Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Chapter 10b-Aqua meets Martha

CHAPTER 10 B-AQUA MEETS MARTHA
Just keep going, she though. She had a long way to go, the sharks still playing with her feet. SHe tried to swim without moving them. Looking down, she saw one of the sharks farther out swimming toward her a lot faster than she was moving! She picked up her pace, hoping the sharks under her wouldn't mind. She swam past a part of the water that was really red, and it looked like the sharks had already gotten to some other bird or fish. Maybe that's why they weren't biting her yet. The one that was farther out caught up with her and grabbed onto her foot, and pain went searing through her body and she felt as if her leg had been ripped off! Blood came up out of the water and she knew that he was still holding on. She screamed as loud as she could but no one could hear her! She was still too far out! More blood kept coming, and even though the shark had let go she couldn't move her leg. It hurt way too much, but she blinked back the tears and kept going, still screaming! More sharks gathered around her, running into each other, attracted by the smell of the blood. Right as they were about to attack, everything froze! The waves stopped in mid-air. The sharks froze. Aqua turned her head to make sure she was still alive. Farther out in the water she saw something coming towards her. It wasn't swimming, it wasn't walking on water, it was floating on top of it! It had a weird purple glow to it. As it came closer she saw that it was an old woman, sitting with her legs crossed and floating a foot above the water. she stopped right in front of Aqua, one hand behind her back. The reflection on the water was that of something shiny, but Aqua couldn't make it out. The gypsy looking lady held out her other hand, but Aqua didn't shake it, just eyed it warily. "What is going on? And what are you, some kind of sorceror?" "Oh, of course not.," The old lady said. "Consider me a friend. A friend with a very benefitial deal to both of us. You see, I didn't stop all of this. You did." Aqua looked at her like she had just said that aliens were real. Hehe. "I know you're scared, why don't you let me explain? You see, you have a power. The power to control water, and anything in it. And, when I'm here, anything it touches," she said, gesturing towards the rest of the beach. " Now let's get back to that mutally beneficial deal I was talking about. Your power. You have it, I want it. Well, let me elaborate. It is written in the laws of this land that no one person shall have total control over any thing that involves other people. Water involoves everyone, and you control it, therefore you are breaking the ancient laws juist by bieng alive." "I've never heard that law before," Aqua said, still not trusting this wierd lady. " Yes, well, few people have," she said quickly. "The important thing is that it's there. And you're breaking it by bieng here. My proposition is that I rule it with you. You would need to come back with me to do the partial transfer, but then, together, we would be invincible. You've never been able to use your powers on your own, but the minute I show up, look what you can do!" She said, guesturing to everything around t hem again.

"No way! How do I know your not just going to steal my power all together?"

"You don't. You just have to trust me," she said, with a strange look in her eye.

"I don't think so! You sww, Trust is a beautiful thing. You can keep it, or you can throw it out the window..." Aqua said, then, mustering up all the strength she could, set the beach back in motion (except for the sharks, of course). She swam as fast as she could while only moving one leg back to the beach, not looking back. She crawled onto the shore and yelled for her parents. _______________________________________________________

Chapter 10a= Shark Attack

CHAPTER 10 A- SHARK ATTACK


Aqua looked around the beach. It was almost deserted. The only other people there were her parents, who she had left over on the other side of the beach so she could hunt for shark's teeth and sea shells, so she could sell them at her school. Not having any luck, she decided to wade around in the water. She waded in up to her waist, then looked around her hunting for any 'hidden treasures' that might want to show up. Walking in a little further, she felt something brush against her feet. She jumped, then felt silly, because it was just a little tadpole. She waded in until the water was just below her shoulders. Something was wrong... a few seconds ago the beach was alive with birds and bugs and all sorts of things, but now she couldn't heatr anything. The seagulls had stopped their songs, and all the little tadpoles had vacated the area. There were no birds on the beach digging in the sand, no pellicans flying over her head. A cool breeze swept flew the beach. Starting to get chills, she started to wade back towards the sand. She hadn't made it very far when her foot slipped and she was caught in the current, whipped way out past where she was supposed to be. And she didn't know how to swim very well. She tried to dog-paddle back to the shore, but something brushed against her foot. This water was almost 20 feet deep-there was no way it could be a tadpole. She looked down and saw a big, dark form swimming under her. she looked farther out and saw a few fins sticking up from the water. She could hear the music from Jaws playing in her head, faster and faster. More of the dark bodies swam toward her, some diving under and nudging her feet. She knew she was in trouble! She had heard that you weren't supposed to scare the sharks or they would attack, so she tried as hard as she could not to scream as she started inching back through the water that separated her from the shore.

