And Then Comes Lightning

Three years ago, when she turned 13, Brooklyn had a revelation. That she wasn't meant to be on Earth. Wasn't meant to be a girl. A girl subjected to her parents wishes.

Her mom held her hand tightly and almost pleaded, "Listen to me, child, this is what is best for you."

She tapped her foot against the bed side frantically and refused to meet her mother's eyes, "Why? I'm not ready."

"That's okay. Think of it as tying a friendship. If you get married to a government official's son, we will live a better life. Think about it, sweetie," her mom reasoned, holding her hands more tightly which didn't feel comforting anymore but...passive. Persistent.

Brooklyn looked at her huge room, her collection of earrings which she got for her birthdays, Christamases and New Years. Her really nice collection of clothes. But more than that, her parents didn't expect her to go to school and she was free to run around wherever she liked.

"But I like this life. I love it, mom. I don't want to go and live in a stranger's house with strange people."

Her mom let go of her hand and sighed, "Brooklyn, you'll learn to adjust. We let you run free, can't you do this one thing for us? Your mom and dad who are asking nothing else from you?"

Tears escaped her eyes and she sobbed, "I think you want to send me away, mom. That you don't want me here..."

"Oh sweetie, that's not true...."

But even as her mom hugged her tight, she felt the constriction. She felt jealous of the money and status her parents' craved. They loved it more than their own daughter.

Her mom decided to give Brooklyn a day more to think about it. Taking that as an opportunity, she decided to hide away from the house. Far away where no one would find her.

So that evening, as the rain came crashing down upon the Outer Palace District, Brooklyn sneaked out of her window and ran to the Palace. She knew the palace better than the palm of her own hand. Every nook and cranny, even places that weren't in the General Blueprint kept in the Official Records room.

She passed the Palace Assistant Living Quarters and into a long narrow alley. 15 year old Isaiah who was returning from after school practice saw her going on what he thought was yet another sneak-a-thon.

He laughed knowingly and dropped his bag in his room and ran behind her. He followed her past several named and un-named rooms and finally in front of a hidden trap-door under the hallway carpet.

Isaiah hadn't revealed his presence yet and so he made sure his footsteps were as silent as moonlight.

The trap door creaked as she huffed and tried to pull it open. Isaiah's head turned as he heard other footsteps nearing towards their area. Brooklyn heard it too and started panting and tried to get it done quicker.

Isaiah tip toed away from her and towards the Guard who was nearing the hallway. "Hey, Jack!" Isaiah greeted raising a hand and walking casually.

The Guard grinned, "My man, Isaiah!"

"Got a Guard shift here?" Isaiah stalled, alert of the girl trying to sneak away behind him.

The Guard nodded, "Yeah, man, it sucks. Who's going to come in here anyway?"

Isaiah slung a hand around his shoulder, "I heard they are giving out free macaroons at the reception in an hour? Is that true?"

The Guard's face glowed, "Really?"

Isaiah nodded slyly, "Say what? Try to exchange shifts with one of the guards there and I'll keep watch here until the exchange comes?"

"Oh man!" the Guard laughed and patted Isaiah's back, "I owe you one!" and he trotted off westward happily, already dreaming of non-existent macaroons. The trust these Guards had in Isaiah just because he was the son of the Chief of Army was astounding.

Isaiah cunningly returned into the hallway which was empty now and opened the trapdoor himself which opened effortlessly and slipped in under the carpet.

The Lost Library was far from old and dusty. It was magical. The nostalgic smell of years old books hung heavy in the air and the scent of flowers that crept along the sides of the shelves made Isaiah feel like he was dreaming.

He pat away something on his arm. It was in insect. A firefly. It flew away and joined the thousands of other fireflies scattered across the Library. His eyes landed on a huge tree that stood in the far end. The top part of its roots spread around the entire room, at some places so thick that you could use it as a bench.

The Library was not just a room. It had its own heartbeat and breath. It was a living soul.

A soft voice cut through it all and Isaiah stepped around a bookshelf and saw the person he had been following. But, she was crying. Her knees were pulled up against her chest as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"I don't want to go away," she muttered to herself,"I don't want to get married."

Something went through Isaiah when he heard her say that. Was it anger?

He slipped into the empty space next to her and sat down, "Brooklyn?" he whispered softly.

She looked up, surprise stopping her tears. "Isaiah? Why are you here?" she asked, wiping her face and nose. "I followed you. What are you doing here late at night?" he looked around the place, "Is this the Lost Library you tell me about?"

She nodded smiling at her discovery, "You want to see something?" she asked standing up and walking away, a silent beckon for him to follow her. Isaiah got up shakily, his legs slightly trembling now that he realized that they were the only two people here and the only things he could hear were Brooklyn's soft steps and his own thumping heartbeat. The fireflies seemed to be laughing at him.

