

Once in the cover of the forest, he dragged the Professor deep into the trees. He pulled off his jacket and ripped it into strips, winding them around his shoulder as tight as he could, hoping it would stop the bleeding.
Then he ran back to get Cliff and drag him into safety as well before running through the underbrush and back to the mansion.

.:+++:.

Kaleigh had seen Stryder drag the Professor into the forest, once she saw that they were clear she let go of her Element and collapsed on one of the vast balconies on the front of the mansion.
Terra fell to her knees next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulders.
"He's not dead, Kale." She said in a firm tone. "Not yet anyways. The Professor has a lot of fight in him. It's going to take a lot more than a single bullet to take him down. Now come on, you've got to activate stage one, while I smack Venn out of his daze."
Kale ran her sleeve under her nose and nodded as she crawled to her feet and headed to the basement while Terra headed to the roof.

Terra's life vision swept the floor above her as she made her way up the stairs as fast as she could, glad she had changed into jeans so her legs weren't restricted in her skirts, allowing her to move faster than she normally could have.
Once on the roof she saw the heap of green near the edge of it, she hurried to reach him before he did something stupid.
"Venn! Venn get away from the edge before you kill yourself." She cried, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.
"Why, why does everyone always have to leave?" She heard him mumble.
Her heart broke for him, as she pleaded with her Father to ease his burdens.
"We all have our time Venn. It's part of life, and yes it's hard, so, so hard, but everything that happens to us, falls from God's hands after her personally sees that it will benefit us in some way."
"How? How could this possibly benefit us?" He asked, looking back up at her with red eyes. He was leaning back against his arm, his back against her chest where he had fallen when she pulled him back. Her feathery touch was still on his skin, but he wasn't focusing on any of these. It was the way her face showed a feeling he hadn't seen in her. Like she understood something that he couldn't have hopes of understanding.
"Ever heard of that saying 'God never gives us more than we can handle?'" She asked.
Venn nodded, and shifted so he was sitting up straight, and on his own.
"Well it's garbage."
His head jerked up. That was not what usually followed after that statement.
"God gives us  more than we can handle so we learn to call on Him for strength. 'Cause we'll never make it through on our own, end of story." She stated bluntly and with such a dead pan face it was probably one of the most bizarre things he had ever seen.
"The Professor isn't dead yet, so stop moping and lets go, we've got jobs to do and your sister is already on her way to start phase one." Terra said gently as she tugged on his arm firmly. He got up to his feet and got a grip with reality, he couldn't afford to fall apart now, not when they were about to get into what could possibly be a full fledged battle. He'd deal with emotions at the end of the day when it was over.

No. 22: Battle Plans

No. 22: Battle Plans

"Terra!"
She turned towards the sound. Venn grabbed her wrists and turned her hands palms up.
"Take this to Cliff, he said he needed it." He said, placing something cool and large in her hands.
"Where is he?"
"Check the roof."
She nodded and spun on her booted heel and ran off in the direction of the mansion. Her life vision told her that Cliff was indeed on the roof.
She focused on the earth beneath her, and let it raise her to the roof level.
Cliff looked up just in time to see the ground rise up, she stepped onto the roof like it was all no big deal and it all happened everyday. He shook his head in mild disbelief. Sometimes, even though he had super powers, it was hard to wrap his mind around it.
"Here's the...thing you wanted." She said, handing him the metal box.
"Thanks. Could you do me a favor?" He asked. Terra nodded readily, her dark curls bouncing in her messy ponytail.
"Could you bring Venn up here, and tell him he needs to wire this to the security system?"
"Sure thing. Anything else I need to do?"
He rose to his feet and over looked the campus.
"Yeah..." He said slowly. "Make sure you're knives are sharpened. We're going to be in for a whole heap of trouble."
Terra nodded grimly then dove off the roof, making the earth bend under her to soften her fall.
"And they say boys show off." Cliff muttered to himself as he climbed down the ladder.

Kaleigh pulled her hair up off her sweaty neck before leaning into the ladder again as she wired up new security cameras.
"Hey can someone hand me those wire cutters?" She asked, reaching out of them, while yanking a cord out of the tangled mess. The cutters were placed in her hand and she cut off the end of the wire.
Don't hurt yourself.
She rolled her eyes at the voice inside her head.
I'm not a little girl. I can take care of myself.
So I heard. You didn't tell me you jumped the guy.
Well sorry! I was a bit of a wreck and it slipped my mind.
The cutters pulled the wire covering off, but also the skin on her palm.
"Ow, crap!" She growled.
"I told you not to hurt yourself."
She wanted to slap him, and if it weren't for the fact that her hand hurt, she would have.
Kaleigh jumped down to the ground and let Brandon pull her hand from her chest.
He wrapped a strip of cloth around it gently, she wasn't all sure where he got the cloth from, but was thankful for it.
"I swear sometimes you act like my sister." He grumbled.
"Yes, but I'm older than you sister, so I'm allowed to act like that sometimes."
He paused and looked at her to see if she was being serious.
"You do realize that is the most messed up logic I have ever heard right?"
"Well it's not as messed up as wanting pistachio ice cream in November." She shot back, refusing to meet his stormy blue eyes.
"Yeah but that's a quirk, not logic. And quirks vary from person to person, logic should make sense to everyone."
"Well maybe my quirk is that my logic makes no sense to anyone!"
His rough hands weren't as gentle when he was agitated. When he tied the knot, he pulled tighter than he meant to.
"Ouch." She muttered, jerking her hand back in surprise.
"Sorry." He mumbled.
Kale let out a deep sigh and new that part of it was her fault.
"No...I'm sorry. I'm stressed and worried about what is going to happen, if we're all going to live through the night, and not to mention all of the things I have to do in order to get ready for this, and it's just -" She stopped herself and took a deep breath, gazing off into some point in the distance, trying to calm herself down. "I feel like I'm in a room, and it just keeps getting smaller and smaller. Suffocating me slowly, and then when I think I got a break, it squeezes harder." A tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away impatiently.
"And now I'm falling apart. That's just awesome." She grumbled.
"Hey." Brandon took a hold of her shoulders, gaining her attention, and forcing her to look at him. "You're allowed to fall apart. In fact it's expected! You're suiting up for a war, your brothers have already mentioned they expected you and Terra to break down a while ago."
"That's not comforting Brandon." She stated with a discouraged tone.
He gave her a look but went on as if she hadn't said anything.
"You don't have to hide how you feel, that's all I'm saying." He dropped his arms and struggled to win the battle ragging on in his soul. It was a war that he had to fight every time he was near her, and it seemed that God was laughing at him when she became his Partner. He heard her sigh and watched her as she rubbed her eyes with her palms.
"That's probably not the best pick up speech, but I guess it'll do." She said.
Kale moved to go up the ladder again to get back to the security camera, when Brandon gripped her wrist and pulled her back down a rung. She let out a squeal when her foot slipped and she lost her balance, falling into arms ready to catch her. Her back slammed into Brandon's chest, his arms wrapped around her waist, protectively pulling her closer. Before her mind could catch up to what was happening, Brandon twisted his head around and planted a kiss on her cheek. The usual zap of electricity was there, only slightly stronger, making her jump. But then he had pushed her back onto the ladder, right back where she had started.
She looked back at him in shock with wide eyes, not sure how to respond to that. Brandon just shrugged and shoved his hands in to his pockets with a grin directed her way.
"Just incase we don't make it through this. I just thought I'd let you know." He said with that stupid half smile that sent the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy.
Her brain was all haywire, as she fumbled with the wires. She wanted to growl at him for doing that, but in reality, her brain was far, far away from growling.
Stupid boy. She thought to herself, not allowing it to be heard by Brandon. If you want me to get a job done you shouldn't go do stuff like that!
But she couldn't keep the smile from creeping up onto her lips when she thought about his words.

