Ancestor Specter looked outside his study room's window with a torn expression on his face. He had the gaze of a man forced to make the hardest decision of his life. The complexities within his turbulent gaze were expressed to the trees whose branches shook ever so freely in the wind. And for the first time in his long life, Grandpa Pier envied these trees.
"How nice it must be to not have to make such decisions in one's lifetime," Ancestor Specter sighed, longing to be one of the trees planted in his large backyard. Even being a branch would suffice for now. For it seemed much easier to be a living thing that could be here today and cut down tomorrow than to be an Elemental Ancestor wiling to abandon his leader. But it seemed that his wish was never going to be granted.
"I am sorry Grandpa," Lily stood behind the old ancestor with a face full of regret and remorse. As the one who had found the evidence that implicated Ancestor Origin, and the one who had been tasked with convincing Ancestor Specter to give up any possibility of defending the oldest ancestor, she felt a great deal of guilt for putting him through this.
"I am sorry as well Grandpa. Our inquisitive nature led to this." Lam sighed with his fists balled up. While one may argue that they were only following Mane's commands, one couldn't deny that Lam and Lily had agreed to do so. It was their assent that led to their mission and ultimately led to the things they had discovered.
"Why are you lot apologizing for something that isn't your fault," Ancestor Specter smiled wryly.
There was a bit of gladness in his heart upon hearing and feeling the emotions of the twins. He had known them for only two years, but they were family. They were so close to him that he reckoned that they were now his heart.
"It isn't your fault that Ancestor Origin decided to betray the world. And it definitely isn't your fault that you made a good friend like that kid Mane who knew that something was wrong." Ancestor Specter smiled slightly when he spoke.
Mane hadn't told the twins nor the other Ancestors that it was Ashera who suspected that there was a traitor amongst them. So naturally each one thought that Mane's intuition birthed the chain of events that had been sparked by the twins, and would be grown by Mane.
"Besides, they planned to give you up. Discovering the things you did, saved your lives." Ancestor Specter couldn't help but sigh painfully when he mentioned this.
How low their race had fallen?! From a proud band of individuals who refused to let any single one of their children go, no matter what their talent was, to a group willing to give up the most talented individuals of their race just to save their lives. Ancestor Origin was free to frame it anyway he wished. He could say that he was doing it to save the entire race or that he was doing it to preserve the heritage of Elementals. But ultimately what he was doing was giving up members of the race, no matter what the reason was. And for a people who always mocked the Ancients for how they treated their talents, this was the lowliest they could go!
"In the end, he is just scum. And I was a fool for not acting on my instincts." Ancestor Specter's gaze was complicated when he recalled all the strange incidents he had so willfully ignored.
These were things his mind screamed were crazy and that he should investigate. But he refused any thoughts of treachery that was fed to him by his excellent mind because he failed to believe in what his people had now become.
While one may argue that he wouldn't have been able to do anything had he known, that was not true. Ancestor Specter was recognised by Ashera herself as the most brilliant Ancestor Amalgamation had to offer. In fact, Ashera believed that he was one of the smartest people Amalgamation had ever birthed. To her, the only thing that held him back from being the very best Elementals had ever produced was his pride. With his brilliant mind he would have been capable of digging deep trenches for Ancestor Origin and the others and probably find ways to alert the other races of their impending betrayal; nay, the manifestation of their betrayal.
"Were it not for your friend…" Ancestor Specter shivered like a withered leaf in a harsh winter storm when he thought about what would have happened when Pazuzu returned.
He would have had to watch in sorrow as Lam and Lily were fed to him like food without the ability to fight back. He would have resisted; surely he would have. But what could one do against five? He loved the twins. And he was positive that in time their bond would grow much too strong for him to lose them. He was terrified at the thought. What would he have done after? Surely he would have entered a realm of despair so great that even death would have been seen as the sweet stroke of an experienced tutor. For the Grim Reaper's visit would have been eagerly anticipated – if he didn't take his life himself.
Lily walked up to Ancestor Specter and hugged his back tightly. Lam too walked to his ancestor's side and held his hand with the force of a million stars. They said nothing, yet their emotions were felt fully by the old man.
"We are never leaving you. We will always stand by you."
Ancestor Specter couldn't help but smile, and his tear ducts which had been left without any true purpose for the past few years were called into action once more. They squeezed out a few tears at first. These were tears that remained after all these years. But the first few seemed to remind them of how to do their job and soon, torrents of rain flooded Ancestor Specter's eyes, making it impossible for him to see anything.
He wept silently with the twins holding on to him. Through it all they said nothing, but each one understood the heart of the other.
