Disclaimer: Disney owns Sky High.
I've realised that my chapters were slowly gaining length and it's actually kinda exhausting. Sorry. The next few chapters were actually one moerse long chapter. (that funny word- it just means very)
Escape
Warren doused himself.
Acting like a human candle was exhausting and humiliating, especially for Warren. As he let his flames die, he saw something peculiar from the side of his eye.
He saw a reflection of himself on his sister's cheek.
He caught himself staring at her face in the darkness, mouth half open.
"What?" came her voice.
"Nothing."
A faint blue light came from the end of the passage. Innogen stepped towards it, Warren following out of habit. He detested latching onto her, but in situations like these he had no choice.
Eamon was frowning at the blue stone in his hand, obviously annoyed.
"Why do you have power cuts?" Warren finally asked.
"People don't know about us," Rhys explained after some silence, "and sometimes we just get cut off because someone stumbles on a lead into nowhere. Father gets very angry."
Warren also hated looking like some curious fool. He bit his lip and didn't ask about the glowing stone.
Innogen watched the blue light on her brother's face and decided to quell his burning questions. Owan is enjoying himself way too much, she thought as she saw the malicious glee in the little boy's face.
"It's menagleacite," she explained. "It radiates energy whenever heat approaches it."
Warren's eyebrows twisted.
"Why isn't it used commercially?"
Eamon snorted.
"It has the same effects as dry-ice. It burns right through anything except, well-" Eamon paused, suddenly awkward, "cryokinetics."
"It's found below 3000 meters in the arctic circle," Rhys explained. "Man can't go that deep. Yet."
"Then how…" Warren's voice trailed away, and he suddenly realized that their knowledge of the strange rock had run out. He received four blank stares.
They stood in the dark passage for a few minutes.
Lachlan happened onto them, scolded them for standing in the middle of the passage like they had nothing to do. He paused.
"Well, you actually have nothing to do," he sneered. "Lucky you. Go to your rooms."
The small crowd dispersed. Warren trailed after Innogen.
"Are you serious?" he started. "This place stops functioning when the lights go off?"
"Yeah," she shrugged and paused on the threshold to her room. "We go to bed."
-
Warren sat frowning on the edge of his bed.
19:30. Way too early to go to sleep.
He eyed the history textbooks on the table with apathy.
Sleep it is.
He rolled onto his bed, stared at the ceiling.
He found his mind wandering back to Sky High. Am I really missing it? I always thought that I just needed to get through it and after that, I'll be made. Guess I was wrong.
Then again, I didn't know I had a family. What do they actually want from me? They can't really think that I'd agree on an arranged marriage. It must be something else.
His mind trailed again. He thought of Will, Layla, the Strongholds. Zack and Magenta. Nowadays they're inseparable. Poor Ethan.
Finally, sleep crept into Warren's mind and his thoughts turned into dreams.
-
Warren opened his eyes.
Strange dreams.Very weird.
Mrs. Stronghold voice telling him not to fall asleep in the sun, Will whining that Warren had melted the ice cream again. Mr. Stronghold throwing Magenta in the pool, Zack egging him on and ending up in there as well. Layla explaining to Ethan exactly why she refuses to get her driver's license and Ethan disagreeing and pointing out the positive points of automobiles on the advancement of technology.
Very weird.
He sat up, wondered what had woken him.
03:47. Ugh, too early.
He tried to force himself back to sleep but something was nagging at the back of his mind. Finally he rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
As he stepped back into the passage, he paused. He had definitely heard something.
It was too faint to discern, but some sort of music was coming from the room at the other end of the passage, away from the centre. Warren decided to investigate and quietly neared the door. He placed his head against the wood, listened.
Violin?
The music stopped, Warren ceased to breathe for fear of making a sound.
Somebody was listening to a Bach violin solo. The melody started again.
Warren's curiosity increased as the string suddenly twanged and an exasperated sigh could be perceived through the wooden door.
Someone's playing violin.
Warren quietly turned the doorknob. His interest had overshadowed his dread of being caught. Hopefully whoever's attaching a new string in facing away from the door.
Eamon didn't hear the door open or the sharp intake of breath. He was engrossed in fixing his new string. He tightened the knob, plucked the string, and cocked his head as he analyzed the sound. Flat.
When he was satisfied with the string, he raised the bow, ready to start again. His eye caught something.
Eamon whirled around.
"What are you doing here?"
Warren paused.