.:+++:.

That whole day was spent running around for everyone, doing what they could to make sure they had the upper hand. Cliff was never really happy with what they had done, but by then it was too late to do anything about it, and they all decided to get what little sleep they could.
They did another camp-out in one of the sitting rooms in the mansion. Everyone collapsed on the couches or floor.
Kale curled up next to Brandon and fell asleep as soon as she sat down. Terra did the same right next to Venn on the floor, but wasn't as close as Kale was to Brandon.

Cliff watched Kaleigh sleep for a moment before addressing Brandon.
"Do you know what it feels like to have all the water in your body suddenly leave?"
Brandon's head jerked up at the question, not quiet sure how to take it.
"Uh...no?"
Cliff looked him in the eye with such a calm and collected face that Venn was scared what he could mean by his question.
"Well that's what you'll find out if you hurt her in any shape or form. Got it? You respect her and don't make promises you cant keep."
Brandon nodded his head, trying to keep from moving too much so he didn't wake up Kale who had fallen asleep on his arm.
"So wait..." He said, suddenly realizing why Cliff was saying anything at all. "Does that mean I've got permission?"
Cliff hesitated for a moment, his dark blue eyes gazing at his sister's sleeping form.
"Yeah."
"No." Venn said in unison. The two brothers looked at each other in confusion.
"Maybe." Cliff said in a minute. "Why can't he?" He asked Venn.
"Because!" Venn struggled to find a valid reason for not letting Brandon date his sister, other than the fact that he didn't want any more changes happening.
Both Brandon and Cliff gave him expectant looks and he finally growled.
"Fine."
Brandon nodded in understanding, and the room returned quiet again until Cliff fell asleep and started to snore. With Venn following close behind.
Brandon knew it was hopeless to even dream about sleeping so he just watched over Kaleigh, making a vow to himself he wouldn't let anything happen to her tomorrow. Even if it meant dying himself. He'd rather die so she could live, then the other way around.
He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, sealing his vow.
"I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered to her. "I promise."

Stryder watched the idiot kiss Kaleigh's forehead and died a little inside. He argued with himself that he was being even more idiotic then the idiot. He hadn't even talked to the girl until a couple months ago. She wasn't his to loose, and if he was being truly honest, he knew the idiot would do everything in his power to make sure she was happy.

.:+++:.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The rapped fire of machine guns shocked the kids out of their sleep and got them to their feet in a heart beat. Kaleigh was the first to the window.
"Kaleigh! Get away from there." Cliff hissed. When she didn't respond, he joined her at the edge of the window. Followed by the other three close behind.
"Guys." Venn said slowly. "We are in some serious trouble."
"Terra, how do many do you think are out there?" he went on to ask.
"Um..." Terra concentrated hard and expanded her life sense. "I count about half a hundred." She reported, nodding as she did.
"So... fifty?" Kale asked, looking at her.
"Yup. Fifty."
"Well why didn't you say that?" Stryder asked a little put off.
"Because half a hundred sounds more daunting." Terra stated matter-of-factly.
Cliff nodded in agreement.
"Good way to mix up your vocab. I'm going to have to use that sometime."
"Cliff! This isn't a book!" Venn reminded.
Cliff shot his brother a look and then turned back to the sea of black.
"Kids," They all jumped a second time in the past minute and turned to find Professor Wallace standing in the door way.
"Wait here, get to your positions and make sure you are ready." He was about to walk away before he hesitated and turned back again.
"And wait for my signal okay? Don't do anything stupid."
Kale couldn't stop the smile when he eyed the boys in particular. Then he was gone before they could say anything else.
"He kind of freaks me out." Stryder stated quietly.
Kale rolled her eyes and tugged on Terra's arm.
"Come on." She said, guiding her out the room.
"Wait were are you going?!" Brandon called after them.
"Just get to your positions!" Kale called over her shoulder as she took off running through the mansion with Terra in tow.

No. 21: An Unexpected Knife

No. 21: An Unexpected Knife

Cliff was running hard, his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to over come his fear.
He ran into the garage to find Terra and Venn almost having a moment, not that he really cared at the minute.
"Guys, we've got a problem. A really, really big problem." He panted.
The two jumped, slightly embarrassed that he had walked in on them, but when Venn looked at his worried face he nodded.
"Come on." Cliff urged, running back the way he had come.

The three made it over the dead grass, Cliff's legs burned and his chest felt like it was two times smaller then usual, but he never slowed and never stopped.
They met Stryder and Brandon on the way to the mansion. They fell in step with Cliff easily and kept their breathing even.
"What's going on?" Brandon asked.
Cliff stopped running at the door and tried to catch his breath. Brandon becoming impatient turned to Venn with a questioning look.
"Don't look at me dude. He just said that something bad was happening."
"It's Kaleigh...and Crystal..." Cliff gasped.
Brandon got serious and his ears perked up.
"What about Kaleigh?"
Cliff couldn't say anymore, he just ran into the mansion.
"You guys have got to keep quiet alright? Don't say a word."
They all sensed his urgency and they kept quiet despite their burning curiosity.

