***NEED WORK

Ava unclasped the front of her trench coat with one swipe of her hand, her movement fast and in control.
“Alright, Zeik. What happened to Sarvwen and Darvien?” she asked in a commanding tone as she shrugged off her uniform trench coat.
I winced at her bruised, swollen right shoulder, wondering how she could carry out missions with an injury like it.
“You believe me? That I saw anything?” I said incredulously.
I was starting to doubt myself and my sanity. Did it really happen? Any of it?

Ava was still working, tugging her fingerless gloves off with her teeth.
“You believed you saw something, and I believe you’re right.” she said. “So speak.”

So I told her what I ‘saw’ while she tended her injuries. We were in an old bar in the broken down corners of the city, slipping in through a boarded up window to stay in this temporary hide out. Aside from her messed-up shoulder, she seemed almost completely unscathed. The last attack had landed her with three small but vicious looking claw marks on her left rib. It continued to bleed steadily as Ava patched herself up, her expression frozen in a blank mask.
When she finished, she turned to me.
“Lie down flat on your back.” she ordered.
I stiffened, not exactly feeling easy with the idea.
“What for?” I demanded.
Ava gently pushed me down to the ground.
“Your broken ribs.” she replied, pressing her two finger lightly right below my sternum, just to the right.
A sharp pain shot through my chest and I hissed. Ava looked at me, her eyes sorry.
“I’m sorry; I had to get you out of the way,” she murmured, somewhat apologetic.

Swiftly and unfaltering, she slipped her hand beneath my undershirt, making my face burn. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything. Her cool fingers trailed along my ribcage, her touch faint and barely there.
“It seems that I managed not to shatter your ribs to splinters and your lungs seem fine.” she sighed in a relieved tone.
A warm buzz filled my core, the current of Ava’s Energy coursing through each rib.
“Continue your story,” Ava said as she worked. I hadn’t realized I had stopped telling my account.

It was then that I realized I didn’t understand anything I was telling her.
“It’s---it’s hard to place in words.” I admitted.

The buzz lifted and Ava tapped my ribs with her fingertips.

“Could you try?” she asked.
“I’ve been trying,” I said.
The warm buzz completely left my chest, leaving me fully healed. I sat up and rubbed my side, half expecting sore spots. Ava got up and turned her attention to our supply packs.

“You know, it would be great if I can just show you what I saw.” I thought out loud.

I saw Ava freeze, all movements stopping for about half a second before turning back to me. Her expression was a weird one.
“What?” I demanded, feeling slightly panicky.
“That… that is not entirely impossible.” she said, her voice hushed.
“What isn’t?” I asked, bewildered at the sudden change in mood of the atmosphere.
When Ava didn’t answer, I thought back to what I had said.
“Are you saying---“
“For me to see what you saw from your memory…through your own eyes.” Ava said.

I felt a jolt go through my body… Relief? Hope?
Before I could register what I was doing, I grabbed Ava by her left shoulder.
“Then do it! Go, take a look!” I urged, shaking her a little bit.
Ava looked troubled, her eyes holding hidden turmoil.
“It is something I would rather avoid doing.” she said.
“Please! Darvien may be dying!” I begged.
I sat up all the way to look at her straight in the eye.
“I need to help him. If you can see this, it may give us a clue to what happened!” I argued, practically pleading.
Ava still said nothing, looking at me with pained eyes.
I breathed out slowly, forcing myself to clam down.
“What? What is it that is stopping you?” I demanded. “Is it painful? Are you worried about me being in pain?”
Ava opened her mouth as if she was going to speak. But I didn’t let her.
“No, no wait. Don’t telling me. I’ll deal with it, just do it.” I gushed hastily.

I pulled my legs under me, folded in a pretzel and took a deep breath. I felt myself stiffen in resolve, anticipating the worst.
“Okay, yea, alright. I’m ready. Go for it.” I told her.

Ava was watching me with wide eyes, indecision in her expression.
“Zeik,” she said stiffly, getting up.

