Soni peeked through the branches at the top of the red-wooded evergreen. The view was mesmerizing, and terrifying, but she was focused on the sounds. The calls of the birds around her filled her ears, along with the excited breeze that rushed past her at a steady pace. Soft whispers from the green needles around her drifted in the wind that caused them. Seemingly in complaint, the branches surrounding the girl, including the one she straddled, creaked and groaned as they swayed a bit. Muse preened her feathers beside Soni, rather unimpressed by the view.
After taking a moment to take it all in, she turned to Muse.
Not even a gasp huh /
Soni froze as her blood turned to ice. She tried to say the words but couldn't. They just came as thoughts. She tried a second time, and a third time. Her heartbeat began to pick up its pace, seemingly correcting what it missed by skipping a few beats. As her ice blood slushed its way through her veins, her lungs began to fall in line, trying to catch up to the pace her heart was going.
What if she went back to being powerless? What if she lost her ability to speak forever? She would need to leave Coobell, and leave the first friends she had ever made. She would go back to being a frail girl in the middle of war. Tears began to develop in her eyes.
Muse hopped over to her panicking friend. The bird bounced onto Soni's hand, releasing the girl from her thoughts.
Soni, in response, was able to focus on her pet instead of her thoughts, but her body was still in torment. Out of habit, she tried to tell the bird thanks, but was met with the same result yet again. Before she reacted, Soni took hold of her necklace and tried to remember her adopted older sister's calming words.
Muse tilted her head at her caretaker, confused that she wasn't talking.
After a deep breath and a wipe of a couple tears, the girl tried to think through it calmly. The best place to go would probably be the place that teaches everyone about Qi. Surely Cibble would know what was wrong.
Soni began the journey of climbing down the tree, twigs and leaves and pieces of bark plummeting to the ground. Muse fluttered around her with curious excitement for the coming adventure she knew nothing about. For a split second Soni thought she saw something move out the corner of her eye, but she decided it was probably just an animal. Her feet hit the forest floor covered in brush, and she subsequently took some time to wipe off all the needles and scraped off bark dust.
Muse started chirping wildly, which fished a silently confused response from the girl as she finished wiping herself off. She returned to full stance.
Time slowed to a halt. The air itself sat still. Every soundwave ceased to push the next wave of molecules. Part of Soni, a part she had never felt before, warned her like Muse. It told her of an oncoming danger unseen. It was as if her very inner being, her power, her soul, buzzed in warning. She had no idea what to do other than duck, but it was rendered vain. Her body was suddenly surrounded by string and weight, throwing her to the ground. Her face in pain and on the ground, the girl just began to comprehend what was going on when she heard sly laughter and feet rustling through tree needles and brush. What she heard was the only sense she had aside from the small portion of the environment she could still see; her face was pressed into the ground so much that her right eye was useless and her left was half-closed.
“Nice shot,” a haughty and nasty (and rather higher-pitched) voice commented before the sound of two hands meeting had the chance to interrupt him. His voice had an odd muffle to it; he was likely wearing a gas mask.
“
Aye,” another replied after a brief moment, their bodies and respective voices getting closer.
He was met with “
Eh?” as the buttons of some unseen device beeped at a tap.
“She's got a mask. You think she's sick?” The beeping subsided, and the questioned wore his opinion that it was a senseless query on his sleeve, replying with
“I don't know! We haven't gagged her yet! Ask her yourself!” “
Aye!” the word repeated, a little louder and cast toward younger ears. “
What's with the mask?” Soni tried again to use her abilities to supply the man with a… rather loud answer, but they still were locked away in an internal vault to which she lacked the key.
Suddenly, the buzz of her inner being greeted her yet again, making emphasis of her side. It called her to move, and she did try, but the attempt fell short. The foretold kick collided wit her side, sending it into pain. A reactionary jolt of her lungs sent air out her cavities as the man added, “
Aye I was talking to you!” She wiggled onto her back and tried to move her head in such a way that they'd understand its current handicap. Doing so gave her the ability to examine her attackers.
The one she was initially shot and later kicked by was standing over her, holding his net-gun over his shoulder with a mask on top of his head.
The other, higher-pitched voice came from
a red head with a crazed look and scars around the mask he wore. Two heavy swords formed an X on his back.
