“Da fuck we miss?! What dis bitch do to piss Mags off dis bad?!”
Stefani only shakes her head in response. “This is what he calls being in trouble?”
Maggie delivers a final smash, sending Raynelle into the ground with so much force she bounced. Falling to the ground, crouching to cushion the impact, Maggie delivers a particularly filthy look to the mangled mass that was now questionable if it could be considered human. What no one would know outside of the best friend duo is that the first hit was enough to cripple Raynelle for life, ending the fight. It was only thanks to Anaar’s constant healing that Maggie was able to properly vent her frustrations.
Thoroughly sated, Maggie turns back to the new arrivals who had been joined by Anaar at this point. Beaming with excitement, she runs toward them with open arms. Relieved to see she was unharmed, Dan opened his arms to receive her, only to have them bypassed as she grasped Stefani and hugged her tightly.
“Stef! You made it! I knew you had it in you girl! I’m so happy to see you! You are going to have to tell me everything about how it has been going!”
Anaar snickers at Dan who was still standing with his arms outstretched, which causes Dan to punch him in the arm in response, only to pull back his fist, shaking his hand in pain. The two women giggled and smiled happily between them, as a less than impressed response team looked on at the exchange.
“They are just going to have a jolly good time over there like she didn’t just beat the piss and shit out of this girl?”
The woman tending to her seemed much less sympathetic. “You haven’t been following her? She has been making a mess of people left and right. I’d say she had it coming.”
The man looked at the seemingly heartless woman in disbelief as she continued prepping for Raynelle’s transport. Dan was still feeling quite left out when Stefani suddenly noticed what was leaning against Maggie’s leg.
“Maggie! Did you seriously bring that thing over here as if you didn’t just use it as a meat tenderizer?!”
Maggie looks down at the hammer, picking up and examining it. “What? I used it for its intended purpose…”
Stefani looks at the hammer in disgust as Maggie stows it on her back. Together the four of them, happy to be reunited, agreed to follow Anaar without ever speaking it. With the gang fully assembled, they became more raucous than they had ever been, laughing and joking with the confidence that they could take on the entire world.
After the high of simply knowing all of them were not only still in the running, but gathered together dying down, Stefani and Dan fell back to whisper to one another.
“Is you gone ask ‘em?”
“Me?! Why should I be the one to ask them?!”
“Cause you a girl. They less likely to whoop off in yo ass.”
“They are our friends! Why would that even been an option?!”
“I mean, you done seen how Anaar been actin’ recent, and Mags stay beatin’ my ass, so I’m too scared to ask.”
Stefani wanted to give a retort, but sadly she knew Dan was right. If there was any likelihood of retaliation, Dan would most likely be the target. Going through a cycle of deep breaths, Stefani put on her sweetest voice and finally asked what she and Dan had been wondering for a while.
“So… Anyone want to explain what happened back there?”
Maggie responds with a huff, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“What she means is, because her guard was lowered, she was about to get eliminated.”
Maggie fumes behind Anaar. “No I wasn’t! I was just figuring out how to best deal with my situation. I would have been fine!”
Stefani watches the exchange with a nervous chuckle then presses on. “I understood that part, especially with Anaar suddenly dashing off to rescue you. What I was more wondering about was the strange looking portals? I’ve never seen any like that.”
Anaar stops, turning to face her. “That’s what you were talking about?! Oh that’s simple. That was me.”
Stefani gives another awkward chuckle as she notices Dan motioning for her to continue. “Right, and I guess that’s great, but last I checked, Fire Affinities didn’t have the ability to use portals.”
Anaar scurries over to Stefani, stars in his eyes with excitement. Taking her hands in his, he gives her a broad toothy smile. “Want to know a secret?”
“Umm… Sure…”
“I made it up! I call them coronas. I figured I had the right to name them since I’ve done all the digging possible and can find no record of a Fire attuned portal.”
“I see… Well if this is something that the world has never seen, it would essentially mean you have a unique manifestation now too! Aren’t we the odd bunch? Since all portals have their own unique traits, what makes these coronas different? They seemed to work like the windows to me.”
Anaar trembles with glee, completely ignoring the dirty looks from Maggie and Dan. “Excellent question! You get special marks for remembering the differences in them, and noticing! To be honest, you are mostly correct. They work almost completely the same as windows. They have no specific medium required for their use, and they are direct connections in space.”
“So they are the same then?”
“Not quite. I find coronas tend to be more power intensive to use, but they can be opened much wider too. Also, there is the fact that they operate much like a heavily restricted version of Maggie’s powers.”
Finally Dan decided to enter the conversation upon hearing it directly relate to Maggie. “How you mean?”
“Maggie’s powers essentially have an infinite number of applications, as they can be applied to any matter or phenomenon with the right training. One of the most glaring drawbacks of coronas in comparison is that whatever is being amplified must pass through it. You can see how that immediately causes problems. It is completely sensible though considering that is not even close to its primary function. Quite honestly I think it could be overloaded with utility. No other portals have a direct secondary effect outside of its transportation.”
