After a couple of hours, Lady Chaos returned. She looked much better - her hair had been swept back into her majestic bun and she was adorned in a dress free of tear stains.
"Come on," she said apologetically. "I need to introduce you to some good friends of mine, last of all your Master. I really am sorry for leaving you alone."
"Are you the aspect of Hestia?" Allie inquired.
"Yeah," Lady Chaos said, summoning a slice of pizza. She held it out to Allie.
"Want it? You must be starving." Allie quickly accepted it, not realizing how hungry she was. Lady Chaos summoned another, folding it in half and gracefully nibbling the tip.
Allie gave a tiny snort, but it was enough to draw Lady Chaos's attention.
"What?" She asked quizzically.
"It's just… I didn't think it was possible to eat pizza formally," she said, chuckling.
Lady Chaos gave a small laugh too and stood up from her chair, opening the door. She waited for Allie to scramble off of the bed and walk awkwardly out the door. They navigated their way in the hospital, finally finding the exit after a couple of minutes.
"I don't know why," Lady Chaos said looking irritable, even in her Hestia persona. "the hospital doesn't have a map. This is supposed to be my planet isn't it? I should order maps. Many, many, maps."
Shaking her head, Allie pushed open the large door.
As soon as she stepped outside, Allie felt as if she was swimming in mud. Looking around, Allie saw a majestic city that seemed to rise from the ground. Strangely, she noticed that the land seemed shrouded in black mist. She blinked once, twice, and the mirage faded. Lady Chaos put a hand on her shoulder as if proud. All that she could see was a wet marsh with a few weeds.
"It is beautiful isn't it? I remember the day I created it." Lady Chaos smiled, relishing the memory. "I was so young and carefree back then." Allie was pretty confused. Lady Chaos opened her mouth again but stopped when she saw the look on her face. She sighed as if she'd already gone through this.
"I know it's weird, but try to believe in the power of imagination." Lady Chaos looked at her encouragingly. Allie squinted skeptically, trying to imagine people of all shapes and sizes wandering around.
After a few minutes of staring hard at the blank landscape, a few blurry details began to emerge. A lady laughed, swatting a man on his arm. A baby gurgled cheerfully as an old woman rocked it gently back and forth.
They were standing on the edge of a city, a huge one at that. The buildings solidified, and she was astounded. It's New York, she thought dizzily. Multiplied fifty million times in fifty different directions.
The skyline was a brilliant blue and the sun was also setting. In a few seconds, the sky was painted red and gold.
"So, um, Lady Chaos," she began, not really knowing what to say. "Er, who are the other people on this planet?" She groaned, and Allie could tell she was thinking about Damien.
"Who do you think? It's mostly mortals, but in rare cases, demigods. In even more scarce circumstances, elementals, like yourself. But most beings on this planet are extremely old, more than seven millennia at the youngest." Allie nodded, feeling as if nothing could faze her.
However, as she saw some of the children hovering above the ground, she felt a stab of doubt.
"I still don't really understand why you made me your apprentice," Allie said again. "Percy… He's brilliant and powerful. I know why you chose him. But me? I'm completely average. My powers are limited."
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, they are, Atalanta." She said sharply. "And they will be if you keep that attitude. You have to think about what you can be capable of, not what you are in the moment. If keep underestimating yourself, you'll never improve."
Allie opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"I let Damien mope for a while, but I'm not going to allow you to do that. You are a female and I expect more from you. I want to see the confident girl I chose on the Argo ll." She snapped her fingers.
"I'll do what's best for you, and sometimes that means slapping the sadness out in return for anger. Everyone here has a dark past, and you're no exception. You're training isn't for you to be babied. I want to make that perfectly clear."
Allie paused for a second, but nodded. "You're right," she muttered ashamedly. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to turn into a teenage drama seeker."
Lady Chaos kissed her lightly on the forehead, looking more motherly by the second. "And you already have somebody your trust." Allie nodded, thinking reluctantly of Damien. She wondered if it was a matter of time before he betrayed her.
She ruffled Allie's hair just like Damien had done. "You have to be completely comfortable in your body to discover your elemental secret." Allie cocked her head to the side, but shrugged, deciding to figure it out later.
For the rest of the afternoon, she was led around by Lady Chaos, trying out new things, and doing things that would, on earth, be considered a freaking death sentence. Allie ate a seaweed and ice cream sandwich – which was actually Damien's invention – and played with poisonous sharks in the bathing suit that Lady Chaos lent her.
Needless to say, she stayed alive the entire time. Thankfully.
So many things fell into place that day. Allie met countless people, and discovered that the planet was much bigger that it had first appeared to be.
Lady Chaos explained that there were four main planets orbiting around theirs, somewhat like the sun and the earth. In fact, the earth was one of the planets orbiting, but Chaos took special lengths to confirm that the gods never found them.