The mansion was deserted, as it usually was over Thanksgiving break. But because of this it made it both easier and harder to sneak around the place.
Finally they made it to the steps of the Professor's office.
None of them dared to say a word, so they motioned to each other through hand gestures.
Cliff crept up the stairs quietly, using his new training to his advantage.
"...We have terms Wallace." A sweet voice said. Cliff wanted to punch Venn in the gut when he took in a sharp breath, scared that it had made too much noise.
Everyone looked at him in confusion.
"It's Crystal." He mouthed. Then sent the same message to Terra telepathically since she couldn't see his lips.
"I know how dearly you hold onto your precious Guardians, so don't agree to our terms, and she'll die."
They heard a muffled groan and the brother's had to use a lot of will power to keep on the spot.
"Please, Crystal," The Professor's voice was surprisingly steady. "there is no need to hurt her. Just tell me what you want."
"The Savior. Hand him over and we'll give the rest of those pathetic teenagers a head start."
"Okay I've had it." Brandon stormed into the room before anyone could react.
He was quick, his blades whizzed through the air as soon as he had a line of sight.
Crystal let out a scream of surprise and pain as she let go of Kaleigh, who turned in shock. Crystal fell to her knees, gasping for air that refused to come. Her eyes were cold as she starred at Kaleigh.
"You wont succeed." She spat, blood spilling out of the corners of her mouth. "We'll kill every last one of you. And then some."
Brandon knelt behind her and drove a long knife in the one spot in her back that severed the spine, and went strait to the heart.
She let out a gasp before he pulled the knife out and let her fall to the ground.
Everything was silent except for Kaleigh's ragged breathing.
Brandon looked up at her and slowly placed the knife down on the floor.
"Kale you need to calm down okay?" He said in a calm tone.
Kaleigh's eyes flashed from the dead body to his face.
"You just - you j - just -"
"Kaleigh," The Professor came up behind her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. "we don't have time to go into shock we have to move, fast before Interficio moves in when they haven't heard from they're little spy."
The others who had been standing outside the door nodded gravely and looked to the Professor.
"But what are we going to do?" Terra asked.
"We have to start preparing him."
All eyes fell on Stryder, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Preparing me for what?" He asked.
The Professor took a deep breath.
"Lets go back to the observing room and we'll talk there."
The observing room was the second room in the pyramid building. When ever there was a meeting in that room it meant something bad was going to be told. And even though Stryder was still new, he knew something was wrong by the way Kaleigh walked over slipped her arm through his, marching him outside and back into the sunlight. He did his best to ignore the idiot's glare.
"Try to keep a cool head." She said slowly as they walked up to the weird building. "I have no idea what he's going to tell us this time."
Stryder nodded silently and followed her through the doors, squeezing her arm when he felt it shake against his.

Sooner than any of them would have liked, they were sitting on white chairs facing the Professor with sullen faces.
The Professor wore a grave expression that made everyone feel nervous, as they exchanged glances.
"Okay, so you have us here," Brandon said hesitantly. "what do you want to tell us?"
The Professor took in a deep breath, and looked at everyone.
"It's not very good news. And it's not something I particularly want you to know, but it's not something I can keep from you. You have to know what you're going to go through." He was starring strait at Stryder. It wasn't the others he was talking to, he was talking to Stryder and Stryder alone. But the other's had to hear it.
"Stryder you are going to find that you are different from other Elementals. In ways you wont yet understand, and in ways even I don't understand. But there will come a time when you have to make a decision. A big one that could change everyone's lives for good..."
"...I sense there's a really big 'but' coming here..." Stryder said hesitantly. Kaleigh could tell he didn't really want to know what the 'but' was, but hated to have it hanging over him.
The Professor inhaled deeply and they all knew that by the look on his face that what he had to say wouldn't be good. He had become the grim reaper, and didn't look like he was happy about it.
"The decision is up to you, only you can make it, but I want you to realize the scale of what will come to pass if you chose to deny it."
"Deny what?! What decision are you talking about?!" The Professor's words made Stryder nervous, he sensed this decision he was suppose to make was a grave one, but he didn't know how grave, or why the Professor wouldn't just say it.
"You will know the decision when you face it." The Professor replied, then he turned in his chair and began typing on the keyboard that appeared on the glass topped desk.
Stryder starred at his turned back before exploding.
"Cryptic answers do not help anything! In fact, they never help! They just lead to more confusion, which leads to more mistakes, and more wrong answers, and dead ends and lives get messed up and it's not pretty. So why can't you just give me a strait answer?!"
Kaleigh realized this could get ugly. He was going in overdrive, she could see it. As could everyone else. Brandon was rising out of his seat at the sense of her uneasiness. But she, personally, could not make her muscles move. It had taken every ounce of will to get her to this chair. But now all she could see was the look in Crystal's cold dead eyes haunting her.

It was like everything was happening in a daze. She could see everything happening, but it was like she was seeing it from outside her own body. Stryder close to exploding, Brandon jumping up and wrestling him to the ground.
Terra warning that wasn't a good idea, Venn and Cliff jumping in before the two could hurt each other. Then there was the Professor who was watching with sad eyes, but seemed to have no notion of doing anything.
   Finally she saw what he had pulled up onto the screen on the large wall.
Buildings were on fire, people were screaming, running everywhere like an ant hill when someone steps on it. Two armies were facing each other, she could tell that humans, normal people were on one side, and then Elementals were on the other side. By all that was going on she could see that they were going to engage in a battle, but then the camera zoomed out, she saw the extent of the armies. It was so vast she couldn't believe that there was actually that many Elementals in the whole world.
"What - what is this?" She asked.
Her shaky voice broke through the shouting that everyone was making. The Professor turned to her, and looked at the video. Terra, who had been less engaged in the boy's fight, walked up next to her, and asked her what she was talking about. When Kale started to describe the video, the boys gradually quieted down at the heavy words that left her lips. Their eyes were on the video, as they got up from the floor and stood behind the two girls.
"This is what the world will look like soon. Very, very soon." The Professor explained. "This is what the world will look like if the Savior does not do his duty, does not fulfill his destiny and save mankind from it's self. The humans will turn against the Elementals, and the apocalypse will happen. The war wont end until one of them is either dead completely, or has surrendered to a life of servitude under the other."
No one said anything as the scale of how large their roles were sunk in.
Especially Stryder's.
"Now do you see? Do you see why you are so important Stryder?" He asked, turning to the young boy. "Do you see that you are so important that a girl, a teenage girl was willing to kill to get you to Interficio. Do you see Guardians?” He turned to the rest of the group. “What you are up against? why it is so imperative that you protect the Savior until he completes his mission?”
Cliff was the first out of the stunned silence.
“How long until Interficio comes poking around?” He asked.
“That depends on when she last contacted them. But I wouldn’t give them more then a day.” The Professor answered.
Cliff clapped his hands together, getting everyone’s attentions.
“We can’t space out guys.” He said, his tone stern. “We have got to focus on the here and now. And that here and now is making sure we live through tomorrow. Okay? We don’t have an army, we don’t have numbers. And I’m sure Interficio does. so we have to get the upper hand. Like what Stryder said about Kaleigh. We have to know our own limits, and decide what we have to do to get the jump on these guys that’s in our grasp.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, but kept silent so he could continue.
“So we have to come up with a battle plan. We know this place pretty well, including this building. We have to use it to our advantage. And then of course, we’ve got super powers so that automatically gives us a plus.”
Kaleigh couldn’t suppress the smile that crept onto her face. Nor could she not help but think that her brother was a complete dork.
“So let’s get to work.”

