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Chapter 38 - One is Two

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Athira discovered something about herself in the few moments she surfaced from unconsciousness. 

She didn't like being knocked out. 

She also didn't like being manhandled. She didn't like the way these whites thought they could come into her home and pluck them like birds from a nest, and whatever was in these injections they kept giving her during her lucid moments could go to hell. 

Distorted conversation acted as a pinprick of light, leading Athira's consciousness back to reality. 

"There's not much we could do--she's out again!" 

"She can't be, we only gave her the last lot twenty minutes ago!" 

"We're not going to have enough left at this rate. None of the others have needed extra yet except the Spectrum and the green colour. Why's this one different?"

"I've had enough of this. Double it."

Hands grabbed Athira's shoulders before she could take control of them. Fingers pushed her head to the side and something wet licked the side of her neck. A dull pain followed, sinking itself into the skin and once more pushing Athira back into the darkness. 

 She could still see the pinprick. She could have fought towards it, but her mind felt still. Clear.

Let them drug her. Let them think her subdued, their plans safe. She'd wait until they played their hand before she made her move. 

Wrath didn't have to be swift, she was realising. 

Wrath could be patient. Wrath could wait, wait until the full extent of its fury could be felt in vibrations across the universe as it delivered the strike. 

Athira submerged. 

*+*+*+*

The next time Athira surfaced, the voices had been replaced with silence. 

The thick blanket of darkness that'd suppressed her earlier had thinned to a sheet, easily brushed aside as she opened her eyes. 

Glinting metal greeted her to an otherwise isolated awakening. The room, tiled in the same pale grey from the Elite's now destroyed facility was empty of everything except the basics. Two strips of light on the ceiling, one blacked out window on the wall opposite, a sleek door to her left and the chair Athira found herself in. 

It took a minute, but feeling spread down Athira's body, through her chest and down her legs until the cooled fire of colour could be felt inside her veins. Even then, she let it simmer, biding her time, using it to take in her situation.

They'd secured her to its solid frame with unyielding silver bands around her waist and ankles, while her hands were still confined up to the elbows in the cuffs. The dark blue runes were still burning strong on their surface, which was surprising. Runes in contact with her colour usually an average of two seconds. 

Talon must be working overtime in--

The thought cut short. 

Her amulet was gone. 

Athira twisted in the chair, frantically searching the room for any sign of pale gold, any sign of the trinket she'd bound Talon's essence to so many years ago. The runes on the cuffs flared as the colour responded to her emotions, but even so, they held. 

Nothing but grey, grey and the darker grey of the window made itself known. For the first time in Athira's life, the brightest thing in the room was the indigo colouring on her clothing. 

She was about to delve into her mindscape when the door slid open. 

Athira had to crane her neck around to catch sight of the person entering, a painful thing to do with the bands holding her body so still. A woman dressed in an almost iridescent blue Elite suit entered through, and it wasn't just any woman. It was the Elite that had been with Discord when they tried to take Zoe. 

Zoe. 

She was gone now too, along with Shift and everything else that'd ever mattered to her. 

"Hello, Athira," she said, walking to stand before Athira. The blue tattooed lines across her face shifted as a crisp smile plastered itself across her face. "I've been looking forward to speaking with you."

Athira closed her eyes. 

If they wanted to take her friends from her, fine. 

Take Talon? Fine. 

Let them. 

She was good at taking things too. Colour, lives, the possibilities were endless when you weren't concerned with the moral ground beneath them. 

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I can see you don't share my enthusiasm, but that will hopefully change. My name is Karma, or Warden Karma if you would prefer to use the formal title."

Athira's voice came out calmer than she'd have expected it to, considering the urge she had to see if those tattoos would scrub off under colour. "I can assume the Wardens were responsible for the whites who attacked us, then?" 

"Those 'whites' you refer to are one of our many initiatives, yes," said Karma. "They are the strike force of the Wardens, if you will, implemented when we need something done within a very limited amount of time with guaranteed success."

"Do they have a name?" asked Athira. 

"Why do you ask?" 

"So I know who I have to hunt down once I get out of here."

Karma's smile grew at that. "I admire your courage, but the bravado won't help you here. The only way you're getting out of here is if you agree to the proposition I have for you."

"And if I don't like this proposition?" said Athira, the words slipping through clenched teeth.

"Unlike your friends, you don't have the option of walking out of here a free woman."

