Chapter 43 A Lost Struggle

My life flashed before my eyes as I took the fall. A minute ago the door had been an active portal into another realm. As I stepped inside, the land below me suddenly disappeared. I found myself in a free fall towards darkness. The wind brushed against my face, cold bristles pinching my skin. It felt a lot like falling into the abyss, except this time I didn't know where I was headed.

I twisted my head around to look for the people who were just with me a moment ago. Meryl, Ricky and the new guy Eron. I couldn't see them anymore. Where in hell did they disappear to? In fact, a better question would be, where did the realm disappear to?

An endless darkness awaited me. Was this what Damon had to go through when Darke banished him to the abyss? Multiple thoughts invaded my mind. I could already feel my fingers freeze up from the cold. I wondered if this was the end, floating in an infinite loop of absolute nothingness.

In that instant, my eyes spotted a white line several feet below. I blinked with uncertainty only to confirm its existence. Another line appeared beside it, as if lighting a path for me.

I quickly angled myself, feet forward aiming towards the pair of lines. The wind felt exceptionally cold against my skin the lower I descended. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling my body slowly enter into another atmosphere. A warm air touched my feet, right before the rest of my body flopped to the ground. The wind ceased. I could feel the temperature normalize quickly. I breathed out in relief, soaking in as much heat as possible.

Any longer in that cold and I would not have survived. White lines extended on either side of my feet. A second pair appeared above my head, stretching off into the distance. It was like a hallway made of four lines, seeming very familiar.

"Iris?" I called out. Voices echoed around me, repeating back a couple of times. One of them did not belong to me. My heart pounded. I started forward, hastily making my way through the narrowing hallway. I could hear tree leaves rustling from afar. A low whistling of wind rang in my ears. My body speedily made its way towards the exit where I could see the end of the lines.

I jumped through a wall of darkness, rolling onto dry land. It was still night time. It almost felt like I'd spent hours into the abyss. A silver haired girl's face hovered above me.

"Iris?" I called out, quickly pushing myself back up. Her brows creased as she stared back. Her eyes were strained, filled with anxiety.

"Thank goodness I found you…" she finally spoke, breathing out in relief, although her expression did not waver. I placed both hands over her shoulder, looking her over for any scrapes or injuries.

"Are you hurt? You're okay?" I held my breath till she nodded with a smile. The smile only lasted a few seconds though. "Where are we?" I spoke, turning my head to take in the new landscape. I recognized the place from my visions of when Cheryl was here, fighting for her life. The floating islands.

My eyes found someone lingering a couple of feet away, holding an old cape in his hands, torn at the edges.

"Your highness!"

Our eyes met. I recognized his voice. Something pulled inside my chest, almost like an anticipation.

"Damon?" I whispered, rising to my feet. Immediately, he bent down into a bow, only half way remembering that I hated that so he straightened himself up again. I shook my head in disbelief, one hand running through my hair. My astounded brain could not detect if this was an illusion or reality. "It's really you…" I mumbled.

"Ready to fight at your side once more," he said with a slight nod. I noticed he had normal skin in this realm. He looked similar to me in more ways than I'd imagined. The same pale skin and dark hair. His eyes were a lighter shade than mine with a jawline that was more of a square in shape. There was a scar that started up his neck and seeped into his cheek a little.

"I just… can't believe it's you. I thought Darke threw you into the abyss. I thought for sure you were dead."

"Fortunately, I survived. It spawned me right in the middle of an unknown realm. I'd lost hope of ever getting back until now," he said, sounding more relieved than ever.

"I don't think we'll ever be able to get back," Iris interrupted in a low, hard voice. I kneeled down to where she sat on the ground.

"What is it you sense?" I asked, looking into her fearful eyes.

"While trying to look for you, I was only a second too late. Meryl and Ricky ended up separating. I don't know where they are now."

"We'll find them," I tried a comforting voice but her head was already shaking. Her brain ran on facts. No lie could comfort her.

"We can't. There are cracks in the realms. I felt them when I was searching for you guys. Our worlds won't stay for long if this person isn't stopped."