Each of the planets had two leaders, unlike this exceptional one, Meriopeua, the most powerful, and under Lady Chaos' control (she was the leader).
Fortunately, all of the leaders were kind and completely interested in her background, offering to give Allie a tour around the planet.
"You can tour a planet in one day?" She had asked, then immediately looked away, her face burning. Of course not, she had told herself stupidly. God, I'm turning into Percy.
Allie had met Sarah and Joshua, the leaders of Planet four, the least powerful: Neptune. Even though it had the least plasma in the planet's core, it still represented a strong element: water. Additionally, Jupiter signified wind, Vulcan stood for fire and Gaea, as much as Allie despised it, personified… earth.
Sarah was a kind and sweet, friendly girl. She had explained that planet Neptune was mainly dominated by water. A while ago, she and Joshua had found the garden of a Nymph who had been experimenting with illegal dangerous chemicals. They had originally been furious, but the nymph had demonstrated the uses for the plants and they finally relented.
She had grown more and more of the plant, and the mythical power gave all from Neptune the ability to communicate to different ocean animals. All the Neptune citizens have the advantage over the element of water; in other words, they can bend the water to their will, control it, and even make a useful weapon tactic with the ability. It's similar to the more powerful descendants of Poseidon.
Sarah was fairly tall for her age, matching Allie in height. She looked about sixteen on the outside, but Allie know that Sarah must have had at least several million years of experience. She had adorable dimples and always seemed to wear a smile. While her bubbly attitude never wavered, her eyes seemed to calculate everything coldly.
"To be honest," she told Allie, "I've been wanting to retire for a while, and I know the other guardians feel the same. I mean, I have a great life. I just want to, I don't know, settle down. I think I know what Chaos has planned for you, so I needn't worry too long," she added with a grin.
A few minutes later, Allie couldn't help but smirk as she saw Sarah punch a boy in the face. Normally, she'd go over and help him, but after watching him saunter up and put his arm around her, Allie was tempted to do it herself.
Sarah proceeded to ignore the boy, who was sitting on the ground looking stunned, and casually asked the other leader what was for supper.
Josh introduced himself as a demigod son of Poseidon, in other words, Damien's half brother. Unlike him though, Josh had brown hair and icy green eyes. Allie acknowledged that she hadn't seen him fight yet, but she reasoned he must be good. He was one of the leaders of Neptune for a reason.
The next planet, Jupiter, was lead by Abigail and Jake. They both had blonde hair and had power over the element of air. Both Allie and Damien took one look at Abigail and walked away. They took a few minutes to compose themselves, then forced themselves to go back and look into the mirror image of Thalia's eyes.
They were both extremely bright and perky and Allie almost swore they were twins. Jake was practically a male version of Abigail. They seemed more like siblings though, and they fought all during the conversation.
Abigail seemed pretty nice. As one of the only people come from earth, she had already earned a lot of respect, despite being one of the newer recruits. She styled her dirty blonde hair in a bun, with some of the locks dyed blue, saying that it "changed with the weather".
Though Abigail made it clear she wasn't a demigod, she admitted that her mother was a daughter of Zeus. To prove the point, she managed to summon a few weak sparks of electricity, sighing and showing that it was pretty much useless.
In a mock spar, Allie noticed that she fought mostly with agility. It became quite clear that for Abigail, at least, speed was her main technique. She had easily disarmed Allie in a matter of seconds. All the time, Allie felt more and more eager to be introduced to her master and start her training.
Jake introduced himself as a mortal: born and raised on Jupiter. With sunny blonde hair and a warm smile, Allie immediately classified him as a heartbreaker. He grudgingly explained that when he was young, he was sent away to learn kajukenbo, an old fighting technique. He trained for seven years until he was eighteen, and then refused to go back to his family.
Allie didn't really know what to think of him. He seemed really lighthearted and mischievous, but at the same time, deadly.
The leaders of Vulcan, Freya and Michel were also equally welcoming. Freya had no shame in announcing that she was a daughter of Hephaestus. She seemed to be a carbon copy of Annabeth, strict, intellectual and fierce. However, she had hair the color of blood and gentle brown eyes.
She had smiled sadly, and walked away, saying that she'd rather Michel explain. He cast a angry look at the ground, saying that a few hundred years ago, it was common for Vulcan to bless his children as fire users. Freya had been the only one to escape before World War ll, in which most of the fire users were brutally slaughtered.
Allie had fallen silent, refusing to let her eyes stray to the deep scars on Freya's face. The girl had smiled in silent thanks and continued to read quietly.
