Hey, there!! I know, I suck for not updating sooner. Well, I was a bit tied up.
Safyra: Try REALLY tied up, sheesh.
Me: I said I was sorry!!
Safyra: Right.
Me: - sigh - Okay, well, here it goes, guys!! Second chapter. But not before...
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Inufruba - -bows- Yes, yes, I know, I know. Nah!! I ain't that good!! Thanks anyway, bestest BUDDY!!
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Hehe, okay then, no more distractions! CHAPTER 2, DUDES!!
Chapter 2
Raining Down the Sorrow
Safyra shivered. It had started raining about five minutes ago, and the rain was deathly cold. However, she felt her energy come back to her, as though the rain were healing her soreness. Soon enough, the rain didn't bother her anymore, and she was able to walk with no problem at all. Chandani seemed to have the same reaction, but was still grumpy.
Probably because her parents were killed, and for not getting any food or playing video games or being on the computer, Safyra thought with a smirk. Chandani LOVED to eat, and she was one of the biggest technology fanatics she had ever met! They walked in silence, questions of what was going to happen never leaving Safyra's head.
Soon enough, Zadavia stopped. She looked up, "Welcome to your new home, girls."
Safyra and Chandani looked up to see the coolest place in Acmetropolis.
The Loonatics' tower.
Ace, Lexi, and Tech looked outside the large window, seeing raindrops pour under a gray sky.
"Whatever happened to those girls?" asked Lexi. "I…I hope they made it…"
"I've heard of these Safyra and Chandani characters," said Tech, trying to keep calm, "They are…how to put this? Sorta like gangsters. But, they've never done anything that bad and they've only been street racing at least twice. They haven't gotten arrested or anything. But the word is that they can be very kind and sweet under their 'gangster' shells." A small laugh came from the coyote, "Sound like pretty interesting people."
"Are they dangerous?" asked Lexi curiously, cocking an eyebrow.
"Safyra more than Chandani," said Tech, "They both have switchblades on them. But Safyra knows how to use it a bit better."
Ace, even though he didn't speak, was taking in all the information Tech was telling him. It didn't surprise him about Safyra's "gangster" background, she seemed the type. His worry washed over him like the rain over the city. What had happened? Please, I hope you didn't die, Safyra…
His ears twitched as he heard the door open. Who could be entering the tower this late? The trio looked at the door, and gasped.
"Zadavia! What brings you here? Non-holographic, too," said Tech, crossing his arms and smirking in a friendly way.
Zadavia gave a small laugh, "It's alright, Tech. I brought two new friends…" She stepped back to reveal who Ace thought might have gotten killed.
Safyra and Chandani.
"You guys survived the crash!?" Lexi said, and ran up to them, smiling. "I'm glad you're alright!"
Safyra smiled at her, "Couldn't have been alive if it weren't for you."
"No need to happy-fake, Safyra," Chandani murmured unhappily. "I wouldn't be able to after what's happened…" Tears started to form in her eyes, but the wolf rubbed them out quickly, "It's not fair, not fair at all what…what those freaks did to us!"
Safyra sighed, and wrapped an arm over her friend's shoulders, "Life isn't always fair."
Zadavia nodded, noting that Safyra seemed very intelligible for her young age of seventeen. As Ace and Tech approached, she said, "We need to have all the Loonatics here."
Duck was cursing about how stupid being up this late was, Slam wanted some food and Rev was actually too tired to move. However, as Safyra told the team of what had happened, they became more and more attentive with every word she spoke. Partly because she had excellent story-telling skills, partly because of the terrifying things that had happened. When she finished, they couldn't believe how cruel the people were.
"Who could've done such a thing!?" cried Tech angrily.
"You didn't do anything to them!" agreed Ace.
"That should never have happened!" Lexi joined in.
"Yeah," agreed Rev, "I've never, I mean never, have even heard of anyone do that!"
Everyone turned curiously at the road runner.
"How come you ain't talkin' so fast I can barely understand you?" asked Duck.
"The meteor's energy," murmured Zadavia, "I believe it reversed his talking speed. This meteor, you see, had far stranger energy than any other large meteor Acmetropolis has faced. And I, for one, believe that that's saying something." She stared intently at Rev, "It's not surprising something like this would happen."
Safyra cocked an eyebrow, obviously confused, "Eesh! And I thought what the meteor did to me was weird."
"What did it do to you?" asked Rev.
