Chapter 105: Ruidi

"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed, staring at the 'key' which was levitating in front of them on a pure white counter. The others followed my gaze and were similarly stunned, except for Raven, who, it seemed, took quite a lot to render surprised. It was the puzzle- that- stumped- mankind's- greatest- minds- for- ages... rubix cube.

We moped around, thinking of how to solve the stupid thing. Raven just watched us, amused, and not doing anything to help at all. That traitor.

Finally, Alex brightened up. "We could take it apart and put it back together correctly!" she said, excited. Everyone immediately began smiling and nodding. Alex took out a few of her tools that she liked to carry around and began tinkering with the cube.

After what seemed like ages, I said (my patience fraying) "Alex, are you sure you can take that thing apart?"

"Ummm... well, there are a few technical difficulties..." Alex said, biting her lip. I heard the sound of something going clang.

I lost my patience. "Why don't you ask Raven then? She looks like she knows something, but doesn't want to tell." I almost shouted.

All eyes turned to Raven, who was reading a book titled A Treatise on the Principle of Sufficient Reason by P. F. Fitzgerald that she had pulled out of nowhere. "Hmm?" she asked, glancing up at us briefly before her eyes returned to her book.

"Raven..." Pranu hesitated before continuing. "If you know something that could help us, tell us. Nick and Maria are really important to us."

Switches to Omniscient POV

"Minus Maria would be fine, too," Bhavana grumbled under her breath.

Pranu elbowed her sharply in the ribs.

"OW! What the beep was that for?" Bhavana yelped.

" I heard that," Pranu said accusingly.

"Heard WHAT?!" Bhavana whined, obviously still in pain.

"Heard what you grumbled!" Pranu said, exasperated.

"What did I grumble?!" Bhavana screeched.

"Didn't you just?..." Pranu trailed off, unsure of whether she had heard Bhavana or imagined it.

"Nooooow back on topic." Ruidi cut in, "Raven. You know something."

"ARGHHH WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Bhavana yelled.

"Ok, I'm sorry, forget it," Pranu said, thinking she had lost it.

"Perhaps." Raven replied idly, her right hand straying unconsciously to the sword hanging by her hip, then turned the page to one discussing how to manipulate minds.

"Then why aren't you telling?" Shirley asked. She hoped that this got resolved quickly before the flock threatened Raven for information.

Raven said nothing. Just smiled that half-smile of hers. Smug. Like she knew something they didn't

"I'll crack this instantly," Pranu said, grabbing the rubix cube. Then, the alarms flashed on. The ceiling and floor started slowly closing together. Nikita meant to smash them in between! Pranu frantically turned the sides and tried to solve it, all to no avail.

"Traitor!" Ruidi screamed at Raven. "You wanted us to grab that cube!"

"Not quite." Raven said simply, smiling again.

Each member of the flock took turns trying to solve it, but no one was able to solve even a single face. By then, they were almost squished, with only about three feet to spare. That's when Ruidi lost his temper. He unsheathed his sword and pressed the sharp end to Raven's throat.

"Half-bloods, you have to actually think sometimes. Use your cognitive skills." Raven said, back-springing out of range. "One day there will be nobody you can rely on." She laughed. "Today will be a test. Can you rely upon yourself?"

Ruidi took the rubix cube and stared at it for a long, long time. Finally, he understood what Raven had meant. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he threw the cube into the air. Then, he slashed his sword six times- once across each break of the cube. The rubix cube, or rather cubes now, fell on the ground. Then, he quickly re-assembled them so each side had the same color. The ceiling and floor immediately stopped moving, and a hidden door opened.

Raven gave him a small smile of congratulations that Ruidi accepted with an equally small nod. He understood what she had meant now. Raven thought, 'Of course, that was the more efficient way of solving it...', but she still believed that solving it the old-fashioned way was more... honest.

Then the flock walked through the door... and found themselves in the same stadium that Pranu, Ruidi, Caiyi, and Tim had once earned their freedom, and at the far end, was... Nikita and Maria surrounded by a half-circle Scissors and Heartlesses, standing over an unconscious Nick, who was bound in chains.

Chapter 106: Pranu

"Well, look who it is!" Nikita exclaimed with mock surprise.

