Character names are not mine. I suck at coming up with
names, so I borrowed some, as follows:
Stahn from Namco's Tales of Destiny
Elly from Squaresoft's Xenogears
Kalia from Pioneer's El-Hazard 2: The Alternative World
Janus is from somewhere, I'm not exactly sure where…I
think I may have been thinking of the Janus Project from Judge Dredd…Go
figure.
Kain is from the Legacy of Kain series…Forgot who made
it though…
I do not own these names, but the personalities of the
characters are mostly of my own creation. Like I said, I'm just borrowing
the names. Any similarities to their namesake is, well, quite honestly,
cause I couldn't help it :p. Hope no one sues me.
Well, that should do it for now…On to the story!
Stahn bolted out of his house and raced
down the street at his maximum speed. He took another glance at his watch
and cursed to himself. He was late for class...again.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he muttered.
"Teach is gonna kill me for this!" He ran several blocks before starting
to turn down another street. Just as he rounded the corner, he ran straight
into someone else. Both went sprawling to the ground. "Ouch," Stahn said,
looking up to see whom he had literally run into. It was a girl, about
his age. She was dress in a school uniform and had light brown hair and
eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry," Stahn said, and started to explain, "I was in a
hurry. I'm late for class. I didn't see you." He got up and stepped over
to her.
"It's all right," she replied, starting
to get up. Stahn lent her a hand. "Thank you. I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry
myself. I have to go." She ran off, continuing down the way she was heading
before. Stahn stared after her, then realized she was wearing his school's
uniform. That's strange, he thought, I've never seen her in school
before. He pushed the thought aside.
"Hey, where are you going!" he exclaimed.
"The school is back this way. You'll be late!" She soon disappeared past
a small rise in the road. "Strange," he said to himself. He was about to
start running again when a man dressed in a gray suit came running up to
him from the same direction the girl had come from.
"Hey, kid," he started, out of breath
and huffing, "did you…see…a girl…come by...here?"
"Uh, yeah," Stahn replied with caution
in his voice. He eyed the man with suspicion. There was something in the
way he looked and the way he asked that question that disturbed Stahn.
"You did? Which way?" The man couldn't
hide all the excitement from his voice.
Stahn took a moment to think it over,
then told the man, "She went that way," pointing down the street that he
just came from before bumping into the girl.
"Thanks kid." The man ran off. Stahn
let him turn the corner before starting off on his own.
"Strange morning," he repeated aloud.
He looked at his watch again. "Holy…!" He bolted straight down the street,
ignoring a few streetlights and nearly having gotten run over.
* * * * *
He arrived at the school entrance eight
minutes later, a personal best for him. He was still late, though. He flashed
the guard his student ID card when she asked and hurried to his class.
He rushed in, breathless, only to find his teacher wasn't there. Instead,
he found a substitute sitting at the desk. He didn't notice Stahn's entrance;
he was busy reading a newspaper. One of Stahn's friends caught sight of
him and called him over. Stahn obeyed, but first stopped by the substitute
to tell him he was present. The substitute just gave a nod.
"Stahn, you are one lucky little bastard!"
Keiichi proclaimed as Stahn approached. "What happened this time?"
"I woke up late," Stahn answered,
putting his bag down and falling into a chair, exhausted. "Someone turned
off my alarm clock," he explained. "I didn't wake up 'til I heard my dad
start the car to go to work."
"Lucky you got good hearing," Keiichi
comment.
"That wasn't it," Stahn continued.
"As I was running down the street, hauling my ass hoping I would get here
on time, I ran right into-" He stopped short. "That girl," he said, getting
up and rushing to the door. Keiichi was right behind him.
"Hey, whatcha doing?" Keiichi asked.
"I thought I saw her," Stahn replied
absently, looking out the window in the door. He didn't see anyone, so
he positioned himself so he could see down the hallway. There she was,
walking slowly down the hall to his left, like she was expecting something
to jump out at her.
"'Her?'" Keiichi said, puzzled.
"The girl I bumped into this morning,"
Stahn said, opening the door and peering out. He saw her turn down into
another hallway. He barely got out the door to follow her when he heard
the substitute call out to him.
"Where do you think you're going?"
the sub asked. He had put the paper down.
Stahn glanced down the hall, then
answered without any real thought, "Um, to the bathroom."
"Hmm...All right. But be back in five
minutes!"
"Got it." Stahn dashed down the hall
and turned the corner. The girl was standing right there, at an open locker.
He nearly bumped into her again. His appearance startled her. She nearly
dropped a book and fell, but regained her balance. She turned to him, worried
that it was that man, but relaxed when it was just the guy she ran into
this morning.
"You scared me half to death!" she
said, hugging the book tightly to her chest. She took several deep breaths.