"This," Safyra said as she went to the kitchen and turned the sink on. She concentrated with all her might, and was able to bring the water towards her, turning into a floating stream. She twirled her fingers, and the water swirled around the Loonatics and Chandani. She turned the sink off, and then commanded with her hands for the water to come back into the sink. It listened without resistance.
"And it did this to me too," said Chandani as she closed her eyes to concentrate. Soon enough, the wind began to pick up around them and Chandani rose into the air, floating above them. She landed gracefully with no problem at all.
"Amazing," gasped Tech. "The meteor must've given you the powers to control specific elements. Water for Safyra and wind for Chandani, in this case."
Zadavia nodded, "It seems so…" Her eyes had an unusual look to them, as if she were hiding something. Safyra knew better than to ask, but she couldn't help but be curious about it. She turned her eyes away from the still-mysterious woman.
"So…" Safyra began, her silver and white face turning pink, "If…if it's not too much trouble…We'd like to join your team."
The Loonatics looked at each other, and smiled, and turned to face Safyra, "Of course."
Safyra and Chandani both flashed grateful smiles, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Chandani said happily.
Safyra nodded, "In case none of you know, I'm Safyra Amadi Linat."
"And I'm Chandani Flytah Juryssa," said Chandani.
The Loonatics each introduced themselves in their full names, and Zadavia smiled as it already seemed like they were friends.
"Well, I'll be taking my leave now. Goodnight, Loonatics," said Zadavia as she was approaching the door, "You have your own rooms set already, Safyra. You too, Chandani. Clothes and everything. I prepared a few weeks ago, since I knew it would happen soon. I hope it's too your liking. Your names are on the doors. Goodnight again."
"Goodnight, Zadavia," all eight of them replied.
Zadavia nodded, and left.
Safyra looked at the window that overlooked the city, and a new river of tears washed over her cheeks. She didn't want to cry, but the sudden thought of her parents forced the tears out like a flood, and Safyra hadn't been able to stop it. "They're gone…I can't believe it…" she couldn't say anymore as her words were choked by endless sobbing, and soon enough, as much as she tried to hold it in, Chandani joined. Ace put an arm around Safyra's shoulders.
"We'll find whoever did this. I promise, Safyra," he murmured. He blushed deeply as Safyra buried her head in his chest, sobbing. He stroked her hair gently, "C'mon, I think you should get some rest. You've had a rough day."
Tech looked down at Chandani, who had also resorted to burying her head into his chest after him comforting her, "You should too, Chandani."
Not saying anything, the two newcomers nodded, and Ace and Tech led them to their rooms.
"Hope you like it," said Ace as he flicked the light switch on. It showed a pale blue room with a bookshelf that was stacked with books and another set of shelves that were stacked with pictures. The bed was big and comfortable with light gray and light blue sheets, with fluffy white pillows. There was a desk with colored pencils and other art supplies and CDs. On the back wall, a mural that depicted a moonlit beach shore had been painted.
Safyra's eyes lit up at the sight of it. "It's…it's perfect…" She gave Ace a hug, "Thank you so much, Ace…"
Ace couldn't help but give a warm smile, "You're welcome, Safyra."
"Goodnight, Ace," said Safyra as she walked into the room and sat on the bed.
"Goodnight, Safyra," Ace murmured as he closed the door.
"Here ya go," said Tech as he opened the door to Chandani's room. He flicked the light switch on, and it illuminated a very pale gray room that had a large entertainment center with all the latest video games on the wall where the door was, but it was on the left side. It also contained books and pictures. A large bed was laid out in the front wall, with white and pale green sheets and gray pillows. A desk was on the other side of the bed, with a laptop, some CDs, and a few notebooks. At the back of the room, a beautiful mural of a snow-covered forest was painted.
"Oh, my…oh, my goodness…" Chandani whispered in awe. "It's absolutely beautiful…Just right!" She gave Tech a tight hug, "Thank you for everything, Tech!"
Tech smiled gently at her even though he was struggling to breathe, "It was no problem, Chandani…You're perfectly welcome."
As Chandani entered the room and sat on the bed, she smiled at Tech once more, "G'night, Tech."
"Goodnight, Chandani," Tech said, before he closed the door behind him. He was soon met by Ace, who was leaning on a door across the hall. Both boys had a goofy look on their faces, and both had a slight red blush.
"She seems perfect…" Ace mumbled.
"She's so nice…" Tech murmured.