No. 20: It Takes Time to Mend a Broken Heart

No. 20: It Takes Time to Mend a Broken Heart

"Kaleigh I don't think this is such a good idea -"
"Stryder. We talked about this."
Kaleigh whiled around looking him strait in the eye with a determined look, her hands on her hips.
Some of her long ponytail got caught in her mouth when she did, which she pulled out in annoyance.
"It's going to be fine. I'll be right there and nothing bad is going to happen. Besides they're already expecting you. I told Brandon to tell them you'd be coming."
Stryder looked from the weird pyramid like building to her face in shock.
"When did you do that? You've never left me alone since last night, and you didn't call anyone!" He gawked.
After he had taken out his contacts last night, Kaleigh insisted he stay with her.
The conversation wit her brothers was surprisingly short. After they saw his eyes they gave in with the condition that he slept in the living room.
But Kaleigh surprised all of them by camping out on the floor.
Not wanting to leave their sister with a strange teenage boy, the brothers decided to make a movie night out of it.
All of them camped out on the floor with popcorn and cheesy horror movies.
When the sugar high crashed, Kaleigh had ended up curled up next to Stryder, with her head on his lap. Venn had noticed and gave him one of those looks that said, 'do anything stupid and I'll kill you'. But Stryder was just happy with the fact that she was so close and trusted him so much even though they didn't really know each other.

"Well Brandon and I have a telepathy link so I can talk to him whenever I want really."
Kale must have noticed the bizarre look on Stryder's face. "It's like free cell phone service just with out the phone...and I can only call one person, but that's not the point!"
She paused a moment to gather her thoughts.
"We'll explain it all in a minute. Now come on!"
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him after her through the glass doors of the weird building.

Inside, Kaleigh quickly looked around to see everyone was in various stages of training already.
Brandon was doing his usual beam work, Cliff was focusing on channeling water to use as a shield. Venn and Terra were working together, trying to see what they could do acrobatically, and what moves would help them in battle.
The Professor was sitting on one of the benches shouting corrections, or encouragements or praises.
Kale waltzed up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.
Wallace turned and looked up at the young girl who moved aside, revealing a boy a year older than her stood a little ways away. The Professor recognized him immediately, and was even surprised to see that when the boy's eyes looked his way, they were golden.
"Ah...you must be Stryder." He said, rising from his seat and looking the boy over.
The boy just gave him a head nod but said nothing more.
Brandon jumped off a beam and landed gracefully next to Kaleigh, his arms crossed over his chest, his hair in his stormy eyes.
"Who's this?" He asked.
"This is Stryder....The....you know." Kaleigh muttered. Brandon looked at her, as if he was expecting her to finish her sentence, but she just jabbed him in the ribs and gave him a meaningful look.
"Oh...that you know." He finally got it when he looked at the boy's eyes.
"Yeah...that one. Idiot." She rolled her eyes and walked towards the closet that held the training garbs.
So, she hasn't told him. The Professor thought grimly.
"So, Stryder." He spoke up. "How did you find Kaleigh?"
Stryder hesitated, not quiet sure how to answer that.
"Bumped into her at the mall a couple months back." He answered finally.
The Professor nodded and watched as Kaleigh came up behind him and smiled at Stryder.
"I'll be right back, don't freak out. They wont bite." She said as she went off to go change.
The boy shifted when she disappeared and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Well I'm sure this is all very strange to you and I apologize for that. But please let me enlighten you."
Stryder nodded slightly and shifted from one foot to another, waiting for him to tell him what the heck was going on.

.:+++:.

Kaleigh weaseled into her training garbs and kicked off her shoes and socks. Jogging out of the changing room, she saw the Professor and Stryder talking on a bench farthest from everyone.
"Hey Kale."
She looked up and saw Brandon standing in front of her as she braided her hair in her usual French braid.
"We're working on jumps today along with the beams."
Kaleigh groaned. She hated the beams. She felt like the most clumsiest person ever when she was on the beams. Especially compared to Brandon.
"You've got to work on those okay? Someday you're going to thank me. I promise." He said, taking her hand and pulling her towards the ladder that led up to the beams.
"Yeah but I suck! Big time!"
"Compared to a guy who's been doing this for several years now. You can only compare yourself to yourself. Alright?"
Kale growled at him but quickly scaled the ladder.
"Why do you always know the right things to say at the right times?" She asked, not really expecting an answer.
Because I'm just that awesome.
She smiled at his voice in my head. It wasn't one of those things that someone gets use to, but it does become slightly more familiar over time.
Full of yourself much? Kaleigh asked.
The only response she got was a chuckle.
She strapped a harness on her and clipped the safety belt onto it.
"Alright you ready? We've got to work on our jumping from thing to thing, meaning you've got to keep your movements fluid. Here's a hint, your body will automatically try to find a foothold and get there. It's just the way God programmed your mind and how your body works."
"So what you're saying is start running and don't stop? Let my subconscious do all the work?"
"Well...sort of. We'll start off easy. See that cable? Swing around it and land back on the same beam. Okay?"
Kaleigh took a deep breath and with out another word she took off running.
Her bare feet gripped the padding and gave her good traction. The cable was coming up quick, she inhaled deeply and forced her mind to go blank.
Her hands gripped the cable slightly above her head, her momentum caused her to swing around when she pushed off. The pieces of cloth Brandon had wrap around her palms, kept her skin from ripping to shreds.
Halfway through the spin, she tucked her legs into her chest for a moment, aiming her body tightly around the cable and then letting her legs out. Her feet hit the beam and she pushed herself forward with her hands and landed squarely on the beam.
She exhaled and realized she had been holding her breath.
"See? I told you, you could do it." Brandon said, looking at her with a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest.
She sighed, and allowed herself a smile. Enjoying the small victory.
"Yeah but that was simply a turn."
"Yeah but that'll help you in some tight spot. I've used it more times then I can count. It's the basic stuff that counts."
Kaleigh sighed and pushed a stray hair out of her eyes.
"Alright, well teach me the basics. I hate the feeling of being defenseless." She said.
"You're going to have to convince me better than that."
Kale jumped when Stryder was suddenly standing next to Brandon, he was still in his street clothes, even his shoes.
"Someone who's defenseless doesn't jump a guy twice her size that she knows could beat her much faster than she could react. Yet you decided to make the first move and therefore you had surprise on your side which you knew, and therefore you had the upper hand. That's not the kind of planning someone who's defenseless has, that's the planning of someone who knows exactly what they need to get the upper hand that's with in their limits."
His golden eyes locked in on hers and she shifted, slightly nervous.
"I'm just a sixteen year old girl with a screwed up past and some whacked out powers. That doesn't make me Jason Bourne." She unclasped her lifeline.
Her emotions were mixed with despair, and an urge to prove herself that she could do just as well as the boys.
Brandon cried out when she suddenly dove off the beam. She was falling head first, and the floor was coming up fast. Last second she pulled herself into a tight ball, hit the ground on her left shoulder and rolled, letting the impact transform into momentum, propelling her into a fast roll and coming up on her knees.
Everyone gapped at her. Pure silence hung over them like a blanket, her own heartbeat pounded in her ears as her look of shock turned to a smile.
"You were saying?" Stryder called down. She looked back up at them and grinned before taking off into the changing room.