"Shut it," Bhavana snarled.

"Make me," Nikita said, making a rude gesture. Bhavana hissed, unsheathing her claws and springing toward him.

"Don't!" Ruidi practically screamed. But it was too late. Halfway through the air, she suddenly slammed into the ground. There was an audible crack, and the force caused a crater to form on the dense, dry dirt.

Immediately, everyone rushed to her rescue. Ruidi created a spherical barrier around Nikita and Maria, with Shirley helping him support it. Tim, Caiyi, and me rushed over to Bhavana. My fear made my mouth dry, and I expected to meet the same fate as Bhavana.

We reached the place where Bhavana was lying in the dirt. Her eyes were closed and her pulse extremely weak.

"Shirley!" Tim yelled, tears glittering in his eyes. "Get over here!"

Shirley left Ruidi with an apologetic glance, and quickly ran over to Bhavana. Immediately, the barrier dimmed, and sweat beaded on Ruidi's forehead.

"How can you guys expect me to maintain a barrier after everything that happened?!" He shouted.

"Shut up, you wimp!" I snapped back almost instantly. He did, muttering to himself silently.

I looked back toward Maria and my breath froze. Her icy smile froze my blood. Then she flickered, as though teleporting, but it must have been my imagination, because when I blinked, she was there again.

Then, Ruidi cried out and fell. Blood flew everywhere.

Chapter 107: Shirley

How?! How could Ruidi have fallen so quickly, and how had Maria made such a clean cut?! I mean, I've heard of cuts so clean there's a delay before the cut actually opens, but still, it requires precision aim, and is extremely hard to do. So how had Maria had enough time to do it, when she wasn't even gone for a second?!

I didn't even have time to heal Bhavana. The barrier had disappeared and I felt sick. Just sick. This day was probably the worst, ever.

Raven

I sensed his presence. He was here. Father. I stopped time, and Father appeared before me, at least, a shadowy, wispy form that had erupted from the red gem on my sword.

"Koráki." Kronos said, at least, that was what it sounded like. "Pós eínai tou schedíou?"

"Fine, Father. All proceeds well." I replied, my mouth dry.

He narrowed his eyes. "Eíste xaploméni." he accused in a dangerous tone.

I half-smiled. "Humankind cannot help it."

"Sas díno tin athanasía," Kronos said angrily, "Kai aftó eínai to pós tha therapeía tis mou?"

"I am sorry, Father." I said regretfully. "It is my belief that humankind must go on."

Kronos shook his head, then said in fluent English, "I should kill you right here."

"You should." I replied, "but you won't."

He sighed. "You will understand. One day." then he turned his back to me and once again dissolved into smoke.

I allowed Time to resume its natural course. What had I missed? Apparently, that boy Ruidi had fallen, and the girl Bhavana was injured. I witnessed Maria and her lightning speed. Kronos- he was helping the side which would lead to humanity's destruction. But it was strange. Why would Father wish for the destruction of Humankind? Without them there would be no more fun for him. No more tormenting the mortals. So why?

And if Father wasn't supporting her, how had she gained that power?

Ruidi

How? She was a lot faster than I remembered. How? I tried getting up, but the pain made me lightheaded. I mentally probed the wound. It had sliced clean down my chest, nicking several of my bones. I wasn't going to give up, though. I had to save her. I had killed her in the past, and this was my chance to redo it. This time, I would save her, and nothing would get in my way. This determination gave me strength, yet what I was about to do make my doubt myself. The last time, I had killed her with this. This time, I would have to control it.

Otherwise, I might wreak more havoc than Nikita.

I stopped all my organ functions, and started building up my energy. I would save her. I had to.

Tim

Get a grip on yourself. My entire life- everything that I'd known- was in danger. I summoned a lightning bolt from the heavens and it struck into the enemy's midst, frying a nice big hole in the ground and turning two dozen or so scissors into scrap metal.

Shirley

The electric bow, I found out to my delight, made a twang whenever an arrow was loosed from it and produced a soft sizzle whenever it came into contact with a Scissor. I was scared, of course, for my life and my friends' lives, but I knew that I had to fight on if we wanted any chance to win this.