"I'm sorry about that. I didn't know
you where right around the corner."
"Sounds like this morning." They both
gave a short laugh. She placed her book into the locker and closed it.
Stahn continued on.
"Speaking of this morning, what was
going on? You ran off like your hair was on fire or something."
"Oh, that. Don't worry about me. It
doesn't concern you."
"Oh? Well, it kinda does now. You
wouldn't happen to be running from some guy in a gray suit, were you? 'Cuz
some guy came running up to me and-" He didn't get to finish his sentence.
The girl had grabbed his right wrist and dragged him into the empty classroom
adjacent to her locker. It was dim; the lights turned off, the only light
coming from shaded windows and through the glass pane in the door from
the hall. She positioned them out of the way so nobody would see them if
they happened to peer through the door.
"You didn't tell him where I went,
did you?" she whispered in a harsh tone. Fear and anger were evident in
her voice.
"Relax," Stahn said, rubbing his wrist.
She had released his hand just before speaking, and while she didn't seem
like it to him, she was strong. "I told him you went down another street.
All he should be seeing now is a dead end."
She backed away from him, sighing
a breath of relief. She sat down on one of the desks behind her. "Sorry
about that," she said innocently. "You okay?"
"It's all right, and yeah, I'm okay,"
Stahn replied, still rubbing his wrist. It was throbbing a bit now. "You
know, we haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Stahn."
"Umm…Elly."
"Well, Elly," he started, hopping
up beside her on the desk, "why don't you tell me why that guy was after
you?"
"Let's just say I'm different and
leave it at that, for now anyway."
"'Different' huh? All right, fine.
Will you answer my next question?"
"What is it?"
"Are you a transfer student or something?
I haven't seen you around here before."
"Yeah, you can say that. I came here
a couple of days ago."
"That explains something at least."
He looked at his watch. "Oh, crap! I gotta get back to class!"
Elly hopped off the desk and turned
to him, hands folded behind her back, and her head cocked to one side with
a quizzical look on her face, which turned into a small smile. "You have
a tendency to be late, don't you?"
Stahn headed for the door. "Yeah.
It's a curse." She giggled at that.
"I suppose I should go, too," she
said. They both exited the room and started for their respective classes.
Stahn hadn't taken two steps before she called for him to wait. He turned
to face her.
"What is it?" he said, forgetting
about his lateness. He took a step towards her.
"Stahn…I…Well…Could you…" she stammered,
face to the floor. She stopped, took a deep, and started again. "There's
something about you that...Umm...Well...Would you walk with me back home
today?" She looked up at him.
Stahn was slightly stunned. "Why?"
he got out.
"It would just make me feel better.
You seem like a nice guy. Plus, you're the first person I could call a
friend here."
"Why do you say that?" Stahn asked.
He was slightly confused.
"Well, you did help me out this morning
without even knowing who I was then..." She looked at him in the eyes now.
Her eyes seem to plea at him.
"True." Stahn looked into those eyes
that begged him and gave it some thought. "Okay. If it'll make you feel
better, I will," he agreed.
"Thank you…You should get back to
class now."
"Oh yeah, right," he said with a laugh.
"I'll meet you in front of the school, okay?"
"Okay." They separated and headed
for their classes, Stahn dashing.
When he got back, he explained to
the sub that his lateness was due to a bloody nose. The sub looked over
Stahn, who sniffled a little to add to his story. The sub then just gave
Stahn a nod and went back to reading his paper. Stahn went over Keiichi
and explained what he could about the morning's encounter and the girl.
Keiichi made several suggestions about what could be going on, but Stahn
dismissed them all. Soon, the bell rang, ending the period. Stahn said
good-bye to Keiichi and headed for his next class. The rest of the day
went by normally. Eat, learn, sleep, fail (not in that particular order).
He was somewhat tired by day's end.
He waited by the school's front entrance
for Elly. During the wait, Keiichi passed by, and, noticing Stahn wasn't
coming along like usual, asked him what he was doing. Stahn hadn't told
Keiichi about going home with Elly that afternoon. He told Keiichi that
he was waiting for someone and that he should go on ahead. Keiichi didn't
question further and left. Elly showed up moments later.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said.
"Am I late?"
"Nope, right on time actually," Stahn
replied.
"Oh, good. Shall we get going?"
"Lead the way," Stahn said, motioning
her to go first with a sweeping motion of his hand. She started off and
he trailed slightly behind her. They discussed whatever came to mind as
they went, avoiding bringing up the morning's events. They reached the
bridge that spanned the river that divided the town in half. They stopped,
leaning on the waist high railing and stared at the rushing water below.
