6. Empathy

Anomaly stood up straight, her ears pricked. The Guard whined behind her. Ferakesa growled at the back of his throat. Kesea went closer to Ikesa, who nudged Anomaly's hand. His deep, different-colored eyes looked into hers. Anomaly nodded and looked ahead.

"Istaria." She whispered the command, and then took off, a blur as she ran.


Connor looked at Abby, his breath caught in his throat. The creature in front of them was HUGE.

Suddenly, something came up behind him, and Connor would have cried out if someone's hand had not covered his mouth in a split second.

Anomaly looked at Connor, shaking her head slowly, one finger to her lips.

She turned to the creature, and a smile brushed across her face. "Interlia." She breathed.

The creature was large, and looked out of place in this woodland terrain. It had two enormous flippers, which were slightly arched towards the creature's body. It was black, for the most part, with a few shades of dark green. It had a long, thick neck that reached almost above the treetops. A thick, whip-like tail slashed around behind it, knocking into trees and causing more damage to them then to the actual creature. Two dark, beady eyes stared out, seeing everything, and yet nothing. Bright white teeth gleamed sharply in its mouth, which was more of a pointed snout then a mouth. It's sleek, dark body wouldn't have looked out of place underwater.

In short, the perfect image of the Loch Ness Monster.

Anomaly smiled, and the Florlics behind her relaxed. "It's ok." She whispered to the others. "He won't hurt us."

She walked out of the cover of the trees, straight into the creature's line of sight. She kept her hands raised, as though showing it she wasn't dangerous.

"You're just a little spooked, aren't you?" She whispered, walking slowly over to it. The creature threw its head back and let out a long, mournful cry that made everyone's heart lurch.

Abby walked forward as well, in the same way that Anomaly was. "It's ok." She whispered. "We won't hurt you…"

Connor came out in wide-eyed wonder. "Oh. Cool!"

Anomaly rolled her eyes and gently touched the creature's side. Its slick, rubbery skin glistened in the sunlight. "Nortalio. Itornak…" She whispered.

The creature's neck swung down to face her, its head looking out of place on such a huge body. It let out a small groaning noise and nudged her gently.

"Yeah…" Anomaly said, smiling. "You recognize this, don't you?" She gently brushed the blue pattern above her eye. "It sings to you, doesn't it?"

The creature murmured something, softly groaning as it rubbed its head against her.

Connor stepped forward, the flashlight he'd brought ahead of him like it would do him some good it the creature turned hostile. "Is this what I think it is?"

Anomaly smiled. "Nessie." She replied, turning to him. "But this one's not a girl."

Connor's eye looked like they would pop out of his head. "No. Way."

Abby looked at him. "And you thought they were all dead."

"Well they are, mostly." Anomaly said, gently stroking the creature's head. "You think they're myth, or extinct, but about a century from now, they're proved to be real; and very much alive."

Abby looked at her. "Seriously?"

Anomaly nodded. "The problem is, they're almost extinct. It becomes practically a sport to hunt them." Anomaly spat the words out; furious at the people who would dare do such a thing. "Animals." She snarled.

Abby looked at the creature, stroking its side softly. "Weren't there laws against that? If they're almost extinct…"

"Yes." She spat. "Yes, there were laws. But it was the ultimate test, wasn't it? See if you're a REAL man, see if you can kill a Loch!" She snarled. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Yes." She whispered. "There were laws. But people didn't care." She looked at the creature. "Loch Ness Monsters were the inspiration for the empathic qualities of the Florlics."

The winged dogs behind her seemed to nod in agreement.

"They can feel emotions." Anomaly continued. "That's why they were able to keep hidden all these years. And why people wanted to hunt them. Because… well… because when they died, they sent out a mixture of fear, horror, hate, sadness… everything a person hates. When a Loch Ness Monster is scared, it does the same thing. It was a test. 'If you're a real man, you'll be able to kill a Loch Ness Monster before the emotions kill you.'"

Abby and Connor listened to her explanation in stunned silence.

Anomaly sighed and composed herself. "I'm sorry." She said. "I just have a problem with people who kill empathetic creatures." She sighed. "My own people had a problem with THAT one." She snarled.

There was silence for a moment as Anomaly tried to keep her anger in control.

Finally, she smiled. "So. How are we gonna get this guy to go back through the anomaly?"


When Cutter and Steven caught up with them, Abby explained everything.

"It's a fairly simple idea." Anomaly was explaining. "Nessies are empathic, correct? So, he should be able to know what we're thinking. Or…feeling. So, if everyone thinks the same thing at the same time, he should pick it up. Especially with the Florlics helping."