Back in her street clothes, she stood over the sink her face drenched with water as she tried to calm herself down.
What she had just accomplished wasn't completely her, it was part of her newly honed senses that had let her do that.
"So now I am like Jason Bourne?" She asked herself in the mirror.
Groaning, she threw on her leather jacket and ran out of the changing room. She didn't even pause when she ran through the training room, ignoring everyone yelling her name as she ran out and into the open air, taking off down the green hill in a steady pace and keeping her breathing even. At this pace she knew she could go at least a mile, which would get her beyond the school grounds which is just want she needed right now. A break, from everything, including Brandon asking her questions in her head.
She made it past the mansion but not any farther.
"Hey Kaleigh!"
She slowed her pace down 'til she came to a stop, turning to see who had called her name.
A blond haired girl with bright green eyes came running over. Crystal.
"Hey Crystal. What's up?" Maybe this girl was just the thing Kale needed to clear her head.
"Oh not much how about you?" The girl said, coming to a stop right in front of her.
"Same here."
"Cool. Well since we're both conveniently doing nothing, shall we go on that girl's day out?"
Kaleigh nodded.
"Yeah!"
Crystal's smile beamed on her small round face. "Neat! My cars just around the corner. Let's go!"
Crystal linked her arm with Kaleigh and led her away to her car.

.:+++:.

When Kaleigh had run out, with out giving anyone an explanation, naturally the boys wanted to go looking for her. Only they found Terra blocking the door.
"Let her cool down. You guys are giving her too much pressure and she's stressed. Back off and just let her be." She said, crossing her arms over her chest.
It took some convincing and a firm hand but they finally gave up and went back to training.
Terra sighed and told the Professor she was done for the day before she headed to the changing room.

When she was back in the comfort of her skirts, boots and turtle neck, she emerged from the locker room. The two brother's where cracking up jokes like normal, and even including Stryder a bit though he was still kind of shy and quiet, Terra wanted to applaud Kaleigh for being able to somehow talk that boy into working with them.
It was when she picked up Brandon's unique energy mark from the training room, he was alone and probably pouting that she told him off.
Terra sighed and moved past the three boys who took the locker room to themselves. Venn watched her as she passed by, but she told herself she had imagined it.

"Brandon?" She asked, walking up to him and gripping his shoulder.
He glanced up at her and forced a smile.
"Hey I'm good."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep. I just need time to think is all."
"Alright, if you say so. You know where to find me if you want to talk." She said, squeezing his arm before walking off.

Terra lost herself in the music so much she almost didn't hear the footsteps.
Her mind was spinning, jumping from Brandon's worried tone, to Kaleigh running off, to Venn.
When the rational side of her found that she had been thinking too much of him, she prayed. Every day, every second she spends around him. She's not sure what the feeling bubbling up under the surface means. She doesn't know what to do with it and it was getting harder and harder to hide it because of him being her partner and all. Something about him was off lately and she couldn't seem to figure out what it was, but she was dying to know.

The song ended softly and she finally noticed the life force behind her.
"Are you always going to be standing in the doorway just listening to me?" She called over her shoulder.
The now all to familiar energy came closer as Venn sat down next to her on the bench.
"I didn't know what to say." He admitted.
"Uh something like, 'what song is that?' or 'Who taught you piano?' and those are just the ones off the top of my head." She said with a growing smile.
Venn let out a sigh and nodded, his leg jumping up and down.
"What's up?" She asked, knowing something was wrong by the way he was acting.
"Ah it's just that things that are getting to me right now."
"Hmm...want to talk about it?"
"Uh sure, but my ADHD is going to drive me up a wall so want to come with me?" He asked.
She hesitated for a split second before nodding and following him out of the mansion.

Terra wasn't exactly sure what he was planning on doing for his ADHD, but when the smell of oil, diesel, and rust hit her nose, she figured he was going to be working on his new car he had mentioned he had bought a couple weeks back.
Venn started working on the car as soon as he walked into the garage. Grabbing a couple of tools, he popped the hood open and went to work putting the new battery in.
"So what's bothering you?" Terra asked, sitting down on top of an overturned bucket.
"Life. I guess I'm just angry at Cliff and Kale for moving on so fast." He admitted.
"Who said they have moved on?" She asked. "They haven't moved on, they're just dealing with it differently then you are. There's nothing wrong with that, it just is."
He groaned at the shrink answer. She seemed to know what the groan meant. She got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm.
"Look, I'm not going to lecture you, or tell you how you should feel or any of that crap." His eyebrows rose when she used language that was fouler then normal.
"All I'm trying to say is don't be afraid to show emotions. You try to hide them, trying to cover them up with quick words or a smile. But it's not a weakness to show them every once in awhile."
Venn looked at Terra, and even though she couldn't see, she knew he was. It was hard to ignore his heavy gaze.
For a fleeting moment he leaned in hesitantly and Terra was scared he'd kiss her.
But that was when all hell decided to break loose.