Chapter 11- Martha Returns

CHAPTER 11-MARTHA RETURNS

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Red sat on her bed, blasting Thousand Foot Krutch, her favorite rock band, through the sterio. Hearing a whine outside the door, she opened it to let in Captain. He was a very prissy dog. He had white fluffy fur, liked to chew on ice, and would cross his front paws whenever he laid down. If you stopped petting him before he was done with you, he would force his dainty little snout under your hand and snort at you. He hopped up on the bed, laying his head on the little red pillow with the crown on it like he was royalty.
After a few minutes of contentedly being petted, he heard something. He perked up his ears, cocked his head, and started whining. He ran to the windowsill and climbed up on it like a cat, and then started barking at something outside the window. He started growing and scratching, like something was right outside.
'That's crazy,' Red thought. 'I'm on the second floor. You'd have to be a ghost to be out there...'
More barking, more whining, more scratching. He suddenly fell backwards with a yelp as if he had just been hit my something big, then ran to the closed door. He jumped and scratched and barked, then ran to Red. He ran his paws over her jeans, almost scratching her. He whined and whined, still barking, obviously upset, as if screaming 'GET OUT! GET OUT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!'
Red jumped up from her bed, running to the door. She opened it and Captain ran out. A strong wind blew through the room, and the door slammed shut before she could leave. The lights flickered before going out completely. The room started shaking and the sky turned black, revealing an old woman sitting on air right outside her window. She had bangles and bracelets and colorful scarves and big hoop earings and a colorful bandana around her head. she looked like a fortune-teller meets gypsie type of thing. She was giving off a wierd glow, a mix of sliver and purple. She was actually glowing!
"Hello, Red. Oh my, you look so much like your mother."
She floated forward menacingly. She pulled a knife out and held it secretly behind her back.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Martha..."
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Red shrank back into a corner by the dresser. Who in the world is Martha? Martha floated through the window into the room. Red tried to scream but it stuck in her throat, taunting her. Martha laughed. "Oh, Reeeed, deeeaaad...I meeeaaan, deeeaaar.... There's no reeeaaason to be afraid of meeee. I want to talk to you, heeeelp you uncover your past. Pleeeeaaaase, come back with meeeee! Weeeee reeeeaaaally could be the beeeeest of friends." she said with a very heavy accent. "No! Whatever you are, I'm not going with you!" "I thought you might say that." She pulled the knife from behind her back. "One scream and this goes right through you, okay? I suggest you come quietly. You know how much damage this knife would suffer from piercing your little heart?" "How much?" Red asked, trying to hide her fear. "None whatsoeeeeeveeeeer." Red let out a yelp and shrank farther back into her corner as Martha came closer, closer, closer. She put out a hand to stop her. Out of nowhere a bolt of fire shot through her, sending Martha reeling back through the window. Martha looked down at her singed purple dress and her half-melted bangles. "No!" she screamed. "No no no! Eeeeeverythiiiiing is ruined!" She turned to Red "Surprised? So am I. How did you do that?" she snarled. "I don't know!" Red replied. "Oh well. No matter how you did it. What matters is that you tell NO ONE! Not eeeeven your friends." Like that's gonna happen, Red thought. They were the first ones she planned on telling. "You are going to neeeeed help controlliiiiing this fire, eh? When you do, come seeeee meeee." She pointed to the bed where a little card appeared in a purple puff of smoke, then turned and flew away.

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Chapter 10- Home Sweet Home

CHAPTER 10-HOME SWEET HOME
After they had left the salon, they returned to their homes. It took them a while to remember where they lived, but they eventually got there. Midnight ran up to her room and shut the door. She drew the curtains shut. She turned off every light she could find in her room until it was pitch black. Then she sat down at the computer and began to work on the novel she was writing.
It was about a queen who had six daughters (she had included her and her friends as the daughters) and the queen had powers to control the elements. She had a counselor/fortune teller named Martha, who was really a bad guy. One day an alien race came and took the queen away. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Aqua! Aqua, Where are you?”
“I’m in my room, mom. The same place where I’ve been for the past three hours!”
“We have to leave for dance lessons in ten minutes! Make sure you’re ready!”
Aqua groaned. If there was one thing she hated, it was ballet. But she could never tell her mother that. Her mother had been a ballet dancer all her life and wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps. That’s not what Aqua wanted at all. Aqua wanted to be a drawer.
“There’s no money to be made as an artist,” her mother would say. “You can’t perform art, you can’t join a drawing troupe. You can do all that with dance. Ballet is your future, sweetie.” Why didn’t she listen?
Aqua hated dance with a passion. The worst of all was those sparkly little outfits. She hated all things sparkly. She would rather swim or draw, her to favorite things to do. She pulled her notebook out from under her mattress, but was interrupted by a bang on the door.
“Come in,” she yelled.
Her mother burst through the door. She looked at the notebook.
“What’cha drawing? I thought I told you to get ready.”
Aqua hurriedly dropped the notebook somewhere behind her bed where her mother wouldn’t see it. “Nothing,” she said. “I’m ready.”
“Then let’s go! Go get in the car, I’ll be there in a minute- I need to check my e-mail.”
It would supposedly take just a minute, but then they would end up being late. It happened every time.
“I’ll be waiting in my room,” Aqua said quietly, hoping her mother wouldn't notice.
“No, no, I’ll just be a minute.”
Aqua sighed, getting ready for the longest minute of her life.