"Staring at you."
Eamon scowled. No one has ever-
"If you tell anyone, I'll freeze your fucking lungs."
Warren snorted, then frowned.
"Why're you playing violin in the middle of the night? Daddy disapprove?" he teased. Faint color crept onto Eamon's face. Then all the nastiness, all the anger left his face. Warren paused, uncertain what to do. Suddenly he saw some of Rhys in Eamon.
"Lachlan thinks it's gay. My father agrees," he admitted, laid down the violin and the bow.
"How about your mother?"
"She doesn't mind," Eamon shrugged, folded his arms and leant against a table. "But Father forbid me. Burnt my first violin."
"He burnt it? Doesn't he know that violins are handmade and fucking expensive?" Warren protested. Eamon sent him a shrewd look.
"How come you know so much about violin?"
It was Warren's turn to blush.
"My mother… played. Long ago."
Eamon stared blankly at Warren, no compassion wasted. He contemplated something, and then decided the guy deserved to know.
"You have no idea why you're here, do you?"
Warren's interest perked.
"I have an inkling, but I suspect there's more."
Suddenly the door flew open and Innogen stepped in, closing the door firmly behind her.
"Don't you dare, Eamon."
The coldness returned to Eamon's face instantly. His lips curved in a malicious grimace as he turned to Warren again.
"My father-"
"Eamon!"
Eamon ignored Innogen's objections completely, carried on uninterrupted.
"-thinks that you might carry some special genes. Not many people in the Battle family have it. Your father-"
Innogen finally silenced Eamon by stuffing her appendix down his throat. He choked, sputtered and gave Innogen enough time to turn on Warren.
"Don't listen to him, he's lying," she hissed through her teeth, the skin around her mouth white with rage. "He's just trying-"
She paused. Warren waited for her to continue. She didn't.
Eamon spat Innogen's organ out of his mouth, a disgusted look on his face. Warren gently melted Innogen as Eamon made some more gagging noises. Obviously, raw appendix didn't taste very good.
"-to spite you. Eamon, you prick! Owan's more mature!"
"Shut up, Glassbitch. You taste disgusting!"
"If you'd keep you bloody mouth shut-"
"Warren deserves to know!"
"Please, that's the lamest card ever! There's nothing to tell-"
"SHUT UP."
They paused, stared at Warren.
"Fuck off, Warren," they chorused and continued to tirade at each other. Warren shrugged, headed to the door.
"Warren NO!"
"What?!" he snapped, his tolerance levels fluctuating, as he turned back.
"Keep the door closed."
"What? Why?"
"The room's soundproof."
"Oh." Warren scowled. Duh. One place where they can hurl insults at each other and not get shat on.
"Are you done?"
Innogen regarded Eamon, who was flashing his eyes at her.
"I think so."
"What are you trying to hide? I'll just find out anyway. Rhys actually is more stupid than he looks."
Somewhere there was a strange rumble from the belly of the mountain. Warren frowned at the ceiling. The last thing he needed right now was to get caved in.
"What was that?" Innogen whispered.
"It sounded like dynamite or something," Eamon added, a concerned tone in his voice.
"Who actually knows about this place?" Warren asked.
"Only family." Innogen shook her head as if she was removing some unwanted thoughts. "Do you think we're being attacked?"
"Well, either that or someone's trying to get in."
"I wonder if it woke someone else."
"No, it came from the other side. The unused part of the fort. No one would have heard if they weren't awake already."
There was an awkward silence between the three.
"Well?" Warren encouraged. "Let's go see."
"I'm going to wake my parents," Eamon said, his eyes wide.
"No. We can sort this out on our own," Innogen said and grabbed his arm. Eamon pulled away, tried to hide the feeling of apprehension.
"Okay," Eamon finally agreed. The trepidation increased slightly as he realized that he was alone with people he couldn't gauge. But it would look chicken if I refuse.
They crept through the dark passages to the deserted wing of the fortress. Not another sound was heard and it seemed like they had imagined the reverberation.
Eamon peeked around a corner. Innogen was breathing in his neck, trying to crane her head to see around him.
"Nothing," he reported and stepped down the rough tunnel.
"It seems like it," Warren grumbled from the back.
"We all heard something." Innogen took the lead, slipped soundlessly to the next door. Still no sign of any intrusion.
They covered almost half of the wing with no luck, when suddenly Warren pulled Eamon back around a corner by the scruff of his neck. He pressed a finger to his lips. Innogen strained her ears for a sound.
