Elemental Academy: Rushing Waves (Silver Year)

Chapter 10: Zap

"Stop it, you're making her uncomfortable." Zap had just walked into the Zone, sensing my uncomfortableness due to Angel. "Forcing answers out of her?"

"Not even," Angel said. "I was just asking questions."

"Of course," he said. "Well, it took me forever to find you here. First I had checked my own Zone, then yours, then the Garden, then the Cliff..."

"I went to all those places except your Zone."

"Well then, it was a chase where I could never reach you. That is, until now."

"Here I am now," Angel said. She turned to look back at me. "Well then, we're going to go now, Pacifia. Answer the question for me sometime, okay?"

"Okay," I said. I looked at Zap, who simply waved at me.

Angel's question brought a new thought into my head that I'd never thought I'd have.

How do you feel about Zap?

How do I feel about Zap? He's my friend, right?

I should say that Angel's question fell into my head differently then she intended. I had the nagging feeling that Zap was less than my friend.

That can't be, right? I didn't really do much to make him mad last year...

💧 Electric Zone 💧

"Hey, Magnet."

"Hey there, Pacifia. What brings you here?"

"Can I talk to Zap?"

"Yeah, he's in here. Follow me."

I stepped into the Zone and immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Something wrong? Remember that water is a condensor."

"Yeah..."

"He's in this room. Just came back from the Garden."

"Okay. Thanks, Magnet."

"Sure." As Magnet left, I entered the room. I saw two bunk beds. The left one was empty, and the right one had Zap on the bottom bunk. He looked up. "Hi," I said.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to talk."

"Sure."

💧 10 Minutes Later 💧

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Am... am I your friend?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"Well, I just needed clarification—"

"Why did you ask that?"

"Huh?"

Zap stopped to look up at me again. "That's a really odd question. You wouldn't have asked that unless you had a reason to."

I shifted on his bed. "Erm, well, it had just been on my mind, and so I just wanted to ask you—"

"Wait. Just stop and think of a conversation we had last year. You had just confirmed that I had not killed Rock, and so you asked me to be your friend. I said, 'Sure,' and so here we are. I don't remember saying anything that had hinted otherwise."

I breathed. "Well, thanks for that, then. I guess I should be going."

"Well, actually, I need to ask you a question of my own."

"What is it?"

"Under different circumstances, would you—"

"Zap!" A guy ran in, panting. He had flowing hair, electricity in his eyes, and he was just taller than Zap. He seemed like someone who was easy to get along with, and also someone who could be really popular.

"What is it, Static?" Zap instantly got out of bed.

"Magnet—Lightning—they both—are—in trouble!"

"What? Why?"

"They—captured—"

"Alright, we have to go, now!" Zap regarded me one last time, his eyes saying "some other time," then he ran with Static.

Trouble? Why would they be in trouble? Maybe I should give them a little hand.

I ran to grab Angel and Quake.

💧 The Next Week 💧

Angel had informed me that Zap and his friends, Static, Electron, Neutron, Pixel and Discharge were gone, looking for Magnet and Lightning. They were still gone, and I started getting worried.

"They'll be fine," Angel assured me. "I'm sure you can tell that they aren't weaklings."

"Definitely not," I muttered. "Especially not Zap."

"Mm... anyway, have you come up with an answer to my question?"

"Uh, yeah. I see him as a good friend."

"Great," Angel said. "And of course, I see him as my loving boyfriend. Eh... who knew one side of him would be so soft?"

"What?"

"You know how he is. Generally he's all casual, but if you can get to that side of him, it makes you feel like he's really just a soft little Elemental and that you need to protect him from all danger that arises."

"How so?"

"You ever imagine him laying down on your lap and just giving you a cute smile? One that always sends a good feeling through you?"

"Never. Are you sure you're dealing with Zap?"

"Definitely. The personality swings are unreal."

"That's oddly interesting."

"He probably shows it only because it's just in him to act that way, alone with me, you know?"

"Yeah. But I never expected that out of him."

"Me neither. It came as a shock the first time he rested on my shoulder and just began to doze off."

"Really?"

"And the time he just lightly squeezed me in a hug."

"You're pretty lucky, Angel."

"I guess I am. Though, it does feel odd sometimes, especially when I'm thinking about how he is at other times."

"It must be, huh?"

"Yeah. Like I said, you might want to have a boyfriend eventually, because if it's genuine, it's going to be a treasure unlike any other."

Just then, we heard a shaking in the forest. Six Electrics came out, all looking like they came out of a fierce battle. Which, they probably did.

I recognized Static. "Where's Zap and Magnet?" I asked.

"Zap stayed behind. We couldn't find Magnet, and Zap refused to leave."

"Hmm. Guess he had to look out for his partner, huh?"

"Where is he?" Angel asked.

"There's a cave opening near the Forest somewhere. It leads to a vast one."

"I need to help him find Magnet. Where is it?"

"I'll show you the entrance. From there, you just need to walk the brightest paths. The brightness is especially hard to make out, but as a Dark, I'm sure you could handle it," Static said.

"Static, no," one of the girls said. "You were hit the worst out of all of us."

"Yeah, dude," one of the other guys said. He had a strong voice, one that could do well in a speech. He had spiky hair and was shorter than Static. Another one had the same facial properties of him but wore glasses and combed his hair down.

"Okay then, Electron, you do it," Static said to the boy with the spiky hair.

"Okay. Come here, now."

As the two of them walked away, I turned to look at the others. "What... happened?"

"Why don't you come to the Electric Zone with us?" Static said. "We'll tell you all about it."