~Nix's P.O.V~
The tunnel was dark and something about it was surreal, like it was the set of a movie, or a cheesy haunted house, but not an underground tunnel. It just seemed to go on and on. The further I went, the colder it got until not even my Fixze could provide sufficient warmth; my only real source of heat seemed to be where Caiden's lips had pressed to my cheek not so long ago. It had been unexpected to say the least, and it had taken everything in me to not to let out an undignified squeak. What was he doing in his tunnel? Had he already faced his fears?
With a shiver, I was brought back to reality and the matter at hand. Here and now was not the appropriate time or place for such thoughts. I was here to rescue my sister and, apparently, to face my greatest fear. I had to wonder what that might be.
Water was the first thing that came to mind. Of course it was; how could it not what with my inability to swim or even float? The lake and the sea by our house was often a source of Val's joy— and my terror. I still remember the time when I was young and I fell off the dock into the water. It was dark, and I couldn't breathe, and all I could feel was cold cold cold….
Another shiver ran down my spine, but it had nothing to do with the icy tunnels.
I felt worry, and this time I knew why I was feeling it, even if it wasn't my worry. It was Caiden's. He must not be as far away as I had thought. It was quite possible that our tunnels ran parallel to each other. Was this supposed to be a test as well? For Hades to see how long the soulmates could endure feeling their own fear in addition to that of their soulmate?
You…. Nix? I heard faintly in the confines of my own mind. He was trying to reach out. As we had only known each other for a few hours at most, it was to be expected that our bond wouldn't be as fully formed as that of Val and Eros. It was impressive that he had managed to break through at all. Maybe my head wasn't as hard as Seraphina and Gaia used to say.
Are… Okay Phoe…? He tried again. I decided to give it a try myself.
Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little cold. I knew my message would probably be just as fragmented as his, but I seemed to get the point across because the worry subsided a bit.
… Seen your…. Yet? He asked.
I looked around at the frightfully dull walls and ceiling. No. Have you seen your fear?
A short pause. No.
I continued in silence, the elongated cave slowly growing colder and colder. With a pitiful sizzling pop, my Fixze died away, and I was thrown into darkness.
"Great," I groaned out loud. "How am I supposed to face my fear if I can't see it?"
My irritation must have seeped through into the bond because I heard Caiden ask, Is something wrong?
No, I answered, feeling my way along the wall. My Fixze just died. I don't think I can-
My train of thought was blown off it's tracks as suddenly my feet were not below me. I gasped in surprise, and it's a good thing I did, because the next moment I was submerged in mind numbingly frigid water.
~Eros's P.O.V~
I stood there in the middle of my cave wondering and worrying what was going on to Valentina. I just got her back and I lost her again. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened yet so I tried mind connecting with Val.
Val? Can you hear me? I didn't know if she could hear me; my father never explained how far they could connect but I kept trying.
Y...yes I can hear you. Her voice came through and I could hear the fear shaking in her voice.
Have you seen your fear yet? I asked. I knew she probably didn't want to think about it, but I wanted to make sure she was okay. Before her voice came back through a wave of panic and fear shot through me and I knew it was hers.
I'm staring right at it. I have nowhere to run nowhere to escape. Eros please help I'm scared I don't- her voice cut off and anger exploded within in my stomach. My soulmate was in trouble and I couldn't do anything about it. I clenched my fists and walked to the other side of the cave looking for a door or tunnel or something. Then I heard the loud hissing of a king cobra. As I turned I knew I wasn't going to like what I saw. There it was, curled in front of me, its head well above mine, it's neck ribs flared out forming it's hood. With its fangs showing it was the biggest snake I had ever seen in my life. I backed up against the wall and tried to figure out how I was suppose to defeat this monstrous snake.
~Caiden's P.O.V.~
No… Fixze just…don't think I can-
Then she was silent, but her emotions were far from muted. Fear, pain, confusion, panic, I could feel it all, and it was coming from Phoenix, like a bucket of ice water being dumped on my head.
Phoenix? I called out mentally. What happened? Can you hear me?
Nothing; just the same stifling fear of whatever was going on in the tunnel next to mine.
