A/N: Aqua, Zoey/Lonesome, Redemptionheart, Illyana and her mercenaries all belong to EternalDragonsTear/Aqua Bear/Lonesomeheart/Shimmeringstar, as do many of the plot points which are taken from his story "The Very Beginning" and used with his permission.
Chapter 11: From Prison to Oasis
Many years ago, in Alaska, two unusual bear cubs were born, or perhaps they became unusual after they were born, the distinction isn't important. They were a blue bear named Aqua and a pink bear named Zoey. One day, after getting lost, Zoey came across Aqua Bear and he helped her find her way back to her parents. Finding another like herself brought Zoey no end of joy and they quickly became friends.
Unfortunately, there were those that sought out their kind. Not for death, not for salvation, but for money.
Near the base of the plateau where the bears lived, two men were watching them through binoculars: A tall skinny man with black teeth named Vinny and a shorter fat man named Big Joe.
Vinny adjusted the binoculars as he watched the pink and blue cubs playing together. "Hot damn, you are not gonna believe this! Joe, take a look," Vinny passed the binoculars to Big Joe, who was in the midst of shoving a chili dog into his mouth.
"Mmm, what?" Big Joe gulped down the last of his food as he put the binoculars to his eyes. "Whoa mamma! They've gotta be worth three times our usual fee." He fumbled for his cell phone then handed the binoculars back to Vinny as he dialed the number.
Thousands of kilometers away, in a dimly lit office, a phone buzzed.
"Miss Illyana, you have another call on line three."
"Put it through." Illyana tapped her lit cigarette into the fish tank next to her chair.
"Hey boss, urp excuse me, we found a couple of rare beasties to add to your collection," Joe belched off to the side before he continued, "We'll have to delay the shipment a day to get them though."
Illyana thought for a moment before she replied, "Very well, but don't disappoint me. The deadline is one week from today. If the shipment isn't in port by then then you and Vinny will be dead men." She dropped the call and sat back in annoyance.
Joe closed the phone and turned to Vinny, "Alright, we gotta get the mercs and get this done fast."
"I heard," despite the cold Vinny was sweating as they turned to head back to their ship.
The next day, Vinny and Joe had boarded their cargo ship which was floating up the Alaskan coast with half a dozen mercenaries on the deck, all of whom were wearing white body armor, orange tinted ski goggles and scarves; they were armed with custom assault rifles and dart guns and a net apiece.
Vinny was scanning the plateau again as he spotted the two cubs playing, "Alright there they are," he pointed up.
The mercenaries' leader squinted through his goggles, then removed them for a moment, squinting against the bright sunlight, "you mean that blue and pink speck up there?"
"Yes, that's them," Vinny passed him the binoculars.
The mercenary leader turned the binoculars to the side, "Looks like their parents are with them."
"Doesn't matter, just get the cubs alive," Joe crammed a burger into his mouth and chewed noisily. "Kill the parents."
The nearest mercenary gave a disgusted glare from behind his scarf and goggles then turned his leader, who had just snapped his goggles back into place. "Alright, people, this is a quick grab operation. Don't mess this up or we'll miss Illyana's deadline." They all tensed at the mention of their employer's name then disembarked and began to ascend towards the plateau.
"Gotcha!" Zoey dove on top of Aqua as he scrambled to stand up and managed to pin him to the snow.
"Ahh! I give! I give!" Aqua squirmed under Zoey's grip.
"Not yet you don't!" Zoey tickled Aqua under his arms which made him start giggling.
"Heeheeeheehee, I give! Heeheeheehee Stop!" Aqua squirmed under Zoey's strength as she sat on his belly.
"Alright," Zoey stopped and leaned over, her rather long hair cascading forwards around her face. "I love you." She whispered.
Aqua blushed as he stared up at her, "I love you too." They kissed.
Their moment was interrupted by a roar from where their parents were. Zoey jumped up and saw white shapes moving near their parents. "MOM! DAD!" She shouted and tore off towards their parents. A moment later, Aqua was on his feet and running after her.
The mercenaries were smart and efficient, as soon as they had a bead on the four fully grown polar bears they began firing bursts of bullets into them. Their thick hides and muscles took the first few barrages as they charged and roared at the armored men. Eventually it proved too much and the bears slumped down as their blood stained the snow. Zoey's mother kept pushing forwards until she finally slumped down.
One of the mercs stepped forwards and checked the bodies. "Hey, one of the boars is still alive."
The leader was scanning the plateau, "Then finish him off, don't take any chances." His subordinate nodded and fired several rounds into the bear's skull.
"MOM! DAD!" The mercs all turned to see the pink bear running closer and closer.
"Darts only, we need them alive!" The merc leader flipped the safety on his assault rifle and slung it back before quick drawing the loaded dart pistol. As soon as he had a line up, he fired on Zoey.
Zoey was too distracted by tears of hot rage and sorrow to notice the shot as the tranquilizer dart stuck in her left shoulder but her adrenaline kept her going. She jumped on the mercenary leader, her unexpected strength knocking him to the ground.
