We laid there on the cool, wet ground of the gym. Water dripped down my face and my heart pounding within my chest. I turned my head and looked over at Sydney. She had a ridiculous smile on her face. One I had never seen before. I swung out my arm and patted her elbow. "That was pretty awesome."

She laughed, "You're telling me. I've been wanting to try those out for a while."

"And how did I not know that you had weapons of mass destruction in my house?" Adrian propped himself up on his elbows and looked down on her from her other side.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "You aren't too observant, I guess. I've been mixing in the kitchen."

He chuckled, "Wow. And all this time I just thought you were trying to cook."

Her nose crinkled, "Cook? But those chemicals stunk."

He cleared his throat, "Yea, I know."

She kicked her leg over and landed a blow on him, although I couldn't see where. "You suck."

Jill's giggles were faint, "I just gotta say, that has been the most fun I've had in a long time. I miss fun." Her voice trailed off.

"Don't expect it to be the last of fun any time soon either," I tapped the bottom of her foot with mine.

She sighed, "I really hope you're right."

The gym door opened wide and light beamed through over our bodies. It was dim inside so the sudden bright light made it nearly impossible to see the new comer. Their shadow loomed over my face just enough for me to get a good glimpse.

"What did you guys do...?" Eddie's tone suited the type of reaction any sane person would have seeing our mess. "The gym, it's trashed!"

I sat up, "We were... practicing. And it got a little carried away."

He eyed me, "Did you hurt anyone?"

"No! Why would you even guess that?" I looked around and instantly felt the stupidity of that question. I rubbed my stomach and laughed. "You know I have to take it easy anyway."

"So who did this exactly?" He gestured around and suddenly came to a stop. He pointed directly at a scorched spot, "Fire? Was Christian here?"

Adrian got up and pulled Sydney to her feet. "No. That would be our lovely Alchemist's handy work." He patted his one bare foot on the wet cement.

Eddie's eyes went wide, "You? How did you do this?"

"I didn't think it would catch so fast when I used so little of the chemicals," she looked pensive. "Maybe I miscalculated. I really don't how I could have missed it so badly though. I'm pretty accurate and thorough. You know how I am." She said that last part for Adrian. "I think I'm going soft. I need to brush up my skills. Obviously."

"Obviously," Eddie echoed. He shook his head, "That still doesn't explain what the hell happened."

I cleared my throat, "We have to start from the beginning."
_

Sydney dangled the tubes between her fingers, "What element would you guys like to see first?"

We all looked to each other with mixed expressions. All curious but just a different type. I spoke up first, "Um, element?"

"Yea, you know. Like earth, air, fire, and water. Of course I can't do Spirit but I do have a mixture that resembles confusion that Spirit can do."

Adrian chuckled, "I doubt you can duplicate the effects of Spirit."

She frowned, "I didn't claim that I could. I just said it has a similar effect. Not an exact copy." She held out the tubes again and wagged them between her fingers. "So now, what will it be?"

He gave her a sweet smile, "Okay, I'll play along. Earth."

She carefully placed the other three bottles down and held up a brown vial. "You guys should take a few steps back."

Jill's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Is it going to be a big effect?"

"Maybe," she bit her lip. "Just make sure your body is blocked off."

Me and Jill ducked behind the stack of mats by the wall while Adrian stood just behind a sparring post. We gave her the thumbs up and she threw the vial about ten feet away. It burst into shiny shards of what looked like thorns as it made impact with the cement floor. They went flying every which way and stuck into the back of the sparring ring.

"Holy crap," was all I could manage. "Just how the hell did you do that?" I walked over to the ring and ran my hand over the holes the thorns had left. They were still caught in there. None made it completely through.

She smiled proudly, "Just a few things I tried out. The spikes weren't chemically made. They were just stored with the mix so that once it made impact and exploded they would go shooting everywhere."

Adrian examined the broken pieces of glass where she had thrown the vial, "Clever."

"Thank you," she rocked on her heels.

Jill was trying to pick out the next vial from Sydney's bag already, "What's the pretty blue one?"

Sydney directed her attention to her, "Water. I like to color coordinate."

"Water," Jill picked it just slowly and stared wondrously at it. "What does it do?"

"Would you like me to show you?" Sydney held out her hand for the vial.

She gave it to her cautiously and took a few steps back, "Is it going to burst like the 'earth' one?"

She shrugged, "Maybe. Like I said, I'm not too sure how they will actually work until I've tested them. But the earth one did work as planned so... maybe." She held it up in the air and looked around at us all, "You all ready?"

The atmosphere in the room was thick with tension and anxiety as she threw it down and it hit the floor. It made a loud 'POP!' as it burst and suddenly the ground grew damp and cold. A mist materialized around our feet and rose until it was just beneath my nose.

"Huh..." Sydney scoffed.