“Anaar having an ability that is completely overpowered… Who would have ever thought…”
Anaar cuts his eyes over to the mocking Maggie, then continues. “That’s about it though. No big deal.”
“Damn dude. Now you and Phavian is really meant for each other. Now both y’all have a secondary manifestation.”
Stefani nods in agreement. “That is so cool! As if you didn’t already have enough going for you! I can’t believe I am so close with not one, but two Transporters! Sophia is going to be so mad when I tell her you have what is basically an upgraded version of her powers!”
Anaar scratches his face with a nervous chuckle. “Stefani are you trying to get me killed?”
Everyone laughs, when suddenly Maggie gasps, running over to swat Anaar on the arm numerous times. “What did you do?! What is wrong with you burning down half of the forest?!”
Anaar gives an affected look of shock to Maggie. “Why do you assume it was me?! You know there is another Pyrokinetic in the class!”
“Yeah! And she couldn’t hold a candle to you! She is quite literally a candle next to you! A candle isn’t going to burn down massive swaths of forest! A flamethrower would! Also, there was absolutely nothing left! Natural fire isn’t that hot! I don’t see it being possible for that much vegetation to be completely wiped out so quickly! What were you doing?!”
Anaar sighs as would a child who got caught breaking an expensive vase. “It was technically an accident. The ball of fire was intended to kill JaMarkus.”
“What?! How did you think that was an acceptable response?! How are you not expelled?!”
“I didn’t kill him! That is what I am trying to tell you! I diverted at the last second, but then it kinda burned down the forest.”
“It didn’t just burn down the forest! You left a giant bubbling vat of lava! Who is going to clean that up?!”
“Oh damn… You saw that too?”
&nbs
p; Stefani and Dan had been watching the exchange, not anything atypical, if the topic was disregarded. They looked at one another with questions in their eyes once again, Dan giving the signal to Stefani for her to ask.
“I’m confused. Again… What does Maggie mean by a flamethrower, or you burning down the forest?”
Maggie looks at Anaar, clearly peeved. “You didn’t tell them?!”
“I haven’t told anyone! Well that isn’t technically true, but you know what I mean.”
“Tell us what?”
“He’s a True Fire Quintessence!”
The news was such a heavy blow even Dan recognized the significance of the information. The two of them stood in a state of confusion for a few moments until Dan burst out into a fit of laughter.
“Is dat why you kicked off in Scrotes’ ass so good?! To show him who da better True Quintessence is?”
Anaar’s head snaps to Dan’s direction, impressed. “Actually, yes. He kept making a big stink about me wanting to be something that I have already been for a long time. Maybe now he will just leave me alone.”
Maggie’s expression somehow managed to be completely bland, yet incredulous at the same time. “That… That is the thing you could pick up on immediately. Normally it would have taken an hour to explain something much simpler to you…”
Dan either did not recognize the jab, or did not care as he continued on without a second thought. “Oh shit! Hold up! Dat big ass burnt spot was you?! You tryin’ to tell me people ain’t dead?!”
“Yes! I can confirm no one is dead!”
Stefani had finally gotten over her shock, and had a slight sense of betrayal. “All this time… You have been a True Quintessence?”
“Yes.”
“How do you hide something like that so well?! How do you hide it for so long?! Are we really not worth the trust?!”
Anaar walks up to Stefani, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “Do you have any reason to believe our relationship would have been any different if you had the information?”
Stefani thinks about it for a moment, then shakes her head. “No, I guess not. I don’t know, it just feels like you tell Maggie everything and leave us in the dark.”
“If it makes you feel any better, he didn’t tell me for a long time too.”
Stefani found it did not make her feel better, but she knew there was nothing that could be done about it. For the time being, everyone seemed to have their curiosities sated, thus their transit continued. Anaar himself found it endearing and slightly disturbing how no one seemed even the least bit concerned about where he was leading them. After Stefani had displayed how she felt there was a lack of trust in their relationship, he felt a pang of remorse he did not trust her with more when it seemed she was willing to trust him with everything. The idle banter had resumed after a period of silence, Dan being the most loquacious of the bunch.
“I know dis place big, but it ain’t big, big. How we been at dis shit for hours and still ain’t reach no City?! It don’t seem right-”
Right in the middle of the sentence, a group of five people exited the bushes directly before them. The two groups stopped, and sized each other up. After a tense beat, the other team realized who they were against and in a collective burst, they all said the same thing.
“Fuck that.”
The entire group of five turned and dashed back through the brush from whence they came. Recognizing the force that stood in opposition, even if it were lacking Anaar, they were not confident their numbers advantage would ensure them victory. The reason their group was so large was due to the fact most of them were not the most combat potent. To make up for that lack, they had been overwhelming others with the sheer power of numbers.
Maggie began hopping about as she pulled out her bow, itching for a fight. “What are we doing?! Why are we just standing around! They are getting away!”
Dan was the next to feel the itch soon after, paper drawn, at the ready. “Let’s kick some ass!”
Anaar outstretches his arm to stop them, which made neither happy. “Don’t chase them. It could just as easily be a trap to lure you in.”
