Chapter One

            Kira blinked as her morning alarm clock went off. She sighed. Another day of school, chores, homework, and complete misery. She ignored the far too familiar melody, and closed her eyes again. Four minutes later she awoke to her mother pounding on the door. 

“Kiranous! Please! You know you have to get up. If you don’t, I’ll be late for work, then fired. What am I supposed to do then? What will we do?”  Mother reminded her. 

Kira rolled over, and squinted at the morning sunlight. She crawled out of bed, and put on her day clothes. The plain yellow walls of her little room seemed to tighten. The cracked stained light in the middle of the ceiling flickered. Glumly she forced her legs to walk into the kitchen, where her Mother was putting her bag together. What's in the bag

Kira’s mother was a doctor, and had to arrive on time or else she could be in serious trouble. It was stupid really, firing everyone so people are forced into the army. 

Ungonalo was at war with Irinals, as they had been at war for the past twenty eight years. Much longer than Kira had been alive. There were on and off wars ever since the main colonies of the world grouped together, but most of them never lasted longer than a couple of months. They were always about land. Land is easy to compromise on. A mass assasination of world leaders is not.

Kira ran out the door with her mother. They caught the first train to Kira’s school, and quickly ate breakfast in their seats. 

It had always been just Mother and Kira as far back as she could remember. No one else knew what happened to her father, except for her mother and a few government officials. No one talked about it. He rebelled. That’s as much as Kira was allowed to hear. Every time she asked, she was given a stern lecture and then usually ignored. It was too dangerous to ask any more questions. It was forbidden to ask questions about the government and their decisions. 

 Kira and her mother were practically identical, with dark cinnamon skin, curly black hair, and large brown eyes. You need a better transition When she entered the room, her teacher was standing at the board with a city guard on each side. They carried large guns, and were covered in armor. What was going on? Kira wondered. Was someone about to be taken away? That wasn’t unheard of. One time when she was in primary school, a teacher was dragged away screaming. She had seen a few of the meaner girls laughing at him. Kira just stood watching in fear.

Kira looked nervously around at her classmates. They were wearing anxious and confused expressions.. The teacher spoke in a calm, firm tone.

“Yesterday.” The she said flatly,“A student was caught with magic. They were arrested of course, and are receiving proper punishment, but magic is like mice. Where there is one, there are more. Each of you will be questioned. If you see any sign that one of your peers contains the curse, report them immediately. Even though this is a dangerous situation, you should not feel alarmed, we will find them and everything will be okay.” 

Everyone looked terrified as they were escorted into the questioning room of the school. This happened to a class of students about once every few years. Almost like a fire drill. Only it wasn’t a drill because there could actually be a maniac hidden among them. The students walked shoulder to shoulder down the hallway in dead silence. Not one of them daring to speak. Who was caught with magic? Kira’s heart raced. Magic was deadly, it destroyed the world. It killed. No one with it could ever be trusted. It was what everyone learned from a young age. What some of their first picture books were the evils of the curse.

The Ungonalo imprisoned those who used magic for life. Ones who were too powerful were executed. Of course different places in the world had different policies. For example, Irinals enslaved their prisoners, and apparently experimented on them. Every prisoner with the curse in Irinals was involved in some sort of trial for medicines and other substances that were too dangerous to be tested on the public. 

The guards hooked each child up to a lie detector. Each machine cutting into their veins. Kira gritted her teeth in pain. One guard monitored the lie detector, while the other one asked questions. They reviewed if anyone in a person's family was caught with magic, which was super rare, since almost no one had to bear the curse. Occasionally with the right genetics, the curse could be inherited. But in extra rare cases, sometimes with two heterozygous parents -parents with the same genes- the curse could be inherited without a family history. They asked if that person had ever used magic, or felt like they could. Finally, the guard reached Kira.

 “Name.” The guard asked.

 “Kiranous Green.”

 “I see you have no family history of magic. Correct?”

 “Yes.” The other guard nodded. 

“Have you ever used magic?”

 “No.” 

“Do you bear the curse of magic?”

 “No.”

 “Very well. Next.” 

Kira was free to go. A few drops of blood leaked from her skin as they pulled the detector out. She slowly went back to class. Everyone else filled back as well. No one bore the curse. At least no one knew they did. Kira relaxed as she sat in her seat. 

On test day, two weeks from now, kids would be more thoroughly tested from her grade. Some forms of magic had to be poked out.Some people were born with it showing. 

She was glad she didn’t bear the curse. Her life would be heck if she did. Kira could barely focus in class. She kept worrying about the upcoming test. She didn’t think she had magic, but what if she did? It was so scary. The thought of knowing you’re a monster that could destroy civilization. That no one would ever see you again, and you would die somewhere in the middle of the ocean. Kira shook it off. 

She rode the super train home, looking at all of the enormous blue buildings, below the hovering train. She quickly hopped off the train, and made her way out of the station. There were guards everywhere. She slowly made her way through the crowd, trying to slip into the streets. What was going on? Then Kira heard screams. It was a young woman, being dragged off by guards. 

The woman had Magninmum handcuffs. A special and rare type of stone. The only thing that stopped Magic. If you placed it on the hands of someone, they would be just like any other person. No longer a threat. 

Kira still jumped aside in fear, along with the rest of the crowd. Suddenly the woman locked eyes with Kira. 

Kira felt a strange sense of power pumping through her veins. Then the woman was thrown into a transporter. The feeling stopped as quickly as it started. Kira ran all the way home, not caring if she got in trouble for running in public. 

Chapter Two

Mother wasn’t home yet, but she would be soon. Kira ran into her bedroom, and curled up into a ball on her bed. Kira shook with fear. She couldn’t believe that she made eye  contact with someone who bore the curse. What she didn’t understand was that the woman didn’t look evil. She looked normal. She didn’t look like she wanted to kill, like all other Magics do, not that Kira had seen another one except for in stories and articles when it described them.

Maybe the woman’s  curse was that she was good at manipulating emotions. No, she couldn’t have been doing that since she was cuffed with Magninmum. She probably was a very good liar.

Good at disguising herself! That made sense! Kira shuttered. She couldn’t imagine having that much darkness in her soul. She opened her computer, and tapped the screen twice to connect it to her mind. Kira searched attacks from the curse. Several articles popped up. 

The first article was about a TV show from hundreds of years ago called Attack on Titan, definitely not what she was looking for.

It was a story about a group of children who escaped the prison, and attacked civilians viscously. Kira moved on to the next story. 

A group of prisoners, from all different age groups who burned down a monument to one of the first leaders that discovered the savage insanity of the ones who bare the curse. 

Kira scrolled down to the last article on the screen.Blocked. An illegal website. On top of that, it was made over one hundred years ago. Kira frowned. She kept tapping and tapping, and tapping. Her connection started to shut down. Kira mentally tapped it one last time, as hard as she could. 

The article opened. Kira paused. Reading an illegal document was punishable with three months in prison. 

But Kira’s curiosity got the best of her, and she began to read. She barely read the title, when everything started to glow, growing brighter and brighter. She saw a million universes flying by. She saw creatures large and small. She saw everything and nothing at the same time. Then the glowing stopped. 

Kira blinked three times, cutting off her connection. She felt cold all of the sudden. Some weird instinct seized Kira. She reached an arm out, and a book came flying across the room, and into her hand. 

Kira gasped. No! This couldn’t be happening. She reached out, and pulled her arm upward. Like there was a wire attached to it, her lamp moved up and down with Kira’s arm. She tried not to scream. 

She gently set the lamp down using mental energy. Why her? Why? No! This was a dream! It had to be! Kira flung the lamp across the room, making it smash into the wall, causing glass to cascade down on her. 

Kira never touched the lamp with her arms or hands. She moved it with her mind. There was a huge dent in the wall. There was blood escaping Kira’s veins. Kira sat there, panting. This wasn’t a dream. This was real. Kira’s worst nightmare was real.

Then the most horrific thing possible happened and Mother’s voice filled the space.

 “Kiranous? Where are you? Are you in your room?” Mother called, her footsteps echoing down the hallway. 

Kira didn’t move. There was no point. She couldn’t clean up the mess in time anyway. Mother walked into the room and gasped. 

Kira started sobbing. She was a monster! She bore the curse! Mother ran over to Kira and immediately started checking her injuries. Mother gently led Kira to the kitchen, where she picked out pieces of glass, and wrapped the wound.

“Mother, I-“ Kira stammered.

“Let me finish treating this. Then we will talk.” Mother cut her off.

 Kira continued softly crying. She could tell Mother knew. She knew what she was. She knew. Mother helped her down from the counter, and Kira winced as she led her to the table. 

“Tell me exactly what happened.” Mother said firmly.

Kira hesitated. Her eyes slowly became more and more narrow as she remained silent. Mother smacked Kira lightly on top of the head.

“You think I’d report you? Kiranous, I am your mother. I know you would never hurt anyone, and I am smart enough by now to know that the country spreads lies about magic because they feel threatened. They don’t want to deal with anyone more powerful than themselves. .” Mother said, Kira blinked. Never once had her mother spoken against the government. She took a deep breath.

“I would rather I show you what happened.” Kira spoke quietly. 

Kira turned to the vase of flowers on the table. She stretched out an arm, and lifted the vase with her mental energy slowly.

 It shimmered in the sunlight. Kira moved the vase over to the table. Mother let out a breath of awe. 

“My daughter is gifted. Super unlucky, but still.” She nodded. 

“More like cursed.” Kira murmured. Mother shook her head.

“No Kira. What you have is a valuable gift. Out of all of the forms of magic you could have received, you were given the ability to move without touching. It’s remarkable. My daughter is a Gravity breaker!” She whispered. 

There were eight main groups of magic. Gravity breakers, those who did things like flying, super strength, or in her case, moving objects with her mind.  She grabbed Kira’s wrists, making her wince. 

“Kiranous! Your test is in two weeks! I forgot! You can’t let anyone else know what you can do. Do you hear me? No one! If you are exposed, you will be taken away!” Mother said fiercely. She looked up at Mother with fear. 

“But how!? How do I avoid that?” Kira asked. Mother looked at her and silently thought. 

“I’m going to help you train. We will make sure that you will have no chance of being exposed.” Out of the blue, Mother took a flower, and whipped it at Kira’s head. Kira quickly raised her arms, and stopped the flower just before it hit her head. Mother shook her head.

“We have a lot of work to do.”

Chapter Three

Mother made Kira train, every day after homework was done.

She made Kira stand in the middle of the room, then threw a bunch of soft balls at Kira’s face. She flinched. 

It took her several minutes to train herself not to react. The balls turned into spoons. Kira stopped them with one swipe of her arm. 

The spoons spun in the air, until Kira lowered her arm. The silver utensils dropped one by one, making her yelp as they nearly hit her feet.

“No Kiranous! Resist it! Do you want to die?” Mother yelled, whipping a glass of water at her head.

 Kira watched it fly towards her. She didn’t move. Didn’t move. Didn’t move. The glass looked like it was coming for her eyes.

 Kira raised a hand and stopped it at the last second. The glass slowly spun in the air in front of Kira’s face but the water splashed all over her. Mother’s face turned into an angry glare.

“What are you doing? You have one week, then if you can’t resist, your not going to pass. Train harder!” She bellowed. 

Kira let go of her grip on the glass, feeling her mental energy snake out of it. The clear glass shattered all over the floor and mother sighed and grabbed a broom.

“I’m trying as hard as I can! Also, they had a different testing strategy when they tested you. How do you even know the test will work!” Kira yelled from across the room. Mother’s face twisted with pain.

“Why? Because I’ve seen someone like you get caught before. Because they caught my sister.” She said, staring at her feet. Kira tilted her head.

“I never knew that. You had a sister? Also, I was told I had no family history of magic.” Kira responded, looking up at her mother. Mother nodded.

“You don’t. We’re adopted. She was my best friend. My little sister, Kiranous Green. Where do you think you got your name from? She took the test as well and failed. That’s when they took her away, and burned her photos. Her name was forgotten. It was like she vanished into thin air. I knew of Kiranous’s magic before the test. We didn’t train. She failed. I failed her.” She spoke quietly. Kira moved to the table, and sat down slowly. She was named after her aunt. 

Her aunt on an island in the middle of the ocean in a cell or dead. Mother sat down next to Kira.

“Mother?”

“Yes?”

“What was her ability?” Kira asked quietly. 

Mother smiled slightly. 

“She was an element manipulator, and could control water with her mind. She made beautiful animals made of water dance across our room. She was gifted, just like you. Follow me.” She stood up, and led Kira to her bed room. She followed, twisting her fingers and trying very hard not to feel awkward.

Mother bent under the bed, and pulled back the carpet to reveal a well hidden trap door. Inside was a puzzle box. 

She carefully spun her fingers and opened it. Inside was an image of a girl Kira’s age. She had light blond hair, and ice blue eyes, a lot different from Mother with her dark skin and hair. She smiled at the sight of the photo.

“I hid this photo ahead of time. Just in case she failed… I’m glad I hid it.” A single tear fell down her face, but she wiped it away before Kira could see. In the photo, her aunt Kiranous was perched proudly on the top of a tall building in the city. 

You could see all of the airships and people inside them flying all around her. Kira tilted her head.

Her aunt looked brave and radiant. Mother took one last glance at the photo, then put it back into the box. She slid it into the trap door, and back under the bed. 

She reluctantly wrapped her arms around Mother. She slowly smiled, before embracing  Kira in a big hug. 

“I can’t lose you Kiranous. I just can’t.” Mother whispered. Kira stood up.

“Let’s go train some more.” She said with a breath of confidence. Mother nodded, and led Kira back to the kitchen. She didn’t use her mental energy against a plate after that. Though at one point she caught one with her hands before it hit her in the face. Kira smiled. She was ready.

Chapter Four

Mother put a hand on Kira’s shoulder.

“Remember what I taught you. Also, I love you so much. Are you ready?” Mother asked, squeezing Kira’s shoulders. Kira took a deep breath.

“I’m not ready. But I don’t have a choice. I love you too Mother. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else in the world to be my mom.” Kira responded, hugging her one more time before stepping into the exit tube, and being launched onto the glass walk over the city. 

Kira’s hands trembled as she walked to the train. Other students stood frozen in fear. It was a lot of stress for someone their age. Wondering if you will succeed, or go to prison for life. Kira forced a smile and nodded at her classmates as they walked in a clump to the testing arena. Everyone was acting nicer than usual today. Everyone had sympathy for their peers. The testing building, different from the school she went to, was huge. Tall and black with security better than almost every other building in the city. Risking the chance to let someone escape was not an option.

Friends held on to one another, terrified it would be the last time they saw each other. White knuckle hands clutching others in fear. Kira, who had no friends, walked alone in the mob. 

Guards with guns surrounded everyone. The Master herself would be here today, watching each performance of the three thousand kids being tested. Masters ran the city’s and villages of Ungonalo. Then there were the five Supreme Masters that ran the country.

A few of the emotional kids were having trouble holding it together. No one made fun of them for once. As everyone was brought to the waiting room, attendance was quickly taken by the school wristband everyone wore. Designed to give students access to buildings, and take quick attendance.

The waiting room was basically a large warehouse. Designed to hold thousands of children. Master Garlem . It was quite a sight. Thousands of young people, standing in silence. 

“Welcome children!” She boomed, glaring down at everyone with her one eye. Master Garlem’s eye was lost in battle to become a master. You first passed a series of written tests, then battled your opponent to the death. Each master ruled a city or town.

 “You will each be tested over the next three days. No one leaves in that time until they have been tested. There are exactly three thousand and twenty three of you. This means about six people who bear the curse hide among you. But don’t worry. We will find them.” Master Garlem’s eyes gleamed, making Kira want to shrink into nothingness.

“Now, last names starting with A-G will get tested today. Everyone else may head to the sleep room where you will be served meals. A-G, Stay where you are.” 

Kira’s stomach churned. 

Kids were called out, three names at a time. Each child was brought into a separate room, while everyone, including the Master watched them test on a giant screen. She looked more than pleased, hands folded in her lap. The first three kids to be called up silently slipped into their rooms. 

No test was completely alike. First everyone’s genetic code was read, then they were tested for the abilities they might have. 

All three kids passed. Each one walking out with a look of relief. Into the streets. Away from doom. Kira sat in silence. E-G’s got to sit down, since it would be a while before they were tested. Kira kept her nerves under control, but started to lose it when C’s were called up. This was moving faster than she thought. How long had it been? At least a few hours.

Kira kept her eyes focused on the giant screen. No one had been caught yet. Then she saw it happen like a crash in slow motion. 

A girl with straight black hair, and large brown eyes. Water was being whipped at her from all directions. It looked like she was about to drown. 

Then she exploded. 

She flung her arms out, and made the water rebound into the testers booth, shattering the glass, and the camera. The water. She controlled it. Kira froze. Master Garlem laughed.

“We have caught our first prisoner. Now she will be boarded onto a sky ship, and taken away with any others in two days.” Master Garlem started menacingly down at everyone else. She was trying to guess which of the few kids left in the room would bear the curse. Kira shuddered. One third of the kids being tested would be tested today. That meant two people would have magic. Kira was the second person.

    Kira and the others nervously began eyeing each other. Everyone knew that one other person was probably cursed. Maybe two. Kids quietly inches away from their friends. People by themselves, like Kira, tried to move to the back corners. Kira took a deep breath. 

They had moved onto F’s. There had to be only one hundred kids left, if not, less. In two days was a holiday for anyone who passed. 

People would fill the streets with happiness and laughter. Happy that they passed and were safe.

 All except for a few unlucky families. They would close down their doors, and wonder how they would learn to forget such a close family member. How they would make them disappear from their house and minds forever. 

Kira sighed. If she didn’t pass, Mother would be one of those families. She knew that Mother hid several photos and beloved items from Kira’s childhood in the trap door, but it wouldn’t be enough to make her happy. 

She knew that at least she wouldn’t forget her. She couldn’t say the same for the other girl. Kira looked out the window, and saw stars were starting to dot the sky. 

Why did she have to be tested at the end of the day when she was really hungry? Kira’s stomach growled at the thought of food. 

She bounced on her hands, trying to pass time. Why couldn’t they have at least played a movie or something? Mother promised to make a feast for tonight. Either Kira would pass, and they would have a celebration, or she would fail, and Mother coulduld binge eat her emotions for a day. 

Kira tilted her head back. She couldn’t take this much longer. When could she get the stupid test over with? 

Just as that thought rose, Kira heard her name being called. H stomach filled with nervous energy. It was test time. Kira stood up, along with two other kids, and was escorted by guards to testing room one. It was a completely empty room, with a one way mirror at the top. Fear seemed to have a firm grip around her as she slowly walked through the hall. Legs trembling. She had to get her nerves under control. 

The ceiling in the testing room was incredibly high. This was happening. Her biggest fear was happening. The rest of Kira’s fate would be decided in the next ten minutes. 

Kira breathed in and out. A voice came from the one way mirror, making Kira jump.

“Welcome Kiranous Green. According to your genetic code, you may be a gravity breaker. Let’s begin.” The voice stopped. 

The floor began to rise. Kira jumped. Tor moved higher and higher. Her heart raced. 

They were going to drop her to see if she could fly. When Kira was squashed between the ceiling and the floor, a harness jetted out of the ceiling and wrapped around her. The floor dropped back to its original place.

She braced herself as the floor stopped sinking about forty feet below her. She knew they were about to drop her.

 The harness snapped back into the ceiling, and Kira began to fall. She screamed, and flailed around in the open air. 

Then Kira hit the floor the impact was hard but then she was catapulted back up into the air.The floor was suddenly trampoline like. 

Then the next test came. The walls and the floor started rotating. Kira was being tossed around on all sides. 

She knew they were testing to see if she would walk on walls. The rotating finally stopped, and Kira was still at the bottom. She was breathing pretty hard too. Next was the strength challenge. 

The operators could see any tension in her muscles on a supercomputer. They would know if she was faking. Kira was supposed to lift an incredibly heavy weight. It didn’t budge, even when Kira poured everything she had into it. Finally, the voice called out again.

“Thank you Kiranous Green. You have passed the test. You may exit.” Kira’s heart felt lighter than a feather. She passed! She wasn’t going to be locked away in some prison! She was going home to celebrate with Mother! 

Kira proudly walked to the door. She was going home. It was over. 

Then out of nowhere, an arrow flew towards Kira. It picked up speed, aimed for her heart.

 Kira whipped her arms out. The arrow stopped in mid air. Kira’s dropped to her feet as she realized her mistake. 

There was a string attached to the other side. It wouldn’t have hit her. And now, the arrow was floating in the air. Kira had been exposed. 

Guards ran into the room. They surrounded Kira. She bent her knees and threw her arms out instinctively. The Masters voice filled the room.

“Surrender now and spare yourself any pain!” She boomed.

 Kira spun her arms, getting all of her mental energy out of her mind, pulling the guns away. She smashed her arms out to the side, throwing everyone else against the wall. The door was unguarded. 

She sprinted to the door with an unnatural speed. She could escape into the city. And she almost made it, before a paralyzing dart entered the back of her neck. 

Kira yelped as she fell down. Guards surrounded her. She growled as she was handcuffed with Magninmum. They hauled her away as the Master cackled. She was dragged deep into tunnels she had never heard of. Under dripping old stone that smelled. There were blood stains on the walls. Blood of people like her. There was almost no light. Just broken ceiling lights slowly flickering and attracting flies. Finally, Kira was thrown into a tiny little stone cell. Kira was on her back, helpless. The other girl crawled over to Kira in the dark. She almost seemed relieved to not be alone.

“Don’t worry. It wears off in twenty minutes or so.” She said softly. Kira couldn’t even blink. It made her want to scream.

“I’m Janzay. You can call me Zay. I’m from slightly further north in the district. I had no idea I was an element manipulator. I’m assuming you saw me on the screen. It was so scary. Did you know you were a gravity breaker? There is a screen that turns on in here when someone is caught.” Zay frowned, and pointed to a cheap cracked screen at the far end of the room.

“They want us to see who will be joining us. My Mother had magic. That’s why I have it, I think. My mom hid it well though. They didn’t find her until I was two. It was the worst. I can’t wait until you can speak and we can have a conversation.” Zay babbled on. This made Kira smile and groan at the same time, as she wondered how much longer she had to listen to her rant. She couldn’t wait either. Then Kira realized she could move her mouth again. In fact, her entire face was starting to tingle through the numbness. 

“Hi, Zay. Um, you can call me Kira I guess.” She murmured. Zay gasped.

“You can speak! Finally! Tell me everything about your magic.” Zay yipped. Kira laughed slightly.

“Ok. Uh, my Mother’s sister had magic, but my Mother was adopted. I’ve known what I can do for about a week. So yeah… I always hoped I would never even meet someone who bares the curse, so kind of ironic. Anyway, my mother is probably just finding out. Oh no.” Kira tried to sit up. Her muscles weren’t having it. She winced. Zay helped her get into a sitting position. 

Kira felt her arms start to tingle. Several minutes later, she could move from the waist up. Kira looked at the cell door.

“We need to break out of here. I’m the only family my mother has left. Her sister was taken, her parents died, and my father was also taken as well. I need to break out!” Kira began dragging herself to the door. 

Zay grabbed her shoulder with her two hands cuffed together.

“Wait! They might kill you if you get out. Plus you can’t use your gravity breaking! And you're handcuffed! You won’t be able to make it out of this building! Even if you do, they might kill you when you escape. On top of that, there is no hiding out in the streets.” Zay pointed out. 

The gravity of her situation weighed heavily on Kira’s shoulders. She wasn’t escaping. She couldn’t. Kira started to cry. She was ashamed of her tears, but she couldn’t help it. Kira would be in chains for the rest of her life. 

Zay silently sat beside Kira, giving her some space. When the final tear escaped her, Zay looked down and said quietly, “If it helps, I cried too when I first was thrown in here. It was so scary. It is so scary.” 

Kira looked up at Zay. She was just as scared. She was having just as hard of a time holding it together. Right there and then Kira knew she had an ally in this mess. What she didn’t know was the strong friendship they would soon have.

Three other kids were soon thrown in over the next two days.

Jaynous Haven, a boy with brown hair and sky blue eyes. Tayona Lilan, a girl with brown skin, and long, straight black hair. And Asham Grai, another boy with red hair and hundreds of freckles. Everyone stuck close together as they marched in a straight line onto the sky ship. Turns out that Asham and Jayonus didn’t fight back. They were both Illusionists. Asham controlled shadows while Jayonus controlled light. And since they didn’t fight back, they didn’t show up paralyzed. Tayona who was a fire manipulator put up a little bit of a fight, but was pinned down pretty quickly. 

Therefore she wasn’t thrown in paralyzed either. Kira and Zay were just unlucky. The guards strapped each child against the wall of the sky ship.

 Zay and Kira glanced at each other. They had a lot more straps than everyone else. The ship started to move. Somewhere below her, she left her mother alone.

There were two guards standing beside each person. Each heavily armed, told to shoot if they tried to run away. Kira took a deep breath. She was trying really hard not to imagine how her mother was doing right now. She must feel broken. Grief stricken. 

Everyone rode in silence for the next two hours or so. The sky ship stopped. They had reached the island where they would spend the rest of their lives.

The prison was huge. It took her a second to take it all in. Kira was hauled to her feet, and escorted out into the ramp leading down to the prison. The outer wall was so thick, she bet not even an ant could crawl through. It was a light beige, with wet paint dripping slowly from the wall, pooling with the light dust of dirt inside the grounds. There was a wide, open circle where the prisoners were kept, while a ring of a building surrounded the grounds. A large tightly packed chain wall replaced part of the plaster, torturing prisoners with the view of the sparkling blue sea. It almost seemed to scream freedom. So close, but unreachable. The large gate slowly opened. Kira wriggled her wrists uncomfortably. They hadn’t changed her wrist cuffs once. The guards escorting her gripped Kira’s arms tighter. She looked over, and saw that Zay was struggling as well. So was everyone, in fact. The sun shined in their faces. It was daunting. Kira looked at her guards. She couldn’t even see their faces. They looked more robot than human under all of their armor. 

Kira stumbled as she was led through the gates, and into what looked like a bare roofless warehouse, with cracked dry dirt scattered everywhere. Guards were posted on the walls. Little tin tents and sheds scattered the prison grounds. Kira and the others were led to the platform above. A warden stepped out. It was a rather short and plump middle aged man, interestingly. His beard was speckled with white and gray. Kira stepped forward with everyone else as the guards released them the warden walked down the line.

“Welcome children. This will be your new home until you turn eighteen. That does not mean that we will be soft. You can expect everything here that you would from an adults prison. Anyone who misbehaves will get thrown into solitary. If your magic grows, immediately report to the nearest guard, so you can be assigned stronger cuffs. If you are caught using magic, the punishment will be a lot more severe. Now bye bye.” The warden walked off, waving his hand, and everyone was escorted to the prison ground. There were kids everywhere. Some who looked like they couldn’t be older than five, and others who looked like they were about to turn eighteen. Kira and Zay walked side by side, sticking close to each other. There was laughter coming from inside some of the tents, and in one near Kira a group of kids who couldn’t have been more than ten, poked at a fire by a pile of dirt. Kira shuddered. This place was creepy. How did they even get fire? Nothing here looked flammable. Kira and Zay continued wandering around, until they came to a large changed fence. That’s when Kira realized, the other kids from the test were on the other side. The prison was split in two. Those who easily cooperated, and…. Kira leaned towards Zay.

“Um-m Zay,” She stuttered. “Yes?” Zay asked nervously, probably thinking the same thing.

“I think we were put with the dangerous criminals for fighting back.” Kira stammered. Not only that, but the other half of the prison was cleaner too. There were little tiny cement houses in which people were jammed into. Water proof. Stupid suck ups. They didn’t have a rebellious bone in their body. That wasn’t fair, but she couldn’t think about what was fair right now. She had to focus on surviving. Kira and Zay slowly backed up. Of course, they backed up into a shed.  The tin was glued together somehow though, almost like it was attached with mud. The ‘door’ flipped open. An enormous girl stepped out. She had to be at least sixteen. Maybe seventeen. Zay and Kira slowly backed away.

“We’re so sorry!” Kira yelped. Zay nodded frantically. 

“We didn’t mean any harm! We just arrived here five minutes ago!” Zay almost yelled. The girl menacingly stepped out in front of them. She looked like she was about to strike, but then she burst out laughing. Kira and Zay didn’t know if they were about to die, or were safe. The girl hooted with laughter. The ten year olds poking out a fire ran behind the nearest tin shed in fear. Finally she stopped laughing.

“Welcome newbies! Looks like someone’s skittish, though I guess that’s to be expected on the first day. No, more like the first few weeks. You get used to the fear. Follow me.” The strange girl led them down through the twist and turns of the tin sheds and tents. Everyone respectfully stepped aside as she passed by. A little sister and brother were crouched under two pieces of tin in the form of a tent, huddled together. The sight made Kira’s heart ache.

It went all the way from the top of her left eyebrow, in a jagged line across her nose. She led them to a large tin shed. As for her arms, there were long purple lines covering them. Whip lashes. Infact, almost everyone they passed seemed to have the same scarring on their arms, legs, face, or all three. The tin shed was larger than the others. It actually looked more like a very small house. Like an apartment, but on the ground by itself, and much more dirty. There were several kids standing outside the front, looking like guards. Each of them looked on the older side, and really tough. Both holding sharpened rocks they somehow got their hands on. They nodded and stepped aside as the girl with the scar approached. She opened the door. On the inside was a bunch of kids arm wrestling, fighting, laughing and talking. In the middle of the clan sat one older girl. She kept her head down. She looked up and smiled as they entered.

“Tili! I haven’t seen you all day!” They hugged. Or at least what counts as a hug when you are handcuffed with thick stone. Tili pushed Zay and Kira forward. The girl Tili embraced was even larger. Her arms rippled with muscles. Various scars covered her arms and legs. From whips, and probably from sharp rocks. She eyed Zay and Kira with deep green eyes. They froze with fear. There was something weird about her. She gave off a sort of energy that made you want to follow her, and see what she would do next. At the same time, there was something scary about her, like she could see into you. Calculate what you would do next. Kira wanted to say she was sorry. Or hide. Or both. The girl bent down slightly, so she could look Kira and Zay in the eye. She smiled.

“New recruits? Good job Tili. I sense deep potential in both of them. I’m Oceania, by the way.” Oceania smiled slowly. Kira both was impressed with Zay, and terrified for her as she got up the courage to ask, “Um, may I ask, just curious, new recruits for what cause?” Zay asked, trying to sound as polite as possible. Oceania laughed. Her entire body shook when she laughed, and it made several kids turn their heads. Oceania glanced at Tili.