Apparently, Lady Chaos had rescued Freya just before her death sentence. Michel finished, shuffling his feet awkwardly. After a few more minutes, Freya returned to the conversation, reading a different book. For the first time, Allie noticed the knife strapped on the inside of Michel's boot. She wondered if she had been blind enough to miss the rest of the hidden weapons on the rest of the leaders.
Sure enough, when she inspected Freya more closely, she saw little triangular knives disguised as earrings.
Nice, she thought, feeling impressed.
Michal seemed upbeat and impulsive; he told her that he was mortal and from the planet Neptune. Surprisingly, he didn't like water like the other children and preferred fire. Eventually, Lady Chaos asked him to transfer to Vulcan, and eventually, appointed him leader. He had jet black hair, and proved himself to be an expert at mechanics, finding every possible tool to use. Both of them seemed to be less social than the other leaders, but still greeted her with a warm welcome, and invited her to sit by the hearth.
The last planet, earth, had no leaders. It was ruled by the gods.
After a few frustrating hours, Allie had gotten the basics. After Lady Chaos had made her recite them a few times, and she was ready to faint from exhaustion.
Whichever planet you are born in, if you joined Lady Chaos's force, you were immediately were teleported to the homeroom where the leaders of the planet were. For five hardcore days, they trained you dry, and tested your abilities.
You were given a rank in the army, and a chance to move up, or down. Occasionally, Lady Chaos sent some of her army to other planets to help resolve conflict, but only times of great need.
Allie raised her eyebrow. "I still find it strange that you didn't consider Gaea waking up a "time of great need"," she said, completely deadpan.
"Well, you needed to prove yourselves," Said Lady Chaos shrugging. For the first time, Allie felt a pinprick of anger. Was my - our lives so worthless that it didn't matter if we had died?
She swallowed a surge of resentment.
That afternoon, Allie and Lady Chaos sat in a quiet booth in the corner of a sausage restaurant. Eventually, after sitting in awkward silence, Allie decided to ask her about the battle.
"Lady Chaos?" She began, but Lady Chaos interrupted.
"Please, just call me Chaos." Allie shrugged, but it felt wrong somehow. A mischievous smile made it's way up to her face.
"Okay Lady Chaos," she said agreeably.
The creator sighed. "Why…?"
Allie kept to the subject.
"What happened at the battle?" She asked. "I don't understand how I was able to… conjure black fire."
"It is an ability of mine that was passed on to you," Lady Chaos replied immediately. Her eyes burst into flame. "And that is only a few of the properties of the flame element."
"But you only gave me the powers a few days ago. The battle was over a year ago." Allie pointed out.
"That is where you are wrong," She retaliated. "I gave you a tiny portion of my power a month after you were born. The power was so small that your body only needed to adjust for a couple of hours. By the time Tristan McLean came back in the morning, you were completely fine.
I did the same to Percy, though it was hard. Percy has the sweetest mother: Sally Jackson. She was in love with her son and would check on him every couple of minutes. I was forced to give him the power in that short time, and when her mother came back she thought he was sleeping."
Allie smiled a little, feeling happy for her friend. "But why had I just discovered the power in the battle?" Lady Chaos snapped her fingers and a silver doorway appeared to her left. Allie gazed at it quizzically.
"Let's find out, no?" Lady Chaos invited her by gracefully offering her hand. Allie took it, and together they stepped into the fine mist. The world disappeared in an eclipse of light, and when the fog cleared, Allie was standing in quite a different background.
A single girl stood in the archery range, shooting bulls-eye, one after the other. She had a silver circlet braided into her long black hair, which was slung together in a ponytail. Her stance was precise, and she didn't have a hair out of place.
She was wearing black jeans similar to Allie's own, and also a black tank top. The girl redid her footing and drew back the quiver. With a chhk sound, the arrow flew and sliced apart the first one, hitting dead center on the target.
"Zoë!" Lady Chaos spoke with a voice of silk. The girl spun around, her arrow aimed at them. She dropped it as she recognized Lady Chaos.
"Commander Chaos," she said dipping her head respectfully. "What brings you here?" Lady Chaos just laughed.
"That is no way to speak to an old friend," she protested. "Why is it whenever I ask a person to simply call me by my name I get denied?"
The girl let out a tinkling laugh. "You are the creator of the universe. You've never gotten enough credit."
Lady Chaos smiled fondly at her. After a few seconds, she seemed to remember that Allie was also there.
"Ah… Zoë, this is Allie, who was until two years ago called Piper." The girl spun gracefully on her toes and turned to face her. Allie finally took in her appearance.
"Ziana?" She managed to stutter. "What?"
"This is Zoë Nightshade." Lady Chaos said gently. Allie looked at her in disbelief.
"No," she said confusedly. "That's Ziana. But shouldn't you be old? Or… older?"
