The Operation

She stood before an ivory door, her eyes looking at the light that flowed around her, everything was bright in this world, very little had anything resembling dark. Only the nights held darkness, other than that the color black was scarce.

Her bones rattled under her skin, recently she didn't know this type of nervousness, but what ever was behind that door she knew was going to cause her hell, she could almost sense it, feel the energy sting her skin.

She stood alone in front of these graceful doors, wondering what awaited her. Her hands squeezed into fists, causing her fingers to meet the warmth of her palm.

She gulped unsteadily, thinking about what this place was doing to her. She felt a whisper of windpass her ear then Aereon was by her side.

Aereon looked at her with a critical gaze, she'd noticed the dark rings under her eyes, "You did not sleep?" She ventured, but seemed to already know the answer.

Minx nodded, "I had something on my mind." She hoped that the woman would leave it at that, she hoped that Aereon wouldn't say what she was thinking, she hoped that she wouldn't pry her slowly open.

"You mean Jack." Aereon said quietly, shit, Minx cursed, she wondered how the hell a womanwhoonly knew her a few months could see right through her, or even rattle her if she so chose, "Why does her death trouble you?"

Minx felt her heart lurch and crack, if anything it was being broken from the inside out, a pain that she never thought could come again. She felt all her emotions rush to her face and immediately form tears.

She looked at the elder woman dressed in white before her, a woman who called herself her grandmother, a woman that in this moment she hated.

Aereon looked startled for a moment but said nothing, her eyes were probing, pushing her towards some insane edge, "Jack was like another part of me, a sister, someone I protected…"Minx sighed, the tear that leaked from her eye making her stop, she could barely think about Jack much less talk about her.

"Yes, someone you protected," Aereon reflected, "Then when she grew determined to go after Riddick, she ignored you, screamed at you, then died. But where does that leave you?"

"It leaves me missing her." Minx responded, turning her gaze to the floor beneath her feet, "Even though her last words to me were full of hate, I still can't dismiss her."

"Your mother did the same. Hateful words, a rage, a defiance that became her, all of it was towards me and the life I'd given her." Aereon looked away from Minx, noticing her own vision wasblurry.

"And so, it leaves you missing her." Minx countered quietly.

Then the doors before them opened and a woman about Minx's own age met her eyes. Her smart deep hazel eyes studied her with a surprised light, "I am Mensa. Please, they are ready for you."

Minx followed Aereon and the younger woman, the hall was white marble, the floor was plain. She felt the air around her grow slightly colder, then they stopped in front of two doors and Mensa opened them to reveal an operation room.

The room sterile and cold seemed to glow with sunlight from above, in the center of the room was an operating table, on either side of it were instruments she'd never seen, tubes and vials of liquid.

The women around her looked at her strangely, like she was something dangerous. Whispers echoed around her ears as she ventured deeper into the circular room. Thena pair of eyes slipped down her profile.

Ergo looked up to see a brunette woman, she was the one everyone was talking about, the half blooded Elemental. She was dressed in black making her stand out from the rest.

She was striking; her energy suggested a rebellion and edge no other Elemental carried. The brunette's darkeyes flitted over the room to rest on him before cutting to Aereon, "What am I doing here?"

"An operation, to become what you once were, maybe more." She responded, then touched the girl's hair, "They will not harm you."

Aereon was gone, leaving the dark haired woman with Mensa, "Lay down, try to relax." She advised.

"Relax...yeah right..." The woman muttered, casting another glance at him before lying down.

Ergo nodded at her slowly, "I am Ergo, I will be performing the operation. Melted elements, water, and some electricityshall change you, nothing else in your body will be altered. Within a day you shall be able to move around again."

"Side effects?" She asked knowingly, her voice guarded, making him smirk.

"You won't be exactly human." Ergo responded, "Then again, I'm guessing that you've never exactly been normal."

Suddenly she smiled at him, making him smile too, then she closed her eyes as he put her under. Soon she was unconscious, barely breathing. He checked her pulse, then nodded to the rest of his assistants.

Aereon looked on fromawindow above, seeing the floor open and a mini pool of waterapear below. Four people carefullyliftedMinx from the table and slowly eased her into the water. When they stepped awaythe watercovered her completely.

She looked almost lifeless, except for the bubblesfrom her shallow breathing. A slow groaning hum filled her ears as a power generator wound up its inner fans. Static followed as electricity hit the water Minx was bathedin.

Aereon squinted her eyes as thepool lit up around Minx's body. The women standing over her carefully lowered tubes into the water, the tubes touched Minx's wrists and neck.

Like a slow flood through the tubes, theliquid made its way from the vials into her skin. Aereon watched, her eyes flitting from the women to the vials, to Minx.

Finally the tubes were taken away and the generator hummed up again, the whole room became increasingly warm until steam rose from the water surrounding her. The last of the liquids were poured into the water causing it toboil.

Ergo shouted loudly to Mensa, "Raise the shocks...we're loosing her..."

The women backed away quickly, soon Ergo and Mensa were the only people Aereon could see; Her heart was racing, thumping in her chest, she couldn't loose another one.

Sometime later the sun was setting on her planet and Minx was in the medical ward. But Aereon remained in the operation room, looking at the black scorch marks and missing parts of the floor.

"Will she live?" Aereon asked aloud.

"She's a full elemental. More than she was originally at birth. We were able to reverse the operation she had as a toddler." Ergo responded quietly, "She'll be ready for training tomorrow."