"Get her off me!" The leader shouted. Zoey tried to bite through his armor but only hurt her teeth as she did so.
"Zoey! Mom! Dad!" Aqua came running up only to be shot in the leg by another dart from another merc. He fell down, holding his leg as he tried to pull the dart out.
Two of the mercs finally pulled Zoey off their leader and dumped her in a net where she continued to thrash around until the tranquilizer finally took effect and she slumped down motionless in the net. Aqua was quickly bundled unto the net by two others before he could retaliate, especially when he saw the bodies of his parents and went into shock, the tranquilizer putting him under as they were hauled down to the ship.
Vinny and Big Joe watched as the company of mercs returned to the ship, the pink and blue cubs in nets with them.
"Yeesh they're small," Big Joe stared at the nets then sucked down a drink from a bottle.
"Stick them in the hold," Vinny pointed down to the cargo bay, "We have to get moving now or Illyana will have our heads."
"Maybe yours," the mercenary leader muttered behind his scarf as he led the two men carrying the cubs down to the hold. The hold was packed with large boxes and cages. Most containing live animals, some of which had been sedated and all of which were quiet as the armed men passed through with their new prizes.
"Why do they get to call the shots?" One of the mercenaries asked as the leader directed them to two cages by a porthole.
"Because they need to captain the ship, they look stupid and innocent enough and they can drive the ship without us getting stopped." He watched as his men dumped the bears into caged, Aqua on top and Zoey in one below him, "And if they get caught we can sneak off and let them take the fall. We're all expendable but those two are more expendable than us."
Cages locked, the mercenaries retired to their room, hidden below the cargo hold, as the ship pulled out to sea.
OoOoO
The moonlight through the open porthole and the sounds of the ocean woke Aqua from his tranquilized slumber. He mumbled, "Mom, dad?" then he looked down, "Zoey!" He rattled the cage.
"Huh what?" Zoey shook her head and tried to stand up, only to bang her head on the top of the cage "Ow!" She sat down hard and rubbed the top of her head. "Where are we?"
Aqua looked around, "In cages, on a ship."
Zoey glared at the side of her cage, "I'll get us out." She slammed her shoulder against the cage door, but only succeeded in moving the cage a couple centimeters across the floor. That didn't stop her and Zoey kept ramming the cage door, rattling it but failing to open it. Aqua hung on to the bars of his cage until Zoey had pushed the cages up against a stack of crates in front of them. "Grrr! Open!" She smashed the door one more time then sat down.
Tears sprang to the pink bear's eyes, "Mom… dad…" she started to bawl.
"Zoey…" Aqua teared up as well and tried to reach down to her, his arms fitting in between the cage bars.
Zoey looked up at him and grabbed his hand through the bars. "Aqua, what are we gonna do?"
Aqua rubbed his eyes, "I don't know." Zoey let go of his hand and resumed crying into her palms. Aqua turned to look out the porthole, Zoey's ramming had pushed his cage right up next to it.
Aqua stared out the porthole up at the nearly full moon, then he heard splashes and a strange whining and clicking noise from the waved below. Aqua looked down and, by the light of the moon, saw a pod of dolphins swimming and jumping alongside the ship. Aqua stared at them as they drew closer to the ship and reached out towards them, "I want to be free like you."
As if in response to him, one of the dolphins leapt up high enough to brush its back along Aqua's hand. "Can you hear me?" he strained to look down next to the ship even with the cage in his way as a dolphin jumped up level with the porthole. Time seemed to freeze as Aqua watched the marine mammal seemed to lock its eye with him, then splashed down again.
Aqua pulled himself closer and shouted, "Please! Help us please!" He rattled his cage bars. The pod of dolphins drew closer as Aqua reached out again, two more dolphins brushing his hand as he heard a voice.
"Call us when you are near the sea again." Then the pod began to swim off.
Zoey had cried herself back to sleep so Aqua pulled himself back inside his cage and did his best to lay down on the bars and sleep.
The rest of the week passed in a blur. Every day Big Joe would come down and give them some food and water and every time Zoey would try to get at him, or at least at his own food he brought with him without success. Aqua watched for the dolphins every night, and the showed up twice one, two days later and two more days after that, each time leaving him the message: "Call us when you are near the sea again."
The day after the last visit from the dolphins, Aqua and Zoey were sedated again and tarps were thrown over their cages. Aqua managed to resist long enough to feel them dropped in a truck, along with most of the other contents of the ship, before he passed out again.
While laborers unloaded the more mundane cargo, Vinny and Big Joe carried their prizes up to Illyana's penthouse office.
The two mercenary guards at her office, wearing black armor, glared from behind their bulletproof faceplates, "What business do you have here?"
Big Joe was nervous, wishing he had something to eat to calm his nerves, but Vinny just held up his cage, "We have two exotic animals for the boss."
The merc looked at the cages, then turned and buzzed the office.
