Ethanol Stop Strand

As Sky, Charlie, Dani, Tavian, Alexia, and Troy all made it to Ultima Tower after three hours of walking at a leisurely pace and losing themselves in conversations and reminiscing about the past, Charlie started to guide them around the debris of the fallen tower.

"So, where did Orion split off from you?" Sky asked Charlie. Dani had been caught up with the same information Sky traded with Charlie.

"Here, he walked in this direction... toward that house over there, on the hill, with all of the blood," Charlie said, peering ahead to where his finger led the group.

Sky and the others slowly walked up the hill, looking at all of the blood and skin on the ground, before coming across a body slashed into with so many lacerations that it was almost impossible to tell who it was.

"That must be him... brown hair, green eyes. That's Orion. Damn..." Charlie mourned, crouching down by his body to see a note flapping in the wind.

"What is that? A note?" Troy asked him, picking it up off of Orion's body.

"Ethanol... Stop... Strand...? What is this first-grade sentence? Hey, does this mean anything to you?" Troy asked Tavian, waving the note around.

"Why would that mean something to me? I can't even use Strands at the highest proficiency here," Tavian said, shrugging.

Sky took the note from Troy and looked at it, tilting his head.

"Ethanol? Where the hell would Ethanol be here?" Sky looked around, sensing the environment by pushing strands through the ground when he found signs of a person being in the second story of the mysterious house they happened upon.

"I'm sensing activity, on the second floor," Sky told everybody. They all began to sneak, hiding behind the wooden-paneled fence to keep their cover from the mysterious attacker.

"How big? Dangerous? How can you even tell?" Tavian asked Sky. He explained his process and walked up the porch lightly.

As he got closer to the final step, he saw the figure move down from the second floor to the first. Sky knew that the chances of this being somebody who could take him on were minuscule, so he began to draw them out by other means.

"It looks clear. We'll loot this one first," Sky said. As soon as his foot hit the ledge between the front door and the porch, it burst open, and out appeared a small, red-haired girl with a kitchen knife in her hand.

She thrust it at Sky with the intent to kill him, and because of his quick reactions, he caught the blade, wrapped it in strands, and held the little girl in place.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry I misled you, I'm not here to loot any homes or intrude, I'm just here to look for my friend. Tell me, what is your name?" Sky asked the little girl.

"Mizu. Are you guys here to bring me to my Momma?" Mizu asked the group. Sky smiled, holding out his hand.

"Sure thing, where's your mom? Do you know her name or where we can find her?" Sky asked the little girl.

"Mom said she's in the Oceanic Kingdom... to help Mister Genesis with a plan, or something to take down Sky Asterio. Do you know where that is?"

Sky froze in his steps, realizing that Mizu was the daughter of Ultima. He stopped in time, slowly watching Mizu's head turn and realize who she was talking to.

"AH! DON'T KILL ME!" She yelled out. She let go of Sky's hand and dropped to the floor, shielding her head from any incoming attacks.

Had Sky been alone, he couldn't promise that he wouldn't get information out of Mizu, but he was in the presence of other people who could ground him when he thought irrationally.

"Relax, I'm not here to hurt you, Mizu. I'm not here to hurt anybody. Sure, it sucks to hear your mom wants to take me down, but I suppose there's not a lot of people who don't want to do that. I can try to take you to your mom if you'd like, or you can stay with us until she gets back," Sky told Mizu.

Tavian showed visible approval of the actions Sky made. Mizu scanned his friends, as nice as they seemed, and drew closer to them, realizing the best situation she could survive. Sky noticed the wound on her arm, patched up with bloodied bandages and tons of dried liquid on her arm.

"What happened to you? I'll fix it," Sky said. He grabbed lightly onto her wrist, showing no signs of aggression, and pushed golden strands through Mizu's body, healing her wounds and unwrapping the bandages to show her what he was capable of.

"Woah... you can do that? You could heal Mom's wound too... hey, Mister Sky, you're not bad... why does everybody say you're bad?" Mizu asked Sky. Her innocent eyes glimmered in the sunlight, waiting for an answer.

"Your opinion of people can be yours alone. I can be bad to you. I can be good to you. It's all about... perspective!" Sky said. He lifted Mizu up to his shoulders, sprouting strands from his back to keep her steady while she stood on his now-broadened shoulders. If Sky had still had the same body stature as on the beach, he wouldn't even be able to keep a baby up, but thanks to his newly developed muscle, Sky was capable of much more.

"Hm? Hey, Mister, what's that?" Mizu asked Sky. She pointed down at the white hair on his belt loop while Sky walked forward, having Dani investigate the house while he looked around the backyard.

"Just a memento from an old friend, is all," Sky confessed, remembering Illya.

"Hey, Mister. That body from there is Orion... he took care of me when Mom couldn't, and Mom killed him. Why did she kill him?" Mizu asked Sky once more. He found it hard to keep all his emotions inside, remembering how easily Ultima took Ellie's life.

"When we find your mom again, we can ask her, but until then, I can only say that I'm unsure," Sky said.