“See Tili!? We need more people like her who ask questions with seniority. Usually the only questions anyone asks me are ones with sass.” Oceania grinned. She leaned in closer, and lowered her voice.

“Let’s just say that we are trying to get out of here. And let’s just say that Magninum is very, very expensive. So for someone of a certain age, they don’t work very well. I’m betting you can do whatever it is that you do to the smallest existent. We are getting out of here pretty soon. If you want the details though, you need to commit. What are your abilities? Kind of important to know where your uses fall in case you join us.” 

Kira and Zay looked at each other. They both shrugged. An opportunity to leave the island felt like a dream come true. And Kira hadn’t even been on the island for more than half an hour. Kira spoke up.

“Uh… Zay is an element manipulator, she controls and manipulates water. I am a gravity breaker. I move things with my mind. I’m not sure if we would be a big help.” Kira mumbled. Zay looked at her feet. Tili and Oceania shot each other a pleased look.

“Acutely, your abilities would be very handy. We can always use more water manipulators, and a gravity breaker is perfect. This is perfect. And tonight, you can prove yourself worthy and commit. Little gravity breaker, what’s your name? We haven’t had a gravity breaker in a while, and I would love to see some action.” Oceania said soothingly and menacingly at the same time. Kira didn’t think that was possible. She spoke up again. Kira didn’t want to give her full name, since it would remind her of Mother and hurt too much.

“I’m Kira.” She said plainly. Oceania grabbed Kira’s wrists. She yelped. Oceania grinned. She released Kira wrists, and walked over to a few kids that were laughing. She snatched a glass from one of them, probably from the last time they were fed, and brought it over to her. Surprisingly, the other kid didn’t react. Oceania held the glass out in front of Kira with her palm.

“Lift this. I sense that you are strong enough to.” Oceania demanded. Kira looked at Zay, who offered her a weak smile. She looked at Tili, then back at the glass. Kira reached deep inside her mind, and pulled out the same mental energy. She wrapped the mental energy around the glass, and even though it felt like a huge burden, she squinted her eyes and made the glass rise. Kira floated it through the air, and into her own hand. She felt out of breath, exhausted, but Oceania was once again looking very pleased.

“You are very powerful for your age. I can’t wait until you commit to our group. I know it’s just one thin glass, but it’s equivalent to lifting a large boulder if you weren’t wearing the cuffs.”and with that, Kira and Zay were escorted out of the tent. Well, first Zay had to do a few water tricks. They looked pretty happy with that too.

Tili led them to the outside of her shed. Just then, a large bell sounded. Everyone quickly lined up, and Kira realized just how many kids there really were. At least one hundred and fifty. Maybe more. Everyone was given a Single bowl of soup. Then everyone had to turn their dishes in, but a few kids hid theirs. The guards caught one kid though, a little boy who looked about eleven. He was escorted to solitary. Kira shuddered. She could hear screams in the distance. Strangely enough, everyone was still lined up. Oceania stepped in front of everyone. Kira was starting to realize the social rank of this place. Oceania was the leader, Tili and some other boy was second in command. The people in the tiny tin house were treated with respect, and anyone in the group was safe and taken care of. Everyone else was given a cold shoulder. Kira noticed an inferior group of about twenty kids. The leader only had about a tenth as much power  as Oceania did. Yet with one on one, they were rivals. Tili apparently was in charge of helping new kids survive. Kira made her way over to Tili through the crowd.

“Tili? What is happening?” Kira asked nervously as everyone cheered, watching the sun drop below the sea. Tili smiled.

“Once a month the guards drop ten new pieces of tin. We get meals twice a day, and have labor hours every other day. Ungonalo claims they don’t have slaves, but really we are their slaves. Or ‘working prisoners’ as they like to say. When the tin drops, so do two bags of fire powder. Put fire powder on something flammable and blow, boom! Fire! Every item drop, us rival groups fight one on one. Who ever wins, best out of three, gets the resources. Also, we get blankets at night when it’s below forty degrees, and during the day if it’s below thirty five.” Tili explained. Kira nodded. Then her heart dropped. She would be battling someone one on one in a few minutes. Kira saw some of the guards, including the warden, sitting on chairs high above, eating sandwiches and snacks while sipping alcohol. Kira tilted her head.

“Why are half of those guards taking a day off?” Kira asked again. Tili’s face darkened.

“They know what we do to fight for resources. They kick back and enjoy the show.” Kira nodded, then made her way through the crowd of cheering people, back to Zay. Zay looked relieved to see Kira again. She explained what was happening to her. Zay’s eyes widened. She seemed just as startled at the idea of fighting one on one in a few minutes. Out of nowhere, pieces of tin started raining from hundreds of feet in the sky. Everyone backed up. From that height a pebble was deadly. After the ten pieces of huge eight by ten foot pieces of tin hit the ground, two large bags of fire powder were launched as well. Kids pushed Kira and Zay forward. The two huddled together, terrified. Oceania confidently strided into the circle herself. The leader of the other group, along with two new kids pushed for as well. Tili stood in the middle of the dirt mound that had been created by the guards for fighting. She stood up like a reff. Everyone cheered.

“Welcome to another fight! Today two new kids from both sides face off! For the newbies, the only rules are to stay on the mound, if you fall off, get back on. Two, fight a person until they shout the magic word of mercy, or are unconscious! No death! Also, if you can, use your abilities! Remember, there is no such thing as magic, it’s really science! Science is unexplainable to normal people who are to idiotic to understand!” Tili bellowed. Everyone clapped. The guards within ear shot looked mildly offended. Kira was shoved forward. So was a boy her age with the same kinky black hair and dark skin. Everyone was whopping and chanting, and urging them on to fight. The boy tried to punch Kira with both of his hands, since they were bound together. Kira dogged. In a panic, and without thinking, Kira kicked him hard. In a very vulnerable place. She could see the shock on the boy's face as he went down hard. He shouted mercy. Everyone from Oceania’s group cheered and chanted her name. She shouted an apology, and ran off back into the crowd.

“Congratulations! Since you have defeated the enemy, using his weakness to your advantage, you are now a member of the survivors group!” Oceania boomed. Everyone exploded again. It was very noisy.  Zay was next. She was put against a girl her age. She looked just as nervous as Kira did. They sized each other up. The girl tried to kick her in the gut. Zay used her handcuffs to grab her foot, and flip the girl onto her back. The girl grunted. Zay didn’t hesitate. She shouted an apology while kicking her hard in the stomach, then rolling her off the mound. The girl gave up. The survivors had won the tin pieces! Zay and Kira were given five pieces for winning their first fight. The rest went to anyone who had only one piece of tin or less. Next was the fight between the leaders for the fire powder. Oceania smiled in a dark and almost creepy way as she stood up to face the other leader. A boy her age, named Hive. Oceania knocked out his legs from underneath him. Next, Oceania pinned him by the wrists. She wasn’t squeezing hard, but Hive started to scream. He passed out, and Oceania victoriously stood. She brushed herself off, then congratulated Zay on also officially joining. Kira then saw the blisters on Hive’s wrists. He was badly burned. That’s when Kira realized that Oceania was a fire manipulator. Considering that she burned Hive that bad, that quickly in Magninmum, she was a powerful one too. Kind of ironic that her name was Oceania. Oceania gave her fire powder away, since she could make fire of her own. Better yet, it looked like she just twisted his wrist very badly instead of burning him from the guards view. Kira and Zay got right to work with their tin. They quickly built a little shed, while Tili showed them how to make mud from the wet new paint that always dripped from the walls, by mixing it with dirt. Soon they had a shed of their own. It was bare and empty, but at least Kira and Zay had a roof for a little while. Kira took one last longing look for freedom as she gazed at the night stars. The moon was a waning crescent. The new moon would be here soon. Kira ducked inside the tiny shed, curled up in one corner, while Zay fell asleep in another, and she finally closed her eyes. She was off to her first night of sleep in the prison.

Kira woke up to the sound of guards banging against their tin shed. Zay sat up. It was so early!

“Kira? Do we have to do work now?” Zay asked groggily. Kira nodded, just as two guards burst in and pulled them to their feet. Kira and Zay groaned sleepily as they were dragged across the grounds. Everyone else was either being dragged themselves, or being escorted. Everyone was dragged into the fortress. She was expecting some sort of mining or metal task, but instead, Everyone was forced to operate  machines that made fancy clothing. It wasn’t exactly easy either when your hands are bound. Kira would pull a lever, then push a blue button. Pull a leaver, then push a blue button. Zay was given the same task. Apparently it was the easiest task. Everyone was then given one of two meals of the day, and a ten minute break. Then they were led off to a boot making factory. Kira and Zay were in charge of attaching shoe laces. It was very long, and very boring. They had been working since four A.M., and now it was about eight P.M.. Everyone was once again given a meal, their second meal of the day. Their final meal of the day. And finally, Kira and everyone else glued together cheap jewelry. Kira smiled mischievously. She only put about a tenth as much glue as she was supposed to. The ring she was working on would fall apart quickly. Kira noticed that Zay was doing the same thing. So was everyone else. No wonder why this brand of jewelry was so cheap. After a long day of labor, everyone finally was able to go to sleep in their tiny sheds and tents. It was a rather boring first day. The next day was a non-working day, but then it was back to the factory. Working with little food, and very little rest. The next day was free, but then it was back to work again. After a week of the cycle, she finally started adjusting to it. It became a new normal. When Kira and Zay woke up the next morning, it was a non labor day. It was also a lot more interesting. Kira and Zay were on the dirt floor of their shed quietly chatting. Sun peeked through the small gaps between the thin, weak material. Kira and Zay had grown even closer together over the past few days. She learned that Zay had a little sister. Kira told Zay about the box in her mother’s room. A soft knock filled the room. Kira pushed aside the ‘door’, to find a boy she recognized from the inside of the tent. 

“Good morning. Oceania wants to speak to you. We have developed an escape plan, and are only taking up to four people at a time into the tin house so we don’t look suspicious. You guys are next.” The boy spoke plainly, then went to the shed right across from them to alert two other kids. Kira and Zay shrugged, and walked to the tin house. The people guarding the front let them in. The kids in the shed next door were close behind them. Zay shyly waved, while Kira looked at her feet. Oceania seemed even more intimidating than ever. She was radiating energy so ferocious, that Kira felt scared to look her in the eye.n Oceania smiled in her scary way as she saw them.

“Good, good! You are finally here! Ok, let’s get right to the point. In five days there will be a new moon. This means that it will be very dark out. During that time, we will sneak out through the stone in three main groups. We have already shaped enough boats for everyone as well. There are kids who will manipulate the stone. Zay, this is where we need your help making the boat go fast. We want to put as much distance between us and the prison as fast as possible. Kira, we need you to lift the food and fire powder we have been saving up with your mind so we don’t make a sound. We will sail down the ocean to the nearest land. The village of Yona. From there we can find clothes, food and money, then scatter our separate ways.” Oceania explained. 

Kira and Zay looked at each other. 

“How will we be able to do all of these things if our hands our bound with Magninmum?” She asked, confused. Oceania smiled.

“This is where me and a few of my friends come in.” Oceania put her hands on Kira’s and Zay’s cuffs. The Magninmum started to tremble. It heated up, then split off. Kira gasped. She was free! Her wrists were raw and red, and smelled horrible, but she and Zay were free! Then Oceania picked up the cuffs and put them back on. Zay’s face fell. Oceania patted her on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry. Soon those will be off forever.” She said comfortingly.

“Meet here at sun set in five days. Then we will bring this plan into motion.” Oceania command. Kira nodded like a maniac, then she and Zay ran back to their shed with a much larger spring in their step. As soon as they were inside, both girls squealed.

“I can’t believe this is happening! And so soon! We probably shouldn’t mention what, since this thing definitely isn’t sound proof, but I am so excited!” Zay curled up into a ball. Kira squealed with excitement. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening. For the first time in a few days, she felt hopeful. Then Kira realized.

“We need to practice! Just to make sure that we are ready.” Kira blurted. Zay’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t think of that! We really should practice. But how?” Zay asked. Kira dug through the ground until she found a rock. It was more like a tiny pebble, but it would work for now. Next they visited the tiny water pump. The pump was near the walls of the prison, and everyone had one bowl they could fill with water during the day. Zay and Kira each filled theirs to the rim, then carefully walked back to their shed. The guards were in an odd formation today. Kira frowned as they sat down.

“Do you think that there are new prisoners coming?” Kira asked, wrapping her mental energy around several pebbles. 

“I think so. It might have been testing day in a few other regions. Then again, I think our district was the last to test.” Zay responded through gritted teeth as she lifted the water out of the bowl, and made it swarm around their heads. Kira made the rocks spin in a slow circle around their shack. Her head ached, but she wasn’t giving up. The pebbles fell to the ground.

“Oh my gosh! I think that there might be an invasion!” Kira gasped. The water splashed onto Kira and Zay’s heads. Zay’s eyes widened.

“Oh my gosh! I didn’t think of that!” Zay responded. The idea wasn’t completely crazy. It was also very realistic. The idea that Irinals was going to raid the prison also kind of made sense. A bunch of young, powerful people all in one area that you can enslave or brainwash. It almost seemed smart for Irinals to do so. Kira sighed.

“If they do raid the prison, we will either end up as slaves in their factory, or dead in the chaos. So slightly better off. I hear that you can win your freedom over time. You will still be bugged, and watched twenty four seven, but it is slightly better than being behind bars forever.” Kira pointed out. Zay leaned back against the wall of the shack. She looked up at the roof in a daze.

“It could be Julanan soldiers.” Zay said dreamily.

“Huh? On earth is that?” Kira asked. She had never heard of Julana. Then she remembered.

“Oh! Irinals and Ungonalo hate those people! Don’t they worship natural abilities, and people with them? I also heard that in general they aren’t crazy dictators who go to war over something as simple as a murder. Isn’t that what started this Great War between the largest countries in the world? The prince of Ungonalo was murdered, and Ungonalo says that Irinals did it?” Kira asked, jumping to her feet. Zay nodded dreamily again.

“I sure hope that it is Julana coming to save us.” Then her face fell.

“Wait a second, the only reason why Ungonalo would tell us about a place like that is if Ungonalo wiped them out. Kira, Julana was whipped out years ago!” Zay’s face twisted with pain. Kira slumped down again.

“Oh. Well, at least I had hope again. Hope is a powerful thing. It motivates to fight forces that always win. The reason why evil wins a lot is because it isn’t afraid to kill to get what it wants. But hope is armor.” She shoved her head in her hands. Zay moved over to her side, and they leaned  their heads against each other. Zay looked Kira in the eye.

“Kira, I promise that you won’t die behind bars. I promise that you will die as an old, free woman who lived happily ever after.” Zay said fiercely. Kira laughed. That was an impossible promise to keep.

“I promise you the exact same thing.” Kira said just as fiercely. The two girls sat on the floor. Enjoying the one happy moment in days of misery.

Of course the next day was work in the factories. Doing nothing but working, and working. Oceania held several more meetings, perfecting the plan. They would escape four days from now. Kira felt anticipation rising in her bones. She was more stressed than ever. They would be shot on sight without any hesitation if they made one wrong move. She couldn’t stop worrying about what would happen if they were caught. Kira’s hands trembled as she operated the sewing machine she was assigned too. Kira completely messed up the line. The string was all over the shirt she was working on. Kira’s heart pounded. A nearby soldier saw this and started yelling at her. They grabbed Kira by the wrists, and started to yank her to the punishment room. Zay saw this, and jumped in front of the guard. The guard laughed.

“What do we have here? A little sassy friend? You’re coming with me as well for violating a guards instructions!” They bellowed. Kira and Zay were escorted out of the sewing room. She locked eyes with Zay. 

“Zay! What are you doing? Now we will both get punished!” Kira squeaked as they were brought through the prison walls. She looked at her feet.

“I wasn’t going to let you get punished alone. I wouldn’t do that.” Zay whispered. They were led deeper and deeper into the prison walls. Up and down stairs. Kira could guess what was going to happen. The boy who stole the bowl had emerged from the walls yesterday. He was alive, but covered in whip lashes. Kira shuddered. She assumed that the same was about to happen to them. Finally, the guard stopped in front of a large metal door. Kira and Zay were led inside. There were three large chairs. Each one held restraints. There was a third kid in there as well. It was a little boy probably from the tin house. He was about fourteen years old. There were whip marks on his face. And on his arms. And legs. Kira saw Zay start to tremble. They were each strapped to the chair. The guard went to go find the warden. Zay looked at the boy.

“What did you do?” She asked quietly. He looked down.

“They caught me using my natural abilities. I’ve been in here for over a week. What did you do?” The boy asked. Zay looked at Kira.

“I was working in the factory and messed up a shirt. She stood up for me.” Kira said, looking at her feet.

“Only one shirt? My guess is that you will be yelled at, then whipped a couple of times, but you will be out of here by tonight at the latest.” The boy said. Kira blew out a breath of relief.

“Thank you.” She mumbled. The boy nodded. Just then, the warden walked in. He looked half asleep, and was holding a muffin. His armor wasn’t on properly. Kira wondered how he even got the job. The warden blinked at them.

“Kiranous Green and Janzay Coy, you messed up on one T-shirt I hear. Yada  yada yada. Each of you will be whipped ten times, then you can go back to whatever it was that you were doing. Actually, you should take the rest of the day to recover. So go back to your shed after. As for you.” The warden turned to the boy.

“You get fifty whips again, and fifty more tomorrow. Then I think that you are all set as well. Assuming that you survive. Ok guards. Do your thing.” The warden walked out of the room. There were three guards. Each one unstrapped one kid, and pushed them to the ground back up. Kira braced herself.

“You always get the easy tasks. I have to whip someone forty more times than you do. Not fair.” One of the guards suddenly complained. Kira and Zay looked at each other. It was completely unprofessional to speak while doing a task. Especially complaining about it.

“Why don’t us three whip them ten times, and then we can take turns whipping him.” One guard suggested. The other one nodded.

“Sounds fair. Let’s get this show on the road.” The first one said. Kira heard a loud crack. She gritted her teeth in pain as the whip split open her skin on the other side of her shirt. Crack! She would have a scare on the back of her arm. Crack! Same with the other arm. Crack! Another gash opened up on her back. Crack! There was blood on the back of her shirt. Crack! Kira would have a scar on her left leg. Crack! One on her right leg as well.

“My arms are tired!” The first one said out of the blue. Just as Kira felt another whip hit her legs again.

“Yeah I know. Keep going.” The third one said. Crack! Kira felt her arms burn. Crack! This one hit her hands as well. Crack! Kira’s back felt like fire. But that was ten whips. It was over. Kira looked at Zay, and saw that she would have the same scarring. The poor boy's misery was just getting started. Then out of nowhere, Kira felt the guards rubbing something into her arms and legs. It made them feel like they were burning. Kira screamed in pain. She heard Zay screaming as well.

“I don’t think they like that.” The first guard pointed out idiotically. Kira could tell from the second guard's tone that they were rolling their eyes.

“Of course they don’t! It burns like the sun, but keeps them from dying of infection. That’s the point. Alive, but barely alive, and in pain. Now stop commenting before you are punished too.” They huffed. The first guard crosses their arms.

“That sounds mean. They did what, mess up once on a machine they never used before? Also, they don’t look much younger than me. Technically I’m an intern since it isn’t legal for me to have a job here yet. Heck, some of the prisoners are older than me. Maybe we should just give them a break. It’s not their fault that they bear the curse.” The first guard babbled. The third one huffed.

“If you can’t do this right, then maybe you should come back in two years when you are eighteen and ready. These kids are mindless and savage. You shouldn’t feel bad about hurting them. They probably have a history of killing real people. NOW SHUP UP, UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE WHIPPED TOO!” The third guard yelled in an annoyed voice. They were clearly getting fed up very quickly. The first guard tilted their head.

“Why don’t you ask them?” They asked.

“WHAT?! What kind of idiot are you?”

“Ask them if they are crazy. Start a conversation with them to see if it is true.” The first guard said. The second guard shook their head. The first guard was already helping each kid into a chair. They looked at Kira.

“Are you a lunatic?” They asked sincerely. 

“Um, no. Not that I know of at least. I have never killed anyone, and never thought that I would have natural abilities since I feared people like me as well.” Kira blinked with surprise.

“See?” The first said. 

“What about you? What is your name?” The first guard asked Zay while the second and third guard shook their heads.

“I’m Zay. I didn’t even know I bore the curse until testing day. I love small children and animals. I used to babysit my little sister.” Zay spoke clearly, looking the guard in the eye. The guard nodded.

“Wait, Janzay Coy!? You were the one who won that art contest a few years back! And you did babysit! I remember when you set up a space in the gym at school to entertain little kids during their parent teacher conferences!” The first guard suddenly realized.

“See? I told you they weren’t savage!” They called victoriously. The second guard put a hand on their shoulder.

“I know. But the government fears being overthrown. We need to do what they say, even if it means whipping innocent children. No go escort these two back to the yard. Then brace yourself. You know I have to report you for starting a conversation with the prisoners. Next time, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.” The second guard said in a low voice. The first guard tilted their head, then nodded. When Kira, Zay and the guard were around the corner, the guard stopped.

“Look, what they are doing is unfair. I packed a few snacks for later today, but you need them a lot more than I do. Good luck. I hope you escape some day.” The guard walked them out into the courtyard. The guard passed them an apple, some cornbread, and an orange. Kira looked at them great fully.

“Thank you.” She whispered as Kira and Zay stumbled back to their shed. Kira ate the orange, and Zay ate the apple. They shared the corn bread. Kira sighed with joy. It was the best food she had in awhile. Also the most food in one sitting. It was clear now that Kira had lost a lot of weight. She sat back and winced in pain. She couldn’t lay down on her back, it was too painful. Kira collapsed onto her stomach. She saw Zay do the same. Next thing Kira knew, she was fast asleep. 

Soft drops pattered the top of the tin roof. Kira shivered. She felt cold. Kira cracked the ‘door’ open and saw that it was raining. Occasionally wind howled, rattling the tin sheds. She also saw that a long bloody line across her arm had turned into one long scab. Kira winced. After a day of sleeping, it finally closed up a bit. She curled into a ball. Zay was still sound asleep. Kira looked at the patterns on the wall. Straight lines. Little waves in the incredibly thin material. Kira listened to the drops hitting the roof, making soft patting noises. She heard some of the drops slowly dripping down the side of the roof. Kira closed her eyes, wishing she was at home with Mother. On rainy days, Mother would make hot chocolate and curl up on the couch, watching the news. Kira would join her, watching stories about the war, or politics. It was a peaceful memory from her past. She heard a different noise. The sound of marching. Soldiers marching. Kira sat up, and tapped Zay on the shoulder. Zay kept her eyes closed, but groaned to let Kira know she was awake. 

“Zay! The guards are marching! I can hear them marching!” Kira whispered, gently shaking her by her shoulders. Zay’s eyes popped open. She sat up.

“Let me see!” She whispered back, sticking her head out of the ‘door’. Zay’s eyes widened.

“Kira! Come look at this!” Zay whisper yelled. They both crawled out the door. Everyone was standing outside their shed or tent, watching the guards march. They were spreading themselves out around the wall. All of them heavily armed. The guards weren’t looking at the prisoners though. They were looking at the sky. Tili waved them over.

“We have only seen them do this once before. When a single fleet of Irinals soldiers invaded. Last time several kids escaped in the chaos. We are bringing our plan into motion. We are going to escape as soon as they start shooting at each other.” Tili called excitedly. Kira and Zay shot each other a concerned look.

“Zay, if I die, you were the best friend ever.” Kira said, starting to get worried. Zay nodded.

“You too Kira. You too.” Everyone held their breaths as they waited for the sky to fill with bullets and smoke. The wind picked up speed, causing the rain to hit their faces sideways. Older siblings stood in front of young siblings. Friends stood side by side. No one knew if this would be the last time they saw each other. Then finally, a single missile flew through the air. It hit the prison wall, creating a large hole in it. Dozens of airships  flooded the sky. All of them were marked with the Irinal flag. The prison exploded into chaos. The good prisoners on the other side of the fence got on their knees, and put their hands up high. The side Kira was on went crazy. There were kids running and screaming everywhere. Some of them fighting, others hacking away at the chained fence. Kira and Zay ducked under the sheds, trying to escape the bullets flying everywhere. Kira watched the planes strike down the guards. Then she watched the Irinal troops drop into the prison grounds. They weren’t after the guards. They were after the prisoners. Prisoners were being tied up, then lifted into planes and flown away. Kira and Zay ducked into the nearest tin shed. There was fire powder inside. Kira looked at Zay.

“We can burn off handcuffs and use our abilities to get out of this mess!” Kira yelled over the chaos. They made a large lump of dirt, and set it aflame. Kira’s hands were being burned. The heat climbed up her finger, creating white lines. It was excruciating pain, but the cuffs popped off. Zay’s came off as well. Kira wrapped her energy around the tin shed and bars of tin that surrounded them. Zay grabbed water from the rain, turning it into a whip. They burst out into the open. Kira shielded them from bullets and explosions while Zay warded off anyone that got too close. They slowly made their way to the chuck of the wall that was missing. They needed to climb.

“I need to lower my arms to climb, but that will leave us defenseless!” Kira shouted over the howling wind. Zay looked at her, then at the wall. Zay took a deep breath.

“Do it.” She commanded. Kira nodded, and dropped the tin. They sprinted towards the wall. But the second they reached out to touch the wall, Kira and Zay yelped in pain. They had burned their hands so badly that they couldn’t climb. Just as Kira lifted her arms to raise the tin again, they were hit in the neck with a paralyzing dart. Kira growled as she fell face first onto the ground. Next thing she knew, Kira and Zay were tangled in a net, and being lifted into a plane. Not again. Not again. Kira couldn’t move at all. She had never felt so defenseless and enraged. They almost made it. The exit was right there. This paralyzing dart was much stronger than the last one. Kira felt her consciousness slipping away. The world was going dark. The last thing Kira saw was someone leaning over her, holding a wooden clipboard.

Kira sat up. Where was she? Her hands weren’t bound. Her hands were wrapped in thick bandages though. It hurt. Zay’s hands were as well.

“Where are we?” Kira asked quietly. Zay looked around.

“We are still on the sky ship. I don’t know where we are heading.” Zay responded. Kira sighed.

“We’re probably going to another prison, great.”

No one else in the room looked panicked. They looked like they had already given up hope. She noticed that her scabs had healed into pinkish lines.

“How long were we asleep?” She asked. Zay looked away.

“I don’t know.” She mumbled quietly. Kira looked at her feet. Suddenly, a person entered the room. Kira and Zay, along with everyone else who was awake raised their arms threateningly. Someone grabbed a lamp, and threw it at them. She wrapped her energy around her cot, ready to attack. The person was a girl who looked like she was only a few years older than they were. She wasn’t wearing armor, in fact she was just dressed in a plain white T-shirt, and blue sweatpants. She easily dogged, and caught the lamp in her left hand. She raised her arms in peace.

“Hello everyone. I know that you must have a lot of questions right now, so I will do my best to explain. You are not on an Irinals's ship. This is a Julana sky ship. We have come to rescue you in decies. We are heading back to Julana where you can have your wounds treated, and you can either stay there, or leave. It is up to you. I know that you must be wondering how this is possible, since Julana was supposed to have been wiped out decades ago. The truth is, we went underground, and high up in the mountains. I am also here to ask if anyone wants a snack. We will arrive in about an hour.” She said calmly. 

Zay looked shocked. Kira felt her energy recoil like a rubber band. She winced as it lashed her brain. Everyone buzzed with questions. A few kids requested snacks. Kira wasn’t hungry. She had a lot to think about. Zay wrapped her arms around Kira again.

“We are going to Julana!” She cried with joy. Kira, who was in shock, froze. How was this happening? Was she back at the prison having a strange dream? Zay was grinning and Kira smiled. It was nice to see her looking so happy. The plane continued soaring through the sky to a brighter future. Kira collapsed right back onto her cot, her thoughts buzzed around like little bees. The girl came back into the room. She waved her arms to get everyone’s attention. 

“We have a TV. I am turning it on so you can watch Ungonalo news. Here is the remote.” Then she did something weird. She created a glowing ball of energy, and put the remote on top of it. Then she created more balls of energy that she used to distribute snacks. They were force fields! Kira realized. After she left, everyone silently watched the news. A reporter brought up their story. Everyone cheered. Ungonalo was furious with Irinals for taking their prisoners. Apparently they took children and adult prisoners. Then the interviews came. 

“And now, with special permission from the city’s master, we interview a woman who was adopted and lost her sister to the curse. Years later, the daughter she named after her sister was lost to the curse and had to be taken away as well. We hear her opinion when she finds out that both of them escaped.” The news reporter chatted. The blood drained from Kira’s face as her Mother came onto the screen.

“I don’t want to comment. This is too personal for me to answer. I’m glad the government is taking precautions.” Mother held a hand up to the camera, and kept walking without looking at the reporter.The screen flashed back to the news reporter. Kira felt her eyes well with tears. She loved her mother more than anything. Zay seemed to draw a quick connection, particularly because they looked exactly alike. Zay put a hand on her shoulder. She looks slightly concerned after watching the clip for some reason. Kira’s picture came onto the screen. They described her as dangerous. Dangerous and powerful. That made her smile. The plane tilted. Kira lay down on her cot, and looked at the ceiling. The girl in blue and white came in once more, about forty minutes later. 

“Ok everyone, we are landing in less than five minutes. It won’t be bumpy or anything, but you will feel a slight pressure change. When we arrive, everyone will get new clean clothes, and a place to sleep. You will also get a medical evaluation. Also, for anyone who wants training, you can start in three days. Of course if you want to wait longer, that’s ok too. I’m Twilight by the way.” Twilight said cheerfully. She then went back to the other side of the door. Kira continued lying on her back, staring at the ceiling. Then she felt like she was hit with a bolt of lightning. The news reporter said that aunt Kiranous escaped as well! Kira could meet her aunt! She smiled. Zay sat by her side, quietly humming and watching TV. Kira was so grateful to have met Zay. She seemed so strong. The ship began to descend. Kira wasn’t bothered though. She loved the feeling of falling and staying put at the same time. As the plane continued to fall, the final kids who were asleep woke up. Their friends and siblings excitedly whispered what was happening. Kira put her heavily bandaged hand next to Zay’s. Zay smiled with tears in her eyes.

“I think that I might get to see my mom again.” She cried softly. Kira sat up and looked at Zay. She didn’t know what to do. What was she supposed to say? Zay’s mother missed her entire childhood after the age of two. Kira looked at Zay.

