Last Airbender

Gale's ears flattened against his head once Coden picked him up. Off to bed... but Coden's feelings weren't the same as ones in his memories. He felt clumsy and awkward. Everyone else who... they were all confident, sure in their movements... Superior. Gale thought Coden felt... off balance.

His ears perked as Coden said they could go out again. But then he wondered if he would be able to go out himself or if he would keep needing Coden's permission. If Coden tried to keep him down, no way in hell was he rolling over...

Gale sat on his arm, fidgeting with the jacket. He knew he should keep an eye on Alexis. Spending some time with her was what he wanted to do most right now.

He stayed put in Coden's arm as he opened the door and they headed inside. His ears shot up then flattened back against his head, coming forward finally to listen. Their house was in shambles again, scorch marks and burnt furniture everywhere. The boy leapt from Coden's arm and onto teh floor, ears still twitching sporadically.

"Lexi?" He called out, lookign one way and then the other. Suddenly, he head snapped to the back of the house and he dashed back, sure that she was there.

She had been in that room for hours, minutes, days since the door slammed shut, enclosing her in. Walls shifting closer and leaning down to try and crush her. Eyes darted sporadically around the room, focusing momentarily on imagined demons and shadows before shifting to the next. She cringed on occasion as her nails dug into her arms, the brief burst of pain helped keep the nightmares away from her. Sapphire streaks on her skin dripped down onto the floor. Tears having run dry long ago, she mumbled small assurances to herself, that she wasn’t truly mad.

A creak echoed through the house as the front door swung open. Heavy footsteps on the floorboards were joined by a light thud and the scampering of small feet. A familiar voice called out a familiar name. Where had she heard that name before? As she pondered this aloud as the door to her room opened, a small figure rushing in. It was more familiar than the static features of the room, but as it approached her and touched her, she cringed, worried that the figure would cling with the freezing burning touch that deadened her as they had in her mind.

It didn’t to her surprise, the shape was warm to the touch, it’s presence oddly comforting. As the figure moved from in front of her to the side of her, she eyed something that seemed different… new for some reason. Her hands left the protective position around her arms and delicately began to pull at the figures coat, inspecting it in her odd way. After she became bored of that her hand rose up and began to play with the figure’s head, fingers coursing through it’s hair, delicately poking it’s ear. Mumbling to it about dragons and spirit worlds and dead boyfriends and how being in the backyard seemed to make her tired. How no one believed her and yelled at her and how she wanted to go find the island but no one let her leave. She wondered if it believed her… or if she should believe in all of this herself…

Coden was not pleased to see the house a mess once more. But then, he really shouldn't care. Cleanliness was just a convenience, for the most part. That didn't make him any less made, though. Trying not to pick up every little thing he stepped on, Coden followed Gale as he darted through the house.
When they came to Alexis' room, Coden stare widely at the condition of the moipai. She was an utter mess, but then wasn't she always recently? This worried him and angered him, adding to his irritation towards the state of their temporary home. He should clean the girl up, but by the time he'd finish his anger would have subsided. He wanted to put the anger to certain use...

Storming from the bedroom, Coden went down the hall, checking each room as he went. "Angel! Angelique!? Where the hell are you!?" Doors were flung open and slammed shut. Each doors respective room either the wrong room or empty. When he finally opened the right door, He almost shut it until he saw the lump laying on the bed. He stepped back in and made three swift strides to the edge of Angelique's bed. Gods, he just wanted to strangle her for some reason. He almost did, but instead he grabbed the pillow from under her head and smacked her good and hard with it.
"Damn it, Angel!"

Angelique heard Coden in the hall, heard him enter her room, but she never moved, hoping that he'd just go away. She didn't feel like dealing with anyone right now, guilt and anger eating away at her no matter how hard she tried to quiet her mind and push them back. Every time she locked them away, something seemed to push them right back at her again and it was starting to fray her nerves.

