Dark Meridian: Chapter 4

"Don't worry about what happened back there." Jasc said to Willow as they headed down the hall.

"How can I not worry? Everyone must think I'm a freak!" Willow exclaimed before she even realized what she was saying. Jasc raised an eyebrow at her and Willow mentally hit herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean…" She had just remembered how Jasc was treated, and knew it wasn't anything like what she had gone through.

"I understand." He smiled a bit. "You never know. That could just be a really uncommon power you have."

"Yeah, but at first it looked like I had water abilities. I can't have two can I? And even if I did have two, what the heck was the second one?"

"I've never heard of a Chao having two separate powers, but it may be possible. As for what the second thing was, I have no clue." Jasc responded. Willow sighed, trying not to look down at her bloody hands. Finally, the two came upon the nurse's office. They stepped inside and closed the door, then approached the nurse who was sitting at a large desk off to the left.

"Excuse me, miss. I need some bandages." Willow said. The nurse looked up from a newspaper she was reading to look at Willow. She was a normal Hero type Chao, with pink little feathered wings. She wore a nurse's gown which appeared to be tied tightly around her waist. In the center was a large red cross.

"Oh heavens dear, we need to clean those cuts up right away! Here, follow me." The nurse said. Willow did as the nurse told and followed her over to a corner with a large metal closet and a sink. She opened the doors and pulled out some paper towels and some Band-Aids. She soaked the towel in water, squeezed out the excess, then began to wipe down Willow's arms. "How did this happen? Oh my, there's some glass in a few of these cuts." She turned around and pulled out some tweezers.

"The Magic Jar sort of… Exploded…" Willow said a bit reluctantly. She winced as a small shard of glass was pulled from a cut on her forearm. The nurse looked up at her.

"Exploded? My, you must have one strong power." The nurse said. Once all of the glass was taken out and the cuts were cleaned the nurse put Band-Aids on each of the bigger ones. "Alright, you're free to go. I believe your next class should be starting soon." Willow nodded, rubbing the bandages a bit. She thanked the nurse then left the office, Jasc following.

"Well, I have to get to class. See you later." Jasc said.

"Bye." Willow replied. Inside, Willow wasn't feeling well. She was confused and a bit scared to tell the truth. She just wanted an answer to a simple question: What's wrong with her?

When time for gym came again, Willow was highly nervous. Yes, it had been a week, but she didn't feel ready to confront everyone. Sighing, she entered the class, and once one person noticed her everyone else seemed to stop and stare. Now feeling extremely self-conscious, Willow walked over to join her friends. They each gave her looks of pity before the teacher came in.

"Before we get started, Willow, would you please come and see me." Mr. Mick asked. Willow swallowed nervously but complied, following her teacher into a new room. "I know, you're probably worried about what happened last week. I just want to assure you, you're fine. It's rare that this ever happens, but it's nothing we can't deal with. It was a bit difficult to determine your power, but we finally narrowed it down to predominantly water, since that is what showed through the clearest. As for the purple electricity, we can't find an explanation at the moment."

"What do you mean?" Willow asked. "I thought Chao only have one power anyway?" Willow asked.

"Yes, this is for the most part true. I've never heard of a Chao controlling more than one element, however, you may just be that exception. As we practice more we'll hopefully be able to figure this out. Now come on, I need to get class started." The two walked back out, and as soon as they made their appearance all eyes were on them. "Alright, today class we will start training to control our specific powers. Now, even though we all each probably differ in our abilities, there are some overall general ways to make it so that everyone can participate in one or two groups. Today, we are going to focus on summoning our powers on a whim, and being able to use willpower to keep them in check. Remember, if you lose focus, you lose control." Mr. Mick proceeded to walk to the end of the gym and the rest of the class followed. "Now, some of you of course require a specific element to be present to actually use your powers. What I would like you to do is grab a bucket over from the side, each one is labeled with your name."