This also caused her to realize Muse had disappeared, most likely out of fear. Poor creature. Normally, she'd be worried that the bird flew off, but she knew that with the tree coverage, Muse wouldn't go anywhere out of eyesight of her caretaker.
“Are you deaf?” the conversation continued, starting with the net caster.
A couple curses of insult were speared into the asker by the red head.
“She's not deaf, she's been hearing us this whole time. She's probably mute or something.” A sound quite unknown to the masked girl approached quickly, and when it arrived she saw it came from some type of make-shift vehicle. It popped and whizzed, buzzed and rumbled. Some parts glowed, other parts spun, and the rest shook from the vibrations of the mechanism. It had four seats, wrapped in metal bars but now doors or windows. The rickety vehicle pulled behind it a large trunk for cargo, suspended off the ground by an invisible force that pushed dirt, twigs, and blades of grass away from the center of the shadow below it.
The driver stepped off, leaving the machine to its rumbling ways. The other two were rather silent in his presence.
He strolled over to stand above the girl.
“What's with the mask?” his rough lower voice asked.
“Not sure boss, but she hasn't said a word, even after we kicked her. We think she's mute,” the redhead replied quite matter-of-factly.
“Hm. That's alright. Some of our customers might appreciate that.” A spit followed his evaluation, and Soni wished that it could somehow fall back on its dispenser. He turned around and made his way back to his metal steed, commanding
“Put her in the back,” by the time he got halfway.
The two obeyed their apparent leader and picked her up. The net was so tight around her that she could barely resist. Her legs kicked as a pair, but it barely made the goons’ task any more difficult. They tossed her in the cargo trunk like a sack of potatoes, and she landed on several pieces of junk, sending even more pain through her back.
“No scream, no cry, no nothin! Can we pick up mute girls more often??” The gunner laughed at his own joke, and the redhead joined in with a chuckle as they loaded themselves into the vehicle. Soni felt a lurch, paired with the rise in volume of the vehicle's numerous sounds. The trees above her started moving, but before their pace increased too much, Muse flew from the trees and practically dive-bombed the cargo trunk. She nestled next to Soni, preening her feathers.
Good, you're still here. You'll be helpful. she thought to herself as the trees began to swish by. The wind was sure to raise its voice as well.
It was at this point Soni knew she had to do something. She couldn't freak out, despite her instinct to. She had to stay calm, and find a way out. With some effort she realized she could move her hands a little bit, and stick them through the net. She rolled around, looking for something to use.
There was a gun, but she couldn't aim it. There was a sword, but it was sheathed. There were books, silverware, decorations, metal, but nothing useful.
She did come across a strange metal disk, however, that looked like it had retracted pieces. It seemed to have a handle on one side, but a circle indented in the front. She wiggled over to it and reached her fingers out. Muse hopped over and flicked at it with her beak, allowing Soni to snag it. From there, she was able to fiddle with it outside the net. By some press of a small button, four metal extensions shot out, shooting through the holes in the net. To the girl's disappointment, it didn't snap the strings of the net. A glowing button grasped at her attention, however, and she pressed it. Suddenly,
a force field formed between the metal extensions, cutting the string and releasing her. The activation
byoom that it made didn't even catch the attention of the criminals; it was completely muffled by the sound of the engine.
Soni very cautiously got to her feet, examining the blue energy shield she had summoned.
This is crazy… she commented mentally as she gazed at it with bewildered excitement and relief. Now was the next problem: getting out.
Soni peaked over at the rushing ground beneath her and glanced back at the shield. Her sight then turned to the bird, to whom she thought.
This is the only way. Carefully she positioned the shield in her left hand downward and hopped out the vehicle. Muse immediately followed in flapping pursuit. The energy shield hit the ground and began sliding, just as the girl had planned. For a few feet Soni was able to keep it under control, but she lost the battle and had enough momentum to push her into one single roll over the shield. The vehicle sped on for a bit, but shouts uproared as it stopped and turned around.
Soni stood up, the shield in her left hand, ready to take the guys on. She lowered her center, the shield covering most of her body. The blue hue of the shield was almost calm in the midst of the ordeal. It was like the surface of glowing water, save the occasional sparks disrupting the tranquility.