She snorted, somehow managing to make it look regal. "I appreciate that, but I hope for your sake that it was sarcasm."
"She is my good friend," Lady Chaos added. "She helped me guard you from harm." Allie rubbed her head, wondering how she got mixed up in all of this.
"This is so confusing," Allie mumbled. "Not to be ungrateful, but you know I've almost died like fifteen times, right?"
Lady Chaos frowned at her. "Well, sometimes, that's the best she can do," she pointed out. "Without her, at this moment, you'd be dead."
Any more protests flew out of her mouth. Lady Chaos continued. "She also needed to protect Jason, because she knew if he died you'd be heartbroken, and therefore couldn't become her apprentice."
"Wait her apprentice? I'm her apprentice?" Allie rubbed her head some more. "How long has she been watching me?"
"Young people, acting like I'm not here," Ziana, Zoë, whoever she was, huffed.
Lady Chaos rolled her eyes, looking more modern than ever. "Don't be a spoilsport Zoë. And since you were two, Allie."
Her jaw dropped. "Since… I - two?" She managed to stammer.
Zoë looked amused. "Well, your grammar needs some work," she said, grinning.
Allie rolled her eyes, trying to force down her smile.
"You didn't think I'd leave you defenseless, did you?" Lady Chaos asked doubtfully, and Allie felt a surge of relief. "And did you really think that you were lucky enough to never encounter a monster until age 16?"
Allie shrugged. The idea sounded stupid now, even to her.
"Really though? Why did you attack me?" She asked eventually. Even if you did let me go, she thought.
Zoë frowned. "I am sorry for attacking you. I wanted to see how much you had improved." There was a glimmer of longing in her eyes. "I saw my sisters again, Commander."
Lady Chaos nodded. "I presume they was well, Zoë?"
She grinned, laughing heartily. "Ah, yes. I am also proud of Thalia, daughter of Zeus. Milady made the right choice."
Allie jolted, her heart suddenly hammering. She didn't want to know, but at the same time, she felt as if she would combust.
"Lady Chaos?" She asked uncertainly. "Where's Thalia? Is she still alive?"
Lady Chaos looked depressed. "Yes, she is," she said quietly. "But you should know… your friend, Pluto's daughter..." She didn't finish.
"Dead?" She said hoarsely.
"Dead." The creator confirmed. Allie couldn't let herself cry. Not here, she told herself. Later.
"Who else died?" Allie demanded fiercely, a passion in her voice that hadn't been there before. "Who else died?"
"Nobody!" Lady Chaos assured her. "Nobody you care about."
Thank the gods, she thought out of habit.
"And Annabeth?" Allie asked out of curiously.
"The same." Zoë's voice was tinged with fury. "She has brought dishonor upon her sisters. My sisters. Lady Artemis only grudgingly accepted her oath, under the pressure of Athena."
"So Thalia's definitely alive?" Allie confirmed, wondering if she was going crazy.
Zoë nodded, "Yes, that is what I just said. Why?"
She shrugged. "No reason," Allie said softly, imagining Annabeth's dead broken body splayed out on the ground. "No reason at all."
Zoë led her around after that. Allie expected Lady Chaos had more important things to do. She was sick of being a bother anyway. She and Zoë visited important monuments and covered discipline. Apparently what Lady Chaos taught her had just been the basics. She had cussed when she'd heard that.
After, Allie had studied the rules of the country over a couple of months. Privately tutored by Zoë, it steadily got harder and harder. When Zoë finally tested her, she managed to get 98%, which was higher than Allie was expecting. It was deemed a "pass".
Finally, training had begun. Instead of working all night on a chart, Allie was now forced to get up early in the morning. It was still five in the morning on her first day.
"Up!" Zoë had barked. "Up! Now!"
Allie had jolted from her sleep.
"Zoë… what's going on? Was having dream… with muffins." She yawned tiredly.
"Zoë? Who's Zoë? I am Master now." She had replied firmly. "We begin at dawn."
Allie sighed, "But it's not even dawn! The sun isn't even up! The muffins are floating away..."
Zoë rolled her eyes. "You want me as your Master? Get up in five. I'll see you in the kitchen."
Allie groaned into her pillow, but five minutes later she had gotten dressed and walked out the door.
"Good," Zoë admitted reluctantly. "Practical clothing."
Allie: 1 Zoë: 0
Allie smirked triumphantly, not realizing she was going to pay for it. In sweat. And a large amount of blood.
Allie: 1 Zoë: 999
"Put your back into it!" Zoë roared. "FIGHT!"
"I'm t-trying," Allie panted. "You're not letting me… rest."
"In a battle, do they let you rest?" Zoë snarled. "No! They kill you! This is mercy, Allie!"
"M-mercy?" She screamed back. "I feel fucking dead!"
