Mind of War (On Hold)

No Dead Ends

Several hours had passed since he had been briefed at the SSS and now Creed was knocking on the door of the Valor residence, it was starting to get late. Moments later, Song opened the door and let him in.

"How did everything go?" She asked.

"Really well actually," he replied.

"That's great, you seem so happy, that makes me happy," Song smiled lightly. "Zuri came by earlier."

"Did she want anything?"

"She offered her sister's amulet, if we needed it." Song answered walking towards him.

"That may not work," he replied after thinking for a moment.

"Why not?"

"She died as a result of the Shadows infecting her."

"Oh, yeah, you did explain that whole process to me." Song realized.

Creed flopped on the couch and sighed. Song sat beside him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I guess I'm just tired. I had a long briefing and meetings, so I guess my mind is just tired." Creed explained.

"Do you mind telling me what happened?"

"Once you tell me what's on your mind." He replied.

"What makes you think something's on my mind?"

"When you hammer people with a million questions, it's because something's on your mind. Is it a crime to know you so well?"

"No, but I already agreed to keep things confidential."

Creed smiled at her, "Alright, that's fair. I guess I will have to start. So, the SSS just told me that Onyx's parents had an unsuccessful run in with the Shadows."

Song threw her hands up in the air. "Say goodbye to confidential. That's what Kai told me this morning. It's just awful. I keep putting myself in his shoes. If my father was lost to the Shadows, it would break my heart. That's why I don't want to tell Onyx until we can support him with solutions. Can you imagine how hurt he would be? They weren't my parents and my heart is hurting at the thought of it. He loves them so much. If Onyx was to see his parents roaming about consumed, and he would run to them with love, pure love. And they would look at him, and wouldn't love him back, but try to consume his soul instead."

"Have you loved someone dearly, and not received the love back?"

"Yes..." there were tears in her eyes, "not because they wouldn't love me, but because they couldn't."

Creed draped his muscular arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him and kissed her hair. "I know, I know. Trust me, I know how you feel. I feel it too. What I would give to feel my fathers love again and feel my mother's love once. I know, and I don't want Onyx to be crushed either. But, never forget that our parents put it on the line, and choose to be released from the physical world through death, because they loved us unselfishly. I believe that, and if we're ever parents, we'd do the same things. We'll figure something out. I mean we have The Great Liberator and her humble servant." He laughed as she pushed him away smiling.

"I wish everyone would stop calling me that. I'm just a Shadowhunter on a mission."

"So you say. This issue with Onyx's parents is serious, but no one really knows what to do at the SSS. There are too many risks." Creed said.

Upon listening to Creed, Song got an idea, "Could you tell me everything you know about the Master Light Elements?"

Creed was surprised by her request and replied, "Um..sure. Well, you already know that it's an alternative to winning a mind war. There are several of them, but the major three are Cherish, Sacrifice, and Unity. In order for it to work you have to make the other person you're battling against understand the Element. For example, if you are battling me and you use the Element, Cherish, you have to get me to understand it. So, you could alter the battleground to moments that I cherish, or overwhelm me with the things you cherish. If you go through the battle, and I never understand what it means to cherish something, then the Element will weaken and you will lose. Now the catch, you can't just use any Light Element. If a person is infected by rage, Cherish, Sacrifice, nor Unity will help them, so the Light Element must be properly matched for the type of Shadow it's fighting."

"When I was infected, Free used the Master Light Element Cherish on me. I wasn't really sure what kind of Shadow, I was infected with. I have used Sacrifice to save Onyx, is it possible to use a Light Element to help his parents?" Song suggested.

"I really don't know, it's still a risky job, because we would need to know what they are infected with and you know how challenging that can be. In addition to the fact that saving a professional Shadowhunter is a tall order because they know the battleground inside and out, they can change scenes to throw you out and they move a lot quicker too. The other thing is one has to know the cause and effect of wielding a Light Element because some are more tricky to use than others."

"Like what?" Song asked.

"Cherish is like a ray of light, if you use it in the wrong conditions, instead of your opponent getting the benefit of the light, the light will blind you instead allowing your opponent to attack and win. Sacrifice is where you give your time or your energy to someone else. You can enter another person's mind war or directly save your opponent by giving them all of your energy. Now, if you don't allot enough time for yourself to make any moves, you will lose. Also if you sacrifice all your energy to your opponent your lose as well. Unity cannot be used by a single person, you need a group and everyone in the group must be able to use it or the Element will fail. Basically there are several things to consider before using an Element."

"I hate to say, but this is starting to feel like we are hitting a dead end, especially if using them could be potentially jeopardizing our own lives." Song stared down at her hands.

Creed placed his hand over hers, "I don't believe in dead ends. Besides, you just have to make sure that whoever uses an Element uses it properly. I hate to bring this up, but when you used Sacrifice, you did not allot enough time for you to make your own moves when you re-entered your mind war. But, that was probably the first time you used an Element. Now, myself on the other hand, I use a lot of minor Elements all the time, they are easier to handle and not detrimental if used improperly."

Song was slightly surprised Creed had never mentioned anything like this before.

Creed looked at her puzzled, before asking, "What?"

"You never mentioned this before," Song complained.

"And you never asked," he replied.

"I shouldn't have had to ask. We're both Shadowhunters you could have told me."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry I did not recognize the value of this information until now," Creed joked.

"Apology accepted. Now, when do we start using these Elements?"

"Whoa, slow down, I thought that what I just said would have made you realize that this is not an overnight feat. The Elements can be dangerous if improperly used. Besides, I don't know how to teach it, if you get what I mean. You may need an SSS class for that one," Creed reminded her.

Song pulled away from Creed and threw herself backwards on the couch. She grabbed a pillow and groaned into it.

"I know that I'm not the idea powerhouse, but I think we may have an alternative for his parents."

Song sat up, "I'm listening."

"Shadowhunter weapons, my father had a Shadowhunter sword that he passed down to me. This would give us an advantage because, Onyx's father gave his Shadowhunter weapon to Onyx!" Creed was honestly excited. "I just thought of that now, so don't be upset."

"I'm not, that actually sounds good. The only problem is, how are you going to convince Onyx to use his father's weapon on his father?"

"It's your turn to think of something," Creed laughed. Song got up and went into the kitchen to get some orange juice. Her mind was clicking, when she returned she sat back down and handed Creed a glass of juice as well. He nodded her thanks.

"Well, we have to tell him." Song said after taking a couple sips.

"Um, I thought you were against that," Creed raised an eyebrow.

"I said, until we can support him with solutions, and now we have a possible solution." Song raised an eyebrow in return.

"That's why you're a genius and I am but a humble servant."

Song rolled her eyes at Creed's remark, feeling confident in their new found plan.