Jill was cheering her on when she heard her and stopped, "That wasn't suppose to happen?" She put out her hands and spread the mist apart like it was a curtain.

Sydney shrugged, "No, that was right it's just I thought it would have risen higher." She cupped her own cheek and sighed, "I guess I'm satisfied with the results enough though." She clasped her hands together and smiled.

Jill's cheers returned, "I think it's amazing. I would love to learn this trick using my own magic!" She ran her hands through the air gathering and dispersing the mist in shapes everywhere until it started to fade away on it's own.

"That was pretty cool," Adrian smirked. "But the effects only last about a minute. What would that get you?"

"A quick get away for one. Or a fast sneak attack," Sydney chimed with her arms crossed over her chest.

He nodded, "Possibly."

I clapped, "I was impressed. But there was something about the smell." I recalled a hint of something bitter and unpleasant in the mist. "Was that on purpose or just a side effect from the mixed chemicals?"

"Just a side effect," she smiled, seemingly unphased by the question. She strolled back over to her bag and kneeled down. "Your turn, Rose. Which of the last two would you like me to test out?" She held out the vials. One was a bright red while the other was a soft pearl.

My hand indecisively switched between the two before grabbing the pearl one. "I'm gonna guess this one is air."

She placed down the last red vial before taking the pearl one I had. "Yes, you would be correct." She held it out and took in a breath, "This one is a bit tricky. Who wouldn't mind being the test subject?"

"Test subject? Why?" Adrian stepped forward, eyes on the vial.

"Well it does kind of like a force push," she sank.

I gaped, "And you want to test it on someone?" I laughed out, "Uh-huh, no!"

She scowled, "It's not dangerous but it'll knock you off your feet. So you cannot volunteer." She turned away from me, "Any other takers?"

"Isn't that a bit dangerous still?" Jill's voice was so small.

Sydney shook her head, "Not unless you're made of glass. Or you're standing near a ledge or something."

"Screw it! Give me the vial," Adrian snatched it out of her hand. "Now what?"

Sydney took Jill's hand and led her to the mats. Of course I followed. "Just set it on the floor and step on it with enough pressure so the glass breaks," she lowered her head just so she was peaking over the top of the mats.

He looked down at it with some obvious thought. "Okay. Here we go," he set it down and put his foot over it. Slowly he began to apply pressure until 'CRACK!' and a loud rush of air made us jump. Sydney hadn't been joking. As soon as it went off, there went Adrian too. It was like someone shoved him hard and he went up and back about three feet before crashing to the ground.

"Son of a bitch!" he held his lower back and groaned as he got up. "What the hell, Syd?!"

She smiled, "Hey, you're the one that volunteered."

Jill's eyes were wide, "That was pretty awesome."

"You could sell those to the Guardians," I said as I examined the ground from the initial 'explosion'. There was no mark on the ground. No signs that anything happened at all. "They can have them set up around the wards like land mines. They won't kill anyone..."

"But it hurts like hell," Adrian said still rubbing his back.

Sydney's smiled spread more to her eyes and she let out a small laugh, "'It' doesn't hurt at all. It depends what you get thrown at that determines the amount of pain inflicted."

I nodded, "She's got a point."

His faced dropped, "I guess next time I should aim my ass to a cushy spot instead."

"Are you saying you'd test it out again?" Jill giggled mischivieously.

He gave her a look, "Yea. Just as soon as I'd jump off a building."

"You never know, Adrian. It could come in handy," I patted Jill's shoulder and winked. She giggled again in return.

"Now then!" Sydney clapped her hands together before pulling out the red vial. "Time for some fire."

Adrian scoffed and dusted off some unseen substance from his shoulder, "And no, I will not be the test-dummy for this course."

She frowned, "I wouldn't ask anyone to be the tester for this." She held it out and stared at it with such intensity. "This little baby has the biggest bite of them all. But not too bad. We should be able to control it with Jill's magic and some safety regulations."

"Which would mean?" I asked.

"Don't stand close, don't touch the fire, and don't put anything on it but water. Simple," she said still with her eyes on the vial.

Adrian gestured to a red metal box with glass, "Not even a fire extinguisher?"

She gave him a glare, "No. Just water. The chemicals in this mix are quite flammable. The point is for it to be hard to put out for the enemy. Unless they have a direct source to water, they will be engulfed in flame."

"And you're sure it's safe to test indoors?" I was now staring at the seemingly harmless vial.

She nodded, "Yep, we've got Jill."

Jill looked a bit nervous. "Great. I just love being under pressure."

"No pressure. Just be ready with some water. In fact," she walked in a circle and point to the ground, "Could you make a circle of water here? Just for some extra safety."

She took in a breath and meaded her hands through the air until she had line of water about a yarn's width. She held it high and shaped it into a perfect circle before lowering it to the ground and letting it spread outwards. She exhaled slowly and looked back to Sydney, "Is that okay?"

