Picture of Zoe by FallenMidnightAngel (she's amazing <3)

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Chapter 7 - Reunion of Light and Feather - Part I

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Athira peered out the window of the monorail as it sped through the city along its track, high above the ground.

The sun was slipping under the horizon, taking its glow with it. The city was responding, slowly but surely with lights that flickered into existence in windows and the lamps that lit the streets as lives continued on despite the coming night. The monorail continued on, softly rocking back and forth in relative silence.

Athira sank further back into the overly-plush seat and stared at the one in front of her. Talon would have flown circles around this thing.

Raph sat beside her. He’d changed out of his training gear before they left into jeans and a jacket striped with various shades of red. On the surface, he looked like any other guy. Normal, relaxed. But if she examined his face carefully, the almost-hidden lines told her that he wasn’t exactly the same Raph she’d left so many years ago.

His focus was with the document on the screen in front of him, generated from the bracelet on his wrist. He chewed his lip as he tapped away at the keyboard, another holographic combination of orange and yellow colour that she’d seen before in many forms of technology.

Athira glanced over, trying to catch of a glimpse of it. 

                 ‘...Indigo tracked Reader and the Owl to a warehouse on Yilith street via Shift's communicator which he had managed to attach to the Owl's person. The actions as follows...’

A report about the night Reader took her amulet and she’d accidentally reunited with Raph. She stopped reading and glared at the window again as if she could crack the glass with her gaze. 

Exactly when had she become so careless? Allowing herself to be not just followed, but tracked across the city and not even realise the fact. Did she rely on Talon that much to keep the stupid side of herself from showing itself in her decisions as well as the wrathful part? She was no longer sure. 

Alone for two days and already you've almost killed someone. I'm so proud.

Athira squeezed her eyes shut. Shut up. You don't understand me at all. I wasn't--

The voice lolled around the inside of her head, examining her thoughts, twisting around them to flick parts away. I think we both know that's not true. Why not keep the amulet off, hmm? Look what you’re capable of. 

Don't make me come in there. I swear--

Temper, temper, said the voice. 

Athira clenched her hands. I put you back where you belong not even a day ago. I can do it again.

And yet I'm already out. Isn’t it lovely?

It seemed content to have the last word, fading into the background once more and Athira wasn’t keen to reply before Talon was back at her side.

She’d never admitted it to herself for, but without Talon to soothe the wrathful part of herself, the side that wanted nothing but to watch the world of Thols and all its contents burn, she didn’t want to enter her mindscape, not even to track down Reader and end it all.

She wasn’t scared of the dark, nor the ghastly excuses for humans that walked the land. She was terrified of that thing inside her no one but Talon could control.

A wave of nausea rolled over her, sending a shudder down her spine and heating the runes on her arms for a split second.

Athira rubbed her arms. Another disturbance. Damn it Reader, can’t you at least wait until I get Talon back before you start this again?

She caught her foot tapping against the carpeted floor and resisted the urge to slap herself. She placed her foot flat on the floor and tilted her head back. Being agitated isn’t going to help anyone.

She exhaled slowly and sank into the seat, forcing calm to overwhelm the rest of her senses as she settled into the rhythm of her familiar words.

Azarin, he, who comes through night. Zark’n, he, who guides the light. Laris, she, who holds the gem...

The words quickly lulled her into a state of bliss, bringing to that point where she teetered off the cliff of reality and her mindscape called below. She rocked back and forth, tempting fate.

A sudden movement from Raph snapped her out of the trance. Her vision shifted from the cliff to the back of the chair before her.

Too deep. That was too deep. Not here.

Raph seemed unaware of what his action had caused, still chewing on his lip as if he meant to detach it. He glanced at her, and seeing her staring at him offered her a smile. She returned it quickly and went back to the safest option - looking out the window.

She spent the rest of the ride repeating her mantra mentally, focusing on keeping herself as locked up as she could manage without slipping past reality’s bounds.

Can’t trust myself.

When they finally stepped off the monorail with another hundred or so people, Raph took her hand and steered her expertly through the crowds. People would glance at him, annoyed for a moment before recognition lit their faces. After that, they gave him room to move easily, though Athira suspected it had nothing to do with the ‘excuse me’s and ‘pardon us’ Raph was throwing out carelessly.