And of course to add to things...Coden didn't leave. She jolted as her pillow was swiped and came down against her. She shrieked, reflexes taking over as fires sprung up on her body and around the room, mainly directed at Coden. Thrashing to get out of the now burning blankets, she scrambled to the other side of the bed and glared at Coden, backing up until she was pressed against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing," she snapped, hands gripping at the wall behind her, as it began to smolder from the contact. She honestly didn't notice it, though...even as the flames began to catch and spread, she focused on Coden, glaring. "I was trying to sleep." Her already stressed and tired mind was working overtime to process the situation. Her breathing was picking up as was her heart rate. What was he doing here? He was angry...about what? What had she done other than play babysitter for Alexis all evening? So why had he decided to barge in there? He'd hit her...he'd...attacked her! Why was he attacking her? Was he going to try and hurt her? Couldn't it have waited for a time when she could defend herself?

And through all of this a nagging little voice at the back of her head kept telling her to kill him...kill them all before they turned on her. They could die, after all, which meant they deserved to die...were destined to die...and it was her right to make it happen. She knew this. She'd known it for years, ever since...

Her breathing hitched and her eyes began to darken, white to black. She felt lightheaded as those thoughts danced around her head. She listened, let them talk...they were right after all...she was an immortal...a goddess...it was her right...and he had no right...none of them had any rights...

"What am I doing?" He parroted at her, looking at her as if it should have been obvious what and why. He swung the pillow at her, oblivious to the flames licking at the blankets, or really not concerned enough about it. "HAVE YOU SEEN THE HOUSE!? For gods sake, Angelique. It looks like we've been robbed! It was clean when I left and now it's a complete disaster down there! I was only gone for about and hour, not even. And Alexis! For fucks sake, is it...is it really such a big...deal...to keep an eye on...her so she isn't...Mai...Al..Allah...Angel! Shite!" He dropped the pillow, realizing it was alight with flames. His gaze, drifting between the phoenix and the fire between phrases before finally paying the proper attention to the flames. He grabbed the blankets and pulled it from the bed, shaking and beating it on the floor. It only burned father. Then he saw the flames on the ceiling. and followed their trail down the wall to Angelique.
"What are you doing!? Angel, your burning!" He was vaguely familiar with Angelique powers and immortality, but he still reached out to drag her from the bed. He barely reached her when he had to withdraw from the heat of the fire, stumbling back and out of the burning room. "Call it back!", he order, staring lividly at Angel. "Are you trying to burn the house down!? Control yourself!"

A small smile crept onto her lips as she continued to stand amongst the flames, watching them dance. She held out a hand and flames quickly began to travel up her arm. She glanced up at Coden and glared, expression turning to one of hatred, disgust. "No."

Without warning, she had launched herself off from the wall and at Coden, swiping at him with flaming hands, attempting to grab, rip, tear, and burn whatever she could get to. She had to keep moving, though, not only because Coden was an inherently better fighter but also because the flames had begun to eat through the floor, which had caved in in several locations in the room itself. When she wasn't able to get at Coden directly, flames shot up around him. Right above the kitchen, water had begun to seep up through the floor as well.

"Have you realized that you can't win yet? You can't win...shit!" the last word she nearly screamed as with a gesture, most of the hallway was ablaze. "You're pathetic...disgusting...mortal slime. It's your destiny to be wiped from the earth, and I...I am the judge...it's my right to choose who lives and who dies!" With a groaning crash, half the floor of her room collapsed, forcing her to jump into the hallway with Coden, air temperature rising further around her. "You can't order me around, Coden...you have no rights!" Again, she charged at him, more water seeping through the floor, now pooling around and dousing some of the fires, creating a thick steam.

Alexis tilted her head slightly, her ramble interrupted by the sound of yelling. Suddenly quiet, she heard Coden and Angelique, saw the spikes in energy from the fires…. And something else…. Something familiar. Angelique’s aura reminded her of her own… She looked down at her hand and back to the woman… How? It wasn’t possible… unless…. That was what… IT…. Looked like…

She curled up slightly, for a moment forgetting that everyone was there. All she knew was that something bad was happening, and she couldn’t do anything about it. She didn’t have her magic, and her brain wasn’t working right… Even if she tried that new air stuff… she knew that with the way her mind kept turning against her… Bad things would happen…. She was surprised that she had kept her train of thought this long….

As she glanced back down at her hand, she had a thought…. A thought that sounded like her own, but she couldn’t be sure…. Unlike her, the thing inside her as well had been unaffected mostly by her madness…. And with the way the smoke and flames kept growing…. She could die…. She didn’t want to die… and it probably didn’t either… She didn’t want Coden or Gale to get hurt…. And it didn’t care as much about them…. But if she could strike a bargain….. Willingly share thoughts with it…. If only till the threat was eliminated….. They would live.