No. 19: War of Change

Part 3:
Know Your Enemy









No 19: War of Change

Five teenagers all dressed in brown garbs were lined up at the edge of the mats. Stone faced, and looking as if they were starring death in the face.
The Professor sighed and wished they didn't have to grow up so fast, they were only sixteen. They have so much to live for! But unfortunately they have to put away those childish things and grow up.
   It's been three months of hard core training now. All of them have come so far from when they first started. Brandon and Kaleigh had gotten use to the whole telepathy thing, and Venn and Terra had just performed the Bonding and were still freaked out about that.
The Professor felt a little bad for Cliff who was on his own, but the boy didn't seem to mind, or think any different of it.

"You have been training hard, and all of you have come far, I'm proud of all of you."
Small smiles passed their faces, but they knew something bad was coming, so it was gone as soon as it came.
"But now I think you all have one question on your minds." The Professor paused, waiting for someone to take the chance he had given them.
"Yes sir." It was Cliff, he had stepped forward, his arms crossed over his chest. "What are we training for? I mean, we all know it's because we've got to protect the Savior, but we haven't even seen hide or tail of him and don't even know if he's alive. And that leads me to the bigger question, what are we protecting him from?"
Professor Wallace nodded several times before taking off across the room into the hallway that had the changing room in it. After a moments hesitation, Brandon walked after him, Kaleigh jogged to catch up with him, and the others fell instep behind them.

The Professor led them down the hall, and to a door that was hidden by darkness. The Guardians usually never went past the hall, they weren't allowed to, it was one of the rules the Professor had made very clear to them at the beginning. Yet the Professor opened the door and walked through with out hesitation, Brandon following in his wake, giving the rest of them the courage to step through the door.
The second pyramid wasn't what they expected.

When they were expecting more tumbling mats, beams and targets, they got glass tiled floors lit up by white light underneath them, desks that held high advanced computer monitors, and one wall that was nothing but a TV screen.
"What the...?" Venn didn't bother finishing his sentence as he stepped into the room.
"This is where all things have been monitored. The activity of the enemy, at one point your vital organs were monitored from here," The Professor looked at the triplets who understood what he meant. "We also, found the Savior years ago when he was just eight. But the strange thing, that always confused us, was that the boy lived with who was hunting us down."
Professor Wallace moved to a computer and typed in a command, a movie played up on the huge wall and Kaleigh heard herself gasp as she watched.
   The video showed a small boy around eight at different times in his life. Him walking to school one day, him playing with a brother, him laughing, crying, screaming. Kaleigh couldn't help but think this was something she shouldn't watch. Like it was someone's deepest secrets that should be chosen to tell, not shown by someone else. But that wasn't what freaked her out the most. The eight year old boy was of slight build, his dark curls was a drastic contrast against his pale skin, but his eyes weren't the ones that burned into her brain when ever she went to sleep, this boy's eyes were gold, pure gold.
No one noticed her gasp, as the Professor continued talking.
"This boy's father and now older brother, are in charge of a government financed company called 'Interficio'."
"Never heard of it." Brandon pointed out.
"You're not suppose to." The Professor stated. "Interficio's only mission is to hunt down and kill all the Elementals possible. Or at least that was their thing in the beginning. They still do that, but sometimes they'll kidnap Elementals and...test them."
A shiver ran down all the spines of the kids as they began to realize what they were up against.
"We've been following him for sometime, but we lost him a year ago. He disappeared from us and we don't have any idea where he went. He left home and cut off all contact he had with his family."
"Great." Cliff mumbled under his breath, earning a jab in the ribcage by his sister.
"Does this kid have a name? Age? Birthday? Something that makes him more than just a face on a screen?" Venn asked. His voice harsh but not mean.
The Professor nodded and typed in another key.
The video froze on a more recent image of the boy. He was probably fifteen now, and he was looking at something off screen, but Kaleigh could still make out enough of his face to know what she had guessed, was true.
"His name is Stryder." She jumped in with out thinking.
Everyone reeled around to look at her, the Professor looked up at her in shock, which was mirrored on everyone else's faces.
"I - uh...don't know his last name. And I'm not even sure if Stryder is his real name, but it's....its the one he told me..." She said quietly, glancing down as she twirled her whip in between her fingers.
The silence seemed deafening, and she was grateful when someone finally broke it.
"Kaleigh...what are you talking about?" Brandon asked, aloud for everyone elses benefits.
She let out a sigh and looked around at everyone.
"I've met him before. He was....he was looking out for me." Images bombarded her, the first time she had met him in the mall, than his warning, she knew it was him that had beaten off the men in the alley, and him who she had saved by using her Lightening for the first time. And than when she jumped him in the hall which she always felt bad for, but he hadn't shown his face around since then.
"What do you mean Kaleigh?" Terra's arm was resting on her shoulder, telling her that it was okay and as if she had the option to share or not. Which wasn't the vibe she was getting from the boys.
"He...I met him in the mall when we first woke up. He was nice, though flustered as if I had caught him doing something he shouldn't be doing. Then...I saw him again in the ice cream parlor Brandon took me too. He - he gave me a warning, something about when I learned who I was it would change everything, and people would start to come after me. I finally was able to get his name out of him when I asked if he was a friend or an enemy. He said his name was Stryder and then he said..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the way he had looked at her when she had asked.
It was like he was hurt she didn't consider him a friend, but then knew why she wouldn't.
"Friend." When he said that single word, it was like he was putting all his being into the one word, as if he was trying to get her to see that he wasn't the bad guy. But when she had caught him following her, she had freaked out and couldn't think strait.
"What did he say Kale?" Brandon's voice broke her trance.
"Friend. He said he was a friend." She finished. "And he proved it later that night when he saved me from the muggers."
She paused, not sure what else to say. She didn't want to really tell them that he had been hired to watch her, and some one else. And she definitely didn't want to tell them that she had been dying to see him again after that little incident in the exit hall.
"You've...you've actually met the Savior?" The Professor asked, dropping into a seat, stunned.
Kaleigh nodded.
"I didn't know. Honest! He must have been wearing contacts because his eyes looked completely black, no hit of gold at all." She pointed out.
The Professor nodded and waved away the worry in her tone.
"We're not accusing you of hiding anything, but you should have told us sooner."
Kaleigh nodded, thankful she had gotten off the hook so easily, but when she looked back up at the screen, she was suddenly had to fight the urge to want to go and find him right now.
"His name is Stryder." The Professor confirmed. "And if what you say is true, than he's been under our very noses the whole time."

.:+++:.

