Part 11: Into the Darkness
The blackness cleared and slowly Ariel became aware of herself again. She found herself standing alone on a beach, the bright sun sparkling on the water as the waves gently crashed against the white sand. For a moment, the beach almost looked otherworldly, and Ariel was gazing on a bright sky lit with a blue-white star as well as a more familiar golden -yellow companion. A pale and beautiful ringed planet reminiscent of Saturn loomed large in the midday sky over the water. And the water was the most clear crystalline shades of blue and green and purple imaginable. The sight was absolutely breathtaking! Ariel was filled with a sense of awe and peace. Ariel thought, Somehow I know this place. Why does it feel as if I've been here before?
Suddenly, the image was gone, replaced by a more familiar beach, one definitely found on Earth. The sand was a golden yellow, and Ariel noticed that all around her were strange symbols written in the sand. Somehow, Ariel recognized these symbols but did not know their meaning. There was a swirly-looking one, and one that made her think of a four square.
Then Ariel's gaze was drawn to another symbol, one she for some reason associated with that otherworldly planet. It was shaped like a diamond with a smaller diamond at each of the four points and one a little larger in the center. Somehow Ariel understood that this was their version of the four square. It represented herself, David, Brian and Kara, with Caleb represented by the center diamond. Curious, she walked slowly to her diamond and took her place in the four square. If only the others were here with her! Standing in this place without them, Ariel missed them so badly. Her heart ached for them, and her eyes stung with tears. They felt so far away.
Then Ariel began to wonder why nobody else was there. The only thing she was sure of is that she had died.her overuse of her powers during the battle had killed her. But where was she, and what would happen now? Is this my hell, trapped here all alone in paradise? The thought of that, of never seeing any of the people she loved again, was more than she could bear. Especially the thought of never seeing David again, and leaving him all alone in the world. Please save me from this! Please bring me back! Ariel cried out to David, pleading for him to hear her, but she knew that he couldn't. The sudden loss of connection with her brother, something that had existed their whole lives, brought Ariel to her knees as sobs wracked her body.
****
Time passed, and Ariel did not move or wake up. Brian and David carried her upstairs to Kara's room and gently laid her on the bed without a word to each other or anyone else. They were each in their own private worlds of grief. Kara came up with them to watch over Ariel, who had become like a sister to her in the short time that they had known each other. The others remained downstairs to give them privacy and to figure out a way to save Ariel.
David sat down on the bed next to Ariel and took her hand. Tears filled his eyes at the thought that his sister might be gone forever, that she might not come back to him. "Ariel, please wake up!" he pleaded with her. "I need you! " But there was no response. " Ariel, if you don't come back.....if you don't come back, I want you to know that you are the best sister anyone could ever have. You always could get me to smile when I was sad, and your strength could always calm me when I was scared. I always tried to be the strong one and protect us both from the world, but you were really the strong one all along. You were so brave tonight. You saved us all.we all need you with us. I love you, Ariel. And I'm not giving up. I'm going to find a way to bring you back! No matter what happens, a part of me will always be with you. We always said that...nothing can ever really separate us." David pleaded for Ariel to hear him, but he knew she couldn't. The loss of his connection with her brought tears to his eyes as sobs wracked his body.
Kara went over to David and wrapped her arms around him to give him comfort. "David, she's going to be OK. She has to be! We will figure out a way to to bring her back." David held onto her with one arm, while still not letting go of his sister's hand. He was so grateful that Kara was here with him. Somehow, she gave him faith enough to believe that everything would turn out all right.
Brian came over to take Ariel's other hand. He brought her small, soft hand to his lips and kissed it, praying that somehow he could feel that loving gesture. "I love you, Ariel. Please come back," he pleaded, tears stinging his eyes. There were so many other things he wanted to say, but suddenly the way the four of them were arranged reminded him of something. "There is a way!" Brian exclaimed, startling the others. Kara looked at him, mystified, while David looked to him with hope in his eyes. "The healing stones," Brian told them, looking at Kara, who understood immediately.