The river was rather narrow, only fifty to seventy-five feet wide bank
to bank, but was relatively deep, about twenty to thirty feet. Sunlight
glistened off some of the mist developing from the banks as water splashed
against rocks, the sound of running water soothing. The sun itself was
reflected off the blue water, its image distorted, contorting, the glare
it made bright. A cool breeze washed over the two teenagers.
"Last night's storm really sped up
the river," he whispered to himself. He looked up into the sky. It was
a beautiful day, not a single cloud in the sky. He turned his gaze on Elly.
Her long, flowing hair played across her face, bound to the will of the
breeze. She pushed some of it aside behind her right ear with her hand.
She still stared at the water, a small smile on her face. Stahn himself
couldn't help but smile also. Stahn rested both elbows on the railing and
rested his chin in his hands. He turned his head off to his right to face
Elly, letting his right forearm rest along the railing and his left arm
supporting the weight of his head. "So," he said, breaking the serene silence
of the moment, "where exactly do you live, Elly?"
Elly faced him, the smile of hers
widening. She stood up and turned around, now leaning her back against
the railing, hands gripping it for added balance. Stahn did likewise. She
gazed at the sky, the smile gone from her face, but she still had an appearance,
an air, of happiness, of content.
"Well," she started, "remember the
intersection where we bumped into each other." She turned her head to him.
He simply nodded. She turned to the sky again. "I live several blocks down
the opposite way you came from."
"Oh, really," Stahn said in surprise.
Then something hit him. Wait, he thought, she had been running
in the opposite direction of the school. Then how did she… "Hold
it," he said, standing up straight. Elly turned to him again, slightly
startled, a look of uncertainty on her face. She continued to lean against
the railing. "How did you get back to the school so quickly? You were running
away from it. You couldn't have gotten back at the same time I did."
Elly stood straighten up, a worried look on her face. She searched for
an explanation.
"Well," she stammered, "I know a few
shortcuts."
"Those would have to be pretty damn
short shortcuts. I know a few myself. Give me an example." Stahn stood
glaring at her, arms folded across his chest. He wanted answers.
"Okay," Elly said, averting his gaze.
"You know the river that runs behind the school, right?"
"Yeah. Everyone does."
"Well, that river runs near my house.
It pretty much is a straight path from my house. I travel along it when
I have to. Cuts off a lot of time." Elly hoped he bought it.
"Wha…wow…You're telling me you travel
along that river?" Stahn was shocked. The area around the river
was very rough, mainly thick foliage and rocks, the area beyond the banks
forest. Very, very few people went to the river, much less travel along
it for any imaginable distance.
"It's not that hard. Stick right next
to the riverbank. You run on the pebbles and rocks. Besides, it's a good
workout." Elly said everything nonchalantly. She hoped he would believe
her explanation.
Stahn wasn't quite sure he could believe
it. If it was true, that she could travel along the river, there was much
more to her. It did explain how she could've gotten back to the school
so quickly. She could have returned home soon after the encounter this
morning and run along it.
"Okay," he said, "I'll buy that."
What else could he do?
"All right. Can we-" Elly stopped
in mid-sentence. She stepped past Stahn, looking down the way that led
back to the school. She saw two figures running toward them. As they got
closer, she could see it was a man and woman. The man started to reach
for something under his jacket, the woman reached behind her back. Elly
soon realized who they were. "Uh, Stahn, we better go. Now!" Elly
exclaimed, quickly taking a step back and starting to turn around. Stahn
himself turned to face the direction Elly was looking. He saw the two running
at them, guns in hand.
"Oh, shit!" he said. He grabbed Elly's
hand and they started to run the other way. Two more men were coming at
them from that direction, also with guns. Elly and Stahn skidded to a stop
and backed up against the railing of the bridge, heads turning left and
right. Stahn turned his head and looked at the rushing water below. "Damn…"
he muttered. He turned to Elly. "What do we do?" he asked quietly.
Elly turned to look at the water.
"No choice…" she said. Her mind was made up.
"Huh?" Stahn got out, but it was too
late. Elly grabbed his hand and jumped over the railing. Stahn fell backwards
over the railing. Is she crazy? his mind screamed while he reflexively
took a deep breath. They hit the water with a huge splash just as the first
bullets streamed from the bridge at them.
* * * * *
"Dammit!" the man in the gray suit yelled
at the water. He and the woman stopped shooting. The other two men continued.
"Stop shooting, you idiots!" The two did so.
"What do we do?" one of the men asked.
"Argh…You two head down the river.
Kalia and I will stay here and call for extra help. The girl is to be caught
alive. The boy is expendable."
"Yes sir." The two ran off.
"What's your plan now, Janus?" the
women named Kalia asked the man in the gray suit.
"This is a major problem. That boy
probably knows too much and they can be anywhere now. This river leads
into the bay. We're going to need more men." He pulled out a cell phone
and turned the other way.