She gave her a thumbs-up, "Perfect. Thank you, Jill." She held up the tube and threw it so it landed perfectly in the center. It sounded like shattering glass before the circle was sent into flames. Only something unexpected happened. Pieces of the flames flicked off the top and caught beyond the circle of water.

We stared in awe and panic stricken expressions until I yelled out, "Fire!"

Adrian ran up to stomp it out but his shoe quickly caught fire. "What the...!"

Sydney tackled him to the ground and ripped off his shoe, throwing it into the flame. "I told you, only water!"

As a quick reaction I ran to the water fountain and pressed to turn it on. "Jillian! Water!"

Jill's eyes shot straight my way and before I knew it water was flying past my face and into the flames. It didn't matter that I'd seen magic done all my life. It didn't matter that I could do magic all my own. That sight was still as mesmerizing as ever. Hisses and steam were all that were left of the spectacle. I sat down on the floor and sighed in relief. Just across me, Jill did the same.

And all that led straight up to the point of us laying down on the cool, wet gym floor. Still pondering on everything that had just happened and Eddie walking in on our mess.

Eddie gave me an astonished look. "Wow. Why would you think to do these experiments inside the gym?"

"Because I'm a run-away Alchemist practicing. And doing it out in the open would catch some unwanted attention," Sydney said as she ringed some water from the tips of her hair.

He nodded, "Understandable." He sighed, "I'm just going to leave and act like I didn't see this. I'll even put an 'out of order' sign outside. But you four need to get this place cleaned up. And fast."

"You're not going to help us?" I asked pleading.

He laughed out loud, "You made the mess, I think you all are more than capable of cleaning it. Besides, like I said, I didn't see anything." He turned and walked back out the doors.

"Great..." I squeezed some water from my hair. "What now?"

Adrian groaned, "Now I need to buy a new pair of shoes and soak in a warm bath."

I rolled my eyes, "I meant about the gym."

Jill sighed, "I guess we have to clean up."

"Or we can pay someone else to," Adrian suggested.

Sydney nudged him, "But noone can know who or what I am. How do you explain all of this?"

He raked his hand through his hair, "Fine. Then grab some brooms and mops and get started cleaning then." He sighed heavily, "I'll supervise."

"Adrian! You are going to put those hands to work with the rest of us," I glared at him. "Or I'm going to make you miserable."

He groaned loudly, "Cleaning makes me miserable."

I walked up to him with a bucket and some pliers, "Just come help me pull out the spikes. Jill and Sydney can handle the scorch spot and the water, right?"

Jill nodded, "I can help with the water, definitely."

"And I might have something to get that burn mark off the floor in my bag," she looked back at her now wet bag with dismay. "I just hope nothing was ruined in there."

"I can pull the water out of it for you," Jill offered sweetly.

Sydney brightened, "That'd be great of you. Thanks."

There were exactly fourty-five spikes stuck in the sparring ring's side. Adrian and I took each one out and found a few more scattered here and there. It didn't take long for Jill to gather up all the water and let it run down the drains. And Sydney did indeed have a chemical substance in her handy bag of Alchemist goodies that cleaned up the scorch mark. The gym was set back to almost exactly how it was when we first got there. (Aside from the tiny holes on the side of the sparring ring.)

We all sat down on the floor and leaned against the side of the ring. I was suddenly so exhausted and tired. I hadn't really noticed it until right then.

I ran my hand over my stomach and sighed. "Hey Adrian. How's Gabe doing?"

He stared at me and smiled, "He's resting or possibly even asleep." Then his face went serious.

My stomach dropped, "What? What's wrong?"

"No, no, it's nothing. I was just wondering, do you think I could visit him in a dream?" He adjusted himself so that he was now on his knees.

Sydney shook her head, "Seriously, Adrian."

"I am being serious. What if I could visit him? I could pull you into it too, Rose." His smile grew, "You could meet your son before he's born."

My heart sped up, "Could you?"

He shrugged, "I honestly don't know. I've never really thought about it until just now."

"That sounds so magical," Jill said dreamily.

I looked down at my own stomach and ran my hand over it. "I could meet him. Now..." I couldn't help my rushing heart beat or the way the butterflies of anxiety creeped over me. "And Dimitri too."

He nodded, "And I'd do it, you know. Let me try it now and I'll let you know."

"Now?" My eyes shot to his face. "But what if it does work? You can't pull me and Dimitri into it without us being asleep."

"This is just a test run," he said trying to put me at ease.

Sydney took my hand, "Rose? Do you really want this?"

I wasn't so sure. In some ways I did. I wanted so badly to meet Gabe. I wanted to see his eyes, his face. Who did he look like? What colors lit his eyes? Then, by a chance of luck, my cell phone went off and I was snapped out of my thoughts. But once I saw the name of the caller it felt like destiny. "It's Dimitri."

By Shadow Kissed Mori