Athira wanted nothing more than to disappear into her cape and fly to the rooftops to be alone with the night.

They went past the general terminal area the masses seemed to gravitate to, heading instead for a set of metal double doors guarded by at least five different colours, identified by the stripes on their suits. Athira knew where they were, she’d seen the size of the building as they approached.

It’s the official entrance to Elite HQ. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Intruding, or visiting to retrieve something that belonged to her. She wasn’t sure what the difference was between the options.

The yellow guard met Raph as he approached. “State your name and present your ID, please.”

“Raphael Dukehart, leader of team Indigo based in Sirah,” said Raph as he presented his bracelet. The guard produced some kind of gadget that gave a loud ‘beep’ and nodded, before turning to Athira.

She glanced at Raph, who took over. “This is my guest. She should be in the system under ‘Athira’ related to the Starpoint tower Reader incident report I filed earlier. We’re here to retrieve her belongings, taken as evidence by Discord.”

The guard spent a minute presumably finding the report Raph had mentioned before nodding his head again. “She’s clear. You’re good to pass.”

The doors opened swiftly, revealing an empty looking corridor that led straight into the heart of a massive building Athira knew was the Elite HQ. Raph gave his thanks and passed through, Athira following close behind.

Yep. Definitely intruding.

“It’s the worst job, guard duty,” said Raph once they were out of earshot. “I’m so glad I didn’t apply for internal duties when I joined the Colours.”

“I’m sure there are worse things,” said Athira. “Like putting up with that Elite who took my amulet.”

Raph smirked. “Even with that aspect, I still think my job on a team is more fulfilling than guard duty.”

Athira looked at him. “You have to put up with him? Why?”

“Because that’s Discord, and he’s our team’s supervising Elite,” said Raph. They rounded a corner, Raph using his bracelet to open a glass door and move into yet another corridor. “Every team has one. They’re responsible for approving new members and ensuring the old ones aren’t getting lazy.”

Athira shook her head. “You poor, poor bastards.”

“It’s not the best part about the job, that’s for sure.”

The last corner took them into a larger hall, the most noticeable thing about which was that there were people occupying the space.

Offices lined the walls, huge frosted glass windows taking up much of the space. The doors were marked by name, that person’s colour and whatever position they fulfilled. Athira walked by them, noting the structured environment through one of the office’s open door. The occupant sat straight-backed, bags under their eyes but typing dutifully away at the keyboard.

She shook her head. How can anyone live like that?

They reached the end of the hall, at which point the entire space opened up into what seemed to be the heart of the building.

The inner part of the building took her by surprise. Where the floor should have been in the centre, a glass railing was the only thing between her and a huge gap that hollowed the building from the ground floor to the roof. Each level was visible from where she stood, including the fountain decorated with coloured lights at the bottom and letters she couldn’t read from this angle.

Athira moved to the edge, confirming her suspicion that the gap wasn’t entirely empty.

Silver poles ran from ceiling to floor, just within reach of the balcony. They curved close to the floor she stood on and as far as she could tell, ran from ceiling to floor. As she watched, a few people attached themselves to the poles with various colour and pulled themselves up or down, switching floors rapidly as they went about their work.

“Welcome to Elite HQ,” said Raph. He leaned over the edge of the railing. “It’s pretty damn huge.”

Athira watched some blue colour zip to the floor above them. “I’m sure my building shaking ability could bring it down fairly easily,” she said dryly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. It’s built to resist just about any attack a colour villain can throw at it, with extra security just to make sure.”

Athira rested her chin on the railing and sighed. “Obviously hasn’t met me yet. I’d give it thirty seconds before it crumbles.”

“You okay?” asked Raph, tilting his head.

She closed her eyes. “I just want Tal-- my amulet back.”

Raph clucked his tongue. “Athira, I--“

“Raph! Raphael!”

Athira and Raph glanced up at the newcomer’s voice in unison.

It belonged to a taller man with dark hair, dressed in the suit she’d come to recognise as what was essentially the Colour uniform. This one was blue-streaked, and she assumed from the tears in the upper torso area that it’d seen combat recently.

“Jayce!” Raph took the man’s outstretched hand. “The hell happened to you?”

