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"I know… I just wish you were here right now," Don said to his wife.
She laughed. "I love you too. Listen, I'll be there in an hour. Just start the movie without me."
"Will do."
"Alright. Say hi to the others, and save me some popcorn."
"Of course. Anyway, I need to go. The doorbell just rang."
"Sure. Bye."
Don hung up on his wife, made his way to the door, and opened it. There were three others: Kristin, Apple, and Dustin. Along with them was a huge horde of snack food.
"Great! Time to party and relax!" Don exclaimed as he led the way to the recreation room of the house.
"Yeah, for once. This is our first time to relax in how long?" Kristin asked.
Dustin groaned. "Ugh. Let's not even go there. That last battle was huge."
"Well, be thankful we won this time. It's going to set them back quite a bit you know," Apple said.
The group reflected on what she had just said. The last battle had been a difficult one, but one that was necessary for them to win to stay in the fight. Too often recently, the Lhaam have been falling back and the Nica were beginning to get too unpredictable.
Don wanted to lighten the mood and so, brought out the stack of videos next to the television. "So guys. What'll it be?" He began to spread the videos out so they could all chose, but didn't get very far when a dark presence made itself felt among the group. "Spirit of Li, help me fend off this evil." Don closed his eyes as he muttered this prayer.
The others echoed their similar prayers.
"Casta, oh beloved ancestor of mine, help me repel this evil," Kristin whispered to herself.
"Hyam, grant me the wisdom and strength to ward off this evil," Dustin uttered.
Apple mumbled, "Melisenda, help me blow this evil spirit away."
As the four uttered their prayers to their ancestral spirits, the evil spirit pervaded. A chilling chuckle could be heard and felt as the being partially materialized in the middle of the group. The four backed away slowly. "Pathetic fools. You can't get away," the shapeless ghost laughed as he separated into four wisps of smoke and hovered above each individual. They could sense him smiling and rejoicing as he entered their bodies.
Alexis was whistling to herself as she walked to the door of her home. Upon touching the doorknob though, a strong sense of evil entered her. Fiercely whispering to herself the prayer of Quinn, she begged her own spirit to be mindful. She could feel her friends' presences nearby, and despite her urge tot urn back, she opened the door. Don stood nearby and turned upon hearing her enter. "Hey Don." She went over and tried to pretend like nothing was wrong. She gave him a hug and felt him automatically return it. Glancing into his eyes, she drew back at the sight of emptiness. Something's wrong with you, Alexis tried to speak to him in his mind, but even that didn't work. He'd been shut off.
Alexis quickly went into the rec room and found her friends in a similar state. "Apple! Dustin! Kristin! Snap out of it!" Alexis cried desperately as she found herself being cornered by her friends. "Damnit, it's too early for another battle!" she cursed.
Never had Alexis felt so alone as that moment when her friends ganged up on her and bound her. Don took a bat in hand. Directing her inward energy to his spirit, she desperately tried to gain contact and have him stop. Whatever was controlling him though, had subdued Don's spirit enough that she couldn't get through. With a single swing, he knocked his wife out cold.
Don swung Alexis onto his shoulder and followed the other three into a mansion hidden deep in the woods. As a group, they walked in and set her down on a small platform awaiting Alexis's arrival. With that done, the evil spirit left their bodies and materialized into human form.
Still a little disoriented, the four found themselves surrounded by the enemy and, struggle as they might, were quickly captive of the Nica.
Byron gave a slight chuckle as he watched his foe struggle hopelessly. Smiling, he turned to his prized victim. Standing behind the altar, he began a low chant, unintelligible by anyone witnessing the event. As he chanted, his second in command Daniel, removed the ties that held Alexis. His first chant made her friends invisible to her. That one took relatively little time for Byron. His attempt to turn her away from the Balance took a toll on him.
A little frustrated with himself, Byron muttered to everyone present. "She's stronger than we thought. Her spirit is not moving."
"She is of Tanek," Daniel dared to say to his teacher. Byron glared at him and doubled his efforts.
Not too long after though, Alexis finally awoke from her unconscious state. Without opening her eyes, she could feel Byron hovering above her, foolishly trying to draw her away from the Balance. She sensed the rest of the company around her, and could feel her friends' presences nearby. She smiled inwardly, feeling them free of the dark power that had held them earlier. Still weak though, she did not bother trying to answer their spirit calls to her. Alexis instead, conserved her energy for the moment when she could escape.
Byron grew tired of chanting. With a wave of his hand, he indicated that they leave the building and go outside. Byron himself carried the supposedly unconscious Alexis outside while two warriors dragged each of her friends along.
Alexis opened up her spirit and saw within herself their destination: an outdoors arena. The coolness of the air told her it was night. With what Energy she could muster, she forced herself to change shape and helped her friends change as well.