"What is it?" a shrill, high-pitched voice came through the speaker.
"The idiots brought their special prizes for your approval."
"Hey, we're not idiots!" Big Joe shouted.
The merc ignored him, and had let go of the talk button, as he waited for the answer. "Send them in, but they'd better not be wasting my time."
"Alright, you're clear," the mercs turned back to face them as the doors buzzed open.
Illyana sat at her desk in the dimly lit room as the fat and skinny pair walked up to her desk. She held up a hand as they approached the front of her giant desk and stubbed out her cigarette in the glass ashtray on her desk, "This better be worth my time."
"Oh trust me, it is," Vinny put Aqua's cage on the desk and Big Joe did likewise.
"Be careful, you idiots! I just bought this desk," Illyana shouted, "Even with this lucrative operation I can't just drop a fortune a new desk every week." She squinted at the two cage occupants then pressed a button on the desk that turned up the light.
Aqua and Zoey squinted for a moment against the sudden bright light then found themselves face-to-face with Illyana. She was a woman in her mid-thirties wearing an expensive white mink fur coat over a black business suit with a long cigarette in her mouth that she was in the middle of lighting. She was thin, practically bony, with a narrow head with an inordinate number of wrinkles and almost yellowish skin due to her smoking habit, that she did her best to cover up with as much black mascara, red lipstick and white powder as she could. She hunched over the desk and examined the two colorful bears.
Aqua shrank away from Illyana, the woman's ghastly appearance making her look like some skeletal demon. Zoey wasn't to be cowed and immediately grabbed the bars of her cage and shouted, "Let us out of here you monster!"
"So you can talk," Illyana gave a rare smile.
"Alright, they can talk, that means a bigger payday," Big Joe blurted out.
Illyana sat back and gave a contemptuous stare to the pair. "No, you just found that out now, and these two aren't even unique. Be grateful that they are rare enough to merit a small bonus, double your usual fee but just for these two and nothing else."
"What?!" Vinny smacked the desk with his hand, "We risked being late to get these two rare beasties to you."
"Let us go!" Zoey demanded.
"I wanna go home!" Aqua was starting to cry.
"Shut up!" Vinnie snapped at the two cubs, "We got them on time and we've never had a score like this, you said triple for any rare beasties so-" He didn't get any farther as Illyana pushed a button on her desk and Vinny vanished down a trapdoor that opened under his feet. A moment later there was a splash of water followed by screams of agony and the snapping of teeth as the door closed.
"Now then, Joe, I don't believe you share your partner's sentiment and you'll take just the smaller bonus I offered?" Illyana's eyes oozed menace, her hand over the controls. Big Joe just nodded, too scared to speak. "Good, then leave and get back to work. I'll get you a new partner tomorrow so use that bonus to go buy some jerky or whatever you consider a treat. Go."
Big Joe didn't need a second warning and he turned and waddled out as fast as he could. Illyana averted her eyes from the disgusting spectacle until he was gone, then turned back to the cages on her desk, "Now then, I know just where to put you."
Even Zoey was stunned into silence at the sudden execution of Vinny as Illyana pushed the intercom. "Send two men up here to escort my new acquisitions down to the exhibit. I want them with the other two 'special' cubs for our next visitors."
A moment later, two mercenaries entered her office and carried the caged cubs to an elevator. Zoey and Aqua didn't speak until they were dumped into another large cage with a solid floor. The arms that carried them reached in and fastened metal cuffs around their ankles which then attached to the cage walls. Zoey recovered enough to try and bite at the hands but only encountered armored gloves before the cuffs were attached and she was shaken loose.
Aqua was the first on his feet and he tried to lumber over to Zoey, but the chains pulled tight. "Zoey, what are we gonna do?" he tried to pull closer to no avail.
Zoey stood up and tried to reach him, but stopped too far away, "I don't know, but I'm going to get us out of here." They both reached again but fell forwards, their hands inches apart even at maximum extension.
"I don't think you can… I couldn't."
The meek voice drew their attention to two more bears in the cage with them, each also chained to the wall too far to reach. The one who had spoken was colored dark red with a white tummy and long hair (not as long as Zoey's) and green eyes and an even darker red eight-pointed star pattern in the fur in the middle of her forehead. The other one had an odd mix of fur colors: she was mostly grey all over except for a tuft of hair on her head, tail, her hands back to the wrists and feet up just past the ankles which were ultra violet; her muzzle, which was white and her heart-shaped nose-tip, the inside of her ears and her tummy which were hot pink, topped off by her ultra-violet eyes.
"Where are we?" Zoey pushed herself back until she could sit down with the chains still holding her to the wall.
"It's a zoo," the oddly colored bear said. Her voice was stronger, but any command it might have had seemed to have been muffled by imprisonment. "My name's Redemptionheart bear and she's Lily. Who are you?"
"I'm Aqua." Aqua also crawled backwards but didn't try to sit up.
"Call me Zoey." Zoey looked around, "What's a zoo."