Soni watched as the vehicle came barreling towards her, when an idea flickered in her mind. It was time to see how consistent that danger sense she had been getting was, and how well it would work. She glanced over her shoulder and caught sight of a tree. She took a few steps to the left and waited, but not for long. The slavers were coming at an insatiable speed.
Suddenly, Soni burst forward in the fastest sprint she could muster. Muse wasn't sure what to do; she tried to join her human friend, but it was difficult to keep up. It was a risky move, no doubt, charging at an oncoming rickety contraption, but one the girl hoped would pay off. As she neared her opponent in the spearless joust, she could feel the beehive of sixth sense awakening within her.
Good, she thought; it was working. She tilted the shield at an angle, and when the internal commotion seemed it was ready to combust, she leaped into the air to one side of the vehicle. The air seemed to become still again, as did everything in the world. It was in this state that she could take in her surroundings. Two of its passengers, the redhead and gunner, joined her in suspension by vaulting off the steed. The redhead was on her side of the machine, the gunner on the other. It seemed the crazed man, now holding two large blades, wished to decapitate her in the air, but physics begged to differ.
The world was told to continue. Her and the vehicle collided, sending her backward and away from her attacker, and the vehicle into the tree she had strategically placed herself apart from. The impact each suffered was significantly one-sided; Soni hit the ground with a mildly painful roll, and the speeder, following a curse from the driver mixed with panic and fear, collided with the tree. With a loud symphony of metal scratching metal, energy fleeing its crushed stabilizer, and hydraulic pressure releasing its watery prisoner, the machine crumpled against the bark and sent the driver several feet forward and into the ground.
Soni wasted no time in returning to her feet, nor did her armed opponents who had lept off and rolled themselves. The redhead had his angered and relentless gaze set on her, but the rifleman turned his attention to the fallen leader.
“
Captain!” he shouted as he dashed toward the crash sight.
The masked man didn't share the same concern, however. His purpose was entirely in ridding himself of his captain's ruiner. Truly, words were unnecessary; every inch of his expression told Soni he removed every restraint he previously had placed because of her age, gender, and body. There were no restraints left; he now fought the warrior he saw inside, rather than toy with the physical shell on the outside.
Fear might have been what Soni began to feel as a thoughtless reaction, but following the feeling she let it empower her. She was truly a warrior that challenged a grown armed man, even without her powers. Thus, the fear faded and made way for courage and determination; determination to not be normal, determination to be fearless, determination to be extraordinary.
Her opponent rushed at her, swinging his blade held in his right hand. Soni felt the metaphysical alarm begin to sound, but was able to keep the world spinning as she held up her shield up to block it. Unsurprisingly, it all seemed to be part of his plan. His left sword came around as a stab behind the shield. It didn't come without warning; she could see it closing in in slow motion. The girl had no idea how to respond other than move, so she rushed forward into him as a shoulder bash, holding his sword in place by moving the shield accordingly. As small as she was, her charge didn't have a great effect; his lungs released a short breath but that was all she heard. He quickly began to wrap his arms around her fickle body to deliver a deathly hug. Because the shield was wider than her physique, however, he couldn't crush her between his two arms inward. Instead, he pulled the shield toward him, to crush her between his boistered chest and her only defense. The masked girl tried to think what to do next before it was too late.
The buttons on the back of the shield called for her attention again, which sparked another idea. Soni ducked down and clicked the button that retracted the four metal pieces, returning it to being nothing but a metal circle on her hand. His arms closed in, and she stood back up and pressed the button again. The metal shot out as she swung her hand forward. The timing lined up perfectly; the redhead had opened up his arms to find her. A perfectly open space remained, and the metal flew through it and into his head. The attacker’s hands flew to his face, and a flurry of “
Ah”s and curses and growls came pouring from his mask.
Soni's sense began to warn her again, the feeling mirroring the one she had before her capture. In one fluid motion, she leaped, grabbed the masked one's right hand with hers, and kicked his chest into the incoming net. He flew to the ground, where she once was. The only difference was that he had bladed weapons. Nonetheless, he was held down for the time-being, and her focus was now the netless-gun holder, hiding in the cover of the wreckage.