“If there is one thing I am sure of, it’s that she will like you. Definitely love you.” Kira whispered. Zay squeezed her eyes shut, and hugged Kira. At first she jumped, but Kira ended up letting her hug her. 

“Thank you Kira.” She squeezed out. Zay dried her eyes.

“I don’t know why I am crying so much. She was taken when I was so young.” Zay mumbled, looking at her feet. Kira starred at her own.

“That is why. I bet you can’t wait to get to know her. And vise versa.” Kira responded. Zay nodded. The plane drifted lower and lower, causing the blood in Kira’s hands to travel up her arm. The plane finally touched the ground. Twilight came back in.

“Ok People! Let’s get off this plane! Raise your hand if you can’t walk, so you can be carried out. Everyone else, follow me!” Twilight called in an overly cheerful voice. Only two kids were unable to walk, and they were carried out by other adults. Kira and Zay walked side by side, stepping out into the sunlight. It was the most beautiful thing that Kira had ever seen. There were buildings in the shape of giant trees. Each one every color of the rainbow. A large glowing force field shielded them from above. Kira and Zay were filled with awe. They had never seen such a beautiful sight. People happily walked from place to place. Shops were perched on top of the rainbow leafs. The houses and apartments were in the canopy. Workplaces were in between the trunk. Zay blinked at the sight. Several volunteers led them to a hospital at the bottom of one tree that had to have held at least six other hospitals as well as business centers, schools, and athletic departments. Everyone was given a plain T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants the same color as the girls. They were also able to shower. Kira watched the dried blood, dirt, and sweat, wash away. The new clothes felt amazing. She saw Zay looking around. They were supposed to be resting, but Kira knew that Zay wouldn’t be interested in sleeping. The group of adult refugees was in one wing over. When a doctor came in to check on the two girls, Zay spoke up.

“Is there anyone else by the last name of Coy?” She asked anxiously as the doctor took off her hand bandages to reveal blisters covering her hands. Zay winced. Kira was pretty sure the doctor winced as well. The doctor applied ointment, then responded as they moved on to Kira.

“Yes! I believe so. Are you talking about Layna Coy?” The doctor asked as they removed Kira’s bandages. Zay nodded like a mad girl. The doctor laughed.

“She is cleared to wander the hospital, so I will bring her here. Do you have a request to see someone?” They asked Kira.

“Yes, I would like to see Kiranous Green. My aunt. My mom named me after her. That’s why we have the same name.” Kira asked nervously. 

“How funny! Kiranous and Layna are friends as well. I will get them.” They said, walking out the door. Zay looked the way Kira felt. Did they really just grant a request? Just like that? She had no Idea what aunt Kiranous would be like. Several minutes later, the doctor returned.

“Ok, they are just outside the door. Be careful though, you both are suffering from several infections and lack of nutrients.” The doctor ordered. Zay didn’t hesitate. She leaped out of bed. Zay dragged an IV that was in her arm along with her. Kira stepped out into the hallway. 

“Mom!” Zay screamed. Kira could tell that they were related. They didn’t look like clones of each other, like Kira and Mother did, but they shared the same dark brown eyes, straight black hair, and smile. Zay’s mom gasped, and tightly embraced Zay. They were both sobbing. Kira looked at the second woman. It was Kiranous. She had long straight platinum blond hair. The same blue eyes from the photo. Yet she was different. She survived the child’s prison, and the adults. Kira shyly waved. Aunt Kiranous looked like she was staring at a ghost. Then Kira remembered that she was practically a clone of her Mother, and probably looked like her right before aunt Kiranous was taken. Kira had walked straight out of her memories. They started at each other awkwardly from a few feet away, watching a spot on the floor, while Zay and her mom held each other, crying like they had been close their whole life. Kira approached her aunt.

“Hi, uh, so I am Kiranous as well, but you can call me Kira.” Kira tried awkwardly. Aunt Kiranous smiled slightly.

“You definitely are my sister's daughter. You’re the spitting image of her. Nice to meet you Kira. I’m your aunt Kiranous. So tell me, what is your ability?” Aunt Kiranous asked, making Kira sigh with relief.

“I’m a gravity breaker. I move objects with my mind.” Kira explained. 

Aunt Kiranous’s eyebrows shot up.

“Really? That’s interesting. There haven’t been many gravity breakers for decades. I don’t think that I have ever met someone who can move objects with their mind either. And I saw every corner of the prisons. Anyway, as you may know, I am a water manipulator, just like Layna.” Aunt Kiranous nodded her head at the reunion happening right next to them. Aunt Kiranous smiled.

“Are you going to stay here? I know that I will be staying for a while. This place is paradise.” Aunt Kiranous grinned. Kira grinned back.

“I think I’m going to be here for a while as well.”

Kira and aunt Kiranous had fun at the hospital. It was funny, because that was the last place you would expect to have fun at. It was a good bonding experience, as they were the only family they currently had. The two exchanged stories about Kira’s mother.

“Tell me, did your mother become a doctor like she said she would?” Aunt Kiranous would ask. Kira nodded happily.

“Yep! And she is one of the few that still has her job! My Mother was fifteen minutes early to everything her whole life.” Kira would say with pride. She saw a lot of her in Kiranous. She was surprised that Kiranous was as calm as she was. Kira was super jumpy, and she only spent a week in the prison. Fear seemed to be stuck to her spine. Kira and aunt Kiranous bonded so quickly, even though they only knew each other for a few days. As for Zay and her mother, they refused to leave each other’s side. It was kind of sweet. One day Layna and aunt Kiranous surprised Kira and Zay. They looked at each other.

“So we have an apartment here now. We each got a job as an abilities teacher.” Aunt Kiranous started.

“While the apartment is kind of small, we would be comfortable. How would you two like to come live with us?” Layna finished. Kira and Zay’s jaws dropped. 

“I take that as a yes?” Aunt Kiranous asked nervously. Kira and Zay nodded like crazy people.

“Yes yes yes!” They chanted. The adults laughed. Zay and Kira smiled. Their life was finally getting back on track. It was finally going to be ok. If only Kira knew how wrong she was. If only she knew that her pain was just getting started. She and Zay hugged their relatives. They never wanted to let go. 

“And to think that a few weeks ago we were bound in a prison cell.” Kira laughed. Aunt Kiranous laughed with her. Zay and Layna just leaned into each other. The four were planning to move in in a day. Kira had never been more excited in her life. But there was something missing. Something that tugged her gut. 

“I miss Mother.” Kira blurted. Aunt Kiranous looked at her feet.

“I do too.” 

Kira nodded. “I wish she was here. I really really miss her. I never met my other parent, so it was always just Mother and I. She must feel broken.” Kira sighed, watching Layna and Zay laugh as Zay attempted to braid her hair. Kiranous’s eyes lit up.

“I think that we can do that. Bring her here, I mean. We can request a search and rescue.” Kiranous grasped Kira’s hands. Kira felt tears of joy slip down her face. The thought of seeing Mother again made her spirit soar. 

“You look so much like her. In fact, you look exactly the way she did when I was taken.” Aunt Kiranous whispered. Kira sniffed.

“Thank you.” She whispered. That very day, Aunt Kiranous went to go see a general. She sent out the request right away. The request was accepted. Either in a few months, or a few days, Kira would see her Mother again. That was definitely a torch in the dark. The next day the four moved in. Kira and Zay gasped as they opened the doors.

“This place is huge compared to the apartment Mother and I lived in! This isn’t an apartment! This is a house!” Kira gasped. Layna chuckled.

“This is a small apartment by Julanan standards.” 

Kira and Zay ran around, exploring. There were enough rooms for everyone to have their own space. Kira flopped down onto the bed of her own room. The ceiling was high. Kira didn’t know why anyone would need a ceiling that high. She would be starting school soon. She also had a natural abilities class in a few hours. Kira sighed. This all felt like a long dream. Partly a nightmare. Zay wandered into Kira’s room.

“Isn’t this place amazing!” Zay called happily. Kira smiled.

“I guess so.” Kira kept staring at the ceiling. Zay laughed.

“I certainly do prefer this place to the shed! Are you excited for our lesson? I am so excited! Our teacher's name is Ms. Youn. I hear that she is an fire manipulator! Another element manipulator! I knew that type of ability was common, but wow!” Zay giggled. Kira grinned.

“I know right? I literally have never met another gravity breaker.” Kira exclaimed. Zay plopped down on the bed next to her.

“That must be so weird. I heard that no one has seen a gravity breaker for decades!” Zay answered. Kira shook her head.

“That can’t be right. Out of all of the people here? Not a single gravity breaker?” Kira asked. Zay shrugged. That really couldn’t be right. Out of the hundreds born with natural abilities every year, not a single one was a gravity breaker? What did that mean for Kira? She shook it off, and went to go get a snack in the kitchen. 

Kira and Zay walked into the training room. It was in a large wing of the east school, with mats covering the entire floor. Kira looked around. Windows ran along the top of the wall, near the roof. Kira looked around. There were students and teachers everywhere, blasting random elements, and shadows, at each other. Turning into blobs, and animals. Not a single gravity breaker. Kira frowned. This was awkward. On the side of the room lay various objects. Buckets of water, small flames lit by gas, and heavy objects. There were pots of flowers and objects sprawled out everywhere as well. A young woman waved Zay and Kira over. She looked them up and down.

 “I see you don’t have your uniform yet. Not to worry, we can get you one soon enough.” She cooed. Everyone else was wearing black pants, and a plain black top. Kira and Zay got into their own uniform in the changing room. Zay giggled.

“This is so comfortable!” She yelled over the changing stall. Kira grinned. The uniforms were super comfortable. They felt as light as a feather. Best of all, you could move super easily in them. Kira had never felt better. They walked back to the training room, and Zay was almost knocked over by a sudden burst of flames that flew straight past them. A student shouted an apology. Zay’s face twisted with confusion.

“Do flames always nearly miss your head every  time you walk in here?” Zay asked Ms. Youn. Ms. Youn hesitated. 

“Not when you move up to train with the more advanced students.” she said carefully. Zay grumbled something about scorched hair under her breath. Kira bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. Ms. Youn clapped her hands together.

“Ok! Kira and Zay. Please use the following items to show me your ability. Then I will assess your ability level.” Ms. Youn explained. 

There were several items lined up on the mat. A bucket of water, a small flame, a pot with a flower, and a stone.

“These are all element and plant manipulating items.” Kira pointed out. Ms. Youn nodded.

“I know. Since no one has seen a gravity breaker in forever, it saves us a lot of money.” She answered. Zay went first. She lifted the water from the bucket, and whipped it around in the air a few times, then made it neatly folded the water back into the bucket. Ms. Youn nodded her approval.

“A water manipulator! Very good. Your turn Kira.” Ms. Youn applauded. Kira felt puzzled. What was she supposed to do with element manipulating objects? Kira had an idea. She took a deep breath. Kira wrapped her energy around all of the items, causing each bucket to rise into the air. Kira held each item steady. Oceania was right. Small items like these without Magninmum felt effortless to lift. Ms. Youn dropped the clipboard she was holding. Her eyes were bulging. Kira nervously put the items down, and lifted the clipboard into her hands. Ms. Youn’s mouth opened and closed like a fish’s.

“Uh, sorry.” Kira mumbled. Ms. Youn brushed off her pants.

“Sorry for what? You're a gravity breaker! I don’t believe it! I can’t!” She cried. Kira shrunk away. Awkward. 

“Ok, wow! I need to tell the city leaders about this. Wow! Can you lift anything heavier? You know what? Let’s go outside.” Ms. Youn led them down the hallway to the garden in the building. There were statues and fountains, attracting birds and animals. Ms. Youn pointed at a large statue of a dog sitting by an adult's foot. 

“I don’t expect someone your age to be able to lift that, but try to. Once again, if you can’t even make it budge, don’t feel bad.” 

Kira looked at Zay. Zay shrugged. Kira wrapped all of her energy around the statue. She began to pull. The statue wiggled. It began to rise from the ground. It was huge. It had to be hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. A bead of sweat dotted Kira’s forehead. She ignored it, and pulled harder. The statue was at least eight feet off the ground. Kira gently put it back into place, and let out a breath of tension. Strangely enough, it was her arms that ached instead of her mind. Ms. Youn’s mouth was wide open. Kira blinked at her.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked gingerly. Zay had a goofy smile plastered across her face.

“I think she’s just a bit surprised. Huh Ms. Youn?” Zay asked slowly. Ms. Youn pointed at Kira.

“You just lifted that. All by yourself? That just happened?” She asked in a squeaky voice. Kira carefully nodded. Ms. Youn looked at them.

“Sorry girls, but the lesson is over. I have a lot of calls to make.” With that, Ms. Youn walked back into the building, leaving Kira and Zay standing alone.

“So… that just happened.” Kira started.

“Do we just go home now?” Zay asked. Kira nodded.

“I guess so. I’m going to go change.” Kira and Zay walked back to the changing room, and put on their day clothes. They walked back home, as the apartment was less than a mile away. Layna was in the kitchen, chopping vegetables as Zay and Kira entered the room.

“You are back early! How did it go?” She asked, sliding carrot slices onto a plate. 

“It was interesting.” Kira didn’t know how else to describe the experience. Layna eyed them suspiciously.

“Ok… why don’t you go relax for half an hour or so. Kiranous will be home soon, and we will eat dinner when she arrives. Remember, you are starting school soon! Your school uniform is on your bed.” Layna called as Kira and Zay walked back to their room. Kira’s uniform was neatly folded on her bed. It was a sky blue collared shirt, with a plaid skirt. There was also a blue sweater for the winter. Kira smiled. Blue was her favorite color. On top of that was a large wrist band. A tracing device, just in case. It also monitored students' heart rate and pain leaves. It was all black, with the name Kiranous Green embroidered on the top. Kira had her own personal tracking device. Fun. Kira sat down and picked up a book she found at a local bookstore. It was tilted, The Gravity breakers guide to success. Interesting title. Kira opened the book, and began to read. It was written by another gravity breaker, one who died seventy years ago at the age of one hundred and five. Even more fun. The first chapter explained object manipulation. How the energy pooled in the mind, but really it also came from everywhere in the body. It explained how to draw energy from the life around you, and use it to lift and move objects. Kira wandered into Zay’s room, curious to try it out. She didn’t think, she just did.

“Hi Zay. Hold still.” Kira instructed. Zay nodded, and went back to watching TV on her portable projection. Kira reached out her hand, and felt for energy lingering around Zay. At first she felt nothing, then Kira felt a spark. She grabbed it with her finger tips, and imagined wrapping it around Zay. Kira lifted her arm. Zay went flying upwards. She floated in the air, looking very confused. 

“Put me down!” Zay yelped, a few feet above the bed. Zay kicked her legs. Kira let go of the energy, and Zay fell onto the bed.

“I’m sorry Zay! I had no idea what would happen!” Kira quickly apologized. Zay shot Kira a glare.

“It’s fine, since you didn’t know what would happen. But I get to experiment on you next time. Also, what did happen?” 

Kira shook her hands. She didn’t feel the slightest strain. It felt like Kira was lifting a feather.

“I used the energy coming off of you to lift you. This is so weird! I don’t feel the slightest strain!” Kira shook out her arms. Zay turned her head to the side.

“Gravity breaking is weird.” She concluded. Kira nodded.

“It is indeed.”

Supreme Master Comna stood in front of the window, glaring at the city. The phone rang. 

“Get it.” Supreme Master Comna growled at her assistant. The one thousandth Gravity breaker was out there somewhere. As one of the five leaders of Ungonalo, it was her duty to destroy them. As Supreme Master Comna, it was her mission to use them. The assistant put it on speaker.

“Hello Supreme Master. It’s Youn.” Youn sounded angry, as in really angry. 

“Get. Out.” Supreme Master Comna hissed at the assistant. Once they were alone, Youn’s voice lightened.

“I know that this is the one way to get your ultimate power back, and our brother, but this sounds a bit extreme. I met the Gravity breaker earlier…” Youn mumbled. Supreme Master Comna whipped around.

“What! Tell me where to find this person, and who they are!” Supreme Master Comna demanded.

“They won’t willingly do what you say. I met them. They are powerful. You don’t want to cross them.” Youn insisted. Supreme Master Comna growled.

“Give me their location, or I will cut my ties with you. Convince the city Masters to not let them leave the city. And don’t let anyone else know what I know.” She hung up. No one could know what Supreme Master Comna knew. No one could know until it was too late for them. But they could know that the gravity breaker was alive, if they ever left the city. They could know, and help Comna imprison them. Then Comna would control the gravity breaker. Then she would control the world.

And then she would get back what she lost so long ago.

Kira and Zay clung to each other as they entered the school building. First days were the worst days. They were both prepared to deal with whoever wanted to beat them up, but Kira mostly feared doing poorly in class. Kira was an A student, and she tried hard, but this was a completely different school. Not to mention that Kira had been out of school for a while. Kira kept her head down as she pulled open the door. 

The school was at the top of the trunk on the east tree, almost near the top of the canopy. Students in the Elementary school were just underneath them. The higher school for older students was just above their heads. The Universities were scattered among the fake leaves. And at the top, above the canopy sat the East temple. 

The East temple matched the temples from the north, south, and west tree. They all had bridges that connected into the Center temple. The Center temple was where gatherings from multiple Julanan cities met. It was a pretty big deal if that temple was ever used. Kira gingerly knocked on the door of the classroom.

 The teacher from inside brightly waved. The Julana teacher seemed a lot more friendly than Kira’s Ungonalo teacher. Kira carefully took the seat that was empty in the back of the room, while Zay took the empty seat near the middle of the room. At first the teacher lectured on about Math, then switched to natural abilities.

“Ok class! Everyone pair up with someone in your category. If you are an element manipulator, I have items you can use. Or if you are a plant manipulator. Everyone chatted, then paired up. Everyone except for Kira who stood by herself. The teacher frowned slightly.

“I see that two students do not have a buddy. That’s ok. Why don’t you two pair up for now?” The teacher asked in a perky voice. Zay looked at Kira apologetically, while Kira joined a girl who was sitting across the room.

“Hi! Are you a shapeshifter? I bet you are. It’s ok, I am too! So sad how we turn into animals, then turn back into ourselves. I feel so unspecial, even though it is a rare ability. What are you? Oh! Are you a matterist! That would be so cool! Just turning into goop all day!” She chatted. Kira made a face. Turning into goop all day did not sound appealing. 

She was starting to wonder if this girl was always the last to be paired.

“I’m actually a Gravity breaker.” Kira carefully responded. The teacher passed out items, putting a rock on their desk. The girl burst out laughing.

“You're funny! Imagine if you really were a Gravity breaker!? Then you would be the one thousandth Gravity breaker! Yeah right!” She snorted. Kira tilted her head to the side. She definitely was the last to be chosen for a reason. This girl still had the mind of a peppy child.

“One thousandth Gravity breaker?” Kira asked. The girl blinked.

“I forgot that you’re new! You were from the prison, right? I can’t believe you never heard the legend!” Just as she was about to explain, the teacher made her way back around to them.

“Linina, I’m glad that you are making our new student feel welcome, but you have to do the work. We have been over this before. Now get to it, and call me over if you have any questions. Speaking of which, can our two new students demonstrate their abilities?” The teacher asked, her tone growing slightly more annoyed as time passed. At least she didn’t beat anyone like her last teacher. Zay and Kira were brought to the front of the room.

“Oh gosh! You guys will have to demonstrate! But you don’t have any training so you will look bad now!” Linina called as they were brought forward. Kira shook her head. What was her problem?

“Hi. I’m Janzay, but please call me Zay. I do this.” Zay did a trick Kira had seen her try before. She waved her hand in a circular motion, gathering water from the air at her fingertips. Zay rolled the water into a ball, then threw it up into the air and caught it. Everyone looked slightly impressed. The teacher clapped.

“Very good Zay! It can take months to learn how to gather water from the air. Your turn.” The teacher turned to Kira. 

Kira looked at everyone. She wasn’t feeling very energetic, and really didn’t want to be thought of as weak, so Kira gathered all of the energy she felt coming from the teacher, Zay, and all of the students. Kira wrapped the energy around all of the desks, and lifted her arm, pulling them into the air. The desks hung in the open, above everyone’s heads. She carefully lifted the desks down into their original position.

“Hi, I’m Kiranous, but please call me Kira. I am a Gravity breaker.” Kira introduced herself. Everyone was staring open-mouthed at Kira.

“Did I do something wrong?” Kira asked, breaking the awkward silence. No one answered. The teacher was the first to say anything.

“You two can go back to your seats now.” The teacher said quietly. Zay grinned at Kira, and mouthed, way to scare everyone on day one! Her face flushed. As soon as the alarm sounded through the school, students flooded the halls. Except this time everyone was staring at Kira. Whispering to their friends.

“Did I do something wrong?” Kira asked Zay again as they walked into the large lunch room. Zay shook her head.

“I don’t think so. I think no one has seen a gravity breaker in a little while. That’s all.” Zay served herself a huge scoop of food. 

“What? I’m starving.” Zay said when she saw Kira looking at her.

“It’s not that. I just heard the crazy girl, Linina say something about something called the one thousandth Gravity Breaker.” Kira mumbled, trying to ignore the people whispering right behind them. Zay laughed.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. You know how she was.” Zay elbowed Kira. Kira forced a smile.

They sat down at a near table. Kira ate the food that was on her plate, not entirely sure what it was. It tasted good though. The rest of the day was just as weird. Bouncing around from class to class, getting weird stares. At the end of the day, Kira was called into the head office.

“Hi. Why am I here?” Kira asked nervously as the headmistress paced around her desk.

“You are a Gravity breaker. The one thousandth Gravity breaker. I have been told by the master of the East temple that all four masters want to speak with you tomorrow at sunset. Seven thirty to be exact. Go to the East temple. You are dismissed.” Kira was pushed out of her office before she could ask what on earth the one thousandth Gravity breaker was. Kira grumbled as she and Zay walked home.

“What is it supposed to mean! And why won’t anyone tell me! I swear to gosh if the city's masters don’t…” Kira grumbled.

“Yikes. That certainly doesn’t sound like fun.” Zay kicked a pebble along.

“I’m sorry Zay. You don’t deserve to hear me complain about my day. How was yours?” Kira asked as they approached the apartment building. Zay grinned.

“I was with you the whole day. But I must say, I think that was the Mac and cheese I had for lunch? It was delicious, whatever it was!” Zay rubbed her hands together. Kira laughed. They laughed the whole way into the apartment building. No one was home yet. They each practiced their abilities. 

Kira used her inner energy, since it seemed to get stronger every time she used it, to lift the couch up and down. Zay was trying to teach herself how to manipulate the temperatures of the water she manipulated. Kira couldn’t take her mind off of the things she heard that day. If she was the one thousandth Gravity breaker, what did that mean?

Kira was still lifting the couch when aunt Kiranous and Layna came home. They looked tired, probably had a long day. Kira gently placed the couch down as lightly as she could. Zay turned the water into mist, sending it through the air.

“Hi aunt Kiranous! Hi Layna! I ordered take out from the restaurant you liked earlier.” Kira bounced over to aunt Kiranous. She smiled.

“Thank you Kira. I can’t wait to eat.” Aunt Kiranous looked exhausted. Zay hugged her mother.

“Hi mom! I learned how to draw water from the air!” Zay demonstrated. Her mother clapped.

“Very good Zay! How was your day?” Layna asked, patting Zay’s head. She grinned.

“It was great! The food they serve for lunch is incredible!” Zay bounced around.

“What about you Kira?” Aunt Kiranous asked, pulling the take out food from a large brown bag on the counter. 

“Uh… it was interesting.” Kira chose to say. Layna raised an eyebrow.

“How so?” She asked.

“I didn’t get into trouble. Or at least I don’t think I did. Apparently I’m the one thousandth Gravity breaker, and that’s a big deal? Now I’m supposed to meet with the city masters in the East temple tomorrow at seven thirty. I guess you could take that either way.” She forced herself to speak. Aunt Kiranous’s eyes widened.

“What on earth? Huh? How do they even know that you are the one thousandth Gravity Breaker? Also, why does it matter? Do you get a key chain for it or something?” She asked, confused. Kira shrugged.

“Your guess Is as good as mine. No one will tell me anything.” Kira murmured. Aunt Kiranous frowned, looking concerned. She and Layna shot each other a look. Everyone sat down to eat dinner, and moved on to talk about the crazy kids in school. She played with her food, not really feeling hungry. Kira hoped that being the one thousandth Gravity Breaker wasn’t that big of a deal, and that she did some community service, then she went back to being a normal kid. Considering that she was barely a teenager, Kira assumed that was what would happen. After dinner, she pressed on the portable projection computer, and watched Ungonalo news.

“Live from the streets of Ungonalo, authorities reveal that Ungonalo invaded the Irinals prison two days ago for revenge. Irinals currently refuses to admit that they stole prisoners who bear the curse, and things are heating up on both sides. As we know, Irinals has lied in the past, so this is not new. What we want to learn is what Irinals did with all of the prisoners. We interview people from the streets.” The news reporter said with a straight face. The screen cut to an interview with a random guy that must have been conveniently there.

“I will not believe a country that has started a war over a lie is telling us the truth now! I will never cave into a country that looks like the word urinals when spelled!” He yelled. The screen flashed back to the news reporter.

“There you have it. Coming up next, an unsuccessful search for the stolen prisoners. Will they be used in an invasion? No one knows.” The screen flashed away. She sighed, and turned the portable projector off. Zay knocked on her door.

“Come in!” She called. Zay entered the room, and sat down on the bed.

“Were you watching the news?” Zay asked. Kira nodded. Zay looked at her feet.

“I wonder how my little sister is handling this. Probably not well. If both I and our mother had a natural ability, then she most likely does as well.” She mumbled. Kira looked at Zay.

“It must be hard to be so far away from her. What is it like to have a sibling? I hear that siblings are both your greatest enemies, and greatest friends in life.” Kira asked curiously. She snorted.

“You can say that again. Her name is Jay. I know, I know. My mom probably thought she was hilarious to name her Zanjay, and to name me Janzay. She’s only a year younger than me, so we were best friends. We played games together, watched TV together, did homework together, it was great. I miss her.” Zay frowned, fidgeting with her fingers. Kira hugged her.

“I wish I could feel such a strong bond with a sister. I wish I knew what that felt like.” Kira mumbled. The corners of Zay’s mouth curved up slightly.

“You do. At the risk of sounding cheesy, you are my sister. We may not be related by blood, but I think of you the way I think of my little sister.” Zay spoke confidently. She shoved Zay’s shoulders.

“Zay! You’re going to make me cry!” She laughed. They hugged. Kira never had a sister, but if this is what it felt like, Kira was sure she had a sister as well. Zay blinked back tears.

“I’m telling you this now because I did some research. The masters only request someone if they are to be given a large task. One that is important. I want you to know how much you mean to me just in case.” She looked away. Kira put a hand on her shoulder.

“I have a feeling that this is only the beginning of our friendship, no matter what they tell me tomorrow.” She responded. Zay sniffed.

“Thank you Kira. I promise I will stay with you no matter what.” She promised. Kira had no idea what the universe had planned for her, but she knew that Zay would be there with her. Fate tosses and turns the world. It divides some, while bringing others closer together. Sometimes the only thing we feel we can control is who we stay with. She fell asleep quickly that night, feeling like she had a secure place in this world. 

Kira woke up to a beautiful sunrise, it crept in her window. The view of the west tree also captured her attention, Kira could see early risers already outside, on their way to work. It was a beautiful view. Kira quickly got dressed, and went to the kitchen to make herself breakfast. There was a note on the counter from Layna and aunt Kiranous, saying that they had to leave early, but would be back by dinner. She made herself a fruit bowl, and ate in silence. Zay never came out of her room, so Kira went to go wake her up. Zay’s normally straight black hair was tied up in a huge knot, giving her a horrible bed head.

“Come on! We need to be out the door in thirty five minutes!” Kira shook her shoulders when she just turned over in her sleep. Finally, Zay gave in, and ten minutes late they were eating breakfast. She was still groggy, but she was starting to get chatty, which was a good sign. The two of them took their book bags, and started to walk to school. This time everyone on the street was staring. Everyone was pointing in their direction, and whispering. Kira shrunk into herself, trying to disappear. Unwanted attention was not her thing.The entire school day was just as bad. Everyone curiously watched every move Kira made, jumping every time she sneezed. Kira couldn’t take it much longer. She was desperate to find out what the masters, and everyone else wanted from her. After school, she sat in her room, waiting for the clock to reach seven, so she could start walking over to the East temple. When it finally did, Kira rushed to the door. Since Zay insisted on going with Kira, she came along as well. 

The East temple was huge. It was long and elegant, in the shape of one beautiful leaf that shimmered in the sunlight. She stumbled inside, after tripping over the door lining. Zay snickered. Kira elbowed her. There were several guards posted near two large, golden doors. Zay went to the minny waiting room they actually had, on the far side of the room. She waved at Kira. She gingerly waved back. The guards looked her up and down as she approached.

“I’m Kiranous Green. The person they requested, and the one thousandth Gravity Breaker, whatever that is.” Kira explained blankly. The guards nodded.

“When you go in there, bow. Don’t speak until you spoken too.” The guard opened the large door, and Kira stepped inside. Each master was perched on a throne, a few feet off the ground. She bent over into a bow, and stared at her reflection coming from the gold floor. There was a beat of silence. Kira shifted her weight uncomfortably. Finally, the East master spoke.

“Welcome. We have called you here today because you are the one thousandth Gravity Breaker. You have a destiny, one so great that many have only hoped. It would be their own.” The East master boomed. Get to the point. Kira thought bitterly. The East master rose.

“A long time ago, our ancestors were at peace with the rest of the world. We lived in harmony. But one day, a predictor saw something awful.” The East master paced, while Kira mentally groaned. Long boring story. Awesome.

“They saw that the two powerhouse counties of the world would go to war. They also saw that they would betray those with magic, and kill and imprison anyone with the gift. So they put their mental  energy together, and created a new destiny. They created a soul that would be born hundreds of years later when the war started to get ugly. This being would be the one thousandth Gravity breaker.” The East master explained. She felt confused. Her soul was created by some random people hundreds of years ago? Were these people high? 

“The child would be a powerful weapon, and peace maker. They would restore the reputation of the natural abilities community, and end the war. They would create a fire in a dark cave. They would lead the world to light.” 

Kira’s face twisted with confusion. 

“Permission to speak?” She asked.

“Granted.” The master from the South tree nodded. Kira forced an awkward smile and nodded.