Jayce shook his head. “Still not sure, to tell you the truth. We got an alert near the docks and answered it, but when we got there...” He paused, trying to find the words. “I don’t know. It wasn’t a villain, per say, more some kind of monster. There were three of them, and we couldn’t do anything against them.”

Raph looked stunned. “Nothing? Not even your runes?”

“Anything we threw at them, they simply absorbed or stopped dead. My runes barely had an effect -- the twins, Chloe and Beth couldn’t find their minds to assault them, and the rest of the team was just trying to stay alive.” His voice went quiet. “Will’s in the hospital here at the moment. They hit him with something, and we couldn’t wake him up. It’s like he’s sleeping. There’s some yellows working on him now, but...”

The rest of the sentence was apparent without speaking.

Raph ran a hand through his hair. “Jayce, I’m so sorry.”

“Just you watch your team if you come across them,” said Jayce. “Talia’s earth might work against them, but don’t let anyone get hit, you understand me?”

Raph nodded, but remained silent. Jayce’s eyes shifted from him and on to Athira, still leaning against the railing.

“And who might you be, miss?” asked Jayce.

Athira gave him a glance. Raph filled the lull in conversation. “This is Athira. She’s the one that helped us fight off Reader and the Owl the other night at the warehouse.”

Jayce nodded. “Ah, you’re the one who saved Shift’s behind from what I read. My name’s Jayce, as you probably picked up on. Leader of the Amber team in Sirah’s northern quadrant.” He offered her a hand, which she reluctantly shook.

“Pleasure,” she said.

Jayce smiled and turned back to Raph, dropping his voice to a mock-whisper. “If she’s joining your team, I’d say you’ve done pretty damn well to find a purple capable of getting Shift out of a falling building. What’s she do?”

Raph smirked. “We’re still figuring that out.”

“Damn. If it’s something good, I might have to steal her for myself.”

“I think you’ll find convincing her to stay to be infinitely more challenging.”

Jayce laughed. “We’ll fight over her later, eh?” His eyes lost their spark. “I’ve got some paperwork I need to finish filing, I’ll talk to you later Raph.”

He started walking off. Raph called after him. “Which wing is Will in at the hospital?”

“Casualties, red area!”

Raph nodded to himself, processing something in his mind before snapping back. “Okay. Retrievals is two floors up, if I remember correctly. We’ll take the poles.”

He started walking to the place where the silver poles curved close to the edge when Athira stopped him. “You sure it’s a good idea?”

“What, scared? Just hold the pole and levitate up,” said Raph. “People don’t pay that much attention, you’ll be fine.”

Athira shrugged. She was more concerned with Raph’s position if he was caught with her rather than her own prospects of evading capture. “If you say so.”

Raph summoned his colour and morphed it into some kind of device with a loop and a handle. He attached it to the pole and shot up, out of sight.

Athira slipped through the gate, took the pole and lifted herself through the air. She felt ridiculous, but supposed it was necessary to maintain the illusion.

Raph was waiting for her a few floors up.

Athira let herself float to the floor, feet once again flexing against the ground. She glanced back at the pole. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

Raph shrugged and headed for a corridor marked ‘Evidence Retrieval’. “It’s sort of the point. It’s efficient, but also a chance to show-off, I guess. The office guys need some excitement in their day.”

For those lucky enough to be able to utilise the poles anyway, she thought, but remained silent.  She’d seen several people take an elevator nestled off in the side while their colleagues catapulted themselves.

Raph seemed oblivious to the fact as he clicked his tongue, sticking his head around various corners. He brought up a map on his bracelet. “Damn it, I know it’s around here somewhere. I always get lost somewhere around that right hand turn, too many damned hallways.”

But Athira’s skin was tingling. Talon was calling to her.

“Athira!”

She took a left, sweeping around the corner and hastening her steps. Talon’s call took her through yet another frosted glass door that opened easily to her colour and into a large rectangular office two-thirds of the way down the hall.

Raph caught up behind her. “Athira! Where the hell...“ He looked around. “Oh. You found it. Good work.”

An older man with wispy strips of grey hair outlining his face glanced up at them over his glasses.

“And who is it that comes barging into my office unannounced?” he asked.