"Well too bad," Zoë retorted with slightly less bite. She slashed Allie's thigh. "You want to be an apprentice? Prove to me you're not weak! Prove it!"
Allie shot her a furious look. She could barely think straight. She was sick with exhaustion and fatigue. This was almost worse than the battle.
"Yes," Zoë said, suddenly menacing. "Lady Chaos told me. She told me everything. About how you were too scared to do anything, how, you thought people were gonna stab you in the back," she mimicked her, taking on a high pitched ditzy voice. Allie felt a wave of betrayal.
Her eyes glowed. Later, Zoë would say pink. And then blue. Then green. Allie would remember it being beautiful, and Zoë would remember it as her worst nightmare.
She remembered Zoë looking a strange combination of proud and terrified.
Then Allie blacked out.
Allie: 1 Zoë: 1000
- Linebreak -
Allie reluctantly accepted Zoë's apology and began to refer to her as Master. After a while, she noticed that she and Damien began to see each other less and less. When Allie had asked Zoë why she couldn't train with him, she had simply replied, "Because you are not ready." Allie rarely got to see him after that.
All that she knew was that he was being trained as hard as her, but with a different coach.
Zoë became her personal trainer. She worked Allie incredibly hard. For the next two months Zoë was relentless. Allie lifted weights, jumped rope, ran miles, shot arrows, and even learned the more subtle tactics for defense and offence swordplay.
Allie grew more flexible and practiced a hunter's grace. She had survived in the woods for months by making her own shelter and identifying berries. She learned how to fall from one hundred meters above and land unharmed. She could dodge one twenty arrows fired at once.
But there was still a problem. Allie could never beat Zoë.
Master was firm, and always right. She had to push Allie to see how strong she could get, and at her absolute limit, Allie would be ready for real training. It took another six months before she passed.
In that time, Allie could shoot the bull's-eye continuously for days before she relented. She could double all of the records she had set. Allie could fight without sight, hearing or smell, and hit any target less than seventy meters away. She could throw knives with an unbeatable degree of accuracy and also learned to fight with a shield and sword.
She was trained control her elements too. Allie learned to deflect blows with water. She was trained to strangle people with the wind, sucking the air out of their lungs. Taught to lash out and disintegrate with fire. And directed to trap enemies in earth, frozen and preserved.
She could freeze water, heat it up, and create sharp jagged pieces of ice frozen supported by wind waiting for her command. Allie was trained to be a relentless warrior. She could create fire tornados, wind and water hurricanes, and prisons made singularly from debris. She was trained to be guardian.
Allie fought a legion of skeletons and singlehandedly transported them to hell. She could fly like Jason using the winds to support her, and could communicate in the basic levels with animals. Unfortunately, Allie hardly used any of that sort in her final test.
It had been six months since she arrived. It'd been two and a half years since she was Piper. It's been that long.
Allie stood defiantly in the arena, ready to pass her final challenge. Damien had passed it. It had taken him a while, but he had done it, only a few days ago even. Allie still had no idea what she was facing, but she had a pretty good idea.
Drakons? she wondered, her arms tensing up. Five, maybe. Six, with some luck. Seven… she winced.
Allie was wearing her regular outfit, all of her hidden blades protecting her like armor. It was extremely light and comfortable. She could move this way and that, with no strain or chinks that prevented her from using her entire agile body through the protection. She was heavily armed; Allie had twenty-one sheathed knives at her disposal, which included Katoptris. Millions of ice shards were pointed at the doorway.
Lady Chaos chose to be present for her final test.
She bit her lip, forcing herself to stop worrying. Concentrate, she chanted repeatedly. Concentrate...
The guard at the doorway shouted an order, and the gates shuddered and lifted, revealing her opponent. Allie had expected a huge monstrous being, so when she saw a lone figure standing in the dust she was stupefied. Allie dropped all her icicles and they broke as they hit the ground with a smash. The figure walked towards me confidently.
The person had a powerful walk and had a quiver and arrows strapped to her back. She had two sheathed swords strapped to her waist. She was covered in armor, covering her face so that she was unidentifiable. Allie couldn't hold back the nagging suspicion she was smiling under the mask.
Allie unsheathed ten knives, wielding them between her fingers like claws.
Lady Chaos started to speak, smiling. "You have one hour. The first to yield loses. Your fight begins…" She glanced at the clock. "Now."
Allie lunged at her opponent, but she dodged easily. The masked female swung three of her knives over her head to gain every possible speed of momentum. Allie closed her eyes and in a split second of choice thrust her hand at her.
Allie realized, that unintentionally she had made a mistake. You idiot! She thought to herself. Keep your eyes on her. Eyes on her.
Allie dragged her eyes away from the stands as a jagged knife skimmed her arm. In retaliation, Allie threw another three knives at her breastplate, stomach and helmet. All killing points.