Chapter 9-New Life, New Problems

CHAPTER 9- NEW LIFE, NEW PROBLEMS…
Back on earth, in Clantry a few days later “Good morning, sleepy head! Time to wake up!”
Aqua looked around. She was in a large, beautiful house in the city. She looked out her huge bedroom window and saw the satellite-dish-like buildings, and remembered where she was. Well, kind of remembered. She remembered she was in the kingdom of Clantry, and she guessed she was in the mid-city area, but she didn’t remember this room, this house, this bed, or the woman standing over her.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m your mother, silly! Don’t pretend you don’t know me. Hey, I have to go into work today. I got called in for a last-minute shoot. You know how those modeling jobs are.”
“I do?” she asked. Apparently this woman was her mother. But this woman didn’t look very familiar. She searched her mind, and memories came flooding back. Unnaturally easily, she thought. She remembered everything. It was Saturday morning, and her name was Aqua. She was at home, 3265 Celestial Avenue. Her phone number was 996-885-2648. Her mother’s name was Carrie, and her father’s name was Evan. Her mother was a model, and her dad was a lawyer. She had 5 best friends, and she remembered their names. Starlight, Midnight, Aryana, Terra, and Pyris, who loved to be called Red. She was supposed to meet them at the mall. They were going to their favorite little salon, A La La Que. She looked over at her alarm clock. It read 9:45. They were supposed to meet at ten, so she’d better hurry up! _______________________________________________________
Midnight looked around. She wasn’t home. At least, it wasn’t the one she remembered- or was it? The tall windows, light blue walls with a white wooden border and high ceiling did not look familiar- or did it? Her brain was caught in a fog she couldn’t shake. It’s like everything changed overnight, but it was still the same as yesterday. Like the feeling you would get if somebody broke into your house and replaced every single thing with exact replicas, but you could tell something was different because your room didn’t smell like oranges, your dog didn’t have the high-light in his tail that you’d given him, and the report sitting on your desk didn’t have the pizza stains from last night’s dinner.
Suddenly she remembered everything. She was home, in her room, at 2589 Ocean View Avenue. She remembered her friends, her family, and that she was supposed to meet her friends at A La La Que, their favorite salon. She looked at her watch, which she suddenly remembered was on her wrist. She looked at it, but somehow she didn’t remember it or how it got there. That didn’t matter, thought, because it read 9:45. She was supposed to meet her friends at 10:00! She’d better hurry up... _______________________________________________________
Red (the daughter) laid there on her bed, still trying to slip out of the morning groggy-ness. It took her a minute to realize where she was, but after that she remembered everything. She was Pyris, her friends called her Red, She had to meet her friends at A La La Que at 10:00... Wait, she thought. What time is it? She looked at the big clock hanging on the bright red walls. It read 9:45. Before she got up, she looked around the rest of the room to make sure it was all there. The ceilings were tall, and she had a very big, tall window opposite her. She could see the beautiful city, and could see all the way to the outskirts. 'I must be on the second floor', she though. She heard some very loud music coming from the CD player. 'Oh yeah', she thought. 'I like rock music'. She brushed her memory lapse aside and jumped out of bed. She ran to the closet to start trying on clothes... _______________________________________________________
Starlight noticed the smell of pancakes running through...wherever she was. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was in her bedroom. She could tell by the bright yellow walls, the tall ceilings, and the big window to let in all the beautiful light from outside. Suddenly she remembered. She remembered everything. She remembered everything about her life, and that she was supposed to be at A La La Que at 10:00! She looked at her computer. The time on the screensaver read 9:45. Oops! _______________________________________________________
Aryana woke up slowly. She was so not a morning person! Usually on Saturday mornings she would just sleep in, and when she did wake up she would stay in bed and curl up with a good book. Not today, though. She couldn’t remember why she couldn’t, she just remembered she couldn’t.
Suddenly she remembered everything- it was like being shot up through the surface of the water after being under it for a very long time. Then she remembered why she couldn’t sleep in-she was supposed to be at A La La Que in 15 minutes! _______________________________________________________
Terra rolled out of bed and landed with a thud! on the floor. She had just been scared out of her mind by something jumping onto her bed and licking her face and someone blasting music from the stereo at the same time!
“Wake up call!” Her dad said. She looked around her room, making sure it was all the same. The dark green walls, high ceiling, big window, and all of her flowers in the window box- it was all there...except something. Like part of her life was missing, but it was still there and everything changed without moving at all. Her dad moved to the window and pulled back the huge curtains, flooding the room with warm sunlight. She squinted, pulling the covers over her head. Her dog, Captain, jumped on the bed and licked her face again. “Come on, Terra! You have to be at A La La Que in 15 minutes! Do you want a ride or not?”