Nearby, voices were heard through a closed wooden door. Innogen inched forward and peered through the key hole. Warren and Eamon stood by waiting. When she finally turned her face to them, her expression was one of amusement and disappointment. It was a strange combination.
Eamon shoved at her and took his turn. He swore under his breath and turned away, disgusted.
"What?" Warren questioned as Eamon stomped back down the passage. Innogen gave him a wry grin and gestured to the door. Warren squinted through the hole.
He nearly fell over backwards with surprise. He wrenched at the door, realizing it was locked after rattling the knob. Finally, he vented his frustration. Flames burst at his hands and the door was reduced to ashes in mere seconds.
Magenta and Ethan spun around at the sudden whoosh of fire engulfing the door. Both thought the same thought at the same time: Rhys. They shifted and scattered.
Warren stepped into the circular room to frantic calls.
"Up, Layla, UP!" Zack cried and writhed in the lattice of vines that kept him suspended in mid-air. Then he saw Warren and slumped back with relief.
"Some heroes you are!" Zack accused Magenta and Ethan who sheepily unshifted and stood closer. Innogen entered the room quietly and stood near the door, ready to flee.
"We have a bit of a problem," Ethan explained. Warren smirked. That's an understatement.
Zack was still dispatching suggestions and tips to Layla. The vines rose and fell.
"She's stuck," Magenta finally stated.
"I noticed," Warren commented drily.
"Hey," Ethan started. "Can you-"
"With pleasure." Warren stepped closer, powering up and producing just enough heat for the vines to get uncomfortable and retreat. Zack fell to the floor ungracefully.
"Thanks, dude," he said as he stumbled to his feet and clapped Warren on the shoulder. Warren raised his eyebrows at the hand. Zack quickly removed it.
"Warren?" a soft, echoing call came from above, panic evident in the voice. "Is that you?"
"Yeah," Warren called back. "Where's Will?"
"He's trying to get in from the front, I'm blocking the way." Layla struggled.
"How did you get so tangled up?" Warren asked, an amused tinge in his voice.
"I had to get this all the way in here, okay? It kinda went out of control." Annoyance ebbed into her tone as she struggled some more. A vine snapped and she called out as she fell half a meter.
"Stop struggling, I'll get you out."
Warren powered up. His friends stood back away from the heat. The vines recoiled and inched back into the hole. Gee, did she form some kind of plant-club and hit a hole in the roof?
Layla finally gained control over the rogue vine and sailed down, landing gracefully on her feet.
"Thanks."
"What do you think you're doing?" Warren snapped, all the cold and indifference back in his attitude.
Layla was taken aback.
"We're… rescuing you."
"Rescuing? Rescuing? Do you honestly think I need rescuing?"
"Well, you're kinda trapped in some sort of cave-thing and we had no idea what these people were doing to you!" Layla recovered quickly, retorting right back at him.
"If I wanted to get out of here, I could have done it myself!"
"Warren."
"What?" Warren whirled around to his sister, who raised her brow at his tone.
"If you're gonna leave, you'd better do it quickly. Eamon didn't go back to bed, he went to raise the alarm."
"Shit. Get." Warren jabbed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the hole as Will descended through it.
"Warren! You're okay!"
Warren barely acknowledged the obviously affectionate remark.
"Don't even bother landing, you're leaving. Get your ass back into that hole!"
Will's face fell.
"Why?"
"We're busted," Magenta explained. "We need to get out of here."
"Hey, Layla, swing us a rope down here," Zack suggested. Ethan gave Warren an anxious look.
"Are you at least comfortable?"
"Yeah," Warren explained as Layla hastily spun another web of vines. "…considering."
"Considering what?" Will asked. His friends disappeared through the hole.
"Strenuous training, excessive studying and strange situations," Innogen explained, then added through gritted teeth: "Leave now."
"Wha – wait," Will questioned, baffled. "You're not coming?"
Warren faltered. Innogen watched him.
"Blast me," she said.
"What?" Warren increduled.
"Hurry up, burn me!" She stepped back, spread her arms. He saw, but still hesitated.
"Get on with it already!" she whispered. Warren heard nearing footsteps. He sent a gentle volley towards her. She nearly freaked out.
"Fuckit, Warren, char me!"
Finally, Innogen blasted by an almost unbearable gust of heat, Warren turned to Will.
"Leg up?"
"Sure."