"I’m a singer. Just a singer." Tears flowed freely down the young girl’s cheeks as she was obviously too hysterical to wipe them away. She clutched the Caretaker’s sleeve desperately, her watery eyes begging the older woman to believe her. "It just all went wrong..." The girl broke down sobbing, leaning against the mage for support.
Mystic, completely unaware of what was going on, patted the girl on the back and murmured calming words. She glanced up at Magika, looking for direction.
The Weyrwoman, who had brought the distraught girl here, shrugged. You’re the one who’s good at stuff like this.
Although neither of the two were technically telepathic, they’d been friends long enough that the unspoken comment reached Mystic’s ears as surely as if Magika had spoken it. If there was one thing the Caretaker of the Warren didn’t like, it was not knowing things. The next look, and gesture, she gave her friend could be translated as "What in the name of everything holy did you do to this poor girl?"
Magika, looking indignant, pointed at A’diar. The black/brown rider, who’d jokingly been dubbed ‘Earth’s Searchrider’, shook his head sadly. Instantaneously, Mystic knew there was something greater amiss here than one hysterical girl.
She sighed and began to whisper a sleep spell under her breath. Magika caught the girl as she began to slowly sink to the floor and lifted her in her arms. The three conscious people stared at the one unconscious girl, who continued to cry in her sleep, for a moment and then looked around at each other. Mystic waved her hand in the direction of a couch and Magika set the girl down, covering her with a blanket before heading back to her friends. Leaving the girl to her rest, Magika and A’diar followed Mystic towards her rooms. Hope, the draca, stayed behind at a telepathic command from Mystic, to watch the girl.
The three sighed as they collapsed into chairs in Mystic’s private study. The Caretaker finally decided to break the silence. "So, what did you do now Magika?" Mystic had already determined that the fault probably didn’t lie with her friend, but there was no harm in asking, especially when Magika was involved.
The Weyrwoman shook her head sadly. Magika had never been good at dealing with people, unless she was allowed to use threats or violence. The girl had unnerved her and shaken her so badly that she responded seriously to Mystic’s poor attempt at a joke. "Nothing." She looked expectantly at A’diar.
The black/brown rider was staring at his shoes, looking serious for probably the first time in his life. "It was wrong."
The two women looked at each other questioningly, realized neither knew what A’diar was talking about, and then returned their attention to Earth’s Searchrider as he continued the story. A’diar smiled sadly. "I ended up on Earth again, not really a big surprise. If the thought even crosses my mind as Doroboth betweens I seem to end up there. He must excel at betweening or something. Anyways, it was wrong."
"Earth?" Both women spoke together, but both were too interested in the story to acknowledge the fact.
A’diar, who knew Magika and Mystic and was aware of the fact they often thought the same thing, smirked, but didn’t comment on it. "Yeah. Earth. Something went wrong. It was..." The rider searched for the right word. "...bad. It’s hard to explain, but do you remember that long and involved theory you had about why I always pop onto Earth during the same time period?"
Mystic nodded. Usually the brown/black rider appeared during a 20 year period from 1995 to 2015 Earth time. A’diar had noticed this as well and brought it to the Caretaker’s attention. He was rewarded with a long and involved speech about alternate realities and relative time. A’diar had retained absolutely no knowledge of anything that had been said, other than the fact that he was going to keep appearing between 1995 and 2015 unless something horribly disastrous shattered the space/time continuum.
Magika smiled, knowing A’diar didn’t care for science and could live a long, happy life without ever hearing the Theory of Relativity again. She hadn’t understood any of Mystic’s explanation either, but the memory of Mystic trying to pound the information, literally, into A’diar’s head was quite amusing.
"It’s wrong." A’diar feared briefly the wrath of Mystic, the Caretaker did -not- like to be wrong, but he quickly realized she was too interested in why there was a sobbing girl on her couch to question why he had arrived at a different time. "It was Earth’s future, I didn’t ask the year but I’m gonna go with distant future. I was only there for a couple of hours. Doroboth informed me that we were on Earth, I didn’t even recognize it. He said we had to help Kieoxa, that’s the girl’s name for the record, because she was in serious trouble. I found her in a prison of some sort, shrieking loud enough to raise the dead and scratching at the rock walls." He shuddered. "She was not, is not, in good shape. Her hands..." The rider was not normally squeamish, but he paled at whatever image his mind was presenting him with. "I think she’s lost her mind. I didn’t bother explaining anything to her, I just grabbed her and headed for Adanuk."
"At which point Magika brought you here." Mystic glared at her friend. She wasn’t really angry at Magika, she wouldn’t have missed what she could already tell was going to be an interesting story for the world, but she did need someone to blame for the headache she felt slowly creeping up on her.
Magika smirked. "I’m bad at helping people with their feelings. I would have screwed it up. The girl, Kieoxa, obviously needed some help and I figured you were smart."
Mystic rolled her eyes. "The concept of taking her to a healer never crossed your mind, did it?"
Magika grinned. "Nope."
Mystic sighed and turned her attention back to A’dair, who was slightly insulted at being temporarily forgotten. "How was Earth different? You said it was bad..."
A’diar took a deep breath, obviously searching for words to describe what he’d seen. "There was a lot more tech-no-lo-gy then before." He stuttered over the unfamiliar word, taught to him by his two Earth companions, Li and Sherry, and which he took to mean anything made of metal. "They’d made a lot of advancements. Some people were perfectly happy, living in the lap of luxury. They were surrounded by all the techno-logy. They seemed completely unaware of the other people...the thousands living on the streets, in slums, starving, sick, dying. At least I figured they must be unaware." A’diar shook his head sadly. "They weren’t unaware, they just didn’t care. Somewhere along the line, the Earthlings decided to rank everyone, see who was better than who, those who didn’t measure up...they..." A’diar sighed. "Magika wouldn’t treat Hope like these people treat their ‘lessers’."
Mystic, whose mind was already jumping to conclusions and analyzing the situation, grasped the meaning of A’diar’s metaphor and ignored the remark about her draca.
Magika half-smiled and shook her head. "No wonder the girl went mad."
"I think there’s more to it than that Magika. I think we should talk to her." A’diar obviously considered the girl his responsibility.
"In the morning..." Mystic let the sentence hang. "Let her sleep."