Chapter 8-On The Ship

CHAPTER 6-ON THE SHIP
Meanwhile, in the Tantao ship... “Well, well, well. Look who we have here: High and mighty Pyris, queen of Clantry. Where’s your little ‘kingdom’ now? Oh wait, I know. Far away! They can’t save you now. Where’s your knight in shining armor when you need him, right? Anyway, down to business.” Red looked up into the face of a silver, human-like being. It had the characteristics of a human; Two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two ears, two feet, two legs, ten fingers, and ten toes, she assumed-she couldn’t see it’s feet- but it was different. She could tell. It’s like some energy balance inside this thing was off. It couldn’t be a real human. Could it? Humans don’t have silver skin. It had wide set shoulders and a big head. It spoke with a deep voice. She could vaguely remember this voice, but it was like a far away dream-she couldn’t put her finger on it. Who was this weird thing? She looked around the room. It was all white and silver, but mostly white. It wasn’t a square, either. It was more like a square, but with rounded corners that faded into each other. The walls and floor and ceiling were white. The bed she was strapped down to was white. There was a small metal stand next to her, like the kind of things next to the chair at the dentist. But instead of a square, it looked like a big, flat drop of water frozen in time. She jumped as the creature spoke. “You probably don’t remember anything. That’s just as well. Now, tell me, Red. What is behind your powers? Is it some kind of power source inside your city?” “No,” she said, still trying to shake the weird daze that had settled over her and didn’t seem to want to let go. “Runs in the family. Who are you and what am I doing here? More importantly, where is here?” “I am Troyan. You are on the Tantao ship. We are 200,000,000 Gleks and 4,450,679 Gloms away from your kingdom, Red. It would take years to turn around and go home, even though it only took us about 10 earth minutes to get here, so don’t even think about it. How did we get here so fast, you might ask? Well. That would be my little secret. Or Martha’s, I guess... Now tell me. How might one go on about taking your powers?” Red wondered why he was asking these questions upfront. Wouldn’t an advanced race of alien beings have some sort of way of getting it out of her? He saw her hesitating and reached behind him and she saw him grab something. She noticed a sweet smell, and she breathed deeply. It smelled like a mixture of flowers and honey. She started to get dizzy. The room spun, her vision blurred. She didn’t realize she was speaking, yet she did. “You want my powers? It’s to late; they’re gone!” She unconsciously laughed like an insane child. Her vision blacked out. Her hearing stopped. The last thing she heard were the angry grumbling of Troyan. She finally remembered where she had heard his voice, where they had ‘met’. She remembered everything. She gasped, but it was too late. The world faded away from her, despite her trying to bring it all back...

Chapter Seven- The Letter

CHAPTER 6- THE LETTERDearest Ferdinand, If you are reading this it means that my destiny has already been fulfilled. Well, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. I am sorry that I was never truthful with you, but when you finish reading this you will know why. Everything Martha said was true. I have-well, had six powers. I have sent one of them into each of the children, each one matching their name. I know you’ll figure it out. I gave them those names because I knew this day would eventually come. Go into my room and go to the window seat. Rip off the cover. Inside you will find a key. Then go to my jewelry box. The key is for the fifth drawer. Inside you will find six golden chains, each with a different symbol on them. I want you to give one to each girl, but they have to be given as follows: Midnight will receive the moon. Starlight will receive the sun. Pyris will receive the flames. Aqua will receive the waves. Terra will receive the picture of the earth. Aryana will receive the picture of a flower blowing in the breeze. Each one of these has a word inscribed on the back. Do not tell them this, they will have to figure it out. Ferdinand, you MUST give these out as I say! Do not underestimate the importance of it! Someday when they are old and you are older, you will understand. Also, between the mattresses of my bed there is a gun. Do not be alarmed, it is a stun gun, but it does erase memories. I know this will be hard for you, but you must use it on the children. Set it to five, and use it late at night. But before you do, go into the city. Set up a home for each one of them. They must grow up together, but not know that they are sisters. They need to become close. You must live in the city, too, to supervise them. Do NOT ever let them lose their necklaces! Those will be the key to unlocking their past, which they will only do through being close and knowing each other well. The day will come when Troyan will come back with armies, and you must be ready! They will have to pass through several different dimensions, I’ll make sure of that. You just make sure they are ready. Let them live a happy life. When Midnight is 16, it will almost be time. In the window seat there is another stun gun, only this one has a screen and it creates memories. Plug it in to AMA, the Amazing Memory Author. She is in the cellar. To get to her you need the password, which is ELEMENTS. I need you to make happy memories of them, growing up together and becoming best friends in the city. Leave no memory of this life on the surface, but leave some deep, deep into their minds, so that someday, when they are ready, they can be unlocked. Your loving wife, Red ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ King Ferdinand turned to his daughters, who all looked shocked. The full effect hadn’t sunken in yet, he guessed. He himself hadn’t fully accepted it, either. He decided to go back to the cellar to make sure the servants were okay. When he got there, it was empty. He and the girls searched the castle, but couldn’t find anyone. Where were they? They were in the cellar last time anyone saw them. Even the castle dog, Gypsy, wasn’t anywhere to be found. He told the girls to go to their rooms, and he went to Red’s bedchamber. He went to the window like the letter said, and took out his pocketknife to rip off the cover. Cotton and dust flew everywhere. Inside the cover there was a key, a long silver key with emeralds in the end. He went to the jewelry box, and then looked at the fifth drawer. There was no keyhole, but it was locked. He tried looking for a keyhole on the side, but as soon as the key touched the box a green light, a scanner, showed up and skimmed over the key. A projection from the green light showed up on the opposite wall, and various scans and readouts came and went to fast to read. A hologram of Red suddenly appeared in front of him. “Ferdinand! Are you here to get the necklaces? I assume you found my letter. You didn’t show it to the girls, did you? They mustn’t know about any of this.” “No, I didn’t...” He tried to talk to the hologram, but it was a recorded message, and she cut him off. “Before you use the guns, you have to get homes for them! I will miss you,” the hologram said before blinking out. The readouts also disappeared. The drawer shot open, revealing 6 gold chains. He took them out and looked at them. They were beautiful. He went to see Terra first, but found them all in her room, talking about what happened. He listened at the door to keep from being seen. “What do you think happened in there?” Asked Midnight. “Well,” said Terra, “I think that mom’s powers have people out to get her. Did you ever see such a thing? A spaceship came and almost landed on the castle! And those horrible lasers bouncing around outside, and the twisters, and then...” “We know, don’t say it. She disappeared,” said Aqua. “What was going on with those shiny orbs?” Asked Pyris. “I don’t know,” Terra said, “But it was something big. Do you think maybe mom gave us her powers? How freaky would that be!” “Yeah!” said Aqua. “Imagine. Us! With powers! That would be so cool!” “No it wouldn’t!” Said Midnight. “You saw what good mom’s powers did to her. Do you want the same thing to happen to us?” “Come on. Midnight,” said Terra, “You always see the glass as half empty. Maybe our powers could save us! Besides, I’m sure mom is fine. The aliens probably just want to run some tests on her, figure out how she got her powers,” “Kill her...” Midnight said under breath. Everyone moaned. “Well, come on! I mean, you heard the ugly silver guy; mom is the only one who could take out their race! Why would they want to leave her around?” One by one, they all realized she was right. Would they ever see their mother again? King Ferdinand walked in, carrying the necklaces behind his back. “Hello, girls. Your mother left you something, something she wanted me to give you.” He handed each one of them their necklace. “They’re beautiful,” Said Terra, smiling. “I love it! I wish mom were still here,” said Midnight “Well. We’ll have to learn how to live, how to work things out. Goodnight, girls.” “Goodnight!” They all replied together. Ferdinand left and Aqua spoke up. “Hey, it’s late. I’m turning in for the night. Goodnight.” “Goodnight,” they replied.