She wasn’t sure if she should trust the thought… but….. she couldn’t think of anything else to do…. There was no dragon to save them…. No powers to rely on….. She…. She didn’t have much choice…..

Alexis closed her eyes, feeling the familiar heat begin to course through her veins. Her thoughts became clearer, faster, more and more things around her began to fall into place. To her surprise, she didn’t feel the horrid sensation of losing control as she normally did, she felt as if she guided her own actions. Though if that was truly so or not she doubted she’d really know….

She stood up without warning, her eyes lit with an eerie glow as she towered over Gale. Her first target. Pulling him up roughly, she let go when he was standing. She turned towards the window, settling her feet into the floorboards. Ignoring the smoke an flames that began filling the room. Feeling the heated, smoky air in her lungs, she went back to what she remembered from what seemed like ages ago. Back to when she first tried to manipulate the air. With a swift motion her features shot forward, arms guiding the air in the room to blast through the wall. Without an explanation or look, she grabbed the boys arm and picked him up, and held him outside the gaping hole. Then simply letting him go to land several feet below on the soft bushes in the garden. There. One obligation done.

The door to the hallway burst open as a blast of air shot through the house, wood splintering into pieces as Alexis stepped out into the hallway. Observing the events through the thick steam and smoke. Looking at Angelique in what could be described as disgust, “… Stand down. You don’t attack what’s mine” She said curtly to Angelique, as the wind began to churn and twist around her. Without a warning she sent a blast of air down the hall, slamming into Angelique, shooting her through the thick wood of the house and outside. She lay rather still on the ground. She wasn’t dead though... That'd go against the bargain...

Turning from the gaping hole in the wall, she was about to check on Coden, who at the moment looked rather shocked. Stepping through the weakened structure, she realized that something was wrong just as the building began to buckle. Fire eating at the walls and floors, winds tearing through and breaking key points of support in the building, the house was doomed. Before she could react properly, the house collapsed in on itself, burying the two in a massive pile of burning rubble.

He had no idea of what happened as he was tossed outside. Growling to himself, he scrambled out of the bushes, dashed around to the front of the house and went right back inside.

There. The horrible stench of fire and burning things. Hands gripped at his arms and he bent low beneath the smoke, seeing Alexis fighting Angelique, then Angelique falling and Alexis going to Coden.

His ears twitched. There as a sound. A creaking sound. He looked about himself, seeing the support beams of the house. He stiffened. It was going to fall in on them. Wasn't there something he could do? Something - yes! Shields! No more power to hold back memories he was more able to cope with, he could make shields again!

Flinging out a hand, power flowed. A thin slice of red energy enveloped Alexis and Coden, creating a dome over them. Over him and Angelique as well. When the whole of the house collapsed, he hissed, feeding more power into the shields. More power, more. Had to... expand the shields, now. Had to make them bigger so they could get out.

But it was tricky business, having forgotten for so long. He used up a lot of power, just expanding the shields and holding up more burning rubble. Gritting his teeth in much needed concentration, he looked up, seeing that the shield left a hairs breath of space above their heads and the rubble. He let out a breathy laugh.

But he couldn't call out to them over tell them to get out. He needed to concentrate on the shields, the feel of them, their protectiveness and power, expanding the flat surface to create more of a path for them to leave. But he could only hold it up

Alexis stared up at the dome of energies that separated her and the remains of the house and glared. This wasn’t part of the plan…. As the dome filled up with smoke and ash, Alexis lowered herself down into what was starting to become a familiar stance. Her clothes were singed and her skin tinged from the fire, but she showed no sign of noticing this. Pain always seemed to become deadened in this state…

She shoved the air around her out under the dome and over it, shoving the heavy materials into the air. Momentarily freed, she twisted her stance, air rushing towards her and around her. Spiraling around, picking up rubble and debris from off of the shields and the floor, sending it all into the air. With a final thrust, a massive gust of wind carried the remains of the building out into a strewn pile in the street.