“With all do respect, what on earth? How do you know this wasn’t some crazy folktale? Once again, with all do respect, are you high? Like really high? Also, I’m barely a teenager! How the heck am I supposed to ‘bring peace to the world’ and ‘end the war’? Isn’t that what you're supposed to do as appointed government officials, instead of shoving your problems on random kids? And finally, you can't be sure it’s me. I’m probably the nine hundred and ninety ninth gravity breaker or something. This is incredibly stupid.” Kira pointed out. The North master rose.

“That’s where you are wrong. Rise.” They demanded. Kira stood. What was happening? Bright light flashed from their eyes. Kira felt the same sense of power the day she had the day she became a gravity breaker. Kira blinked.

“What just happened?” She asked, her hands were glowing. The North master nodded.

“You just received your second ability. In the temple of the four trees. One of the locations.” They said blankly. She blinked again.

“What!?” She screamed, purple energy sprouted around Kira. She controlled the electricity. She controlled the energy. Kira was a electis. Someone who controlled electricity. She was a force field maker. Kira starred in wonder at the purple dome around her. Kira flicked her finger. All of the energy around her disappeared. It still lingered in the air, but it was no longer hardened or visible.

“How is this possible? I’m a gravity breaker!” Kira clenched her fists. The East master looked pleased. That look made Kira want to punch them hard in the face.

“Yes. You are the one thousandth Gravity breaker. You hold an ability from each category. You hold all the gravity breaking abilities, but will not be able to unlock them until you complete your destiny. And until then, you are immortal.” The East master explained. Kira’s eyes widened. This was too much. This was too weird. Why her? Why did it have to be Kira? She felt like she was going to throw up.

“What am I supposed to do now?” She asked, too shocked to feel emotions.

“You must train. Train hard, then visit the ancient jungle temple to determine the fate you must follow. Dismissed.” The East master turned their back to Kira, and walked back to their throne. She mentally cursed at them, then stormed outside. Zay was reading a magazine when Kira exited. She left the building, cursing under her breath. Zay ran after her.

“What happened? I’ve never seen you so mad before!” Zay called, dogging people passing by on the streets. Kira was too angry to speak. How could they just expect her to save everyone and end a huge war? Just how? Since when were they too lazy to deal with their own problems? This was horrible! There must be some mistake. Kira couldn’t take it. She sat down on the couch, wanting to scream. Zay sat down next to Kira.

“Ok, I can’t take it any longer. What happened in the temple?” Zay looked like she might explode. Kira took a deep breath. She explained everything. She even showed Zay her new abilities. Zay’s mouth hung open.

“Ok. So, I would be mad too. But think of this, you are going to be the one to save billions of people. You're going to be the one who brings peace. People will worship the name Kiranous, and there will be no more pain. Because of you. That’s pretty cool. Also, YOUR IMMORTAL?!” Zay suddenly yelled, making Kira jump.

“I guess so.” She mumbled. Zay bounced up and down.

“I. Freacken. GUESS SO?!That is so awesome! Everything else about this sucks. But that is awesome!” Zay yelled, dancing around the room. Kira bit her lip to keep from smiling. She noticed.

“Ok professor mopey much, I know this stinks, but think about it. The sooner you do whatever it is you need to, the less people that die. The sooner you get to see your mother.” Zay pointed out. Kira sighed.

“I guess you're right. It’s just so much.” Kira mumbled. She pulled Kira to her feet.

“You better start training now then. Let’s see some crazy purple energy!” Zay chanted. Kira laughed. Zay’s energy was contagious. Kira spent the next few hours practicing her new ability. She giggled as she spread out on the rug under the force field. Kira practiced making the force field small, and big. She remembered how the girl on the sky ship used it as a portable table. Kira learned that there were two different types of force field she could make. One that made everything it touched ricoshade and would seriously burn someone, and one that was a harmless dome. Kira went to her room to go to sleep early that night. She was exhausted. 

Kira floated into her dreams. Mother’s face filled her surroundings, as she and Kira played pass with a ball. Then the dream turned darker. The world erupted into chaos, and smoke filled their lungs, making them cough and wheeze. Kira’s Mother was pulled away from her in the confusion. And then there was a different face standing over her. One of pure evil. She screamed. The smoke and fog cleared. Mother was on her back, half dead.

“Why did you fail Kira?” She whispered in a hoarse voice.

“Why?”

Kira woke up with sweat pouring down her face. Her night clothes we stuck to her skin. Kira climbed out of bed. She quickly packed her bag. She wanted to get to this jungle temple as fast as she could. She wanted to do whatever she had to do to stop the war as fast as she could. Kira looked at aunt Kiranous’s room and Layna’s room, feeling sadness bubble over inside of her. When she looked in the direction of Zay’s room, she felt tears in her eyes. 

“I’m sorry Zay.” Kira whispered. The lights flicked on.

“Apology not accepted.” Zay flicked on the light switch, making Kira jump. Zay was leaning against the door, arms crossed. Kira felt shocked.

“How long have you been standing here? And how did you know I would be here?” Kira asked. Zay fought off a yawn.

“I didn’t, but I guessed you would try to ‘run away heroically’ or whatever. I’ve been standing here for three hours. I’m actually really tired. But anyway, I knew that you would try to sneak out to the creepy temple. I’m coming with you, and we are going to be smart about this. We need a full night of sleep. We also need a map, which I bought, thank you me. Most importantly, we need to give our family one final hurrah.” Zay demanded. Kira tilted her head.

“I can’t risk dragging you down with me. Also, hurrah?” Kira pointed out. Zay’s eye lids dropped.

“I’m coming with you, like it or not. I will start screaming if you try to leave without me, and you won’t have enough time to escape. And yes, we need to do something fun with the adults before we leave. We can’t tell them we are leaving, but we need to do something fun. We also need to leave a picture.” Zay ordered. She groaned. She could tell Zay would track her down if she did sneak out. Or tell the two adults what she was up to. So Kira gave in.

“Fine. But if anything happens to you…” Kira started. Zay rolled her eyes.

“Yes yes, ‘I’m the one who matters in the situation of saving the world’. Now come on. I want to sleep. And you aren’t sneaking out without me.” Zay said. Kira grumbled, but she agreed with Zay. She was really tired too. They went back to bed, and woke up several hours later. It was the weekend, and aunt Kiranous and Layna had the day off. Zay suggested they all go out to lunch. Everyone thought it was a good idea, and they headed out early. Kira and Zay shot each other a look. This was the last time for a while they would all be together.

The restaurant was small, but clean. It had beautiful lighting, and there were windows allowing you to see out into the streets. There was a perfect view of the west tree, and you could see people from the streets moving around. Kira smiled. It was a beautiful sight. They all sat down at a table facing the window. 

“So, how has school been?” Aunt Kiranous asked, scrolling through the menu. Kira bit her tongue. It was hard. Everyone always stared and whispered wherever she went. But Kira wasn’t about to tell her aunt that.

“It’s good. I got a one hundred on my Social studies test.” Kira decided to say instead. This was true. She did get a one hundred. Zay grinned.

“I got a one hundred plus I got the bonus right.” Kira swatted at her. 

Layna shook her head.

“I forgot what it was like to be young and happy. Do you still have scars?” She asked carefully. Kira hesitated, then nodded. She rolled up her sleeves and revealed serval thick purple lines that ran up her arms. Kira had a feeling that those scars would be there for a while. Zay rolled up her sleeves and revealed matching purple scars. Aunt Kiranous sighed.

“Unfortunately those will probably be there for the rest of your life.” She said quietly. Aunt Kiranous had at least three times as many scars as Kira did. Each of them was thick. Embedded. Kira looked at her hands.

“I don’t mind. They show pain that I have overcome.” Kira wiggled her fingers.

“You are so much like your mother. Except she was a total goof at your age.” Aunt Kiranous smirked. Kira met her eyes.

“Really? What made her a goof?” Kira asked. Aunt Kiranous looked like she was trying hard not to laugh.

“She was a big time prankster. If a teacher ever got on her bad side… let’s just say they had a quick personality change. One time a teacher even quit.” Aunt Kiranous explained. Kira perked up.

“Oh! Tell me!” She begged. Aunt Kiranous laughed.

“Ok, ok. One time the teacher humiliated her in front of the whole class. So she quickly plotted revenge. She ended up glueing the draws together, so they wouldn’t open. After watching the teacher go insane for a day, she took the chip out of the portable projector, so it wouldn’t work. The day after that, she put fresh paint on the seat. Next thing you know, the teacher’s pants are permanently ruined. Finally, the day after that, not only did she lock and jam the door from the inside, but she put their sky ship keys and new portable projector in there as well. No one could get the door open, and the teacher had enough. They quit.” Aunt Kiranous shook her head.

“And those weren’t even the most brutal pranks I’ve seen her pull off.” 

Her mother was so upright, she could hardly imagine her running around, creating chaos. Layna and aunt Kiranous looked at each other.

“We have some good news. We have an update that your mother will be rescued, and brought to Julana in a matter of a few weeks!” Layna announced.

Kira choked on the water she was drinking. A few weeks! That was so soon! Zay shot Kira a look. Kira was shocked.

“That is so amazing! I can’t believe it.” Kira wheezed, coughing up some water. Aunt Kiranous grinned.

“It will be so nice to see her after all those years.” She whispered.

“I have to use the bathroom, does anyone else?” Kira asked. Zay quickly got the hint.

“I kind of do. I’ll come with you.” The two of them headed off to the bathroom. Kira checked to make sure no one else was inside.

“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Zay asked, knowing that they were alone. Kira felt her eyes pool with tears as she nodded.

“I’m sure. We can always see each other later on. I want to do this.” She decided. Zay nodded.

“Ok. Also, FYI, I got us a sky ship. Let’s just say I’m really good with a deck of cards.” Zay grinned mischievously. Kira’s eye brows flew up. 

“When did you do that?” She asked. Zay gave off an evil laugh.

“A rich bragy kid from school who had their own sky ships. They didn’t use their brain. I had a clean flush. Now come on. I’m starving.” Zay led Kira back to the table. They ordered the same dish, and waited eagerly for it to come. Kira tapped her fingers against the table. She reviewed the plan over and over in her head. They would go to the sky ship port, fly to the village just outside the Rainy Jungle, the hike through to the temple. Kira felt like vomiting. Just thinking that the world was waiting for her to complete her destiny…  She loved Mother, but Kira needed to figure out how to end the war first. Kira walked home, staying close to aunt Kiranous. 

“Let’s take a picture! We can print a photo!” Kira suggested. They took a photo of all four of them, looking out at the West tree. That night, when Kira and Zay knew they were asleep, they put the photo on the counter, along with a note. Zay took out the keys to the sky ship that she had been hiding. They each packed as much food as they could, along with several other items, such as blankets and first aid kits. Kira took one last look at the apartment. She had a feeling that she would never step foot in here again. Kira and Zay walked through the dark to the sky ship, nodding at other people as they passed by. Zay unlocked the door. The sky ship was small, with a glass roof that opened and closed. There was a bathroom, and an area for beds. 

“Do you know how to fly this?” Kira asked, exsaming the many buttons. Zay nodded proudly.

“Yep! I used to fly one exactly like this. It was great! My grandparents used to watch me like a hawk when I flew it, but eventually they let me go out on my own.” Zay started flipping switches, and pressing several buttons. Kira could hear the engine start to hum. She jumped as the sky ship started to rise. 

“You should probably sit down, and strap yourself in tight.” Zay said, strapping herself to the seat. Kira did the same. The sky ship blasted forwards, to the designated spot in the force field that let Julanan ships in and out. Kira felt herself being flung backwards into her seat. Zay kept a firm hand on the wheel.

“Any chance we can go slower!” Kira shouted over the noise.

“Oh yeah! Sorry!” Zay slowed the ship down.

“Ugh! There is a line!” Zay groaned. Sure enough, there was a line of people all trying to leave. Zay pushed a purple button, making a high pitched screeching sound erupt from the ship. Kira yelped, covering her ears. Zay took her hand off the button. The line moved slowly, so slowly. Finally, they made it. The guard was signing them out. They tapped on their window. Zay rolled her eyes, and held up a badge that meant they were allowed to leave. The guard nodded, and Kira and Zay passed through the force field. Stars covered the night sky, like salt scattered across a dark table. Kira smiled.

“The stars are beautiful.” She breathed. Kira saw a single tear run down Zay’s face. Kira knew she hated to leave her mom. 

“They really are beautiful. But not nearly as beautiful as we will become.” Zay agreed.

Kira slept, while Zay continued to fly. It took her a little while to get over the fact that they actually ran away. This was the second time she left her home, her family. The first time by force, the second by choice. A few hours later, Zay put the sky ship into autopilot, and went to sleep herself. The jungle was about a day away, and hundreds of miles. Kira shuttered. She knew that they were going over into Ungonalo villages. No Ungonalo cities for miles, and the villages were crippled with poverty, with very few guards, but it still made Kira nervous. She knew that there would be a few guards there, making sure everything ran smoothly. Kira sighed. She was making sure they didn’t crash while Zay slept. Kira held out her arms. She hadn’t used her gravity breaking in a day. It made Kira feel twitchy. She watched as the first bits of sun crept over the horizon. Glowing light slowly crawling across the sky with it. The villages sure were in deep poverty. There wasn’t a sight of another sky ship. Let alone buildings. Just miles of old, broken down houses. People slowly climbing through ancient rubble, moving forwards without turning around. Climate change did this. People just had to hold off for too long. Kira ran her fingers through her hair. Kira’s hair was always too curly to fit into a ponytail, but today it was going crazy. Her dark curls stuck out in every direction. Zay turned over in her sleep, then her eyes popped open.

“Good morning!” Kira offered a hand. Zay took it, and sat up.

“Are we still on course?” She asked, rubbing her eyes. Kira nodded.

“We should be at the village of Unio by dinner. Then we can sleep, and start working our way through the jungle.” Kira looked at the map. They were still on a perfect course. Zay sighed with relief.

“Good. I can’t wait until we get there. I have never been to the Rainy jungle, or any jungle. Though I hear it is one of the few jungles left.” Zay shook her head.

“So sad how people destroyed the planet. Remember the global disaster about three hundred years ago, when so many people died from global warming?” Zay steered them slightly to the left. She certainly did remember the class on the global warming effect. Over three billion people died. The world spit, and formed new countries afterwards. Millions died from the wars that broke out because of it. It chilled her bones. Suddenly, Kira saw it. The jungle. It was huge. Even though they had to be at least several hundred miles away, Kira could see the Rainy jungle breaking the horizon line, standing in the distance. It was miles of tightly packed trees, and vines. Trees and vines filled with many dangerous animals. The air changed. She could sense something. A presence that hung in the air. The sound of bugs and monkeys and birds communicating in the early morning air. The trees towardered over the village. If Irianals suddenly decided to attack this place, the battle would only be minutes long. Kira shuttered. It looked so ominous. Zay kept her eyes on the distance, not risking a crash. They flew in silence for the next few hours, watching the jungle creep closer. Closer. Finally, near sunset, they landed just outside of the village. Unio was tiny, and held very few houses. A mist seemed to surround the village, and creatures from the jungle occasionally ran across the streets.  Broken wooden streets. People peeked out from around the corners of shacks, and carts full of goods. 

“We should sleep here for the night, then head into the jungle tomorrow.” Kira decided. Zay agreed.

“Good idea. I’m tired after flying for so long.” She mumbled, her eyelids drooping. An old woman waved them over.

“I heard you two say you are going into the Rainy jungle. Come stay with me for the night.” She insisted. Despite their suspension, Kira and Zay thanked her, as she let them sleep on the floor of her hut. The sounds of bugs and insects kept them up for most of the night. Kira watched water slowly drip from the ceiling.

“It certainly is rainy here.” She joked with Zay. Kira turned over when Zay didn’t respond. Zay was fast asleep. She smiled.

“Goodnight Zay. Don’t die.” A few minutes later, Kira was fast asleep as well. 

The next morning, the old woman stood by the door.

“You should be very careful. Those who go into the jungle, rarely come out.” She warned. Kira and Zay looked at each other.

“Because of the animals?” Kira asked nervously. The old woman shook her head.

“Because of the dangerous people that live there. Some say that they pray on human flesh. Worse yet, others say they bear the curse. But unfortunately, nothing can be done because there is no proof.” Her eyes darkened. Kira blinked.

“How is that worse?” She asked in her best innocent voice. The old woman’s head snapped up.

“How is it worse! It is worse because people with magic are mindless savage machines!” She bellowed. Kira shrugged.

“I thought so. Thank you for letting us stay here for the night.” Kira pleasantly said. They bowed, and then they headed outside, where the sun had just risen. Villagers were awakening, and beginning to do their daily chores. Kira and Zay walked through the wooden streets, waving at people who stared at them. Some people would quickly look away. Others waved back. Kira strapped the backpack she was wearing extra tightly, not wanting to lose it in the trees. Zay pulled out a large map from her backpack. 

“Ok, according to the map, we just need to head straight forward.” Zay confirmed. People began to whisper as they approached the edge of the jungle. Kira eyed the jungle nervously. She reached for Zay’s hand. They squeezed hands, and looked back one last time.

“Are you ready to do this?” Zay whispered. Kira sighed.

“No. But I’ll never be ready. So I might as well just go now.” The two took one step into the Rainy jungle. Two three. Before Kira knew it, she was in the middle of one of the most dangerous forests in the world.

Kira nervously whipped around whenever she heard so much as a bird squawk. Zay was just as jumpy. The trees were so tightly packed together, you couldn’t see the sun. For all they knew, each rustle on the jungles floor could be a beetle, or a Jaguar.

“Are we deep enough? I want to put up a force field, but I don’t want the villagers to see.” Kira tried her best to be as quiet as possible, but still be heard over all of the noise. It was quite difficult. Zay looked around.

“We should at least keep walking for another twenty minutes or so. Just in case we are being followed.” She decided. Kira blew out a deep breath. She had the feeling that she was being watched.

“Why does it feel like someone is watching us?” Kira tripped over a stick. Zay sucked in a deep breath. Something jumped in between the trees. She whipped around, sweat seeping down her back. Another rustle. A flash of brown hair. 

“Because I think we are being watched. On the count of three, run.” She whispered.

“One.” Kira made sure her backpack was on securely.

“Two.” Kira heard rustling again in the trees.

“Three!” They took off running, jumping over roots and vines. Kira heard a whoosh of air. Kira fell to the ground screaming. A spear entered her body. 

“Kira!” Zay screamed.

“Don’t move!” Someone shouted.

Zay threw her hands up in peace. Kira threw up, and cursed. She was impaled. Blood staining the ground. The pain was excruciating. Kira yanked the spear out. Her blood spilled over her hands. She watched open eyed, as in a matter of seconds the wound healed over. Kira jumped up, full of rage. She threw up her arms, creating a force field around her and Zay. 

“Who did that! I swear to the universe, I am two seconds away from murdering whoever did that!” Kira shouted into the trees. When no one responded, Kira blasted a deadly force field. It burned through the nearest tree. The tree creaked, and fell over. Zay gathered water from the air around them, ready to attack.

“Whoever is here, you have five seconds to show yourself! Or you and this entire section of the jungle dies!” Kira bellowed. She didn’t like the idea of destroying parts of the jungle, but it worked. Three people stepped out from behind a tree slightly to the left of them. The second Kira saw them, she trapped them in a glowing dome. She looked at them. It was three children. A little boy who couldn’t have been more than eight, an older boy who looked about fifteen, and a girl Kira and Zay’s age. She blinked at them in astonishment. Kira let go of the force field over her and Zay, and looked around for rocks. Kira found a stone, and wrapped her energy around it. She also threateningly lifted the spear with her gravity breaking.

“Who are you? And why did you impale me?” Kira asked, tightening the force field around them. The girl spoke.

“I am Jade. These are my brothers. We protect the area from the villagers who try to destroy the jungle. Who try to destroy us. We are a colony of plant manipulators. I apologize, I did not know that you were like us. I thought you were here to attack my people.” Kira could see why she was named Jade. Her eyes were the deepest green Kira had ever seen. Like Oceania’s, but a lot less threatening. But the pain was there. The pain, and a different type of fire. Kira slowly lowered her arm. the force field vanished into the air. They didn’t attack. Kira was still angry though.

“You really should wait before impaling people. That hurt.” Kira snarled. The girl's eyes widened.

“You were the one I hit? I thought I hit a third person! How is there no wound? How are you alive? It was poisoned! I guess it explains the blood.” She blinked rapidly.

“I’m the one thousandth Gravity breaker. I’m here to visit the jungle temple. I’m kind of immortal, long story. The point is, could you take us there?” Kira asked. Zay nugged her.

“Kira! We don’t know these people!” She gritted out. Kira shrugged.

“They have only tried to kill us once. That was also when they thought we were evil.” Kira pointed out. Zay grumbled something about only once, then agreed. Jade looked them up and down.

“I can’t believe it!” She breathed. Her older brother whispered something in her ear. Jade turned pale.

“I just gutted you. Oh crap. I’m going to be grounded for sure. Why don’t you come to our village? It’s really close to the temple, and I can guide you there tomorrow.” She suggested. Kira looked at Zay. Zay shrugged.

“As long as you’re the one getting hit by a spear, and not me.” Zay shuddered. Kira clutched her stomach. The experience certainly wasn’t fun. 

“I guess so. Thank you… Jade?” Kira asked, double checking. Jade nodded.

“Yep. Come on, dinner is soon.” Jade led them through the jungle, explaining how her people got there. A long time ago, they escaped the prisons using the plants used in the material that made up the prison walls. They fled to the most logical place. It took forever to get there, but they finally made it. The jungle, where they would always be surrounded by plants.

“Hang on tight.” Jade warned. She reached out her arms. All of the vines around them snaked together into one long net. The net scooped them into the trees. Kira watched in amazement as they zipped through the canopy. Kira clutched her stomach, as Jade began throwing them into the air, and being passed from vine to vine. Everything in the jungle seemed alive. Almost as if it was one huge being, that the environment circled around. Monkeys howled in the trees next to them, while birds cawed. There were so many colors, Kira thought her eyes might pop. 

“All right, we’re here.” The vine net stopped moving. Jade lowered her hand, and the vines snaked back, disappearing. Kira looked around.

“Um, where?” Zay asked. All there were was even more trees. Jade laughed.

“Oh right! Sorry!” Jade began to move her arms. The canopy below them shifted.

“It’s an illusion, to keep us hidden.” Jade yelled over the noise. The vines rolled away. Kira gasped. Underneath was the most beautiful city she had ever seen. 

Supreme Master Comna paced through her office.

“What do you mean they escaped!?” She bellowed. Youn bowed her head.

“I’m sorry! I followed them as long as I could! I swear! And I came straight here right after!” Youn held her hands up in peace. Supreme Master Comna slammed a fist on the table.

“FIND THEM!” She screamed. Youn didn’t flinch.

“Sister, please.” Youn maintained a calm face.

“You are just as distant as our other sister! And I haven’t seen her in twenty one years!” Comna hissed. Youn’s eyes darkened.

“Don’t say that. You know that we will see her, and him again soon.” She glowered. Supreme Master Comna plopped down into her chair.

“I’m sorry. You know that this has been a stressful few months.” She mumbled. Youn bent down, to look her in the eye.

“I. Know. Why do you think I let you yell at me, when I could send you through the window?” Youn shot Comna a look. Supreme Master Comna sighed.

“I know you can track them better than anyone. Find them.” Supreme Master Comna ordered. Youn nodded.

“I will. But we both know I am withholding their identity. We both know you wouldn’t be happy when it is confirmed.” Youn said, standing in front of the door.

“Oh I know.” Supreme Master Comna watched sky ships pass by the tall buildings.

“Believe me, I know.”

The village was created from the bark and roots of the trees. Flowers bloomed on each building, with no pattern alike. The houses were made from leaves, and forest vines. The vine tightly woven together made good bridges, which people crossed, looking cheerful.

Kira noticed that people walking north walked on lower vines, while people walking south walked higher up in the trees. Everyone looked so peaceful, so happy. Zay was mumbling to herself, eyes wide open. Jade grinned when she noticed their expression. Her pale freckled skin shining in the sunlight.

“Welcome to our village!” She leapt down from the trees, and onto some vines. Jade created a path for Kira and Zay.

“You can come stay with us for now. My dad and I. My brothers stay with my mom, but it is traditional to take my younger brother out hunting. Oh! I forgot about the wedding today!

These two women from our village have been dating forever! And one finally proposed. Hurry up! We better get to my hut!” Jade began running across the wobbly bridge. 

Kira was much more cautious with her steps. She didn’t know how anyone could get used to running across a thin bridge of vines so high up in the air. Jade led them to a little hut. Inside a middle aged man was bent over, cooking. Jade and her father had the same brown hair, and deep green eyes. Kira bowed. 

“It is very nice to meet you sir.” She said. Zay coiped Kira. The man blinked.

“Jade, who are these people? Please tell me you didn’t make friends with children from the village.” He crossed his arms. Jade shook her head.

“You know I am no fool. This is the one thousandth Gravity breaker. This is her friend.” Jade introduced. Jade’s dad’s eyes widened to the point Kira thought they might pop.

“How?! Jade! Who?!” He stuttered. Zay smirked.

“That’s us!” She shifted her weight. Jade went over to the spot that rested on top of a small fire.

“Banana stew again? Mh. Oh yeah, I also kind of impaled Kira. The one with the poofy hair.” Jade tried to casually say. Her father looked at Kira.

“What!” He bellowed. Jade kept looking at the pot.

“Hm?” She asked innocently. He shook his head.

“Jade, please come talk to me outside the tent.” He pulled her arm lightly. Jade rolled her eyes, and followed him outside. Kira and Zay jumped. They could pretty easily hear him yelling. 

“Should we help her?” Zay danced on her tiptoes, trying to see them through the door. Kira’s expression darkened.

“Considering that she stuck a spear through my torso, I’m staying out of this one.” Kira turned her back to the door.

“Ok…” Zay did the same. A few minutes later, they both came back inside the hut, looking red in the face. Jade looked Kira in the eye.

“I’m sorry that I impaled you, I hope we can still be friends.” Jade grumbled. Kira nodded.

“Apology accepted. Just please don’t do it again.” Kira said. Jade shot her a strange look.

“Now that is a promise I can keep. You can sleep here for the night. Tomorrow I will lead you to the jungle temple. Oh! And before I forget, what is your name, water manipulator?” Jade asked Zay. Zay grinned.

“Finally! Someone pays attention to Zay! My name is Zay. Technically Janzay, but please call me Zay.” Zay laughed. Jade nodded.

“Nice to meet you Zay. I am starving, so I hope you two are ready to eat dinner.” Jade served everyone a pot of stew, which tasted better than it sounded, and Jade poked out the fire.

Okay Kira and Zay. Ha! That rhymes. Anyway, let me lead you to the sleep hut.” Jade opened the door, and led them outside. No one was in sight, except for a few people.

“Where is everyone?” Zay frowned. There was the sound of laughter in the distance. 

“At the weddings after party.” Jade explained. Jade put her hand against a tree. She closed her eyes. The vine floor began to rise, up, up into air. Kira looked for something to grab. She locked eyes with Zay. They grabbed each other’s arms. Finally, Jade opened her eyes. The floor stopped rising. 

Kira blew out a breath of relief. She looked around. They were on top of a huge tree stump. Little tents made of leaves were scattered everywhere, with little mats underneath. It was warmer up here, probably so people didn’t go to bed feeling cold. Jade sat down on the nearest mat. She arched her back, and closed her eyes. Kira and Zay stared at her. She just sat there. Doing nothing. Jade’s eyes popped open. They were glowing. Glowing jade green. Her pupils were gone. Kira continued to stare, wide eyed. Finally, the glowing abruptly stopped. Jade’s eyes rolled back forward. She saw them looking at her.

“Sorry about that. I was just mapping out our path. That’s all. Us plant manipulators can see through plants. We see the path.” Jade lay down on her back.

“I’m tired. It’s been a long day. You two should get some rest as well. Oh and Kira, please end the war soon. You have no idea how much I have always wanted to leave this jungle. I want adventure. I want to feel grass. I want to leave this place, and this boring life.” Jade gazed up at the night sky.

“I want to fly.” She whispered. An idea sprouted in Kira’s mind. She had a feeling that Jade would be leaving the jungle pretty soon. Kira chose a mat next to Jade, and Zay chose the one next to Kira. Kira sunk into the dream world. Tomorrow, she will learn her destiny.

Kira awoke to light shining through the leaves. Little rays of sun warmed Kira’s face. 

Jade was already awake, now with a back pack of her own. Zay was still asleep of course.

“Zay, wake up.” Kira shook her lightly. Zay rolled over.

“No. Tired. Sleep now, hike later.” She mumbled. Kira rolled her eyes.

“Oh my gosh! There is a huge snake! We need to run!” Kira suddenly shouted. Zay jumped into a sitting position, awake.

“What?! Where?!” She cried. Kira smiled.

“Oh good, you are awake. Let’s get going.” Kira pulled Zay to her feet. Zay shot Kira a death glare, but followed Kira to the vines platform, where Jade was waiting. Jade closed her eyes. The platform began to drop. Kira steadied herself.

“Alright people. We are heading in this direction. Don’t lose sight of me, or you will get lost. I would go through the trees, but there are Ungonalo sky ships that monitor this area. Come on.” Jade spread her arms out. A path of vines spread out in front of them. That was mostly how the day went. Jade creates a path out of vines, Zay and Kira walk on that path. Jade swatted aside branches, and vines, and anything that got in their way. Half way through, they stopped to eat lunch. Kira slumped onto a tree root.

“How long have we been walking?” She panted. Zay opened up her lunch, and started taking little bites.

“I don’t know. But I’m too tired to eat.” She groaned. Jade rolled her eyes.

“You two are so out of shape. We have only walked, say, twenty miles? And you got to walk on a green carpet.” Jade scolded. Kira’s eyebrows flew up.

“Twenty miles? You see Jade, to people outside the jungle, that is a huge work out.” Kira groaned. Jade raised a single eyebrow herself.

“Really? How is everyone not super obese? I could run this far by the age of seven. And you are going to hate this next part. I’m glad we started walking at dawn because we can’t draw any attention to ourselves. You are going to have to hike. Ungonalo CLOSELY monitors this area. Come on, lunch is over.” Jade stood up, and brushed herself off. Zay curled into a ball.

“Uh uh. We have literally been here for less than two minutes. I’m staying here for at least another thirty.” She protested. Jade looked to Kira for help.

“I’m with her.” Kira leaned back into the tree. Jade sat down.

“Fine. But I am complaining the entire time.” She decided. Zay shrugged.