Chapter Six-The Fight

CHAPTER SIX-THE FIGHT

“NOOO!!!” Red shoved her family out of the room and shut the door, then bolted it so they couldn’t get back in. She couldn’t protect them all at the same time, so she had to get them out of harm’s way. She would never let the ones she loved get hurt because of her. Besides; She didn’t have enough power to fight. She didn’t even know if she could protect herself. The ship started shooting green, round, golf-ball sized lasers, blasting holes in the walls. Red used her light powers and put a shield around the door and her, blocking lasers from both. She rolled and dodged as her shield got weaker. She had not used her powers in a long time, and she was regretting it now. One of the green bolts shot out the side of the room where the glass wall used to be, bouncing off all of the buildings, recreating the whole scene with the green orbs earlier. Now she knew what those were-Lasers. As she fought, she wondered why no one in the kingdom was out in the street, why it was silent-almost deserted-outside. Looking again, she saw a dog frozen in his tracks, not moving. It clicked. Time was frozen outside of the castle! But what sort of mechanism could do that sort of thing? She dodged a close call that singed some of her long hair, reminding herself who she was dealing with-Evil mystics and Aliens. Finally, her shield was gone. She tried to put up a water shield, but that didn’t work. The lasers went right through it, narrowly missing her. Finally she put up a huge fire shield, because it was the only thing so far that would repel the lasers. She ran up to the ship head on, shooting water and fire to try to fry the circuits. That didn’t work. Next she brought in big boulders and trees and rocks and tried to bombard the ship. The entry hallway was huge, but barely bigger than the ship. She tried to bring in bigger things from outside to throw at it. Nothing was working! She then tried to do her ultimate attack, the one her mother had taught her. She took one blast from each power, and then locked them together. She hurled the blast that was bigger than two thrones, but the ship put up a strange white shield she had never seen before. ` All the stress of what was going on had pretty much drained her of power. She should have known she wouldn’t have been able to fight them. Today alone she had already found out her best friend was evil, faced hurricane-like storms and used her powers secretly to save the people involved. That had pretty much drained her by itself. Then she had to go find her daughter and had to put up transparent shields for both of them, then for the rest of her family when they got there, and more. She was in no shape to battle. The door suddenly burst open. King Ferdinand jumped in, and saw Red in trouble. He tried to help by dragging her out, but Troyan had other ideas. He shot him with a stun laser. He wasn’t evil, just scared of this queen. He wasn’t going to kill someone who wasn’t involved. Just then, all six little girls ran into the room, Starlight being carried by Terra. “GET OUT!” Troyan yelled, trying to scare them away. He didn’t dare shoot at them, because they were earth young ones and he didn’t know what the lasers would do to them. Red got up off the ground and tried to use air to blow them out, but she had run out of power. This would be her last resort, her final chance to save them. Her eyes clouded over. She let out a shrill, alarming scream that froze everyone, even the shiHer hair and dress blew around her in the sudden wind. Her arms were raised up. She shone all by herself, radiant and bright. A glowing, white orb of pure energy formed in her hands. Troyan saw his chance. He shot the original thin beam of blue light at her. She jumped, throwing the energy into the ground. The room was engulfed in light...pure light, pure energy. Somehow the aliens couldn’t see it. The white orb broke into six different orb colors. They were green, a foggy-clear color, Red, Dark Blue, Black, and Yellow. Somehow all of the orbs seemed to be invisible to the aliens. Red fell to the ground, lifeless. The orbs circled above her head, then shot out to the girls. One stopped in front of each one of them, then plunged into them, like the girls had absorbed them. The green one went to Terra, the red one to Pyris, the foggy one to Aryana, the dark blue one to Aqua, the black one to Midnight, and the yellow one to Starlight, who was still in Terra’s arms. A huge beam of light shot down from the ship, lifting Red’s body off of the ground and into the ship, gone forever. The only thing she left behind was a letter, sealed with the royal seal, in red, with the initial R.