Raph walked up to the desk and presented his bracelet. “Raphael Dukehart, leader of team Indigo--“

The man waved him away mid introduction. “Yes yes, I’m sure the guards at the door accept that nonsense but here, we do things the correct way.” He swivelled in his chair, turning to face an older holographic model of screen. “Now, Dukehart you said.”

Athira ground her teeth as it took the man nearly six minutes to locate Raph’s credentials on the outdated system. Talon was nearby, and she wanted him back. Now.

It took another five after that for the fossil at the desk to ask what they were here to pick up, at which point he left the desk and disappeared into the back room along with any patience Athira had left.

She clenched her fists, and the hula-doll on the desk wobbled.

Raph sensed her frustration, giving her a nervous glance. “Athira, if you want to wait outside--“

“I’ve waited long enough,” she said sharply. “I want my amulet.”

With that, she levitated herself through the gap before Raph could stop her. She landed easily on the other side of the wall, and headed for the door the man had disappeared through. She flung the door open, listening to that inner sense telling her where Talon was located.

Left.

She followed the corridor and reached a door. Voices came from the other side, and with them, the source of the call resonating through her being.

Athira burst through the door, surprising the clerk that’d attended them and his two friends. He was leaning against the desk, a hot, half-drunk coffee clutched in his hand.

 Any guilt she had at invading their office faded. He’s being a deliberate pain in the ass.

He recovered from his shock quickly and tried to usher her out. “Miss, I must insist that you leave immediately! You are not allowed inside these premises!”

Athira held her ground. “I thought you might have fallen and broken a hip or something. You were taking ever so long,” she said sweetly.

Her eyes scanned the room and fell on a simple black box.

There.

“I applaud your concern, but really--“

Athira focused her attention on the shelves against the back wall of the room. That’ll work. She surrounded the middle one in black colour and without further hesitation, sent it flying across the room.

All three clerks leapt out of their skins at the noise, spilling their damned coffees across the floor. Athira took their moment of distraction and opened Talon’s box with her colour, pulling the amulet from inside. It flew the short distance between them quickly and slipped into her hand.

Relief crashed down on her as she sensed Talon’s familiar presence still safe within it. The clerks were recovering, debating over how the shelf had suddenly collapsed.

Athira opened the door with her free hand.  “But you’re right, I definitely shouldn’t be here,” she said, stepping across the threshold. “I’ll be going now.”

She didn’t wait to see if they watched her leave and shut the door firmly behind her. She pulled the amulet in front of her face, fingers tracing the raven design imprinted on to the silver metal. The metal was cold, so she fed it enough colour until it warmed beneath her fingers.

Long time no speak, came Talon’s voice. The hell happened? You have any idea what kind of colours have been thrown at me in here over the last few days?

Athira held the amulet to her lips, savouring the security of his voice around her thoughts. I’m so sorry, Talon. Never again. I knew I needed you before, but I never realised exactly how much.

She felt him sift through her memories. Ah. It’s worse than we’d ever suspected. It’s been hiding well.

It’s out again. We’ll have to shut it down.

I can-- began Talon.

No, thought Athira. I’m coming with you. It’s been too long since we did a full reset, and we need to locate these disturbances before they get any worse.

As you wish. Let me know when you’re ready to begin, I’ll start preparing.

Athira found herself back in the initial office, Raph’s files still up on the monitor. She dismissed them with a quick flick of her colour, just in case, and levitated herself back out to the public waiting area through the gap once more.

She glanced around, not finding any sign of Raph. She was about to check the hallway outside when his hand appeared on her shoulder, scaring the hell out of her.

“Where did you go?” he hissed. “What was that noise?”

“I got my amulet back,” she said calmly. “Distractions work rather nicely.”

Raph huffed. “You can’t do that! Do you have any idea--“

“I just did.”

He looked at her, dumbfounded for a moment before throwing his hands in the air. “Of course you did. Why even bother? You’ll just do it anyway!” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Too late now, I guess. Either way, it’s done and we have an hour or so to kill before the Elites are ready to let Zoe come back.”

Athira wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that, so she stood and waited for his next instruction.

Raph shook his head sadly, laughing softly as he led her back towards the silver poles that dropped into the belly of the building.

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A/N - Chapter was getting rather long so I'm breaking it up into two parts, yay! 

Word count: 21,736.