After the end of third term, Parker and Caleb had finally managed to stay on top of their spheres for about ten seconds before they were whipped into the nearest tree. Alexis could stay on it for as long as she could focus as long as she didn't try to move anywhere. As soon as she tilted to start moving it would launch her straight into the ground. Ana was able to move around a little bit at a very slow pace without getting tossed off. The rest of the class was in the same boat as they were and kept asking anyone they could for tips on how to do it successfully.
"Is anyone else ready for the snow to be gone so that we can go back outside and enjoy it? I hate being cold," Ana said. No one was surprised but also made them think about how nice it used to be all the time thanks to Lara's Imperial. They started trying to think of a way that they would be able to create the Space Imperial around the school again but they agreed to the fact that they just weren't capable of doing something of that scale yet.
"Yeah, I'm definitely ready for the weather to turn. It's hard to believe that we weren't even technically here a year ago, thanks to Lara…" Caleb sounded upset that they'd lost the time when they were in her space. "All right, well Ana, we'll see you later. We have to get to our Omni class." The four of them stood up and made their way to 23-D for their lesson.
When they arrived at the door there was a note on it that read, "Please meet me at the entrance to the caves by the lake."
"Seriously? Couldn't he have told us ahead of time so that we didn't have to fly all the way up here?" Parker was upset but figured there must have been a reason for it. Maybe he'd just wanted them to practice flying some more, even though that was practically the first thing that had come back to them.
They made their way back down the staircase and walked to the castle entrance. When they opened the door the cold smacked against their faces making them gasp for breath. The snow was up to their shins as they trudged their way through the intense snow coming from the sky.
When they finally made it into the entrance of the cave they looked back and there were no tracks in the snow. The snow storm had completely covered everything up.
"Welcome children," a friendly, chipper voice said from behind them. They turned to see an older woman with shining silver hair. "Master Sora asked me to meet you here. I'm going to be working with you four on your Earth Imperials."
"Not to sound rude, but who are you?" Alexis asked, hoping she wasn't coming off as a snot.
"I'm Master Studwick from The House of Gia as you probably guessed, I work with Master Terra."
"Then why isn't Master Terra here to work with us?" Caleb asked.
"The head masters are very busy the last term of each year with the sixth years getting them ready to go off into the real world."
"Isn't that what all six years are for? Putting us through scenarios that could truly happen and for us to practice how we would handle each different scenario?" Parker realized as Hailee said this that they would lose her before they were done at Lancastre. He hated to think about it but knew that he couldn't very well ask her to stay an extra year just for them.
"Well, yes but this is their final task before graduation. So, I will be working with you. Let's begin." The floor split from under their feet and they plummeted through the darkness and crashed against the hard ground. Normally they would have just flown to soften their landing but they could see absolutely nothing.
Parker reached his hand out to create a small flame but knew that he still didn't have complete control over it. Just as before, as though Caleb was reading his mind, a flame appeared across the darkness from him.
"Where are we?" Caleb asked. The ground shifted under their feet pulling them through the darkness. They all hated the feeling of no control, just like when Lara had had control over them.
No answer came for several minutes before they finally came to a stop still in complete darkness.
"Why is everything so secretive around here?" Hailee yelled into the dark. "Just tell us why we're in this cave in the dark." They could hear the frustration in her voice. Then a loud noise came from the dark like a giant rock had just fallen into the ground.
Parker's mind raced back to going through the subway tunnels to the arrival bay. The wall had slid down into the ground revealing a blinding light. The same thing happened this time but the light was much dimmer, making it so he was able to see.
"We're going to be holding lessons down here to work on your Earth Imperials." Master Studwick seemed so serious, Parker didn't know how to approach her with his next question. He couldn't decide if she would yell at him, laugh at him or simply not answer.
"How do we get out of here?" he asked, glad that no one could see his face redden. He hated being stuck in a place where he had no control. For all he knew there was one way in and out of this room and that was where they'd just come from which he had no idea how to get back through.
"I will take you back when you are done and eventually it will be completely up to you to get here and leave without my help."