"Phoenix?" I called again, this time out loud as well as through the barely formed psychic bond.
Cold….
That was all I got back, as well as the distinct feeling that I needed- desperately- to take a big breath of air.
'She's dying,' I realized with a start.
I ran up to the wall separating us and felt it. It was cool and moist. There was water on the other side.
"Phoenix!" I shouted again, beating against the cave wall with my fists- a stupid and ill thought-out plan on my part. All it got me was a scraped up, bloody fist and another surge of growing panic.
"Phoenix!" I followed along the edge of the wall, walking, then jogging, and finally sprinting as I felt my way along. The growing need to find the spunky redhead who was now my soulmate was almost as suffocating as the lack of breath I was sensing from my new found flame.
The air was frigid now; I could see my breaths coming out in white puffs, hanging in the air for a millisecond before I ran right through it. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and I could feel the familiar pull of fresh air and the open sky. It was an exit to open air. If Phoenix's tunnel ran parallel to mine and had a similar exit…
I pushed myself faster. The wind tugged at my hair, whispering it's irresistible song of freedom, but I would not sink into its enticing embrace today. I had someone who needed me; and I needed her. I needed her to be alive.
I burst into the open air and barely had time to check myself before falling into a gulch engulfed in thick, powdery snow. It was daylight out, but it didn't appear to be. The wind that had called to me was ripping back and forth, tearing the dark clouds to shreds and blowing snowflakes and balls of hail every which way.
I stopped only for a second to survey my surroundings, before charging into the cave- the tunnel really- that lead to Phoenix.
I'm coming! I promised, though I knew she probably couldn't hear me.
I'm coming!
~Val's P.O.V~
As I stared at the massive spider my heart pounded harder and harder as if it would burst through my chest. I heard or more like felt Eros in my head before he spoke.
"Val? Can you hear me?" His voice didn't soothe my nerves or calm me at all. As I thought it would have. He wasn't with me and he wasn't within reaching distance. I was on my own. To face my biggest fear.
"Y...yes I can hear you." I responded even my thoughts shaking with fear. I didn't want to take my eyes off the spider scared he might attack at any second.
"Have you seen your fear yet?" Eros's voice spoke up again and I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.
"I'm staring right at it. I have nowhere to run, nowhere to escape. Eros please help I'm scared I don't think I can do this on my own." I knew he didn't get the rest of it. I felt our connection break right at the word "don't." Now I really was alone. Two of my biggest fears. Being alone and spiders. If I was ever going to see my sister again- or Eros- I had to do this. I clenched my fists and finally dared to look around me other than the spider. It was light but not light enough to see too far. I dared a step back watching the spider as I did. It snapped its fangs and took a step forward. I realized it was going to mirror my every move. I had to think fast and I had to do it now. I relaxed my hands and the muscles in my back feeling for some sort of my element. That's when I felt the tingling sensation I always felt when around my element water. I smiled pleased with my discovery now I just had to figure out where it was. Spiders hated water and lucky for me, I loved the water. I took a small step to the right the tingling faded just a touch. I took two steps to the left and the sensation grew in the pit of my stomach. The closer I got to the wall to my left the stronger the tingling got and the closer the spider got.
"έρθουν και να πνίξει τον εχθρό σου." I mumbled the words under my breath. Words I never thought I'd ever speak. "Come and drown thy enemy" were the words I had uttered in Greek. I heard water splashing and rising I didn't know where the puddle of water was, but from the sounds of it there was a lot. I saw the glimmer of the water as it floated towards the spider, and dropped underneath its legs making it collapse and the ground shook under my feet. Once under all eight of the giant's legs it started pulling back and I took a couple steps back in case it tried to pull me with it. I saw two legs vanish into an ever growing puddle then half the spider's abdomen then it slowly vanished. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I jumped when one of the legs popped up out of the water and I turned my full attention to the not moving leg. While I was distracted watching the puddle slowly shrink back to what must have been its normal width I heard stone moving. I turned and a tunnel was slowly opening on the side of the tunnel opposite of where I had entered. With cautious steps I walked down the new opening and almost screamed with delight when I saw a cave with a pond and lava pool so I knew I had survived my fear.