Alexis dropped her arms, mentally taking note that no one died and that it had done what it had said it’d do… As it had agreed. It’s influence left her, and she had the vaguest thought that felt different from her own that if she asked again…. She could expect similar results… She dropped to her knees and began to violently cough in the embers and floorboards that remained, finally able to feel the pain in her lungs and on her skin. The pillar of mental clarity that held her up slipped away as it’s influence did, ice seeping through her blood as her thoughts began to loop and twist around.

People started to crowd around, drawn by the fire and spectacle that followed. Figures in dark green began walking through the masses, determined to keep the peace that held over the city of Ba Sing Se.

Angelique had no idea what had happened. All she knew when she came around was that she was lying on her side...and truly wished she weren't. Her wrist was in utter agony. Rolling onto her back on reflex to get off of the arm, the impact left her breath hitching and tears springing to her eyes. Something was wrong with her neck, too. As she waited for the initial pain to dull, she tried to remember what had happened...

Alexis...trying to run away...message from the spirit world (her throat felt oddly tight...she didn't know why the injuries were making her so upset)...Coden coming back and...and what? Surprising her? Most of the evening was a blur, and soon after her attacking Coden things went black. She vaguely noticed tears leaking down her face and silently cursed whatever injury must have caused them...

Taking a steadying breath, she moved to sit up. As soon as she did, disrupting her clavicle and wrist, she let out a short scream, dropping back down to the ground on her left side and curling up. She tried to choke back the sobs that were starting to wrack her body...

A shadow fell over her body. Funny, she hadn't realized there was enough light for shadows...Looking up she saw an unfamiliar shape looming over here with another one approaching from the other side. She could barely make out the bottoms of their dark green robes that marked them as Dai Li. She knew she should worry about their presence here and about what would happen now...about whether or not they'd be able to get off this planet or if they'd be stuck here forever...arrested...but at the moment she really didn't care. Clutching her right wrist, she simply laid still.

Frantically, Coden dodged Angelique. Escaping too easy to get away from punches and grapples. Evading walls and pillars of flame daring to eat him and the house it already consumed. Too late did to remeber we could bend fire in the world, as he redirected a pillar a flame on instinct as it shot up beneath his feet. Too late, because the house was already a lost cause and Angelique was sent flying out a window.

Shielding himself, Coden could only stare at Alexis. He'd hardly even noticed the house collapse atop them, held only by thin red shield of energy. Only when Alexis cast it all aside in one fell swoop did he snap back into reality.

The first thing he saw was the crowd and the men in green uniform. They weren't night guard. He didn't know who they were. Dai li rang loudly in his ears. Shaking his head, Coden tore off his cloak and took three long strides to Gale, dropping the clothing atop the little boy to hide his wing. then turned back to Alexis and, with caution, picked her up from the ashen floor boards.
'Fire...fire benders. How do we enplane it...accident....Candle. Candle caused the fire...' he thought to himself as he carried Alexis in one arm and soon Gale in the other. Carting his 'family' off of the remains of the foundation and to the safety of the cool grass, He set them all down just yards from the Dai Li and a sobbing Angelique. 'Take her....take her away....', he thought spitefully in his mind.

He must have been glaring at her...her and the Dai Li, because they gave him an equally strange stare. He buried his face for a moment against Gales shoulder in a feign of fatherly relief that wasn't far from truth. Then looked up to the group once more, this time containing his suspicion. "Oil lamps...just aren't as safe as they use to be....", he muttered, casting a wayward stare at the debris in the street.

The whole of his concentration was on the shields. He had to keep them up... keep them going. When Coden dropped the coat on him, he didn't move, didn't seem to realize that he held him up and dropped him. Something in him said the shields weren't needed anymore, that he shouldn't go through the trouble of holding them up.

And thus they fell. Rubble and bits that were on top of the shields finally hit the ground and the whole house collapsed. Gale looked at the people gathering and tugged up the coat about his head and ears, his wing twitching under the cloth. He stood near Coden after that contact and then stared at those who approached them.

"Oil lamps," one started, "wouldn't have caused that." He looked Coden in the eye, trying to see if he could get the truth from the look on his face. Gale glared at him and then he glared at the others.

Some must have noticed something. Gale caught the worlds over he roar of the fire in the house. "Gold eyes... strange bulge... back." The boy's ears twitched and he checked his power, readying it just in case.