Several weeks passed and every day Master Studwick took them through the tunnel to their class in the caves but Parker couldn't figure out the path she took. He felt like she even switched it up on them from time to time just to mess with them. Something like that would fit her personality perfectly. He'd learned that she had a fantastic sense of humor and he loved having class with her instead of Master Terra. He was too serious and didn't like to have any fun. Master Studwick figured at eighty-three years old there was no reason for her to not have fun with her work. She agreed that Master Terra took things too seriously but also mentioned that he'd been through some rough stuff that led to him having the attitude that he has.
"Why aren't you the headmaster for The House of Gia? You have more experience than Master Terra does." Alexis asked but didn't want to sound like she was prying for answers even though she was.
"Headmaster position is more suitable to him than it is to me. I'd rather not have to deal with all of the things he does. I just want to teach and help the young Imperials who come through here. And to get to work with a group of Omnis is an honor. I love to see the way you youngsters use the Imperials." They were all thankful for the dim lighting of the cave where they worked so that their rosy cheeks couldn't be seen.
They spent about a half hour trying to move the ground, simply shift around some. Each of them found it increasingly difficult to work with something they couldn't see. Caleb was doing his best to help the others but found it to be frustrating because they just weren't getting the hang of it.
"Why can't we just have more light in here?" Parker asked after what felt like his hundredth failed attempt of the day.
"You must learn to use the earth to understand your surroundings, even when you don't have the aid of your eyes."
"I don't understand why we would need to do that," Alexis said.
The ground shifted under their feet and pushed Parker, Alexis and Hailee to the outer wall of the room. Caleb stayed still in the center along with Master Studwick. "All right young man, attack me."
Caleb couldn't say anything. No words would form when he tried to speak.
"Why would he attack you?" Alexis blurted.
"To show you, that you don't need eyes to be successful."
"But we can't see anything you're doing." Hailee pointed out.
"Good point…" Master Studwick admitted. "Caleb, please create a flame bright enough so that your friends may see." Caleb created a flame and sat it on a rock. It didn't take much focus from him to keep it going any more. Once Caleb returned to his spot he looked at Master Studwick. Everyone else had been watching Caleb and hadn't seen the master wrap a cloth around her eyes creating a blindfold. "Now, attack me."
Caleb slowly, silently, circled around the master as she stood still. Parker could see her slightly turn her head as Caleb moved. He could tell that she knew exactly where he was. Caleb made a move to attack and before he could do anything the ground launched him into the wall. He fell to the floor and groaned in pain.
"As I said, if you have the fortune of being an Earth Imperial, sight is not just with your eyes. We use the earth itself to see, most of the time more efficiently."
They spent the rest of the week working on simply using the ground to tell where each other were in the room even when it was pitch black. They would send soft blasts of air at one another so they could tell if they were hitting their mark or not.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
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The weather started to turn for the better but their luck didn't have the same luck. They still couldn't figure out what a core was. The masters wouldn't tell them anything. Any time Alexis approached any of them, no matter what the time was, they would start walking in the opposite direction.
"I think it's time someone else gives it a try to get some answers from the masters. Master Terra looks like he's about to knock my brains out and Master Sora will barely look at me." Parker laughed thinking about what must be going through Master Sora's head. "Parker, you should try to ask, the masters all love you."
"What? No they don't. No more than any of you." He defended himself as though it were shameful for the masters to love him.
"Well, at least they aren't completely annoyed with you which is enough. So you need to ask them."
-----
"The waterfall is so much more beautiful when the sun is shining and the grass is green." Hailee was so glad to sit by the waterfall again.
"I think it's still beautiful in the winter, we just can't enjoy it as much since it gets so cold out here." Alexis was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Parker as they ate their lunch. "I also can't believe that we snuck some of the Element Bars out of the castle. We can get in so much trouble for this!"
"We're just trying to save time by being ready to go to the caves for our lesson." Parker pointed it out but realized that they really weren't that much closer to the caves than if they were in the dining hall.
They made their way to the cave entrance where a note lay on the ground. It gave them directions to find the room on their own making everyone but Caleb mad.
"It'll be fine. I can take everyone." The ground split under their feet and they slowly descended this time knowing what was to come. When their feet touched down Caleb began moving them forward through the cave tunnels. He held a flame out in front of him to light the way as they went.
