Union

twelve

July 3rd

0852 EST

Bristol didn't know where she was. Everywhere she looked, she saw shadows and darkness. Moving made her disoriented, like she was moving through the water at the bottom of the ocean. She could hear footsteps, and spooky noises, but besides from that, she had no recollection of where she was.

"Let me go!" Bristol yelled. Her voice sounded distant, like she was yelling underwater.

Footsteps echoed throughout the dark room, and while Bristol couldn't see what was approaching, she sure could feel it. Their movement sent shock waves through the hazy air, and for a moment, she thought that it was Avi. The resonation she felt reminded her of the other girl's abilities, but these shock waves...they sent shivers up her spine. It was like each movement was triggering a tidal wave of fear.

Then it hit her.

"Phobos!" She shouted. "Let me go!"

"And why, my dear Elemental Empress, would I do that?" A deep voice replied.

Bristol grit her teeth. "What do you want?"

"I want you to choose." Phobos said tiredly.

"Choose what?"

Suddenly, a few feet away--well, she thought it was a few feet--the floor opened up. Two crystalline pillars rose out of the ground. Once they stabilized, Bristol felt the restrains on her fall away. Carefully, she stepped towards the pillars.

Atop both pillars were misty orbs. Flashes of light shimmered from both, but they both contained drastically different contents. The first orb contained images of her worst fear; her friends lying dead because of her secrets. The more she gazed into it, the more she felt it was actually happening.

Bristol tore her gaze away, half-expecting to find her friends lying in pools of their own blood at her feet. "Why are you showing me this?!" She roared.

"Look into the other orb," Phobos responded. "That possibility might be of more interest to you."

Skeptically, Bristol turned back to the second pillar. This orb seemed brighter. She saw her friends rejoicing, she saw herself with CJ only for a split second. The image changed to her with Tristan, before an even more surprising visual appeared.

It was herself, standing triumphantly in her super suit. She seemed stronger, happier, and Bristol saw herself wielding all for elements with ease. Her deepest secret seemed to be nonexistent in this orb, and Bristol was tempted to see it come to life.

"Have you decided?" Phobos asked lazily. His voice seemed closer, but Bristol couldn't feel his intimidating presence anymore.

"Why do I need to choose?" Bristol mumbled. Her gaze was locked on the second orb, and she saw herself locking hands with someone happily...but she couldn't make out who.

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Phobos took a breath. "You can either continue down this road you have set up for yourself, and see death and destruction."

Bristol flinched as the contents of the first orb became brighter. "What happens if I choose the second orb?"

That question seemed to please Phobos. As he spoke, his voice was laced with a sort of pride or happiness. "Everything you have ever desired will come to pass, my dear."

Bristol bit her lip. Something seemed off. This didn't feel like a dream or nightmare anymore, it felt all too real. There was something Phobos wasn't telling her.