THE ELEMENTS PART FOUR: REALIZING AND REMEMBERING CHAPTER ONE
As soon as Peyton entered the forest, he found Sarah and Kaz trying to put out a forest fire. Kaz ran up to Peyton, panting and coughing because of the smoke.
"I accidentally set the forest on fire. What are your powers?" Kaz asked loudly. The sound of Sarah pounding water on the flames was deafening.
"I can make vortexes! What about Tom?" Peyton asked.
"He disappeared about an hour ago in some caverns towards the castle, but the castle isn't there anymore. I think they're taking extra precautions in case we go public," Kaz replied.
"But we don't even know what we're doing! Why did we get these powers, and why would they send us back into the real world if they know we can't control them?" Peyton asked as Sarah finished. She then sat down on the ground.
"That can wipe you out," she whispered, wiping her brow. Her clothes and hair were soaked with water, as was Kaz's clothing due to the rain, which had since stopped. "Oh, Kaz, never do that again, okay? You could've killed the entire forest!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry, it's not like I can control it! One minute I was thinking about heat and the next minute I was screaming and running because I caught a bush on fire," he explained to Peyton. Peyton nodded and looked as Sarah stood up again.
"So, any mishaps with your power?" Sarah asked. Peyton decided to say no, but others would make a different answer. Sarah nodded and looked to her scanner. "It's a good thing whoever did this left us an owner's manual. I wonder how Tom is doing right now."
"Better than this forest, that's for sure," Peyton replied. Kaz looked at his scanner.
"I remember getting the powers, and I remember the journey to get to the castle where we got our powers, but why did we get them? I thought that the headmaster wanted to keep the powers between herself and the school."
"I wonder if Raven would know," Sarah whispered.
"I've already tried calling her, but the number wouldn't go through. It'd be great to have her help in finding Tom," Kaz said quietly, looking to the charred remains of a large tree.
"You know, I've felt like someone's been watching me since I first woke up here. That's one reason why I came back here, that and the mass confusion going on with my brain cells," Peyton whispered. A small breeze blew through the trees and Peyton instinctively sniffed it.
"Tom is near by," he said quickly, following an invisible trail.
"What is he doing?" Kaz whispered, following Sarah and Peyton instinctively. As if on cue, the group began to hear cries coming from a canyon.
"This wasn't here yesterday," Sarah whispered, walking around the rim of the canyon. Tom was trapped under some rocks at the bottom.
"Hold on, Major Tom!" Peyton called to him. He then began running down a narrow trail towards the bottom. Once at the rocks, he had no idea what to do. It's like he's a Tom Christmas Tree, but with rocks instead of presents, Peyton thought quietly. "Can you help me, Peyton?" Tom asked, struggling.
"How did this happen?" Peyton asked.
"I got angry. My scanner wouldn't let me call any of you or port back, so I went into a daze of anger and when I woke up I was under these rocks in the middle of this canyon. I've been trying for hours to get out, mostly to help Sarah and Kaz fight that random forest fire, but nothing would work," Tom whispered.
I wonder if my vortex power would work!
"Tom, do you mind if I work some dangerous magic?" Peyton asked.
"What are you going to do?" Tom asked sternly.
"Lift you out of those rocks with a vortex that I create," Peyton replied smally.
"You wanna what?!? Are you trying to kill me?" Tom screamed, creating more rocks in the process and trapping Peyton's feet.
"Do you two need help?" Sarah called.
"No," Peyton called.
"Yes," Tom said with him. Sarah sighed and sat on the ledge to rest.
"Are you sure about the vortex?" Peyton asked.
"because it looks really cool and…"
"I don't care if it looks cool if I'm going to die in the process! I'd rather have Kaz lift me out with his fire powers than you making a tornado!" Tom screamed, this time creating vines and a tree.
"Maybe that can help," Kaz said from beside them.
"⌠Listen, if you don't trust each other's abilities then you both could be trapped there forever. If you want to live, let him do this crazy vortex, then think about other options." Tom sighed and sat back the best he could so that he could free his arms. He then leaned down into the heap of rocks above his knees and put his arms over his head.
"If you kill me then I'll never forgive you," he mumbled. Peyton then thought about making a vortex to free Tom and himself from the rocks. Kaz went back to Sarah as the vortex grew larger and larger until it finally immersed the two of them. Gradually, the rocks went away and the vortex faded. Once the haze was lifted, Tom was relieved to be alive, but Peyton was exhausted.
"Okay, something's feeling a little weird about now," Peyton whispered, passing out at Tom's feet.
"Get off of me!" Tom screamed.
"Tom, calm down! You've done enough damage already, now calm down!" Sarah called to him, she then tried to stand up again, but she felt too weak.
"Tom, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?" Kaz asked calmly.
"Everything is wrong, Kaz! I can't remember the past two days at all, but I know that somehow Chaotic's fate has fallen on my shoulders again, and I have these stupid powers to help save it. What happened, Kaz, because I woke up alone in the middle of that stupid forest, and when I went looking for someone, anyone, I discovered a maze of tunnels and children, little children, with fangs who wanted to kill me!" Tom screamed, vines flowing from his finger tips and wrapping around a rock, but he couldn't figure out how to disconnect the vines from his fingers.
"Could you help me, Kaz?"
"⌠Uh, I'll try," Kaz whispered, remembering the last time he tried to create just a small spark. Luckily it worked this time, and Tom stood and began to leave the canyon.
"Tom, where are you going?" Sarah asked.
"I'm going home!" he replied, continuing to walk and pull out his scanner.
"Tom, wait!" Kaz called, but it was too late. Tom had already ported out of Chaotic.
"Have we lost him this time?" Peyton asked quietly, sitting beside Sarah. Kaz continued to look towards where Tom disappeared to.
"I think we have. I've never seen him this…stressed. I think he really can't remember what happened, and he can't remember why we started this journey to begin with. I think that Tom maybe growing up to the point where he can't learn as easily. He has been struggling at school," Kaz whispered.
"I thought he was never as smart as you," Peyton whispered. Kaz shook his head.
"He's smarter, but he likes the social aspect of school, and something tells me that Chaotic may be tying him from his dreams. A girl turned him down a few weeks ago because she saw his scanner in his locker at school. I think that he may want Chaotic to end more than he lets on," Kaz whispered.
Sarah looked up quickly.
"Is this what the other players were talking about?" Sarah asked.
"Sarah, I really think you should rest. You're not thinking clearly," Peyton grinned. Sarah scowled at him.
"I think that Klay and Kristalla have nothing to do with the tricks and the messages, but the demon does. What if this demon is trying to make Chaotic disappear to kill the magic school? If the writers decide to cut funding at all then this is all over, including the magic school. I think that for once, Klay and Kristalla may not be as involved as we think they are," Sarah explained.
"I'm not quite sure about demons, but we could try to find Raven. Maybe she can help us figure out exactly what the demon would do, and if we can vanquish him without Tom," Kaz whispered.
"Why without Tom? He's like the peanut butter in a peanut butter sandwich!" Peyton exclaimed.
"Because we may have lost him to this demon, and it's better to plan around him than make him a position that he can't fill," Kaz replied. Sarah nodded in agreement.
"Well, let's port back and see if Tom just went there to cool off," Peyton offered. Kaz and Sarah agreed and the three ported from the canyon with Raven, in disguise, close behind.