Willow walked over to the wall and searched for hers. After finding a green bucket with her name on it in marker, she returned to where her classmates were waiting.
"Now, everyone has what they need? Yes? Good. Let's continue. Everyone sit down, this makes it much easier to concentrate." The Chao obliged and sat on the gym floor. "Now, when I say to start, hold out your hand and focus on the element you have power over. Try to feel it within you and what makes that element that element. Then slowly start to imagine you're holding that power in the palm of your hand. If it works, you should have a nice ball of whatever power you have floating over your hands. For example." Mr. Mick held his palm out and in an instant a piece of earth from one of the student's pots swirled above his fingers. "Now it's your turn. Everyone close your eyes." Willow shut her eyelids. "Now. Begin!"

Willow immediately held out her arm, though it shook slightly. She focused on water; waves crashing against a shore, a waterfall cascading into a pool below, rain falling from the sky. She felt power flow through her, and she began to move that power to her outstretched hand. She knew she had succeeded when a few drops of something wet landed on her palm. Still remaining focused, she peaked with one squinting eye. There before her was a swirling orb of water, with no purple in sight. She smiled so wide that she almost lost control of the thing.

She looked around her to see the other Chao trying to control their elements too. Most had done it, though some were struggling. Raki and Zira both had small flames floating above their hands and she saw that Jasc sat looking exasperated with a bucket that held a large bush, much to Willow's amusement. After going around and correcting those who needed correction, Mr. Mick instructed them to stop. "Alright, now that you all have your elements under control, let's get to the hard work side of this…"


The weeks went on and Willow found herself more and more in control of her power, and now could use it on a whim as long as water was nearby. She also found herself getting more rest thanks to the dreams being gone, that is until one night.

Willow was stuck in the same dark void with no end. The little blue flame from the previous dream was before her again, but this time it was larger.
"I see you're back." Willow said to it. Then the flame smiled. No, literally smiled. It had fiery teeth that opened to a flame core. Willow was alarmed by the sudden change, and took a slight step back.

"Of course, thought I'd be gone forever? You don't seem very happy to see me." The flame replied.

"Mostly because I end up losing sleep, and these dreams make me feel like I'm going insane."

"Well, I'll make this quick then." The flame grinned. "I'm only going to say this once; Be careful." It said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Willow asked. The flame laughed.

"I can't explain, but I'm sure you'll find out. Who knows what I could mean, just heed my words." Willow was about to pry but suddenly the world began to go black. She fluttered open her eyes to find herself in bed. Sighing she got up, still thinking about what the flame said. She decided not to let it eat at her, and got ready for school.


Gym that day was the same as any day. After arriving, they met at the center of the gymnasium, then Mr. Mick would give them an instruction.

"Today is going to be a fun one. We will be having mock-fights using our respective elements. Now, everything will be kept safe and under control. So, how do we fight with our elements? Well, that all depends on your specific ability. Chao with fire usually, well, burn their opponents. Chao who move earth tend to hurl rocks at each other," Mr. Mick chuckled softly at this, "And so on and so forth. Now, find a partner and I will start to explain the rules. Oh! Almost forgot, do not pair up with someone who has the same element." Willow saw that Raki was frowning in disappointment; obviously she wanted to fight her sister. Instead, the purple Chao skipped over to join Willow.

"Everyone have a partner? Yes? Good. Now, the basic rules to element fighting are this: No aiming for the head, no aiming to kill, and, most importantly, don't get hit! Everyone understand?" Everyone rang out in a chorus of 'yes'. "The way you win is whoever knocks the opponent out of the ring first. For some of you this is easier, just remember to use your element to your advantage. Now, find an open area and practice on your opponent. For you natural element Chao I'll open up the vents. After this we'll do some one-on-one in front of the entire class."

What Mr. Mick meant by 'vents' was a series of small channels that ran below the gym floor. There's a grate that sits above them and different material like water and soil are held inside. It was only used while the Chao practice though.