Alexis continued coughing violently even after Coden set her down in the grass. It felt like she was chocking on the smoke, her eyes bloodshot in a bluish tint. She hated the smoke, the soot and fire that clogged the air.

The sound of unusual footsteps perked her attention, they didn’t sound as if they truly left the ground. She glanced up to see two figures looming over her. She didn’t like them very much. Their auras weren’t nice looking. She stared at them wide eyed and mute. She didn’t like them, so she wasn’t going to talk to them. Simple as that. Part of her warned her to be ready for an attack from these guys, but that voice was small and lost amongst the chaos.

Several of the similarly garbed men glanced between the small group and each other. Already the crowd that had gathered had mostly disappeared, one after another whisked away into the shadows. Suddenly the men next to Alexis bent down and dragged her up to her feet, shoving her hands behind her back. A few others had already picked up Angelique, in a way to try not to disturb the broken bones and cause her to scream.

Alexis struggled to get out of their grip, but something other than hands held her, it felt like her arms were encased in stone. She twisted and pulled, trying to get away from the men as they backed away, towards the street. The wind began to churn around them, unnaturally tearing at everyone. A set of hands lifted up from behind her to her face and neck, bracing her. An oddly sweet smell penetrated the nauseating smoke as Alexis’ eyes began to droop, body falling limp as she and Angelique were dragged away. Several other soldiers rushed to take their place, sending out stone hands at the two that remained.

"You'd be surprised how quick fire spreads when there's oil on the floor...", Coden attempted to counter. He held the mans stare firmly, hoping it was convincing enough, but the next thing he knew, his companions were being ripped away from him and arrested. He scolded himself for letting them take Alexis away from him so easily. He wouldn't let go of Gale.

One arm firm around the child's waist, Coden propelled himself off the ground and landed on a conjunction of angular pillars beneath him. With careful balance, he jumped from one pillar to the next as they tried to encase him in stone. Blocked projectiles with a spinning kick, others with his fist. He hated defending, especially with his tendrils out of commission. What should have protected his head merely twitched deadened. The ground beneath him rumbled, Coden tucked, rolled and skid to a stop short of the pond. And before the Dai Li could react, He stuffed his hand into the chilly water.

Instantaneously, the water bubbled and evaporated, blooming a thick, heavy fog across the yard. Using the cover, Coden slipped away, muffling Gale as he slipped into the dark city.
He hated leaving Alexis like that, but he couldn't fight them. What would he do? By the time he'd take them out, if he even managed too, there would be back up soon enough. And he very well couldn't carry everyone on his back. He'd just have to wait and go back for them.

Angelique shifted slightly as she was lifted from the ground. Again, she knew she should be worried, but it wasn't like she could do much, if anything, at the moment. The men were silent as they picked her up, being thankfully careful, even as they dropped through the ground into a tunnel below. Angelique whimpered slightly at the impact, but otherwise remained silent, attempting to see anything. It didn't work, though she could hear others behind them.

They continued on down the path for what seemed like ages. She tried to shift and find a more comfortable position, but at the moment it seemed impossible. Her entire right side was on fire and her head felt off. When they eventually stopped, she heard the sounds of stone being moved and then felt herself being set down on the ground. A moment later what she could only assume was the door was closed.

Carefully she tried to look around, though again all she could see was blackness. With a groan she gave up trying and simply relaxed on the ground, listening. If she was truly alone, after all, nothing said she couldn't create a bit of her own light.

The boy pulled the hand down as Coden carried him away from the enemies. He was glad he had a bit of energy left. There were too many attackers, too many attacks coming in from all sides. The grabbing stone that almost grabbed Coden from behind suddenly shattered, stone coming in from behind or in his blind spot just broke apart.

In the fog and streets, Coden ran. The boy was silent, allowing himself to be carried, to tired to actually argue that he could run. It was a lie, anyway. He was out of practice and those shields drained him. As coden ran, his ears twitched, listening. More than once, he heard teh strange shuffling feet that scuffed about the ground. "Not that way." He would whisper and Coden would turn and find a new place to run to.

Finally, Gale could hear nothing else but Coden's heavy breathing and the beating of their hearts. "We're alone." He whispered again, holding tight to his arm.