"Kain won't be happy about this,"
Kalia said, turning her head to look at the water, putting her gun away.
Janus turned back to her. "I know,"
he said, just as a voice answered on the cell phone.
* * * * *
Down below, under the water, Stahn tried
to keep from drowning. He and Elly drifted down toward the bottom of the
riverbed, but something was odd. He knew the river current was running
strong, yet they didn't seem to be dragged along with it. The water felt
still to him, as if they were in a lake or pool instead of a fast moving
river.
They reached the bottom of the river,
Stahn's lungs ready to burst from the pressure. What a way to go,
he thought. He started to head back up, but something grabbed his hand
and pulled him back down. Elly came around next to him. She didn't seem
to be having any problems. Then he realized she was breathing. He
could see her chest expand and shrink. She motioned him to take a breath,
patting her chest and opening her mouth, seemingly taking a deep breath.
Stahn shook his head. She tried again, but again Stahn shook his head.
Elly shook her head slowly, a smile forming on her face. She got in front
of him, placing her left hand on his right shoulder. She balled her right
hand into a fist, then punched him straight in the stomach, forcing all
the air out of him. Elly watched as the air bubbles raced to the surface,
but they never made it. They started to shrink, then disappeared. She then
turned her attention to Stahn.
Stahn didn't notice the event with
air bubbles; he was busy thinking he was a dead man. He was gagging now,
having reflexively taken a deep breath, filling his lungs with water. To
his surprise, he was alive and not drowning.
"See? That wasn't so bad, now was
it?" he heard a voice say. He looked up, startled. Elly floated in front
of him, that smile on her face. Her lips moved. "Can you hear me?" Stahn
couldn't believe his eyes or ears.
"Y-y-yes," he said, giving it a try.
"Oh, good. You shouldn't head back
up. Two of them are still there."
"What the hell is going on?" Stahn
nearly screamed. It was odd speaking under water. "How are we still alive?
Explain this to me."
"I'll tell you later. Right now, we
have to get away from here."
"What? Where? How? This is way too
much…"
"We're going to head downstream and
follow another river back up. Trust me…this is the only way…"
Stahn look at her, staring directly
into her eyes. She's telling the truth, he thought. "All right.
Let's go, then, before I change my mind," he said.
Elly reached out her hand and Stahn
took hold of it. She floated past him, facing downstream. "Hold on and
stay close," she said. Stahn gave a nod. She looked down the river and
closed her eyes. Stahn could feel the current pulling them along slowly
now. They were drifting. Then, the full force of the river caught them
and they shot forward. Elly was in the lead, Stahn behind and holding on
as tight as he could to her hand. Elly seem to guide them down the river;
they never got near the banks, even in a turn. Eventually, Stahn thought
to ask, "Where exactly are we going?" Elly turned her head back to look
at him. Stahn was startled, left speechless. Elly's eyes were glowing,
a bright, vibrant blue, like a sapphire sparkling in the sun. She gave
a small smile and said, "Somewhere safe. Don't worry. You'll see." Suddenly,
Stahn lost his grip and fell behind. They had floated down closer to the
riverbed and Stahn's foot hit a protruding rock.
No! Elly's mind screamed, cursing
herself for not paying attention. Stahn was now several yards away and
tumbling about in the water. I have to hurry! She slowed down and
headed back, the current having no affect on her, but still carrying Stahn
along. Stahn grabbed onto another rock as he tumbled along and held onto
to it as best he could. As Elly approached Stahn, she realized something
was odd. He's not drowning…that's not possible. Unless…She put the
though away for now and rushed over to him. He grabbed her outreached hand.
"That was close," Stahn said, shaking
off the shock of the experience.
"I'm sorry…It was my fault…" Elly
said apologetically.
"Huh?" Stahn said, but she had already
turned away and they started to travel down river again. Stahn was left
pondering what she meant. The rest of the trip was traveled in silence.
They eventually reached the mouth
of the river. Elly traveled along and scanned the banks of the bay. She
found the opening of another river she was looking for and headed up that
river. Stahn noticed the current wasn't slowing them down a bit. Similar
to before, he thought. The river got shallower as they traveled. When
the depth of the water reached a point when there was only a few feet between
the surface and the riverbed, Elly guided them over to the bank and they
stepped out. Water flowed out from their mouths and nostrils, emptying
their lungs. They took time to get use to breathing air again. They laid
on their backs, staring at the sky. It was getting late. The sky was growing
dimmer. Stahn got up and looked around. They were in the middle of the
forest that encircled the town. Which direction the town was in eluded
him. They had taken many twists and turns, and Stahn lost his sense of
direction. Stahn looked at his watch. Luckily, his watch was waterproof.
