I…. I'm awake….
These were her first conscious thoughts in god knows how long. She tried prying her eyes open but her lids felt heavy, like it was unused to changing the closed position it had been in for so long. She managed to open them, bit by bit, one at first and then the other.
She looked out into an endless span of darkness. There was no light coming from anywhere that she could see.
Her skin began to register the sharp cool dampness beneath her, where she was laying. Water… It was a stark comparison to her dry throat and her chapped lips. She felt so thirsty. How long had it been since she drank any water? She could taste a metallic flavor in her mouth. It was her blood.
The realization opened a pent up gate within her and panic began to flood out in waves. She tried to move and sat up too quickly.
Excruciating jolts of pain pierced through every angle of her body until all she could see was blinding white light. She gasped, the feeling was too intense for her to even express groans of pain.
Am I dying…? she wondered. Everything hurt so much. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, her distress further swelling the torment she was experiencing. She was crying but with her severe state of dehydration, no tears came out of her eyes.
Tuzi cried out of fear and pain, finally understanding the dire situation she was in. There was no possible way for her to escape. She didn't know where she was, and even if she did, she could not move.
She couldn't speak. No one could hear her. Can someone help her please…? Someone… Anyone…
And then she thought of her master for the first time in a very long time. She had a master. It was her Lady, the Moon Goddess. Was the beautiful deity looking for her…? She must be so worried right now…
Her body began to shake violently, the pain pulsing through like a destructive echo. My Lady Goddess, she thought miserably. Where are you…? I'm here… I'm right here…
She cried until she could not think anymore.
* * *
Hot tears spilled out of her eyes as her fingers clawed helplessly on the cold surface of the mirror. "Tuzi! Tuzi!" she cried, commiserating with her friend at seeing her in distress.
But all she felt underneath her hands was the hard facade of the Mortal Mirror. The violent imagery of her best friend was tearing holes into her heart. Resentment filled her as she pounded her fist against the divine artifact.
It used to be so easy to open up a portal and just step through into the Mortal Realm. But now with the mirror sealed by the Creator, it was impossible. This was her fault.
Moon screamed in frustration, her hands shaking as she reached for the mirror. She wanted to tear it down, to destroy it, to do anything to make it stop showing her Tuzi's pain. All those months of searching, all that hope, and it had all come to this. She could do nothing to help her friend. All she could see was Tuzi's misery and pain, projected onto the mirror like a cruel mockery.
"Tuzi, I'm here…! I'm here! I can see you! I'm with you. Please don't be scared," the Goddess cried helplessly, knowing she was unable to offer her friend any consolation.
She vaguely heard the rapid footsteps approaching the room, but she didn't look away from the mirror. She clung to it tightly, even as strong hands gripped her shoulders and tried to pull her away. She could barely understand the words that were being said to her, her mind was too clouded with grief. There were multiple voices, all speaking at once.
"Moon, please, let go. We will think of something to help her. Please let go."
When the Goddess had been gone from the council chambers for longer than expected, Sky excused himself to look for her. Aero decided to join him, eager to stretch his legs after sitting for so long.
But as both gods approached the office, they could hear the Goddess's cries floating down the hallway. Patrons of the building had stopped what they were doing and were peering curiously at the door of the room, wondering what was happening.
Cold fear gripped the Sky God's heart and he sprinted the rest of the way down the hallway until he reached the office. He found the Goddess crumpled on the floor, her arms wrapped around the mirror, her body racked with heartbreaking sobs.
Sky was shocked at the imagery reflecting from the Mortal Mirror. It showed their injured friend Tuzi, suffering terribly. Was she even alive? As the initial shock wore off, he went to Moon, whose light aqua hair was fanned out on the ground around her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, whispering consoling words to her. "It's okay, Moon. We'll find a way. At least we know where she is now."
He tried in vain to pull her hands from the mirror.
The God of Air had finally caught up and stepped carefully into the room, surveying the scene before him.
The Sky God's captain of guards, Atlas, also heard the commotion and came running into the room. He was previously stationed outside the Senior Council chambers waiting for his lord to finish his work day, when the Goddess's cries came from down the hall.
As surprised as the two were by the emotional state of the couple, their attention quickly turned to the imagery projected by the Mortal Mirror.
Seeing Tuzi in her brutalized state hit Atlas hard. She wasn't moving and was caked in her own blood. It was such a hard contrast compared to the last memories he had of her, with her kind eyes and wide smile. He felt a wave of nausea, experiencing a sinking sense of loss.
"Is she dead?" He couldn't understand this emotion. The hollow inside him was making it so hard to breathe. Atlas had to hold onto a table in the room to stabilize his balance.
"She's alive." Aero's statement rang loudly in the room.
The God of Air knelt down beside the Goddess, who was crying softly in Sky's arms. He was patting her back gently, trying to console her.
Aero wasn't entirely sure what to really say at the moment, as he is unused to this display of emotion. The Realm of Gods is an environment formed and maintained in a constant state of serenity. It is rare really, for him to be surrounded by drama of any variety.
"She's…" He cleared his throat. "My Lady Goddess," he started calmly. "I understand how upset you are. I'm sure you want to help her right now. But she will be fine."
Moon pulled away from Sky, turning her tear-stained face to the Air deity. "How could you say that?! She's in so much pain. Neither of us are able to go to her and help her."
"But she is healing," Aero responded. "Look." He pointed to the mirror.
Even in her emotional state, the Goddess could see that he was right.
Projected on the great mirror, Tuzi's wounds were starting to stitch close as the skin was grafting together. Bones that were protruding or broken in the wrong places, were gradually cracking and shifting back into the correct position again. The up and down rapid movements of her chest from her breathing was stabilizing. It was a slow and painful process to watch, but Tuzi's healing abilities were hard at work.
Moon touched the mirror again, her fingers trying to trace a healing wound that was on her face. "I completely forgot…" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "When I blessed Tuzi into a divine human, I gave her the healing abilities of a shifter. She can heal faster than any werewolf, werebear, or any shifter of other species."
"Then we have time," Sky said in relief, gently squeezing her hand. "You gave her a blessing. As severe as her injuries are, as long as she can heal, it will lend us time to figure out how we can save her."
"We must hurry," she said, looking at him with conviction now. Her mind, bogged down from shock and emotion before, was beginning to sharpen their senses in alertness. "Whoever captured her, could come back for her at any moment. We must get to her."