"A place where people come to stare at you, and you only get to eat when no one's around," Lily stared down at the floor. She was sitting on her knees with the legs spread out from underneath her. "Are you thirsty?" Zoey and Aqua only just then realized how little they had been given on the ride over, both nodded.
Lily looked around, checking for guards, then pulled a small tin bowl out from behind her. They watched in astonishment as Lily held her hands over the bowl and a small stream of water poured from between them, filling the bowl after only a few seconds, then pushed it gently towards them, the bowl gliding much farther and at a steadier than it should have with her push. Aqua just stared as it stopped in front of him, then bent down to drink.
"How did you do that?" Zoey almost shouted, but something told her to keep her voice down.
Once Aqua stopped drinking, Lily made a small motion with her hand and the bowl slid over to Zoey. "It's magic, not very strong but it helps." She gave a weak smile as Zoey began to drink. "I have to be careful, if they saw me using it…" her voice trailed off.
"Thank you," Zoey finished off the water then pushed the bowl back to Lily, who caught it and stowed it behind her.
"What's the smell?" Aqua sniffed, only just now noticing the bad smell in the cage.
"We don't have a bathroom," Redemptionheart shuddered.
"What's a bathroom?" Aqua asked.
"Let's just say… your food and drink stays with you until they clean up in the morning. Don't want the guests to see our waste." Lily lay down.
"Try to get some sleep, if we're asleep when the guests show up we don't get any food," Redemption lay down. Tired from their trip and with nothing else to do for the moment, Aqua and Zoey lay down, both wishing they could sleep next to each other.
"Alright, showcases, rise and shine!" the loud voice of a mercenary was accompanied by him rattling a metal pipe along the bars of the cages he passed. Zoey, Aqua, Redemption and Lily were roused by the loud banging and at up, trying to clear their vision. The mercenary stopped by their cage and stared down at Zoey and Aqua, as Zoey glared hatred at him, "OK, I'm told you can talk so listen up. Sit up and act cute for the visitors and you might get some real meat tonight, or at least some real leftovers." He snickered and left.
"I wanna tear his head off," Zoey growled.
"Don't do that!" Lily's voice became almost shrill with panic, "Just do what he says and we'll be fed."
"Why don't you escape? You have magic can't you break out?" Zoey asked.
"Shhh!" Redemption tensed for a moment, then relaxed when no one heard, "Don't let anyone know. The people are coming soon so just face that way," she pointed to the cage wall opposite from where Zoey and Aqua had been deposited inside the cage, "And look cute, not mad. We can talk after they feed us."
Zoey huffed, then turned to Aqua. "I think we should, just for now."
Zoey sighed, "OK, but if I get the chance," she swiped the air with her hand.
It wasn't too long before a tour guide came through, leading a group who clearly paid a hefty sum into the basement zoo.
"I think you'll find this a treat," the guide said. "We found these strange bears abandoned in the wilderness. Not all together but they are some of the most unusual creatures we have ever seen." He gave a fake grin, "We think they may be intelligent but so far they still act like animals."
Zoey was fuming as the guide spoke his condescending words and let out a growl right as the group moved on. She wanted to shout, to scream and rage at the people ogling her, but looking at her three cell mates gave her just enough self-control to keep her mouth shut.
It didn't get any easier to remain calm throughout the day. Some of the tours had little kids with them who would bang on the cage or rattle the bars, even try to grab at them through the gaps in the bars, only for their parents to pull them back and warn them that the bears might be dangerous. There was only a brief break in the middle of the day where there were no tours took place over lunch, then they started right up again.
It was near the end of the day when Zoey finally snapped as a kid pressed his face into the cage wall and made goofy faces at her. "Stop staring at me!"
Her shout made the tour group jump but the guide ushered them away before any questions could be asked. He glared at Zoey who was still seething, "You'll pay for that," he muttered.
Zoey slumped down, "Sorry, I just couldn't take it anymore."
"I did the same thing my first day," Redemption said.
"No food tonight then," Lily slumped down.
Zoey instantly felt guilt overwhelm her and she drooped, "Sorry…"
"It's OK, we'll be better tomorrow," Aqua tried to smile but just drooped until the next tour group came by.
Lily was right, the mercenaries only dropped off meager pans of water in their cage and watched them drink for a minute before removing them. The water was stagnant and brackish but they still drank it.
"Behave tomorrow and you'll get fed," the merc pulled the empty pans out and locked the cage again. The four cubs sat in silence until the mercs left, shutting off the lights and leaving them in darkness. Once the noise of retreating steps stopped, Lily created a small ball of light which gave them a dim light to see each other in, Lily then gave them all some water from the dish she kept hidden from the mercenaries.
Once they were done they sat as close to each other as possible so they could see better with the minimal light from Lily's orb. "So, where did they find you two?" Lily asked.
"In the snow. They killed our parents," Aqua began to tear up again as he lay his head down.
"Are you two siblings?" Redemption asked.