* * * After a good night’s sleep and a warm breakfast, Kieoxa seemed to have regained some of her sanity. She was still crying, but the hysteria had disappeared, leaving only a deep sadness. Unfortunately, without the hysteria, Kieoxa began to realize where she was and that this place was not where she had been before, nor was it anywhere on her planet. She jumped as Magika, Mystic and A’diar returned. She dropped the bowl she’d been eating from and pulled the blanket tighter around her. She hadn’t spoken or left the couch that Magika had laid her on the night before.
"Kieoxa?" A’diar smiled. "Do you remember me?"
The girl shook her head and looked as if she wished she could crawl through the wall.
"My name’s A’diar. I brought you here, Kieoxa."
"Where is here? Why am I here? How do you know my name? What are you ranked? Are you doctors? Have I been tested? Where is Meali? Is Triaxen mad? Has he abandoned me? Are you masters?" Kieoxa spoke quickly, a hint of insanity revealing itself.
A’diar, completely overwhelmed, turned to Magika. The Weyrwoman approached the girl, followed by Mystic. "My name is Magika, and this is Mystic." Making a quick decision to answer the girl’s questions without hinting at anything magical, since A’diar had told her that they didn’t believe in magic, or dragons, on Earth. The last thing this girl needed was more to worry about. "Here is Mystic’s home. A’diar brought you here because he saw that you needed help. When you were upset you told A’diar your name, you probably don’t remember because you were so upset." Hopefully you don’t remember your brief stay at Adanuk or the dragons... Magika paused a moment to decide how to answer the next group of questions. Finally, she decided to skip over the questions she didn’t understand. She assumed the rank of Weyrwoman would mean little to a girl from Earth. "We’re not doctors, but Mystic is a sort of healer."
Mystic glanced angrily at her friend and muttered under her breath. "Sort of healer?"
Magika shrugged. "You’re better than me."
Mystic rolled her eyes and Magika continued answering the questions. "I do not know where Meali is. I do not know who Triaxen is. I am going to assume that they are both very far away from here. If you desperately need to contact them, I’m sure I can find them."
"No!" The girl looked alarmed. "I don’t want to talk to them. Can you keep me safe from them?" Her fear of these two individuals had transformed Magika, A’diar and Mystic from captors to saviours.
"They can’t hurt you." Mystic assured her.
The girl sighed and relaxed until a new thought hit her. "Am I yours? Did you take me? Are you masters?"
Mystic and Magika exchanged a glance, both jumping to the conclusion that this girl had been a slave. "We’re not masters..."
Mystic was interrupted. "Then who are the masters? What are you ranked?" The girl was beginning to panic again. Her eyes darted around the room like she expected demons to leap out of the shadows to claim her.
"There are no masters..." Mystic reached out to touch the girl’s arm.
Kieoxa pulled back from her and looked as if she was going to burst into tears again. "No!" She shouted the word and pulled the covers up above her head. The three looked at each other. They had no idea how to treat this situation. From the sounds the girl was making, they could assume she was crying again. "No masters..." Her voice almost sounded hopeful. "Liars!!" Her face appeared again out from underneath the blanket. Her hair stood out at odd angles from being ruffled and her face was red from trying to breath through the blanket. "It’s a test! All a test!! You lie! You must! No masters...impossible!! I want to see the masters!" She lifted her arm and turned her wrist to the light, displaying a tattoo. The tattoo had obviously been placed on her against her will, as it was smeared in places like the needle had been knocked away once or twice during the procedure. It wasn’t a picture, but a bunch of funny symbols that the three assumed were writing. "I’m Kieoxa, Basic A, gold level."
Magika, Mystic and A’diar looked at the tattoo, then each other and finally blankly at the girl. "Kieoxa, I believe there has been a misunderstanding..." Mystic tried to grab the girl’s hand, but she pulled it away.
"NO!" The girl shrieked, causing Magika and A’diar to cringe. Mystic remained calm, knowing full well that if she lost her cool, the girl would be lost as well. Kieoxa continued to ramble. "There must be masters! I am Kieoxa, Basic A, gold level! What is your rank? Tell me!"
"Girl." Mystic used her stern Caretaker voice. "You will listen..."
Kieoxa shrieked in exasperation and slapped the older woman. "NO!! You don’t outrank me!! I won’t listen! I don’t have to listen!" The girl collapsed, hysteria returning with a vengeance.
Mystic, too shocked to move, stared at the girl silently, whatever she’d been about to say was lost in her rising fury. Magika saw her friend turning red and quickly grabbed her arm. "Let’s give her a minute Mystic." When the Caretaker resisted, the Weyrwoman slung her over her shoulder and nudged A’diar, who’d been taken aback by the girl’s fury and not paying attention to either of the women.
When the door was closed, Mystic’s temper flared. "PUT ME DOWN!"
Magika dropped her. A’diar snickered, but catching Mystic’s eye, wisely turned the laugh into a cough. "Mystic..."
"She hit me! The little, ungrateful, uneducated, dirty..." Mystic continued to mutter dirty words under her breath and satisfied her need to hurt something by mauling the sleeves of her robe.
Magika crossed her arms, losing patience with her friend. "And I’m sure if you go in there raging and throwing lightening bolts she’ll apologize. Right before she completely loses her mind and throws herself off a cliff."
Mystic, seeing Magika’s point (although she’d die before she ever admitted that), took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "She hit me."
"She’s hysterical." Magika, an inbred need to somehow take control of the situation urging her on to action, began to pace and tried to think of someway to talk to the girl without having to answer all her crazy questions. "‘Who are the masters?’" She repeated the question to herself under her breath, hoping maybe to think of some answer without outright lying to the girl. "We could always say we are the masters, since technically we kind of are. We could demand to know what is going on."
Mystic rolled her eyes. "I think it’s a little late for that. Apparently she outranks us."
"I told you." A’diar finally spoke, silence didn’t become him. "They ranked everyone. That’s the first question anyone there asked me. What do I rank?" He shook his head. "She was part of the higher middle class as far as I could tell. The upper class were referred to as ‘masters’ and ordered everyone lesser than them around. Kieoxa is looking for direction."
"Or covering herself in case the masters do show up and think that she was conspiring against them." Magika leaned against the wall. She could still hear the girl screaming.
