38

Portia's eyes darted open, then she sat up, it was still midnight and she took a deep breath, it was just a nightmare.

She looked around to find Griffin, which was nowhere to be found.

She appeared at the door and felt something drawing her out of her room.

She just followed that force and walked through the door and down the stairs, then began trekking through the compound and out of the mansion.

By the time Portia had realized, she was in a house she didn't recognize, knocking the door.

She yelled and jumped back and was about to run when Ms TT walked out.

"Ms Terratikka!"Portia yelled,"This is where you live?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I have no idea..."

She was silent for a few seconds then, as if something was wrong, told Portia to come in.

They got into the room and Ms TT served her some tea but spilled it on the floor.

They both tried cleaning the mess but banged heads and their necklaces touched, then a simultaneous vision appeared to both of them, and all Ms TT said was,"He's in danger..."

***

Aeric had seen Portia leaving and didn't know whether to follow her or to stay and trust in her, but what if she needed him? Or wanted to be alone?

They had only been together two days and the foundations of their relationship were still shaky, he decided to wait, then left.

He saw her open a portal to a place he couldn't recognise and one of her teachers was at her side.

He crept closer then heard a bustling in the bushes.

He sliced through the branches with his razor sharp feather as electricity burned through them then he saw...

"Kofi?"

"Aeric?"

The girls were spooked and went through the portal faster and Aeric was too late to stop them.

He yelled in fury then turned back to Kofi and asked,"Why are you following me?!"

"I was following them, not you."

"And what, may I ask, was the reason?"

"...I sensed something was wrong."

"...so did I..."

They both looked at where the portal used to be, where did they go?

Portia and Ms TT appeared in a reality five to the right of theirs, in the fifth dimension.

They saw a young man tied to a chair, with an armadillo like creature locked in a cage, seemingly asleep and that was their main focus.

"That's his opposite?"Portia asked.

"That's what the vision said, teleport it out."Ms TT said.

Before she could, some familiar people walked into the scene, they looked exactly like those people who attacked her when she first used her powers, exactly alike, she hadn't realised that before.

One of them turned the young man's already wet head back and emptied a gallon of water on it, by the looks of the evaporation, it was very hot.

Portia almost yelled but Ms TT stopped her then placed her hands on the sides of her head and she saw something...

Immediately after, the man seemed to be listening to something then spoke in a language neither of them understood, before a portal opened and they abandoned the two.

Ms Terratikka ran to the young man and Portia, to the creature.

The creature appeared in her arms, cold as ice, they were refrigerating it.

Ms TT reversed time on the man then asked,"Who are you?"

"What is it to you?"He asked.

"We are just here to help Collins."Portia said, after looking into his past.

"How did you know my...Skiff! Put him down!"He demanded.

"First, we need some answers."Ms TT said.

"Which telepathic trial beast are you using to read my mind? My Electro Skiffer will take on both of yours."

"We don't...use beasts in that way, ours are bonded with us, literally, we're two in one."Ms TT said, untying him.

"How is that even possible?"He asked.

"Well it's complicated, we aren't exactly from here."Portia said.

"From which realm? Fronik? Reudala? Guyas?"

"More like from another universe, five to the left from here and your armadillo, where did you get it?"

"Armadillos have been extinct for decades."He said.

"Then what the heck is this thing?"Portia asked.

"This..."He said, snatching it,"Is my Electro Skiffer and I'm not telling anyone the secrets of my trade, it's either you order one or go home, but he isn't for sale."

"Actually, that necklace it's wearing shows that it doesn't belong to you, or anyone, it seems to be the wielder of the gem of Dark Lightning."

"Oh, and what gave you that idea?"He asked, sarcastically.

"Please Collins, you, your world and most especially, your creature are in danger, we haven't come here to cause any trouble but, we need you to come with us."Ms Terratikka said.

"I only work with two people, Skiffer and my trainer, one's dead, the other's in a coma and I'm leaving."

"I'm so sorry your teacher died but..."

"Oh don't be, I killed him."

"What? Why?"

"I learned enough about my creature to use it to battle and get a good life for myself, he said I should be honourable since it was too powerful and blah blah blah, now we're here, adiós."

He was about to leave when the walls crumble down all around him, leaving just the spot he was standing on, being held together by the iron bars within, holding on for dear life.

"What did you say your names were?"He asked...

***

Aeric had been gone a few minutes, searching for Portia, but Kofi had a feeling she'd be back and she was.

He almost ran to hug her but stayed back and was about to leave when he saw sparks jumping from his hands, traveling closer and closer to them, while sparks were travelling from a scaly otter like creature towards him.

Portia turned and called him, but Ms TT yelled for them to look out and knocked both Collins and Portia out of the way and bolts of lightning shot from the both of them and pulled them together.

Kofi struggled as his skin was burning and his eyes glowing and Collins yelled as his now awake and only needed Trial Beast was being burned alive by that dude he couldn't recognise.

He tried to go closer but a vortex of colourful energy surrounded the two and stretched into the sky, sending an Aurora like form of atmospheric electric activity in the sky.

Lightning was striking all around from the vortex, where the two were literally wrestling to the death and Collins would have been hit too if Portia hadn't shielded him.

Just then, Ms Terratikka touched the ground and it began to crumble and fold in on itself, forming a wall between the two and severing their connection, then they both fell down, unconscious...