"But we don't know where they are, Brian. Caleb told us they weren't with him on the ship, that they belonged to the others," Kara repeated what she remembered Caleb telling her one night when she was a little girl, after she had recounted to him a strange dream about using glowing stones to heal a somehow-familiar girl.
"They're in my room at home," a strained voice broke into their conversation. Brian, Kara, and David turned their eyes to the doorway, where a very worried and stressed Isabel stood. While she had an unconscious air of leadership about her, she looked as if she were struggling to hold herself together. "Michael's on his way to get them now. I think it is our best chance of saving Ariel.and Max. He collapsed, too, just after you brought Ariel upstairs." Isabel informed them. It had been her idea to try the healing stones, knowing that they were the only thing that had any chance of healing both Ariel and Max. Even though she was really worried, Isabel had good feeling that everything was going to be all right. "When we're ready, I'll show you how to use the stones. Don't worry, we will get them both back." Isabel said, as much to reassure the others as herself.
David nodded in gratitude. "These healing stones sound like a good plan, Isabel. They will help us bring Ariel and Max back from wherever they are, " he said softly. Healing stones had to be a good idea, right? Whatever they were, they just had to bring Ariel back from wherever she was! For now, he prayed that she was in a good place.
****
As Ariel sat in her diamond on the four-square, she watched several figures approach. At first, it appeared to be David, Brian, Kara, and Caleb. But something wasn't right. It wasn't really them. It's just a mirage, Ariel realized with profound disappointment. Their images were just there because she thought of them and wanted to see them. As this realization hit her, the figures began to fade, one by one. And she was left alone again.
Sadly, she looked out to sea, searching for a ship, a sign of anyone or anything alse besides herself. To her delight, she saw a dolphin leap out of the ocean, and she could briefly see its fin! Dolphins were her totem animal. Once, when Mom and Dad took her and David to Sea World in Forida, she had the chance to swim with the dolphins and discovered the powerful connection she had with them. It's like she can sense their emotions and intentions, just like she can do with people. Could do, Ariel reminded herself with a sigh.
She walked down to the water, wanting to swim with the dolphin, and something to her left caught her eye. She turned slightly and was astonished to find a woman who appeared to be about her Mom's age walking toward her. She's young and beautiful, and....I know her! This woman had a look of love and peace that calmed Ariel, and suddenly she didn't feel sad anymore. "M...Mom? You're my mother, aren't you?" The woman nodded in confirmation, and Ariel's heart ached that David wasn't there to meet her.
"Yes, my precious daughter. I have missed you and your brother more than words can say. You must miss him very much. The two of you were always inseparable, yet now it seems that you have been separated. But fear not, for all is not lost," Ariel's mother spoke in a gentle voice that soothed her.
"I do miss David....very much." Ariel smiled sadly at how her mother described herself and her brother as inseparable. "We still are inseparable. At least, we were until now. We'd found others who have powers like us, and one of them used his powers on me. In defending myself and him from the enemy, I used my powers too much....the final battle with the enemy drained me, and I ended up here." Then she looked at her mother with hope. "Is it....is it possible to go back?" Ariel's mother took her by the hand, and Ariel could sense that there was much she had to tell.
Ariel's mother then told of the mission that David, Brian, Kara, and Ariel were sent to Earth to fulfill, along with the four from Antar. She said that both Royal Four groups had to unite to rid the universe of the Enemy. Khivar and his followers possessed a vast army, with plans to create a vast empire by ruling every nearby habitable planet in the galaxy. Earth had become the next target, as both sets of Royal Four had been sent there. In fact, preparations on Antar were being made to create a weapon capable of destroying all life on Earth by altering its environment, paving the way to make it habitable for Skins. Other planets may be captured to gain slaves for Khivar's empire. This plan had to be stopped! "I'm afraid this battle you fought was only the beginning, my daughter. You and the others have much yet to fulfill in order to rid the universe of the threat Khivar poses." Tears filled Ariel's eyes as the enormity of it all overwhelmed her. Eight teenage kids needed to become the saviors of the universe?!