That idea seemed to make sense to all involved. After being imprisoned, it was safe to assume she wouldn’t want to anger the masters again. The girl looked to be about 26 or 27, but none of them thought to call her a woman. Something in the way she carried herself, the way she moved, the way she looked at you made you think of a child, lost, alone and afraid. That child-like vibe she gave off was what caused A’diar to save her, Magika to bring her here, Mystic to want to help her. The girl could live until she was 200 and she’d still be a child. Her hair was black and her eyes were deep blue, like looking into the ocean at night. She was of medium build, but much to skinny, like she’d been starved repeatedly until her body was sucked dry. Her hands were well-worn from work and, at the moment had no nails. A’diar reported that she’d been scratching at the rock walls of her last prison and that probably accounted for the bleeding, bruised, nail-less fingers. She was wearing a simple white dress with gold trim and a gold pattern on the bodice. The material had obviously once been nice, but was now stained with dirt and blood. She might have been almost pretty, if she wasn’t dirty, hysterical and terrified.
"If she could tell us what happened, maybe we could help her." Mystic muttered the words, obviously thinking out loud. As her mind worked, her body forgot where it was. Magika knew if either she or A’diar spoke they’d derail her train of thought and earn the Caretaker’s wrath. After being forced to swallow her pride after being slapped, Mystic was not in a good mood.
Magika put her fingers to her lips when A’diar looked like he was going to say something. She mouthed the words ‘Let her think.’ The Weyrwoman leaned against the rock wall and let her thoughts wander. A’diar amused himself by studying two beautiful necklaces, probably gifts for Li and Sherry, and probably stolen.
Almost fifteen minutes passed while Mystic thought and Kieoxa wailed. "Myrah’Care!" The Caretaker’s eyes snapped open and she looked expectantly at her friends, expecting praise for her brilliant idea.
Her friends were not in a position to offer praise, partly because they weren’t psychic and didn’t know her brilliant plan and partly because Mystic’s sudden exclamation caused them both to jump. A’diar had a hand on his chest and was breathing heavily and Magika was nursing a bruised head. "What the hell are you blabbering about?" Magika was silently cursing herself for almost nodding off and audibly cursing the wall.
"The dragons!" Obviously Mystic expected that to explain everything.
Magika looked blankly at A’diar who shrugged and looked expectantly at Mystic.
The Caretaker cursed her two uneducated friends and launched into her explanation. "The dragons are telepathic. They can talk to her, hopefully without scaring her to death. If we handle this right, they could get the information out of her and she need never know they were dragons."
A’diar, liking what he heard of the idea, chimed in. "Yeah! They do have psychics!! I know they do! That’s part of what is taken into consideration when you’re ranked!"
"Myrah’Care will talk, she’s the..." Mystic was cut off by her silver dragoness. The Caretaker was informed that Hyth had already made contact.
Magika grinned and winked. "Don’t worry. I’ve got everything under control."
Mystic glared. "I thought you weren’t good with ‘touchy-feely stuff’."
"Hyth is."
A’diar snickered.
* * * Kieoxa had gone insane.
Part of her crazed mind told her that the fact she understood her madness meant that she was not completely gone. Kieoxa told that part of her brain to shut up. Kieoxa told the part of her brain that was Melody to shut up. Kieoxa was insane, and she was glad. They discontinue the minds that have gone crazy. They will discontinue me. I can sleep...forever...alone...in the quiet. I am insane. I will be discontinued.
You will not be discontinued. Hyth had picked up the last part of the girls thoughts and felt it best to reassure her before demanding answers. Unfortunately, the gold dragon was used to giving orders, not sympathy, and the comment sounded more like a threat than a relief.
Kieoxa jumped and looked around the room. She was not surprised the three idiots that had been in earlier had finally called a master. How could Basics possibly hope to help her? She sniffled and wiped her eyes, despair creeping over her. I think I’m beginning to regain my sanity.
Good. After a quick conference with Magika and Myrah’Care, Hyth decided to ask questions before giving answers. Now who are you and where did you come from?
The part of her that was Melody raged against the psychic. That part of her that had rejoiced when the three people who had come to her earlier had claimed that there were no masters. That part of her that was telling her now to refuse to answer, to demand the respect due every living creature. "I am Kieoxa, Basic A, gold-level. I belong to Master Triaxen. I come from..." She stopped, unaware of the name of the detention centre she’d been held at. "...I’m not sure. I was held for my own safety. I was crazy." Kieoxa was amazingly relieved to have someone back in her life to direct her, to provide her with the orders she was accustomed to since she was five years old. Melody hated that sense of relief. Kieoxa wasn’t listening to her anymore. Melody was what got her into this entire mess in the first place.
After another brief chat with her rider, Hyth continued. Kieoxa assumed the pause was for the psychic to double check with her story. How did you come to be crazy?
The girl was momentarily stunned. How did I come to be crazy? The question didn’t make sense. They should be dragging her off to be tested, not listening to her life story. Melody, completely against Kieoxa’s will, returned. "Why would a master need to know this? What do you care for me? Test me. Release me. Discontinue me. I care not. But my thoughts are my own." The girl cringed, awaiting judgement.
Hyth, not entirely sure what to do with this sudden change of personality, decided to change the topic. Who is Melody? Is she trying to control your thoughts? I will remove her influence so you may answer my questions fully. What does she rank? Hyth silently mentioned to her rider that she was becoming a pretty good actress and that she thought that comment about rank was rather ingenious of herself. Magika told her not to overdo it. Mystic told Magika she was an idiot.
The question amazed Kieoxa. No psychic had ever asked her about Melody before...no psychic had ever assumed Melody was a different person. "Melody..." Kieoxa felt the tears returning to her eyes. This is all Melody’s fault...She is different now. I can’t be her anymore! I can’t! Melody let them die!
Hyth realized she made a mistake as the girl was slowly becoming hysterical again. Despite Mystic’s warning to keep her cool, the Sr. Queen lost her temper. With whom do you commune?
Kieoxa put her hand to her temple to try to shut out the telepathic voice, even though she knew it was hopeless. Possible answers to the psychic’s question floated through her head. The leader of the resistance. A murder. A traitor. A fool. A singer...
"Myself Master. I talk to myself." She bit her lip, hoping the pain would stop her from sobbing again. "I am Melody." Any further questions from the dragon were drowned out by the girl’s own depressed mind as it finally admitted that fact to itself. "It’s all my fault!"
* * * "Do you think she’s possessed?" A’diar thought it a likely possibility. After all, she’d certainly looked haunted by a demon when he found her scratching her nails right off and throwing herself at the stone wall.
"More likely schizophrenic." From what she remembered of Earth, Mystic thought a medical explanation more likely than a mystical.
"No." All had heard Hyth’s story, the gold could bespeak Magika’s close friends, but only Magika felt the emotion behind the gold’s words. "She is Melody. It’s probably a name she took on to hide herself. Kieoxa wasn’t strong enough, brave enough, but Melody was."
