Emental: the Series [Work in progress]

Part 27: Turquoise is the new blue

Danny and Ken strolled down a sidewalk in Civitas. It was early morning, so no one was really outside. The buildings shone a pale orange to the rising sun, casting a glare on the two of them. Danny was still emotionally destroyed and hadn't spoken since Izzi was taken. Up ahead of them, Ken spotted a small amusement park.

"Hey, you want to go there? It could take your mind off her." Ken asked.

Danny looked up at him with empty eyes and nodded slightly. Ken grabbed Danny's arm and pulled him into the amusement park. Various boothes and rides surrounded them. A popcorn stand, cotten candy, a faris wheel and a fairly large mirror trick room. Ken smiled and pulled Danny into the mirror room. Just inside the doorway, a large mirror stood over them, distorting their appearance. Ken laughed and walked into a passage way behind the mirror, leading to more mirrors distorting his appearance further. Danny monotonously followed him. Ken continued walking down what now appeared to be a hallway with mirrors lining the entirety of it. Danny stopped and looked into one of the mirrors at his reflection. Seeing his reflection without Izzi on his shoulder made him feel worse. Danny's eyes widened as he punched the mirror, breaking it with a loud CRASH. Ken came running towards him.

"Danny, what happened!?" Ken exclaimed, stopping and noticing the shattered glass around Danny's feet. Ken gave Danny a saddened look.

"Danny, I know you aren't exactly happy right now, but don't take your anger out on others."Danny looked over at Ken, his eyes were on full alert.

"What are you looking at?" Ken asked, confused. Danny then looked at Ken's reflection. It looked like it should. Danny shook his head and walked past Ken, who briskly followed him. A light shone at the end of the hallway, casting a glare on all the mirrored walls. Ken stepped out into the light and shadowed his eyes.

"Come on, let's go ride the ferris wheel." He said. He ran away from the mirror trick building and towards the ferris wheel in the distance. Danny ran after him.There wasn't a very large line, in fact, as soon as the ferris wheel stopped, Danny and Ken were let on. Ken sat across from Danny in the ferris wheel booth and smiled.

"Cheer up, let's just have a good time for now. Okay?" Ken said. Danny looked away from him and out the window. The ferris wheel jerked slightly, and they rode all the way to the top, where they stopped. Ken looked out the window.

"It's really pretty down there, isn't it?" He said in awe. Danny looked over to Ken. The sunrise reflected in his eyes, giving them an orange glow to his empty face.

Izzi blinked her eyes slowly. She was lying down in what felt like a soft pillow. Her entire body was in pain and her arm was in a cast. The pillow soothed her with it's warmth though. Izzi turned her head and saw a blurry blue figure beside her, tending to her wing. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The figure looked at her with blurry blue eyes, just like Danny's.

"Don't move. I'm almost done. You won't be able to fly for a while, but you'll live." He said. His voice was calm and soft. Izzi exhaled and continued laying motionless on the pillow. The man taped a large square of gauz on the hole in Izzi's wing, which she flinched in pain. The man lifted the gauz and held it to a brown bottle, which he dampened the gauz with it's contents and then held it back on the hole. A sizzling sound could be heard from her wing. Izzi moaned slightly and reached for her mask. The man looked up to her face and gently put her arm back down.

"I'll get it for you." He said, gently tugging on it from her face. It wouldn't move. The man turned Izzi's head and tried to see behind the mask. It appeared that it had completely fused with her skin. Izzi started to panic, but the man placed his ice cold hand on her chest and pushed her against the pillow."Don't worry. I'll find a way to get it off." The man's voice calmed her. Izzi exhaled and closed her eyes. Within a minute, she had fallen asleep.

Danny and Ken sat at a park bench. In Ken's hand was a giant wad of cotton candy on a stick. The sun was starting to set, as they had spent the entire day in the amusement park. Not once did Danny smile though. In fact, every now and then, he would give a very stern face and electricity would crackle in his hands.Ken tore of a piece of cotton candy and pushed it against Danny's closed mouth.

"Come on, you haven't eaten all day. Atleast give your stomach something." Ken said, forcing the wad into Danny's mouth. Danny chewed and swallowed but didn't say anything. Ken let out a sigh and leaned back against the bench.

"Danny please say something. It's like you're a Hellific. You won't eat, sleep or talk."Danny stood up and started walking away. Ken jumped up and briskly followed him down the sidewalk. Their shadows walked in front of them as they headed back to the Inn.Inside, the bartender greeted them.

"So, how was your day?" He said in a happy tone.

"Danny still won't talk. He's completely empty. He won't even eat." Ken replied. The bartender frowned.

"Here, let me whip you and him something to eat. Free of charge." He said. Ken gave him a relieved smile.

"Thank you."

Danny and Ken sat at the bar. The entire inn was empty of all people except them. The bartender suddenly came out from behind the bar with two plates of what appeared to be ribs over mashed potatoes and a side of mac n cheese.

"This is what always cheers my customers up. Go ahead and eat."Ken immediatly dug in, but Danny just looked at the food. He then just got up and walked into the office where Ken had placed their bags. He rummaged through Ken's clothing and pulled out the Earth Emental Stone. He returned to the bar and sat down, staring at the stone. Ken looked up from his meal at him.

Danny brought the stone to his lips and kissed it. He then set it on the counter and starting eating slowly.

Izzi awoke again on the pillow. The blurred figure was still at her side. He set a large bowl next to the pillow and sat Izzi up against another pillow. He poked through her masks's mouth hole something warm and wet that smelled of chicken. A spoon with soup. Izzi opened her mouth and allowed the figure to feed her."Can you speak?" The man asked. Izzi swallowed.

"I miss Danny..." She said in a very raspy and shaky voice.

"Is that your partner?"

"I guess you could say that."

The man gave Izzi another spoonful.

"Tell me about him." The man said. Izzi adjusted herself. Her vision was still blurry and her ears continued to ring.

"We're really close. He doesn't seem to take anything seriously, but that just kind of shows how confident he is. I can't really imagine myself without him in the picture." Izzi swallowed another spoonful.

"How did you two meet?"

Izzi closed her eyes and smiled slightly.

"He found me when I was just a baby. Someone left me to die somewhere and Danny picked me up. He brought me home to his parents, I can't picture their faces though. Danny made a cradle for me despite being young and weak. He took care of me. One night, he said I wouldn't stop crying. His parents were doing everything so I would go back to sleep. Danny came out of his room though, and cradled me in his arms. He said I instantly stopped crying and cuddled up to his arms. Ever since then I've always slept by his side." Izzi's ears drooped. The figure leaned in front of her.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Izzi looked at the figure and squinted.

"I can't see. My vision is blurry."

The figure chuckled.

"Hold still."

Izzi could hear him leave the room and then returned. He then laid Izzi down and hovered what appeared to be a bottle over her mask's eye holes.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"This might sting, but hold still." The man dripped a liquid into both of Izzi's eyes. She winced and blinked several times. She looked up at the figure who turned out to be a middle aged man with white hair wearing a white tank top and blue pants. His hair was tied into a long ponytail and his eyes looked like cold ice.

"How's that?" He asked. Izzi rubbed her eyes through her mask and looked at him.

"Thank you."