How can I possibly handle that? What if I fail you in this task, Mother, Ariel wondered. But her mother assured her, "You can do this, Ariel. Your powers are strong, and each of your gifts are meant to complement each other's. Together, you form a complete unit that will be unstoppable once you truly unite forces. When they come for you, you must go back with them and fulfill your destiny. All will be well, my precious girl." Then, all too quickly, Ariel's mother prepared to leave. She told Ariel how much she loves her and David, and that she would always be thinking of her children. "I love you, too, Mother," Ariel cried as she embraced her mother, tears spilling down her cheeks. Then Ariel's mother stepped back and gently caressed her cheek. Suddenly, she began to fade from Ariel's sight.
As she faded away, Ariel noticed her looking at something in the distance. When she was gone, Ariel turned to see what was there. It seemed to be a ripple in the fabric of this place....They're coming. As Ariel waited for something to happen, she notice a change in the atmosphere. Instead of peace or expectation, the air hummed with something darker, some kind of maelstrom. It set Ariel's nerves on edge. Whatever was happening, it couldn't be good, and with each passing minute, she grew more and more nervous. What's happening? Something is going wrong, but I don't know what.
Ariel became aware that the sky was growing darker. And yet, the sun wasn't setting. It was like.....like the sun was fading away, and Ariel was being pulled into that black maelstrom! She sensed a familiar presence there. Max! God, is that where Max is? Did this end up killing Max as well? Ariel realized that she was still connected with Max from his attempt to heal her. Now, because of that connection, she was getting sucked into this awful place where Max was...and guilt consumed her. It's my fault he's there. It should be me instead. I'm the one who pushed herself too far and got us both into this mess... Then the sun was gone, and Ariel found herself in total blackness except for the symbols in the sand, which glowed with an eerie green light. Somehow Ariel knew that soon that light, too, would begin to fade away and the blackness would claim her, maybe forever.
"God, no! Please get me out of here before that happens! And please, please don't let it be too late for Max. David, Brian, Kara, Caleb, HELP US, PLEASE!" Ariel screamed. The wind began to pick up, blowing her hair violently around her face, and she stood up to look around in utter panic. She knew that she was powerless to stop what was happening. Her only hope was that her family would reach her and Max in time....
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!
The blackness cleared and slowly Ariel became aware of herself again. She found herself standing alone on a beach, the bright sun sparkling on the water as the waves gently crashed against the white sand. For a moment, the beach almost looked otherworldly, and Ariel was gazing on a bright sky lit with a blue-white star as well as a more familiar golden -yellow companion. A pale and beautiful ringed planet reminiscent of Saturn loomed large in the midday sky over the water. And the water was the most clear crystalline shades of blue and green and purple imaginable. The sight was absolutely breathtaking! Ariel was filled with a sense of awe and peace. Ariel thought, Somehow I know this place. Why does it feel as if I've been here before?
Suddenly, the image was gone, replaced by a more familiar beach, one definitely found on Earth. The sand was a golden yellow, and Ariel noticed that all around her were strange symbols written in the sand. Somehow, Ariel recognized these symbols but did not know their meaning. There was a swirly-looking one, and one that made her think of a four square.
Then Ariel's gaze was drawn to another symbol, one she for some reason associated with that otherworldly planet. It was shaped like a diamond with a smaller diamond at each of the four points and one a little larger in the center. Somehow Ariel understood that this was their version of the four square. It represented herself, David, Brian and Kara, with Caleb represented by the center diamond. Curious, she walked slowly to her diamond and took her place in the four square. If only the others were here with her! Standing in this place without them, Ariel missed them so badly. Her heart ached for them, and her eyes stung with tears. They felt so far away.
Then Ariel began to wonder why nobody else was there. The only thing she was sure of is that she had died.her overuse of her powers during the battle had killed her. But where was she, and what would happen now? Is this my hell, trapped here all alone in paradise? The thought of that, of never seeing any of the people she loved again, was more than she could bear. Especially the thought of never seeing David again, and leaving him all alone in the world. Please save me from this! Please bring me back! Ariel cried out to David, pleading for him to hear her, but she knew that he couldn't. The sudden loss of connection with her brother, something that had existed their whole lives, brought Ariel to her knees as sobs wracked her body.