~Phoenix's P.O.V.~
If I had thought my nose dive into the lake by our house had been scary, then this was downright terrifying. The water was darker this time, colder, deeper, blacker, and definitely not normal water. Not even the lake water had run finger-like tentacles up and down my arms and legs. This water was alive and hungry; desperate to drag some poor unfortunate soul down to her depths.
Lucky me.
Somehow, in my panicked and uncoordinated thrashing, I had lost my leather jacket. That was the least of my worries though; I was sinking like a rock.
Phoenix!?! I heard Cauden called out.
I'm drowning! I practically shouted back, begging for his help. It's so cold and I can't breathe!
The connection was weak at best though, and I couldn't concentrate. The air was burning in my lungs, seeming to expand dramatically in my chest. My ears felt like they would explode from the pressure and I sank lower and lower by the second.
I would be dead before I reached the bottom, and no one would ever know what happened to me or where to find my body.
What if I was reborn? What if I kept coming back to life only to drown over and over again for the rest of eternity or until Hades grew bored? What if he forgot I was down here?
The severe panic attack threatening to take hold made my mind throw out preposterous ideas and the lack of oxygen made my mind grow fuzzy.
'Think.' I ordered myself. 'Calm down and come up with a plan. Hades is cruel, but he wouldn't set us up with impossible tasks. In a universal law of Rock Paper Scissors, or an intense Pokemon game, what beats water?'
Chemistry and physics lessons that I had only half paid attention to flashed through my mind, and I decided that if I lived through this, I was going to worship my science teacher. Forget an apple, I was going to bring her a whole fruit cocktail.
Water extinguishes fire; fire boils water; fire evaporates water; water turns to gas from; gas floats up and away.
Immediately I concentrated deep on my inner core, the kindling for all of my fire. It was hard to find what with the suffocating cold surrounding me, but I found it, and I coaxed it to life, encouraging the fire within me to grow in size and heat before expanding to all of my limbs. I myself felt warmer, but that wasn't enough to evaporate all of the water in an entire freaking underground lake.
I concentrated harder, focusing on all that I had to live for. I was only a young Demi-goddess, and I still hadn't lived my life yet. I hadn't ever had the chance to explore all corners of the world. Who would take care of Arrow, and take him on extraneous hikes deep into the woods, or as far up the beach as we could before night fell? How was I ever going to fix things with Seraphina? How would I save Valentina? How could I ensure my promise to Eros that we would get her back? How would I show Ben the best aspects of life in the mortal world? And Caiden… I had only met him that day. Was fate really so cruel as to bring us together only to tear us apart?
No.
The fire grew within; it was hotter than I had ever burned before. It was roaring to life, fierce with rage and protective of those I refused to leave behind or fail.
The water simmered, then boiled, slowly evaporating into nothingness and still I pushed harder. Then, almost unnoticeable in the hot bubble surrounding me, I felt my physical form begin to change. I did not become smaller or larger, but rather, my existing body was morphing like clay being molded from one form to another with no more or less mass. My face elongated and downy feathers sprouted from my skin as the hair retracted.
I was converting to my phoenix form for the very first time.
In my new form, the fire only grew stronger, sprouting to life on my skin and from every feather, so hot that the water could not extinguish it. I flapped my new found wings and flew up threw the water. As I went up, the water levels went down, and finally, I was free. I burst into open air and took tremendous gulping breaths before collapsing on the solid ground on the other side of the pool. If the cave was an ice box before, it was a sana now.
I felt fatigue wash over me like you wouldn't believe. My bones became leaden, my body lost its fire, and as I laid there in a sopping wet mess, I converted back to my original form. I thought I heard someone call my name, but I couldn't tell.
I was already asleep.