I'd never seen an eleven year old put up such a brave face in front of me. I understood the gist of the whole conversation. I patted her silver head with an encouraging smile.

"I'm going to end this once and for all. Don't worry about it."

"There have been thunderclouds looming in the distance." Damon pointed towards the sky to the far right of where we stood. I was surprised to not have noticed something like that earlier. Lightning struck the ground a couple of times oddly in the same spot. Tiny beads of black surrounded the land.

I watched them as a pair of large black wings erupted out of my back, followed by two smaller sets. I half turned towards Damon who had already transformed into a shadow. He slipped under my feet obediently. Iris peered down the edge of the island as if searching for someone.

"What is it?" I asked.

She just shook her head. "Nothing…"

"Stay here while I go deal with this. I'll come back to get you afterwards," I told her.

She didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed at the skies below. It made me feel a bit uneasy leaving her alone like that. I couldn't tell what she was thinking at the moment.

"Go," she simply said without looking up.

I sighed and pulled her away from the edge by the arm.

"Don't do anything reckless trying to be a hero. Just stay put," I told her.

My wings extended over my head behind me like a majestic bird about to take flight. Wind gathered underneath them as they pushed down. With a single stroke, my body propelled forward at an alarming speed. I could feel my cheeks blow backwards under the force of the wind. Bits of black miasma seeped out of me, disappearing into the surrounding air.

Within seconds I'd blown past the thunderclouds, disrupting their movement enough to leave a hole in the middle. My body jerked to a stop right above the island, wings flapping constantly to keep me afloat. I recognized Darke standing awkwardly in the middle of giant shadows that towered him. Sara stood several feet away at a safe distance, angrily biting her lips as she watched something zap across shadows like a pinball.

As I focused my eyes on it, my heart almost stopped. Cheryl's feet skidded across the ground, sparks flying into the air. She stood still for a moment. It was almost the same as back when we had to leave town, except this time her body was made of lightning. Most of the shadows dissipated into a dark smoke. Thunder clapped above me as thin bolts of lightning crashed into the remaining shadows. I knew that was Gale's doing. One such bolt almost grazed one of my feathers. My body automatically shifted to the side as I hovered. It was payback for tearing through his clouds earlier.

Sara didn't look too happy. She then raised her arm as the smoke gathered back into her mirror.

"I'll just have to deal with you myself!" She yelled out.

Cheryl jumped back, adding more distance between them. Sara's eyes flared up in a red glow, dark veins popping around her eyes. Her skin turned slightly purple as she ascended into the air, all on her own. I could make out a faint purple sphere around her, emitting an ominous force of wind.

Almost instantly, the sphere detached from her, aimed at Cheryl. My wings fluttered against the wind as I raced towards her. My scythe materialized in hand, just in time to deflect the attack. Dark waves lashed at the sphere, exuding from my blade, causing it to explode into tiny shards.

I rolled over to the ground, feeling the debris rain down on me. Damon picked up my scythe from beside me, charging towards Sara. She spotted him from afar and hurled another sphere at him. He jumped into a dodge, appearing right in front of her. She flashed a grin before vanishing from sight. His blade cut through empty air, landing back onto the ground in a crouch, looking flustered.

I shook my head with disappointment.

"Dixon…" Cheryl whispered from behind me. I could feel the heated aura radiating around her.

"Are you okay?" I turned as an electric kick flew past my head, just missing it by an inch. The swipe of wind blew my hair back. I didn't move.

"Never leave me alone like that again!" she said angrily.

"I'm sorry," I said while accidentally letting out a short laugh. She glared at me. "Sorry, it's just you've never said things like that before."

It took a few seconds before it hit. Her electric face suddenly turned very pink. She quickly looked away, not realizing I could see through the back of her head.

"I won't disappear like that again. I promise," I assured her, turning my head towards the empty battlefield. It was the wind. It suddenly changed direction to above us.

"Watch out!" Damon shouted. I looked up just in time to see another tiny sphere descend upon us.

"Run!" I ordered. Cheryl and I dispersed in opposite directions, feeling a massive cloud of dust kick up behind us as the sphere made impact with the ground. It half turned while coughing to stare into the cloud of dust. Damon melted into the ground, and the scythe appeared in my hand once more. I swung it in front of me to let out a black wind that blew into the dust, clearing it away for me to see.

