It was the next day and Ava was able to sleep in. Because of Noah Oliver, she always had to wake up every other hour to feed him (or so). Right now, Lily was feeding him some of the food she found in his bag. Even though Ava was getting more sleep, she had a weird dream. It just showed some elements: Fire, Water, and Air. In Ava's world, elements are everything. They show what your powers are, where you are from, and if you contain no powers at all. The fact that Ava dreamed about the majority of elements based on population was weird enough, but Lily's name kept popping up in her head. 'Whats so special about Lily?' Later on in her dream, she saw a glimpse of the Core Territory. According to her dad, the Core's were dangerous power-seeking people, but should she trust what he says anymore? To Ava, this seems like a vision. Blake told her that she would start receiving them since Titans were "all knowing." At first she was excited, but why would she dream about the Core's? She's pretty sure they isolated themselves from the rest of the territories for some reason. Ava recounts the element part of her dream. 'The water and air could mean myself, and the fire could mean Core people.. But again, why would I dream about them? Is something bad coming? God, I wish I could write to Blake. But I don't want to get Marco in danger, since I would have to put some address there.' Ava sighs and tries to sleep.
"WHERE IS SHE?" Eric paces around the room while Ariel is sitting down formally. She seems weaker, probably because she hasn't been in the water in some time. "She must be somewhere, how far could she have gone?" "I KNOW AVA! I LIVED WITH HER MOST OF HER LIFE! SHE- She has to know something. She must've found out..." Eric catches himself from yelling too much. He doesn't want to take his anger out on Ariel. "That could be true. If I found out my father was going to kill me, I would run too." "You know its not like that." Eric faces Ariel. "No, I don't. All you've ever done is kept me on the surface. You told me, 'Ariel, killing her is for our own good! She'll be fine in Heaven," Ariel hesitates before going on, "But I'm tired. Sick, and tired. If you really want to kill my only daughter, I need a real reason. NOW. I know you can kill me right now for demanding you, I know you can torture me for digging deeper, but I need answers! I WILL NOT LET YOU KILL MY DAUGHTER UNTIL I KNOW THE TRUTH!" Ariel has a field of water surrounding her, which usually happens when she puts on her leader face. Eric forces himself to sit down in defeat. He has to tell her. "I'll tell you, just sit." Ariel sits, still staring icy glares into his soul. Literally, he starts feeling chilly. "As you know, I'm trying to take down the Titans. But of course, its more than that.
"I found out that Ava has this... interesting destiny. I can't tell you right now, but it won't be good for our country. For our world," Eric chuckles lightly, "I knew Ava was a special girl, but I only just realized how special. She really is going to change the future as we know it." Ariel has softened a tad but is still trying to see where this is going. "I had to stop her. She doesn't know the power that she has! She's only sixteen! With a child! She can't handle the giant destiny that will be laid upon her." "Like you said, she's only a little girl. She has time to figure out the world. That doesn't mean you can just kill her off to 'save her'. And orphan her child." "I admit, Noah made things a bit harder than it needed to be. But trust me dear, her future is too big. She won't be able to handle it. Please, just trust me!" "I can't. Not now, not ever. If you can't listen to me and understand the points I'm trying to make, maybe this won't work out." "Are you breaking up with me?" "I know I am sworn to you because of that secret, but the secret is out now. I'm through with you." Ariel goes upstairs, preparing for her departure. Eric, trying to process the situation, is about to make the biggest mistake of his life.
Ava wakes up only to be given another vision. She see's Ariel, her mom, about to be stabbed in the back by Eric. Ava opens her eyes. "Dad wouldn't hurt her... right? Oh my God." Ava hyperventilates, unable to process this. The scene of him walking up the stairs towards her mom's room is flickering in her head. "Mom.. No.. I can't loose you.. Not now, not ever." Ava forces her eyes closed, and when she opens them, she's in-front of her mother as her father is throwing the knife. Everything turns into a blur. Ava see's the ceiling, then her mom. After that, she see's her dad coming over, but then hears a thud. Her mom cups her cheeks, spreading her tears sloppily. Ava can't help but wonder where her brother was. Ariel see's that Ava was living in Detroit by the familiar smell on her PJs. Ariel teleports herself and Ava to a Detroit Family Hospital. Next thing Ava sees are doctors coming in and out. She hated doctors. She felt the unfamiliar sting of a knife being removed from her tummy. After that, her eyes close.
"Ava?" Marco's voice rings in Ava's ears. "M-marco?" "OH MY GOD SHES ALIVE!" Ava hears a loud applause then some quick scurrying. "Marco?" Ava puts her back up to her pillow, surprised that her torso hurts. "Careful Ava. The doctors called me when you were put in the hospital. You have my phone number, correct? They assumed I was the boyfriend." "Oh." Ava blushes at the thought of the doctors seeing Marco's name with heart emojis. "I heard what happened. You got stabbed in the street... Are you okay? I thought you were sleeping?" "Marco I'm fine. I just.. went out for a walk." Ava didn't feel well enough to lie to Marco, but he couldn't know she teleported a trillion miles away to save her mom from her abusive dad. "Alright then... Also, who was that lady? Who left when I entered. Was it your mom?" Ava felt a ping of sadness catch her tongue. Was her mom okay? "Y-yes.. She came to see me while I was resting." "Oh.. Did your dad show up?" "No, not even. He's crazy." Technically she wasn't lying. "Yeah, makes sense." Ava watches Marco walk away but says, "Wait! Please don't leave. Stay." It sounded more like a desperate demand than a request. Marco turns slowly and sits on the side of her bed. "What, couldn't handle being away from me?" Marco teases. "No! I just don't want to be alone if my stitches start hurting again." Marco laughs at her quick reply. She looks like a tomato! Ava joins him, and even though it hurt her stomach, it felt better in so many ways.