Chapter Five- The Fight

CHAPTER FIVE-THE ABDUCTION
Midnight slipped and slid down the hall. She opened the big wooden door from the corridor to the Grand Hall. Water flooded out, sweeping her off her feet. She screamed, or at least tried to, as the wave banged her head against the corner of the wall, sending her spiraling into a swirl of darkness. “Midnight!” Red yelled, sliding through the halls towards the Grand Hall. She saw the open door and her heart fell. It had been left closed to prevent the water from flooding the rest of the castle. Had Midnight opened it? She could have been swept away down the stairs across the hall. She could have hit her head! Considering that was the only place other than the Grand Hall that she could have gone, Red decided to check the stairs first. Holding onto the rail tightly, she lit the lantern hanging on the wall and heard a soft moan from the bottom. “Midnight!” she yelled again, going faster down the stairs. She got to the bottom and picked up the wet bundle. “Why in the world did you leave? Didn’t you know you could get hurt? You had us all worried sick!" “It’s my fault. I put Starlight in the crib and strapped her in. She couldn’t have gotten out even if she tried. I had to come get her. It was all my fault, it was all my...” “No, Midnight! It wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen! It’s safe and dry from here to the cellar. I want you to hold onto this rail while I...” “Honey?” King Ferdinand and the girls showed up behind Red. “Ferdinand! What are you doing here?” She yelled over the wind. “Why are they here?” She asked, referring to her kids. “They could get killed! Are you nuts?” “They wouldn’t let me come alone! I told them to stay, but they wouldn’t listen!” “Well it’s too late now!” One by one they all slipped into the Grand Hall, trying to stay standing. Red ran over to the crib, got the baby, and handed her to Ferdinand. Thank goodness the water hadn’t gotten as high as the crib. They all headed to the door but were pulled back as the roof was ripped off. A gigantic, bigger-than-life circle flew overhead and stopped above them, ripping off the ceiling. It seemed to be a ship of some time. It took them all a minute too get used to the darkness. A light, a thin beam of blue light, shone down from the middle of the ship. All of the sudden the storm stopped. The newly formed tornadoes dissolved, the wind stopped, the rain ceased, and the sky went back to its iridescent purple. An all-too-familiar voice came from the ship. “Hello, Red. Remember when you were little and you asked me how I got to be so smart, and I told you I had friends in high places?” said Martha’s voice. “You didn’t think this is what I meant, did you?” She laughed her evil laugh again. “What do you want?” Red yelled, angrier than anything else. “Oh, dear, what do you mean? For as long as you’ve known me, you should know what I want now. Need a hint? Here it is. I want POWER!!” She screamed, a demonic voice mixing with her own. A deep voice came from the ship. “Hello, Your Majesty. My name is Troyan, leader of the Tantao race. We have been watching you, Your Majesty. You see, our prophecy says this. ‘When earth, air, fire and water, Join with darkness and light, The result will be undefeatable, With endless power and might.’ Do you know what that means? It means that those are the only six things in this dimension and the next that could ever, ever, ever even somewhat have a chance against the Tantao race. Our mystic, Cassandra, happens to be Martha’s sister. She never told us she had a sister until Martha told her about your powers. Did you know that you and you alone have the power to destroy our race? Therefore, Your Majesty,” said Troyan mockingly, “We must destroy you first!”

Chpter Four- The Stormy Attack

CHAPTER THREE-THE STORMING ATTACK
“You see, Red? You’re not the only one with powers. See?” She laughed again, enjoying their fear, absorbing it, feeding on it. The more scared they were, the bigger the twister got. Everyone turned to Red, looking for someone who would take on the mystic. “W-what are you talking about, Martha?” She said, barely able to get the words out of her mouth. “Oh come on darling, don’t tell me you don’t remember our little chat, back when you were pregnant with Starlight? Let me refresh your memory. I told you I knew your secret, and you were all too happy to tell me everything I needed to know.” Outside the castle, the beautiful, light purple sky of Clantry turned dark brown. “What are you doing?! I trusted you!” She yelled over the rising winds and the torrents of rain that seemed, like the orbs, to come out of nowhere. “Well, honey, trust is a beautiful thing, just like a promise. You can keep it, or you can throw it out the window. I think you know what I mean. How many times have you broken the trust you have with your people? You lie to them every single day that you wake up and don’t come clean with them. These people trust you with their lives, their children’s lives, their grandchildren’s lives, and so on. Don’t you at least owe it to them to be honest?” “Honest? You’re trying to tell me about being honest? What are you? What’s going on? Whatever is happening is putting us all in danger! The water level is rising as we speak, there are horses blowing away in the wind! Do you hear me? What is wrong with you? I thought I knew you! You were my best friend.” Red thought she detected a hint of pity in Martha’s eyes, but only for a second. “I’m sorry. It’s too late.” She laughed again, more evil and sickening than ever before, as if her voice were coming from a deep, dark pit. She started spinning along with the twister, faster and faster and faster...then nothing. She was gone. The rain still fell in blankets, the wind still well over 100 mph. Red took over. “Quick! Everybody to the shelter!” Everybody ran down to the cellar, not a second to soon. Right as they were out of the doorway, the glass wall shattered into a million pieces. Water flooded the gigantic hall. Wind rushed through the castle. They shut the huge door behind them to keep the rest of the castle from flooding. When they got to the cellar they did a head count. Red felt sick as she realized who was missing. “Ferdinand...” she said slowly, quietly. “Where are Midnight and the baby?”