When they arrived in the room Master Studwick started clapping and congratulating at their success. "Are you ready for today?"
"Actually," Parker began to say. "Can we ask you something before we begin?"
"Sure, what is it you want to know?"
"What's a core?" Parker asked.
The master's eyes widened when he said the word core. "Why, it's the center of your body. It helps hold you firm. To be a good Earth Imperial you need a solid core." She could tell that they were not content with her answer.
"Not your muscular core. How can someone's core be missing?" Alexis said sternly.
"The headmasters told me you'd ask eventually and they told me to keep it to myself but I don't feel like being pestered about it either. So, I will tell you on one condition. It stays between the five of us."
Everyone nodded in unison, and they all took a seat. "We overheard Master Sora and Madame Sasaki talking about how the students who had been attacked had their cores missing. What does that even mean?"
"An Imperial's core is what makes us an Imperial. It's the source of your powers. For me, my core grants me the ability to control the earth to my will. For you," she said looking at Parker "it granted you the ability to bend the air to your will until the accident. Then, whatever Lara did altered your core making it so you could control all of the Imperials just as she can. Same for you two as well," she said looking from Alexis to Hailee.
"That's amazing. I didn't know we had something in us that gave us our Imperials. I thought it was just what we were."
"It is Alexis. Nimps do not have a core like we do."
"So, how can a core be missing?" Parker asked.
"Well, it's not so much missing as it is empty. With luck, it can be refilled without any serious damage."
Hailee's eyes widened. "You mean we can fix this?"
Master Studwick looked at her nervously. "You shouldn't do anything. The masters have control over the situation right now."
Parker feebly raised his hand as he started to talk. "I hate to disagree with you, but I don't think they do. They have no idea what Colton did with their cores."
"Why do you think Colton did anything with them?" Master Studwick asked in a soft tone.
Alexis almost blew up on the spot. Parker could tell, even in the dark that Alexis's face was as red as a tomato, and she was ready to scream. She ranted about everything that had happened. When she finally finished, they could hear her breathing heavily trying to catch her breath.
"I understand what he did. But do you really think that a third year student would be capable of such a thing?" They all thought for a moment and realized that she had made a very valid point.
"I just can't figure out why Lara would take him. It doesn't make sense." Parker was talking out loud, but it was directed at himself. He could hear the others agreeing with him but not giving any answers.
There was a moment of silence as they sat and thought about it. Master Studwick was ready to move on to their lesson for the day.
"Wait, didn't Lara steal the cores of the students from last year?" Parker asked.
"What do you mean?" Master Studwick responded.
"I mean she kidnapped eight kids and stole their Imperials. So why would she need Colton for anything?"
"Maybe she stole those last year and couldn't do anything with them? Needed someone… never mind. That doesn't make any sense." Alexis stammered. She was more than ready to be done with all of this.
"What were you trying to say Alexis?" the master asked.
"Nothing. Anything any of us students can do she is more than capable of doing on her own." Everyone nodded their head in reluctant agreement.
They admitted momentary defeat as they tried to think of what Lara was doing with Colton. The master had them do one more day of sensing each other using the ground.
Parker couldn't have been any happier being able to use the ground in order to see his surroundings. They'd been using it while they were all in the same room but he started thinking about different applications of it as well. He realized that he could use it to tell whether or not someone was in the next room, how many people were around him, and even use it to help him find his way. This must be how The House of Gia students get around in the caves and form more tunnels.
The next few days seemed to move by like molasses. Homework started to pile up as they didn't have much free time anymore. Even when they had the time for homework they couldn't take their minds off of figuring out what Lara had planned.
Classes were getting tougher and tougher as they moved forward. The masters created more difficult scenarios for them to practice and they couldn't move on to the next one until they had successfully completed the previous. This made it so groups were at different places throughout the class.
Parker's group was ahead of Caleb's in Air Water but behind them in both of the others. On top of that, both Caleb and Ana had figured out how to ride their spheres as well. Parker was still trying to keep his balance on top of his and Alexis was still afraid of moving around on hers.