"No!" Zoey almost shouted but held back at the last second, "All four of our parents." She pounded the floor of their cage with her fist.
Aqua wiped his eyes, "Where did you two come from?"
Redemption stared down at the floor, "I was looked after by a human named Audrianna who found me after my parents abandoned me. She looked after me and taught me a lot of stuff while she was studying to be a nurse." Redemption smiled, "She was nice but she never told me her name, though she gave me mine: Redemptionheart. She treated me like I was her own daughter and she was like my mom, for about a year, but she told me I should never go outside for my own safety. I asked her why but she never gave me a straight answer, just that there were many dangers outside and I should stay in for my own safety. So I listened and didn't go outside… until…"
Aqua, Zoey and even Lily now stared intently at Redemption as she continued her story, "Until what?" Zoey asked.
Redemption started to shake, "Until one terrible day she went outside and I heard this loud boom and I heard Audrianna scream! I knew I wasn't supposed to go outside but I had to go out after that." She was tearing up a she continued, "I saw her lying on the ground in her own blood, and when I turned her over I saw a hole in her chest." Redemption sucked in a shuddering breath and did her best to continue, "I…I held her and asked her what happened and she…she said she was… shot by someone wearing a mask. I tried to get her to tell me who but she just shuddered and lay still." Redemption pressed her hands to her eyes and wept openly. None of her cellmates knew what to say and waited until she calmed down.
It took a few minutes but Redemption sniffed and rubbed her nose and eyes, "I called 911 but it was too late for her. She was dead before I even called…" then Redemption broke down and started crying again.
"How did you get here?" Zoey wiped some tears from her own eyes.
Redemption sucked in breath, "I was waiting for the ambulance when I heard another bang and something stuck in my arm, like a needle with feathers on the back, then some men wearing masks came and scooped me into a bag. I woke up on a ship and then they dumped me in here."
"How long have you been here?" Aqua asked.
Redemption rubbed her eyes, "I think… a year, maybe more… I have been able to see the sun so I just know when each day ends at lights out."
"What's a year?" Zoey asked.
"365 days, or four seasons," Redemption lay down, "Lily was already here when I was put in here." She turned to the dark red bear, "You never told me how you got here."
Lily stared down at the ground, "I fell from the sky." They all stared at her as she continued. "My…creator was a tall man in a dark purple robe with red eyes called No-Heart. He said he created me to fight his enemies, especially one who humiliated him with his magic, which is why I can use magic. He said I was supposed to be the exact opposite of the one he made as a 'clone' from, even called me Loathe Heart Bear because that was what I supposed to do." Lily lay down on her side. "He wanted me to use my magic to hurt people, but I didn't want to, I couldn't even break the targets he showed me and he beat me or zapped me whenever I failed. Then after a year he said I was a failure and threw me out of his home, literally grabbed me and threw me out a window."
Lily took a deep breath as she relived the memory in her mind, "He lived in the sky, in a big dark castle on the clouds, so he threw me to earth." She gave a slight smile, "I guess he didn't think I learned that much because I was able to just float to the ground, over a couple days… When I finally got to earth I saw a red flower called a lily so I took that for my name and went to search for food. A couple days later I was captured by these people, I guess they saw me falling slowly and were ready as soon as I came to Earth. I wasn't put on a ship so I guess I was already on the right landmass. I've been her too long…" she slumped down.
They sat in silence for a time before Redemption spoke, "If you've been here so long, why didn't you use your magic to escape?"
Lily stared at the floor and wrung her hands together, "I don't want to hurt anyone, even these people. I don't want to even fight if I can avoid it…I don't want to do what that wizard made me for.
"Can you show us how to do magic?"
Lily looked up at Zoey, "Teach you?"
"Yeah," Zoey pumped her fists in front of her, "If we learn maybe we can break out of here."
"I don't know...I just know how to do this magic, I don't really know how to teach it," Lily looked around in the dim light at their eager faces, "But I can try."
Over the next few days they got into a routine and Zoey learned better self-control. Every morning they were roused by the pipe banging on their cages, someone would reach in with vacuum and clean any waste from the previous day, then the tour groups would come and they would sit up and force themselves to act cute, even for the kids that rattled the bars and tried to grab at them but they learned to just stay as far away as possible and the kids would be pulled away before too long. Then if they didn't make a mistake they would be fed a thin pasty gruel with leftover meat chunks mixed in and some water then the lights went out and they were expected to just lie there.
But as soon as the guards left for the night, Lily would create her small light and the magic lessons would begin. At first they had to learn how to bring magic out of themselves and it took the better part of a week for Lily to even figure out how someone who never used magic before could learn that, but once they were over the first hurtle things started going.
On the tenth night after they managed to bring out a shimmering field of energy (raw magic), Lily decided to tell them about the different elements she knew how to create and control.