A’diar smirked. "You’d know all about that wouldn’t you?"
Magika glared and opened her mouth to respond to that comment, when Mystic intervened. "Both of you stop it!" Magika and A’diar continued to glare at each other, but the Caretaker had at least stopped them from going to blows. Mystic sighed. "I think she’s lost her mind."
"No." Magika disagreed with her friend once again. "She’s upset because she just realized she hasn’t lost her mind. As long as she was crazy she could blame other people, she could blame Melody. As soon as she realized she wasn’t crazy, it was her fault again."
A’diar sighed. "Makes sense. When she thought she was crazy, she had an excuse. Now she doesn’t."
The Caretaker shook her head sadly as she looked at the closed door that concealed the girl. "But is that a step forwards or backwards?"
* * * I’m crazy. I have to be. Kieoxa lay on the couch, her eyes closed. She had been lying like that for what felt like an eternity. She could no longer feel her arms or legs. She had been waiting patiently for the three people or their master to return, but was now beginning to think they’d left her on her own to die. You could always get up and try the door. Kieoxa sighed. What’s the point? I’m crazy. Kieoxa tried to move her fingers, discovered that they could barely twitch. This attempt at movement made her realize she was hungry. They won’t feed me. They’ve left me alone to die.
Kieoxa felt like she was going to cry again. This isn’t like you Kieoxa. You are stronger than this. Get up and go looking for food. You can get out of this, find a way home, make it better.
Kieoxa didn’t feel like listening to herself. How can I possibly make things better? I should just stay here, let the world slip away...
No! Open your eyes.
Why should I? I can’t make it better. No one can.
Open your eyes!!
I just make things worse...
OPEN YOUR EYES!! Kieoxa’s eyes snapped open as she sat up. She blinked a couple of times, the room being brighter than she remembered. Stupid survival instinct. Kieoxa began to slowly move her feet and her hands, knowing full well that if she began to move too quickly the tingly pins and needles in her limbs would grow painful. She began to scan the room, noticed that there weren’t many furnishings, the door was opened and unlocked, there was a poker for the fireplace that could be used as a weapon... Kieoxa sighed and stood up. I’m getting out of here...I’ll go home...I’ll make things better... She choked on her tears as she held back her sobs. She grabbed the poker and headed for the door. She listened for anyone in the hall, paused with her hand on the doorknob. Make things better... She looked longingly back at the couch. She wiped her eyes, clearing it from tears and the images her mind kept presenting to her against her will. Make things better... She snorted and threw the door open.
* * * "She’s headed down towards the snagons." Hope appeared on Mystic’s shoulder, startling everyone but the Caretaker.
Magika, hand on her heart, glared at the draca. "She didn’t see you did she?"
The draca smiled smugly. "I am nothing but a wonderfully crafted figurine."
"We can only wish." Magika rolled her eyes. The draca glared, but Mystic once again prevented a fight.
"Should we intervene or let her meet the little pests?" A’diar brought them back to the problem at hand.
Before anyone could say anything, a shriek reverberated down the halls. The three looked at each other then ran for the snagon caves. Magika pulled ahead of the trio, muttering to herself. "Stupid snagons"
Hope, to the Weyrwoman’s annoyance, was the only one who heard. "Do you think they’d pass up a chance to meet someone new?"
* * * Kieoxa swung the metal poker, keeping the things at bay. They looked like snakes with wings and she assumed they were the product of some scientists experiment. They chattered on and on at her and the girl could almost swear the chirps were words. "Now I know I’ve lost it." She put her back against the rock wall and swung the poker desperately. They just kept coming and coming and she knew that they were getting angrier and angrier. She closed her eyes tight and swung harder. The pole was almost jarred from her hand when she hit something solid.
"Damn!" The solid thing swore and grabbed the poker. "Calm down!"
Kieoxa recognized the voice as belonging to one of the three who had spoken to her earlier. She opened her mouth, but almost ended up eating one of the creatures. Without her poker to defend herself, they were all swarming her.
The other person seemed to realize this as well and grabbed the girl. She pulled her close, protecting the girl from the creatures with her own body. They began walking, Kieoxa letting the other person lead her. Her saviour flung Kieoxa into a hallway and slammed the door. She leaned against the closed door and panted.
Kieoxa lay on the ground where she’d fallen, trying to catch her breath.
The other person, who Kieoxa could know she was an older woman, perhaps in her late thirties, smiled. "Damn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the snagons that mad."
"Snagons?" Kieoxa asked, sitting up. She was amazingly annoyed to discover that her hands were shaking.
The other woman seemed to realize that Kieoxa was a little wigged. She brushed a piece of her hair out of her face and wiped the blood away from a tiny cut on her cheek. "Yeah. That’s what we call them. They’re actually pretty friendly if you don’t try to kill them."
Kieoxa pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her legs, effectively becoming a ball. "Snagons..." She bit her tongue, promising herself that she wouldn’t cry again.
The other woman knelt down in front of her. "I’ve already introduced myself once, but I have a feeling you don’t remember. My name’s Magika and you might have noticed there’s some pretty weird stuff happening around here. There’s going to be a lot of things around here that you’ve never seen before, never imagined before, but I promise I’ll look out for you, if you promise to accept it and not kill anything."
Kieoxa looked up at the woman, felt comforted by her smile. She looked back at the closed door, her only protection from the snagons. "I have a funny feeling the snagons aren’t the worst of this are they?"
Magika grinned. "Nope." She helped the girl stand. "Why don’t we start by meeting Hyth. She’s the psychic."
Kieoxa nodded, glancing at the tiny scratches along her arms. "Okay." She was upset with herself. She’d lived in the slums of Earth, helped the lower class, worked in the pathetic hospitals the ‘masters’ set up for the less fortunate, and yet now she was unnerved by flying snakes.
"Is she okay?" The Caretaker appeared in a flash of blue light, a surprised A’diar right behind her.
Kieoxa grabbed Magika’s arm, pulled the woman in front of her and closed her eyes tight.
Magika, wincing from the pain, removed her arm from Kieoxa’s grasp and let the girl hug her. "It’s okay. Don’t worry. That’s just Mystic. You met her earlier. She’s one of the strange things around here."
Mystic glared at Magika, but quickly smiled the second Kieoxa looked at her. "Sorry to startle you. I’ve never seen the snagons react like that."