She led him on to the opposite end of the library, the deep end where it got darker and darker and Brooklyn had to carry a candle with her to lead the way.

"Where are we going?" he questioned curiously, walking in time with her steps.

"You know The Wheel right? The one which washed up from Mars years ago?" her light blue eyes sparkled with knowledge and Isaiah wanted to grab it right out of her.

"Yeah?" Isaiah followed, stepping over a few tangled roots. She stopped walking and he looked up at the place where the light of her candle fell on. There, etched on the wall, was The Wheel, shining, golden, the only part of the library that looked like it hadn't been abandoned.

It was the source of the country's wealth after all. "Wow, I never knew it actually existed."

She giggled, caressing its lustrous surface, "Of course it did, you dummy. Didn't they teach you in school?"

Isaiah shook his head, anything about The Wheel was forbidden in textbooks. Why? Nobody knew but that was what they had grown up learning. "So the Prince comes here and turns it everyday?"

Thunder rumbled above us and she stepped closer to him, their arms almost touching. Almost. "Yup. It glows purple when you turn it," she then placed her hands on the Wheel, her face sparking with an idea. Before she could even say it, he refused, "No, Brooklyn, no, it's dangerous."

"Oh come one, just one spin won't do any harm!" she reasoned, laughing.

There was a reason they didn't teach them about the Wheel. Its capabilities' limits were unknown and a person outside the royal family spinning it was...sacrilege.

Isaiah tried to pull her away, but he was too late.

A flash of bright purple light hit her and he was thrown away from her, his back colliding with a bookshelf, sending stacks of books rolling down onto the floor.

A few seconds passed and Isaiah opened his eyes to smoke. His back hurt but he managed to limp over to The Wheel. It was undamaged but under it was his girl, eyes closed and barely breathing.

"Brooklyn!" Isaiah held her in his arms, trying to shake her back to consciousness, "Brooklyn, why aren't you breathing? Brooklyn!"

She was unmoving, still. Then she mumbled something and turned her head.

"Brook?"

Her eyes were closed and she tried to open them. "Brooklyn, are you okay?" he asked remembering to check for injuries but surprisingly, there were none. He almost gasped at the reality in front of his eyes. "Brooklyn, answer me."

She turned in his arms and nodded, "I'm...I'm perfectly fine."

Her eyelids flew open and in there, glowed two purple irises, the same color the Wheel glowed when it was spun.

...

Three years later, here Brooklyn was, staring at the girl who descended from the same place Brooklyn got her abilities from. That star of Mars.

Ethan leaned closer as the girl slowly opened her eyes after the sneeze. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" she asked, meeting Kayden's eyes. Kayden looked away and tried to focus somewhere else, but the fire the girl just breathed out...was unreal.

Sam folded his arms, standing up straight, and looked at Isaiah, "I'm really confused whether she is a threat or not."

I mean, Sam thought, she looks cute but the things she does makes me want to be scared.

"You can breath fire," Isaiah stated, "You fell from the Mars star, you burn up when you are asleep and I think it was you who sucked us into space and," Isaiah paused for effect, "dropped us from there."

He expected the girl to curl up and be scared of Isaiah but she just smiled, "I like you, you're smart. I'm sorry about sucking you all in into space. This room is the only Light Speed portal left between Mars and Earth and once I activate it, it sucks from both sides if you don't have the requirements to control it."

Atlas's eyes widened from outside the window as he and Ryoko overheard the entire conversation. Ryoko's legs were building up cramps as they both sat there crouched but this new specimen was curdling up both of their interests.

"What do you suppose we do, Atlas?" she asked the decision maker.

He was studying the girl. He could only barely see her back. She was a girl who had taken the trouble to travel all the way from a dead planet to Earth. And if she actually came from the star, how did she survive there all these years?

She has come here with a goal, Atlas thought, I need to find out what that is.

"We need to take her in," Atlas decided and crawled away from the window as quietly as possible. Ryoko followed. Once they were safe from sighting, he told her what to do.

....

They decided on letting the girl stay at Brooklyn's place until sunrise when she and Isaiah agreed to help her on her goal.

"My home is inside the star," she had said once Ryoko and Atlas were gone, "It's lonely there, since I'm the last survivor of the destruction of the planet. Then I found these scrolls. One of them was missing the other half and it was said that the other half was here so I came to find it."

"You came all the way here to find a missing piece of paper." Ethan repeated, trying to take all of this in. What must her skin be made up of for her to exist in an infinitely hot surrounding? What was her pulmonary system if she could breath fire?

She nodded. Kayden and Sam sighed and looked at each other. They thought she had come to redeem the world of all dangers or bring world peace or something. But no, she came to find a piece of paper.

"I'm sleepy, you coming Sam?" Kayden asked and Sam nodded following him to the door. Kayden tried to open it but it didn't budge. Brooklyn got up and gave them a hand. It swung open effortlessly.