He almost didn't stop when Gale informed him of their 'safety'. He just kept running, letting his feet carry him. One thing on his mind, protect Gale. They got Alexis, he couldn't let them take Gale. They'd probably lock him up. In a dark cell. poke and probe him. Break him. He couldn't let that happen to the child again.

Blinking, Coden realized he was standing in the middle of a dark ally way. Crates and a garbage bin crowded around a door. A door he should probably avoid. But with shaking knees and a the crates making for a decent cover, he simply trotted over to a stable stack and dropped to the ground. Propped against them, he settled Gale between his legs and stare off blankly. Listening to the faint, idle chatter inside the building and clatter of trays and dishware. It was too late...or too early for it to be so lively, wasn't it? Whatever, he wasn't very concerned with that. He just needed to rest a moment and figure out what he was going to do about Alexis and Angelique.

A soft, rough patter broke the eerie silence of the lake. Feet dragged across the ground, knocking up dust from bare dirt beneath the moonless night. Pala's limp body was being hauled like a rag doll, cruelly clenched by the neck, as her captor carried her towards the lake, dark intent poised ready to strike, like a waiting viper.

Coming to the lake surface, a breathless rasp stretched out like taut skin sounded.
"Here." A flutter like feathers in the underbrush, and Pala and her kidnapper vanished beneath black fog.

"Where is Ju-Di?" Demanded a dai-li agent. They were all known as Ju-Di, but every Dai-Li agent knew precisely which one they were speak of.
"I do not know, It is...unusual for them to be out of line." Another muttered, face not betraying his confusion. A scream sounded, followed by a large thud, from down the tunnels. "Go." They both said simultaenously, and sprang off towards the sound.
All that awaited them was a body of another faceless Ju-Di, torn in half, four scythe like slashes marking her chest, blackened blood oosing forth.
"...Something terrible is here."

When Alexis came to her senses, she was alone. Surrounded by metal on all sides, locked in by a heavy door. Small openings near the top and bottom for some reason… Beyond the metal… She cringed as she curled up against the door, everything was dark. Surrounded on all sides by stone, water dangling above. No sign of the sky above.

She didn’t like it here. The walls closed inwards and the ceiling crushed down on her. She tried to stand up but slumped back down on the floor, feeling rather dizzy and nauseous. She had to get out of here… But how? She wasn’t bound, the door had no marks or means of which to open it.

As she stared up at the door, she could see the faint outline of several auras coming towards her. Stopping in front of the door, the two similarly garbed soldiers entered the cell. They stepped inside and stared down at her. She stared back up at them. They kept asking her questions, about what happened that night, who she was, where she came from, trying to wheedle out any information they could. She just kept staring up blankly, not saying a word. They tried asking, speaking nicely to her, yelling at her to no avail. She didn’t like it here, these people were mean… They wouldn’t let her go… Her eyes shifted to the floor, fingers tracing around on the stone, ignoring them.

One of the men whispered something to the other, and Alexis was forced to stand up, and was bound again. They lead her down a hallway with dozens of doors just like the one she left from, down a few turns, towards a door partially open at the end of the hall, all that Alexis could see inside it was a metallic chair and a man who’s aura greatly differed from the rest of the men in this place…

Aeor, now an orphan with no love for the worlds he stood upon, the life he was created to give, not even for himself. Dai -li agents flung themselves at him, stone raising against the huge beast to bar his path and crush him, yet they were smashed to rubble beneath his anger.
Thay were fast, and could avoid aeor easily, but he put little effort into fighting them, only to throw them off when they tried to bar his path.
He had come for one thing only, and that was a way out. He still had vengeance to enact upon the Tarot Master. He still had a world to break in turn, as it had broken him. Death was the only answer left.

Alexis' life shone bright behind the thick walls of the facility, and life was know an irritating sensation, a glare that one seeked to block when the sun shone in their eyes - likes flies buzzing about, it was something he only desired to swat out from existance.