Chapter 3- The Invasion

CHAPTER THREE-THE INVASIONBack On Earth... 6 years later

“Hey Midnight, you want to play 52 pick-up?” asked 12 year old Pyris.

“Come on, Pyris. Just ‘cause Terra’s gone, that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Said 8-year-old Midnight, referring to her 15-year-old sister who always looked out for her.

“Fine, then!” Pyris said dramatically. “What else to do? It’s not like there is anything to do. What to do when there’s nothing to do...What to do when there’s nothing to do... What to do when there’s...”

“PYRIS! Snap out of it, okay? We’ll find something, just... don’t break down. Hey, maybe Terra’s back. Let’s go find out, okay?.”

“Fine,” Pyris said. She took off after Midnight, still repeating the same thing over and over, probably to annoy Midnight. “What to do when there’s nothing to do... What to do when there’s nothing to do...”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“MOTHER!” Terra called from the gigantic castle gates. She stepped inside, not seeing Midnight and Pyris watching quietly from the doorway to the courtyard.

“MOTHER!” No one answered, not even one of the servants. She screamed again, louder this time. “MOTHER!” she yelled. She grunted, knowing that she was probably about to get herself into trouble with this next one. “MOOOOOOOOTHEEEEEER!!!” she screamed, loudest yet. “MOOOTHEEE...AAAAHH”

Midnight and Pyris giggled, and 13-year-old Aryana and 10-year-old Aqua walked in with 6-year-old Starlight, all watching as Jeeves, one of the servants, walked down the corridor into the Grand Hall with a tray of small milkshakes for the girls. Too bad for Terra, they ended up on her dress.

Right then Red walked into the hall.

“Goodness gracious, dear, whatever do you want?”

“Oh, uh...hmmm... I had it a second ago... give me a minute...uh...oh yeah. Hi!”

Red smiled, much too obviously amused at how absent-minded Jeeves could be, which sometimes got him in trouble. She walked over and almost gave her daughter a hug, but then decided a pat on the head would suffice for now. “Well, how was the slumber party?”

“Oh, it was a blast! You would not believe how much fun we had! Oh my gosh, I have to tell you every little detail later... can’t wait!”

“Can’t wait,” Red said reluctantly.

Out of nowhere, there was this high-pitched zing sound, as if someone had just bounced a tangible beam of light of one of the kingdom’s many skyscrapers, which looked more like giant metal satellite dishes on 40 ft. round poles. Then there was complete and absolute silence that was so omnipitent it hurt their ears.

Martha walked in, strangely slow, staring out the wall that was made of glass that stood directly to the left of the huge entryway. Something was different about her, Red could tell. She just couldn’t put her finger on it. Just her presence, the presence of the woman Red had grown up with and trusted her whole life, seemed disturbing, dangerous, threatening. Her eyes were clouded over as if she were in a trance. She had that strange look in them even as they were clouded over, the look Red had noticed all her life when she was around Martha, but could never translate. Yes, it was the same look, but more... intense. As if something she had been waiting for, something she had been waiting a very long time for, was finally about to happen. Red pulled Terra close to her, like she had to protect her from something. Pyris and Midnight, freaked out by this sudden change in atmosphere, ran to their mother’s side.

A wave of fear ran through the castle, so strong that it sent Aryana, Aqua, and King Ferdinand with Starlight in his arms running to the cavernous Grand Hall. He handed the baby to Midnight, who held her tight. After a minute of calming her down, she sat her in the cradle and stood by her. The servants had come by then, too. It seemed that everyone in the castle was there. The silence of the many people echoed off the walls, bouncing back, hurting their ears. It was deafening. No one who was there that day knows exactly why they were all pulled to the Grand Hall that afternoon, but for whatever reason, it was something they would never forget. All of the doors and windows all over the castle started opening and closing, then finally slammed shut, the noise resounding and loud. A strong wind blew through the castle. It knocked over lamps and vases, tore pictures down from their place on the wall, and gained strength as it went. It whipped through the castle and formed into a twister. It raced into the Grand Hall and rested against Martha, pulling her up into it. Red screamed, foolishly thinking Martha was the one in danger.

Out of nowhere, there was another zing. Then there was another, louder. Then there were three or four, echoing off the buildings, bouncing off of them and sounding again. Then there were several more, all joining with the echoes of the first, all of them bouncing off the skyscrapers, rolling around in the satellite-like dishes of the buildings, creating a deep, horrifying sound. Everyone turned toward the glass wall. Hundreds, no, thousands of golf-ball sized things were flying through the city. Glowing, green orbs, coming out of nowhere and everywhere at the same time. They kept coming, no sign of stopping. Time seemed to freeze, and reality seemed to disappear. The orbs glowed and rolled and bounced, demanding stares from the people inside. They couldn’t take their eyes off of the things. Red jumped as on of them slammed against the glass wall. Then more. In a matter of seconds there were thousands of those horrible things throwing themselves at the wall. People screamed. Suddenly they all disappeared, going back into the nowhere where they came from, leaving only their deafening echo. Then silence.