Once they were listening, Lily sat forwards, cupping her hands together, and started, "As far I know there are twelve elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Light, Dark, Aether, Plant, Acid, Time, Viscera and Sound." As she spoke each word a small piece of the element appeared floating above her cupped hands, then vanished as the other appeared: a small ball of dirt, a tiny orange flame, a small ripple of wind, a small ball of water, a tiny ball of light, a small orb of darkness, a small ripple of red energy, a small leaf, a small bubble of green acid, a small distortion they could see through, tiny fragments of bone, and lastly a small pulse of sound that made an audible *thump* before it vanished.
"Can you teach us all of those?" Zoey was eager despite the meager food she'd gotten used to eating.
"Not all at once. No-Heart said he gave me a piece of every element so he could see which was the most destructive, you'll have to pick one to start with and try to bring it out. Also there are a few related elements," Lily took a deep breath as they listened, "Air also can do lightning," a small arc of electricity appeared in her hands, "Water can use cold and ice," a small shimmering field of ice crystals replaced the lightning, "Darkness also controls gravity," she picked up a small splinter of wood from the floor which levitated off the ground, "and Aether lets you move things around," she floated a splinter a short distance away.
"Then I want to learn that, Aether," Redemption said.
"Teach me darkness," Zoey said.
Aqua had to think for a moment, remembering the dolphins that had contacted him before he answered, "Water. I want to learn water."
Lily nodded, "OK, we'll start tomorrow." She looked around, as if someone was watching, then lay down and snuffed out their tiny light.
After that, the day routine didn't change at all: wake up, get cleaned out, entertain tour groups then get fed just enough to keep going. Then at night their magical training would begin, but it proved much more difficult. Bringing the basic magic out was easy, turning it into an element proved much harder; Zoey and Redemption struggled for months with barely anything to show for it.
Aqua, on the other hand, took to it like a dolphin to water. Less than a week after starting he could already conjure a few tiny droplets of water and soon after that a tiny mist of frost. His progress easily outpaced the others and by the time Zoey and Redemption finally brought out the basic form of their elements (a little over a year after Zoey and Aqua arrived), Aqua was ready for their escape.
It was at night after Aqua said he was ready that they lay awake by the light of Lily's magic to form their plan.
Zoey had to keep herself from bouncing with excitement, "Alright, so what's the plan?"
Redemption looked up at the locked cage door where their food was delivered, "We need to be sneaky, if we break out in the middle of the day we'll get swarmed."
"So why not tonight?" Zoey asked.
"We need to think up a full plan first," Lily said, "We need to break out at night, and try to sleep more tomorrow."
"What if they punish us for sleeping in front of the tours?" Aqua asked, nerves creeping into his voice.
"So one day with no food," Zoey smirked, "If we get out we'll be able to eat whenever we want and if it fails I don't think we'll have to worry about it." Her attempt to be reassuring sent a shiver down each of their spines.
"Don't think about it, but I think I know a way to get us out," Lily said, "Aqua, if you can put some ice inside the cuffs you should be able to force them open, same with the cage door, just wedge it open."
Aqua nodded, "Then what?"
Lily paused for a moment, "Then we find a way out of here, through the doors, elevator, whatever we can until we're outside."
"But we don't know where anything is in here," Redemption sounded scared.
"It's better than being zoo exhibits the rest of our lives," Zoey clenched her fists, "I'm ready to get out of here."
Redemption saw the determination in her friend's eyes and managed to smile. "OK. Tomorrow night, we escape."
The next day started out like any other: be waked up by banging on their cage then sit up and act cute for the guests. It was during the lunch hour that the four of them lay down to sleep. The tours after lunch became increasingly annoying, starting with the tour guide trying to shake the bars to wake them up, followed by adults asking them to wake up, then came the children. Children who banged on the cage, shook the bars and shouted at them to wake up. While it made sleeping difficult and restless they stayed lying down and did their best to catch some sleep in between tour groups.
In the evening they were all sound asleep when the tour guide came down with the mercenaries responsible for the security of the animals.
"I'm telling you they slept through every single tour this afternoon. I need to teach them a lesson!" the guide argued.
One of the mercs glared at the guide, "I only let you down here to see what we do. You know the rules: starve them if they get out of line. They'll wake up hungry and thirsty and they'll be back on the program tomorrow morning." They moved off to feed the other exhibits.
A couple hours later, Lily was the first one to wake up. She lay still for a few minutes until she was certain no humans were around then sent three small balls of light over to hover in front of her friends' faces. Zoey swatted at the light before she woke up and rubbed her eyes as everyone else came awake. She saw Lily staring at her and smiled, "Alright, now we get out."
"Just give me a moment." Aqua lifted his left knee up and took hold of the metal cuff. Everyone watched as frost appeared on the metal. Aqua grimaced for a moment as ice formed under the metal on his fur, then began to push outwards. Aqua grit his teeth in pain as the ice pressed in but saw the metal straining to stay in place, until finally there was a metallic snap and the cuff bent outwards at the seal. Aqua pulled his foot free, thawed the ice still stuck to his fur as he slid out, then went to work on the other cuff. A moment later and Aqua was free!