I flinched involuntarily, squeezing my eyes shut as she kneeled in front of me.
“Zeik,” she repeated.
When I didn’t relax, I felt a cool hand press against my neck and jaw, forcing me to open my eyes.
“Look at me.” Ava commanded, her voice strong but soft. “I need to ask you a question.”
“Y-yeah?” I stuttered, my pulse racing with anxiety.

Ava’s eyes seemed to burn into mine.
“To what length are you willing to go to save a friend?” she asked.

The question threw me off a bit. I was expecting something more along the lines of ‘How tolerant are you of pain?’
“Uh--- I-I don’t think that’s something I would even consider,” I answered unsurely but truthfully. “It doesn’t matter, I have to save him, no matter what it takes.”

Ava continued to gaze at me, studying and reading my expression. I stayed still, staring back.
Then, she dropped her gaze and closed her eyes, almost looking sad and tired.
“Very well then.” she murmured.

My heart gave a nervous jolt as her hand dropped from my jaw.
Oh boy, I thought, feeling a bit sick. Here it comes---

Ava gently pressed her fingertips into my temple, the touch cold on my skin. I gulped down a mouthful of air, my throat getting tight.
“Alright, Zeik. I need you to focus on that memory, and that memory only…” she commanded, her eyes still closed.
I swallowed hard.
“Okay, got it.” I said shakily.

Ava breathed out quietly, her expression pained.
“I’m sorry.” she whispered.

Sorry…for what? I thought.

Then I saw Ava’s eyes snap open. Her pupils dilated and retracted, the dark ember of her eyes glowing and swirling.

And then…everything went dark…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I gasped and my eyes flew open with a start.
I was disoriented, confused and sort of lost.

“You’re finally awake.” a calm voice spoke.

I shot up to a sitting position, my eyes flickering around my surroundings.
Broken dusty furnishings were laid out here and there, some of them covered with plastic sheets, the only source of light coming in from the spaces between the loose planks that boarded up the windows. Quickly, my mind straighten out and processed the setting.

A bar? …Oh, that’s right…

Something shuffled from somewhere behind me, rustling around restlessly.
I twisted around, quickly growing alert.

A small figure was moving restlessly in the corner, the lack of light completely covering her face. Her movement was quick and efficient as she packed and gathered her pouches.

“Ava,” I murmured.

Ava picked up a couple of her daggers and checked the edges before slipping them into her holster on her thigh.

I glanced down at my hands, bemused.
“What---what happened?”
“Nothing happened.” Ava responded. “You just showed me what you saw.”
I blinked, trying to think back on recent events.
“I don’t remember doing any of the showing part.” I said, confused.

Ava snatched up a bloodied cloth and shoved it in one of her pouches.
“We don’t have much time,” she said.
She clipped her equipment pouches on her belt, tightened the dagger holster on her thigh and adjusted her fingerless gloves.
“If any of what you saw is true, Sarvwen would be in critical condition, if not dead.” she said urgently.
She grabbed her katana and pulled the thin blade three inches out of its sheath. She inspected the cutting edge before sliding it back in.
“We have to move, now.”

There was an urgent edge to her tone that wasn’t there before. I tried to search her expression, but I got nothing.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

My stomach twisted sickly and bile rose up my throat.

The bloody scene of the Four Corners Plaza massacre stretched out before me, the bodies and blood, just as I remembered.
Not that I would ever need a reminder; this scene was forever branded into my memory since I first saw it.

Ava was kneeling down on the ground, her gaze and focus on the bloodstained cobblestones. She was perfectly still, with two fingers pressed into the ground as she pried around the area with her senses.
I watched as she stayed like that, seconds seemingly turning into minutes, and the minutes turning into hours…

Then she got up, and glided over to a cluster of twisted limbs and bodies. She kneeled close and inspected the dead corpses.
“Ava,” I called, feeling uneasy.
What were we doing back here?
Those things---whatever they were---may come back here again---
I glanced off to the side and shuddered at the limp, tangled piles of torn remains.
“They’re all dead, we’ve seen all this. Why are we here?” I asked.
Ava reached down into the small mound and took hold of a limb hanging out of the pile. I felt sick to my stomach.
“We’re here, because we are looking for a clue.” Ava said simply.
She had stopped moving again.
“What clue?” I demanded, disgusted.
“Anything; this is where your alternate-dimension experience came to an end. It just cut off here. I thought I could find something, a hint, maybe something subtle…” she muttered.
She turned to me then, looking at me with a strange clouded troubled look in her eyes, but otherwise looked calm and collected.
“At least, that was what I was hoping.” she said. “Take a look at this.”
She lifted a limp arm up by its wrist. It was still attached to its body.
I was about to protest when I saw a loose charm bracelet hanging on the thin wrist.