I could hear Cheryl gasp from the other side of the massive hole in the ground. A huge chunk of the ground was missing. I could see through into the sky and clouds hovering below the island.

"What the hell just happened?" I said, feeling shocked to my core. There was a slight tremble in my wrist as I gripped the scythe tighter.

"That thing touches you and it's all over," Darke explained, moving further away from the battle.

A sudden sound of laughter echoed around us. Sara hovered in the air, slowly sliding away to the side, enjoying our frightened expressions. Damon once again jumped out from behind her, swinging at her with the scythe. It went through the faintly visible sphere around her. His hands came out holding half a stick. Shock wore on his face, not having enough time to dodge. The sphere expanded and he quickly melted into a shadow. He dropped to the ground, right before it tore off another chunk of the land.

"Damon…" I called out. To my relief, he popped up beside me, handing me whatever was left of my scythe. I touched it and it extended back into its original form with the blade curving up at the end, good as new.

"It's no use," I told him, looking back up at her, grinning away in the sky.

A bang escaped the clouds as a lightning bolt aimed for her head. It disappeared mid way. She flashed a smile towards me. Damon quickly moved the blade above my head as it crashed down. Lightning appeared above me, hitting the blade with a sharp crack. It was followed by the smell of burnt metal. Had my instincts not been so quick to sense, Damon would never have been able to block it in time.

I balled my hands to fists. Sara spun around in one quick motion, releasing explosive spheres all over the battlefield. I ducked as one sped over me, ignoring me completely.

"Cheryl!" I yelled out, watching them all fly towards her. Her electric eyes followed the dark blobs in the sky, all aimed for her. Within seconds, panic washed over her. She zapped across the ground plane at lightning speed, tearing up the dirt as she passed. The dark blobs quickly dropped down, missing her by the hair. I could feel the island quake as the ground exploded around her.

My body moved, wings throwing me forward with a massive flap. Cheryl leaped ahead, pouncing over to a safer ground. Dirt and debris threw her further into the dust clouds. A scream escaped her, letting my body propel towards the sound. I felt her crash into me. My arms caught her just before hitting the ground. I let my wings curl around her protectively as we rolled in the dirt till our bodies slowed to a halt.

My back stung from being dragged against the hard ground. I lay flat, holding a very still Cheryl on top of me. My wings slowly opened up to reveal her small figure underneath. She suddenly breathed out, looking down at me wide eyed. There were tiny cuts around her face and neck but nothing major. She had reverted back to her original body. Her electric form may have taken most of the damage for her.

"You okay?" I breathed, feeling a sharp pain in my chest as I spoke.

"Thanks to you, yeah. I thought for sure I was dead…" she whispered, sinking her face back into my chest to breathe out in relief.

"She seems bent on killing you first," I told her.

"Ever since Rosa… she's completely lost it," Cheryl said in a muffled voice.

Damon appeared beside me, helping us up. Cheryl rolled over to my side, pushing herself to sit up. She groaned as she tried lifting her broken ankle. Damon held out a hand and I took it, pulling myself back onto my feet.

"Stay with her," I told him, my wings rising behind me like a bird about to take flight. Clouds of dust blew at their faces as I took off into the sky.

.

"Aneira!" Iris called into the darkness. White lines ran ahead of her, illuminating a path. Aneira's presence had disappeared when she jumped into the shattered sphere earlier. It was almost as if she shifted into that realm. Iris could only hope that the girl was still alive.

"Ricky! Meryl!" she called out desperately this time.

The white lines in front of her wiggled as they began to curve. Iris gripped her head in frustration.

"I don't understand these powers! Where are you taking me now?"

The lines continued to curve until it turned into a complete U turn.

"No! I need to find them," she argued. "I can't go back."

All of a sudden, Iris found herself next to an injured Cheryl, gripping her foot in pain. She looked up into the sky at a series of explosions chasing after Dixon.

"Wait-" Iris was saying, only to be interrupted by the sudden change in landscape. She was back inside the darkness. The white lines glowed brighter around the U turn.