The knives sailed uselessly under the fighter. Flipping, she found a ledge just inside the arena. She got her bow and dislodged it from her shoulder. Watching her every move, she drew her arrow and released the quiver. Before Allie had time to dodge, the arrow was embedded in her shoulder. She screamed in pain.
What… she thought. My training. What happened?
She kept low, staying on the tips of her toes. Snarling, Allie pulled the bloody arrow out of the wound and threw it to the ground. A huge flame whip fired to life in her hands, and Allie grinned at her- or where she had been. She was gone. Allie spun around aimlessly.
The fighter's head was cocked to the side.
"I don't do fire," she said calmly, before the whip was rendered useless in her hands, smoking. It fell to the floor.
"W-what?" Allie was shell-shocked. This had never happened before.
Concentrating, Allie shot a gust of wind from where she was standing, aiming to trip her up. She jumped up to a different ledge, before the previous one was dislodged. Allie growled in frustration, trying to think of how she could actually use her agility to trap her.
I'm no Einstein, Allie admitted quietly to herself. She conjured a shield of earth while she thought furiously. Nothing. Again. Allie shook her head tiredly. That just left straight out offence.
She summoned a ball of black fire in her hands, before throwing it directly at her opponent's face. The fighter deflected the blow. Allie, not for the first time that day, felt rage course through her body.
Why is she not facing me? She inwardly snarled. Why did she keep running away? Thirty spikes of solid ice formed in mid air, trapping her. They inched closer and closer.
Instead of bending down to yield as Allie had expected, she jumped up, escaping her prison and dodged them with the lithe skill of gymnast. Allie pelted her with fireballs, and she shot arrows from time to time.
She was a skilled archer, no doubt about that. Finally, Allie snapped. She had three arrows inside her body, and no more knives to throw (except Katoptris). Both her swords had melted from the heat and intensity of the fireballs, and she hardly had any energy left.
With the last of her strength, she let out a scream of defiance and a wall of water expanded, knocking her opponent off the ledge. Before she could get up, Allie ran over to her and held a large chip of ice at her throat. She froze.
"I yield." She spoke in a voice raspy from the smoke.
"I passed! I can't believe…" Allie trailed off. She stepped off her former opponent and offered her hand. The girl took it gratefully, and that's when she started to notice the little things.
Like, she was only a bit taller than Allie herself. From what she could see, the girl wore a simple black tank top and jeans. She had a plain black braid trailing from her head to her waist, and she stood with the air of confidence.
And so Allie was not shocked when she took off her helmet. She didn't know how she didn't realize it before. Allie had beaten Master.
"Oh my god." She screamed in amazement. She paused for a second. "I… I passed!"
"You did a nice job," Zoë smiled warmly, her helmet gone. "The performance was brilliant!" Her eyes shone with pride and her normally serious face was lit up with glee. She gave Allie a hug, ignoring the singed smell that resulted.
"You passed!" Zoë declared, looking at Lady Chaos for approval. "Commander Chaos, do you agree?" Lady Chaos gave a satisfied nod.
"Yes, Allie. I think you've passed your test- you're certainly qualified." Allie grinned up at her.
"What do I do now?" She asked.
"As a special treat, you and Damien should get together and, I don't know, play some football." Lady Chaos chuckled. "He'll want to know all about your fight."
A devious smirk came across her face.
"Can I dump him with water? While he's blinded by surprise I can ask a squid to get his clothes inked out, if you know what I mean." Allie raised an eyebrow what she hoped was in evil scientist look.
A voice made itself known, dripping with sarcasm.
"Sure Als, that would've been a wonderful prank if you hadn't just told me what it was. Now, I'm expecting it." Allie spun around. Immediately a large bucket of water poured down on her, and a squid (which came out of freaking nowhere) used its tentacles to keep itself attached to her head. Allie screamed in fury.
"Damien Jackson… you…." She spluttered before being doused once again. "You. Are. Dead."
Hollering with laughter, he ran away from her, with Allie hot on his trail. The squid fell off. She chased him for over an hour before they both collapsed in exhaustion. Hyperspeed was a lot more draining than she'd thought it would be.
Allie sent a weak fireball where the sun don't shine. It sapped her remaining strength but it was worth it to hear his cry of annoyance. It was fair to say she'd had her revenge.
In the evening, Damien, his bottom still sore, sat gingerly on the seat. Lady Chaos, trying to sustain a laugh looked at her imploringly.
Allie shrugged. "He deserved it."
"It was your plan!" Damien said indignantly
Allie just smirked. "You're right, it was. And you stole it from me. Which makes revenge technically legal."
He sighed, defeated, while Allie grinned triumphantly. Lady Chaos just looked confused.