Alexis was back in her cell, sitting in the corner of the small room, staring blankly at the floor. She had been locked in that small confining room with an older man who donned a long, elaborate cloak, who the guards that brought her in there seemed to revere. He spoke to her in a soft, gentle tone, handing her a mug of tea that warmed her. He seemed rather nice, sitting down near her as she rambled utter nonsense to him, humming to herself on occasion. He didn’t say that she was crazy… Didn’t yell at her or attack her like the others had… But…. Something felt wrong… She also remembered other things too… She remembered yelling obscenities at him, demanding that she be freed, breaking free from the guards and lunging at him, only to have a sharp pain in the side of her head and darkness…. She also remembered a light… Sitting in a chair forced to watch a light go around and around, the man saying things to her that did not make sense…. She also remembered elephants somehow, wandering into the room and stepping on the man…. Random memories and thoughts kept rushing at her, and she didn’t know how to stop it…

She turned her head slightly, catching a light out of the corner of her eyes. She studied the aura for a while, trying to remember how it felt familiar to her. “………Hello?”

Angelique waited for quite a while before risking it and lighting her hand on fire. The room was small and dark with no signs of doors or anything. Everything was stone...but then that wouldn't be a problem for those earth elemental people. Ever so slowly, she pushed herself up with her good arm, hissing and wining at the pain in her shoulder as she did. Now slightly more lucid after having a chance to push things down to the back of her mind once more (where they had thankfully stayed this time) she began to examine herself.

Wrist bent at an odd angle above the join and swelling up...obviously broken. Collar bone protruding out...she wince slightly, various cuts and bruises. She tried to move her leg, only to have a sharp pain shoot up it.

"So my entire right side is out of commission...helpful," she muttered to herself, contemplating how to escape. First of all she needed to be mobile, and that wasn't likely to happen anytime soon unless she could find a way to kill herself and let her body heal itself.

Whatever she decided to do it had to be quick. No doubt the Dai Li would be coming soon. Digging around in various pouches and pockets, she discovered that she was still wearing her labcoat, and that meant...

She pulled out the knife.

With a sigh, she put it to her chest, adjusting so the blade would slip between the ribs and angling it toward her heart. "I really hate doing this..." And before she could rethink things, she thrust it in, biting her lip to keep herself from shrieking in pain. With a clatter the knife fell out of her hand and she slumped over....

***

Silently the two Dai Li made their way to the next holding cell. Opening the door, they glanced around inside, looking for the inhabitant.

There was nothing. The only indication that anyone had been there was a rather smooth area of the floor that looked like it had been MELTED and scorch marks all around the room, but no girl. No sign that she had escaped either. Of course neither of them noticed a tiny bird flit over their heads and out into the hall.

"Someone needs to alert Long Feng about this..." was the last thing Angelique heard from them before she was out of earshot.

'Alright...now to find a way to get around unnoticed...'

Spotting a Dai Li walking alone and turning down into a side hall, she swooped down behind him, forming shock seals at his feet. Once he was unconscious, she turned back into human form, dragging him into an empty and open room, and stealing his clothes.

"Thank you very much my good sir," she said, adjusting her hat. Her hair would be a bit of a problem, even tucked up under the hat like it was...glancing back at the man, she smiled and pulled back out her knife.

***

Angelique kept her head down as she passed through the dark network of tunnels silently. She tried not to move too quickly incase she disturb the black hair she had hanging from under the hat. She had secured it as well as possible, but without hairpins or glue that wasn't incredibly well...but at least in this lighting she could pass for having black hair. Avoiding as many Dai Li as possible, she stopped by every open door, trying to see if she could find Alexis. Eventually growing frustrated with the endless searching, she stopped a random Dai Li.

"Excuse me...I was told to check in on the girl who was recently brought in here...the black-haired one."

The man eyed her suspiciously. "I doubt that would be necessary...Long Feng has already dealt with her..."

"Still...I would hate to ignore my orders..."

"Orders from who?"

Angelique mentally cursed the man for his questions before remembering the name he'd said. Even if the man wasn't a higher-up...if he'd been dealing with Alexis it might make sense...

"Long Feng," she said.

The man looked skeptical, and mildly hesitant.

"Well then...why didn't he tell you where she was?"

"Emergency in another holding area...the other one who was brought in has disappeared."

The man nodded. Apparently this made more sense. Check in on the one since the other has gone missing and might be trying to get her out.

"This way."

Keeping her senses on high alert just incase the man actually did suspect anything, Angelique followed until they came to a stop in front of a blank section of wall.

"She's in here."

They stood there for a moment.

