| There Is a Sky |
| By Lyndsey L |
| Part 2 |
| A heavy heart Ma-Ti stared at his reflection in the mirror. His haggard olive face was slightly pale; matted dark hair and bluish rings under and around his eyes further emphasized the fact that he was not sleeping. No sleep. For the past three days, he had little rest. He gripped the sides of the sink a little tighter. Those dreams, the dreams that had plagued his subconscious had driven him to give up on rest. But another, more frightening prospect had developed. He was close to hate. For a bearer of Heart, such a thing was unthinkable, at least to himself. The cause of this near hatred might have been due to his current sleep deprivation, but Ma-Ti could, with what little empathy he had left, sense that it was not only that. The very nature of the images angered him. He felt as though he was in someone else's mind. Like he shared those intense emotions. He felt like he knew this anger from somewhere... "But how?" his own voice surprised him. "I know no such feelings!" It was true. Ma-Ti was not one to lie to himself. He never lied to anyone. It was not his nature. But it was there, dark and furious. And he almost hated it. Sunlight gently crept up to touch his face, and he snapped out of his reverie. Morning time was here, and his fellow Planeteers would awaken soon. At least all but Wheeler. Ma-Ti smiled. Wheeler had an incredible talent for replacing smashed alarm clocks once a week. Hastily splashing water on his face and combing his hair, Ma-Ti felt sufficiently refreshed and ready to start the day. He glanced at his reflection again. He looked a lot better, albeit somewhat fatigued. He hoped his friends wouldn't notice too much. ****************************************************************************************************************************************** No such Should I tell them? Should I really send my Planeteers into a place with no visible threat? Gaia paused. She had never before considered directing her team into a mission without first poring over the details of each eco-emergency. Gaia had always known what exactly they were getting into, every risk coolly calculated, every hazard carefully analyzed. But she had simply been disturbed. It couldn't be enough to justify a full-blown investigation, could it? The earth's spirit remembered that night, the night she had been soundly sleeping. The usual enemies of the environment had been quiet as of late; she could afford a bit of rest. Even Zarm's nearly untraceable presence could not be found on earth, no matter how hard she scanned. So, since the earth was at peace, she theorized, why shouldn't its Spirit? Because the physical earth itself only encompasses the four old elements. Not the fifth, the one that cries out the most when it's in pain. She sighed. Any pain and suffering, mental anguish, or confusion were as bad as any toxin, yet she had seen this and felt this everyday and had not been disturbed. At least, not like this. But this is bad. This is a permeable hate...a revulsion so powerful... So much so that this had to be investigated. With such emotions she sensed, surely a tumultuous and destructive event would occur. And soon. Especially if that person was unstable. Or an Eco-Villain. Gaia hoped with all her heart she was wrong. She called the Planeteers to the Crystal Chamber. Part 3 |