"Why the fuck do I need to go with him?" Lynx scowled.

As if I'm dying to go with you

Xen thought chewing his inner lip but did not say anything. Not like he had a say in this anyways.

The sun rays had just started sipping through the canopy above. They were standing on the clearing, gearing up for their final task there - collecting 13 mines and getting out of there within the next 30 hours.

Rayo was checking Derek's gears and bags as others were checking their partner's one. She had no interest in indulging in his obnoxious whining as they waste more of their time away.

"I don't get it. Why must I go with him? Why can't he go with Jennifer or you or Liam for that matter?" Lynx thumped his feet and pointed at Xen like a five year old complaining about wearing a clothe he did not like.

"Because you're both slowing us down," Rayo said without even looking. "We couldn't proceed much yesterday thanks to the collateral damage you two did on each other the previous day and now here we are with not even half the work done while the countdown is nearing zero with each moment you are spending here whining about it. If you're gonna cripple us down anyway, might as well pair up with your best mate," she said standing up and leveling her eyes with Lynx. There was no spec of any regret of the words that she daggered just now. He did not expect her to be that blatant about it. Then again it was Rayo, so he was not surprised much. He just folded his arms and cursed under his breath.

Rayo exhaled and turned to the rest of the mass, "Alright! Are we clear with the details? I'll run through it one last time. Liam and Claire will be collecting the three mines in the South-East. Derek and I will collect the two on the North- East. Lynx and Xen will be handling the two on the Northwest. And Jennifer will be covering the six by the South-East Fluss stream. We will be meeting at the next clearing within the next six hours. Is that clear?" Rayo asked, the tone of a Corporal exhuming from her features.

" Sir, Yes Sir,!" the Nix replied in unison like soldiers before going into battles.

"Remember, these are actual mines we are dealing with here. Actual, live mines waiting to explode at the slightest tip of its pressure. These are not fake simulations or drills. Don't. Even think about separating away from your assigned Nix. And definitely don't run around aimlessly. Your one wrong step can be the last you take with your legs," Liam corresponded, his playful aura replaced with that of a commando.

"Any questions?"

-

"Now let's go there and get 'em all. Godspeed!" Liam said punching in the air.

With that, they sat out on their separate paths. Lynx obliged, grunting. He had no say in the decisions when they were being Corporals and not his best friends.

Jennifer smirked to herself and headed on her way. It took her almost an hour to reach near the Fluss stream. The stream was strong and lively from the monsoon torrents of the season. It was flowing brim to brim which curved a plaster on her face.

Jennifer had the lengthiest job in the squad. But she had never been so happy.

It is my ground indeed

She could feel every inch of her body tingle with excitement as each step took her near the stream. In fact, with each passing moment, her euphoria kept amplifying at a menacing speed. She let out a burst of heartfelt laughter as her head felt light with happiness. It had been a long time since she got to do this. Her eyes glistened at the sight of her core, flowing in front of her with so much life. Like life itself was flowing in her veins.

Water

Flowing.
Live.
Water.

Jennifer sat on her knees and dipped her hand in the stream. The water gently kept swaying around her finger, twirling as she moved it. She sculptured a goldfish out of the water and rubbed its nubbing nose. Her grin grew into a wide smile. Her whole life before the moment seemed meaningless. Like there was no world beyond this flowing glittery stream and her whole existence beyond this was a lie. Like it was just her and this stream against the world.

She felt invincible.

Jennifer could not even fathom how brilliant Rayo must feel being surrounded by her core all the time, feeling so rejuvenated and wild. Like nothing in the world could take her down. And yet roam around with the face of a goth while she was only allowed to embrace this heavenly feeling only when the Oracle would deem her worthy. Her iris grew dark. She hated Rayo with her whole being. She hated how Rayo got to shout out orders at others like she owned them. How she always got to be around Liam and still act like he was not there. She hated how she was only hydrokinetic but Rayo could manipulate it all and how mighty she acted on it. Like the mortal needs and desires were beneath her.

That bitch

She snapped out of her trance as a twig cracked behind her. She turned at the source of the sound with venomous eyes. It was a hare sitting on the twig, nibbling away on some wild leaves. Jennifer's eyes flared up. She imagined what a fitting punishment it would be if she could drown the hare in its own blood. That seemed like the only suitable punishment for snapping her out of her Nirvana.

She did not realize how long she had been doing exactly that till the hare winced and squeaked in pain. Blood came gushing out of its nose which made her realize she was leaving behind traces of incompetence. She removed her gaze and the hare ran away almost instantly.

Jennifer exhaled sharply. She did not have time for dealing with such pesky things. She had far greater stuff to accomplish.

Fulfilling that bitch's order for one

She gritted her teeth as the floating goldfish splattered mid-air. But a malicious grin soon ripped her face.