****
Time passed, and Ariel did not move or wake up. Brian and David carried her upstairs to Kara's room and gently laid her on the bed without a word to each other or anyone else. They were each in their own private worlds of grief. Kara came up with them to watch over Ariel, who had become like a sister to her in the short time that they had known each other. The others remained downstairs to give them privacy and to figure out a way to save Ariel.
David sat down on the bed next to Ariel and took her hand. Tears filled his eyes at the thought that his sister might be gone forever, that she might not come back to him. "Ariel, please wake up!" he pleaded with her. "I need you! " But there was no response. " Ariel, if you don't come back.....if you don't come back, I want you to know that you are the best sister anyone could ever have. You always could get me to smile when I was sad, and your strength could always calm me when I was scared. I always tried to be the strong one and protect us both from the world, but you were really the strong one all along. You were so brave tonight. You saved us all.we all need you with us. I love you, Ariel. And I'm not giving up. I'm going to find a way to bring you back! No matter what happens, a part of me will always be with you. We always said that...nothing can ever really separate us." David pleaded for Ariel to hear him, but he knew she couldn't. The loss of his connection with her brought tears to his eyes as sobs wracked his body.
Kara went over to David and wrapped her arms around him to give him comfort. "David, she's going to be OK. She has to be! We will figure out a way to to bring her back." David held onto her with one arm, while still not letting go of his sister's hand. He was so grateful that Kara was here with him. Somehow, she gave him faith enough to believe that everything would turn out all right.
Brian came over to take Ariel's other hand. He brought her small, soft hand to his lips and kissed it, praying that somehow he could feel that loving gesture. "I love you, Ariel. Please come back," he pleaded, tears stinging his eyes. There were so many other things he wanted to say, but suddenly the way the four of them were arranged reminded him of something. "There is a way!" Brian exclaimed, startling the others. Kara looked at him, mystified, while David looked to him with hope in his eyes. "The healing stones," Brian told them, looking at Kara, who understood immediately.
"But we don't know where they are, Brian. Caleb told us they weren't with him on the ship, that they belonged to the others," Kara repeated what she remembered Caleb telling her one night when she was a little girl, after she had recounted to him a strange dream about using glowing stones to heal a somehow-familiar girl.
"They're in my room at home," a strained voice broke into their conversation. Brian, Kara, and David turned their eyes to the doorway, where a very worried and stressed Isabel stood. While she had an unconscious air of leadership about her, she looked as if she were struggling to hold herself together. "Michael's on his way to get them now. I think it is our best chance of saving Ariel.and Max. He collapsed, too, just after you brought Ariel upstairs." Isabel informed them. It had been her idea to try the healing stones, knowing that they were the only thing that had any chance of healing both Ariel and Max. Even though she was really worried, Isabel had good feeling that everything was going to be all right. "When we're ready, I'll show you how to use the stones. Don't worry, we will get them both back." Isabel said, as much to reassure the others as herself.
David nodded in gratitude. "These healing stones sound like a good plan, Isabel. They will help us bring Ariel and Max back from wherever they are, " he said softly. Healing stones had to be a good idea, right? Whatever they were, they just had to bring Ariel back from wherever she was! For now, he prayed that she was in a good place.
****
As Ariel sat in her diamond on the four-square, she watched several figures approach. At first, it appeared to be David, Brian, Kara, and Caleb. But something wasn't right. It wasn't really them. It's just a mirage, Ariel realized with profound disappointment. Their images were just there because she thought of them and wanted to see them. As this realization hit her, the figures began to fade, one by one. And she was left alone again.
Sadly, she looked out to sea, searching for a ship, a sign of anyone or anything alse besides herself. To her delight, she saw a dolphin leap out of the ocean, and she could briefly see its fin! Dolphins were her totem animal. Once, when Mom and Dad took her and David to Sea World in Forida, she had the chance to swim with the dolphins and discovered the powerful connection she had with them. It's like she can sense their emotions and intentions, just like she can do with people. Could do, Ariel reminded herself with a sigh.