“Join the club.” She took another bite of her sandwich. Kira bit back a giggle. Jade wiggled her foot.

“So, tell me about your dad.” Kira said, trying to start a conversation. Jade eyed Kira suspiciously.

“Why?” She asked slowly. Kira tilted her head.

“I don’t know, just curious. We need something to talk about, right?” Kira took a bite of her own food. Jade sighed.

“My mom and dad aren’t together anymore. My mom doesn’t accept me. You see, I said that all plant manipulators can see through the ground, but that is a lie. It is super rare. As in one in five hundred. So of course I’m the only one from my village who can do it. It also comes with a price. I hear plants. I hear them speaking. It drives me insane to be around so many sometimes. My father does accept me. My older brother kind of does, and my little brother is too young. My mom and dad split. I have lived with my dad for a while.” Jade kicked around a few leaves. Zay sat up.

“That must be ruff. I kind of understand. My mom was taken for having natural abilities. My dad feared I would have them too, along with my sister, so he left. I went to live with my two uncles, who are the polar opposite of a bad marriage. My grandparents helped out.” Zay explained. Jade blinked at her, looking slightly surprised. 

“What about you?” She asked Kira. Kira looked at her food.

“I don’t know who my father was. I don’t know what happened to him. My mother had a sister, but she was taken at a young age. My grandparents died years ago. It was just her and me. I also get that being rare isn’t fun. Being a Gravity Breaker is hard enough, but then being the one thousandth Gravity Breaker… it’s something.” Kira almost laughed at what sad sacks they were, and almost cried at the same time. Jade smiled slightly. Her brown hair spilling over her green eyes. 

“Maybe we aren’t so different. Even if you are super out of shape. Tell me, what is it like, not being surrounded by plants all the time.” Jade asked. Kira thought for a moment.

“I have never really thought about it. I grew up in Ungonalo’s capital city, so did Zay, so we were never really around trees. My mom had a big collection of succulence though.” Kira gazed up at the canopy thoughtfully. Zay slumped backwards. 

“If you really want to leave the Rainy jungle, why don’t you come with us?” Zay asked sleepily, staring at the rays of sun. Jade jumped. Her eyes lit up.

“Really? Do you really mean that?” She asked excitedly. Kira hesitated.

“What we are doing isn’t the safest thing in the world, and you might die. You need to be prepared for that.” Kira pointed out. Jade bounced up and down.

“I’m ok with that! Sometimes I wish I were dead! Please let me join!” She cheered. She had never seen her look so cheery. Or just non depressing. Kira thought for another second.

“Ok. Just be careful.” Kira decided. Jade pumped a fist.

“Yes! I won’t let you down! Now come on, I want to get there before nightfall!” Jade yanked Kira and Zay to their feet against their will. Kira moaned, but she walked. So did Zay. Despite the fact that the three had only been sitting for about ten minutes, it took hours, but finally, just around sunset, they made it. The temple was huge. It was beautiful, carved from marble and diamonds.

They stared in awe. 

Kira slowly stepped inside. She saw the sun reflect against a single stone, pressed into the head of a statue. It was a woman, dressed in fine robes, holding an orb. Some weird instinct seized Kira. She stepped towards the gem, and put a single finger against it. Green lights flashed. Kira’s hair flew back, and her eyes glowed green. Zay and Jade screamed. Kira was transported to another world. The temple, the jungle, everything crumbled behind her. She sat up. Where was Kira? She was at a beach. 

Eight figures stood in the distance. Kira began to walk forward. She instantly knew who they were. The past leaders of the eight abilities. Cilianon, the Gravity breaker stepped forwards.

“Welcome child. We have been expecting you for sometime.” They said.

Kira blinked.

“This is so creepy.” She said. The strange images blinked. The Cilianon spoke again.

“You are here because you must fulfill your destiny. We created your soul,  pooling all of our magic together. We set it to find the one thousandth Gravity breaker. Now you must travel to each of the eight temples, and unlock your abilities. Right now, we shall bless you with plant manipulation. Once you have unlocked everything else, go into your mind. I will find you. You will have all the gravity breaking abilities, and end this war.” Ciliaon stepped back.

“How am I supposed to do that?” Kira yelled, her face twisting with confusion. Green lights began to flash. Kira fell to her knees. Her hands began to glow.

“Wait!” She yelled. 

“I have so many more questions!” Kira coughed as the winds picked up, and she inhaled sand. Kira felt like her mind exploded. 

Kira was drifting. Drifting through darkness, marked with her memories. Kira floated past losing her first tooth, the first day of school, all of her firsts. Then Kira started floating towards a light. It grew closer. Closer. Kira tried to kick away, but the pull was too strong. Green lights flashed once more, and-

Kira’s eyes snapped open. She was on the floor of the temple, with Zay and Jade leaning over her.

“Kira, we need to get out of here.” Jade tried to yank her to her feet, while Zay cried with relief, and tightly hugged Kira. Kira froze. 

“What did I do outside of my head?” She asked. Zay shook her head.

“I don’t know. You touched the gem, then your eyes, hands, and face began to glow green. Then you dropped to the floor. A few seconds later, green light started flashing from your eyes, and pierced through the ceiling. Then you woke up.” Zay explained. Kira shook.

“They said I need to go to the other ancient temples. All eight. Apparently I can also plant manipulate now.” Kira shuttered.

“Who?” Zay made a puzzled face.

Jade grinned. “Yes! Ok, reach out your arms. Feel for life.” Jade demonstrated. Kira held out her arms. She was about to say that she didn’t feel anything, when she could feel life. She felt energy. Kira pulled the life towards her. Friend! It called Kira. Kira yelped. Jade snickerd. 

“I take it that means you can hear plants too. Now make it come forward. I control vines. In case you didn’t notice.” Jade demonstrated. Kira reached out to the plant. Friend! I come! The plant called. A tree branch smashed through the marble wall. 

Friend friend friend! Happy happy happy! It cried. Kira drew away. The branch stopped moving. Zay’s head whipped back and forth.

“Awesome!” She yelled. Jade shushed them.

“Looks like you control trees. Nice.” Jade nodded.

“Ok, now we really got to get out of here.” Jade began to tug their arms.

“What? Why?” Kira resisted. Jade looked at her like she was a moron.

“I told you! This place is closely monitored by Ungonalo sky ships, and a large beam of green light just shot out of your head!” Jade looked around rapidly. The blood drained from Kira’s face. Without another word, they took off running. Running as fast as they could in the direction they came. The sun had just set outside. Run! The trees called to Kira. She wasn’t sure if she should make a force field. There was no guaranteeing that they had been seen by a ship. Kira didn’t know how long they ran. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. Kira and Zay soon were too tired to run though. The three collapsed for the night, under a ball of vines that Jade made to keep them safe from the animals in the jungle. The voices of trees filled Kira’s head all night. No wonder why Jade occasionally went crazy. 

The next morning, the three continued their hike. 

“Wait. We can’t potentially lead them to the village.” Jade said, stopping in her tracks. Kira and Zay shot each other a look.

“But you are coming with us. What about your dad? Don’t you want to say goodbye?” Zay asked. Jade sat down.

“I know a different way I can say goodbye.” Her eyes began to roll back into her head. Jade’s eyes glowed. A single tear slipped from her cheeks. “I love you father.” She whispered in a weird voice. The plants around them began to speak. Kira jumped. Zay could hear them as well.

I love you father. I love you father. The vines around them chanted. The voice got further, and further away. Soon Kira couldn’t hear it at all. Then something beautiful happened. The vines around them wove into a quilt, with a picture of Jade’s father’s face, somehow strung together by vines. The quilts around them unwove. The ones in the distance unwove as well. Sweat trickled down Jade’s face. She was gritting her teeth so hard, they looked ready to crack. Finally, her eyes rolled forward. Jade collapsed on the ground, fast asleep. Kira and Zay sat, willing to wait until she woke up. A few minutes late, she did.

“Jade, that was incredible.” Kira breathed. Zay squeezed her hand.

“It really was.” She promised. Jade sat up, smiling. 

“Thanks guys. Now let’s get going.” She stood. Just then, bullets rained from the sky. They poured down on the three. Kira raised a force field. They had been found by Ungonalo.

Kira, Zay and Jade ducked under the force field. They waited until the bullets stopped.

“What do we do?” Zay cried. Jade was concentrating, feeling the ground. 

“This way!” She pointed to the right. They ran, under the cover of the force field. There was a sky ship above them. Two soldiers dropped from the sky. They carried guns, and magninmum handcuffs. 

“Move your backside!” Jade screamed. She was running as fast as she could. 

They ran through the trees, pursued by the two. 

“This is ridiculous! Why don’t we fight them! We are under a gosh darn force field!” Kira yelled while running. Everyone stopped running.

“Oh yeah!” Jade whipped out her arms, causing vines to pin the soldiers. Zay reached out to the water around them, and smashed the sky ship by breaking it from pressure. The sky ship crashed on top of the soldiers. Kira looked away. They continued walking, under the safety of the force field. Kira kept her head down. She knew that death would be part of saving lifes, but it still made her uneasy. Which Kira guessed was a good thing. The forest was strangely quiet. Jade led them to the village, which they reached by nightfall. The villagers gathered, pointing and cheering. Apparently they rarely saw anyone re-amerger. The old woman walked up to them.

“Who is this?” She pointed an old arthritis finger at Jade. Kira froze. Jade responded admittedly. Apparently she was a good liar.

“I am Jade. My mother was with the child when she entered the jungle, and was caught in a trap. She had me in the jungle, in the custody of those who bear the curse. These people helped me to defeat them. Now I am safe, but the jungle still isn’t. There are many dangerous animals that will soon return. There are also gastly crime scenes. You should never go in there. I don’t want anyone else to see what I have.” Jade pretended to bury her face in her hands and cry. Real tears dripped down her face. Kira was really impressed. She had a convincing act. The old woman patted her back.

“It’s ok dear, you're safe now. Let me make you some tea. I don’t have proper tea bags, but I have a pot, water, and some mint leaves. The old woman led them to her tent. She poured them each a cup.

“Do you know why those people do things like that? Why are they messed up?” The old woman asked. Jade’s eyes flickered. Oh no, Kira thought. But Jade just sweetly said,

“I think I know why. You see, they were descended from those who escaped the prisons. Most people who are cursed don’t go insane until they are very, very old, as in almost one hundred, and most die before then, so almost everyone is normal. It’s just the rare cases people hear about. The prisons were traumatizing. They were angry. They had a beautiful culture, but were thrown into prison because a very small percent of their people were acutely insane. So they wanted what anyone would. Justice. They didn’t know how to find it. The world was against them. The reason why they killed or imprisoned the villagers who entered was because they knew that they would be discovered and thrown into the prisons. It’s pretty sad really.” Jade took a long sip of tea. The old woman looked at Jade sympathetically. 

“I never knew that! That is so sad!” She stirred the pot.

“Yes, those people were very sad.” Kira agreed. Jade was a genius. She was telling this old woman about the current state of her village in a safe way, even though she had to sprinkle a few lies in. The old woman felt sympathy for Jade’s village. All she had to do was open her eyes, and the old woman’s knowledge from a lifetime flipped upside down. That gave Kira a small idea on how to bring peace. She sat there, staring at the fire while sipping the tea. Kira met the old woman’s eyes.

“Thank you for everything. We should probably get going soon through.” Kira stood. Zay took one last sip and stood as well. Jade was hesitant, but she joined them. They thanked the woman once more, then began to walk towards the sky ship’s direction. Kira grumbled as they reached a huge field of grass. Jade froze. Then she laughed like a lunatic. 

“This is amazing! It only speaks when I let it!” Jade was full on rolling around in the grass, laughing her mind off. Zay joined, looking for something exciting. Kira watched, fiddling with her fingers. Why did they feel the need to do that? Why not? As the day began to fall, the three stood back up and continued walking. Finally, they reached the sky ship. Zay cracked her knuckles.

“Ok. Let’s do this! Which temple do you want to go to next?” Zay asked, turning on the engine. Kira thought for a moment.

“It would be nice to see what kind of element manipulator I am. So Irinal’s free public library I guess. I know it is really dangerous, but we need to go there at some point, right?” Kira bit her nails. Old nervous habit. Jade grinned.

“I love danger! Let’s do it!” Jade looked so much happier outside the jungle. Lighter. She probably was relieved that she didn’t have to hear the voices of every plant there all the time. Jade was fascinated by everything in the ship so far. The ship was filled with things she had never seen before. Zay sighed.

“Might as well go there. I warn you, it will be a long flight.” Without warning, she launched them into the air. Jade squealed with delight. Kira clutched her stomach.

“Zay! A little warning next time?” Kira requested. Zay turned around for a break second.

“Oops! Sorry!” Zay shouted over the noise. Kira sat down, and strapped herself in tight. She couldn’t believe that in a few days they would be in the capital of Irinals. Kira had never been there before, and this certainly wasn’t some fun field trip. She sighed. A thought suddenly entered her mind.

“Zay, do you know what happened to Oceania? I never saw her on the rescue plane, or in Julana. Do you think she escaped the prison with the original plan?” Kira jumped up. Zay froze.

“Uh oh. That means that she would be in the village just down stream. Probably with a bunch of other people.” Zay realized. Jade stretched.

“You guys were in the prison? I was unaware of that.” Jade kicked her feet. 

“Only for about a week. We better go get them. I have a feeling they have already caused trouble.” Kira said carefully.

“I agree. Let’s go there now. It would only be a day's flight.” Zay turned the ship around.

“Who is Oceania?” Jade asked. Kira looked to Zay, who was concentrating on flying.

“Um… a very, ah, interesting kid from the prisons. She basically was royalty there. And now she might be in trouble.” Kira explained the best she could. Kira remembered the blisters she gave the other kid. How quickly Oceania could burn people. 

“Full speed ahead. Get ready.” Zay strapped herself into a chair. Kira tightened her seatbelt, and braced herself. The sky ship rocketed towards the prison. Kira nearly threw up. Jade whooped. Zay concentrated. One thought kept turning in Kira’s head.

“You saw how powerful Oceania was with Magninum. So what can she do now without it?” Kira tread lightly on her words, not wanting to scare Zay while she flew them in a death ship. Zay stiffened.

“I don’t want to know.” She said quietly.

Everyone sat in silence, with Jade occasionally making comments or jokes. Kira kept tapping her fingers anxiously. What was Oceania doing there? Was she already caught by the prison guards? Zay never took her eyes off the horizon. When they reached the prison, Zay abruptly stopped. 

“Look!” She breathed. The prison had been rebuilt, and was already full of new tin shacks and tents. Kira’s eyes widened with horror.

“Oh no. I bet she is in there. Come on, we can pretend to be guards, then get them out of there.” Kira suggested. Jade leaned over on her seat, her eyes pooling with tears.

“I can’t believe this is what happened to my great grandparents. It looks so horrible.” Jade quietly said. Kira nodded.

“It is horrible.” 

Zay landed smoothly in a grassy spot nearby. It was pretty easy to sneak in, as three guards were asleep on the outer wall. Kira moved around uncomfortably underneath her armor. How did they wear this all day? Everyone decided to split up. She searched by marching down the outer wall, while Zay looked through the factories. Jade didn’t really know what to do, so she beat up a bunch of guards, then tied them up for questioning. Kira searched for hours. No luck. The good prisoners were in the factory that day. Kira knew that Oceania was definitely not one of them. She sighed, watching each child work. Heads down, pained, tired expressions. A gasp came from the other side of the room. 

A five year old boy messed up big time on the shoe he was working on. A guard hauled him to his feet. A girl around Kira’s age screamed, and hit the guard hard, across the face. The guard yelled with fury. They shoved both kids to Kira.

“Take them to the punishment room! A good beating, and a least fifteen whips!” They bellowed. Kira’s heart raced. What would she do if there was someone else inside the punishment room? Kira led them as gently as she could down the hall. She was really lucky. Not only did she remember the path to the newly rebuilt room, but there was no one else inside. Kira strapped them down for show while the door was still open, then locked the door, and drew the shades. Kira took her helmet and face mask off. 

“I’m not going to hurt you. I am an escaped prisoner myself.” Kira whispered. She unstrapped their bonds. The girl eyed her suspiciously. Kira pulled her arm out of her armor, and rolled up her sleeve to reveal whip scars. The girl relaxed.

“This wasn’t why I came here originally, but I’m going to get you out.” Kira suddenly screamed, making them both jump.

“Sorry, I have to make this look realistic.” Kira screamed again. She thought for a moment. She had an idea.

“Ok, I’m going to let my friend know about you, and she will lead you to a sky ship. You might have to wait there for a few days, but there will be food. We will then fly you to Julana, where you will be safe.” Kira decided. The girl's eyes widened.

“But Julana was wiped out!” She whispered. The girl screamed. Anyone in the hallway would think they were being torchered. Kira smiled.

“It wasn’t wiped out. They just went underground, and high above ground in unmarked territories.” She went to the corner of the room, where there was a bag of blood. Kira handed it to the girl.

“Here, spread this across your skin. Scratch what I said earlier, I’ll lead you there myself right now.” Kira said quietly. The girl covered her arms, and the little boy’s arms. Kira put her mask back on, and led them through the hall. They silently crept through the outside wall of the prison, avoiding being seen. Kira opened the door.

“Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be back, or one of my friends will be back to check on you in six hours or so. There are extra clothes in case of an emergency in the overhead bin.” Kira pointed to the little compartment. The girl looked at her great fully. 

“Thank you.” She whispered, pulling her little brother in close. Kira nodded.

“Of course.”

Kira regrouped with Zay and Jade later that night. They crept to the sky ship, under the cover of darkness. The brother and sister were fast asleep on one of the cots. Kira smiled. She was happy to see them in no misery. Zay peeled off her armor.

“Any sight of Oceania?” She asked softly, trying not to wake them up. Kira and Jade shook their heads.

“Tomorrow the bad prisoners will be in the factory. That’s our best shot of finding her.” Kira peeled off her own mask, and tossed it to the side. Zay sat in the drivers chair.

“I’m worried. How did they find so many kids with natural abilities so fast? It’s not like a year went by and there was another testing day.” Zay put her face in her hands. The blood drained from Kira’s face.

“I can think of a way.” Kira put a hand on Zay’s shoulder. 

“What if they tested everyone with a sibling or parent who had natural abilities? They needed people with those abilities to fill the prisons… and testing day isn’t for more than half a year. Plus did you notice how many little ones there were all of the sudden?” Kira asked gently. Zay’s eyes filled with horror.

“My mom has abilities. I have abilities. That gives my sister over a ninety five percent chance of having abilities as well.” Zay began breathing rapidly. 

“Whoa! Calm down, I’m sure she is fine. We will find her tomorrow if she is here.” Jade said gently. Zay jumped to her feet.

“No! I need to get her out of there now! I know Jay, and she certainly wouldn’t be a good prisoner.” Zay sprinted for the door.

“Zay! We need to be smart about this. If you go running in there like a crazy person, then you will be busted, and end up behind bars yourself. We also can’t be sure she is in there.” Kira put a hand on Zay’s shoulder. Zay fell to the ground, crying.

“She can’t be in there! My sister can’t be in there!” Zay cried. The little boy and girl woke up, startled by the noise. Kira sat down next to Zay, and wrapped her arms around her. Jade hesitated, but then did the same. Zay sobbed into Kira’s shoulder.

“She will die there! She is blind!” Zay sobbed. Kira sat up straight.

“What?” She asked. Zay nodded.

“I didn’t want to bring it up, but she got into an… accident when we were young. She’s blind, and probably feels lost as heck right now!” Zay went stiff from fear. Kira held her tighter.

“If she is in there, we will find her. I promise.” Kira was going to make sure that Jay would be ok. Kira sat with Zay for the next hour, refusing to let her be alone. 

Supreme Master Comna walked through the rubble of the Rainy jungle’s tragedy.

“I knew that the gravity breaker must have run through here.” She growled. Supreme Master Beno snarled.

“It was caused by others who bear the curse. You can see scorch marks on the trees from force fields.” He growled. A soldier came running.

“Supreme Masters! We found the temple! The gravity breaker has already been there!” They pantted. Supreme Master Comna whipped around.

“What! Great! Where on earth could the one thousandth Gravity Breaker be now? We must imprison them, whoever they are, before they reach the last temple. If they do, our empire will fall.” She growled. Comna refused to believe who she already knew in her gut the gravity breaker was. Two more soldiers appeared, carrying a human with them.

“Supreme Master Comna, this is a witness. We found them underneath the fallen sky ship!” The soldier called. Supreme master Comna looked them in the eye.

“Who are they? Some old person? Some crazy person who has been training for decades?” Supreme Master Beno demanded. The wounded soldier shook their head.

“No. It was a little girl. She couldn’t have been older than fourteen or thirteen. There were two other children with her.” They said weakly. Supreme Master Comna smiled.

“Excellent. A child is much more predictable, and much easier to track then someone who has been training for decades. Someone with experience fighting the powerhouses of the world. I will have the gravity breaker behind bars, and the other two’s heads on stakes in a month.” She purred. Inside her mind, she was panicking. This almost definitely confirmed what Comna feared, and she knew it. But one thing was still certain. The one thousandth Gravity breaker was going down.

Zay barely slept that night. Kira couldn’t blame her. She would be just as stressed if she were in that situation. She was the first to wake up that morning, which was surprising. 

Zay was usually a heavy sleeper. She practically ran towards the prison. They split up again, checking each factory room. Kira watched as kids filled in. Aha! There was Oceania, and Tili, looking as scary as ever. 

They both had new scars. They both looked five times more dangerous. Kira saw Zay enter through the other door. Jade did as well. For a second, they watched the kids work away, then Zay nodded her head, signaling that she saw her sister. 

Kira looked at the many wires plugged into the wall. She pulled three out. Oceania, Tili’s eyes bulged, as they watched themselves mess up big time. Kira saw Zay make her way across the room to a girl who looked a lot like her. She fumbled along the machine she was working on. Jay had the same black hair, and almond shaped eyes as Zay. Zay grabbed her arm.

“You're coming with me!” She bellowed. At first Jay squirmed, then she stopped, and sadly let Zay tug her along. Kira and Jade escorted Oceania and Tili, who put up a much bigger fight. They were in luck again. The punishment room was empty. Zay ripped off her armor.

“I’m so glad you're ok!” She hugged Jay tightly. Jay’s back straightened.

“Zay!” She called happily. Jay wrapped her arms around Zay’s. Kira took her helmet and face mask off.

“Oceania, Tili.” She nodded. Oceania glowered.

“How did you escape? Everyone who wasn’t enslaved by Irinals escaped to the village, but that was the first place Ungonalo looked.” Oceania demanded. Kira grinned.

“That wasn’t Irinals. That was a Julanan ship. We escaped there, and now we are going to take you there.” Kira stated proudly. Jay turned her head to Kira’s direction.

“Uh uh. I’m going wherever Zay is.” She held up her hands when Zay was about to protest.

“I know what you're about to say. But as soon as you take these off, I’ll show you what I can do.” Jay argued. Zay shot Kira a look.

“What? That’s for you and your sister to figure out.” Kira held her hands up in peace. Tili growled.

“Are you going to help us escape now, or argue?” She asked bitterly. 

“Right, sorry.” Jade unstrapped her, and the group slowly made their way outside of the prison, and into the sky ship. They unlocked the handcuffs. Jay happily shook out her wrists.

“I heard you are a water manipulator. I am too. Except I only seem to manipulate other things with water in them. Humans are seventy percent water. This won’t hurt, but it will feel weird.” Jay warned. Zay was about to ask what, when Jay lifted an arm. Both of Zay’s arms flew up, and started waving around like a maniac. Zay yelped.

“Jay! Stop it! I get the point! You can join us!” Zay yelled. Jay smiled, and lowered her arm. Zay’s arms dropped like sand bags.

“That was the creepiest yet coolest thing I have ever seen.” Jade said, sipping water in the corner. Kira shuttered. She had never heard of someone controlling water in blood. Zay flicked her sister's arm.

“I would be mad at you, but this is a way for you tomake out your surroundings. Or at least people and plants. I also want to learn how to do this myself. But as of now, don’t do that again.” Zay glared at Jay.

“I can’t see weirdo. Not even through water. I can feel you heating up. Oof, I’m in trouble.” She grinned. Zay cracked, and just started laughing. She hugged Jay from the side.

“It’s good to have you back sister.” She laughed. Kira wished she had a sister she could laugh with. She wished she had any siblings at all. Oceania cleared her throat.

“Are you guys going to take us to Julana now? Or what?” Oceania leaned back in her chair. Jay smiled darkly.

“I think they will be dropping you off soon. But I’m staying here.” She ran her fingers over the chairs, finding her way to an empty chair. Zay stepped into the drivers chair.

“Alright people, let’s do this.” She began to flip switches, and press buttons. Kira could hear the engine start. Zay lifted them into the sky. Jay carefully reached a hand out to Kira.

“You’re Zay’s friend. What’s your name?” She asked, head turned in Kira’s direction.

“I’m Kira. Nice to meet you.” Kira watched Jay nodded her head, then turned around.

“Who is the one sipping water? The cool one?” She asked, grinning. Jade nearly jumped up.

“Score! I’m Jade!” She called happily back. Jay couldn’t see facial expressions, but she grinned back. Zay poked her in the arm, while keeping her eyes on the horizon.

“Quiet in the cockpit please. Trying to concentrate.” Zay steered the to the left, then frowned.

“Oh no. It says it will take a week to get to Julana. Darn it.” Zay mumbled. Everyone, including the little boy and girl who hadn’t said anything, groaned.

“I know I know! It’s not like I can change the position of the content though. We can take stretch breaks in a day.” Zay got another chores of groans. She ignored them, and flew far away from the prison. 

Kira watched them leave sadly. All of those children who were down there, wondering where several prisoners suddenly went. Wishing that they could have escaped as well. Hoping that they too wouldn’t be thrown onto the pile of dead bodies just outside the walls. Escaped one way or another. Kira watched the sun creep across the sky. 

She had a feeling that they weren’t going to get to Julana in a week.

The next day, everyone was already tired from sitting and lying down for so long. They were also low on food, and water. Zay suggested that they shouldn’t waste their money on water, since she and Jay could draw it from the air anytime. Though she did agree to land near a medium sized Ungonalo town, where they could buy some food and supplies. Zay fell asleep the second she didn’t need to be driving. Jay giggled, squeezing her arm.

“She is out like a light! My sister won’t be up for hours. You guys go without us. I’ll stay with her.” Jay lifted an arm, making Zay walk over to one of the cots, and lie down. Everyone else stepped out into the sun.

“I forgot what freedom feels like.” Tili said, staring at the little town. Everyone shuttered. Kira walked through the little town, admiring the sights. There were little shops everywhere. Vendors out on the streets with little carts, shouting offers. Colorful building walls. Solid bricks. 

Kira found one store where they sold packets of food that wouldn’t go bad for months. That was exactly what she needed. Kira bought an armful of packs, and started walking back to the ship. Random people smiled and waved as they passed, then Oceania glared at them, and they backed away. Kira was almost at the edge of town, when everyone began bowing. Kira imitated them, not knowing what was happening. 

“What are we doing?” Jade hissed through her teeth. Kira gulped.

“Someone powerful is here. Maybe the town's master. Just keep yourself in a bow, and make no sudden movements.” Kira replied, keeping her head down, while trying to see who it was at the same time. Jade grunted.

“Look over there! They are selling exotic plants! Including vines!” Jade nodded her head in the carts direction. Kira elbowed her as at least ten guards entered the street they were on.

“We will get it later.” Kira whispered. The figure came marching into the street. Kira muffled a gasp of horror. It was a Supreme Master. You could tell from the mask they wore, the Ungonalo flag. Where their eyes were, there were two blue painted dots on her mask. Hiding her terrifying face. A face that no one but her family, who didn’t know she was a supreme master, had ever seen. It was Supreme Master Comna. She was here right now for some reason, and from the way she walked, she wasn’t happy. 

Kira cursed under her breath. Were they here looking for escaped prisoners? Probably. It’s not like they could have heard the legend about the One thousandth Gravity Breaker. Kira looked around. 

She saw an alley that if they ran, they could quickly escape through there. Kira slowly inched over on her knees. Everyone else in their group was quietly sliding towards the ally as well. Supreme Master Comna stood on a riser, clearly glaring at the crowd from under her mask. Kira froze, not wanting to be spotted for moving along. 

“Someone in this crowd bears the curse!” She watched as the crowd gasped, and cried with fear. Supreme Master Comna held up her hands.

“I know. Do not panic, I am here to expose them.” She slowly began walking through the crowd of bowing people. Everyone began inching again, faster towards the alley. Kira’s knees burned, but she definitely wasn’t stopping. The Supreme Master was getting closer. She was only a few hundred yards away now. A guard noticed them trying to escape the crowd.

“Hault!” They yelled. Kira froze. They had Magninum. Don’t do it. Don’t expose yourself. Kira thought, every part of her itching to make a force field and run. There were trees right next to Kira.

Friend? Use me! They whispered. The Supreme Master had her face locked on them now. The guards were only a few feet away. Jade cracked. Out of nowhere, vines sprung from the cart, wrapped around the guards legs, and flipped them.

“RUN!” Kira screamed, creating a force. Field around them.

“STOP THEM!” Supreme Master Comna ordered. Everyone ran through the alley. Guards close behind them. A screaming crowd of people. Bullets flying. They ducked behind a building.

“You need to get out of here. I’ll hold them off. Wake up Zay, and tell her to start the engine.” Kira whispered. Everyone agreed, except for Oceania who stood up, and lit the buildings around them on fire. Because they weren’t in enough trouble already.

Kira ran in the other direction, where she knew the guards were waiting. She jumped.

Grow! She ordered the tree. A long branch caught Kira. Guards fired away. She put a force fired around her, and shot several deadly force fields at the guards, taking out half of them. The crowd around them had erupted into chaos. Kira felt the energy coming from their fear. She lifted the vendor's carts using her gravity breaking. Kira smashed the carts into the remaining guards. 

With no more guards to take out, Kira started running. One problem, she had to lower the force field. It was too narrow to put one up. She had to just keep running. Running as fast as she could through the alley. No one was following her.

Right, then left, then one more right. Kira thought desperately. She was almost there.

A knife entered her upper spine. Kira fell to the ground, her own blood drenching her clothes. Blood was everywhere. It sprayed the alley's walls.

Kira screeched in pain, and managed to pull the knife out. 

The wound closed up, taking the pain with it. Kira turned around to see who threw it. There was Supreme Master Comna, standing at the other end of the alley.