Willow faced Raki, knowing she had the upper hand. Water does beat fire. As soon as the vents were open, she brought some water up and sent a surge at Raki. Surprised by the sudden attack, the jet of liquid pushed her back and out of the ring.
"Hey! No fair, I wasn't ready!" Raki yelled.

"You should pay more attention than!" Willow called back, smiling. Raki returned to her spot and got in a ready position, waiting for Willow to do something. Willow drew up some more water, leaving it to levitate beside her. Raki narrowed her eyes, then sent a wave of fire in Willow's direction. Thinking quickly, Willow brought up the water to create a shield, keeping her from getting hit. She then sent a fast stream of water flying at her opponent. Raki ducked just in time, then fired back some shots of her own. Not having enough time to cover herself behind her only defense, Willow resorted to trying to jump over the fire. She just barely made it, having to flap her wings to gain height.

On her way down, Willow brought a surge of water down from over top her head and shot it at Raki. Already ducked, Raki decided to flatten herself to the ground. She rolled onto her back and threw another ball of fire at Willow. She tripped backwards, not able to go anywhere else since she would get burned. Willow fell out of the ring, practically handing a point to Raki.

"Awww yeah! Point for me!" Raki cheered just before Mr. Mick called out.
"Time's up! I hope you all got a few points in. Now, let's get some Chao up here to put on a show for us. Let's see, who should go first… Jasc and Zira! How about you?" Mr. Mick said. The pair walked into the middle of the floor. "Alright, when you two are ready." Jasc nodded to Zira and the two began their fight.

Zira began the attack, throwing small balls of fire at Jasc. Instead of blocking, Jasc dodged side to side. Willow was surprised by how agile the Chao was. He ducked down under her last flame and shot forward. His hands touched the ground then he brought his arms up. From the grates in the floor came large vines that rushed upward at Zira. Thinking fast she lit the plants on fire, causing them to shrivel. She jumped up in the air and flapped her wings. From above she sent volleys of fire down at Jasc who continued to try and dodge. Jasc threw a rope-like plant at Zira, wrapping it around her and pulling her down to the ground. He then threw her out of bounds, successfully winning the match.

"Looks like Jasc wins! What an interesting match! Let's get some more Chao up here shall we?" Mr. Mick called up more pairs, each of them pretty interesting. But then, he called Willow and Raki up. "Alright this will be the last group. When you ladies are ready."

Raki took the initiative and began to attack. She sent a ball of fire for Willow's chest and Willow blocked it with a rush of water. Then, not waiting for her defense to drop, Willow jumped through her own wall of water, hoping to surprise Raki. Raki's eyes went wide, and she leapt into the air to get out of range of Willow's next attack. Willow spun as she landed, and hit Raki out of the air. The purple Chao managed to stay inside the ring, but just barely. She raced towards Willow, twin flames in both hands.

Willow dodged to the right, but didn't expect to be hit in the side by a tail slap. She rolled onto the ground, just barely staying within the boundaries. Raki leapt at her again, but Willow rolled forward out of the way. Raki righted herself as she landed and spun to face Willow, coming at her with another ball of fire. Eyes wide with sudden fear, Willow shot a surge of water at Raki, but not all went as planned. Merged with the water were bolts of purple lighting. It hit Raki along with the water, shooting the Chao back. All Willow could do was stare in shock.

"Raki!" Zira cried, running over to her sister. "Are you alright?" The Chao began to gather round Raki, worried about her wellbeing.

"I'm fine." Raki said sitting up. There were a few bruises, but overall she was alright. Willow sat alone in fear, and stared at her hands. The violet energy was gathered around her hands. It felt strange, but also familiar in a way. Suddenly the energy seemed to take ahold of her body. Pain shot through her, and her heart felt like it was being burned. All she could do was scream as the pain took control, and that's when all hell broke loose.