*********************
Grandpa Pier wasn't the only one wistfully considering the matters of the near. Ancestor Ice and Ancestor Storm were holed up in the former's home. The two were stood before the largest window of the attic, their gazes as complex – if not more so – as Ancestor Specter's. After all, they had been on the other side of the coin until most recently. They had been part of the scum Mane sought to eradicate. They had been cancerous blobs that itched and concerned until only yesterday. So their guilt was manifold greater than Ancestor Specter's. For now they felt they had betrayed two different sets of people. First they betrayed the world. Now they were betraying their head. And that surely added on to their guilt even though they knew that they were doing the right thing.
"That kid sure is cautious," Ancestor Storm sighed as he stretched his hand beyond the open window into the space outside with his index finger outstretched farther than the rest. But the exploring finger was quickly stopped in its tracks and prevented from going any further. A faint light shone from the point of contact between the finger and whatever had prevented its advance.
*Ripple*
"He did say the barrier would prevent attacks from reaching us, did he not?" Ancestor Ice frowned at the unexpected reaction. For Mane had promised when he was setting up the barrier that it was meant to protect them. However, from what it looked like, the boy had used it to keep them trapped within. It was almost – no, it was – a contingency plan against any intrusions. For it seemed he didn't trust their words even a little bit.
"Oh I can easily ignore it," Ancestor Storm's smile widened as his summoned his own energy and pushed harder. The water-like barrier was finally breached and Ancestor Storm's entire hand traveled through it.
"Surprised?" Ancestor Storm asked as he pulled his arm back and the barrier was restored. It shone dimly for a few seconds before disappearing like it wasn't even there. But both Ancestors would be pretty silly to think that it had been destroyed.
"I am," Ancestor Ice nodded her head in reply to her best friend's earlier question. Ancestor Storm's success with the barrier had raised a couple of questions in her mind. Did this mean that Mane trusted that they would not breach their verbal contract with him? And what made him trust them?
"I know what you are thinking. And the answer is no: Mane doesn't trust us." Ancestor Storm shook his head after successfully reading his friend's mind.
Ancestor Storm and Ancestor Ice were equally brilliant but each had their specialties. Ancestor Ice was a prodigy when it came to understanding nature and the elements. She had the power to only control ice, but her understanding of the others elements was so great that if her ice bloodline was open to sharing her talents with the others, all the elements would flock to her. It was because of her great understanding that Ancestor Specter brought Lam and Lily to her to be tutored occasionally.
Lily especially benefitted greatly from her because she was also one loved by nature. For her teachings were like wellsprings of water to a patched tongue. And the effects of a single lecture from her were monumental. Ancestor Storm could vouch for this. For it was because she tutored him that he was able to break through the shackles of mortality and embrace the power of Phenoms!
Ancestor Storm may not be as gifted as Ancestor Ice when it came to the elements, but what he didn't have he made up for with street smarts. Ancestor Ice's great talent was discovered when she was young, so she was very sheltered and every other genius born in her time was overlooked. Ancestor Storm was such a genius. Because of this he had grown to be politically sound and had gained a mind that schemed deeper that it dreamt. So the things Ancestor Ice may be strangely naïve to, he was not.
"He set up these kind of barriers around everything in Amalgamation. In fact, it was one of the reasons he didn't move against Ancestor Origin immediately after speaking to us. He was dealing with this. And creating strong barriers like this all over the city must be tiring."
"Why?" Ancestor Ice asked with a complicated expression.
For Mane to do this meant that he was determined to protect the innocent from what was coming. And for someone who didn't seem to hold any goodwill towards the members of their race, this was infinitely kind.
"Because deep down – when one digs up those concrete slabs of ruthlessness and wrath – there is a little kid who wouldn't break the teeth that don't bite him," Ancestor Storm smiled and said.
He was a witty old man. How could he not see that Mane was actually much kinder than he appeared? After all, if he wasn't one with a gentle soul, how would the twins become his friends? This was especially true since Lily was one chosen by nature. Such a person wouldn't be drawn to a cold-blooded killer.
"I agree," Ancestor Ice shook her head with a faint smile on her face as she assented to the words of her friend.
From the moment Mane stated that he would only kill Ancestor Origin, she believed that he possessed a soft heart. And that was the main reason why she and Storm had been trying to glean off more benefits; specifically speaking, the life of Ancestor Origin being spared.
"And that's why he made the barrier as it is. So only those with power as strong as ours can disregard it and come out. The citizens wouldn't be able to escape it if they tried. Brilliant." Ancestor Ice was slightly awed by what she was experiencing. This reminded her greatly of Ashera. For her old friend was the only one who could do something like this in Amalgamation. Mane truly was her herald.
"It makes you wonder though, doesn't it?" Ancestor Ice suddenly stated.
"Wonder about what?" It was Ancestor Storm's turn to be confused and Ancestor Ice's to receive the baton of expatiation.
"About his race. Where is this kid from?"