Both boys sighed contently, "Perfect…"
Safyra stared at her window, now dressed in cozy sky blue pajamas. She wore a buttoned, polo collared, long sleeved shirt and long, comfortable pants. Her eyes were streaming with tears once more. This had been the longest she had cried in her life! Why did this have to happen to her? Her parents being killed, her brothers disappearing to who-knows-where…
"I don't know what's wrong," she murmured under her breath. She settled into her bed, and cuddled under, feeling comforted in the fluffiness of the bed. "But whatever is wrong," she whispered, "I will find out." She remembered the words that had been exposed to her hearing as she recovered from the meteor crash.
"The child of the waves…
The child of the storms…
Silver and frozen, but free as the waves.
Snow and emerald, but light as a haze.
Dancing in water, flying in wind,
Harboring powers that lie deep within.
Darkness creeps from every corner,
But as long as their hearts couldn't be warmer,
The light will find the darkness, never to sway,
And chase away the darkness, for it should never stay.
Unless the children choose darkness,
Then the world shall never be the same…"
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed, causing her to whimper in shock and cuddle under the bed again. Fear trembled through her as the storm raged on. "Perfect weather," she muttered tiredly, and closed her eyes slowly, lulling into a deep sleep.
Fire surrounded Safyra like a snake slithering around her. She didn't feel the warmth of the fire, she didn't feel anything besides her emotions and her heart beat. She looked around, but only saw the burning embers engulfing what had once been her house. A black cloaked figure emerged from the flames, looking like a shadow as it seemed to float around her.
"You will not deny us, Child of the Waves," it hissed. Safyra once more caught a glance of bright neon green eyes staring at her, unblinkingly. It felt like they could go straight though her heart, and into her soul, and could bring out the darkness inside it and control it. "You will not deny us like your foolish parents did…"
Safyra reached for her switchblade, but when she found that she wasn't even in normal clothes, panic rose up in her chest. She began to step back, but almost slipped. She looked back, and saw that her house was being separated from the neighborhood she grew up in by a large crack in the ground. She whipped her gaze back to the cloaked figure. Suddenly, she remembered that this…this thing took her parents from her. It deserves to be punished, she thought, her fists clenching. Her eyes glared at the cloaked one, "I will deny whatever the heck you are, just like my parents did." She charged at it, shouting and cursing with anger. The figure whipped out a sword from what seemed from nowhere, and Safyra dodged it. She flipped over it, whirled around as she landed on the floor, and kicked it in the stomach. Anger was coursing around her, pumping in her veins. "I swear to God, by my parents, by my brothers, by my ancestors, I'LL KILL YOU!!" she felt thunder clash above her, and rain and wind soon surrounded her, killing the flames, paining the cloaked figure. It writhed in pain, making a strange…hissing…sound.
"You're strong, Child of the Waves, Daughter of the Rain," rasped the figure. "But soon…soon…we will break you…"
Safyra shot up from her bed, sweat dripping down from her silver fur. Her ice-blue eyes widened in shear horror. That had been the scariest—and most confusing—dream of her life. She looked at her window. Early morning. It looked about five o'clock or so. "My God that was scary," she whispered, pulling the covers up to her chin. Why was she shaking? Had the dream affected her that badly? She sighed, her eyes looking down at her covers. She was regaining her calm. Good. She liked being the calmest of her gang. Her eyes drifted to the window, then to her desk, then to her door, and then her closet. Hm…it's morning, at least. So…what to do? Change clothes and draw, or change clothes and get breakfast? she thought, tapping a delicate finger on her chin. Her thoughts were interrupted as rumbling was heard from her stomach. A small chuckle escaped from her lips, "Well, that settles it."
She got changed into a green shirt and blue jeans. She wouldn't need her shoes or her gloves. She combed her hair until it seemed to shine, and braided it. She then brushed her teeth quietly and then headed down the hall, not making a sound. Safyra felt like she was in a dream, like this wasn't real, like she would wake up in her bed at home any second now. But when the silver rabbit entered the kitchen, she took in the scene, and accepted it.
"Morning, Safyra," came a voice.
Safyra turned to see Lexi sitting on the couch, unarmored, reading a magazine. She looked up from her reading and smiled.
"Morning, Lexi," said Safyra cheerfully with a smile. She went inside the kitchen, and asked, "Did you eat yet?"
"No. But you don't have to make anything for me," said Lexi, cocking an eyebrow.
Safyra laughed lightly, "It's no problem, Lexi. It's the least I can do for letting me and Chandani stay with you guys."
"You're our teammates now. It's what we do."
"But still!" Safyra insisted. She got out pans and the toaster and asked, "Now…how about pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs? For everyone!"