"Thanks," Sam said looking at her weird. Sam never imagined the Palace to have more quirkier people than the ones you find in the circus. He wondered if he stood next to the Wheel on a rainy day, would he get powers and purple eyes too?

"You'd look weird with purple eyes, Sam," Kayden said, almost like he read Sam's mind. Sam sighed, "I'd rock any color," he defended and closed the door to his room after exchanging goodbyes with Kayden.

What a weird day.

Ethan was walking out too, deciding that however scientifically interesting Brooklyn and the girl may be, he was a fugitive prisoner and he silently followed the two boys out too. Sam had shut his door, but Kayden's was still open.

"Psst!" he called out to Ethan. Ethan looked up, then side to side before walking towards Kayden's open room door.

"You are on jailbreak aren't you?"

"You saw me!"

"I did, what are you going to do now?" Kayden asked, slightly curious at this poor man's fate. What had he gotten into jail for? Had he killed a man? Dealt with illegal energy supply? Forgotten to pay his debts?

"I have a lab I bought in Delis. I had a home too, but they must have rented it out."

"You're a doctor?" Kayden asked, clearly surprised. What had a doctor been doing in prison?

Ethan nodded, "Was trying to find the antidote for the Fever when they mistook me for actually promoting the disease."

"Oh man..." Kayden sighed, "Must have sucked...then you've been in prison for three years then."

"Hey you!" a chubby voice bellowed and strutted towards them. Ethan caught sight of the man, "Oh damn, okay, need to run, kid," And Ethan bolted to save himself from the Guard.

Kayden looked at the Guard who was struggling to catch up. He reached his ear to activate his blue tooth but before he could, Kayden reached forwards and grabbed it out of his ear.

"What the....get out of the way kid!" he bellowed. Kayden stood squarely in front of him and looked at the name card on his chest. Jack Brjandrson. Taking in how plump he is, Kayden guessed he loved food, "Hey I heard they are selling macaroons in the reception," Kayden said remembering what he saw on his way here, there really were stacks of macaroons in the front entrance.

The Guard paused and frowned, "Not gonna work kid," he warned trying to grab his blue-tooth but Kayden only kept dodging, "No kidding, there are macaroons."

"Last time a kid like you tried that on me, I fell for it and the whole area got struck by lightning. Not gonna happen this time!" he decided and finally grabbed the blue tooth and clicked it on.

"Sure, take it," Kayden said, "I'm pretty sure Ethan has run far away by now, with no chance of you finding him."

They both looked into the distance where Ethan had run off to, no sight of him. Kayden grinned cheerily, "Good night, Mr Brjandrson!" and he shut the door on the poor Guard's face.

Jack returned to the reception to check and to his surprise, there really were macaroons this time. He grabbed one and took a bite sadly.

........

Brooklyn got the girl some clothes to wear from one of the maids and took her home, introducing her to the maid as a recent friend. Her parents were even more busier than they were three years ago, when Brooklyn's marriage got cancelled by the boy's family.

Brooklyn didn't even know who the boy was but she felt deep gratitude for whatever happened that night. She laid down the bed for the girl and they tried to go to sleep.

"I think I know where you'll find your other half of the scroll," Brooklyn told the dark room.

"You do? Oh I'm so glad I found you all! We'll go there tomorrow!" the girl chirped happily.

"But you need to give me something in return," Brooklyn said.

"But I came empty handed... I don't have anything to give," the girl reasoned.

Brooklyn turned to the side and switched on the nightlight, "You have powers gifted by the Mars star right? That's how you were the last survivor. Rest of the Martians were ordinary people like the others."

The girl nodded, trying to figure out what Brooklyn was getting at, "But I didn't get my powers the same way you did," she paused, pondering whether to tell her or not. She was nice, the girl decided, "I was born with the Dragon Stone in me in the place my heart is supposed to be."

Brooklyn sat up, "A Dragon Stone? So you are an incarnation of one of the seven ancient Dragons?"

"I just have their abilities. It's what made me read all those scrolls and think I have something more to do than spend my entire life trapped in a star."

Brooklyn pulled herself back to what she wanted from her, this girl really was full of surprises, "I want you to teach me. To use my powers to the fullest so that I can wipe out the Rakens."

This time, the girl sat up, "The Rakens, you say?"

"Why? Have you seen one before?"

Harsh memories emerged in her mind from when her family still existed in Mars. When Mars was still a planet. The horrible monsters used to be everywhere, feeding on dead people, killing live ones and sucking all their energy.

The girl nodded, "The Rakens were the reason, Mars was wiped out of existence."

Brooklyn gulped, realizing. Does that mean...Earth, her planet, her parents, Isaiah, all the new people she had met, the world, all the 5 billion people over here are treading on the path that led to the same doom that killed Mars?

Was...her world going to die?