Not for long though

He promised it was not for long. Soon she would have what Rayo has. She would get to sit where Rayo sits and see the world from above all. Sure he mentioned one of the cargoes was going to be a feisty one but little did she expect him to be that much of a block. She would have choked Xen on his own spit and killed him then and there for dragging her into this mess if he was not such a precious cargo to her master.

But hey! What's pain without gain!

Their use was running out pretty fast. Soon she would get to dispose them off anyways. So she focused on what was at hand. That was getting out of there. No matter how much she hated it, she had to admit Rayo optimized the situation well. While Derek would not be able to traverse fast due to his knee and Lynx and Xen were too banged up to carry anything more than themselves, Liam and she were the best options for finding and neutralizing most of the mines, especially her since all the six mines were under the waterbed. And there was no way of pulling all those out, neutralizing them and going back within the remaining time without using her chi. Putting a civilian with her would have been a drudgery. And if she had to get out of here, she had to play by her rules. She smirked to herself. At least due to that, she was getting to unleash her chi in full swing. The high she felt was way more to make her feel low.

She breathed in and out to focus. Her core element was water and to manipulate that her mind needed to be in sync with her body. Using chi for petty stuff like dragging or plunging things was no big deal for her but what she was about to do now was on a whole different level. Especially since she was doing it after so long.

I can't repeat the last time

Jennifer closed her eyes and breathed in slowly. She paid attention to the water gently flowing down the rocks. She tuned in with the babbles and ripples of the water like there was no existence beyond it on the planet. Her burgundy hair gradually started wearing a shade of purple as a bluish hue glowed from around her, giving her a celestial aura. Slowly and gradually she could see the mines. She could feel them swaying underwater from the chains that anchored them.

4 on my right
2 on my left

Depth?...50 feet

Here goes nothing

Jennifer flipped her eyes open, her orbs wearing a brilliant shade of blue. She turbulated the water in one swift motion of her left hand causing the mines to unlatch all at once and in another swift motion pulled down columns of water on each. Water clashed with fire as the explosions went on in chain and steam hauled out above the surface immediately like some volcano had been just summoned. She clenched her teeth and kept reinforcing the water columns on the mines which were still exhuming heat and flames. One moment of change in the water pressure could blow the whole forest up.

Finally, the heat died out as bulks of steams kept getting smaller and smaller. She kept the water reinforced till they were nothing but some scraps of metal left by some madman during the war.

The glow in her eyes disappeared and Jennifer fell to the ground, panting. She was all worn out and covered in sweat, satisfaction plastered on her face. That was the biggest gig she had pulled out after the last incident.

He has got to admit now that I'm up for it. After all, I'm a major now.

Jennifer smirked and got up. She pulled the metal scrapes from the water using her chi as proof that the mines were neutralized. She turned and was about to head on her way when she looked at her watch and back at the stream.

There were at least four more hours before she needed to be on their meeting spot. She saw no point in heading back so early when it would take her only one hour to reach there. Especially when she did not know when she would be able to be this close to her essence next. She put the metals on the ground and plunged her legs in the water.

Jennifer splashed the water around and twirled and turned. It felt so good on her skin. Like it was washing her sins away and she was being birthed anew.

Innocent and atoned.

She closed her eyes and stretched her arms in the water. She could see them. She could see them all. The tiny planktons roaming around her feet, the fishes swimming far far away, away from the chaos of the forest, the roots stretching out into the stream to nourish its branches with life.

She focused farther. Farther away. She saw water sipping through the soil, dabbing each time as Lynx and Xen stepped up on the surface, sweats dripping from their bodies, with biome unique only to them. Derek was sitting on a rock while Rayo was saying something, her hair drenched on the sweat of her neck. Jennifer dived further into her realm. She could see it all. As long as there was even a drop of water, she could. See. It. All.

Jennifer started laughing. Laughing till her lungs hurt. She felt Omniscient. The one above all. The one who saw it all. She could not even start to comprehend the things she could do once she had Rayo's chi.

But suddenly a vile stench hit her and she saw it. A sight she recognized almost instantly. She quickly rose from the water and sprinted with the scrapes.

This should not be happening!

Surprised much? ( ͡°ᴥ ͡° ʋ) Anyhow, truths will be spilled and sides shall be flipped as the story unravels the string of destiny that bound them but for now I shall drop down one fact since I got asked a lot about it. That is what this 'chi' thingy is.

Its literal meaning is 'energy' in Chinese, more specifically, the energy that flows through nature and amidst its beings. More facts will surface as the story flows.

For now, grab some popcorn and hold on to your seats as the upcoming chapters take you on a wild ride. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧❤️

Don't be shy. You're always welcome to send your thoughts and wild guesses
( ꈍᴗꈍ)