Chapter 3
Three days had gone by since Sapphira's incident in Engineering. Her burns had been completely healed; aside from very faint traces of scar tissue on her torso, there was no sign of any damage to her. She and Melody were back in their room, talking to Elsa and Anna via holo-phone.
"So you're all right now?" Anna wondered.
"Yes, Mom. I'm fine," Sapphira answered. "You can barely even tell that anything happened."
Elsa sighed. "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Sapphira."
"It wasn't your fault, Mrs. Frost," Melody put in. "It was an accident."
"I know that, Melody. Sapphira's always had trouble with her powers. It's not her fault either."
Sapphira smiled. "Melody was the first one to come and check on me when I was in the sick bay."
"You're lucky to have a tudko like Melody," Anna stated.
"I know, Mama."
Elsa looked at her daughter. "Stay safe, little sapphire. If you ever need us again, don't hesitate to call."
"Yeah, things have been boring since you and Melody have been gone," Anna added.
"I will," Sapphira promised. "I love you both."
"Tell my mom I said hi!" Melody interjected.
"We will; Ariel invited us for dinner later," Elsa replied. "Goodbye, Sapphira." And with that, the holo-call ended.
Melody smiled. "How are you feeling, Saph?"
"I feel happy."
"Good. Me too." She hugged her friend.
Sapphira hugged back. "Let's go find Sadako."
"Yeah, let's."
The girls went over to Sadako's room, running into the Andresian girl as she was walking out. "Oh, hello!" she said cheerfully. "How did your call go?"
"Very well." Sapphira told her.
"That's good. I was about to head out to watch today's holo-ball game. You can come with me, if you like; it's free for cadets."
"Holo-ball?" Sapphira inquired, having never heard of the sport.
"Basically, it's like tennis, only the ball is a hologram and they play it in a giant glass cage," Sadako explained.
"I've seen a game or two," Melody said. "It's actually pretty intense."
"Sounds alright to me," Sapphira stated.
The three of them went down to the holo-ball arena. The arena was a large transparent cage, with a green holographic ball in the center and two goals either side of the court. The goals were defended by two teams: a blue one representing the academy, and a red one representing a Zetan military unit. Each of the players floated in the Zero-G environment, all of them wearing protective armour.
The game was about to begin, and the three girls soon found some good seats.
Sapphira then noticed that one of the players on the academy team was Alex. This immediately made her blush. "I didn't know he would be here."
"Alex is a great player," Sadako replied.
Suddenly, the match started. Alex rushed forward and knocked the ball at breakneck speed, firing it into the other team's goal.
"First point already," Sadako remarked. "This is going to be a good game."
One of the other team players headed straight for the ball when it respawned, only for one of the other players to kick him in the head, knocking him to the floor of the arena.
"That looked like it hurt," Sapphira commented.
"Ten bucks says it did," replied Melody.
Alex took the ball again and flew towards the goal at full speed, the jets on his boots propelling him forward.
"Come on, Alex!" Sadako cheered.
Suddenly, Alex was blocked by a large imposing alien player, with gray skin and long horns.
Alex wasn't phased though and punched the alien in the stomach, giving himself clearance to strike the winning goal.
"How is that not a foul?" Melody asked.
"This is a contact sport," Sadako explained.
"I know that, but you'd think intentionally punching someone would be frowned upon."
"In most sports yes, but not Holo-ball."
"Huh. Sounds like my kind of game."
Sapphira then noticed the winning team leaving the arena. "Hey guys, let's go wish Alex a big well done."
Melody rolled her eyes. "What is it with you and Alex?"
"I like him." Sapphira replied.
"You barely even know him!"
"So? I believe it's true love." Sapphira sighed dreamily.
Melody just rolled her eyes again. "Oh, for fuck's sake," she muttered under her breath.
The three of them went to see Alex, who was getting out of his armour.
Noticing them, Alex smiled. "Hey, girls. Did you enjoy the game?"
"Hell yeah!" Sapphira cheered. "You were awesome!"
"Thanks, but I can't take all the credit. I'd be nothing without the rest of the team."
Melody groaned. She felt if she saw her best friend and Alex together for any longer, she would have thrown up.
"Well, we should probably be going," Sadako said.
"Yeah, see you later Saph," Melody replied. She headed back to their quarters and sighed. Why was she getting so angry about Sapphira being with Alex? If this had been anyone else, she would never have been this frustrated.
"Well, she's my friend," she muttered to herself. "I care about her, and I don't want her falling for some random jock."
But was that really the truth? Was it really why she felt this way? Melody went and looked at herself in the mirror. She felt so confused. "Why do I feel like this?" she asked her reflection.