“Hello young Gravity Breaker. Or should I say the One thousandth Gravity breaker? Do you have a preference?” She asked in a mocking tone. The mask was programmed to change the sound of your voice, but Kira could still hear the tone. She took a step closer.

“I have been looking for you for quite some time. You see, you and I can be friends.” She kept walking closer. Kira recovered from her shock.

“First of all, how do you know about that? Second, we could NEVER be friends. If you take one step closer, I will blast you with all of my energy.” Kira warned, forming a force field in her hands. Supreme Master Comna laughed.

“You have no idea who I am? Do you?” She asked, pausing. Kira growled.

“I have no idea who you are. I don’t want to know either.” Kira gathered more energy from the air around her. 

“Let me tell you a story. A long time ago, I met a little girl my age. She was outgoing, and incredibly smart. You see, we got along very well. Her name was Jema Green.” Supreme Master Comna began. Kira froze. Jema was her mother's name. Kira didn’t let her guard down for a second. The only way to become a Supreme Master was to take down at least one hundred Irinal soldiers single handed. After taking out all of the other people running. Comna took out two hundred. Supreme Master Comna knew she had Kira’s attention now.

“We grew very close, very quickly. I would defend her when she was bullied. As we grew older, Jema fell in love with a man. It was a tragedy really. He did some horrible things. He would cheat on her. So I helped Jema get rid of him. We framed him for organizing groups against the government, and he was imprisoned. But Jema was already with child. But luckily I had already joined the Supreme Masters. I was going to help change our world for her. I was going to change the world for this child.” She tilted her head towards Kira.

“Then her child was born. I instantly knew who she was. I knew that she was the one thousandth Gravity Breaker. I kept it a secret though because I knew how useful you could be some day. I want you to do a few favors for me, and then you can help me take over the world. We will kill anyone who has cursed at natural abilities. We will burn them.” Supreme Master Comna raised her arms. Kira felt horrified.

“Killing is not the best way to make peace. A few months ago, I too was afraid of people with natural abilities. People can change. Dead people can’t. I will never join you, no matter how close you were to my mother.” Kira started to back away. The shadows around Kira seemed to grow thicker. 

“Very well. If you won’t join me by choice, then you will join me by force.” Supreme Master Comna drew several different weapons. Kira put a force field around herself, careful it wouldn’t hit the sides of the ally. Knives flew by Kira’s head. She spun around, trapped her inside of a force field. 

Kira sprinted all the way back to the sky ship. She could feel the force field start to unravel. 

Kira burst into the sky ship.

“GO!” She yelled, sitting down in the nearest seat. Zay blasted them into the sky so quickly that Kira almost threw up. 

Zay was gritting her teeth so hard, they looked ready to crack. A single blade went flying by the ship, making everyone hold their breaths with fear. Jade proudly stroked a jungle vine. She gave Kira a thumbs up when she saw her staring. 

“So… what on earth did you do to get in so much trouble while I was asleep? I swear, I sleep for one hour, and a Supreme Master is trailing you.” Zay shook her head. Jay laughed.

“You always fall asleep at the worst time!” She splashed Zay’s face with water she took from the air. Zay shook her head.

“I really do.”

After flying for five days, everyone was super tired. No way were they risking landing again, especially after Kira told them what went down in the ally. 

“I hate dangling in the sky. This is so weird.” Jade complained. Zay looked half asleep, and was barely able to keep them on course.

“You and me both.” Zay yawned. Kira looked at her with concern.

“When was the last time you slept? Or left that chair to do anything other than go to the bathroom?” Kira asked. Zay sighed.

“I don’t remember. My eyes have gone dry.” Zay sleepily steered them slightly to the right.

“Doesn't this thing have autopilot?” Kira asked, searching for the button.

“Yes, but if we are attacked then we will be in big trouble.” Zay mumbled.

“You need to sleep. If we are attacked, I’ll wake you up.” Kira promised. She hesitated, but gladly lay down on one of the cots.

 The autopilot had them fly in a straight line. Zay fell asleep the second her head hit the cot. Jay, who was asleep next to her, swatted her as she turned over in her sleep. Zay didn’t even stirr. Everyone awkwardly sat in silence for the next hour or so, as they usually did. 

Kira looked out the window, wondering where her mother could be. Did she want Kira to join Supreme Master Comna? Did she expect Kira too? It was all so weird. Why did she feel to kill those who rebelled? Kira watched clouds crawl across the sky for the next few hours in silence. The world felt so confusing. Kira sat up. There was something in the distance. It was heading straight towards their sky ship.

“Zay, wake up!” Kira whispered, keeping her eyes on the figure. Zay groggily opened her eyes. She squinted at the figures flying towards them.

“Oh no. There battle sky ships, here to shoot us down.” Zay yawned, and sat in the driver's seat.

“Um what?!” Jade cried, sitting up. Zay opened a compartment Kira never noticed.

“Ok, Kira and Jay, please shoot them down from the open roof. Everyone else hang tight. Also, remember to strap yourself in up there.” Zay handed them each an enormous gun. Kira’s eyes widened.

“We have guns!?” Kira strapped herself into the chair just under the glass roof. Zay nodded, half asleep.

“Yeah, they have always been here. Someone wake up Jay so she can strap herself to a chair.” Zay waved a hand in Jay’s general  direction without turning around. Zay flipped a few switches, opening up the glass part of the roof. Kira and Jade gingerly stuck their heads and guns out the window. Kira could see the sky ships now. Decorated with the Ungonalo flag, they had massive missiles and weapons on the sides of the ships. 

“Shoot the engines.” Zay said in an extremely tired voice. Several missiles launched their way. Zay tipped the ship practically upside down, making Kira very glad she was strapped in. Jade took the first shot. It hit the windshield, and bounced off. The ships passed by them. Zay grabbed the controllers, and flipped them upside down then back again in a little loop. 

Kira heard Jay yelp, definitely awake now. Kira aimed, and fired a series of shots at the exposed engine. She hit it, and one side of the sky ship erupted into smoke. 

Jade hit the other side, sending them crashing into the desert bellow. The second one fired rapidly at them. Zay doged most of the shots, but one hit the ship. Zay grumbled something about bad aim, and stood up.

“Give me that.” She took the gun out of Kira’s hands. Zay fired at least fifty shots in a row, all of them a direct hit. The ship crashed into the desert below. Kira’s jaw dropped. Zay closed the roof, put them back into autopilot, and went back to sleep like nothing happened.

Kira sat back down. 

“You just saw that, right?” Kira asked, dumbfounded. Jade laughed.

“Turns out Zay is best at fighting when she wants to get back to sleep!”

“What just happened? Who did Zay fight?” Jay sat up. There was a bruise on her head. Kira winced. Poor Jay probably got it when they flipped upside down.

“Two Ungonalo ships attacked us. Jade and Kira are bad with guns, and Zay flew around like a maniac, and then shot one down in less than twenty seconds.” Tili explained, leaning back in her chair.

“Ouch! Rosted!” Jay rubbed her forehead.

“Zay is going to get the lecture of her life when she wakes up.” Jay frowned. Kira lay down, feeling exhausted from the adrenaline rush.

“I wonder how they found us so quickly.” Kira stared at the ceiling. Jade shuddered.

“Creepy. Do you think that they have some sort of tracking device?” She asked, opening a bottle of water. Kira sighed.

“Let’s hope not. We're dead if there is one.” She mumbled. Jade shot Kira a look.

“Yeah WE’RE dead. You're in pain for a few seconds, then fine.” Jade’s eyebrow dropped again. Kira rolled her eyes.

“You get the point.” Kira watched as Jade picked up her little jungle vine, and seemed to feed it water. Jade stroked the vine. She noticed Kira watching.

“What? It’s the only vine I’ve seen in days, and until now I was always surrounded by them.” Jade rapped the vine around her neck like a scarf. Kira shook her head. She couldn’t wait until Zay woke up.

Zay slept for another fifteen hours. It was impressive, but expected considering she didn’t sleep for three days beforehand. Zay was up at five A.M., bouncing around the sky ship. Kira sleepily opened her eyes.

“Good morning!” Zay clapped her hands.

“Why are you so happy? You hate mornings.” Kira groaned, sitting up. Zay smiled.

“Well, for one we might be ahead of schedule, I can’t remember how long we have been flying, but we are only a few hours away from Julana! I’m also happy because I woke up two hours ago. Oh! I had this crazy dream that we were attacked by two sky ships, and I was really  awesome!” Zay called happily, stretching her legs. Kira opened her mouth, then closed it. Finally, she said,

“Must have been some crazy dream.” Kira watched Zay laugh.

“I know right? Imagine if I could be so awesome while half asleep? That would be so awesome!” Zay laughed, and went back to steering. Kira almost laughed, but kept a straight face.

“Yeah… it would be so awesome if that actually happened. Crazy dream indeed.”

Jay gave Zay the lecture of her life once she woke up. Zay barley listened, mostly focusing on the fact that she took out a sky ship, made the ship do a flip, and dogged several missiles while half asleep. She apologized for not making more of an effort to wake Jay up though. 

“We should be in Julana at eight thirty P.M.” Zay announced happily. Everyone looked relieved. For Oceania, Tili, and the little boy and girl, the journey was almost over. For Kira, Zay, Jay, and Jade, they were just getting started. Kira still hadn’t visited the temple in Irinals’s capital yet, and now was also being hunted down by a Supreme Master. Kira watched herds of Wildebeest stampede through the grass lands below. Jade was quietly humming, patting her vine. Kira opened up a food packet, and began to eat. Then she remembered. 

“What do we do when we arrive in Julana? I’m kind of in a lot of trouble for not staying and training there, plus we can’t exactly just drop everyone off like we are driving a carpool.” Kira said, biting into an apple. Zay frowned. 

“I’m an idiot. Why didn’t we think of that?” Zay put her face in her hands.

“We could I guess? Just drop them off like that, then fly away as fast as possible?” Kira suggested. Oceania growled.

“Um excuse me? Could you please not talk about us like we’re a carton of bananas?” Oceania glared at them from the cot she was lying down on. Kira held her hands up in peace.

“Sorry! What would you like us to do?” Kira tread lightly, not wanting to set Oceania off. Oceania threw her arms in the air.

“Thank you! How about you fly us inside, restock on food for yourself, and then we each will go our separate ways.” Oceania suggested. That didn’t exactly sound appealing, considering that Kira would be in big trouble if spotted, but they did need more food. It wasn’t exactly easy to supply so many people for almost a week. Kira ended up caving.

“Ok, fine. Does anyone want to come with me? To get food?” Kira looked at Zay and Jade. 

“I’m not going anywhere without Zay. I also know she’s going, so count me in.” Jay announced. Jade raised an eyebrow.

“If you seriously expect me to sit here and do nothing like I have been for almost a week, then you’re crazier than I thought. I’m coming too.” Jade exclaimed.

“Plus my vine needs some sunlight other than sun through the roof.” She added. Kira nearly started laughing, but then realized that she was serious. She could hear the vine whispering to Jade.

Jade! Grow me! It called.  

“You should name it.” Jay suggested. Jay reached out a hand, and lightly put her skinny fingers on the vine. The vine began to turn lush and bright green, even more healthy looking then the ones in the jungle.

“Aw! Thank you! It says it’s really happy. I think I will name it. How about Liana? Get it?” Jade patted Jay on the head. Jay snorted.

“Like the Liana vine? Nice!” She laughed. And so Liana became Jade’s new pet. It was kind of cute, but also creepy to watch Jade stroke a plant all day. Zay began happily humming as the sunset. 

“Two more hours people! Then we’re free!” Zay almost started dancing. Everyone just looked relieved. They had been stuck inside for way too long. Kira watched as slowly, almost magically, the glow of the force field came into view. Kira almost started crying with relief. 

Everyone shuffled out once they passed by the force field. Kira stepped out under the stars, and stretched her legs for the first time in days. Kira sighed. Oceania, Tili, and the little boy and girl began to walk towards the refugee center, after thanking them one more time. Kira, Zay, Jay, and Jade went to the evening market to buy some food packets. Kira put on a black hood, and covered her face. Zay did the same, and also covered her sister’s face since they looked so alike. Jade just kept her hood down, since no one would recognize her anyway. Jade rapped Liana around her neck, like a scarf. 

Kira found several packets of food that looked appealing, and bought ten packets with the little money they had left. They were almost back to the sky ship, when they bumped into Ms. Youn. 

“Sorry!” Kira quickly tried to run past her. Kira’s hood fell down. She put it back up as fast as she could, but for just a second, Kira locked eyes with Ms. Youn. Ms. Youn gave her a strange look, and walked in the other direction. Kira began to run. Jade and Zay followed her, having witnessed the event, pulling Jay along with them.

“What happened?” Jay asked as soon as they were back inside. Zay began to pull them into the sky.

“Nothing, just ran into someone.” Zay flew through the force field as fast as she could. Jay growled.

“Tell me. Or I will make you tell me.” She warned. Zay sighed.

“Ok, fine. We ran into our old teacher, and Kira’s hood fell off. We are worried that now she is going to tell someone we were there.” Zay gritted out, trying to fly even faster.

“We are going to the Irinals temple, right?” Kira asked, clutching her stomach.

“Right. Probably will need to stop in the desert first, but we should be good. I know of a little place that’s full of bounty hunters, both Ungonalo and Irinaln.” Zay steered to the right. Jay sighed with relief.

“Whew! I thought that we weren’t going to touch ground again for another week!” Jay put her feet up. Kira stared at the night stars. There was something about the look Ms. Youn gave her. Something odd, almost like she was expecting Kira. Kira shook it off, and let the sounds of the voices around her consume her thoughts.

Supreme Master Comna grinned from underneath her mask.

“You're sure you saw her?” She asked, watching sky ships go through the evening sky. Youn, who was on the phone, laughed.

“Oh I’m sure. Saw her face when her hood came off, clear as day. She also had the same scars on her hands.” Youn said, clearly proud of herself. Youn hesitated.

“Does she know who you are? Or who I am? You dropped a lot of hints in the alley.” Youn sounded slightly concerned. Supreme Master Comna turned around.

“No. She doesn’t. She may be smart, but she’s young. I wouldn’t worry.” Comna hissed. 

“Excellent. Soon we will bring good to the world, have the gravity breaker as our weapon, and everyone in Irinals will be dead. I heard about the plan to betray the contract, and nuke them. Every single one, dead. That is impressive.” Youn laughed. Comna laughed too.

“I know. One step closer to having parasites rid of this planet. I know where the gravity breaker is heading, so make sure they get to the temple before it goes off. We have a while actually. Over a month.” Comna said with joy. She could practically see Youn grinning on the other side of the phone.

“Excellent. I will follow them from afar, and make sure they get there on time. I warn you though, it might be hard to trap her once she is an element manipulator. Such a dumb name, chemical compounds people!” Youn huffed.

“I know. Once she has the power though, I’m going to send everything I have after her. Then we will slowly make her join us. See you soon sister.” Supreme Master Comna hung up with a gleam in her eye. Kira had no idea who she was. And she couldn’t know, until she had no other option.

Kira awoke to a beautiful sun rise. Out in the desert, you could see the horizon line.

Dunes scattered the ground, along with lone cacti. Kira rubbed her eyes, and slowly brushed out her bed head. Jade was in an unusually good mood, smiling ear to ear.

“Only one more hour of flying! I am so happy we don’t have to I don’t have to steer this thing for eight hours straight!” She chanted, biting into a muffin. Jay laughed.

“Wow, the bar has fallen so low for you.” She snickered. Jay blew a small jet of water in Zay’s face. Zay rolled it into a ball, and threw it back at Jay. Jay giggled when it splashed her face.

“You are so on later!” Jay laughed. Zay rolled her eyes, and continued flying them on course. In exactly two hours, they arrived above a little desert village. People wore face masks, covering everything but their eyes. Kira coughed as they stepped outside. Sand sprayed her face. Jade clutched Liana, eyeing the bounty hunters with worry. Kira was glad she brought so much water with her, as the sun beat down on the golden sand.

“Ok! Let’s go get some Irinaln money, and then we can get on our way!” Zay cheerfully walked into the largest desert tent, which was full of dangerous looking people dressed in head to toe in black cloth. Each person carried a large gun. Kira tapped Zay on the shoulder.

“Are you sure it’s the best idea to be here? And gamboling doesn't sound very smart.” Kira nervously glanced at the table in the middle of the room, that had at least a dozen shouting people, slamming alcohol on the table. Jade backed towards the entrance of the tent herself.

“This place really doesn't feel safe. And you’re probably going to lose a lot more money than you’ll make.” Jade said, backing away. Zay waved them off.

“Watch and learn.” Zay confidently strided to the table, and slammed twenty dollars down.

“Give me some cards!” Zay demanded in the fiercest voice Kira had ever heard her use. After two rounds, Zay was up two hundred dollars. After five rounds, she left the table carrying a bag of Irinals money, worth one thousand dollars. Kira was left with her mouth hung open, not believing her eyes.

“How much did you win this time?” Jay asked, placing a hand on Zay’s shoulder, and bouncing up and down.

“Only one thousand. It should be enough though.” Zay patted Jay’s hand. Jade’s face twisted with confusion.

“How the heck did you manage to do that?” Jade asked, dumbfounded. Zay smiled mischievously.

“I can read people like a book. Almost like an extra scene. I’ve been using it in card games from the age of four. That’s how I got our ship.” Zay stepped out into the sun.

“Speaking of which, where is our ship?” Zay asked in the same tone. 

“WHAT!? WHO TOOK IT?” Kira yelled, running towards the last spot she saw it. Kira began whipping around. Who took it? Jade froze. The wind was picking up speed. Soon they were grabbing each other’s hands, trying to stay together. Everyone walked towards the tents, eyes shut and gripping hands. Kira wanted to scream, or yell at whoever took the sky ship, but she couldn’t or else she would have sand in her mouth. Kira shut her eyes, and waited. The wind howled. They walked and walked, and walked. Where were the tents? It felt like they were walking for hours. Maybe it was hours. Maybe it was only a couple of minutes. Sand covered her hair, and began to bury her legs. 

The wind speed slowed. Kira peeled one eye open. Then the others slowly opened their eyes as the winds stopped. Kira coughed, and coughed, and coughed. Jay was clutching Zay’s arm, coughing her lungs out as well. Jade drew Liana out from under her T-shirt, and revealed Liana, looking healthy as ever. Zay was wheezing as well, not looking her prime. Kira looked around.

“Where are the tents?” Kira suddenly asked. Jade jumped.

“Oh no. So now we are alone in the middle of the desert, with money, but only a little bit of water and no food.” Jade’s eyes widened. 

“This is one of those moments where I miss the jungle.” Jade mumbled, looking around frantically. Kira put her head on top of her knees.

“Oh geez. Why us? Out of all the people who could have been in our situation, why us?” Kira cried. She really missed her mother. Mother would be making her warm tea, and Kira would be in her bed room, doing homework. Why couldn’t that be a reality right now? Zay held out her arms.

“Everyone stay calm. We will find a way out of this. Let’s just head back in the direction we walked.” Zay suggested. Kira stood up.

“Ok. Ok. Let’s do that.” Kira slowly and carefully stepped across the shifting sand. Jay shuttered.

“Story of my life. Stuck in the middle of the desert with my sister and her friends. No food, no shelter. Might as well just bury myself right now.” Jay mumbled, kicking up a piece of sand.

“Don’t say that!” Zay scolded. But a small part of Kira knew it was true. It was also terrifying. At least they weren’t strangers. 

Kira dragged her feet through the burning sand. The sun beat down on their backs, making everyone sweat like crazy. Jade groaned.

“More water please.” She said to Zay. Zay sighed, and opened up the water container she was carrying. After walking in the desert for hours, they had less and less water. Jay, who was leaning on Zay’s shoulder, dropped to her knees.

“We’re out of water.” She cried softly. Sure enough, not a single drop fell from the water containers. Kira blinked.

“Do you feel any water somewhere close? Isn’t there water in the air we can drink?” Kira asked, sitting down as well. Jay placed a hand on the sand dunes, and squeezed her eyes shut. Jay shook her head.

“Very little traces of water in the air, you wouldn’t want to drink it anyway, and I can feel cactus juice about a mile in that direction. But you don’t want to drink that either.” Jay pointed to the left. Jade sighed, and sat down as well.

“Do we just die here now?” Jade asked quietly. Kira looked at her in horror.

“Oh no you don’t! You three are not leaving me alone in the middle of the desert for all eternity. Uh uh. There must be some way I can lift the sand. Sand is just really tiny rocks, right?” Kira placed her own hands ontop of the sand. She slowly wrapped her mental energy around it, and began to pull. The ground started shaking. The sand split, creating a path way. Kira pushed her arms out, forcing the extra sand away. Jade stood up.

“Do we just walk through here, and hope it gets us somewhere?” She asked. Kira shrugged.

“Does anyone have any better ideas?” When no one argued, they set off walking. Walking through the split sand. The sand began to pick up. 

“Great! Because another sandstorm is exactly what we need right now!” Jade yelled over the rising winds. Kira pointed.

“Look! I see a sky ship in the distance! We’re saved!” Kira began waving her arms like a maniac. The sky ship landed a few yards away, and sure enough it was their sky ship. A figure dressed in all black stepped out. You couldn’t see their face underneath all of the thick cloth. They dragged out several other figures. Each of them were bonded, and cursing.

“Here. These are the people who took your ship. Do what you want with them.” The figure in all black said, their voice muffled and manipulated. Jade glared at them.

“Un tie them, temporarily paralyze em, and leave them in the desert the same way they left us.” Jade suggested. Kira was about to say something, but Jay agreed, and Zay was rushing inside the sky ship, treating it like it was her lost puppie. Kira just went with it. The figure sat down.

“Where to? And don’t worry. I won’t ask anymore questions.” Their eyes flickered. 

“Uh, Irinals capital please.” Kira said awkwardly. Zay was full on hugging the walls. She opened up the compartment with the huge guns. 

“Thank the universe these are ok!” Zay tossed a gun to Kira, who shuttered.

“Oh goody! The giant guns are still here.” Kira mumbled sarcastically. Jade leaned back.

“I never thought I could miss a large piece of metal and glass.” Jade sighed, watching the sand kick up as they took off, leaving the people who stole the sky ship in the middle of the desert. The desert truly was beautiful, as long as you weren’t stuck inside of it.

“Do we know you from somewhere? You seem familiar.” Kira suddenly said. There was something strange about this person, Kira could almost swear she knew them from somewhere… but where? The figure didn’t bother looking at Kira.

“I said I wouldn’t ask more questions. I expect the same from you.” Was all they said, eyes locked on the horizon line. Creepy. Instead of saying anything else, Kira just decided to drop it, and get some water. Whoever this person was, they were probably here to help. Kira was willing to get help from almost anywhere at this point.

Supreme Master Comna looked at the tracker in Youn’s suit. Good. They were approaching Irinals capital. On top of that, Youn could finally plant trackers in them, while they slept. Supreme Master Comna smiled wickedly. It turned out that the other three would be more useful alive then dead. Even though Irinals may be destroyed soon, there were soldiers and colonies  everywhere. The gravity breaker and the other three could be the weapon that stamps the rest out. Then the world would be weakened. Weakened enough that Supreme Master Comna could take what should have been hers a long time ago, and watch as the world bows to her. The Gravity breaker at her side, doing whatever Comna wanted her to do. This was going to be excellent.

As soon as they arrived in Irinals, the stranger just climbed out, and ran. Kira blinked.

“This is really weird. Who do you think that could have been?” Kira asked, squinting in the sunlight. Jay shrugged.

“I dunno. Your guess is as good as mine.” The four made their way towards the public common, where people were laughing, shouting, and running through the streets.

“Where did you say the temple was again?” Kira widened her eyes to take in the view. Zay pulled out a map.

“It should be in the public library. Let’s just take the day to relax, and explore. We will be better after a day of rest.” Zay began to walk around, observing the area. Everyone seemed… happy. Kira watched children beg their parents for money to go get ice cream. She watched street vendor's shot offers in every direction. Kira watched Jade sigh with relief, and lay down in the nearby grass.

“I didn’t ever think I would miss hearing their voices.” Jade whispered, staring up at the sky. Not a single cloud for miles. Just vast blue. Kira sat down next to her.

“I can kind of relate. Though I don’t think I will ever be used to trees screaming at me for my attention.” Kira felt the lush green blades of grass with her fingers. Jay was going crazy. She stood behind a tree, making people trip over a root using her water manipulation, and concealing laughter. Zay finally came over, and tugged her shoulder.

“Stop it! Someone is going to catch you!” She whispered hissed, dragging Jay over to the law. Jay made a fake pouting face.

“Oh no! I’m so scared!” Jay fanned her face with her hand. Zay’s eyes narrowed.

“You are so lucky you can’t see my facial expression right now.” Zay growled. Kira bit her lip to keep from laughing. Zay muttered something about annoying sisters, and sat down.

“So, what does everyone want to do today?” Kira asked, opening her back pack to eat lunch. Jade sat up, and opened up her own bag.

“No idea. Oh! Never mind, could we go to the museum?” Jade suggested. Zay shrugged.

“Why not? Might as well learn something other than what we were taught at school. Which was that all people from Irinals are savage, and deserve to die. But not as savage as those with the curse. Who should be enslaved or sent to prisons.” Zay looked up, thinking back to their social classes. 

“Don’t forget that we’re superior with our clean methods.” Kira added jokingly, pausing between bites. Jade whistled.

“Glad I didn’t go to your school. Though to be fair, I was taught how to kill someone from the village, and how to steal from the village before I could read and write.” Jade pointed out. Kira sighed. Why was everything about revenge and killing other people? It was depressing.

“Oh! Did I tell you the story of how we met Jade?” Zay asked Jay. Jay bleakly shook her head.

“No. No you did not, as a matter of fact. I know she is from a jungle, and that’s it.” Jay blew a tuft of hair out of her face. Jade grinned.

“My brothers and I were on patrol duty, and we thought that Kira and Zay were villagers, from just outside the rainy jungle. So I impaled Kira with a poisoned spear.” Jade explained with a wicked grin. Kira rubbed her torso.

“Yeah, that REALLY hurt. What I’m confused about is how I have whip scars, but no scar where Jade sent a spear through my chest.” Kira frowned. Jay laughed.

“Awesome! That is so cool! Well, at least to me. And your right. That is weird.” Jay made a puzzled face. Kira groaned. Another weird thing about her. Great. Zay stood up. 

“Is anyone coming to the museum with me? Or what?” Zay said, brushing herself off.

“One minute. Just need to digest.” Kira held up her pointer finger. Zay sat back down.

“Fair enough.” Zay put her long dark hair in a ponytail. Kira eventually stood up as well.

“Ok I’m ready.” She said. Jay stood up as well.

“I’m good too.” Jay brushed the grass off her shirt. Jade jumped up.

“Finally! You people are so slow!” Jade flicked the grass from her shoes at them, and ran towards the museum. Kira and Zay chased her, laughing. Jay just walked. The museum was huge. It had many artifacts, and many documents from the war. It was both depressing and interesting. Kira spotted a room with blue marble flooring, and decided to see what was inside. Kira froze. She barely even breathed. Jade caught up to her.

“What is it? You look like a ghost! I thought that-“ Jade froze as well. When Zay came over, she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Ok this is ridiculous! Someone tell me what is happening!” Jay jabbed Zay’s shoulder, hard. Zay quivered. 

“This room is about people with natural abilities. About all the people enslaved. There are articles explaining why it is ok because we feel no pain. That, we have no soul. In the middle of the room…” Zay trailed off. Kira tugged their arms.

“We should leave.” Kira said quietly. Everyone except for Jay nodded, and they quickly fled to the next room which was dedicated to land mammals. 

Kira shuttered. That image was going to stay in her mind for a long time.

Jay didn’t stop poking people, and yelling at them, so Kira finally explained the rest.

“Ok, fine. There were twenty skulls on display. Human skulls. Along with the carcass of a baby, a young boy, an older girl, and an old person. They were dead, and frozen so people could see their dead body. It explained how this was what people like us always look like. Dead and emotionless. Worse yet, these people do medical experiments on humans. The type you would do on rats. And they breed them. They breed humans.” Kira blurted. Jay bit her lip, looking sick. Jade seemed to be on the verge of throwing up. Kira ran straight into the next room, needing air. Zay followed, dragging a now silent Jay along with her. Everyone inside seemed so happy. How were they ok with all of that? Or were they? Did they just follow along to avoid being accused of treason, and thrown in jail? Or did they support it? Did some support it while others didn’t? Humans were so strange. Created to use others as a staircase. Kira wished that mother was with her now. Mother would be able to explain this. She would know what to do. Jay sighed.

“Now I regret asking. I’m not apologizing for poking everyone though.” Jay said, trying to lighten the mood. 

“Maybe we should just leave.” Zay took Jay’s hand, and led her towards the exit. Kira and Jade followed, wanting to leave just as badly. Kira stepped out, shielding her eyes as the sun hit her face. People were laughing, running through the streets with laughter. Then time seemed to slow down. People stopped. They froze, looking like statues as an intercom spoke into the crowd.

“A group of traitors is among us. Find them.” A deep voice boomed. Kira groaned.

“Not again.” She mumbled. Suddenly, everyone’s left hand began to glow. The people of Irinals capital became zombies, moving mindlessly around. Kira panicked. Then she had an idea. Kira made a small glowing force field below everyone’s hand, and walked with the crowd. The others followed. As Kira walked past an abandoned alleyway near a corner in the street, someone pulled Kira and Zay in. Zay yelped, and grabbed Jay, pulling her in as well. Jade clearly noticed the commotion, and backed into the alleyway slowly, trying to not be spotted. A person their age was hiding behind a little dumpster.

“Follow me into the sewage. You will be safe there.” They whispered, opening up a little sewage pipe. Despite the smell, Kira didn’t see any better option. She followed the strange kid into the sewers. Once everyone was safely inside, they pulled back the dark hood they were wearing.

“Hello. I’m Daya.” Daya tucked their short black hair behind their ears. Daya looked at her feet.

“I’m assuming you have the curse too?” They asked. Kira nodded.

“Yes, we do. But it is no curse.” Kira promised. Daya pulled the shadows around them into a little ball.

“How is controlling darkness not a curse?” They asked. Daya was an Illusionist. They controlled shadows. Zay stepped forwards.

“It isn’t.” She pulled water from the sewage.

“This could save my life. Yes it put me in a prison, but it gives me a much deeper connection to the earth. It lets me see what others can’t.” Zay waved her hands, and the ball of water sprung into the form of a puppy, running across the sewers, until jumping into the rest of the water and dispersing. Daya raised their eyebrows.