Immediately he ran over to Zoey and grabbed her in a tight hug, "I did it!" he whispered to her.
"I know, now get us free too," Zoey reluctantly pulled back then sat down so Aqua could get to her shackles. A few minutes later and they were all free of the chains.
Zoey boosted Aqua up onto her shoulders so he could get at the lock. He pushed some ice into the keyhole and twisted it around until there was audible snapping and he was able to push the door open then climb out. Redemption climbed over Zoey and out of the cage, followed by Lily and then Zoey who easily climbed out on her own power.
Following the light from Lily's conjured orbs they found the wall then followed it to the elevator door. As Zoey was boosting Aqua up to push the buttons, Redemptionheart turned back the way they came.
"What about the other animals trapped here?" Redemption whispered.
Lily took Redemption's hand, "We'll come back for them some day. Right now we have to get ourselves free." An audible *ding* drew their attention as Aqua was lowered down and the elevator doors opened. All four of them had to shield their eyes against the bright light from the elevator.
As she turned to elevator, Redemption stopped upon seeing a door with a large red cross painted on. "Wait, I know that symbol. Audrianna said that shows where they keep medical supplies."
"So?" Zoey was standing in the door, inadvertently leaning on the part of the door to keep it open.
"So we might need some." Redemption stood on her toes to reach the doorknob and thankfully found it unlocked.
"She's right," Lily whispered, "Hold the door, Zoey, we'll be back in a moment."
Zoey rolled her eyes but kept leaning on the elevator door.
Inside the first-aid room, Lily created a dozen small balls of light to show them everything. Redemption found a large cloth bag on the wall and lifted it off while Lily emptied the cabinets of as many bandages, antiseptic and anesthetic as she could. Redemption joined in on looting the medical supplies, including a rather large box labeled GHB. Finally, they zipped up the bag and Redemption hauled it up onto her shoulders, after some adjusting of the straps so it wouldn't drag across the ground, though it did weigh her down.
Zoey was glaring impatiently at them as they finally lugged the medical bag into the elevator. Aqua looked up at the buttons on the wall and, with another boost form Zoey, managed to reach the one labeled "M". They sat tensely waiting as the elevator moved upwards, then finally came to a stop and opened, right in front of one of Purity Corp's employees with a cup of late-night coffee in his hand.
They stared at each other for a moment, then the employee shouted, "Escape!" Right before Aqua blasted him in the head with a stream of water, knocking him down. Even as they bolted they could hear others responding to the man's shout and a moment later an alarm sounded. They ran down the corridor, slowed down by Redemption's medical bag until they saw the front doors, and metal shutters slowly lowering into place.
Lily put on a burst of speed and got under the shutters, creating a couple small pillars of earth to brace the shutters open. "Hurry!" She shouted to her friend. Zoey grabbed Redemption's bag and helped her carry it. Aqua was the first to the door and he shot a blast of ice through the glass door, shattering it and creating an exit that quickly broke the remaining glass using more ice before Zoey and Redemption arrived, even as mercs began to swarm then entrance hall.
Lily held the shutter up as long a she could, until Aqua, Zoey and Redemption were through. She was about to join them when rough hands seized her and pulled her back. Her concentration lost, the earth pillars under the shutter collapsed and the shutter closed.
"Lily!" Zoey tried to turn back before Redemption grabbed her.
"GO! RUN!" Lily managed to shout before she was shoved into a large bag. Zoey had to fight the urge to turn back but she instead ran after Aqua and Redemption.
OoOoO
Illyana hated being woken up in the middle of the night. She slammed the intercom next to her bed and grumbles, "This better be important or you're dead!"
The voice that answered was just as serious as she expected. "Miss Illyana, the four colorful bears escaped their cage. Three got away but we're holding the red one on the main floor. Should we put her back in her cage?"
"What?!" Illyana forced herself out of bed, "No. Hold her there, I'll be down in a minute." She pulled on a robe over her tiger-skin pyjamas and headed for her private elevator.
Even in her most dire situation, Lily couldn't bring herself to attack living creatures, even ones as vile as the mercenaries who held her in the bag, the opening tied around her neck so only her head was exposed. Illyana entered the room, looking even more gaunt and death-like without her makeup on.
Illyana glared at Lily as she approached, "How did you escape?"
Whether through fear for her friends or out of defiance, Lily didn't answer.
"I asked you how they escaped!" Illyana put her hands on her hips.
Still, Lily remained silent.
"I'm not going to ask again," Illyana looked up at the mercenaries holding Lily captive, "Bring her with me. I have a punishment I've been wanting to test for some time."
Lily felt her breath catch in her throat as they were led to the elevator again, Illyana pushing three different floor buttons in some sort of code. Lily could only struggle in vain as the doors opened and they passed into a large, well-lit room. At the center of the room there was large slab of metal with open metal cuffs at the top and bottom.
