The Elementals

Chapter 3

They all open their eyes and gasp as they see they're back in the realm where they got their powers as they put their jewelry back on. The only difference is they seem to be on a larger marble platform than the one from before, and there are smaller marble platforms floating all around them.

"Holy shit! This is amazing! Great job, El! How did you do that?" Lucinda says, turning to Elena.

She widens her eyes as she sees Elena not moving, just standing. She shakes her a little, and it wakes her up.

"Woah... What happened?" Elena asks, rubbing her forehead.

"You tell me, it's like you were in a trance or something," Lucinda says, quickly checking if her best friend's physically alright.

"Luce, I'm fine. I promise," Elena says, patting her back, "So, I guess the ability to unlock the gemstones' powers is part of being the leader."

"So... where are we? I mean, this looks like the realm where we got our powers but..," Ivy wonders.

"But it's different, yeah. We're on a bigger platform, too," Alice agrees, kneeling and touching the smooth marble floor.

"I brought us here, but I don't even know where the fuck we are. I was just thinking about a big place where we can train," Elena says, rubbing her neck and feeling confused.

"Maybe that's it. You think of a type of place, and it teleports us there?" Maya questions.

"Ah, well, it doesn't matter right now. We have some training to do. I suggest doing it in teams of two to challenge each other and have fun, too," Elena says.

"Agreed!" Lucinda shouts as she wraps an arm around Elena's shoulder.

The girls pair off; Maya with Ivy and Alice with Hannah. Each duo walks away a certain distance to give each other space to train. As Lucinda is stretching, she notices Elena staring off into the distance.

"Hey, you okay?" Lucinda asks, worry written all over her face.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about what Aster said about my 'danger intuition' because, right now, I can't shake the feeling that something or someone evil is coming our way," Elena says.

"Listen, the others have a good chance of learning to fight decently with us helping them. Besides, we're just trying to get a rough sense of our abilities right now, but we'll be ready," Lucinda reassures her best friend.

"Right, that's true, thanks," Elena says, shaking off what she's feeling. She cracks her knuckles and smirks at her best friend, "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

Already in their alters, Elena stands next to Lucinda and watches her try out her powers to no avail.

"Why isn't it working?" Lucinda asks.

Elena stares at her best friend's hands for a few seconds, and suddenly, something inside her sparks.

"Wait a second, I think I get it. I know what to do," she says. "Stand back, Lucie. I don't want you to get burned if this works."

Elena closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, stretching her right arm out with the palm of her hand stretched wide open. After a moment of silence, Lucinda looks closely at Elena's hand and sees a ball of fire starting to form. Keeping her eyes shut, she breathes in and out slowly, expanding the fireball in her palm and throwing it toward a floating platform, destroying it to pieces.

"Holy shit! You just made fire come out of your hand!" Lucinda yells out in excitement as she hugs her best friend.

"Woah! Careful, Lucie! I almost burned you," Elena says, shaking her hand to cool it down as she ruffles Lucinda's hair with the other one. "How about you try out your powers now?"