Night had fallen fast, and the cold wind nipped at him from where he sat watching the silhouette behind the curtains. This bit always made him feel like a peeping tom, but he usually would go and take a break about this time.
Only this time he didn't.
He had been trying to back off ever since Kaleigh had gotten him in the mall. And he had been successful for several months now. But he couldn't stand it anymore. Not when she was so close, yet so far away.
Glancing around to make sure no one was around, though he knew they wouldn't be since it was midnight.
He ran across the grass to the turret and slipped a piece of paper under the window jam before running off again.

.:+++:.

Kaleigh walked out of the bathroom in her favorite pair of sweat pants and a cozy sweatshirt. The nights were getting colder and she was glad for the layers.
She squeezed the water out of her hair as she moved into her room. Turning on the radio, she bobbed her head to the beat and was soon dancing around her room like a typical teenage girl.
It was when her hand accidentally pulled the curtain away from the window that she noticed the piece of paper lying on the window seat.
Her dancing coming to a halt, she picked it up and saw unfamiliar handwriting.
Meet me by the fountain. Five minutes.
"What on earth?" She mumbled. She wasn't sure what to think of the little message. Shrugging she threw on her converse and slipped out her window.
"It's probably just Brandon messing around. Idiot." She mumbled to herself as she shoved her hands deeper into her pocket and hunched her shoulders against the wind.

The fountain was lit up blue at night, and so she was happy for the light. Though that didn't keep her from holding her whip in her hand. Just because it's probably Brandon, doesn't mean he wont jump at her. And if he does he's going to be sorry.

Her senses picked up another person coming in from her left. He was quiet, but she could hear his breathing just fine. Brandon didn't actually know how tuned her senses have been growing, so she figured that when he was only a couple feet from her that that was close enough.
Suddenly bursting into a flurry of action, she spun on her heel, sending her whip over her head in a graceful arch and come crashing down on his wrist.
He cried out in surprise, but it wasn't Brandon's voice.
When she yanked on the whip so he was pulled into the light of the fountain, she almost cried out herself.
"Stryder?!" She asked, her eyes huge in shock.
"Yeah hi. Would you mind?" He pointed down to the whip still wrapped around his wrist.
"Oh my gosh I am so sorry!" She gave another flick of her wrist and it came loose. He rubbed the red mark that looked like a painful bracelet.
"So...you were the one that gave me the note?" Kaleigh asked. Not sure how to start this conversation. As a mater of fact, she wasn't even sure what conversation she was suppose to start.
"Yes I did, I needed to talk to you."
"Okay...So I'm here now. Standing in the freezing could, so could you please hurry up?" She asked, jumping up and down to keep her flood flowing. Stryder watched her with a look of amusement.
"I wanted to apologize." He started off. "For freaking you out. And also to apologize because I wont be able to stay away."
Kaleigh looked at him strangely.
"Okay, not the way that sounded. I've got a job to do, and I don't want to have to do it behind your back." He chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his curls.
"I know it's weird coming from a guy of my background to be guilt ridden, but -"
His mentioning of his background reminded Kaleigh of the revolation they had earlier that day.
"You mean your parents that hunt and kill people like us?" She hadn't meant to say anything. It just came out before she could think.
Stryder froze and looked at her, his eyes wide at first, but then narrowed.
"What do you mean?" He asked. Kaleigh sighed.
"Please don't take this the wrong way. I wasn't snooping around, honest! It was shown to me, but...I know where you're from. Or I should say, what family you're from...and who you are."
Stryder sat down on the edge of the fountain. Looking off at something she couldn't see.
"'Who'." He muttered. "Not 'what I am' but 'who I am'."
Kaleigh sat down next to him.
"Yes. 'Who'. You're a person Stryder. A living, breathing, person. Nothing can change that."
"No, but if you've got a family that thinks you're a freak that doesn't really help with the 'I'm different' thing." He snapped back at her. And to his surprise she scoffed.
"You think that just because your family says you're a freak, it's the end of the world? You got the short end of the stick?" She asked. "Dude, try living in a world that's a scientist's video game and then tell me who has the short end of the stick."
Stryder didn't look surprised. And she knew why when she remembered what she saw when she woke up after she hit her head in the virtual world.
"But don't you get it?" She went on. "That's all the more reason to make a change, prove them wrong. Use what God gave you to benefit everyone else. If nothing else, that should at least give you the motive to take your contacts out." She turned so that she was looking at him now.
"You don't have to hide. Not here, not with me or any of the other guys."
They sat in silence for a long time. Neither barely breathing. Stryder saw the innocence in her eyes. The kind of trust a little kid has to just about everyone.
He glanced down as his finger moved to his eye.
Kaleigh couldn't quiet see, but knew what he was doing.
When he looked back at her hesitantly, he was scared of the response she'd have. The shock and disgust that always came with this curse.
But when he finally got the courage to look her in the eyes, he was shocked to find that that wasn't her response.
She just smiled.
"See? I told you, there's no reason to hide. We wont call you a freak, or run away. I mean some of them might be...slightly unnerved," He had to laugh at her attempt to put him at ease. Shocked that it actually worked.
"but then again, I've got silver in my eyes. So, it'll just take some getting use to."
Stryder nodded, the fact that she wasn't scared of frightened gave him the courage to do something he always wanted to do.
He reached over and grasped her small hand, tightly.
"Thank you Kaleigh." He said. Kale's eyes flew from their hands to his face.
"You're welcome."

Add on!

Okay sorry folks but I added this on to the last chapter, chapter 18 sorry about that! But read the actual chapter first please! Thanks!


.:+++:.

Kaleigh was curled up on her bed, crying her eyes out and rubbing her neck with her hands. She should have expected the anger, but not the vines. That had caught her off guard, and honestly, she had been scared. So scared she couldn't think, she couldn't even remember any of her training! She suddenly felt so useless.
She screamed in her head, long and hard.
What the heck?!
Kaleigh froze and looked around her room. Who had spoke? It wasn't her, that was for sure. It was a masculine voice, and familiar. Cliff's door was closed so she figured it wasn't him, and Venn wasn't back yet. So who...?
Groaning, she flopped back on the bed.
You're just hearing things Kaleigh. She told herself, curling back up on her side.
Kale? Was that you screaming just now? 
She froze again, shivers running down her spine.
"Is that voice....?" Her sentence dangled there in the empty room. My head? She finished. Spurred by a suddenly insane idea, she tried to think of something to say in her head.
Who's talking to me? She figured she'd keep it simple.
Kale it's - it's Brandon.
A gasp escaped her as she shot strait up in her bed.
"No freakin' way." She murmured. Then tried thinking up a sentence in her head again.
Whoa! You've got to be kidding me right? Is that what this whole bloody thing Bonding thing was about?! She asked.
I guess. This is freaky. 
Kale ran into the bathroom and splashed water on her face, forcing herself to breath as she felt her heartbeat go up.
Wait, hang on. A scary thing just popped out at her. Can you read my thoughts? She asked.
There was a long pause before she heard Brandon's voice in her head again.
No. I tried, I think all we can do is talk to each other. But dang! This is just whacked out! 
Kaleigh couldn't agree more.
Yeah....whacked. She echoed.