“I am a sucker for puppies. Point made. What on earth are you four doing here? It is super dangerous for people like us to be in the capital. Especially people like us from Ungonalo.” Daya pointed at the shoes Jay was wearing.

“I can tell you are pointing in the direction of my feet. Who gave me Ungonalo shoes?” Jay demanded, turning in the general direction of Zay. Jay crossed her arms. Zay rolled her eyes.

“Sorry. This isn’t the point of the conversation though. We are here because of this one.” Zay pointed at Kira. Kira shyly waved.

“Hello! I’m Kira, nice to meet you. I am here for the temple in the library.” Kira explained. Daya looked at her suspiciously. 

“Ok… first of all, very stupid idea to go worship a temple here. Second of all, I don’t trust the look that that one is giving me.” Daya pointed at Jade. Jade was giving Daya a death glare, which was apparently how she looked at anyone new that they were going to trust with information.

“Don’t mind her. That’s just Jade. She does that to everyone. I’m here because I am the one thousandth Gravity Breaker, and I kind of need to visit the temple so I can have my element manipulation ability.” Kira lifted Jade up for demonstration, then admittedly put her down before she tried to strangle Kira with Liana. Daya gave them a confused look.

“What on earth is that?” Daya asked. Kira sighed. She did her best to explain everything the best she could, watching Daya’s eyebrows move further and further up her head.

“Immortal. Yeah right.” Daya laughed.

“Jade, you know what to do.” Kira said glumly. Jade grinned.

“I certainly do.” Jade pulled out a knife from under her pants, and stabbed Kira through the gut from behind. Daya screamed as blood hit their face. Kira stared at Daya, as she felt Jade pull the knife out. Daya stared in wonder as the wound instantly healed over. Kira put on a sweatshirt from her bag over her ripped clothes. 

“Thank you Jade. Though I have a feeling that you enjoyed that a lot more than you should have.” Kira frowned. Jade wiped Kira’s blood off her knife.

“I always enjoy stabbing people. I just don’t like it when they die. But you can’t die.” Jade shot her a wicked grin. 

“Of course you do.” Kira mumbled. Daya was pointing at Kira, mouth covered with her other hand in shock.

“How did- what? How?” They sputtered. Jay laughed.

“Believe us now?” She asked, using her water manipulation skills to lift the blood off of Daya’s face. Daya nodded.

“Considering that I just watched you get stabbed, and somehow survive without a mark, yeah, I do.” Daya said, eyeing Kira up and down. Zay tilted her head.

“Do you think that you could bring us to the library?” She asked. Daya nodded, recovering from their shock.

“Definitely. We just need to wait out the search. Everyone is implanted with a chip as a baby that allows the leaders to do that with control. It doesn’t work on people like us.” Daya showed them her palm. There was a large scar that ran across the bottom.

“I cut mine out years ago. Whenever they do this, which isn’t too often, I hide here.” Daya traced their finger over the scar. Kira winced at the sight of the scar. She suddenly felt self conscious of her own. Daya motioned for them to follow them down the long tunnel. Rats and snakes were everywhere. Kira held back a shiver of fear. Daya led them to a little ladder that poked into the ground above. Kira sucked in a breath of air as soon as she stepped out, great full to no longer be surrounded by the toxic smell. They were in another back alley way.

“How do you know so many places like this?” Jade asked, studying the enormous buildings that surrounded them. Daya turned their head, glancing at the hint of blue sky.

“I knew I was an illusionist from the age of five. I ran away when I was five. This is where I hide when people go crazy. I technically still live with my dad, but he takes care of me and my twelve other siblings. I’m the fifth oldest, and he doesn't notice that I’m gone most of the time. Neither do they. I’m invisible.” Daya walked towards one of the buildings. They pulled a large piece of glass aside to reveal a small hollowed out room. 

“I found this when I was about seven, and started sleeping out here. I usually go to our apartment one a week, to once every two weeks to get food. Then I live around here, and sleep in there. Let’s sleep tonight, then I will bring you to the library tomorrow.” Daya climbed into the little crawl space. Kira followed, and curled up on her side. She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep. 

Kira fell into her dreams. She was running. Running from Supreme Master Comna again. The others were there with Kira. They were cornered. Dozens of soldiers carrying guns. No way out. 

Kira sat up, and hit her head on the low ceiling. She winced in pain. It was pretty clear that the space was only made for one or two people. Kira slowly crawled to the door, pushing her way around the others. Kira stepped into the open streets, where Daya and Jade were sitting already. They smirked when they saw Kira.

“Didn’t sleep well, did you? I shouldn’t have shoved all of you in there. I know a better space, but it is less secure.” Daya stood up. Kira rubbed her eyes. 

“It was a little bit crowded, but I managed.” Kira laughed. Jade stretched.

“Should we wake up Zay and Jay?” She asked.

“Already awake, because some people are very chatty.” Zay slid into the streets.

“Are you awake yet?” Zay waited for Jay’s response, arms folded.

“No.” Jay mumbled, facing the wall. 

“If you can speak, you’re awake.” Zay said. 

“No.” Jay responded, still not moving. Zay grabbed her arms, and dragged her out of the crawl space.

“Nooooooo! Uhhhhhh!” Jay whined as Zay pulled her out. Jay stood up.

“I don’t like you sometimes.” She grumbled. Zay patted her on the head.

“That’s my little sister.” Zay tugged her arm again. Jay made Zay smack herself.

“Don’t do this to me in the morning!” Jay complained. Daya cleared their throat.

“Are you all ready to leave, or what?” They asked.

“Been ready for hours.” Jade lifted her bag, and followed Daya to the sewers. Kira trailed behind them, while Zay and Jay followed, still in a swatting match. 

Kira did her best not to scream as rats ran wild all over the place, scattering across the ground. Finally, Daya climbed up a ladder and brought them into the sunlight. Kira looked around. They were just outside the back entrance of the public library, hidden among the bushes. Daya opened the door, revealing two guards. They eyed them suspiciously as they passed. Jay was holding onto Zay’s shoulder, glaring at the ground. One of the guards suddenly stamped on the other one's foot.

“Hey! What on earth?” The other one cried, hopping on one leg. 

“I didn’t mean to! I swear!” The first guard shouted, then stamped on their other foot. A huge shouting match broke out. Daya hurried them along. Jay smiled mischievously. Kira shook her head. That girl was made for mischief.

The inside of the library was stunning. There was a little indoor pond with coy fish, and everything. Books covered the walls, and a large glass dome covered the ceiling. It was incredibly peaceful. Daya continued walking, refusing to look at anyone they passed. Finally, Daya stopped at a large metal door. Two guards watched them intently. Daya rolled their eyes, and handed the guards each twenty dollars. They nodded, and stepped aside.

“Come on! Another creepy statue and gem? Seriously?” Kira groaned. Kira shook it off, and stepped towards the statue. She took a deep breath, and placed two fingers on the blue gem. Kira screamed as the light seemed to engulf her. She fell to the ground, her eyes glowing bright blue. Kira was silent.

“Oops! Forgot she does that. Does anyone have a blanket we can cover her face with or something?” Zay looked around rapidly. She took off her sweater, and held it above Kira’s head. Kira’s eyes burst with light. It struck through the ceiling. Zay jumped back, pulling Jay with her. The guards had to know that something was up. Daya ran to the door, and shoved the large metal lock in place. Zay dropped to Kira’s side, and studied her face. What on earth was she doing?

Kira fell through glass. She fell through water. Kira closed her eyes and… Kira sat up, and whipped her head around. She was in an open field, in the eye of a hurricane. Wind screeched in her ears. It blinded her eyes. A figure stood in the distance. Kira struggled to rise to her feet, as the wind almost knocked her over. Kira extended her arms. She gathered energy, and created a force field. The eye passed over. Kira floated through the hurricane, wait, floated? How? She finally made her way over to the figure. She reconsidered them from the beach. Her hair was so wet and wind blown, it was straight. Out of breath, she slowly stuttered, “Why did you bring me here?” Kira pulled a strand of wet hair out of her face. The figure tilted their head.

“It’s a perfect storm isn’t it? Though I guess if you would prefer something else…” 

the ground fell. Kira, who was still inside her force field, plummeted through an array of colors. When she finally hit the ground, they were somewhere very cold. Kira winced. Thanks to Jade and Comna, she only had a few pairs of clothes left that didn’t have blood all over it. Her current outfit had several holes. Kira shivered.

“Why are we someplace cold?” Kira looked around. Nothing but sheets of ice for miles to come. The figure, who was now blending into the surroundings in an all white coat just stared at Kira.

“This is where your mind might go for ages to come. You will soon be an ice manipulator. I suppose you won’t feel the cold any longer, so you might as well absorb the feeling one last time.” They opened their arms, motioning at the surroundings.

“Wait! I have a few questions first.” Kira lowered her force field, biting back a scream as her feet landed on the cold ice. The figure used a tone that suggested they were rolling their eyes. 

“Of course you do. You may ask me one question. I don’t have time for anymore.” Kira sucked in a sharp breath. One? Why? 

“Why do I sometimes get hurt, and instantly heal, but have these scars?” Kira asked. She figured it was a useful question. 

“Good question. You only instantly heal when the wound is severely life threatening. Being whipped ten times could kill you in a few weeks, from an infection, but you were spared. Being gutted with a poisoned spear would kill a normal person pretty quickly.” They explained.

“Ok great. I’m ready to receive my ability now.” Kira said, knowing that she probably wouldn’t get anything else out of the stranger. They sighed.

“Ok.” The world around them began to glow. It was blue. Blue everywhere. Blue seeped up Kira’s arms, and into her eyes. It blinded her. Ice. Ice was everywhere. But the cold, the cold was gone. Kira looked at the figure one more time as she was lifted into the sky. 

“Be careful of Supreme Master Comna. She is closer than you think.” The figure said, then disappeared into the ice. 

“What?” Kira yelled, just as she disappeared into the fog above. 

                               *************************

Kira’s eyes opened. Of course, she was lying on the floor of the temple, with Zay kneeling over her. Zay offered her a weak smile. 

“Welcome back. What’s your ability?” Zay asked, helping Kira sit up. Kira touched her forehead. She felt weary.

“Ice.” Kira lifted out her hands. She felt a new presence in the air. Slowly, little ice crystals drifted around her fingers, and onto Kira’s hands. Almost creating a glove. Kira starred in wonder.

“Are you done yet?” Jade asked, leaning against the wall. Daya had their back against the door, trying to hold it shut.

“If you’re done, then you need to get us out of here. Now.” The sounds of shouting filled the room. Kira pulled herself to her feet. Where could they go? Kira looked up. The dome. Kira looked around.

“Does anyone have anything heavy?” Kira asked. Daya pointed to a small pile of stones in the corner. 

“They place stones and candles around the statue every month. Would those work?” Daya asked. Kira looked at them with a dark smile.

“Perfect.” Kira wrapped her energy around the stones. She could already feel how much stronger her gravity breaking had become. Kira threw her arms up, and the stones shattered the roof, opening up to the sky. Jade placed a hand on her vine, and it sprung into life, grabbing them and hurling everyone into the air. Kira concentrated, and created one giant force field around them. They were airborne. Rolling down the roof of the building, and into the streets. Kira struggled to her feet. There were screams everywhere. Guards, blood, and Zay helping Jay to her feet. Jade, trying to use the vine outside the force field to strike people down. And the ringing in Kira’s ears finally stopped. Kira began to run. The force field covering them. She couldn’t tell where they were going. All she knew was that they needed to get out of there as fast as possible. Then there was silence. Kira stood before hundreds of soldiers, all of them open firing machine guns at the force field.

Everyone else was out of breath. Kira glared at the soldiers. If they wanted it to get messy, fine. Kira moved her arms, switching the energy flow of the force field, and watching as the bullets ricocheted at twice the speed the original hit. Soldiers and guards went down, screaming as their own bullets punchered the eyes, face, and hearts. Kira sat down, and assed her friends' situations. Zay had several bruises on her arms, while Jade seemed fine, even better then when they first fled. Jay had bruises covering her body, probably from being thrown around too much. And as for Daya, they were standing at the edge of the force field, watching the massacre of soldiers in the streets. They watched in silence.

“I don’t understand why they won’t just stop shooting. It’s killing them. Literally.” They said quietly when they noticed Kira watching. Kira sighed.

“They think that they will eventually break through the force field. I feel bad for them. It’s sad really.” Kira sat down on her knees. There was blood, spilling through the streets. And more guards and soldiers just kept coming. They just kept shooting. Zay pulled her little sister in close.

“It’s going to be alright.” She whispered, fighting back tears as more body’s dropped dead. Kira moved next to them. Everyone sat in silence. Watching more and more people die. More people shooting. Refusing to stop. The screams of civilians. Adults holding their children’s hands, running as fast as they could. Then finally, it stopped. A single general stood. Kira shifted the force field back into it’s normal form. The general waved their arms.

“You have killed over three hundred people with your magic today! What do you want!? Speak!” They bellowed. Kira split the force field, and walked out to meet them under the protection of her own little dome.

“I want you to let us go our own way. It wasn’t me that killed these people. You kept shooting. You never stopped. I simply protected myself.” Kira spoke. The general quivered with rage.

“How dare you! I am responsible for no one's death! Surrender now, or die!” They practically scream. Kira looked back calmly at their group. Zay already had gathered a ball of water. Jade had her vine ready. Daya was gathering shadows from the buildings. And Jay was standing ready, almost daring them to attack. Kira let down her own force field, but kept one around everyone else.

“I do not want to fight you. But I will if I have to.” Kira looked the general in the eye. The general raised their gun, and shot Kira in the heart. Kira blinked in shock as the bullet passed through. The wound healed over. She glared at the general.

“Hey! This was one of my last clean shirts. Rude. I’m going to give you one more chance. Clear out now.” Kira demanded. The general looked at her in shock. 

“H-how? I just shot you!” They stuttered.

“Clear. Out.” Kira growled. The general backed up. They fired another shot. This time, Kira raised a force field, and it bounced back, hitting him in the head. The soldiers behind the general looked around, not sure what they should do. 

“I SAID CLEAR OUT!” Kira yelled. All of them ran as fast as they could in the other direction. A few hesitated, but ended up following the crowd. Everyone ran to the back alley ways, and jumped into the sewers. Kira didn’t lower the force field until all of them were inside.

“How close can we get to the ships?” Kira asked Daya. Daya thought for a moment.

“Right outside.” They said. The five ran as fast as they could. There was a chance that some of the guards would be hot on their tails. Kira tried to keep up. Her head was spinning. Did that really just happen? Did they really just kill that many people? Even if it was their fault in a way? Kira couldn’t think about that right now. She just needed to get to the ship. They would be safe there. They could fly away as fast as possible. Daya stopped.

“Right here.” They said. Everyone climbed out, except for Daya.

“Aren’t you coming?” Jade asked, extending a hand. Daya shook their head.

“I can’t leave. I’m sorry, I want to, but this is where I was born. This is where I will die someday.”  Daya said sadly. Kira had never seen Jade cry before, but now she was tearing up. Jade wiped her eyes, and squeezed Daya’s hand.

“I’ll come see you again. I promise.” Jade said. Daya nodded, blinking back tears of her own.

“I know you will. I know we will see each other again someday. Goodbye Jade.” Daya sadly let go, and closed the drain. Jade steadied herself as they entered the sky ship, and took off into the big, blue sky. 

Supreme Master Comna sat at her desk, smiling underneath her mask. Youn came inside, and closed the door behind her.

“It’s been done. I have implanted the tracking devices into the children’s lower arms. There is a chance that it will ping while they are awake, but it needs to be cut out with a knife. I don’t believe the children have the stomach to cut their arm open.” Youn sat down. Supreme Master Comna looked at where they currently were. 

“Very good. Send another battleship after them. All of them have proven themselves useful, so tell them to bring all of them back alive. Unless one of them won’t cooperate. Then they may die. And make sure that the gravity breaker is in good condition.” Supreme Master Comna placed her hands on the desk.

“If the others are alive, she will be more likely to follow our orders. Plus we can use the others as a leverage. I will make sure they know to bring them back alive. On a different note, did you hear about the recent massacre in Irinals?” Youn asked, taking her bag, and standing up. Supreme Master Comna laughed wickedly.

“Of course I did. It’s a sign that the gravity breaker is ready. Ready for our plans.” Youn walked to the door, and looked back.

“We already trapped them. Now we just need to lock them in a nice big cage.” She grinned, and left. Supreme Master Comna 

Looked out the window.

“It looks like I will be seeing you very, very soon.” She put her feet up.

“Kiranous.”

No one said a word for at least a good half an hour. Zay quietly moved the ship, occasionally looking back at her sister. The sky was clear today, with not a cloud in sight. Kira was sitting on a chair today, staring at the window.

“Zay? How much money do we have? I need a new shirt.” Kira said, frowning at the new blood stain. Zay thought for a moment.

“About one thousand dollars. We didn’t spend any.” Zay said, opening a compartment that had a large bag of money.

“Can I get some more clothes too? Mine are getting really worn.” Jay sat, pressing her hands against the arm rest. 

“Yeah, I could use a new outfit as well.” Jade spoke for the first time since they got on the sky ship.

“Ok. We can land in a village a little bit further away, and then buy some food and new clothes. I can also get some more money if we need to.” Zay put the ship into auto pilot mode. Zay leaned back into her seat. 

“I think I might go to bed early tonight. I’m tired. I can help you tomorrow Kira. Ice is another form of water, and vise versa, so it should be pretty similar.” Zay curled up into a ball. 

“Um, Zay?” Kira said, staring out the window.

“Yes I know, I’m not the best. But I figured it’s better than nothing.” Zay droned on.

“No, I think that there might be another sky ship.” Kira pointed towards the shape in the sky, slowly flying towards them. Zay sighed. She opened up the compartment that had the large guns.

“Here you go. Each of you take one of these. Jay, strap yourself in, and hold on tight.” Zay handed a gun to both Kira and Jade. Great, they got to watch another person today lose their life to a gun. Zay sat up, and opened the sun roof. Kira and Jade strapped themselves into the two little chairs, and Kira this time put a force field around the ship. Hopefully they wouldn’t get shot down. As the battleship got closer and closer, Kira’s stomach tightened. She had to take the force field down, or else they wouldn’t be able to shoot the other ship. Zay pulled down hard on the controls, launching them upwards. Kira yelped. Zay pressed an array of buttons, dropping all sorts of weapons on the battleship below.

“Put up a force field Kira!” Zay yelled. As soon as Kira did, Zay plumited downwards.

She almost crashed into the battleship, but they doged at the last second. Zay cursed, and jerked them upwards. She made the ship flip over, and launched another missile. The other sky ship easily doged, and launched their own weapons. Zay jerked the ship this way and that, and somehow managed to avoid all of the weapons. Kira raised the gun, and took a single shot. It hit the glass. Another person came out of the window, holding a gun of their own. Oh no. Kira lifted a force field just in time, as a bunch of shots pelted them. Jade grabbed her vine. It grew so quickly, it looked like a blur. The vine wrapped around the human, and pulled them out of the sky. Zay opened fire just as the ship faltered. The battleship was losing. It needed one more hit. Just as they passed, Kira reached out. She used her gravity breaking, and ripped off the engine. The ship went down, and crashed into the valley below. Zay brought them down, and closed the roof. She sighed with relief. Then Kira sat up. The battleship, it had an Ungonalo flag. 

“Comna! How did she find us again?” Kira cried. Zay gasped. She was pointing at Jay's arm. It was glowing. It flashed light, then turned off. Kira watched in horror as her arm began to pulse with light as well. Zay and Jade jumped at the same time as their arms glowed as well.

“I think, the stranger, they, they, implanted a tracking device.” Kira touched her arm lightly. 

“Oh gosh. Here, let me get my knife.” Jade dug through her bag, and pulled out a very sharp knife. Zay jumped out of her seat.

“No! No, no no no. Absolutely not!” She said, backing away. Jade waved the knife around as she spoke.

“What? Oh, right. It’s unsanitary to use the same knife on multiple people. Good thing I brought five of these!” Jade pulled out three more knives.

“What? Knife? Who?” Jay asked. Kira shivered.

“The stranger implanted a tracking device in our arms, and now we need to cut it out with a knife. Zay isn’t very happy about it.” Kira eyed the knife carefully herself. Jay clasped her arms together.

“No! Zay! Stop her!” Jay reached out, and Jade dropped the knives, then strapped herself in the chair.

“Jay! What the heck? Would you rather die because Supreme Master Comna kills us?” Jade complained. Jay paused for a moment. 

“Fine. Someone do it for me.” Jay squeezed her eyes shut. Jade gently took her arm, and cut into Jay’s flesh. Jay didn’t scream, although she did squirm and kick her legs. Jade pulled out a small piece of metal. It was glowing.

“Yep, got it out. Ok, everyone else, time to do it to yourself.” Jade handed Kira and Zay a knife. Kira hesitated. Then she slowly stuck the knife into her skin, and winced as she split her flesh. Underneath the blood, a similar piece of metal was embedded in Kira’s muscle. Kira pulled it out, and held it up to the light. She shuttered, and tried not to throw up. Zay opened the roof again. One by one, they dropped their tracking devices into the valley.

“Thank gosh it’s finally over.” Zay mumbled, pulling out a first aid kit. Kira’s hair blew in the wind as she stared out at the horizon.

“No. It’s just begun.”

A few days later, Zay landed near a little village. After buying a spare change of clothes, they ventured outwards in the wilderness to practice ability training. Kira tried her hardest to figure out how to manipulate ice. Even with Zay’s help, all she could do was form little particles around her. Kira eventually gave up, and worked on her gravity breaking, force fields, and plant manipulation. Talking to trees was a lot easier than gathering ice. After putting it off for almost a day, Kira finally brought herself to try to manipulate ice again. Kira wandered off deeper into the woods, alone. She found a small stream. She sat with her legs crossed on a small stone. Kira reached for the energy in the air. She watched as little crystals of ice began to form around her fingers again. Kira frowned. She bent down, and touched the water running through the stream. The second that Kira reached out to find energy, the water froze. The entire stream slowly hardened into ice. While the stream was only a few inches wide, and about three inches deep, it was still an accomplishment. Something crunched behind Kira. She whipped around, and found that there was no one. Just the empty woods. Kira sighed, and sat back down. A pair of freckled arms grabbed her from behind, and pinned Kira to the ground. Kira exploded in fear, and sent the figure flying backwards by blasting them with a force field. Whoever they were, they hit a tree, and Kira trapped them under a glowing dome. 

“What are you doing in my space? Who are you? What are you doing here?” They asked, out of breath. Kira tilted her head. It was another girl around her age, interestingly enough. She had short, bright red hair that almost touched her shoulders, and light sea blue eyes. Freckles covered her pale skin from head to toe.

“I should be asking you the same question.” Kira said, sitting down on a mound of falling leaves. 

“Yeah totally. I, the one who lives less than a few miles away from here should tell a stranger that just froze a stream than trapped me under a force field, what I’m doing here. Yep, mhm. That makes so much sense.” She said sarcastically. Kira smirked.

“Fair enough. How did you sneak up on me?” Kira asked. The girl rolled her eyes.

“Might as well tell you considering you're twice as strange as me. Just kidding! Just kidding. No idea what it’s called, but I do this.” The girl vanished underneath the force field. A few seconds later, she reapered. 

“You’re an illusionist! You can turn invisible!” Kira realized.

“Oh, that’s what it’s called. Trauma of bearing the curse.” The girl joked. Kira tilted her head.

“What’s your name?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“You’re the one that lives here. It would only do harm to me.” Kira pointed out. The girl narrowed her eyes.

“Fine. My name is Iona. What’s yours?” Iona shot back. Kira sighed.

“Kira. I’m not from around here.” She lifted her arms, letting Iona out of the force field. Iona brushed off her arms.

“It is very uncomfortable under there. So, Kira, are you here with anyone else?” Iona raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m here with a few friends. Kind of running from a sociopath and trying to end the war. The usual.” Kira laughed. Iona’s eyes widened.

“Sure buddy. Of course you are.” She folded her arms.

“You asked for it.” Kira used her gravity breaking to lift Iona into the sky, put a force field around her, and grew the trees around them into a tight circle. Next, she found some water that escaped the stream, and turned it to ice. Kira let Iona go.

“Proof enough?” Kira asked. Iona looked like she was trying to hide her surprise.

“Yes. Not an everyday basis of being thrown into a tree. Or meeting someone with four abilities. In fact, anyone with abilities.” Iona looked over her shoulder.

“I need to head home soon. Bring me to whoever these people are, so I can get home as soon as possible. I’m going invisible as well.” Iona disappeared into thin air. Kira slowly walked forward, not knowing how far behind Iona was. Finally, she reached the sounds of voices.

“There you are! We were looking for you.” Zay jumped up. Jay froze.

“Kira? Who is that?” Jay slowly said, backing away.

“What?” Kira played dumb.

“Who. Is. That. The person standing three feet away from you.” Jay said, inching further away. Jade looked at Zay. Zay shrugged. Jay raised her hands, and made a fist. Iona appeared again, crumpling to the ground.

“Ow! Make her stop!” Iona yelled, twitching against the forest floor. 

“She’s friendly! We’re safe!” Kira promised. Jay dropped her hand, and Iona sat up.

“How did you see me?” Iona looked slightly shocked. Jay made a face.

“You really are new. When I was younger, I had an… accident,” Jay quickly turned away from her sister’s direction. “I’m blind now. But, I am still a water manipulator, along with my sister. I’m not the normal type of manipulator, as I only can really sense water and, well, use my abilities if the water is somehow already moving. At least so far. The human body is seventy percent water. I control people.” Jay fidgeted with her fingers.

“Well that’s … lovely. As you may have guessed, I turn invisible. Kira, said that you are going to save the world, but I didn’t really believe this creep so I decided to ask all of you. Just kidding! I’m just kidding.” Iona put her hands up in peace when she saw Kira glaring at her. Iona seemed to be ‘just kidding a lot.’ Jade started laughing, and tried, but failed to hide it. 

“Creep.” Jade gigled. Zay glanced carefully at Iona.

“To answer your question, yes we are trying to help Kira end the war. Unfortunately, Supreme Master Comna herself is tracking us down as we speak.” Zay crossed through the clearing, and offered Iona a hand. Iona gladly took it, and stood up. Everyone stood silently for a few moments.

“Sick… okay imma head out. You coming? We have actual food, instead of whatever your uh… cooking?” Iona said motioning to the little campfire. Jade stood.

“I’m in I suppose. We don’t have anything better to do right now, and might as well.” They turned to Zay and Jay.

“Sure.” They said in unison. Everyone looked at Kira. Kira sighed.

“Why not?” Kira followed Iona through the woods. Iona moved quickly, like she knew exactly where each and every single fallen tree branch and root was. After walking for about an hour, they finally crossed over into the open village. It actually wasn’t far from where they landed, which was good. Iona lived in a decent, good sized house that was incredibly clean. Iona sat down, and a little boy no older than seven came bounding into the room.

“Iona who are those weird people?” He asked, pointing at the group. Iona shoved him and told him to be nice to the weirdos.

“These are some random people I found in the woods, Luca. They are going to stay with us tonight because they can, and I am bored. Where is Jenny?” Iona put Luca down, and wandered into the kitchen.

“I don’t know. Something to do with going to tell someone something.” Luca stretched his tiny body across the chair. He was small for seven, and on the skinnier side. Kira smiled at his playfulness. She sat down awkwardly beside him. Iona sat down stretching her legs across an entire two seats.

“Who was she talking to?” Iona asked, and Luca shrugged.

“No idea. I think she might have been reporting someone for something. Maybe someone was mean to her?” Luca ran into the kitchen, and pulled out a box of frozen chicken nuggets. He handed them to Iona, who put them in a pan,  then turned on the oven. Her face had gone red. She sat in silence for a moment before returning to her normal mood. Luca chatted away. Just as the sun went down, Iona ran to her room, and prepared with a small bag packed. She still didn’t say anything.

“Are you ok?” Kira finally asked. Iona looked at her funny.

“Of course I’m okay. Totally didn’t have a realization,” Iona dragged Kira into the hallway, out of earshot of Luca who was showing Zay his homework. Iona lowered her voice.

“I’m almost sure that Jenny, our annoying babysitter, caught me turning invisible the other day. I only really go to the woods when I’m annoyed with my parents, so all the time. Anyway, I was home, and hadn’t been able to go out for a few days. I couldn’t resist the urge to sneak out and see my friend, and turned invisible just as she was walking by in the hallway. When I saw her I instantly reappeared because she scared me. She kept walking like nothing happened, but I think she saw me.” Iona looked around again. Kira tilted her head.

“I’m sure it’s fine. If the guards do come after you, you can always join us.” Kira pointed out. Iona laughed.

“Um first of all, we met like two seconds ago, and what about Luca and my parents? How will they react?” Iona took a deep breath. “I suppose it is better than being sent to prison. She might not have even seen. It’s probably fine.” Iona walked back into the kitchen, yelling something at Luca. Kira hesitated. 

Should they really stay there for the night if there was a chance she would soon be arrested? Could they bring her with them? Should they bring her to Julana? She would figure it out in the moment. Kira walked back into the kitchen. Luca was trying to get attention, while Iona made her jokes, as usual, except she seemed more on edge. Every so often she would glance out the window, making sure no one was there. After eating some food, Iona went to the living room. She motioned for them to follow. Luca came too, whining as Iona tried to push him out.

“Luca, go play upstairs. I want to talk to the weirdos now. I don’t even know most of their names.” Iona lightly pushed him forwards.

“No! I wanna talk to the weirdos too!” Luca complained. He tried to push himself back into the room, and became pouty when she resisted. Zay looked like she wanted to intervene, but she just held still.

“Come on Luca! I’ll talk to you later! Now please go play in the living room where I can see you..” Iona led him away. When Luca finally went to the other room, Iona spread herself across the two chairs again.

“Ok, guys. What are your names? Other than Ki-ra’s. I already know her name is Kira.” Iona broke her words down. Jade looked like she was trying not to laugh again.

“Jade. I know, not the best name, I didn’t choose it. I’m glad that someone else with a strong personality is finally here.” Jade grinned. Iona laughed and replied “Yeah they do seem a little bland. Just kidding guys, i’m messing with you.”  Then she turned to Zay.

“You?” Iona said. 

“Zay.” She mumbled. Iona rolled her eyes at Zay’s miserable tone before turning to Jay.

“And finally, the small one.” Iona nodded her head at Jay.

“Jay.” She grumbled. Iona’s eyes widened.

“Oh! Are you sisters? That’s cute!” Iona said in a playful voice. She then raised a hand, and slapped herself. They all looked at her funny but she didn’t even notice, if she did, she pretended not to. It was clearly Jay’s handiwork.