It was six now, and they had left school at three. They spent no more than
two and a half-hours underwater, he figured. Elly had gotten up now and
was standing behind him. She tapped him on the shoulder.
"Stahn, we should get going," she
said. "It'll be dark soon."
Stahn turned and answered, "I know.
But where exactly are we?" He noticed her eyes had stopped glowing.
"We're about a mile or two east of
town." She knelt down near the ground and ran her hand across it.
Stahn looked down at her. "How do
you know that?" he asked.
"I just do. I'll explain later." She
looked up at him. Again, her eyes were aglow, but this time an emerald
green. She faced the ground and pressed her right hand down on it. For
a moment, Stahn swore he saw her hand go through and into the
ground. Elly pulled her hand back and stood up, her eyes again back to
normal. "Come," she said, starting to walk into the forest. "There's a
clearing about a hundred yards from here." She turned to find Stahn still
standing where he was, open-mouthed.
"What…how…?" he stuttered, pointing
to the ground and looking at her.
"Later. Just follow me." Stahn obeyed,
running over to her, but still staring at the spot where she had knelt
down. Elly led them into the forest. They soon reached the clearing she
mentioned. It was fairly wide, about twenty-five feet, and nearly completely
circular. Overhead, tree branches and leaves nearly blocked the sky, leaving
only an open patch here and there. Dim beams of light illuminated the place.
Elly and Stahn walked into the center of the clearing. They surveyed the
area, taking in the view and details. "This will do," Elly said. "Let's
get a fire going. I'm getting cold."
"Yeah, so am I," Stahn agreed. He
started off to find some wood and stones, then thought, how are we going
to start the fire? Then he laughed to himself. "I gotta see this,"
he said aloud.
"What was that?" he heard Elly ask.
She had heard him say something, but couldn't make it out.
"Oh, nothing," he replied, not turning
to face her. He continued to gather wood. Elly was curious as to what he
had said, but thought it wasn't important to question further. They collected
wood and rocks for fifteen minutes, then placed all the wood in a pile
in the center of the clearing and encircled it with the rocks. They sat
down next to the pile, cross-legged, opposite each other.
"So how you gonna start this?" Stahn
asked. He had been waiting to see this. There was a bit of excitement in
his voice.
"Just watch," Elly replied. She leaned
closer to the pile and placed her right hand several inches over it, palm
down. Her hand was slightly relaxed, her fingers bent downward and spread.
She closed her eyes and concentrated. A point of white light soon came
to life beneath her hand, closer to her hand than the pile of wood. Elly
opened her eyes. They shone in a fiery ruby red color now. The area where
Elly and Stahn sat was bathe in a dim light, everything having a red hue
to it. A small smile spread across Elly's face. She stared at the point
of light intently. The point grew, changing color as it did. From a soft
white, it became a warm yellow, then a bright orange. Finally, it stopped
growing, now the size of a baseball, it's color a burning red, similar
to the color of Elly's glowing eyes. Stahn could feel the heat on his face.
Elly lowered her hand, the sphere of light and heat doing the same, maintaining
the same distance from her hand. It contacted the pile, but continued through
it. Stahn expected the pile to go ablaze. When only a small portion of
the sphere was left visible, Elly stopped. She quickly closed her hand
into a fist and withdrew it. The sphere shrunk, compressing itself into
a point again. There was a sudden, quick burst of light and heat. Stahn
blinked. The pile of wood was set on fire now.
"Wow!" he muttered. He brought he
voice volume back up and asked, "How did you do that? Explain to me already."
"Can it wait a little longer?" Elly
replied. Tiredness was evident in her voice. "I'm exhausted. I did so much
today, a lot more than I should have. Can you let me rest a bit?"
"Sure. I understand." Stahn had other
thoughts to think about also. Elly turned a bit and stretched across the
ground on her back. Stahn laid down so he was oriented the same way as
Elly. He put his hands behind his head and stared skyward. He was lucky
enough too be right under an open patch of sky. The sky was still clear
and he could see several stars through that window to the heavens. He went
through the day's events in his mind again, trying to piece together an
explanation. He even considered some of Keiichi's ideas, but dismissed
them as too far out to be reasonable. Her turned his head to look at Elly.
She had fallen asleep already. I guess that really did take a lot out
of her, he thought. He returned to his stargazing and thoughts. Even
though she was strange, her powers and all, he still liked her. This went
beyond the fact that she was beautiful. There was something else about
her…A shooting star flared across the night sky. It was late autumn. Stahn
decided to make a wish. The stars winked, as if granting his wish. He smiled
and closed his eyes, surrendering his consciousness to his dreams.
* * * * *
Stahn awoke later to a rustling sound.