My heart nearly stopped when I saw the crystal beads spell out the familiar name.

“Alicia,” I breathed

My disgust long forgotten, I quickly jogged over to where Ava was kneeling.
“That’s her…that’s the girl from---”

One glance at the body brought me to a sudden stop.
“Ava… that’s not---“
“No.” Ava murmured.

The dead girl on the ground before me was positioned exactly the way I had set Alicia down for the last time.
But…

“She’s not blond.” I said.

Ava tilted the girl’s head so her face was looking up at us. The girl stared, her eyes empty and lifeless.
“She also has dark eyes. The other girl had a unique piercing shade of grey for her eyes.” she noted.
She released the girl’s chin and closed her eyelids with one gentle pass of her hand.
“This is not your Alicia.”

I shook my head, feeling cold.
“I… I don’t get it. This isn’t the girl…”
“And yet this girl is in her place, exactly as you had left Alicia.”
“But that’s Alicia’s bracelet!”

Ava lifted the girl’s wrist again, inspecting the charm.
“That is the strange part.” She said. “Everything about this scene is identical to your memory of your encounter, even to this charm bracelet; everything except for the body.”

Ava got up then, and turned off the side.
“So maybe…”
She flashed out of view, a swift rush of air pushing into my face. I turned in the direction she had turned to in time to see Ava reappear at the Western entry.
Wait a minute…that’s where---

Ava was kneeling again, but this time she didn’t stay still for long.
“You were right, Zeik.” she said darkly. “Sarvwen and Darvien were here.”

I felt a chilling shock run through me in a sharp jolt, throwing me into a twisted déjà vu.

Sarvwen and Darvien skidded to a stop, their expression pure horror--- stunned…

Ava was watching me, looking alarmed.
“Zeik?” she said.

I looked down at my hands, and saw the dead girl right past my open hands.
Centerpiece of the whole scene---Alicia’s mangled body at my feet…
My eyes shot around my surroundings, my head spinning painfully.
Then I heard him scream…the sound vicious and promising death…it seemed to rip right out of Darvien’s chest…
I twisted around, my heart beating a mile a minute…

The creature that stared at them with hungry eyes…
Stared…hungry eyes…
Hungry eyes…
Eyes…

Everything went abruptly black just as a sound of crashing thunder shot through the air in an ear-splitting volume.

“Zeik.”

I felt myself jump at the voice, and I heard myself yell out. Reflexively, my arms shot out and took a tight hold of my assailant.
It was only when our eyes met did I realize that my assailant was Ava.
“Zeik,” she repeated again, looking very alarmed.
My breathing steadied and my mind slowed down enough to process what was going on.
I was fully, solidly and securely in the present time---and had both of Ava’s wrists in one hand and her body anchored by her trench coat away from me with the other hand.
“Ava! Oh, I’m---uh…”
“Zeik,” Ava spoke slowly. “What is going on?”

I looked around my surroundings again. The awkward, unnatural silence was heavy and eerie; it made my skin crawl.
But… something about it was off by a slightest bit.

And strangely, it gave me a small glimpse of hope.

“Sorry,” I said hastily, releasing my hold on Ava just as fast.
Unintentionally, I practically dropped her.
“Sorry!” I blurted again.
But she didn’t seem to care. She just caught herself and straightened up.
“Zeik.” She repeated, this time more firmly. “Calm down!”
“Hold on, Ava! Give me a moment!” I said, holding my hands out in front of me to stop her.
Ava immediately backed off and gave me space, watching me with careful eyes.

I took three steps back and studied my surroundings again, carefully picking through every single detail of the gory scene.
The bodies---where they were, how many, their positions and in how many mounds.
The bloodstains on the ground, the debris, the wreckage…

I closed my eyes and thought hard back on my memory.