“Oh and when is this thing gonna happen?” she asked, pointing to Kira and Zay, “Or is it already a thing?” She raised her eyebrows suspiciously. Kira’s stomach twisted. Both Kira and Zay looked anywhere but at each other, and both shouted in unison, “No!”. 

Iona smirked. “Mhm. Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” Kira’s cheeks felt warm. She had a feeling that Iona was always like this. Just before Kira could say anything else, someone was pounding on the door. 

“Open up! A member in this house is a subject of arrest for using magic!” A voice bellowed. Kira jumped to her feet. Iona picked up her bag.

“Can I come with you?” She said, looking at her feet. Kira nodded.

“Sure. Do you want to bring Luca?” Kira said, looking out the window. There were guards everywhere. Surrounding the house. Iona nodded her head, and ran upstairs. Iona ran into Luca’s room, and cupped his face.

“Luca, we need to go. It’s not safe here. I am going to drop you off at mom’s work, okay? I love you. You need to remember that.” Without another word, she ran back downstairs holding the little boy's hand. 

“Ok, let’s go.” Iona put up her hood. Kira prepared herself. She took a deep breath, and burst out the door out into the open streets where the guards were waiting. They were going to escape. No matter how messy it needed to be. 

Kira put up a force field the second they stepped outside the house. There were less than ten guards. It didn’t take them long to recognize Kira. Every single soldier and guard in Irinals had been alerted about their group. Kira stepped forwards.

“Let us go, and no one has to get hurt.” Kira said calmly. It was the quickest debate she had ever won. Before Kira knew it, they were sprinting through the woods. Iona carried Luca, as he was too small to keep up. While the ship was close to the village, it was well hidden. No one made a sound as Zay flew as fast as she could to where Luca’s mom worked. Iona stepped outside for a brief moment.

“I don’t know when I will see you next. Tell mom and dad I love them. Goodbye Luca.” Iona turned away as Luca stood outside the building, as he was clearly very confused. A woman stepped outside, and led the little boy inside the building. Zay glanced at Iona, and slowly pulled them into the sky. It was a clear night, with almost no wind. Kira sat next to Iona.

“Are you ok?” Kira asked gently. Iona shrugged her off.

“Of course I’m fine, weirdo. Go back to flirting with your girlfriend.” Iona joked and brushed her cheek. Kira opened her mouth to argue, but stopped.

“You’re allowed to be upset. You just left your entire life behind to run off with four strangers.” Kira pointed out. Iona rolled her eyes.

“I know. Now do you have any real food? I’m starving!” She put her feet up on the top of an empty seat. Kira decided to drop it. She could tell that Iona really wasn’t in the mood to talk, which was understandable. Jade pointed towards the little food cabinet.

“In there. I think that there might be a few apples you can eat as a snack.” The second Jade pointed it out, Iona snatched a big red apple. As she began to eat, Kira pulled up a map. Four temples left. Including the fact that she had to return to the jungle temple. 

“Is anyone up to go to the sea temple next? It’s near the bottom of the ocean, and nowhere near any villages or cities. Considering that everywhere but Julana hates us, it sounds smart to go there.” Kira pointed to the little icon on the map. It was so annoying to have to use paper. No one could bring electronics, due to the risk of being tracked.

“Julana? That place still exists?” Iona paused. Zay waved her hand.

“Very long story. I’ll explain later. The sea temple sounds nice. Good luck getting there without exploding though. Where is it? We can start heading there right now.” Zay picked up the map. Jay folded her arms.

“I hate the beach. Can we at least take a vacation if we are going there.” Zay looked like she was about to ask why, when Iona interjected.

“I agree with the pipsqueak. We should take a break.” Iona elbowed herself in the gut, hard.

“Ow! I was agreeing with you!” She complained. Jay smiled, satisfied. Zay hesitated.

“Fine. We aren’t exactly close to any villages, but I guess we could land the ship there for a few days.” Zay sharply pulled right. Kira was almost thrown out of her seat.

“Couldn’t you turn around less harshly?” Kira sat upwards, clutching her stomach. Zay laughed.

“What’s the fun in that?” 

“Not nearly getting a concussion.” Jade mumbled from her chair. Zay blinked innocently.

“Oh. I see. You mean like this?” Zay yanked on the controls as hard as she could, making them do a flip. This time Kira was acutely thrown out of her chair.

“Unnecessary!” Kira clutched the armrests on her chair, trying to get her heart rate under control. Zay bit her lip to stop herself from laughing.

“Oops.” She said in her best innocent voice. Jay clawed her way over to her sister.

“I really don’t like you sometimes.” She growled. Zay lost it, and laughed so hard that she almost started crying. She had to put the sky ship into autopilot mode so they wouldn’t crash. It took her a good five minutes to calm down.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m stressed, and I needed that. It’s so funny to watch people with no stomachs do donuts in a ship. That was hilarious.” Zay took the sky ship off of autopilot and started flying again, occasionally still smirking. Kira stared out the window. She hoped that they wouldn’t almost be killed by people with machine guns again. It seemed that something went wrong every time they went to a temple. 

“Do you always come to decisions this quickly every time you want to go see an ancient temple?” Iona asked out of the blue. Kira thought for a moment.

“Pretty much.” She finally decided. Iona snorted.

“What have I gotten myself into?” She murmured. 

“Probably the craziest thing you will ever do your entire life.”

Supreme Master Comna nearly shrieked with fury.

“How did they find out about the tracker!? How do they keep escaping!?” She yelled with rage. Youn rolled her eyes.

“Sister, if you really want to get a hold of them that bad, go get them yourself.” Youn looked at her newly painted nails. Supreme Master Comna paused.

“That’s not a bad idea! I’ll just go round up the gravity breaker, knock her out, and lock her up myself. Any of the friends that decide to get in the way, I can just shoot on sight. Why didn’t I think of this before?” Supreme Master Comna sat down.

“You and me both, along with our elite team are going. Oh, and don’t worry about abilities. They will be dead soon.” Supreme Master Comna looked at the pencil on her desk. The pencil slowly rose into the air, and snapped itself in half. Youn laughed.

“Finally! Now that you're comfortable, I can do whatever I want.” Youn let a burst of flames erupt from her hands.

“Careful. We still are in a closely monitored office. Although it does feel nice, doesn’t it?” Supreme Master Comna watched as her chair began to slowly rise up, and into the air.

It stayed there for a second, spinning slowly. Youn smiled.

“I bet the One thousandth Gravity Breaker can’t wait to meet a second Gravity Breaker. Considering you are the only two alive.” Comna placed the chair down.

She couldn’t wait either. It was time that she steered her plan onto the perfect tracks, instead of letting it go off the rails. Comna glanced darkly at her surroundings. The one thousandth Gravity breaker was in for quite the surprise.

“I can’t wait.”

Kira woke up to the soft sound of the ship’s engine. When she sat up and looked out the window, nothing but sparkling deep blue water was around them. The ocean. It was gigantic. Kira had never been over the ocean like this before. It was beautiful. Waves danced along the dark blue horizon, sparkling in the sunlight and fading out into the light blue sky. Everyone else happened to be asleep. Kira carefully worked her way around to the little bathroom, where she took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. Next, she got some fruit to eat for breakfast. The sun was slowly creeping across the sky when the others began to wake up. It was very relaxing until-

“Where is Iona?” Kira looked at Iona’s chair. She was gone! Jade looked at the bathroom.

“The door is open. She can’t be using the bathroom.” Jade stood up. Panic began to rise in Kira’s system. Where could she have gone? Jay stretched.

“She’s right next to the food pantry concealing her laughter.” Jay said blankly, pointing to the corner next to where the food was kept.

“Damn it Jay! You had to destroy the early morning panic I worked so hard on creating.” Iona popped back into view. Jay smirked victoriously.

“Yep.” Even though Jay couldn’t see Iona, Kira got the feeling that she was enjoying listening to her fume. The two already seemed to have a budding rivalry. Zay was already grabbing the controls.

“Why don’t you just use autopilot?” Kira asked, watching Zay steering this way and that. Zay shrugged.

“I feel better when I am in control.” Zay carefully steered slightly to the right. Kira had no idea how long she could focus for.

“How old were you when you learned how to fly one of these?” She must have had a lot of experience, considering the other ships she shot down. Zay thought for a moment.

“I moved in with my two uncles when I was two. I started seeing my grandparents a lot when I was three. So probably three. I remember this cheesy little song that kind of sounds like the wheels on the bus. When we see the red button we press press press, press press press, press press press.” Zay pointed to the large red button near the middle.

“This starts the engine.” She explained. Kira tried her best to picture a three year old Zay flying a sky ship. She failed to picture that. Kira’s mother never let her near anything dangerous. She wouldn’t even let her use scissors unless she was watching while holding a first aid kit. Kira wished she knew how to fly a sky ship.

“How old were you when you could fly this alone?” There were so many switches and buttons it seemed impossible to figure it out. 

“Probably seven. Maybe eight.” Zay thought hard for a moment. Jade snorted.

“Someone has overprotective parents. I was allowed to hunt and run through the jungle alone as soon as I turned five.” Jade shook her head.

“Yeah, so I never got to do anything like that.” Iona interjected. 

“You and me both. I couldn’t leave the apartment alone until I was twelve.” Kira mumbled. Iona shot her a strange look.

“Well, I didn’t mean that. I meant that I never hunted, or flew jet planes,                                                                   or anything fun.” Iona glanced out the window at the ocean. No land could be spotted in any direction. It was scary and nice at the same time.

“So there is no one around, and no way for Supreme Master Comna to find us?” Kira double checked. She really wasn’t in the mood to be abducted. If only Kira had noticed the small blinking light coming from the corner of the sky ship. A backup tracking device. But no one did notice as they flew further and further across the ocean. Around midday, they finally began to fly over light blue water. A coral reef. Somewhere below, thousands of little fish were hiding between bits of coral, fleeing as the waves from the sky ship toppled over. Sea birds finally became visible. Black and white wings flashed against the horizon. Groups of birds flying together, towards distance nests on sea cliffs squawked at each other, with newly full bulging stomachs. It was a miracle that some sea birds were even still alive. It was a miracle that the coral was still alive. It was a miracle that anything could still be alive here after the global warming crisis, the wars, and all of the plastic that once destroyed the ocean. Yet somehow, they still managed to go on. It was inspiring how life always seemed to find a way to regenerate, even after chaos had once erupted through their homes. Zay frowned.

“Buckle up everyone. I have no practice whatsoever on how to land on sand.” Sure enough the sand banks were finally coming into view. They were almost at the entrance of the ocean temple.

Everyone screamed as the sky ship rocketed towards the sea cliffs. Kira held her breath. At the last second, Zay jerked upwards, sending them shooting back up into the sky. She took a second to catch her breath.

“Sorry everyone. Let me try again.” Zay said, gripping the controls so hard her knuckles had turned white. After about five attempts, she managed to land in a good chunk of dry sand. Kira stepped out into the light. She shielded her eyes. There was clearly heat radiating off of the sand, which didn’t help. Behind them, tall sea cliffs and caves stood stacked on top of each other, showing nothing but black rocks. Several colonies of birds were nesting at the top, cawing away. Kira looked around. The beach itself was empty. The waves just kept rolling in and out. Iona squinted.

“So where is this almighty temple, ‘cause I sure don’t see one.” She looked around. Jay rolled her eyes.

“It’s underwater, dummy.” Jay exclaimed. Iona didn’t skip a beat.

“Thanks, know it all.” Iona shot back. Jade stepped in between them.

“Ok, calm down. We just need to get Kira to the bottom of the ocean, then we can all move one. Kira?” Kira had begun to walk towards the water. There was something familiar about this place, something she just couldn’t put her finger on. The color of the sand, the sky, the sea cliffs, she had seen it all before. That’s when it hit Kira. The first temple! While she was inside, the ability leaders, this was the same beach! Infact, it might mean something. The first time there was this beach, then just ice… Kira stepped towards the salty water. She bent down and felt for energy. It takes a while to freeze salt water, but maybe she could. The second she reached out for energy, it hit Kira’s hands like firecrackers. Kira pulled back her hands admediatly. She stepped towards the others. Jay and Iona were still bickering, while Jade was trying to keep them apart. Meanwhile, Zay watched Kira.

“What did you learn?” Zay asked as Kira approached the group. Kira grinned.

“Hopefully how to open up some sort of tunnel. I know that I need to freeze the water, but I don’t know where the opening is. I need your help.” Kira glanced over Zay’s shoulder, where Iona and Jay were now having a full on shoving match. Zay glanced back at them. 

“I’m happy to help. Don’t worry, they will tire themselves out eventually.” Zay trotted towards the water. Salty sea wind sprayed her face. Her shiny black hair floated in the wind. Kira followed, blinking as sand blew into her eyes. The water was cold. The second Zay put a hand against the water, she jumped back.

“That is a lot of energy.” She murmured. Zay carefully waited until the waves came back, and placed her hand against the surface again. She squeezed her eyes shut. After a moment, Zay smiled.

“Found the opening. It’s a huge tunnel.” She pointed further out at the sea. There was a strange pattern in the waves, almost like they were trying to move around something. Kira took a few steps into the water. When it was about up to her knees, she found it. A large gap. Kira took a deep breath, and placed her hands in the water. The second that she connected with the energy, water froze into ice in every direction. Ice jetted through the water, until every space around Kira was frozen, except for the tunnel. Beneath her was a long, narrow, dark tunnel of ice  that stretched deep under the sand, and far past the coral. Kira looked back at Zay.

“No way. I am not going down there.” Kira stepped back. Zay shot her a look.

“I know that it looks super sketchy, but you have to if you want to be able to control storms.” Zay pointed at the tunnel. Kira thought for a moment.

“How about no?” She said innocently. 

“Kira…”

“Ok! Fine! But if I don’t come out it’s your fault.” Kira decided. Zay raised an eyebrow.

“My fault how?” She asked. 

“For making me go down there.” Kira claimed. Zay gestured at the hole.

“Fine, don’t go down there. Don’t ever get this ability. Let’s go fly somewhere else, right now.” Zay began to turn around.

“Wait!” Kira squeaked, “I’ll do it. Just please try to open it back up again if it closes.” Kira glanced down the dark tunnel again. Zay smiled.

“There we go. I will. Now go become more powerful, and I will see you soon.” Zay grinned. Kira smiled.

“Ok. See you soon.” With that, Kira looked up at the light sky one more time, and sat at the edge of the tunnel. Somewhere below was the temple, waiting for her. Kira glanced at Zay, who gave her one last reassuring smile before Kira slid into the ice.

“Ok. See you soon.” Kira whispered. Zay smiled, feeling like a piece of her went with Kira as she slid into the ice, and down the long, long tunnel. Zay sat down on the ice, wondering how deep the tunnel went. How big was the temple? What did it look like? Zay turned back around to see her sister, who was about two seconds away from a fist fight, grappling with Iona. Jade had given up at that point, and was watching them. Jade sat with her legs crossed, looking bored. Jade made her way over to Zay.

“Do you think they will always be like this?” She asked, trying not to look back. Zay laughed.

“Knowing my sister, probably. At least I’m not the one she is tackling this time.” Zay winced as Iona elbowed Jay in the gut, and Jay made Iona slap herself in the face. Jade rolled her eyes.

“Hopefully they will tire out soon.” Jade’s face suddenly went pale.

“What is that?” Jade jumped to her feet. Zay turned around. Zay cursed under her breath. Six battleships were flying towards them at high speeds. The ships open fired, and Zay and Jade ducked as bullets rained around their heads. The shooting stopped. Zay turned around. Jay and Iona were nowhere to be seen on the beach. Zay’s stomach fell to her feet. They must have ran under the cliffs. Where were the sky ships? Then she heard it. The sound of boots marching. Twenty soldiers, and two people were leading them. Supreme Master Comna, and, and, was that their special abilities teacher? What was she doing with Comna? Zay stomped on a part of the ice, and grabbed the water underneath. She stood, ready. To face the mini army. Jade took out her vine, ready to use it as soon as she needed to. Zay could tell as soon as Supreme Master Comna spoke, that she was smiling. 

“Hello children! So nice to see you again! Why don’t you do me a favor, and surrender right now, so I don’t have to shoot you. Does that sound ok?” Even though Supreme Master Comna’s mask altered the sound of her voice, you could tell that she was using the same tone someone might use with small children. 

“Why should we?” Jade yelled across the beach. She already looked full of rage. Supreme Master Comna laughed.

“Simply because I could kill you in all of two seconds, and I don’t want to kill two foolish children that cooperate. But of course if you can’t listen,” Supreme Master Comna raised her left hand, and all twenty soldiers lifted their machine guns. “There will be consequences.” Supreme Master Comna cooed. Zay dropped the water, and raised her arms.

“Do it.” She hissed at Jade.

“Are you serious?” She hisses back.

“Yes! Either we die right now, or have a chance to regroup and escape. Now do it!” Zay practically yelled. Jade hesitated.

“I’m getting impatient.” Supreme Master Comna called. Jade shot her a death glare as she dropped her vine, and slowly lifted her arms. Supreme Master Comna walked towards them. She definitely was smiling as she tied their hands together. Interesting enough, she didn’t use magninum. Supreme Master Comna dragged them across the beach. Zay didn’t bother fighting back. 

                                        *************************************

Jay and Iona sized each other up. There was no way that the two were going to let the other person take them down without a fight. Jade stood between them, trying to intervene.

“Creep!” 

“Dumbo!”

“Shorty!”

“Stupid!” Jay shouted. Iona narrowed her eyes. At least Jay thought that she did from the way the water in her eyelids moved.

“Alright let’s go. You and me, right now! And don’t use your creepy little abilities unless you’re not big enough to fight me yourself.” Iona challenged. Jay threw her arms out.

“That’s ok with me! I can’t wait to cream you with my bare fists!” Jay charged. Iona tried to gut her, but missed. Jay tried to punch Iona in the face, but Iona ducked quickly. Iona threw herself at Jay, and they both fell to the ground, still trying and failing to throw punches. Jade sighed, and stepped over them to go meet Zay on the other side of the beach. After the worst fight ever stretched on for five minutes, Iona paused.

“What’s that?” She asked suddenly.

“Haha, very funny. That won’t work on me you moron, I can’t even see your stupid face.” Jay said, still in fight mode.

“No, seriously! There is something in the sky, coming towards us really quickly!” Iona pushed away from Jay as fast as she could. Jay could hear the fear in her voice. 

“Ok, what is this danger? Is it-“ Jay started to ask in a bored voice. She stopped. Something whistled by her ears. Bullets. Bullets were raining from the sky. Iona grabbed her hand, and yanked Jay across the beach, her feet kicking up sand. Jay followed, desperately trying to keep up. Iona looked around. The only place to run was into the sea cliffs that had stalagmites so close together, they had to squeeze through the holes slowly. Finally, Iona stopped. 

“We should be safe here.” She gasped, sitting down.

“What about Zay and Jade?” Jay tried to move towards the beach again. Iona held her back.

“Can you sence them? Or at least their water? I will try to spot them if you can’t, but this seems a lot more safe.” Iona sat back down. Jay nodded. 

“I think so. Give me a second.” Jay placed her hands on the rocks, and searched for water. At first, she found nothing. Jay pushed harder. Harder. There they were!

“They’re alive! Standing up on a frozen ocean, what the? Why is the ocean frozen? Wait, someone is walking towards them. Twenty two someone’s. Comna!” Jay gasped. Iona tilted her head.

“You mean the Supreme Master Comna that is tracking everyone down?” Jay could tell that Iona was scared. Jay nodded.

“The very one. She’s doing something to their hands, I think tying them up. Now she’s dragging them across the beach, and leaving them at the edges of the cliffs.” Jay lowered her voice as she described them getting closer. Iona looked up.

“I’m going to turn invisible, and see what I can do. Stay here.” Iona stood up.

“Like I have an option!” Jay yelled after her. Iona shushed Jay. Jay folded her arms, and tracked Iona as she made her way through the cliffs. Iona paused near the entrance, then ran back as fast as she could. 

“Well miss heroic, did you learn anything new?” Jay said sassily. Iona rolled her eyes.

“No, I did not. You don’t have to be rude about it. Comna is guarding them too closely for now.” Iona sighed. Jay laughed.

“Bet you wish you didn’t come along now.” She joked lightly. Iona sat down next to Jay. 

“It’s a whole lot better than being in a prison somewhere.” She mumbled. Jay curled her legs into her chest.

“I know. That place was terrible. I hated it. When my ability was triggered, for all of two minutes I could feel people again, and make out their features. Then I was bound up. And it was like having my senses taken away by jerks all over again.” Jay sighed. Iona looked at her.

“All over again?” She asked. Jay nodded. 

“I only went blind about four years ago. I’m supposed to say it was an accident, but it was no accident. It is a dangerous world when your mother has natural abilities, and teaches watched, not caring as other students beat me up. Me and my sister. We were always closely monitored. I could see for a good chunk of my childhood. It’s a long story.” Before Iona could say anything else, a third voice in the darkness called out, making Jay and Iona jump in fear. 

“Ok. See you soon.” With that, Kira looked up at the light sky one more time, and sat at the edge of the tunnel. Somewhere below was the temple, waiting for her. Kira glanced at Zay, who gave her one last reassuring smile before Kira slid into the ice. At first Kira didn’t feel afraid. It was almost like going down a slide at a playground. Strange creatures were frozen around her, some of them with two eyes, some with five, some with none. Then she began to pick up speed. Kira fell faster, and faster. Soon she was free falling. Kira clawed at the ice walls around her. There was almost no light. She was falling deeper and deeper into the ocean, unable to see. Kira screamed as she kept plummeting towards the final destination, unsure how much further she would keep falling. Her fingers scratched against the sides of the tunnel. Kira pulled back her hands to see that they had turned bloody. Nothing but the sound of her screams and wind underneath her could be heard. She was alone in the dark, free falling, not sure when it would stop. Kira had never been more terrified in her life. She began to try to slow her heart beat. Finally, Kira hit the ground. Somehow she wasn’t hurt, as it was cushioned. The second that Kira sat up, the space around her began to glow. Jellyfish, she realized. Glowing Jellyfish were floating above the ice that surrounded Kira. She was in the equivalent of a medium sized room, made of ice. Kira looked around. In the center was a statue of another figure, holding a jellyfish. The jellyfish had a large pink gem embedded in the middle, and pulsed with light. Kira sighed as she reached out, and touched the gem. 

Kira sat up. She was in the middle of an open savanna. A pink figure stood in the tall yellow grass. Kira stood up, and brushed the grass off her pants. She stepped towards the figure.

“Alright, let’s get this over with. What is my new ability?” Kira stepped right next to the figure.

“Why are you so eager?” The asked in a deep voice. Kira folded her arms.

“Really? Maybe because I’m at the bottom of the ocean, gosh knows where while the people I’m traveling with are playing around above me. I also didn’t enjoy free falling for a good amount of time.” Kira felt like maybe she should have a bit more respect, but she really wasn’t in the mood. The figure laughed.

“You think that they are playing around? Silly young girl. But if you want to trigger your ability quickly, I won’t argue with you. You can create hurricanes. Do you have any quick questions before I give it to you?” They asked. Kira shook her head.

“Nope.” 

“Ok then.” The world began to spin. The sky filled with thunder and lightning, crashing down on the field. The lightning stuck Kira, hard. It seeped into her bones, climbing up her limbs. Kira screamed, and the world went dark again. Kira opened her eyes to find that she was rising. The ice in the tunnel slowly folded over, dragging Kira higher and higher up. Daylight became visible again. Finally, she broke through the surface. Kira sat up, holding her head in one hand. The beach was empty. Only the sky ship remained. What was happening? Kira took a step forward, and was hit on her leg. A paralyzing dart. She looked up with eyes full of shock. The last thing Kira saw was Supreme Master Comna tying her feet, and dragging Kira across the beach.

“Kira.” A voice whispered. Kira sat up, to see Zay and Jade sitting next to her, tied up. Kira blinked.

“Where are we? What happened?” She whispered. Jade and Zay gave each other a look.

“We are somewhere in the capital of Ungonalo. As you can guess, being transported.” Zay waved her hands around the little vessel they were in. That’s when Kira realized the Zay’s hands weren’t bound. Neither were hers. The three mops of rope on the ground of the vessel explained why. 

“Do you know where the ship is? And where are Iona and Jay?” Kira asked, feeling the walls. Zay wiped her eyes.

“I can only answer one of those questions. The sky ship is in the trash heaps. I don’t know what happened to Iona and Jay, although I’m almost sure they are still alive. Comna attacked, and they fled somewhere. Probably into the sea cliffs.” Zay whispered. Kira’s heart dropped.

“I’m so sorry. The good news is, I can break us out of this thing in a matter of two seconds. Get ready to run.” Kira pulled all of the energy around her from her gut, and reached out. All at once, she blasted the walls of the vessel with a deadly force field. The three jumped up, and took off running. Guards followed, knowing not to shoot. It looked like they might escape for a minute, but something strange happened. Kira’s force field faltered. It pulsed, then disappeared. For one gut wrenching second, they stood out in the open, surrounded by soldiers. 

“Run!” Jade screamed. Run they did. Kira heard someone shout to kill them. They ran past some sort of work space as bullets rained by, shattering glass. They ran inside the office, and jumped below a desk. Kira caught her breath. The sounds from the rest of the world seemed to stop. In almost slow motion, Kira spotted a large trash shoot right in front of them.

“What do we do?” Zay pleaded. She locked eyes with Kira. Voices were getting closer.

“You two are leaving. Go through the trash shoot, and fly the sky ship as far away as fast as you can. Go get Iona and Jay. I will distract them.” Kira pointed at the shut. Jade climbed in without hesitation. Zay stopped.

“Wait! I’m not leaving you!” Her gaze never left Kira’s eyes. Kira smiled sadly.

“It’s me they are after. They have orders to kill us, and I can’t die. You have to go before you get hurt. It’s the only way.” Kira fought back tears. Several tears rolled down Zay’s face.

“I’m going to come back for you. You will die free Kira. A long time from now. I- I-“ Zay stammered. Kira helped her into the trash shut. Memories she shared with Zay came flooding back all at once. The first moment they met, how Zay helped her through the fresh pain and loss. Kira wiped a tear off Zay’s face.

“See you soon Zay.” She whispered, and let go of Zay’s hand. Kira never broke eye contact until she could no longer see Zay drifting down the long, dark void. The door burst open. Kira stood. Bullets showered Kira. Impaling her chest, face, and arms. Bloody holes healed over, but the bullets didn’t stop. Kira once again fell to the floor, unconscious. 

                                                    ************************

Kira woke up again. This time, she was in magninum. Kira could already tell. But this time, Kira was in an actual chest of magninum. Only her head poked through. A single lock held it together. Kira was alone in a big, empty room, except for Supreme Master Comna herself.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” She stepped towards Kira. She began to tremble.

“What do you want from me?” She stammered. Supreme Master Comna laughed.

“You know what. I want you to help me make a better world. You and I aren’t very different, you know.” She spun around a key, a key to the chest in her fingers. Supreme Master Comna paused. 

“Join me Kira. I will guarantee the safety of your little friends, and give you a job full of honor. We will take out Irinals. The filthy rats that murdered my brother. We will take over the council next, then the world. You will be my right hand person. We will rule the world.” Supreme Master Comna spread her arms out wide.

“Never.” Kira spat. Supreme Master Comna stopped.

“That’s a shame. I’ll give you some time to think. How about a month without food or water?” Supreme Master Comna turned towards the door, and started to walk away. At first Kira let her, but then something caught her eye. A strand of curly black hair that had escaped the Supreme Master Comna’s mask. Kira gasped as she saw the puzzle pieces fall into place. She felt like she couldn’t breath. A strand of hair could mean nothing, but could it be?

“Mother?” Kira croaked.

Mother turned around, and burst out laughing, and ripped her mask off.

“Took you long enough to figure it out, darling Kiranous.” She cackled. Horror crept up Kira’s spine.

“But you’re a doctor! Your name is Jema!” She cried. Mother didn’t stop laughing.

“My name USED to be Jema. But you see I was appointed, and I decided to mix it up. Why would I keep a stupid name like that? Who would take me seriously? Why do you think I used to never let you leave the apartment alone? And why do you think you never came to my workplace? I have been a Supreme Master since before you were born, Kiranous.” Mother paused.

“Where do you think that you got the ability to Gravity break?” Kira, and the chest slowly levitated upwards into the air. Kira froze.

“But you passed the test!” She said, astonished. Mother’s face darkened.

“You just know about your aunt Kiranous. But see, I have three siblings. We all were adopted, and all happened to have special abilities. A rare coincidence. Youn, the oldest can control fire. Kiranous controls water. My brother, Heno, could control the earth. And I am the last Gravity Breaker before the one thousandth Gravity breaker. Kiranous was sent to the prisons. Heno was murdered. Youn stayed by my side.” Mother walked towards Kira again.

“Did you know it was me? From the start?” Kira felt like little daggers were poking her heart. Her face softened.

“I suspected. You see, when a Gravity Breaker gets their ability, they usually start out by doing something very small. Making an object tip over. Lifting something small, like a pencil. But you made a crater in the wall. So yes, I suspected it could be you. I wasn’t sure until I saw you in the market though.” Mother said thoughtfully. Kira narrowed her eyes.

“You mean when you stabbed me in the back. Literally.” 

“Yeah. That was the moment when I was sure.” Mother calmly answered, like Kira had just told her what she wanted for dinner. 

“Anyway, I have to go to work now. I’ll check on you in a few hours,” she said casually, “Oh, and I will be leaving this, since you won’t be able to use it.” Mother swung the Keys around, and placed them on the floor. Mother put her mask back on. She closed the door behind her. Fury, pain, betrayal, anger, and sadness swarmed through Kira’s veins. Mother was the evil Supreme Master Comna this whole time. Kira screamed in desperation. She kicked as hard as she could, but the magninum chest would not open. Kira began to sob. Mother had been with her this whole time. Though in the worst way possible. Kira thought about Jade, and Iona, and Jay. But she mostly thought about how Zay was waiting for her. Counting on her. Kira looked at the key. She reached for mental energy. A splitting headache burst through her mind. Kira nearly threw up in agony. Why did it hurt now when it didn’t hurt to Gravity Break at the prison? Kira cried out. But the key began to rise. It slowly floated towards the chest. Kira hyperventilated as it fit into the lock, and softy turned to the right. The magninum chest split apart, leaving Kira on the ground, more powerful and angry than ever. Kira’s head snapped up.

To be continued.

End of book one