"No one has ever tried hitting them with a fire poker before." Magika grinned and Kieoxa finally let go.
Mystic sighed. "So I guess she’s figured out she’s not on Earth anymore."
Kieoxa pushed Magika away. "Good. I never want to go back." She stormed off down the hall, or at least tried to.
Magika grabbed her arm. "Hey! You’re breaking the promise. You were supposed to accept everything."
Kieoxa was too startled by everything that had happened to her to think of a good lie. Tears filled her eyes as she glared at the older woman. "I don’t like the snagons!" She knew it sounded stupid, but it was the only thing she could think of to say.
Magika grinned and patted her on the back. "Nobody likes the snagons."
Kieoxa almost smiled.
* * * I hate it when people talk about me like I’m not here. Kieoxa lay on her couch, listening to the two older women talk. They’d already sent the man back to Adanuk, wherever that was, and were now debating whether or not Magika got to stay.
"I can take care of her. She’ll be fine. She’s already met the dragons, there’s nothing much more traumatic around here." Mystic was trying to get rid of her friend.
Kieoxa hugged herself, remembering her meeting with Hyth and Myrah’Care. They were a lot bigger than she had expected. Not only that, but they were real. They didn’t look anything like the computer special effects she was used to, they looked real. Kieoxa was beginning to believe that she really was on another planet. She pulled the blanket up around her and resumed listening to the conversation being held outside her door. Magika wanted to stay. "That Barok messed up clutch will be hatching soon. I was planning on coming for that anyways. There’s no point in going home."
Mystic rolled her eyes. "The Rave Hatching won’t be for a month at least."
Magika smirked. "I was planning on staying for a visit."
Mystic glared. "Whenever you’re around things are crazy. Everyone is thrown off task."
Magika snorted. "You make me sound like a natural disaster."
"If the comparison works!" Mystic crossed her arms and there was silence as both tried to think of a deciding argument.
Magika crossed her arms, finally becoming serious. "Mystic, I promised her I’d explain everything to her."
Mystic sighed and glared. "I’m much better than you at explaining what happens at -my- Warren."
"Mystic." Magika voice dropped so it was barely audible. "I promised I’d look out for her."
There was silence as the Caretaker thought over her friend’s last argument. Mystic sighed and Magika grinned, knowing she won. "Just try not to cause too much trouble."
"I promise nothing." The two women continued on down the hall, leaving Kieoxa by herself.
"She promised she’d protect me..." Kieoxa sighed into the darkness. "Now if only I was worth protecting..."
Why aren’t you worth protecting Kieoxa? Hyth had been watching the girl closely ever since their meeting earlier that day.
Kieoxa felt the tears return to her eyes. "Why can’t I stop crying?"
"Because it hurts." Magika stood in the doorway, obviously called back to her charge by Hyth.
Kieoxa sniffled and rolled over so she didn’t have to face the Weyrwoman. "I don’t want to talk about it if that’s what you’re thinking. I just want to..."
"What?" Magika entered the room and sat on a chair opposite the couch. "Die?"
Kieoxa nodded.
Magika shook her head. "I don’t believe that."
"If you knew what I know. If you knew what I’ve done! If you knew what I am..."
"You’re a singer. And you don’t want to die."
"Why?" Kieoxa was genuinely confused.
"Because people who want to die don’t cry. Because people who want to die have stopped caring enough to cry."
Kieoxa didn’t answer, just continued to sob into her pillow.
"Why are you crying?"
"Because." Kieoxa turned so she could look at Magika as she told her story. "It hurts."
* * * The air smelled like something dying, and the foul-smelling smog stuck to the back of her throat. There were people in various states of starvation, and corpses in various states of decomposition all around her, but Melody had learned to ignore both. The corpses didn’t matter, and the starving knew where they had to go to get food, they were practically sitting on it’s doorstep. The safehouse that Melody sang at would give a free meal to anyone, but some people would die before swallowing their pride. The girl hiked up her gold hem as she walked the dirty streets, doing her best to avoid the puddles. It would be no good if she came home and her dress was dirty. Triaxen would know she left the estate. Her master was a completely spaced out old man, but even he could tell a dirty frock from a clean one. She hummed a tune to herself as she swung open the door to ‘Heaven’s Waiting Room’ as the building was jokingly called. After all, if you were stuck in a place like that, you were only a step away from God’s doorstep.
"Mel!" Hiana waved from the bar, indicated her friend was supposed to join her.
Melody waved back and started to walk over, but not before scanning the crowd for unfamiliar faces. Melody prided herself in knowing just about every person of importance in this place, and some people were pretty important. After all, in that little, run-down, smelly, dirty safehouse packed full with the dead and dying, Melody ran her resistance.
As she looked around the room at her fellow freedom fighters all happily disguised as either patrons of the questionable establishment, or it’s staff. They were a good mixture, consisting of Basics of all degrees, and a few Devolved. The person sitting across from Hiana, the only unfamiliar face in the room, did not fit into either category. It was a girl, perhaps 25 years old, with honey blond hair and a fair complexion. She’d obviously not worked a day in her life. She glanced around nervously at the other patrons and especially at the devolved.
Melody smirked. Definitely a master. Probably only heard of the devolved, never seen one, until tonight. I wonder what she’s doing here and why Hiana hasn’t poisoned her yet.
About a century previous, humankind got it into their heads that they could speed up evolution. All sorts of genetic tests were done in the effort to create a better human. The result was a war that lasted almost fifty years between the ‘higher’ humans and the normal humans. During this time, the experiments continued, but problems arose. A new kind of human emerged, a counterweight on the cosmic scale to the higher humans presence. The devolved looked more like neanderthal man and were considered to have about the same intelligence. The higher humans, who unfortunately won the war, labelled them unhuman and set out to exterminate them, while they only enslaved the normal humans. Suddenly, a genetically pure human was nothing more than a basic.
Melody sighed as she looked at the smeared tattoo on her forearm which told the world she was nothing more than a basic human being. But that’s all going to change.
"Mel, this is Meali, a master." The way Hiana said the word master spoke volumes on what she thought of masters. Hiana was a devolved and was taking great pleasure in making this Meali as uncomfortable as possible. Even though the masters had set out to destroy the devolved and the lower level basics, there were still a few protected in the world. Heaven’s Waiting Room wasn’t the only safehouse, nor was it the only location of the rebellion.
"Hello." Meali was obviously trying to be polite.