“But da points man!”
“By my count, it seems Stefani is the one who has gotten the short end of the stick. Why don’t we let our resident songstress handle this one?”
Stefani slightly jumps when she hears her name and what was expected of her. “Me?! Why me?! What can I do?!”
“Come on Stefani. Out of all of us you by far are the strongest at dealing with groups if given the chance. Well… at least in a non-lethal, maim-free way.”
“I still don’t know how I’m supposed to do that. They are long gone now. How are my songs supposed to reach them?”
Anaar gives her the devilish smirk he was known for when he had something utterly ridiculous up his sleeve. “I think it is finally time to receive some of the support you have been giving us.”
Dan is taken aback when a small red dome covers Stefani, a tiny corona appearing right in front of her mouth. He leans in to whisper into Maggie’s ear.
“Why it feel like I done jest got laid off…”
Anaar looks at his handiwork, quite pleased with himself as another small corona appears just before the three of them. “Now that is an airtight shield. You ready Stefani?”
Stefani notices the voice is not coming from outside the barrier, but instead directly from the small red disc. “I don’t know what you expect me to do.”
“All you have to do is sing. The focus being on taking them down, and I’ll do the rest.”
“What is all this? What if I end up taking you all out too?!”
“No worries, that shield is soundproof. You can only hear me now because that corona is connecting us. Basically, I’m going to do the same, except it will be floating over that team that escaped. Think of this as your own private studio and the corona is your microphone. It will send your song directly to them without harming us.”
“But we found out my powers have a certain range on them that is proximal to me, so just them hearing it will do no good if they are out of range!”
“Good job keeping that in mind, but you worry too much. This is how it feels to be properly supported. My coronas connect two places in space, which means technically you are there. Time to put on a show.”
Anaar gives Stefani a thumbs up as the corona next to the three of them disappears. Seeing his signal, Stefani begins to sing with all her heart. Not even ten seconds had passed before Anaar motioned for her to stop as if he was the conductor in an orchestra. The shield and portal disappeared, with a confused Stefani looking around.
“Why did you have me stop? That wasn’t enough to put them all to sleep. I would have needed at least another thirty seconds or so to be sure.”
“I can confirm all of them are down for the count. They aren’t just asleep, they are unconscious.”
“Unconscious?! How?! And that fast?!”
“Remember the unique properties of my coronas?”
Stefani places her hands to her mouth to hide her shock. “You mean it not only transmitted the sound to them, but also powered it up?!”
“Exactly. In the future I think this application will help contend with your inability to target your songs effectively. With this, it will allow you to be much more active and versatile than before.”
Stefani jumps up, throwing her arms around Anaar’s neck, giving him a kiss on the cheek as tears start to well in her eyes. She found it utterly amazing that he had already figured out and implemented a solution to the problem she had been antagonized by for so long, that had felt even more apparent earlier that day. Realizing she had clung to him for too long, clambered down, wiping her eyes and smiling.
“Thank you. Even though we don’t see it, you are always looking out for us.”
Anaar gave her a heartwarming smile in return as the two interlocked arms and started walking again. Maggie followed along after them, doing her best to keep her own emotions in
check. Only Dan remained, until he finally shouted out after them.
“So do I still got a job or what?!”
Though they had not been walking for long, to Anaar it felt as if it had been an eternity, thanks to Dan’s incessant badgering. When no one answered his previous question, he began prodding literally and figuratively at Anaar to learn more about his shields. Everyone was familiar with this behavior, which allowed them to mostly ignore it.
“So is they stronger than mines? They stronger ain’t they? Is we talkin’ like Ryn strong, or like Professor Osadi strong? Oh shit, dat mean you a remote Defender then don’t it? Is they weak to water too?”
Finally fed up with the constant droning on from Dan, Anaar took a sharp breath, holding it for a lengthy period before responding. “Dan, simmer down. Why do you always get like this when it comes to shielding? You aren’t just a Defender, we have been through that time and time again.”
“You right, and I be getting’ dat. But you cain’t use dat shit dis time. You ain’t jest no Defender neither! Shit, we ain’t even know bout dat shit and we done known ya over two years! It make sense, me askin’ dis time.”
Try as he might, Anaar could not rebut Dan’s argument. It was true he had been able to settle Dan before with such an excuse, but he was right about it not being applicable in this instance. Rather than going through a list of all the things he could do, Anaar instead tried a different method.
“Dan, you will always be the Defender of our group. Just like Stefani will always be the main support, and Maggie will be the main attacker. Just because all of us have grown to be capable of filling other roles, it doesn’t change how our synergy has been built, nor the roles we have grown accustomed to.”
Seemingly satisfied with the response, Dan stopped his prodding, instead moving in a different direction. “Aight. I’ll take it. Can you help me wit my shields then since you do it too?”
“Dan, you are already very advanced in what you can do. Though we both may be Elementals, given the natures of our respective resources, there are things one of us will be capable of while the other cannot. For example, I couldn’t just make my shield turn into a ladder or something, but yours can.”
Revelations (Song of Sophangence Book 4) Page 30