She couldn't stand it. There were so many confusing emotions flying around in her head. She thought it would be best if she were to get all these emotions of her chest. She headed into the holosuite and activated it.
"Welcome," a computerized voice said. "Please input your desired simulation."
"Create a hologram of Sapphira Frost," Melody instructed.
"Acknowledged. Creating hologram." Soon, a hologram of Sapphira appeared in front of Melody.
Melody sighed. "Sapphira, I've been having a lot of weird feelings lately. Weird feelings…about you. When I hear you talking about how much you love Alex, I feel really jealous. I always think, 'If he so much as touches you, he's gonna lose a hand.' And when I'm with you…I feel happy. I feel like everything is right in my life." She looked the hologram in the eyes. "Saph…I'm in love with you." She leaned closer as if to kiss the hologram, but stopped. "Who am I kidding? Computer, end simulation."
As the holosuite shut down, Melody walked out and went to her bedroom, laying down and staring at the ceiling. "What am I gonna do?"
xXx
Elsa and Anna were in their hovercraft, flying across the ocean on Aquatus. They were on their way to Ariel's house; their friend had invited them to dinner.
"I'm glad we get to see Ariel again," Anna remarked.
"Me too," Elsa replied. "She's been so lonely since Melody left and Eric went back to the military. I think it'll do her good to see us."
The hovership landed near Ariel's large residence and Anna and Elsa headed to the front door.
Ariel opened the door as they arrived. "Elsa! Anna! It's so good to see you!"
Elsa smiled and hugged Ariel, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "How have you been?"
"I'm fine, thanks. What about you two?"
"We're fine too."
"Good. Have you heard from the girls?"
"Yeah. Sapphira had an accident the other day, but Melody helped her out," Elsa informed her.
"An accident? What happened to her? Is she okay?"
"Her powers caused an explosion, but she was treated. She's fine now."
"That's good. How is Melody?"
"She's doing fine."
"Oh, good. I haven't heard from her in a while. Anyway, please come inside; dinner's almost ready."
Elsa and Anna followed Ariel into her spacious house. Elsa remembered the first time she had come to Ariel's house, for a celebratory dinner when she and Anna returned from their honeymoon.
"I'm making some grilled dire shark with redbrush leaves," Ariel stated. "It should be delicious."
"We're looking forward to it," Elsa replied.
"Especially the redbrush leaves," Anna put in. "They have such a warm and soft texture in my mouth."
"Why don't you two go sit down in the living room?" Ariel suggested. "I put together an appetizer for you. It's an Earth delicacy: chips and salsa!"
Elsa and Anna sat in the living room. The holo-tv was on, tuned to the cooking channel. A plate of chips and salsa was on the table in front of the sofa.
"Enjoy!" Ariel said. "I'll get us some drinks." With that, she went into the kitchen.
"Don't get me anything too alcoholic," Elsa called over to her. "I'm driving on the way home." She then directed her attention to the tv screen. The food being cooked seemed so delicious. "I wish I cooked that well."
Anna popped a chip into her mouth. "Your cooking is fine, Elsa," she said. "And besides, who needs to cook when we have that food replicator they salvaged from your old ship?"
"Yeah, but you know how hard it is to get Arendellian power cells here," Elsa remarked.
"About as hard as finding iridium," Anna stated. "It's a good thing I haven't had to use my powers."
"I dunno, you seem to have a good collection of iridium rocks in our room," Elsa responded.
"Those were gifts from Kristoff, remember? He'd give me any iridium he could spare. He knows I need it."
"Ah, so they were," Elsa realised.
Anna ruffled her wife's hair. "Ke'tou mas otara," she giggled.
Just then, Elsa and Anna heard a loud cry and the sound of breaking glass coming from the kitchen. They ran in to see Ariel laying on the floor, convulsing violently.
"Ariel!" Elsa cried. She held Ariel in her arms. Her skin was cold and clammy, her eyes had turned black, and she was breathing sharply.
"Anna, get a medi pack!" Elsa demanded.
"Move over. I have an idea." Anna placed her hand on Ariel's forehead, her tattoos glowing blue. Soon, Ariel's eyes returned to normal, and the convulsions ceased.
"Thank God for your powers, Anna my love."
"I know."
Elsa put her hand on Ariel's temple. "Ariel? Can you hear me?"
"The heir to the throne will rise again," Ariel whispered hoarsely. "He will claim a vessel and be reborn, and the galaxy will weep…." She then fell into unconsciousness, her body limp in Elsa's arms.
"Anna, get Eric on the line," Elsa instructed. "I think he needs to know about this."
xXx
Author's note: Oh no! Poor Ariel!
Just so you know, sometime after this chapter goes up, this fic will have a special cover made for it by my good friend Arendorable.
See ya next time! ^^