Melody had half a mind to throw her out and let her walk home, but she was too curious to see what a master was doing here, desperately trying to make polite conversation with someone she considered no higher than an animal. "I’d love to talk, but I’m on in five." She pointed at the stage. "Stick around."
Meali took the entire room by shock as she nodded patiently. "My business is not with you anyways." Melody smiled, knowing full well that Meali was going to stay until she got what she wanted. Masters were funny that way.
Hiana mouthed ‘resistance’ while Meali was still looking at Melody. So she’s here to talk to the leader of the resistance huh? Interesting.
Nodding to the group of musicians already set up on the stage, Melody stretched and took a deep breath. The air smelled horrible, but there was no place else she’d rather be. Since she was five years old and huddling with her mother in a safehouse, desperately avoiding the testing, Melody had wanted to be a singer. The comfort that her mother’s lullaby’s had brought to the terrified toddler was well remembered, and Melody knew with a little bit of effort, her music could bring comfort to others as well. The music started, the group never waited for her signal, and Melody sang. She was pleased to note that Meali was surprised by her voice, obviously masters didn’t think basics could sing.
Hiana was just as pleased to note Meali’s shock. "She’s good huh?" Hiana was 17 and covered from head to toe with thick brown hair. She had a tail, but walked upright making her look like a cross between a monkey and a man. Her appearance was startling to those who weren’t used to the devolved.
Meali listened to the emotion Melody put behind every note. "She sings like it’s the only thing she has in the world."
Hiana made a snorting noise that her friends knew as a laugh, but Meali mistook for a growl. "It is." The devolved girl left her post, no longer trusting herself around the master. It was Melody’s job to order this Meali’s death, and Hiana wasn’t sure if she could wait that long.
As it turned out, Hiana was just the first to see the fire. "FIRE! RAID!"
Melody shut her mouth, blinked her eyes to clear them. She wasn’t used to being interrupted half-way through a song, but she had been working at Heaven’s Waiting Room long enough to know how to react. Hiana was already running towards the back rooms to warn the people who were already asleep and she could see others moving towards the infirmary. In fact, the only person not moving was Meali. Melody smiled. Supposedly the smartest person here and she’s the only one who doesn’t know what to do. "Meali. Master. Follow me."
Melody grabbed the girl’s arm, not too gently and pulled her to her feet. The girl looked like she might argue, but the threat of the fire, which was now plainly visible, got her moving. "Where did the fire start?" The girl coughed as smoke began to fill her lungs.
Melody dragged her into the street and headed for their backup plan. They always had another house, that was almost as nice, waiting in case something should happen and they needed to evacuate. When you ran a rebellion, you needed to be able to move out quickly. "Every now and then the masters get it into their heads to burn the corpses that litter the street." Melody pushed past the crowd in the alleyway, dragging Meali behind her. The girl was beginning to look faint, and not just because of the smoke. Obviously she was not used to running for her life over the corpses of people who had obviously died in pain.
"Shouldn’t we...shouldn’t you...help..." Meali was out of breath and scarred for life.
"No. I can’t help. You could master." Melody put the same sarcastic slur on the word that Hiana used. "But you won’t. After all, your friends started the fire."
"But living beings will die."
The comment almost knocked Melody off her feet. As she pulled Meali onto the boat that was crossing the river to safety, she looked into the master’s eyes. She was crying. "Since when does a master care about us nobody’s?"
Meali sniffled and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I came to talk to the leader of the rebellion. I know you must be a part. I want...to help."
Meldoy’s jaw hit the floor. "Help?"
Meali had the satisfaction of smiling smugly. "You said I was the one who could." Meali took a deep breath and tried not to look like the spoiled brat she undoubtably was. "Take me to the leader of the resistance."
Melody, who quickly recovered her composure when faced with a smug master, snorted. "You want to help. Ha. Why? Because you saw some poor Basic A getting beaten? Because you’re a vegetarian and can’t see any creature suffer? What do you care?"
"Maybe I care a lot more than you think. Just because my kind is getting the good side of things doesn’t mean we can’t see what you’re getting. We’re not inhuman." Meali tried to look sympathetic.
Melody didn’t trust this girl any farther then she could throw her. "No, it doesn’t mean you’re inhuman. It means we are." She nodded towards the burning half of the city.
They could both still hear the screams.
* * * "What makes you think the leader of the rebellion wants a masters help?" The two were part of a search party, walking the empty, ash covered streets, looking for survivors. Melody was surprised that Meali was trying to help. Obviously the master was trying to prove that she was serious. Melody still didn’t believe her.
"If they were a smart person, they would." Meali knelt down and took the pulse of a body. It was dead. She wrinkled her nose, but a least she didn’t faint like she had earlier. The man had tried to avoid the fire by hiding in a flooded basement. He’d drowned. "A master could help your cause immensely. I have a few friends who would be willing to side with me. We could speak in the Council. Let your story be heard somewhere important for a change."
Melody snorted. "And why do you think..."
To her surprise, the timid Meali actually spoke up. "My turn to ask a question."
Melody glared. "No."
"Everyone calls you Melody, but your arm says Kieoxa. Why?"
Melody grit her teeth, told herself not to knock the girl unconscious. That would only mean she’d have to carry her home. "It’s just a nickname."
"I don’t think so." Meali was part psychic, all masters were. "Why?"
"Give me one good reason to tell you." Melody turned to face the girl.
"Because it’s only fair. I’ve told you all sorts of stuff about me and you haven’t spoken a word about yourself." Meali crossed her arms and pouted.
"I’m Melody because Kieoxa is a slave!" Melody stormed ahead, but not far enough ahead that she couldn’t hear her friends.
Hiana nudged the master with her hand. "Melody because she likes music. Melody because she stands out. Melody because she is the loudest voice. Melody because she leads."
"What?" Meali obviously didn’t catch anything the devolved girl had slurred.
Melody whirled to glare at her friend. Hiana took the hint and backed away. Jerak didn’t. "They call her Melody, master, because in the symphony of life, she’s the one playing the loudest. She’s the one trying the hardest to be heard. She’s the one we follow."
Melody finally grabbed Meali’s shoulder and pushed her forwards, leaving her free to glare at her friends. "Buzz off."
Meali smiled. "A single voice crying in the wilderness huh?"
Melody glared. "And what a wilderness you masters have created."
Meali sighed. She was very patient for a master, but she was beginning to wish she could throw her power around. She was not used to being denied what she wanted. "Have I passed your silly little tests? Can I talk to your leader now?"