She walked down to the water, wanting to swim with the dolphin, and something to her left caught her eye. She turned slightly and was astonished to find a woman who appeared to be about her Mom's age walking toward her. She's young and beautiful, and....I know her! This woman had a look of love and peace that calmed Ariel, and suddenly she didn't feel sad anymore. "M...Mom? You're my mother, aren't you?" The woman nodded in confirmation, and Ariel's heart ached that David wasn't there to meet her.
"Yes, my precious daughter. I have missed you and your brother more than words can say. You must miss him very much. The two of you were always inseparable, yet now it seems that you have been separated. But fear not, for all is not lost," Ariel's mother spoke in a gentle voice that soothed her.
"I do miss David....very much." Ariel smiled sadly at how her mother described herself and her brother as inseparable. "We still are inseparable. At least, we were until now. We'd found others who have powers like us, and one of them used his powers on me. In defending myself and him from the enemy, I used my powers too much....the final battle with the enemy drained me, and I ended up here." Then she looked at her mother with hope. "Is it....is it possible to go back?" Ariel's mother took her by the hand, and Ariel could sense that there was much she had to tell.
Ariel's mother then told of the mission that David, Brian, Kara, and Ariel were sent to Earth to fulfill, along with the four from Antar. She said that both Royal Four groups had to unite to rid the universe of the Enemy. Khivar and his followers possessed a vast army, with plans to create a vast empire by ruling every nearby habitable planet in the galaxy. Earth had become the next target, as both sets of Royal Four had been sent there. In fact, preparations on Antar were being made to create a weapon capable of destroying all life on Earth by altering its environment, paving the way to make it habitable for Skins. Other planets may be captured to gain slaves for Khivar's empire. This plan had to be stopped! "I'm afraid this battle you fought was only the beginning, my daughter. You and the others have much yet to fulfill in order to rid the universe of the threat Khivar poses." Tears filled Ariel's eyes as the enormity of it all overwhelmed her. Eight teenage kids needed to become the saviors of the universe?!
How can I possibly handle that? What if I fail you in this task, Mother, Ariel wondered. But her mother assured her, "You can do this, Ariel. Your powers are strong, and each of your gifts are meant to complement each other's. Together, you form a complete unit that will be unstoppable once you truly unite forces. When they come for you, you must go back with them and fulfill your destiny. All will be well, my precious girl." Then, all too quickly, Ariel's mother prepared to leave. She told Ariel how much she loves her and David, and that she would always be thinking of her children. "I love you, too, Mother," Ariel cried as she embraced her mother, tears spilling down her cheeks. Then Ariel's mother stepped back and gently caressed her cheek. Suddenly, she began to fade from Ariel's sight.
As she faded away, Ariel noticed her looking at something in the distance. When she was gone, Ariel turned to see what was there. It seemed to be a ripple in the fabric of this place....They're coming. As Ariel waited for something to happen, she notice a change in the atmosphere. Instead of peace or expectation, the air hummed with something darker, some kind of maelstrom. It set Ariel's nerves on edge. Whatever was happening, it couldn't be good, and with each passing minute, she grew more and more nervous. What's happening? Something is going wrong, but I don't know what.
Ariel became aware that the sky was growing darker. And yet, the sun wasn't setting. It was like.....like the sun was fading away, and Ariel was being pulled into that black maelstrom! She sensed a familiar presence there. Max! God, is that where Max is? Did this end up killing Max as well? Ariel realized that she was still connected with Max from his attempt to heal her. Now, because of that connection, she was getting sucked into this awful place where Max was...and guilt consumed her. It's my fault he's there. It should be me instead. I'm the one who pushed herself too far and got us both into this mess... Then the sun was gone, and Ariel found herself in total blackness except for the symbols in the sand, which glowed with an eerie green light. Somehow Ariel knew that soon that light, too, would begin to fade away and the blackness would claim her, maybe forever.
"God, no! Please get me out of here before that happens! And please, please don't let it be too late for Max. David, Brian, Kara, Caleb, HELP US, PLEASE!" Ariel screamed. The wind began to pick up, blowing her hair violently around her face, and she stood up to look around in utter panic. She knew that she was powerless to stop what was happening. Her only hope was that her family would reach her and Max in time....
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!