Everything was lining up perfectly; it was like looking at two negative strips of one picture, one overlapping the other in an identical match.
But there had to be something…this feeling in my gut said so.
Slowly and again, I replayed the last seconds of my unexplainable flashback, matching it up with my present time observations.

Sarvwen fell. Darvien charged.
He jumped, swinging down his dagger.
…boom.

My eyes snapped open.
That was it. That was my clue.

I looked up at Ava, who was still watching me with a guarded expression.
“Ava, I need your help for a minute.” I said.
Ava’s brow scrunched a little in confusion, but approached me anyway. I didn’t bother stopping to take a breath.
“At the very, very end of my flashback, Darvien charges at the creature this way, standing here.” I said, motioning with my arms.
“Which means, he jumped into the air from over…there.”
I jogged over to where Darvien would’ve been at the time of the flashback. I slowed to a stop and turned in the direction of his target.
“He jumped, swung down with his Silver Viper, and a dark wave of Energy pushed down towards the ground…” I said, loosely going through Darvien’s motions. “He struck down---”

“Wait.”

I stopped and turned back to Ava. Her eyes were searching the ground for something.
“Dark…dark light.” she muttered thoughtfully.
I frowned, not getting what she was thinking.
“Yea, dark. Like a dark crescent.” I said.
Ava’s lips pressed into a hard line, her brows furrowing even deeper. She stepped past me, her steps soft and careful as if taking care not to break the ground. She was still searching.

She got about ten feet when she stopped. She was staring at something on the ground when I saw her eyes go wide. Her lips parted from the hard-pressed line, revealing an expression that was so genuine, it caught me off guard.
“Ava?” I asked warily
She turned to me, not bothering to hide or regain her normal expressionless composure. This gave me another shock.
Her expression was something uncharacteristic of her; it was as if a glimpse of this emotion was finally freed from her like she was---

“Darvien’s attack didn’t touch the creature.” Ava murmured.
“What? What do you mean?” I demanded. “I saw him---you saw him, jump up and slash at the creature!”
Ava motioned me over. I rushed over, a burning feeling bubbling in my stomach.
As I got closer, I saw what she had found.

The ground before us was a mess like any other part of the plaza, except there were more bodies that were left in less than intact condition than those of the other mounds. Not an inch of this part of the ground was free of blood, the whole area stained in deep crimson.
Then I noticed something, something not on the ground but in it.

Beneath the torn bodies and hidden in blood was a long, deep and narrow crack that looked as if it was sliced cleanly into the ground. The cobblestones around the mouth of the crevice was caved and tilted in, some even breaking and falling into the dirt that was now revealed.

“He missed his target?” I said unsurely, making my statement sound like a question.

I saw Ava glance back at where I had marked off as the place Darvien attacked from.
“No, he didn’t miss.” she said confidently.
She looked up at the sky and then back at the clean slice in the ground.
“Darvien is right-dominant; when I observed his battle scheme in his exam, I noted that he was offensive with his right and defensive with his left.” she said.
I fidgeted, growing impatient.
“Yea, so? How can you be so sure that he didn’t kill it?” I asked.
Ava motioned at the deep crevice.
“Look; the mark runs diagonally, high left to low right. Darvien can’t possibly have made this mark because---“
“Because he’s right handed.” I said, the realization dawned on me. “The mark would’ve been the other way around.”
Ava nodded once, looking back at me with that same excited flicker in her eyes.
“Also, Darvien’s dagger is the Silver Viper. I know for a fact that it won’t emit any attack in dark-light form, no matter how its wielder tries.” she said.

I thought hard, trying to process everything Ava had just thrown at me.
Because he’s right handed? So this person had to be left handed.
Darvien’s dagger, the Silver Viper… It can’t be him because the attack was dark?
Then who has an attack that comes out in a dark light?

Suddenly, my thoughts froze. My eyes flickered back at Ava, who was searching around her surroundings again.
I had found the answer.
“You sure about this?” I asked.

Ava looked back at me, her smile small but definite.
“Yes.” she said. “Zavius is with them.”