Turning their attention back to the twister, they saw Martha sitting on top of it, controlling it. She laughed cruelly, her eyes still having the same eerie look, the same clouds in them.

Chapter 2- Meet the Aliens

CHAPTER TWO-MEET THE ALIENS


OLD ALIEN PROPHECY:
When earth, air, fire, and water,
Join with darkness and light,
The result will be undefeatable ,
With endless power and might... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere...else...

“Sir!” the little silver man nearly yelled, rushing into the captain’s quarters and speaking as fast as he could. “Guess who’s made another prophecy: Cassandra, the local mystic. This is no regular prediction, though; otherwise I’m sure you couldn’t care less. At least, you never cared before. Or did you? I don't think you did. Well, you might care now. Maybe. But probably not. Actually, if you really think about it, analyse it and try to get down to the roots of the situation..."

"Skarthon! On with it!"

"Oh, sorry sir. Anyway... you know the old prophecy?" He started quoting. "When earth, air, fire and water..."

“I know very well what it says, Skarthon,” said the mysterious and deep voice from behind the thick curtain. “On with it already!”

“Well, she says it is time! The prophecy will soon be fulfilled... Well, relatively soon. In a few earth years, sir.”

“Skarthon. Skarthon, Skarthon, Skarthon. Why have you awakened me to tell me this? I have never worried about the prophecy. Not then, not now. Cassandra is most definetly not one to toy with, but the prediction, it’s...impossible. Incredible. Incomprehensible. Anyone who would predict its coming must be as insane as the prophecy itself. What harm could any earthly elements do to such an advanced species? The Tantao race is the most advanced yet. And you’re worried about a little rain? Ha!”

“Troyan, your majesty, wind and rain should be the least of our troubles. In sector 6,000 KLPm, there is a somewhat young queen, about 25 yrs. old, I think. Sir, her clomatic energy is off the charts! I’ve never seen anyone with such unbelievable energies, and powers! Why, she could rule her world! Yet, she keeps her power hidden, like it’s a curse. Still, you won’t believe what her powers are. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Darkness, Light. Sir, it’s just like the prophecy!”

“So what?” Secretly, Troyan became very uneasy. Could there really be someone.. a woman, nonetheless... young, too... that had power to rival his own, and the whole Tantao army?
“If you must,” he said reluctantly, “Keep an eye on her. We’ll see how tough she is, when she thinks no one’s watching to see her powers in action... Now, GET OUT!!!” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elements Chapter 1- Meet The Humans

Hey yall! I know I said I would have the first chapter up by monday but I couldn't figure out how to get it off of my computer. I don't have internet or a printer, I couldn't burn it to a CD, and I couldn't find any floppy disks that would work! Well, I have it now. It's pretty long, but I hope you like it! There might be some type-o's but I'll edit those out later. Comment if you find some!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


CHAPTER ONE-MEET THE HUMANS

Dear Diary,
It's me, Midnight. You know how I said that I don't believe in happy birthdays? I was right. Right now my sisters and me are hiding out in the Collatan Caves. I wish wouldn’t have... wouldn’t have... I don’t know. I just wish she would come back and make this all go away. Then none this would've never happened. Maybe I could just have a NORMAL 16th birthday. Maybe my mom would still be alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~Many, Many Years Ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The old mystic of the castle sat rocking in her chair when Queen Pyris walked by. Pyris hated her name and her title, so she insisted on being called Red.

She was a fair, loving, and extremely powerful queen. Everyone loved her, and her daughters as well. She actually had 5 daughters. The oldest, Terra, was 9. Aryana, Ary for short, was 7. Pyris, who was named after her mother, was 6. Aqua was 4. Midnight, the youngest, was 2.

"Red," Martha said. "You're expecting again, aren't you?" Red turned away. "Don't try to hide it from me... I see it in your eyes."

"Fine. You win. You always win. You know I would tell you anything. And yes, I am. I don't know what I'm going to do! I already have 5 girls, I don't know if I can handle another! Besides, I'm already stretched so thin- being queen of Clantry, advisor to the king, and mother to 5 daughters! Martha, do you have a prophecy for me? Please, just tell me everything will be okay!"

"Everything will be fine," replied the old woman. "My prophecy is this; After the birth of your next child, when she is a little older, 6 children will inherit your powers. They will someday save your nation," said Martha, almost whispering.

Red was shocked. How did Martha know about her powers? She had certainly never told anyone, not even the king himself. So how did she know?

"What... powers?" Red said nervously, fidgeting and shuffling her feet.

"Red, I know. I've known for a long time."

“How did you find out?" She asked, stuttering.

Martha got a weird twinkle in her eyes. It was a twinkle that Red had seen many times, ever since she was a little girl. Martha had pretty much raised her when she was a little princess, and did everything her mother never could.

"I know many things, Red. Many things you couldn't even imagine that I would. I know what your powers are, too. You can bend elements. Use them as you please. You can make a sunny day, or a real heck of a storm. Earth, Air, Fire Water, Darkness, and Light. I'm right, am I not? I always knew, I just wanted to hear it from you," she said, smiling strangely.

"Yes, you're right," Red said, collapsing into a beautiful palace chair, half from exhaustion and half from astonishment. "Please don't tell anyone!"

"I won't. I have no reason to endanger your job... or your life, your majesty. None at all," she replied in a strange tone, with that weird look again in her eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~