~Eros' P.O.V.~
As I stared at the giant cobra so many emotions swept through me. Fear, anger, hatred, and panic. I clenched and unclenched my fists as I tried to think of a tactic to defeat my greatest fear. The snake was hungry I could tell with every flick of its tongue and the way the eyes watched me. It's neck bobbing back and forth waiting for me to make the wrong move. I flicked my eyes around me to try to get a sense of my surroundings without causing the cobra to strike. I tried to remember what scared snakes but with the adrenaline was pumping through my veins, I couldn't concentrate. Anger clouded my vision and thoughts of never seeing Valentina again swam through my mind making everything else blurred. I had to survive. I had to save her and keep my promise of taking her home where she belongs. With that thought I relax all my muscles and shake my head to clear the thoughts and look back at the snake. Fire. Fire scares snakes. Hades never said we had to kill anything just face them to win right? So I should just have to knock this thing out or get it to leave. Something glistens in what little light there was silver.
Silver and stone make flame. Now I just had to figure out what to put the flame on once it's created. I turn my head towards the silver but there's just stones and silver on that side. I turn and look at the opposite side and see what looked like an old tree branch. 'Great I have to get that and manage to get back over to the stone and silver to light the flame. This would be so much easier if Nix was here.' I think to myself as I turn my attention back to the hissing cobra.
I take a small not too fast movement because I knew they would cause him to strike. I slowly make my way to the branch and as I'm picking it up the snakes head tears back and strikes. I reach for the branch and yank it back just as the Cobras head hits the ground right where the branch had been. I make a dash for the stone and silver right as I'm about to light it I realized by the time and snake was finally gone the branch would be too and so would part of my hand. With that I quickly pull of my t-shirt and place it on the end of the branch and quickly strike the metal and stone together.
Small sparks start flying from the connection and a small flame forms on my t-shirt and slowly grows. I pick it up carefully so I don't throw my t-shirt off and turn towards the ready to strike again cobra. It's slitty green eyes shine against the flame and hisses as it backs away fangs bared. I take another step towards it and it slithers further away from the bright flame. I push back against the wall where a small tunnel was forming and soon the snake was able to fit through it and disappear. As that tunnel disappeared another formed behind me and light pooled in and I knew my fear was defeated. I walked through the new formed tunnel and was relieved when I saw the warm lava pool and small pond in the cave but most of all. Valentina was perched on a stone beside the pond just gazing into the water.
~Caiden's P.O.V~
My fingers were numb, my lungs burned from the cold air, my ears felt like they had frozen completely and fallen off. I was freezing- and then I wasn't. The cloud of steam came billowing down the tunnel towards freedom and almost knocked me off my feet with the force of it. The only way the gaseous form of water could do that was if there was a lot of it that had been heated up and evaporated very rapidly in an enclosed space… Which meant Phoenix couldn't be very far now.
"Phoenix!" I called both in body and mind. She didn't answer. I could barely feel her at all. I ran harder, which was difficult considering I had sprinted at least half a mile in three minutes by this point. I was in pretty good shape, but that didn't make it any easier. Only adrenaline kept me alive now; it kept my legs pumping, my breaths even, and my heart from exploding.
The tunnel, which had been previously pitch black, flickered to life as suddenly, without explanation, all the torches along the cave walls sprang to life with unnatural greenish yellow flames. Had they burst into flame a moment later, I would have tripped over Phoenix's unmoving body into a half empty pond of boiling water.
"Phoenix!" I exclaimed, dropping to my knees beside her.
For the short amount of time I had known her, I had adored her for her spontaneousness, her confident sense of self, and her big personality. Now, sopping wet and unconscious on the ground in nothing but black yoga pants and a red tank top, she looked anything but. She was tiny, only reaching up to my armpits while we were standing. Her long fire-red hair, which had flowed so freely and naturally around her, even when riding bare-back on a slobbering three-headed dog, was now limp and stuck to her face so I couldn't even tell if she was alive.
Urgently, I brushed the offending strands away from her face. She was alarmingly pale- even more so than before- and as I pushed a finger to the major artery in her neck, I felt a pulse. She was alive.
Quickly, I checked her breathing, the dilation of her pupils, and then checked all uncovered skin for scrapes or scratches. Other than the obvious fact that she was drenched and unconscious, she was perfectly okay.
I finally sat back and breathed a sigh of relief.