Dirt flew from the ground as Soni's tennis shoe threw her into a dead sprint. With each step she came closer, and between two particular steps, she tossed her shield from her left hand to her right. As she neared, her target fumbled to reload the large gun. His efforts were fruitless, however; she bounced from one foot to a right step on the wreckage, and then launched herself into the air. With gravity as her partner, she slammed her shield into the face of the gunner, knocking him down instantly. As her feet hit the ground, his consciousness disappeared. Now all that was left was the berserker.
She turned around to find him reaching his feet after cutting the net and untangling himself from the mess.
Now what… she wondered to herself, looking at her surroundings. Muse was still there, sitting beside her on the wreckage. Apparently, she had been fluttering close by the whole time, watching peacefully Soni's combat. Right now, however, the bird was of no help. The girl needed a solution to her redheaded problem.
Her eyes became fixed on her approaching enemy, and her mind worked to find a path of attack. To her surprise, she began to see some sort of flow of energy. It wasn't an image fed to her mind by her eyes; it was as if she physically sensed a force that existed outside the physical realm. It was then that she realized that the sense of danger, the foreboding by an invisible prophet, came from this sense, this new side of her. She could also feel there was far more to it.
Soni took a deep breath and focused on the criminal before her, and how she could take him down. As she hoped, the flow lent her its foresight. A voiceless whisper advised to use the earth itself, and darken his vision. The girl couldn't have agreed more.
While he was still several feet away, she began her assault, darting directly toward him. Her shield sat in her left hand, returned at some point she couldn't remember. Once she was close enough, as she predicted, he swung down his right blade, pushing her into a slide on the ground. His left followed with a swipe to the side to push her shield away. Soni allowed him to be successful, because she had filled her other hand with dirt during the slide. Before he could stop her, she cast it into his eyes, sending him back in a flurry of swinging blades. Curses flew out his mouth, most of them directed at her. Neither sword nor expletive could get through her shield, however.
As soon as his arm lifted to wipe his eyes, she dashed forward, and with all her strength slammed her shield into his armpit. It was a handy trick she learned in the orphanage: there was a nerve that ran up the side of the chest, sitting below the skin in the armpit. Because of this, the armpit was an often explorer tickle spot. More conveniently, on the other hand, it would cause the whole arm to go numb if hit hard enough.
Her memory served her well. His arm immediately fell limp after a shout of pain, and dropping with it was his sword. As it fell through the air, she could feel a push to intercept it. Without thinking, her hand stretched out and grabbed the falling sword. Her body twisted around, and she swung the blade down and through his wrist, removing his hand and other weapon.
He screamed as Soni dropped the sword. Her heart began beating fast as he fell to his knees clenching his dehanded arm.
Every part of her wanted to apologize for her instinctive decision, but her powers had yet to return. The man sat there, unaware of what to do aside from yell and curse. Her mind was caught between taking the opportunity to run or help him. Running after such an attack was certainly awful. Leaving someone to bleed out, even someone terrible enough to attempt to kill you, had to be ruthless, and would lower her to his level. On the other hand, helping was doubtlessly stupid. He just tried to kill her, thus there would be no reason this time would be any different.
The last thought was the most accurate; in her frozen state he lunged for the sword she dropped. Her throat tightened, preparing for a scream that'd never come. To her surprise, her reflex was lunging forward and kicking his head upward. It went flying backward, and his body fell to its side as he fell into unconsciousness.
Silence returned to the air. Shield and all, her hands were held up against her mask, fists so tight that imprints were left when she placed them flat against the sides of her face. Her optical focus point changed from the incapacitated attacker to her pet, for Muse fluttered down from some unknown point in the atmosphere and onto the ground. With a curious look she awaited her human friend's next move; after all, in the past few minutes the actions of her caretaker were very hard to predict.
Soni's shielded hand fell to her side as the other remained on her face. It did follow shortly after, however, to deactivate the blue field and retract the metal. Guess I'll hang on to this, she thought to herself.
Her pet seemed quite ready to go by the look on her feathered face, and, despite the inexplicable urge to stay frozen in shocked consideration of everything that just happened, Soni couldn't help but agree. So she went on her way out of the forest, hoping her powers would be back soon.