No. 18: Clear Skies...For now

No. 18: Clear Skies...For now

Venn didn't know where he was going, all he knew was that he was running. Fast and far.
Two things were unbelievable. Out of his whole, messed up life, only two things could he find completely unbelievable. The fact that he somehow controlled those vines scared him enough, but the fact that he had used them to choke the living daylights out of his sister only scared him more. He hated himself for what he did. He'd never forgive himself if he had killed her. He'd probably kill himself.
No. She would be angry at me if I took my own life. He decided.

A melody stopped him cold in his tracks.
He glanced around and realized he was in the deserted wing of the mansion. Another glanced through the door, reveled Terra playing at the piano with no sheet music or anything.
He always found it a little unnerving how she could play such beautiful music and not see anything.

Venn stood at the doorway for a long time, his head resting against the doorway, with his arms crossed over his chest. Listening quietly to the music, that seemed to sooth him down to the bone.
When the song ended, he wasn't surprised when Terra turned her head slightly and addressed him.
"What's wrong Venn? Did something happen?"
He didn't answer for a moment, trying to figure things out in his head, how to tell her, if he should tell her.
"What makes you think something's happened?" He asked, with a surprisingly steady tone.
Terra's mouth twitched before answering, telling him she was hiding something immediately.
"I uh...I have this knack for figuring stuff out."
"Hmm....I just tried to kill my sister." There was always something about Terra that set off alarms in his head. He wanted to know what was up, and how she'd respond to what he had just said.
However her reaction only confused him more. She looked almost...relieved.
"So you figured it out huh?" She asked, turning around fully on the bench, her skirt flaring out around her. His eyes narrowed and she let out another sigh.
"Yeah you did. Your energy's different."
"My what?"
"Alright Venn. We need to go for a walk. A very, very long walk." Terra got up and walked over to him, taking his hand with out even searching for it. Sometimes he wondered if she was really blind or if she just had contacts and liked to make everyone else think that.
He shook his head at the absurd idea and allowed the small girl to pull him out of the building.

Outside Terra took a deep breath and let it out slowly, swinging their linked hands back and forth, as if nothing could be better, as if Venn hadn't just tried to kill his sister. But he also knew that there was something she wasn't telling him. Something that he knew he'd go crazy if she didn't spill it soon.
"What are you hiding from me Terra?" He finally spoke up.
Terra stopped walking and wiggled her toes in the soft grass.
"So how'd you do it?" She asked. "How'd you almost kill your sister?"
Venn glanced at her, wide-eyed.
"You actually believed me."
She nodded, her long brown hair blew all around her in the wind.
"Yup. I know you weren't lying if that's what you mean. Plus I could kind of...-"
"Tell right?" He jumped in.
"Yeah. I'll explain it all in a minute but first tell me what you did."
Venn shook his head and let go of her hand, running his fingers through his short brown hair.
"It's not what I did do Terra, it's what I didn't do."
"Okay, and what didn't you do?"
He starred at her for a long moment before answering.
"It's going to sound really far fetched Terra."
Terra took a deep breath, as if she was bracing herself.
"Let me guess, it goes along the lines of something like this, you were angry, really angry because your sister is hanging out with Brandon and all. You don't like him much and therefore you were upset that your sister was going out with him. When she tried to reason with you your anger got to be too much and....things moved for you. Probably the trees, plants, that kind of thing. They responded to your anger and therefore, almost killed your sister."
Venn looked at her, his jaw hanging open by it's hinges.
"How did you - ?"
"Venn do you remember that night your sister came in talking about lightening, and men trying to grab her in the alley?"
He nodded. But remembered she was blind.
"Yeah..." He spoke aloud.
"That was all true. All of it. That's why electricity reacts the way it does around Kaleigh. Just like the plants react the way they do around you. It's because you can control them. And all that Kaleigh told you about the Elementals, and how they can control the four Elements is all true."
He was about to argue when she cut him off.
"Don't believe me? Ask your sister to show you what she can do with that silver necklace of hers, or ask what Brandon can do with his knives - "
"Whoa! What the heck are you talking about Terra? How do you even know about this stuff? And why would you believe any of it? It's all a load of bull!"
Terra's reaction wasn't one of anger like he had expected, but one of pity, as if she couldn't believe he wasn't with it yet.
"Venn. I know all this, because I'm one too. I am an Elemental. I can control part of an Element. That's how I can 'see', I mean how else do you think I can go around with out hitting every person in the room?"
Venn's brow furled.
"What do you mean Terra?"
"I control Life. Yeah I know, sounds sketchy, but I don't mean I can say 'oh yeah this dude's going to die, and I'll spare him because he's cute' kind of thing. I mean I can control something's life energy. Usually just plants, if I concentrate really, really hard I can control a small animal's energy but not for long and it's a big strain on me."
Venn was shocked. She was talking about this whole thing as if she was deciding on what color to paint her nails! He didn't know how to handle it.
"Life is part of Earth. Which is what you control, the more....thought of element of it but yeah. You know the plants, trees that kind of thing."
Venn gripped his head and collapsed on the ground.
"So you're telling me everything my sister told me is real? And on top of that I'm part of it all? An...Elemental?" He spat the word out, cringing as if it tasted bad.
Terra knelt on the grass beside him and rested a hand on his comfortingly.
"I know it's a culture shock, and you'll work through it. I promise. And I'll be there if you ever need a hand to pick you up okay?"
Venn scoffed and looked out at the dying grass and blue sky.
"Usually it's the guy that's suppose to say that."
Terra rolled her eyes and waved the comment away with a flick of her wrist.
"Yeah but that's script and old school."
She turned back into the kind and worried friend.
"Are you going to be okay?" She asked, still touching his hand. Venn let out a deep sigh and turned his hand so he was holding hers.
"If what Kaleigh said was true, about the whole Guardian thing and what we have to do. No Terra. I'm not going to be alright. None of us are."