Shadow of Elements

Hostage

It has been four weeks since the clues have been left. Over the next couple of days since Alpha had talked to StormEagle, she found more trinkets. A figurine of a gate was left near her door, a painted stone was left on her windowsill, a crescent-shaped necklace near her tea set, and a boot with a compass inside left at her closet. She tried to piece together what they all meant but she could not make heads or tails of a single thing.

The worst of it hit one night when she was awoken by buster shots. She could hear a voice shout out in distress. She immediately sprang out of bed only to be stopped in her tracks. Something was obstructing her view. She felt around her head. The shape of the object was frighteningly familiar. She ambles her way over to her mirror as she moves the object so she can see. She looked at her reflection in horror. She had X's helmet, or rather a replica, on her head. "No no no no....!!" Alpha mutters in distress. She took the helmet off and looked inside it. She sees something etched inside. She could see the word 'HELP!!!' It looked almost like X's handwriting. She turns the helmet around and finds an etch of a scythe in the crystal. She looks out of the window. She didn't see anything. Reluctantly she went back to sleep, nearly breaking down in tears.

A few hours later, she heard someone knock at her door.

"Alpha! Alpha! This an emergency!!" A Russian accent shouted. Alpha sets the helmet at her nightstand and opens the door. She saw a reploid in dark blue and white armor with a fluffy scarf.
"Over-1? What's going on? What happened?" She ushers Over-1 inside.
"It's terrible! Someone took big brother!" His expression was full of distress despite trying to calm himself. Normally Over-1 was the silent type, only speaking to others if he truly trusted them. Alpha knew this was serious but she gave him an expression of disbelief. She thinks back to the helmet replica.
"No... This cannot be..." She looks to the window, distressed. X can't have been taken..! I thought he could defend himself..!"
"I couldn't get to big brother on time... Silver haired man restrained me and I couldn't fight back..."
"Hey hey..." Alpha put her hand on his shoulder as a gesture of reassurance.. "It's not your fault. You did your best to get X back." The other reploid sighed in a melancholy manner.
"Please... Find him... Big brother warned me about Silver Haired man... It seems as if he has score to settle with you..." He gave her a pleading expression. From the looks of it, Over-1 had quite a bit of injuries.
"I must do this... But I'm also going to need some help... You say that you saw Sukaji..?" Over-1 would nod.
"Big brother and I had nightshift tonight. We were to patrol city borders. Everything was fine until shadow hand struck X.... He was out cold... I tried to find where shadow hand came from, but I too got ensnared in one. Silver haired man approached me telling me to stay out of this. I tried to fight back... but it was no use... He knocked me out cold just like big brother... When I woke up, Silver Haired man and big brother were gone... I returned as fast as I could..."
"Have you told the Commander?" He nodded.
"Da, I have sent signal to Commander Signas as I returned." He heaves a sigh. "I wish to help, but I am unsure how.."
"It's alright. You've done what you could out there." Alpha glances back to a trinket. "But... I've been left with a couple of things... Sukaji's sending me a message through these, but I cannot seem to figure out what it means."
"Give me items... I might be able to figure some of them out." Alpha would hand Over-1 the crescent necklace. "Might I ask what you have pieced together?"
"As far as I know.... He left a skeleton model. Everyday a bone went missing. Some of the bones were blue." She looks back to the skeleton as she gathers up the clues she could move. "Hold up..." She realizes that the skeleton had no more blue bones. She picks up the helmet from earlier. "Oh no... I think this skeleton had to do with X.... The blue bones... Those were how many days I had left before that murderer kidnapped X..... And now... this skeleton is how much time I have left before something else happens to him...!"
"This is of utmost urgency... We must figure this out quickly..!" Soon, the two would look over the items. Some were easier to figure out than others.

"This necklace... It has moon shaped charm so it looks like he wants to fight at night and this ice crystal... He wants this fight in cold place..." Over-1 set the necklace and crystal to the side. He picks up the painted stone and studies it carefully.
"Hmm.... It looks almost like a mountain... Perhaps he's waiting in the mountains?"
"It's plausible. Mountains do tend to be cold after all." Over-1 nodded in agreement. He stares at the boot, he peers inside and finds the compass. "He definitely wants you there by foot... But this compass...." He stares at it. Alpha glances over.
"Wait... this compass is off-center.... Compasses always point north." She cocks a brow, scratching her head.
"Compass is tool to guide travelers, yes?" Over-1 would spin the compass. The needle pointed somewhere in the southwest area. "Compasses can be recalibrated to find specific places too." Alpha then had a realization.
"So the place I'm supposed to find..." She picks up the gate figurine. "There will be a gate that looks like this.... And I get there going in the same direction the compass is going...!" She now knew what she needed to do. She gives Over-1 an expression of gratitude. "Over-1... You have no idea how much you've helped me out. If there's ever a way I can return this favor, please tell me. I don't think I would have figured it quickly had you not been here."
"I just want big brother back... Helping you was my answer to my problem. I trust that you will bring him back."
"Trust me... I will get him back. Whatever it takes." Alpha picked up the compass. "One more thing before I go."
"Yes Alpha?"
"Contact Signas." she paused for a bit. "Tell him that I'm going after X.
"I'm on it." Soon Over-1 would leave Alpha's quarters. He dashed off to give Signas the head's up. As soon as he was out of her sight, Alpha would take her leave and follow the compass.