"Silly master." Hiana snort/laughed again. "You’ve been talking to the leader all along."
Melody had the satisfaction of seeing Meali’s superior attitude shattered. "You? But you! All along!! You lied! You said..."
"What?" Melody shrugged. "I never said I wasn’t."
"You were the entertainment at the club!" Meali was turning a lovely shade of red.
Jerak laughed. "Master, let me tell you something about Melody. Anything not involving music takes back burner with her."
"But the rebellion..." Meali was coming to see how everything they were saying was making sense. That added to the whispered words she was receiving from their minds.
Melody turned, a grin on her face. "Meali, if we’re going to work together I should warn you. I may be the leader of the rebellion, I may be a Basic A gold level, I may be the most important and well-known person in these slums, but I’m a singer, first, last and always."
Meali stared shocked for a moment at the person she’d been trying to get to all this time. The person who now knew everything about her, before she had had time to get her defences up. The person who knew her whole story, without having had to listen to her speech. She shook her head and laughed. "Then I’d better learn harmony eh?"
* * * "C’mon!" Meali was practically hanging off of Melody. "It’s the chance of a lifetime!"
"Are you insane?" Melody stared at her friend like she’d grown another head. "You need to be tested again girl, you’ve devolved."
Hiana snorted at the slur against her people, but knew that Melody meant no harm. "She’s right Mel. It’s the chance of a lifetime. If she can get you in."
"You’ve both lost what little minds you’ve had left." Melody was forced to admit that maybe she should give Meali the benefit of the doubt. After all, during the three years since the master had joined Melody’s resistance, Meali had had some pretty good ideas.
"Think about it." Hiana rarely sided with Meali, the devolved could never really come to trust the master, so Melody knew that this was pretty important. "You could sing for all the masters, tell them all your story."
Melody knew it was impossible. "Meali, I know you’ve managed to pull some crazy stuff before, but getting me in to sing at the Hall, in front of hundreds of masters? Impossible."
Meali grabbed Melody’s arm. The basic noticed a desperation in her friend’s eyes. "Please. If you say you’ll do it, I promise I’ll get you in."
Hiana nudged Melody with her fur-covered hand. "Sing for everyone Melody."
The leader of the resistance took a deep breath, trying to avoid the looks her friends were giving her. "Fine. If you can get me in Meali, I’ll sing."
The master smiled. "Good. Let’s go." She stood up and headed for the door.
"Now?" Melody got up, but didn’t follow. "I’ve got to change back into my frock if I’m entering the city proper." She headed towards the back rooms to get the dress that marked her as a gold-level basic.
Meali tapped her foot impatiently. Hiana glared at her and Meali smiled. Hiana knew the smile wasn’t friendly. Hiana knew Meali didn’t like her, but Hiana knew that Meali was a good friend to Melody, so Hiana pushed down the feelings of despair and worry that were grasping at her and told herself that the master would take good care of her friend. Hiana didn’t like the look on Meali’s face at all. "She’ll take care of Melody, but she won’t take care of us."
Jerak shrugged. "As long as Melody’s alive, she’ll take care of us."
The devolved was comforted, but sceptical. "Melody’s not a god."
Jerak smiled. "No, but she cares."
"She’ll get hurt."
Jerak shook his head sadly. "I think that’s part of the job."
Hiana sighed and shook her head. "I don’t like this. It’s a perfect opportunity for Melody, but I don’t like this."
Jerak patted her hand. "Melody’s song will reach them. That’s all that counts."
Hiana glared moodily at the door Meali and Melody exited out of. "I don’t like this."
* * * "I’m going to pass out." Melody felt light headed as she stood backstage, waiting for her turn to shine.
Meali rolled her eyes. "I’ve seen you help people who were dying without cringing, take a beating without flinching, say what needs to be said without balking, yet you are going to faint now?"
Melody smiled. "Point taken. Very comforting."
Meali lifted a finger in warning. "Now I had to beg, bribe and plead with my father to get you here so you’d better not screw up."
Melody rolled her eyes. "No pressure."
Meali smiled. "You’ll do fine. Just sing like you did the day I first saw you."
"I don’t think that’s a good idea." Melody fiddled with the golden hem to her dress.
"Why?" Meali waved to the basic in charge of getting all the acts out on time. He signalled that Melody was next.
"I was trying to piss you off." Melody smiled and walked confidently onto the stage, not noticing the glares she was getting from the other basics backstage, not noticing the relief on Meali’s face.
Melody looked out across the hundreds of faces seated in front of her, the masters whispering among themselves. They could see the marks on her clothing, they could see she was a basic, and yet she was standing on stage. She smiled confidently, proud of herself, aware that no matter what she did she’d made an amazing advancement for her people. The song came to her easily, and she prayed the words touched the audience.
From a distance the world looks blue and green
And the snow-capped mountains white
From a distance the ocean meets the stream
And the eagle takes to flight
From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace
It’s the voice of everyman
From a distance we all have enough
And no one is in need
And there are no guns, no bombs and no disease
No hungry mouths to feed
From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace
They’re the songs of everyman
God is watching us, God is watching us
God is watching us, from a distance
From a distance you look like my friend
Even though we are at war
From a distance I just can’t comprehend
What all this fighting is for
From a distance there is harmony
And it echoes through the land
And it’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves
It’s the heart of everyman
And it’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves
This is the song of everyman
God is watching us, God is watching us
God is watching us, from a distance
As the music died off, Melody opened her eyes. The silence was deafening, but the applause that came a moment later was ear-shattering. Yet as Melody scanned their faces, as she looked to the master who was leading the orchestra, she felt a tear come to her eye. They heard, but they didn’t listen.
* * * "See daddy?" Meali put on her best puppy dog eyes. "She’s good. They actually liked her. Aren’t you glad I brought her?"
Melody bit her lip. She hated the way Meali could put on this good little girl act for her father. It drove her crazy to see how easily her best friend could become her worst enemy. She knew deep down Meali was helping though. She was the only master she could trust. Melody sighed and kept her eyes modestly lowered. She didn’t want to cause trouble, not after her smashing success.
"I knew you wouldn’t bring me garbage Meali. Are you sure you want her though?" The old man who was Meali’s father, Melody could never remember his name, fiddled with a call button.
"Want me?" Melody risked muttering under her breath. This was beginning to feel funny.
"Of course. You told me I could get whatever basic I wanted. I found her. I deserve her." Meali was too comfortable in this role.