The Loch Ness Monster bent its enormous neck, bringing its head to face her. It moaned softly.

Tears formed in Anomaly's eyes. "Nortalia fornallow." She breathed. "Norflika tornano."

The creature moaned again. It was a soft, mournful cry. A tear streaked down Anomaly's cheek. "Itara, itara."

She turned to the others. "He says no."

Everyone looked at her.

"No?" Steven asked. "What do you mean, no?"

"Exactly that." Anomaly's eyes darted towards the gun in Steven's hands. She had always been wary of that. He never let it go.

"Why not?" Steven demanded.

The Loch Ness Monster turned to him, its midnight black eyes locked on his. This was a sort of creature who was more intelligent then it looked.

"There's something worse on the other side." Anomaly responded. Her bright, metallic blue eyes were locked on the anomaly. "Itstaria."

Abby walked over to her. "What do you mean, worse?" She gently stroked the creature's side. It moaned softly.

But Anomaly wasn't listening. She walked towards the anomaly, and, without warning, walked straight through it.

On the other side of the anomaly, something happened that she didn't expect.

"Nortalio!" She screeched. Fury, rage, pain, and hate washed through her.

"Orfirika!" The man responded. A bright blue pattern decorated his arm.

"Nierta." She spat.

The man stared at her with wide eyes. There was a knife in his hands, a silver blade with a jeweled handle.

"I expected this from the others." She said in her native language. "But never you."

"You know nothing." He spat, also in her language. "You never have." He looked into her eyes. "Why can't you see? Why can't you see that this is the way of the world?"

"Because it's NOT!" She spat.

"Please…"

"DON'T. Say. My. Name." Anomaly interrupted him. "Never again."

He looked at her, his eyes wide. "You would reject everything you are?"

"I would reject everything you MADE me!" She screeched.

She looked at the second anomaly, only a small distance away from the one she'd just entered. "Go back where you came." She snarled. "Or I'll force you there myself."

The man shook his head. "The others will be interested to learn what has become of the Rouge Child." He sighed. "You had so much…Potential."

"Potential which can only bring death." She spat. "I don't need you. Any of you."

He shook his head again. "Such a pity." He looked at her, then at the anomaly. Slowly, he walked over to it. Just before he entered, he turned to face her. "I'll be sure to tell Sam, shall I?"

Anomaly screeched, an inhuman screech that showed nothing but pain. She charged at the man, but it was too late. He took a step backwards, and the anomaly closed behind him.

Anomaly collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Pain, pure and absolute, coursed through her. "Sam." She whispered. "Oh…Sam…"


On the other side of the anomaly, the team was staring in astonishment. Anomaly had simply… walked through. No backup, no idea where or when it opened up to. She'd just gone in, potentially endangering her life.

"She's gonna hear about that one." Connor mumbled. "Lester is not going to be happy."

After another moment, Anomaly came through. Her eyes were bloodshot, and rimmed with red. She said nothing to the others, instead walking over to the Loch Ness Monster.

"You're safe now." She whispered. "The danger's gone. You're safe." She gently stroked the creature's side.

Physically, Anomaly looked fine. But there was no one in the world who wouldn't say she was in pain. The creature seemed to know something. Its eyes locked on hers, the perfect picture of gratitude.

Slowly, it turned around, and walked through the anomaly.

Anomaly stared at it for a long time. No one said anything, afraid of what might happen if they shattered the silence.

Finally, she turned around and faced the others. "We need to get this closed." She looked around. "Any ideas?"

Everyone shook their heads or muttered something about how it was impossible.

"Didn't you close the last one?" Connor asked. "You think you could do it again?"

Anomaly shook her head. "No." She looked at the anomaly. "I mean, I can feel it, so someone in my family might…" She looked down. "I couldn't. But…" She swallowed, and looked up, trying to hold back the tears. "My brother could have done it. But I can't."

She blinked back tears, sighed, and turned to face them.

Cutter took control. "Right." He said. "So we need to have someone guard this. If anything comes out, shoot it."

"Tranquilizers only." Anomaly said, her eyes locked on Cutter, furious flames burning behind them. "No bullets."

No one argued with that. They called Lester, who agreed to position guards in the area. Anomaly ran to the car, and the others caught up with her about ten minutes later.

Abby sat next to Anomaly this time. "I didn't know you had a brother." She said.

Anomaly nodded and turned to face the window. Tears formed in her eyes, unseen by the others and unbidden by her. When she spoke again, her voice cracked.

"His name was Sam."