Hope broke through the cold exterior frosting Athira's thoughts. Does that mean they're alive?

Karma moved over to the wall and pressed a hand to a tile. A hidden rune activated across the surface at her touch. The floor in front of Athira's feet split, a pedestal rising from the previously flat surface to present a tilted blank screen. 

"I am confident you will agree with what I have to say," said Karma. "I feel I can be fairly convincing."

Athira's gaze flicked back to Karma. "You seem awfully sure of yourself. For all you know, I could be building my colour preparing to blast you into oblivion right now."

Karma tapped the cuffs on Athira's wrists with an amused expression. "Good try, but no. The runes would tell me if you were. At the moment, you've got a fair amount of colour in you but nowhere near enough to get past the runes, so I think oblivion is safe from me for now."

"I find that 'now' is an awfully short window of time," said Athira.

"This conversation will go much better for you if you drop the attitude," said Karma. "You might be a stronger, more unique colour than most people, but try yourself against a Warden, against me? You will find yourself sorely wanting." 

The screen came to life as Athira bit back her reply. 

The cuffs flashed. She forced herself to soothe the colour and order it to wait. Playing her hand now meant giving up free information. 

Karma's colour-lit touch summoned an image of Athira's duel against Discord to the screen. Athira saw herself charge him from an overhead perspective, followed by still image captures of particular colour-fuelled blows she'd made with several notes attached to them. 

As the Warden flicked through them, she spoke. 

"As you can see, we've taken great interest in you and your colour, especially with its unusual shade. We've dissected your abilities to great length, as well as your control, demeanor and any habits you've developed with it."

The images changed to various angled images and clips from Athira's previous fights since joining Indigo that seemed to have been shot from well-placed cameras or the wrist communicators of Indigo during their fights. 

Karma continued. "We probably know more about your colour than you do, Athira. Much like the yellow Spectrum, you also struggle to maintain control but almost more so. You require the use of your hands to enact it and once it leaves that direct contact, it loses much of its potency. The mantra you repeat under your breath assists you in directing it when you call on a larger amount--but we'll come back to that later. 

"Congratulations, you've figured out everything I knew when I was three," said Athira. "Why you didn't name your group the Detectives, I'll never know."

Karma ignored her. "However, even with our studies, there are a few inconsistencies in your colour that lead us to believe you are yet to reach your full potential or are simply too afraid to harness them. If you are to accept our offer, we would help you to do such and provide the means for you to maintain control at all times."

Here we go. "And what would this offer be?" asked Athira, although she already suspected the answer. 

Karma paused, regarding her for a second before she answered. "We're offering you a position in the Wardens."

Athira made her eyes go exceptionally wide and tilted her head. Zoe's plait fell over her eyes. 

"Gee, little me? I couldn't possibly. I'd just drag you down with the wanting I have left against the rest of you."

Karma peered at her, curiosity in the drawn brows. "You know, most people would be grateful for even speaking to a Warden, let alone offered a position with them.. assuming they even know who we are, of course. The Elites fall over themselves every time we're around--"

"I have a pretty good Discord impression if you'd like to see that instead," said Athira. 

"Ah yes," said Karma. "That. I must thank you for your assistance with that problem. By beating him in the duel you allowed us to remove him from his position legitimately. That was rather convenient."

Athira raised an eyebrow. "The Wardens control the Elites anyway, why not just remove him to begin with? Not like you needed me to do it."

Karma narrowed her eyes. "We could have, but we prefer to not draw attention to ourselves. An Elite suddenly dropped from his position is suspicious, but an Elite who can't control his own team is useless and a burden upon the system and his removal is accepted as necessary. People operate much better when they believe themselves safe and happy."

Or when you take everything from them and piss them off, added Athira. 

Karma activated a second wall rune, and a second chair pulled itself from the ground opposite Athira. The Warden folded herself gracefully into the chair. Images still flashed across the screen between them, now going through the sequence at Indigo base with Athira in Zoe's room while Kione answered the door. 

"I wasn't expecting you to know so much about the Wardens, considering you've only been a probationary member of a colour team for a month. Care to explain how you know so much about us?" 

Athira went with something believable. She didn't want the Warden off balance just yet. 

"Rumours. Kind of hard not to hear them when you join, everyone's trying to give you tips on how not to screw it up."