"Attach her," Illyana pointed to the slab. Lily was roughly hauled out of the bag, her legs strapped down and her wrists shackled above her head. "Now, you're going to tell me how you escaped or where they ran to or you'll suffer torture you couldn't imagine."
Lily averted her gaze from Illyana, not even giving her the satisfaction of the look in her eyes.
Illyana bared her yellow teeth at Lily, "Fine! Then suffer!" She walked over a control panel a distance from the slab and pressed the controls. Clawed hands extended from behind the slab and began to tickle her under her arms.
Lily couldn't hold back at all, and she started to laugh, "HehehehehehahahahahHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
OoOoO
Despite the loss of their friend, Aqua, Zoey and Redemption ran as fast and far as they could, with Aqua in the lead.
Redemption, still struggling to hold the bag above the ground, was the first to voice the question: "Where can we go?"
Aqua slowed to a stop and looked around. Redemption sat down on the curb of the road they were on and spotted a pair of paintbrushes on the ground. She stuffed them into the medical bag while Zoey turned to watch the Purity Corp building.
"They're going to come after us," Zoey tensed.
"I know… there!" Aqua pointed to the right of where they had been running and took off again. Zoey helped Redemption lift up the heavy bag again and they were off, following Aqua as close as they could.
They were forced to slow down after some distance, but still they kept going as Aqua finally led them to a mostly empty dock, the boats tied off bobbing gently in the ocean waves. "Here," Aqua walked right up to the edge of the lower service dock and crouched to stick his hand in the water.
"What do we do now?" Redemption managed the heft the bag up enough to keep it off the ground again, "They're going to find us."
"Shh," Zoey put a finger to her lips, "I know Aqua has a plan." She was partly lying but she could see that Aqua was doing something purposeful.
"I'm back. I'm back at the water," Aqua spoke into the ocean waves. He used his newly learned magic to send a ripple out through the water. At first nothing happened, then they heard a clicking and squeaking from the water.
Three large bottle-nosed dolphins poked their heads up near the dock, one raising its head up enough for Aqua to stroke it. In his head, Aqua heard it speak. "Ride us, we will take you to safety."
Aqua turned to his Redemption and Zoey who were just staring at him. "Climb on, they'll get us out of here." Without waiting for their reply he slid into the water only to be buoyed up until he was riding the dolphin, holding onto its fin for support.
"I don't know." Redemption sounded hesitant.
Zoey grabbed her hand, "I trust Aqua more than I would any human, so I trust these dolphins." She all but dragged Redemptionheart to the shore and helped her on to the back of one of the dolphins. Redemption had to fasten the bag tight onto her back to avoid it getting dunked in the water. Zoey had no such worries and all but dove in. Once all three bears were on their backs, the dolphins took off through the water.
The exhilaration of speed hit them all but they had to hold on tight to avoid sliding off the dolphins' slippery backs. They couldn't see where they were going in the darkness but they knew it was better than staying behind to be captured again. They rode for hours, their mounts never seeming to tire, even Redemption's ride weighed down by her medical bag.
They rode for hours, right up until the sun was rising in the east and they were starting to get sleepy. Then they saw it in the distance: an island. Aqua perked up as soon as he saw it, "Look! There!" He shouted, which helped wake Zoey and Redemption up.
A tingle passed through all of them as they approached the island and before long the dolphins stopped in the shallows and let the three of them wade ashore, Redemption hoisting the medical bag over her head to keep it out of the water.
Aqua stayed behind to talk to the dolphins, "Is this place safe?"
"Yes," the voice spoke in his head, "Humans can't find this place, we like to come here to hide from them. Look," the dolphin nodded over to a shimmering part of the sky behind it, "That barrier will keep them from seeing you and protect you as long as you stay inside. Be safe," It nuzzled its nose against Aqua's hand.
"Will I see you again?" Aqua asked.
"As long as you keep the heart of a child within, you can find us any time you are in the water. Call to us if you ever go for a swim," The dolphin turned and swam away with its pod and Aqua waded to the shore, which led up a slope into the island's interior.
The island was a paradise. Lush trees and bushes heavy with fruit and vegetables that grew aplenty on the ground while birds sat in the limbs of the trees. Redemption set her bag down and finally sat down to take a rest.
As soon as Zoey saw Aqua walk up the slope she charged at him and tackled him to the ground. "Aqua!" she pushed a deep kiss on him as he flailed for a moment, then wrapped her in a hug. Zoey pulled back and smiled, leaning on him with her elbows, "You saved us, I love you!"
Aqua smiled back up at her, "I love you too. Can you let me up please?"
Zoey gave a hungry grin, "No way! I've been chained away from you for over a year, I want you Aqua," she leaned in closer, "Now!"
Redemption lay down, but stood up when she saw Zoey going hot and heavy into Aqua Bear and dragged her medical bag away from the pair. She turned for a moment and smiled as she saw their wiggling feet as Zoey rode up on Aqua before she turned to find a more private place to sleep. Now that they had time to themselves she was going to try and have some fun for the first time in years, once she had some sleep.