He sat up and looked around, but nothing was there. Elly was still lying
where she was before. The fire was still burning. Stahn tried to read his
watch in it's light.
"It's only around seven-thirty," Elly
said, startling him. She sat up and curled into a ball, tucking in her
legs and wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees
and stared at the fire.
Stahn sat cross-legged and look at
her. He could see the reflected images of the flames dancing n her eyes.
He put his hands up to the fire to warm them and asked, "Can you tell me
what is going on now?"
Elly let out a small sigh, then lifted
her head. "I suppose," she said. "Do you know the legend of the Herald
War and the Elementals?"
Stahn berated himself for not thinking
of that possibility sooner. That legend was a favorite to him. His parents
had exposed him to those stories at a young age. For some reason, it captivated
him. He researched the subject several times, but lately, he found himself
rarely thinking about it. "Of course I do," he responded. "It's one of
my favorite myths. But it's just a myth, right?" He knew better than to
ask that after all that's happened, but did so anyway.
"No. It's true. Heralds and Elementals
do exist. I'm living proof of that to you."
"But there's an inconsistency here,"
Stahn said. "Elementals are only suppose to control one of the four elements.
I've seen control two, three if you include that thing you did by the river."
"Hmm, I see you know some things.
But you never heard of the Tetra-Elementals, have you?"
"Tetra…? No, I haven't." Stahn had
a puzzled look on his face.
"I can understand. Very few people
know about the Tetra-Elemental Prophecy. Do you want to hear it?"
"Of course," Stahn replied, nodding
his head.
"All right. First of all, the Herald
War has yet to stop. You probably know that there are few Heralds left,
but the war continues through the Elementals. The prophecy was only known
to the Heralds and sixteen Elementals, the leaders of each of the four
Clans for either side. As it goes, when time comes to see which side will
win, four individuals will be born with the power of all four Elements.
Two born to Order and Light and two born to Chaos and Darkness. However,
to achieve their true strengths, both sides must find their counterpart.
As you can tell now, I'm a Tetra-Elemental."
"I see…But which side are you on?"
Stahn was a bit nervous now.
Elly could see he was nervous. "Don't
worry," she said. "I'm a Light Elemental. I'm on the side of Order. But
a Dark Tetra-Elemental has been found, and he's after me. I'm in the middle
of my search for my husband to be…"
"Husband?" Stahn said, surprised.
"You're still young, my age…how can you possibly have a husband?"
"The Tetra-Elementals were destined
to be husband and wife, as well as partners…I'm sure he's in this town.
I have to find him, before Kain finds me or him. And right now, I have
an idea as to who he is."
"Kain? Is he the Dark Tetra-Elemental?"
"Yeah…he wants me dead. If that happens,
Order will lose the war and Earth will be ruled by the Dark Heralds and
Elementals, which means Armageddon."
Stahn reflected on everything he knew
now. What have I gotten myself into? he questioned himself. "So,
who is the lucky guy that's gonna be yours?" I might as well find out,
he thought.
"I can't say, but I think it's someone
your school. I've traveled all over the world to find him, and now…Well,
I'll find out tomorrow."
"Okay…What about Kain? Did he find
his?"
"I'm not sure, but probably not yet.
There is another part to the prophecy: when either of us find our mate,
the other will have, also. This means both he and I are close." Elly laid
her head on her knees again, but turned off to one side. She gave out a
sigh.
Stahn looked about, not knowing what
else to say or ask. He looked at his watch again. "Oh, man…it's late! I
have to get home, before my parents call the cops or something. What about
you?"
Elly looked up. "I have no one. I
travel and live alone. The price of being a Tetra-Elemental." She tried
to give a smile. "Like I said, you are the only person I know here."
"What? No one at all? But you said
you lived down the street from me…"
"I'm sorry, but I lied. I didn't want
you to know about me, and I had to explain how I got to the school so quickly,
so…"
"But how did you know about the river
and…of course, you're an Elemental. You would know."
"Yeah…I should take you back home
now."
"How? Not by river I hope…"
Elly gave a short laugh. "No no…It's
nighttime. I can get you back faster." She stood up and walked over to
Stahn. Stahn held her outreached hand and she helped him up. "Come on,
follow me," she said, still holding his hand. She led him back to the river.
The fire in the clearing died the moment they left the area. Back at the
riverbank, Elly told Stahn to hold tight to her hand and stay close. She
closed her eyes, and they started to float.
"Your air powers?" Stahn asked. He
wasn't surprised to find her eyes glowing white when she opened them and
turned to respond.
"Mm-hmm." They floated a foot over
the water as they flew down along the river. They made it back to the bay
soon. Elly brought them up higher. Stahn pointed in the direction of his
home and Elly darted toward it. They landed in the driveway. Stahn hoped
no one saw them.