Startled, Byron did not know what was going on until Alexis was way off, flying away, her heart happy to be free. She cried out to her friends in thought speak. Guys! Are you free? Alexis felt a chill in her heart when there was no answer.
Alexis flew back, her owl eyes searching for the arena. Her heart dropped when she realized that she apparently hadn't had all the Energy to change her friends and they remained captive. She perched on a tree a ways off and watched as the people dragged her friends to four poles surrounding the arena and then leave.
Alexis continued to sit there, contemplating whether or not to go and help, with the knowledge that this was a trap and she was going to get captured, or just leave them there. Disgusted with the thought of leaving the ones she loved behind, Alexis determinedly flew off towards the arena once more.
Tired as she was, once she was in the arena, she began to switch back to human form, floating back to earth. She tried to send out her Energy again to her friends, trying in desperation to set them free.
Alexis hadn't even touched ground though, when a cage materialized and she found herself standing captive in a suspended cage. She could feel her friends' frustration as they struggled to help her. Then, she watched as Byron made his presence known and hovered outside the cage in front of her. "There's no use in fighting Quinn." Alexis hissed, furious that he dared insult her by using her name in such an offhand way. He just laughed back at her.
Suddenly, the cage gave a tremendous shake and Alexis lost her footing, causing her to hit her head on the cage and lose consciousness again. Byron gently brought the cage back down to earth, and after making sure that all was secure, he and his companions turned in for the night, leaving them to suffer the cold.
Alexis woke the next day and immediately gave a fierce growl as she saw Byron crouch outside her cage, staring at her and smiling.
"I have a proposition." Alexis bared her teeth. "Now I know we're both intelligent people and neither of us is going to back down."
"Go on."
"Well, I’m just wondering what you'd be willing to sacrifice so your friends here won't die."
Alexis shot him a fierce glare. "You know s well as I do that I will sacrifice whatever I can to ensure that my friends don't suffer." Inside, she repelled the strong disagreements Don and the others were sending her way.
"You're so sure of that?"
"You're asking me if I lie?"
Byron shrugged and smiled. "So this is a compromise?"
She listened as her friends begged her not to surrender to him, not even bothering to talk in thought speech, but yelling out to her. Looking Byron square in the eye, she said in an offhand tone, "Do I have a choice?"
He smiled again. "Not really." He laughed and got up. Immediately, he began chanting and four more dark spirits arose. After a moment's hesitation, they entered the bodies of her friends, suppressing their spirits once more.
One by one, day after day, they took turns attacking her, driving her Energy away, and forcing her to become weaker in the physical sense. And, despite her strong will, her resolve began to crumble as well. When once more, Byron approached her after a particularly difficult battle on her part, she couldn't even find the strength to stand on her own to feet to face him.
Byron cupped a hand and drew her head up, forcing their eyes to meet. His eyes laughed in triumph as he saw what was in front of him. Drawing himself up, he ridiculed her. "So this is what's left of the great Quinn."
Alexis's soul heard the cries of her people urging her on, asking her not to give up, yet she couldn't retaliate. Bruised and beaten, she concentrated her Energy on not collapsing right then in front of him.
"Well, what about this? Why not just put yourself out of misery? You and the pathetic lot you call the Lhaam are finished. The four leaders of the people are in my power and they follow my bidding. With them destroyed, the rest of the people will quickly follow. The Balance is no more. What are you fighting for?"
Alexis didn't answer. Deep down in her soul, she still wanted to believe that he was wrong. There, she found the strength to defy him one last time.
"So what do you say Quinn? Care to die?"
Alexis finally looked him in the eye. "Go ahead."
Byron smiled in triumph. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for had come. Immediately, chains appeared out of the air and tied her down to the altar that appeared as well.
Tears spilling out her eyes, Alexis muttered a chant as Byron took out the sword he'd kept for just this moment. Drawing up the last of her Energy, she begged the world to listen with their hearts. "My people, help me defeat this evil."
The sword began its journey down and the Nica watched in amazement as the sword turned away, falling to the ground. They watched in horror as numerous others joined Alexis's spirit and surround their leader. They ran away in terror as they heard Byron's chilling screams of pain and agony as the Energy of the Balance forced itself around his own dark spirit and destroyed it.
In an instant, the whole thing was over. Alexis and her Council of four found themselves back in the rec room. She gave a weary smile as they took a seat. "One more battle fought."
"And won," Don said solemnly.
"How many more to go?" Kristin wondered to herself.
The others gave a tired sigh as they foresaw a future filled with more fighting and chaos. Yet they clung to the hope that Balance would be restored and that Tanek would look down upon them with favor once more.