The Elementai

Chapter 8

"Hey! Give that back!"
Lexa laughed, running away from Alex and using her water to propel herself onto the roof of the Healing classroom. Alex used his fire as jets and shot up behind her. Their footsteps thundered on the roof as they darted across it. "You can't take that!" he shouted, jumping down after her. "Really?" she yelled back. "I think I just did!" A stream of red shot past her: fire. She chuckled, swiftly turning to blast water at Alex's face, then running right past him. He growled, running after her. She turned slightly, holding her arms out triumphantly, then tripped over a rock and rolled on the grass, eventually coming to a stop.
She shifted to look up and see Alex glaring down at her. She gave him a sheepish smile. He snatched his sketchbook from her hand and stalked toward Philosophies. Glancing sideways, he saw her catch up to him. "Hey hey hey, I didn't even get to see how badly you can draw," Lexa snickered, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes. That insufferable smirk of hers never left her face.
Ms Felicia ran out to them. "What was that ruckus? Mrs Heather has been complaining. You know her bedroom is in the classroom as well, so you can't go around at dawn causing a havoc! What were you doing?"
"Ask her," Alex said, walking right past Ms Felicia into Philosophies. Lexa strolled in after him. "Maybe you shouldn't leave your precious sketchbook lying around."
"I didn't!" he said. "It was in my bag. On my back. Zipped up."
"Much too easy of a target," Lexa grinned slyly, throwing his sharpener to him. He caught it in one swift motion. Looking slightly confused, he moved his gaze to her. "How-"
She threw his torch towards him. He breathed out, catching it. "This is getting out of hand."
"Speaking of which," Lexa said, throwing a fake hand to him. "Beats me why you have THAT in your bag, Carter." He looked uneasy. Ms Felicia looked stunned. "Mr Carter, why DO you have that?"
He shifted on his feet, looking at the floor. He suddenly burst, "She's been stealing my stuff and you're worrying about my fake hand?"
Ms Felicia and Lexa looked at each other, then said, "Yes." He sighed. "I use it for drawing."
"It can draw, dear?" Ms Felicia asked.
"No! I draw the hand."
"That's weird," Lexa said.
"Why don't you just use your own?" Ms Felicia asked.
"Well, I mean...it gets tiring. Because - look, we're not here to talk about fake hands, alright? Let's just get this over with." He dumped his bag on the bench and put on a even more stoic expression (if possible). Mr Pascal walked in out of nowhere, announcing some 'good news', as he called it. "Lexa, Alex, your connection allows you to do more than we thought."
"Here we go," Lexa said, "Sir, we haven't even established the connection yet! Nothing works."
"I am your teacher now. I have other ideas." Lexa and Alex glanced at Ms Felicia, who looked relieved. "As I was saying," he continued in his gentle voice, "You two can harness each other's powers." Here they glanced at each other, wide-eyed. "That's right. Lexa, once you get into his mind, you will be able to produce fire. And Alex, once you get into her mind, you will be able to shoot water. Amazing, isn't it?" He was passionate, Lexa had to give him that. "That's impossible," Alex said.
"In normal circumstances, yes, it is impossible to have more than one power. But you two have the connection."
"We know," Lexa in an unenthusiastic tone. "And what has happened since we figured that out? Nothin'." Mr Pascal came toward them, tenderly moving them in position. They stood opposite each other, and he moved them closer.
They both looked very awkward, to say the least.
"Uh, Mr-"
"Shh," he hushed Lexa, focusing on them. "Okay, now, try to get into each other's minds."
"How?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, you can't tell us to ride a cow without teaching us to, y'know?"
"Is that even a saying?" Alex asked.
"I'm not really sure, I-"
"Focus!" Mr Pascal interrupted.
"Okay, okay," Lexa said. She opened her eyes wide and stared at Alex. He looked coolly back at her, indifferent.
"Lexa, are you trying to pop your eyes out?" Mr Pascal asked. She nodded. "This isn't a joke."
Lexa groaned and walked to the bench. "This is hopeless. 'Get into each other's minds.' What a load of hooey."

Over the next few days they didn't have the morning classes, only occasional 'hang-outs'. The next week, they were called in for another session. "Alright," said Mr Pascal, taking them out to the river. "You both like coming here?" They nodded. "Good."
He sat them opposite each other on the grass. The only sound was the steady flow of water, lapping at the riverbank. "Close your eyes. Feel each other's energy. Remember, you learnt that in your Philosophies and Healing class? The best Healers are the ones who feel the energy of the person, to know how the wound must be healed. You must do something similar. Feel each other's energy and try to absorb it."
Lexa would've thought this was all a load of bullcrab, but she had seen the power of energy firsthand in Mrs Heather, the Healer's, classroom. They closed their eyes and slowed their breathing. The world around them faded away. Lexa had never done this before, but she felt something. Alex, on the other hand, had tried meditating a few times, only to give up because of his impatient nature. But he felt a tug too.
Mr Pascal stared, his eyes big as tennis balls (not really) at the faint glow that appeared around Lexa and Alex. A sliver of floating particles hovered between them, seeming to go from Lexa's heart to Alex's.
Lexa saw a flash, and her face contorted into concentration. Mr Pascal saw the same expression when looking at Alex. Alex saw, or imagined, he wasn't sure...but he saw Lexa. In his mind. He saw Ex and Axel, her friends. A flash of screaming. An angry face. Laughter. Splashes from jumping into the river. The sound of her running, gasping for air. A whoopee cushion. A monkey? Her mind was weird.
Lexa saw darkness. Anger. The sound of pencil on sketchpaper. A howl of irritation. She saw a man and a woman that resembled him, but only for a second as the scene shifted to...the Dakai's master. Virus. And Alex was standing next to him. Virus leaned down to say-
All of a sudden, the connection was cut. Lexa and Alex stared at each other in amazement. They both knew what each other had seen. Lexa knew Alex had purposely cut the connection. "- believe it. Truly magnificent. How did it work?" Mr Pascal was saying.
Still in a daze, Lexa looked at him. "It's...it...what happened was..."
"It's hard to explain," Alex said. Lexa looked at him curiously. He held her gaze for a few seconds before looking away and standing up abruptly. "I think that's enough for today," he said, then departed. Mr Pascal's eyes were sparkling as he walked with Lexa, asking her so many questions she felt like imploding...or exploding. Whichever was easier.
"How long can it last?"
"I don't know. He cut the connection."
"What?" Mr Pascal halted in front of her. "Why would he do that?"
Lexa peered at him, thinking. Slowly, she said, "I think there was something he didn't want me to see, sir."