"Why don't you stay with me tonight?"
he asked Elly.
"Wha…?" Elly was a bit surprised.
"Well…that is, I…I don't want to intrude."
"It's not a problem. I just have to
get you past my parents. I'll just say you're a friend that's staying over.
It's true enough. Besides, where would you go?"
Elly gave it some consideration. He
was right. She had no other place to go, besides the local Elemental Shrine,
and that place was all but deserted now because of the upcoming events.
"Okay…and I appreciate it. Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek.
Stahn started to blush. "Come on,"
he said quickly, leading her to the front door. He got out his keys and
opened the door, yelling, "I'm back!" as he entered.
His mother came out from the kitchen
to meet him. "Where ha-" She stopped short when she saw Elly. "Oh, who
is this, Stahn?"
"Mom, this is Elly. She's staying
over tonight. That all right?"
Stahn's mom eyed the both of them.
"This better not…"
"No, it's not like that, mom. It's
for school."
"Oh, all right, I suppose. Do her
parents know?"
"Thanks, mom. And yeah, they know.
We stopped by her place before coming here." Stahn had to give her some
form of excuse. "That's why I'm home late. Come
on, Elly."
He started to head for the stairs.
Elly followed, stopping to say, "Hello," to Stahn's mother. They went to
his room, where Stahn started to clean off the bed, Elly stood by the closed
door and glanced around. Stahn was done in a short time.
"Here," he said, indicating the bed.
"I'll sleep on the floor." He started to clean out a spot for himself.
Elly sat down on the bed and looked
out the window up at the stars. I'll finally find him tomorrow,
she thought. Her mood saddened a bit when she laid down and watched Stahn
clean the floor. He had a reasonable area cleared and pulled a blanket
and pillow from his closet. He shut off the lights and settled down into
his little spot.
"I really appreciate this," Elly said,
leaning her head over the side of the bed. "I wish there was a way I can
repay you. It's been a while since I've slept in a real bed…"
Stahn turned to look up at her. "It's
not a big deal," he said. "And don't worry about repaying me. Just go to
sleep. I know you can use the rest, after all that's happened. I could
use some, too." Stahn yawned.
"All right. Thank you, again, and
good night."
"Good night."
Stahn turned back onto his side and
was asleep in several moments. Elly stared out the window at the bright
full moon for several minutes before closing her eyes and finally falling
asleep.
* * * * *
Elly woke up refreshed and rested like
never before. The sky outside the window was still dark. She glanced at
Stahn's clock. It was four o'clock in the morning. She sat up on the bed
and looked down at Stahn lying on the floor, still asleep. She carefully
got up, got off the bed, and kneeled next to him. She froze still when
he began to stir, but he stayed asleep. She leaned over him, holding her
back, and kissed him on the forehead. "Thank you," she whispered into his
ear. And I love you, she thought. But, now, I must find my real
love. But perhaps, just maybe…She slowing made her way onto to bed
and gently opened the window. She gave a look back, then jumped out. She
landed softly and quietly on her feet in the driveway, uninjured. She stood
up and gave one last look back up at the window, started to walk away.
As she walked away, a small, cool breeze started to blow. The breeze seemed
to have a mind of it's own. The breeze wrapped itself around her and soon,
she faded from sight.
* * * * *
Stahn woke up that morning, giving a big
yawn and stretching. He remembered why he stopped sleeping on the floor.
His back ached a bit, but it wouldn't kill him. He got up and started to
say good morning to Elly, but realized she wasn't there. He noticed the
window was open and looked out. There was no sign of her. He looked at
his clock.
"Holy…! Not again!" he yelled. There
was no time to wonder where Elly went: he was late for class. Since he
had slept on the floor, he was fully clothed and had his shoes on. He had
left his books at school, so there was no worry there. He ran out of his
room and into the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth, washed his face
and tried to comb his hair. He raced down the stairs and headed straight
for the door: no time for breakfast. He bolted down the same path he did
the day before. As he approached the school, he looked at his watch. I
might just make it, he thought, smiling. He skidded to a stop and that
smile faded to a grim look, however, when he saw the three people standing
in front of the school's main gate. It was the man from yesterday, Janus,
but Stahn didn't know him by name; only by the fact that he had been shooting
at him. Janus was facing away from Stahn, conferring to two other men,
but they weren't the men from yesterday shooting at him Stahn realized.
They're Dark Elementals, he thought, but how do I know that?
One of the men looked up past Janus
and saw Stahn standing there. He pointed and the other two turned to see.
Janus instantly recognized Stahn. Stahn saw him give a nod and the other
two started to approach him.