Pranu

I dodged another Scissor and whirled around, catching it by surprise and skewering it on my trident. I fingered my aqua-green pendent, then channeled some energy into it. Seconds later, the earth tremored and shook. I widened my eyes. So this is what it can do.

I stored more and more energy into the pendent, and the resulting quake that happened threw a lot of people and robots off of their feet except for the few people in the air (Raven, Alex) who could either sense the future or read my thoughts. Strangely, I was still standing. The earthquake was so violent that it tore really big fissures in the stadium, and when I looked over the edge, I saw to my surprise, bubbling from the depths, the same green lava we'd seen by the cliffs.

Alex

I hate Nikita even more now. I mean, I used to hate him, but now I hate hate him now. I chanced a glance toward Ruidi's lone figure, and immediately had to look back.

'Must be strong,' I thought to myself, and concentrating on my long distance attacks. Surprisingly, Nikita and Maria just stood there, silently watching the battle. Maria had pulled up her hood, so I couldn't see her expression. That slight distraction nearly cost me my life.

A Scissor used the opportunity to launch its knives at me. I dodged, but it still managed to slice me on the arm. Pain buzzed through my every cell, and my last thought was that it was poisoned. Then, I was gone.

Raven

The flock was still young, and a bit cloudy in reasoning and focus. Since this battle was to obtain the hostage, Nicholas (I presume that that must be his full first name), then shouldn't they be concentrating on getting to him instead of annihilating everything in sight?

I sighed. I would have to do that for them, then. If I wanted to stop the scientists from producing the prototype of their blueprint for the massive mechanical dracohydrae, then I would have to aid their side.

I stepped back into the shadows, and with my violet-black cloak it was hard to discern my position for anyone or anything that wished to look. I drew close to where Nikita and Sparrow, or, as she called herself now, Maria, was standing. I would need them away or distracted until I could free the hostage, who was unconscious.

I placed my hand into the Void and unwrapped a package of Hippomane Mancinella sawdust and a bundle of branches. A scissor was alerted of my presence but I silenced it immediately by pressing a series of buttons on its arm that reset its program.

Then, taking a deep breath, I stepped out into the light.

Nikita

I watched, amused, as the flock fought our army. "They'll never win." I said, more to myself than Maria. There was only one person I was worried about- Raven. She, indeed, was still a variable. And she was affecting the others in ways that we hadn't predicted.

Suddenly, speak of the devil, Raven appeared in front of me. I clenched my right hand, or at least, my robotic right hand, tightly. "You'll pay for what you did to my hand." I snarled at her.

"I will not, unless I have to." was her reply, then she drew out a package of a strange powder and blew it into my face.

"Wha-" then my eyes froze in shock, recognizing the smell. Manchineel tree sawdust. I doubled over, coughing. My throat swelled closed. I couldn't breathe. I rolled on the dirt ground in a fit of coughs. Then, I felt the ground drop out from under me as I fell into one of the chasms created by that upstart Pranathi Posa. I felt the green lava enfold me, strangely cool, and everything went black.

Maria

I was stunned. Nikita went down so quickly. And I could tell that I was Raven's next target.

"Sp-sp-spare me!" I gasped in my most convincingly raspy voice. "Ch-char-charlie was- he was controlling me!" But I saw her frown just the tiniest bit and knew that she didn't believe me. She shouldn't. I was lying. Charlie was nowhere in sight.

However, the flock had heard it and the look on their faces- well, at least most of their faces- told me what I needed to know. They believed me. Then they turned their heads away from my direction and continued fighting.

"I do not trust in you," Raven hissed at me in a low voice so that only I could hear, "but the others do. This time, and this one time only, I shall let you go. But if I perceive that you are in contact with the scientists in any way, this Manchineel tree sap is going straight into your eyes." she threatened.

"I hear you loud and clear." I gulped. Raven was not the kind of person who didn't keep her promises.

I shouted to the flock in a slightly shaky voice, "Guys! We got Nick. Now we just have to get out of here." For my final act of aggression, I pressed the 'call' button to Charlie's walkie talkie. I hoped that he could rush over, fast, and maybe mind-control a few members of the flock. Or help me as another traitor in their midst. "Bring the Transfigurer here, too." I whispered, just loud enough for the transmitter's super-sensitive mic to pick up.