"Well...aren't you going to open the door?" Angelique demanded.

"...actually I was waiting for you to," the man said, giving her a suspicious look again. "I can't say that I recognize you...who are you again?"

Angelique just looked at him for a minute before sighing. "Always has to be the hard way..." and creating another set of shock seals. The man collapsed and she shook her head to clear it. Using a lot of magic was never a good idea. She glanced at the wall and twitched. Of course she was going to have to use more to get through that...a quiet voice made her pause. Going over, she pressed against the wall to try and hear through it.

"Alexis? Alexis...get as far away from this wall as possible, and get ready to run..."

Backing up, Angelique focused on the wall, creating a breaking seal. With a loud crack, a section of the wall broke apart, leaving a gaping hole through which Angelique darted, grabbing a hold of Alexis' arm.

"Come on...can you walk? Are you hurt? We have to get out of here!"

Alexis looked up at Angelique as she was pulled to her feet. “I…..I think so….” She said, taking a few testing steps forward before Angelique rushed back outside again. She stood there slightly confused before the woman returned, uniform in hand, scavenged from the knocked out guard outside.

“Put these on” Angelique said, tossing the bundle to her. Alexis looked at the pile of clothes, then at Angelique, “…Can you… leave or something?”

Angelique sighed, and continued to press that she needed to go quickly as she turned away. Alexis stared at the bundle, before switching out her worn through clothes for the large but cleaner uniform. She followed the woman as she went out into the hall and raced off in a random direction. Staying right on her heels, she stared blankly ahead, before going slightly faster than Angelique, taking the lead. “I think I know the way out” She said, maneuvering the twists and turns in the hallways with ease. Staring strait ahead, the random ramblings oddly missing as she kept going.

The boy sat idly in Coden's lap, listening to the people talking. The words came and went. He didn't really remember what they were saying. They had Alexis. Coden and Gale needed to get Alexis before bad things happened to her. But they didn't even know where she was, didn't even know where not to look.

That was why Gale had not moved. He knew there was a way to get to her. His power was his again... if only he could remember how to use it. It wasn't as if the red liquid felt strange to him. He just held it in his hands and... nothing. He couldn't think of how to use it.

So he would start from the beginning. Like pebbles about them exploded in little snaps. Cracks form in the ground, spreading, forming breaks like spiders' webs. He breathed evenly, eyes closed, head resting against Coden's chest. Now the pebbles moved. They skittered about the ground, tapping against walls and the ground. The boxes the two of them sat against rattled and shuddered. And now.... they floated upwards. Higher, higher.... a red bubble could be seen, glinting in the light from the open door. Then, surprised by a sudden yell from the inside, Gale winced, and the boxes fell, clattering to the ground.

There was an angry shout. Now time to try something else. Grabbing hold of Coden and placing a tiny hand over his mouth, the boy summoned up more energy. The shopkeeper stormed out of the back, large cleaver in hand. He looked angrily around, trying to find those who would destroy his wares out back. Prowling the alley, he looked back and forth. Even paused right in front of the two, looking at them directly. But he never gave notice that they were there. Merely sighed, rightened the boxes and headed back inside.

For a few tense moments, Gale held up the shield. It was a mirror shield, one that he had used in the past with Rook. Power embedded in the surrounding environment was copied on a shield about the two. It was as if they weren't there.

A constant onslaught of stone was growing more and more irritating. He would show them his own power then, strike fear into their hearts. With a ghastly roar, he released a wave of power from his body - the surrounding agents burst into flames, and fell, lifeless. The remaining few fled in terror, unable to fathom this hellish beast.

Alexis had heard that roar. It echoed through the passageways, reverberating off the dull rock. She was chilled to the bone - that sounded nothing like an ordinary roar; it was filled with pain and agony, as if coming from a wounded animal in it's death throes. She looked, halting in her tracks, at angelique. The phoenix merely shrugged, neither of them knew what kind of creatures lived on this planet. IT could be anything - hopefully something merely being put down.

Turning yet another corner, he had managed to navigate his way to intersect Alexis' course - and there she was. He saw the look in her eyes ashe they fall upon him, freezing yet shaking in dismay. Good, he wanted her to remember.
He stalked towards her, as she remained on the spot like a deer before the headlights of an oncoming car.