"Oh shit…!" Stahn said, starting to
back away. He turned and started to run, but stopped when an explosion
erupted in front of him. He raised his arms to cover his head. A wave of
heat rushed by him. Lowering his arms, the area in front of him was in
flames; there was no way of getting past it. He turned around. One of the
men was still approaching, the other was standing behind him, lowering
his hand now. He was the one that had fired the blast. Both were brandishing
swords. The one approaching raised his arm, outreached. A cloud of condensed
air formed around his hand, then a blast of sub-zero air and ice streamed
forth. Stahn reflexively brought up his arms to shield himself and braced
for the impact. The blast never touched him. It hit an invisible barrier
in front of him and was deflected around him, extinguishing the flames
behind him. The two men look at each in surprise, then turned their attention
back to Stahn. Stahn himself was shocked that he wasn't dead.
The Fire Elemental slammed his hand
on the ground. The ground began to break apart and fire gushed up from
beneath, heading Stahn's way. Stahn jumped out of the way. He landed on
his back and looked up. The Water Elemental had jumped high into the air,
back arched back and arms out stretch in a cross form. He looked down at
Stahn and shot both arms forward. A dozen spears of ice formed from the
air and flew at Stahn. Stahn knew he couldn't do anything now.
"No!" someone screamed. A stream
of fire intercepted the spears, melting them. The water rained down on
Stahn. The stream of fire continued on, impacting the street near the two
Elementals, knocking them down and unconscious.
Stahn recognized the voice. He looked
up and behind him. There was Elly, hovering down to the street, carrying
two swords. Stahn got up and ran to her.
"Here, take this," Elly said when
Stahn stood before her, handing him one of the swords.
"Wha?" Stahn said, puzzled. He unsheathed
the sword. It was made of crystal, nearly transparent. "What's going on?"
he questioned.
"Haven't you realized, yet? You're
an Elemental."
"What? How…?"
"In the river, when you fell behind
me. You should've started to drown, but you didn't. If you were a normal
person, you wouldn't be able to breathe unless I was near you. Here, do
you recognize this?" She brought her hand up. Dangling from it was a pendant,
a ruby, sapphire and emerald placed equally spaced around a diamond. The
diamond had an image in it, a winged horse, the Pegasus.
"I…" Suddenly, images ran through
Stahn minds. Stahn's mind was flooded with thoughts and images. "I…I don't
know why, but I do," he said at last.
Elly gave a smile. "Then you're the
one." She pulled out the necklace she wore around her neck. The same pendant
hung from it, but instead of a Pegasus, the image was of a Phoenix.
"What are you talking about?"
"These are two of the four Herald
Crests. Only a Tetra-Elemental would recognize one without ever seeing
one…"
"Wait, then what you're telling me
is…"
"Yes…You are a Tetra-Elemental…and
my love…" Elly kissed him on the lips.
By now, the two Elementals had regained
consciousness and were approaching them. A blinding light flashed before
the two Elementals. They shielded their eyes and stood their ground. Elly
and Stahn were engulfed in a hemisphere of pure light. When it faded, the
two Elementals saw what had happened. Stahn and Elly stood side-by-side,
wings having grown on their back. Their full powers had been awakened.
The two each raised one hand. A cold wind blew across the street. Mist
began to form, hovering close to the ground. Elly and Stahn let out a blast
of ice and wind. The two Dark Elementals tried to block the blast, but
were overwhelmed. They were frozen where they stood.
Stahn and Elly lowered their hands.
"Do you know what this means?" Elly asked.
"Yes. Kain has found his other by
now."
Elly looked at him. "Are you ready?"
Stahn looked into her eyes. "With
you at my side, I am." They held each others hands and flew off, wings
spread wide, the sunlight reflecting off Stahn's pure white and Elly's
golden orange red.
Janus, who had witnessed the entire
scene by from the school's gate, began cursing as he watch the two fly
away.
"Kain is going to want me dead," he
said aloud.
"That's not true," a voice said behind
him. He turned around, but no one was there. He looked up. Kalia floated
down in front of him. She too had wings, but not like the ones Stahn and
Elly had. Her wings were more like those of a bat. "Kain could still use
you," she continued.
"Kalia? What…? Don't tell me you're…"
"Yes I am." She showed him the Herald
Crest that she wore, the image of a Gargoyle on it. She walked over to
the two frozen Dark Elementals and touched each one once. The ice began
to melt and they collapsed to the ground, gasping. They looked up to see
who had freed them. Seeing Kalia with the crest, they immediately stood
and bowed. Kalia gave a nod and they went off. She turned back to Janus.
"Head back to the Shrine." She glanced in the direction Stahn and Elly
went. "We have to plan for our little fight." She jumped into the air and
flew off. Janus watched as until she disappeared behind the school. He
began to laugh.
"Time to have some fun," he said,
then started to walk away.