"Ah, I see," said Karma. "Well then, as a show of good faith to show you I intended this conversation to go much better than it has so far, I will answer your original question. The name of the group who recovered the yellow Spectrum and brought you here is the Edges. Their purpose is simple: recover, protect, and ensure the survival of the Prism." 

Edges. Athira burned the name into her mind. "Are they the group I'd join, were I to accept your offer?" 

Karma shook her head. "No. We have other plans for you. The Edges are composed of mainly colourless and operate in a non-lethal, anti-colour method. I believe you saw the effect they can have on colour?" 

She seemed to take Athira's silence as agreement. 

In truth, Athira was fixated on the screen in front of her, the multiple viewpoints capturing every inch of movement with a perfect precision. She hadn't realised there were so many cameras around the base. As she watched, past-Shift set the chocolate flavouring back on the counter and ran out to the common room to share a few words with Raph, even as Edges were pouring through the door and overwhelming Kione. 

It was making her realise just how many of her words could be on record, hinting at her cloaked identity if anyone were to take an interest in them. 

That's why Shift was avoiding the subject in the kitchen, before Discord appeared. 

"But as I was saying, we have different plans for you. First though, I thought I might give you a proper explanation of the Wardens, to ensure your decision is a well informed one."

"I'm your captive audience," said Athira, eyes never leaving the screen as she watched their past selves run around the base. 

"Of course," said Karma. 

Athira spared her a glance before the Warden started talking. 

"The first thing you must understand is that Thols' situation is much more dire than any citizens, colours, or even Elites are aware of. There is a hammer hanging over our heads, a prophecy that predicts an entity, a Sin, locked inside a planet in a galaxy far from here will soon break through the veil into our own world and claim it as the first planet of many. However, to sustain its journey to the next planet, it must consume the energy inside Thols first. It must consume the power of another Sin.

Karma stood, taking to pacing across the small room. "The Wardens stand to ensure that doesn't happen. There is much back story I won't bore you with now, but you need to understand these Sins have been locked away for eons by beings far greater than ourselves, known to us as Titans. 

"Our universe is their prison, each galaxy a unit and every planet an individual cell--but only one in each galaxy is filled. The rest are decoys to delay attention from those that would seek to free them, but somehow this entity has discovered Thols, has discovered the exact location of the prison it must invade to strengthen itself. 

"We aren't sure exactly when or how it will invade, but the Titans have given us the knowledge of how to stop it in the form of the colourless, or as we've termed them, the lost pink colour. Through them, we have the prophecy."

Athira had to admit, Karma's auditory skills were exceptional. Though she knew the Warden was trying to sell her organisation to her, Athira found herself convinced of the Warden's sincerity. 

And if you hadn't decided to make demands of me and hurt Shift, I might just have joined your cause instead of destroying it. 

On the screen, the angle tracking Shift and Zoe as they fled through the corridors of Indigo base caught the moment one of the Edges slammed Shift's head into the wall. He fell, still against the ground even as they attacked him a second and third time. 

The hope that'd pierced Athira's cold indifference retreated in the face of fury. 

Hold it back, she told herself as her colour heated the metal of the cuffs. Hold it back. Wait. 

Karma's recruitment speech paused for a moment as she watched the runes flare before continuing on like nothing had happened. 

"To defeat this entity, we know that we must have the Spectrum, seven particular people, one of each colour, assembled and in possession of the Prism. We've managed to locate two Spectrum now, including your friend, and we have suspicions about the others. The problem is there is someone working against us, a figure dubbed the Herald."

"And that you have no idea where the Prism is, right?" added Athira stiffly. 

Karma scowled. "It is believed that the Prism will be made apparent once the Spectrum combines, but that doesn't mean we've stopped searching for it regardless. The current problem at hand, however, is the Herald's interference." 

Athira kept her expression neutral, choosing her words with a careful disinterest. "I empathise, really, I do, but what does that have to do with the Wardens abducting me and the rest of my team? Slamming their heads into walls, to be exact?" 

Karma touched the screen and the image of Athira's final effort to stand disappeared into black. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise how upsetting it might be for you to watch that. The green colour put up a significant fight, I'm told. His unique colour made it near impossible to subdue him. When he wakes up, I'll be having a similar talk to him as I am with you but we're getting off topic. Two nights ago, the Owl broke into a highly secure facility of ours and made threats against the Spectrum, drawing notice to her knowledge of the yellow Spectrum--"

"Zoe," said Athira, clenching her teeth. If the Wardens thought they could get their hands on Shift, they were sorely mistaken. "Her damned name is Zoe, if you don't mind." 