"Wha…?" She started, then seemed to give it up.
The next day Allie woke up in her own time. She stretched and padded leisurely to the window. Glancing out of the crystal glass, she could see people bustling about and doing their daily business. Allie chuckled softly as she saw parents trying to teach their daughter to bike.
There was an old man tending to some flowers and a young lady selling a loaf of bread to a local. Allie looked at all this, and she couldn't help but think of herself as a tiny living thing, compared to the proportions of people out there.
She felt insignificant, but it wasn't necessarily a bad feeling.
Allie had always imagined everyone playing his or her role in the world. She'd thought of life as a puzzle. Everyone works together and joins to make something beautiful. Everyone has to take part, but if a piece was missing, the mystery is left unfinished.
Suddenly, the door separating her and Damien's rooms was flung open, jarring her back to reality.
"Als," He yelled. "It's ten o' clock! You were supposed to wake me up!" Damien had jeans and a half buttoned t-shirt on. He yanked it over his head and appeared to be looking for something. He grabbed a random shirt and started buttoning it up franticly. He found a belt and attempted to comb his hair with it.
Fail.
Damien gave Allie a look and she realized she hadn't moved.
"Earth to Allie." He waved a hand in front of her face and she blinked. "Lady Chaos. Late. Murder us. Yes?"
Realization dawned on her face, but she still felt confused. Allie looked quizzically at her alarm before registering it hadn't rung. The color drained from her face.
She cursed under her breath. Allie looked at him.
"Shoo. Go away. Bye." He ran away from her, slamming the door in a panicked hurry. Allie tossed open her closet and burrowed into it. She had to wear something Lady Chaos would like. Really like. Or Allie was metaphorically dead. She picked out a deep blue velvet dress, as it was Lady Chaos's favorite. It had soft blue lace adorned on the sleeves and neck.
Allie shed her warm pajamas, and slipped into her dress. She snatched a small necklace with a bright blue sapphire on it, and ran out the door. Allie skidded in the hallway, and then ran back in, realizing she had forgotten her hair. Her hair took another five minutes to comb. Allie styled it into a presentable bun, and then raced out the door. Again.
By the time she pushed open the doors to the dining hall, a thought had occurred to her. Allie refused to bring it to the surface, and spotted Lady Chaos and Damien sitting at the big table. Allie could feel her face burning as she walked over to join them, her dress suddenly feeling ridiculously formal.
Damien took one look at her and exploded, falling on the floor and laughing till' tears were leaking out of his eyes. He was wearing a plain white shirt, and a pair of jean shorts.
Oh right, that's what I forgot, Allie realized. It's training.
She sighed. The first day of training with the ruler of the universe and I already messed up.
"Als…" He said as he managed to stammer coherent word, still choked up with laughing.
He snorted, "You know we're training today, not going to a ball, yeah?" Allie's face burned as she stared at the ground.
"Sorry Lady Chaos. I forget." She shook her head dismissively.
"Oh I don't care about that. Your attire is something you should be proud off," Damien snickered, "though I do think you should change into some more comfortable clothes for your training session." She grinned at Allie, her eyes sparkling with humor.
"Wouldn't want to ruin that pretty dress, do you? It's my favorite you know." Allie rolled her eyes while cracking a smile. Master, no, Zoë, had reminded her about a billion times.
"What?" Allie said in a mock hurt tone. "You care more about the dress than me? How could you!" Allie put her hand to her heart like a true drama queen. "And to believe I thought you loved me!" She sighed, fanning her face, quite pleased with her own acting.
What can I say? She thought smugly. I get it from my dad. It's a family thing.
She put her head in her hands and then raised it to the heavens.
"Am I not pretty enough for you? Are you with another woman? I gave up my heart for you!" Lady Chaos rolled her eyes, chortling, but Damien seemed to take the question to heart.
"No." He replied too fast. Damien stuttered, and then hesitated. Then he looked confused. "I- I mean, yes. Isn't it yes?" He looked nauseous. "…Wait, uh, what…?"
Allie facepalmed even as her heart pounded. In situations like this it often decides to have a mind of it's own. Her heart always seemed to believe she's in a running race. Traitor.
Lady Chaos looked at Damien, smiling like the Cheshire cat. "Well, well, well. Damien Jackson." Allie rolled her eyes at her tone. Perhaps she was in her Hera mood.
"Did you or did you not just call Allie pretty." Her eyebrows was raised and her rosy pink lips were quirked into the tiniest of smirks. I take it back, Allie thought regretfully. I think she's in her love zone. (It's a thing. Don't question my logic.)