"Safyra…"
"Lexi. I want to do this for you guys, please, please, allow me," said Safyra, and set off to work. She wanted to thank them in so many ways, but this she preferred. She liked cooking for others, and this was the perfect example. Plus, she wanted to impress a certain gray rabbit that was hidden behind a black and yellow uniform.
"You're doing this for someone, huh?" asked Lexi, coming up to her. She had a smug and knowing smile on her face, "And that certain someone just so happens to be my cousin, I bet."
"You had a cousin on the team? Oh, I didn't know!" Safyra lied, but made it sound as convincing as she could. Of course she knew! Safyra could be a good actress sometimes, but she knew Lexi would figure it out because of her powers.
"Yeah right!" said Lexi, laughing. She put a hand on Safyra's shoulder, "Look, I'm used to a bunch of girls crushing on my cousin. But I won't tell, promise."
Safyra blushed and made a weak smile, "Th-th-thanks…" Her eyes lit up, and she got back to work on her cooking, "So…how do you like your eggs?"
Lexi laughed and smiled, "You already said scrambled."
Safyra looked over her shoulder, and laughed nervously, "Hehe. Right."
"Anybody need help?" the girls turned around to see Chandani leaning casually on the corridor wall, wearing a light orange shirt and black pants. A cheeky smirk came across the white wolf's face as Safyra smiled and nodded.
Ace breathed in the sweet smell of the kitchen. He couldn't remember if it had ever smelt this good before! He saw his cousin lounging on the couch, and he asked, "Hey, Lex, what'd you co-"
"Wasn't me, Ace," said Lexi, "It's our new teammates." Her eyes shifted to her left.
Ace looked right and saw Safyra flip over a pancake expertly, leaving it for Chandani to catch it on a plate, where two other pancakes, two strips of bacon, and scrambled eggs were already laid. Safyra twirled the spatula around from a moment, and stuffed it into her apron pocket, "That's it, Chani…" She smiled when she saw Ace, "Oh, good morning, Ace!"
"Morning, Safyra," Ace greeted, "Morning, Chandani."
Chandani smiled and nodded, "Good morning, Ace."
Ace's eyes widened at the large breakfast the two girls had made for the team, "Uh…you guys…you really didn't…"
"But we wanted to!" Safyra said. "It was the least we could do for letting us join the team." She held out a plate for him, "Now, go on n' eat before it gets cold, 'kay?"
Ace smiled and gratefully took the plate, "Thanks, Saf. Is that alright if I call you that?"
"No problem, I go by a bunch of other nicknames anyways. Like Tsunami, Ice, or Wave," Safyra said, smiling. "Now eat, or I'll force feed ya."
"She will, Ace. Take my word for it," Chandani said, shivering in fear. "Bad flashback."
Safyra's smile twisted into a smirk, "It better be."
Soon enough, all the Loonatics had eaten. Everyone had given compliments to Safyra and Chandani about their cooking, which they always thanked them for. The team was now discussing of how things were right now.
"This is weird," Rev said, slouching down in the couch. "I've gotten so used to talking at high speed…"
"Hey," said Duck, "At least you still get annoyingly hyper." Rev gave him a glare.
Safyra nodded, "Yeah." She poked Chandani, who was next to her. "That way Chani here won't be alone."
Chandani stuck her tongue out, making the others laugh.
Ace smiled gently. Whatever these two brought, it was going to be intrusting with these two around. Safyra suddenly stood up, and looked outside. It was raining again, and suddenly her ice-blue eyes clouded over.
"I'll be going for a walk, if that's okay," she muttered gently, and went into her room. She came out in a few moments wearing her shoes, and slinging on a tan colored trench coat, pulling the collar straight up, putting a fedora on her head, and heading out the door.
Chandani's eyes narrowed worriedly. "Something's wrong."
Safyra weaved through the forest that surrounded her neighborhood. She had something to see. The rain was pouring down on her fur, but she didn't care, she just needed to get to her home.
…Or what had been her home.
Her eyes drifted towards the sky as she pushed her hands into her pockets. She wondered what she would find. The burnt corpses of her parents? She shook her head. Will said they were alive… she thought, but then she frowned slightly, and he said he'd be alive too…But…how can I know that for sure? All she was sure of right now is that it would not be much of a pretty sight. Her pace quickened at the thought. As she rounded a few more corners, she saw a large crowd of people gathered around one large ashy square. The burnt remains of her home. Safyra tipped her fedora to the front, making it block her eyes. She heard people weeping and mourning. Her eyes widened. They think we're dead!!