"--Zoe then," corrected Karma. "This concerns us for a number of reasons. One, she knows of the Spectrum and the specific location of... Zoe. Two, she knew of the facility, the purpose of which was designed to help the Spectrum confront the Sin entity and more or less destroyed the progress we'd made with it. And three, she took out two Wardens with relative ease. They lived, but they seem to have lost their ability to connect to their colour."

So she had severed their colour. At the time, she hadn't been sure, just going by what Rathe was urging her to do. Despite regretting it over the last few days, she had the sudden urge to see if she could do the same to Karma's. 

See how confident she is when her runes don't respond.

This conversation was going too slowly for Athira's liking. "And you think the Owl is the Herald, correct? Why not just send your Edges after her, then? Problem solved." For me needing to find them for round two.

"We've considered it, but we aren't sure of her capabilities. In destroying the facility and taking out the two Wardens there, she has proven herself able to break through several runes and other safeguard measures we didn't think her able to. We have attempted to locate her many times and come up empty handed. Even the Underground in Sirah seems afraid of crossing her, despite our generous offers if they assist us. Which is where you come in." 

Athira's suspicions shot through the roof. Was this entire thing a set up, trying to lure the Owl out into the open so they could confirm what they already knew? Injuring Shift, taking Zoe, stealing Talon, telling her about the Wardens and their 'mission' as if they didn't already know? Were they trying to throw her off balance? 

Karma sat down once more and leaned forward. "We want you to fight the Owl." 

Athira snorted, barely containing the laughter that wanted to follow. They... they want me to fight... myself? That's what this is all about?

Realising Karma was waiting for a reply, Athira bit back her smile. "Uh, am I some kind of sacrificial offering for the Owl, like a mouse perhaps? Because a few minutes ago you were telling me that I wouldn't stand a chance against a Warden, let alone the Owl, who I might add seems to have you all terrified."

Karma gave her a knowing smile. "That was my reaction, until I learned in Raphael's report that you'd run into the Owl with Shift while out on patrol the night she destroyed the facility, and that you managed to win the fight that ensued."

Any hilarity Athira found in the situation faded. Colours be damned, why did Raph have to be so efficient with paperwork? "Oh. That."

"Granted, she may have been weakened after her fight with the Wardens, but we believe you have a lot of untapped potential that we can unlock. Potential, perhaps, that may make you the solution to the problem we face."

"Of the Herald?" 

Karma tilted her head. "That, and of finding the Spectrum. You see, we have reason to believe that you may be the indigo Spectrum... as well as the violet."

Athira just stared at her. Whatever possibilities existed around her colour, that was definitely not one of them. She didn't dare let herself believe it. 

"In case you haven't noticed," said Athira slowly. "My colour is black. Not purple. Black."

"We have theories on that," said Karma. "As well as why you could potentially represent two colours. You have tellings of both indigo and violet colour. Your ability to pick things up and levitate yourself shows your indigo side, and the blasts of colour are typical of violet. We're willing to bet that there are additional violet effects we can't pick up on video."

Athira was too caught out by the idea for Karma's words for sarcasm to filter through. "Doesn't that upset the number count of seven Spectrum? Having two colours in one?" 

Karma's smile grew. "One is two and two is one, that's what the prophecy says about the indigo and violet Spectrum. We were at a complete loss for years with no idea, worrying that the two colours merging had everything in ruins but it solved the problem for us! It put two colours inside one person. Inside you, if it's as we think. The actual colour it comes out as, the black, could be the result of two colours. It could even still be indigo, just so dark that it appears black. There's a number of explanations."

"Why seven Spectrum, then?" asked Athira, frowning. "You said seven before. Not six as it would be if you believe two is one."

Karma didn't look worried. "There's still the pink colour to consider, and the prophecy clearly states seven Spectrum else it will fail."

Athira dropped her gaze, resting it on her hands caged the silver cuffs. The anger, screaming at her to attack was pushed from its podium by a chimera of confusion, denial and strangely enough, hope. Hope that she might be able to be something more than an omen of destruction. 

Her, a potential Spectrum, one of the seven lights that Rathe would face when he came. 

She didn't dare believe it, even as that small part of her timidly whispered that it desperately wanted to. 

*+*+*+*

A/N - I love you guys. <3