Melody felt her breath coming short in anger. "Deserve me?" Calm down. You trust Meali with your life. She’s your best friend...
"Very well. Triaxen?" He pushed the call button and a hologram of her old master appeared.
"Yes?"
"I’ll take her for the pre-arranged price."
"Good riddance! That girl makes more noise cleaning than any other basic I’ve ever had. Always humming to herself." Triaxen snorted. "We will hammer out the details later. I’ve got to see to my basics, they’re all rambunctious about the cleansing earlier."
"Good." Meali’s father ended the conversation by clicking on the call button again. "I trust you can get her home Meali?"
"Yes daddy. She likes me." Meali’s father left and the door closed. The door was then assaulted by Melody’s fists.
"You bought me!" She whirled to glare at her ‘friend’.
"I had to!" Meali looked insulted. "This is better. Now I don’t have to sneak out of the house to talk to you. I can provide good equipment for you and good care. I’ll take care of you Mel."
"Take care of me? You think I want my friend to take care of me!?!" Melody was practically foaming at the mouth.
"I couldn’t let you be cleansed!" Meali grew wide-eyed and clamped her hand over her mouth.
"Cleansed?" Melody tried to calm down, her anger was slowing her thought process. "There was a cleansing tonight? Another fire?"
Meali looked at the floor. "C’mon. Let’s go home."
Melody glared. "No! There was a fire?"
Meali tried to keep her temper. "I know we’re friends Mel, but you’ve got to listen to me."
"Because you’re smarter than me?" Melody was startled by how calm she was. Her rage was suppressed, a gun ready to go off if her friend said the wrong thing.
Meali swallowed and drew herself up to her full height. "Because I’m a master."
Melody stared at Meali, too shocked to move. "Who are you?"
Meali looked like she might break into tears. "Look, Mel, I really think you’re a nice person. I don’t think you should have to die just because you’re a basic. I mean you’re a gold-level A, you’re only a step away from low-master. You didn’t deserve to be cleansed with the rest of that scum..."
Melody was scared. This whole thing had gotten messy way too easily, way too fast. "Who are you?" She choked on the tears that were welling up in her throat.
"I’m Meali, master bronze level. I’m who I’ve always been. C’mon Mel. Let me take you home." Meali reached for Melody’s arm.
Melody dodged her friend’s embrace and ran for the door. As soon as she was in the hall she ran. She ran out of the building, down the street, across the bridge into the slums. Only they weren’t slums any more, they were a graveyard. The tombstone read ‘Resistance’.
* * * "They were all dead." Kieoxa let the tears roll down her face. Lost in the memory, she was unaware of her current surroundings, unaware of the death grip she had on Magika’s hand. "I walked around for hours, days, ever. They were all dead. Shot, burned, beaten, stabbed, dead. Jerak, Hiana, everyone. Except me. Except me. I lived, because I sang." She finally looked towards Magika, praying the woman could say something to make it all better. "I sang, and they died."
Magika had to choke back tears herself. "Kieoxa, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known..."
Amazingly the girl managed to stop crying. She let go of the Weyrwoman and lay down, staring blankly at the roof. "All I can remember is Meali’s voice, telling me the same thing. She couldn’t understand. All along...all along they were nothing but animals to her. She wanted to help because she was against mistreating animals. We were nothing. I was a songbird."
Magika was beginning to wish that she’d headed back towards Adanuk. In a moment of confused emotion, the Weyrwoman hugged the girl. "They were the ones who weren’t human."
"The thing I don’t understand, the thing Meali didn’t understand...all I’d ever wanted to be was a singer. Now I had my chance. If I had only not gone to the slums. If I’d only walked home with Meali, I could be singing now..." Kieoxa sounded wishful.
Magika shook her head. "You don’t mean that. You know you don’t Kieoxa. You’re too good of a person to ever condone what they did. You’re fighting it. By living you still fight them. As long as you stay the good person you are, as long as you stay human, they lose."
Kieoxa laughed. "If they lose, do I win? Could you possibly call this winning?"
Magika blinked back tears. "Nobody wins Kieoxa. Nobody wins."
* * * "She hasn’t eaten?" Mystic was making the finally preparations for the hatching.
Magika sighed. The Weyrwoman looked like she hadn’t eaten either. "No. And I found her standing alone in the forest again."
Mystic looked sympathetically at her friend. "Do I need to say it?"
Magika looked like she hadn’t slept in a good long while either. "What?"
"If she dies, it isn’t your fault." Mystic knew that Magika felt death was a physical enemy she could fight off. Unfortunately the Weyrwoman was a sore loser.
"She’s not going to die." Magika glared. "Maybe if she could come to the hatching...she likes music, although I can’t get her to sing. Maybe the dragons can get her to sing. I promise I’ll watch her. She won’t hurt anything..."
Mystic cut her friend off. "Of course she can watch the hatching." She shook her head as she saw Magika’s appearance. "And you’d better at least feed yourself if you want to be alive for the hatching."
Magika smirked and ran a hand over her messy hair. "Food is for the weak."
Mystic raised a brow. "Is sleep for the week too?"
Magika nodded and sighed.
Mystic clicked her tongue at her friend. "I’m not going to lose a friend over one depressed girl."
Magika sighed again and rubbed her eyes. "I promised I’d look out for her."
"You’re not a god." Mystic turned back to her preparations.
Magika jumped up to catch Kieoxa as she walked past. There was an empty look in her eyes, that matched the emptiness in her heart pretty well. "Let’s go for dinner, okay?"
Kieoxa stared at her like she’d spoken another language. The information took a long time to get to her mind. "I’m fine thank you."
"Like hell." Magika steered the girl towards the kitchens.
Mystic sighed. Magika had told Mystic the story that Kieoxa had told her, so the Caretaker understood Kieoxa’s depression. The Caretaker also knew that there wasn’t necessarily a cure for Kieoxa’s depression. She wanted to help, but in all honesty, she had no idea what to do. The first words the girl had ever spoken to the Caretaker seemed to echo through the halls. I’m a singer...just a singer...
Mystic shook her head sadly. Melody’s already dead. Melody died with her friends that night on Earth. I wonder how long Kieoxa can live without a song?
What happens at the Rave?
* * *
Kieoxa is a candidate at The Warren.
The song Kieoxa sings is "From a Distance" by Bette Midler.
I hate myself for admitting this, but I have no idea where I got this background from. I found it saved on an old disk and thought it was appropriate. *hangs head in shame* If anyone does know where I got it, feel free to yell at me.