One night after classes had finished and Parker had given up on trying to play catch-up on his homework he walked out to the balcony. The roar of the waterfall filled his ears as he focused on it. The rumbling had become natural to him so he only heard the falls anymore if he focused on them. He would focus on it from time to time to help him zone out. It created a wall in his mind that allowed him to not focus on anything, which was much needed at this point.
Alexis appeared next to him on the balcony and she slipped her hand into his. Resting her head on his shoulder for a moment she could tell that he relaxed a little.
Parker let go of her hand and turned so he could look at her. "I'm going to find Lara and confront her."
Alexis stared at him dumbfounded. It took several long moments before she could form words. Parker was waiting for a response, whether she yelled, spoke normally or even hit him. He just wanted some type of reaction from her.
"No."
Parker blinked a few times confused. "No?"
"No."
"I'm confused."
"You may not go after her. I won't let you."
"Alexis, just hear-"
"No." Parker had never seen Alexis speak as firmly as she was at that moment.
"I need to tell you something and I know you'll get mad."
"Then don't tell me," she said matter-of-factly.
"I have to. I've seen Lara several times this year. She's come directly to me and talked to me." Alexis's mouth was hanging open. Her brow started to furrow, and Parker took a step back just as she swung at him.
"How could you not tell me about this?" she yelled at him.
"I didn't want you guys to freak out. She never said much. Mostly just that we'll find out what is happening when the others woke up."
"What'd she mean by that?"
"I don't know. Remember at the library she said I would apologize to her soon enough. But I don't know what she meant by we'll figure it out when the others wake up. They've been awake for several weeks now and we still don't know anything." Frustration creeped its way into Parker's words.
"Well, we did learn something when they woke up." Parker looked at her confused. "We learned that their cores were empty."
"But we don't know what that means!"
"I know we don't but maybe now if we go talk to Master Sora now with what we know he'll share some more information." Parker shrugged, doubtful that he'd be of any help. He'd been keeping them in the dark this long, why stop now?
-----
"Here goes nothing…" Parker said as he pressed the small ball of air into the hole next to the master's door. After a moment the door swung open. They walked inside as though they were in some sort of trouble. Taking each step carefully and then poking their head to look around the corner.
"How may I help you?" Master Sora asked.
"We just wanted to-" Parker started but was cut off.
"If this is about Colton, I'm done with it. Just leave it to us."
"But we know more than you think." Alexis said.
"Yes. I'm sure you do. Master Studwick informed me that the five of you had a chat about what cores are. But there's still nothing you can do." Defeat washed across their faces as they looked at the headmaster. "I'm glad to hear how well your Earth Imperials are coming along though. Very impressed with the work you've put into it." Master Sora felt bad for refusing to answer their questions, but he knew if they knew anything else they would throw themselves headfirst into danger once again.
"Master?" Hailee asked. "Do you know anything about my mother that I don't? She left when I was little, and I ended up with my foster family." The others didn't know where she was going with this but decided they would stand and listen. "I mean, they were great and all, but I'd love to know more about my mom, apart from the bad things I know now."
The master sat and pondered for a moment. "She wasn't always this. When she was a student, as I've said before, everyone loved her. Obviously, there were some that were jealous of what she could do but everyone respected her." Hailee started to smile a little. "And when she met your father, I'd never seen anyone so happy in my life."
Hailee's eyes shot open. "You know who my father is?" She could see on the master's face that he hadn't meant to say that.
"I'm sorry Hailee. I shouldn't have said that. It's not my place. You will find out in time about your father. For now, please don't stress over-"
"You have to tell me! You can't just keep that to yourself!"
"Again, I'm sorry but I can't say anything else on the matter." With that, he gestured for them to leave so that he wouldn't reveal anything else.
The door closed behind them and they could all tell that Hailee was about to burst at the seams. She turned around and Caleb grabbed her quickly before she could start pounding on the door. "It'll be okay Hailee."
"How can you side with him?" she spat.
"I'm not siding with him. I'm just saying that we'll be okay. We'll figure everything out, just like always." She sighed heavily at his words and her muscles relaxed.
They made their way to the bridge in front of the school as the sun began to set. No one said anything as they sat down because they didn't need to. Everyone was thinking the same thing. They need to stop Lara from whatever it is she's doing and they need to find out who Hailee's father is.