He looked around awkwardly, a faint pink rising to his cheeks. "Uh, no." Allie gave him a disbelieving snort. He pouted childishly, puffing out his cheeks like a blowfish and slouching as if on a time-out. "Ok, maybe a little. It was on instinct!" He defended, waving his hands in the air, before finally resting them in the universal peace sign.
"Excuse me if I don't want to be female roadkill," he mumbled, still bright red.
Aphrodite… ahem. Chaos, cooed. Allie did the natural thing that anyone would have done. She sighed. Looking up at Damien with her eyebrows raised, Allie realized the conversation had just increased in awkwardness. She grumbled to herself, ruffling her dress to at least save some dignity.
"Well then," She told them, mainly to keep the faint blush off her face. "I'll go change into my train wear." She walked calmly out of the room with the lacy hem from her dress trailing behind her. As soon as the doors were closed, she smacked herself as hard as she could.
Allie walked up her sixteenth flight of stairs. She had learned a long time ago that climbing up was ten times harder than running down. Especially in heels.
Ugh, guys get it all, don't they? She thought irritably.
Allie grinned as she remembered Damien's beet red face. She took her key from her pocket and thrust open the door. Immediately, Allie heard a cawing from above.
"Hey Flash." The phoenix greeted her by dipping his feathered head.
"How was your day?" Flash cocked his head to the side, thinking. He shrugged as if to say, 'I dunno'. Allie smiled and beckoned. He flew gracefully over to her and nudged affectionately. She sighed.
"Sorry Flash. I forget the peppermints again." He let out a mournful cry. Allie ruffled his feathers.
"You might not understand girl problems, Flashie." He cawed in disdain. He hated that nickname. "C'mon Flashie," she murmured jokingly. "You know you love me." He hesitated, then went off to perch on her shoulder.
"Good boy," she cooed. He nuzzled the side of her head.
Flash gave one last elegant cry and flew out her window. Allie reminded herself to buy peppermints from the store the next time she had a chance.
Feeling much more positive, Allie opened the closet doors, sifting through the clothes to see which ones would be right for training. She was finally satisfied with some comfortable leggings and a simple white tank top. She tied her hair back in a red bandana because she hated when her hair was all over her face.
Jeez, She thought when she looked in the mirror. I look like Clarisse. All I need is a spear and a shield, and I'm set. Allie sighed absentmindedly, locked the door behind her and headed off to the arena.
Allie blinked, shaking her head in sudden realization. Why am I even walking? She wondered. Allie waved her hand and was instantly covered in a thin layer of flame as if she was coated in gasoline. As if thinking about which button to press in a time machine, Allie made a mental picture of the arena, and closed her eyes.
"What the-" Damien managed to yell before she was dumped on top of him. Oops. Allie looked sheepishly down at him.
"It's ok Damien. I like your concern though. I'm fine, you cushioned my fall." She smiled brightly at him, and helped him up.
He grumbled and stretched, his back cracking. "You don't say."
Allie flipped her hair dramatically, like one of those fancy models on TV. "Actually, I do say." Dropping the attitude, she smiled genuinely.
"Eh, sorry. I haven't mastered teleportation yet." She smirked at Damien's disbelief.
"You can teleport?" Allie nodded proudly. He looked at Lady Chaos and she shrugged, not seeming to care too much.
"Destiny's just faster at learning. She's on lesson 102 already." Allie grinned, knowing full well that Damien was only at level 96 of training. Mentally, she had a huge grin on. Damien could probably tell.
Hell yeah, munchkin, she sent the message over to him.
He looked like he was going to have a seizure. His left eye twitched continuously and Allie couldn't help but burst out laughing. He looked surprised, and took a step back.
"What's so funny?" He looked around a little warily. "Is there something on my face? Or did you attach a squid on my head?" Allie snorted and mimicked him.
He looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "It's the squid, isn't it?"
Nope, she thought cheerfully. Your eye twitched like a fly's! She paused for a second. You know, if flies had eyelids.
Allie admitted, she may have overplayed the eye twitch a little, but his reaction was hilarious. He spluttered. He blushed profusely. He was absolutely speechless.
Lady Chaos laughed along with her and Damien when he had finally recovered.
"Fine, maybe my eye twitched a little." Damien muttered. Allie mimicked his eye twitch. Yup, she thought. A little. Damien socked her in the arm.
She grunted at the impact.
I mean, she thought, I know he's only on level 96, but… ow. Damien could sure pack a punch. She couldn't help but feel a smidge of pride. That however, was easily covered up by the pain. Allie rubbed her arm gently, tracing small circles around the blossoming red skin. A blush bloomed on Damien's cheeks and he looked horrified.
Sorry Pipes, he winced. I didn't know it would hurt like that. Allie frowned. I'm not Pipes, she tried to say back. I'm not even Piper… The words wouldn't come. My name's Allie now. Somehow, she didn't believe it.