Safyra then spotted Dolyn. He was with his parents, along with his younger sister, Renni Erika Jacobs. Renni was a snow-white cat with dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes like Dolyn, who was now hugging Dolyn tightly for comfort. Safyra's vision almost blurred with tears as she saw Dolyn's head bowed, looking sorrowfully at the once-house. She then saw the other four co-founders of their gang. A tan-colored roadrunner with reddish-brown hair and piercing yellowish eyes was there. Her name was Tawny Sakina Grindan. She then saw two foxes. One was a pretty female that had unusual golden fur and white muzzle, underbelly, stockings, and tail-tip. She had red hair and greenish-amber eyes. Her name was Malaika Solei Trenton, otherwise Mali. And then the other fox was a male with fiery orange fur with black muzzle, underbelly, stockings, and tail-tip. He had dark brown hair with blue eyes. His name was Chase Ricardo Elrin. Mali was resting her head in Chase's chest, sobbing. Chase wept a few silent tears himself, but embraced Mali gently and rested his chin on her head. Those were the only ones she could see clearly.
Safyra's eyes were blurring with tears. "I'm so sorry…."
She heard footsteps next to her, and saw a figure wearing blue jeans and a red hoodie, the hood over his head. Through the shadows of the figure's face, Safyra saw two crystal blue eyes staring right at her.
Ace.
"Are you okay?" Ace asked gently as he came next to her. Safyra tried her best not to break down into tears.
"They…they think…we're dead…" Safyra choked out, "I can't believe it…I just can't. I don't want to…leave them behind like this…" Her tears were freed, and they came down like waterfalls on her delicate cheeks. Ace instinctively wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest. She had no idea while she was being so familiar with him, but it just felt so right…
"It'll be fine, don't worry," Ace whispered into her ear. He just noticed that her ears drooped down, but were still an ordinary size. Like there was an imaginary pin on them or something. He thought it looked cute. But he hated to see her so sad.
"How?" choked Safyra.
"I don't know. But you do."
Safyra, suddenly knowing where he was getting at, closed her eyes. She concentrated on having the rain become lighter, wispier. It did, and Safyra opened her eyes. "Look…" she whispered, and she heard her message being carried on the wind.
Dolyn's ears pricked and he scooted to the back of the group, and looked back. Tawny was next to him, then Mali and Chase, then the others. All their eyes were staring at the two rabbits, but they couldn't see their eyes.
A smirk came upon Safyra's face, and she tipped up her fedora, exposing her eyes. She saw her gang jolt in surprise. It was just what she believed both her and Ace theorized: she could be able to talk to someone at great distances if any presence of water was there. The rain was helping her.
Tawny looked at Dolyn, her yellow eyes confused, "Dolyn…Did you just…?"
"I…I did, Tawny," Dolyn murmured. He saw Mali and Chase staring at Safyra and the other figure. "You saw…?" he began to ask the two foxes.
"I-I-I'm seeing," Mali stammered, "But…But not believing…"
"Me neither," Chase agreed, nodding slowly.
"Should we tell anyone…?" asked Tawny.
No…
The group snapped their heads to Safyra, whose words were being formed with her mouth.
No…Not yet…I just felt bad for you guys. I don't want you to think me and Chani are dead. 'Cause dudes, we ain't.
"Where are you, then?" Mali asked skeptically.
That's not important. Look, I gotta go. See you guys later. Suddenly, mist shrouded over Safyra and the other figure, and when it cleared, they were gone.
Safyra and Ace walked through the park together. Safyra's eyes were sorrow-filled, and Ace didn't like it one bit. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I guess," Safyra said, shrugging, "I just wish I didn't have to see little Renni cry like that."
"Renni?"
"My friend's little sister. She was like my little sister too, and I…I almost felt the pain she felt," Safyra murmured. "I feel so bad…"
"Hey, you wanna know what you did right for your gang, though?" Ace asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes, what?"
"You…you rained down their sorrow. Doesn't that make you feel any better?"
A small smile crept on Safyra's face, "Actually, it does. Thanks, Ace."
"No problem, Saf," Ace said, mirroring her smile. The two walked through the park, talking and smiling. Safyra felt better, now. Ace had been right.
She had rained down her gang's sorrow.
Ace had rained down hers.
Okay, so there ya have it!! I'll try to be earlier with the updates. Hope you enjoyed it!! Review, please! - Gabby
