Star Keepers: Rebirth

Chapter 7

"Here it is." Cygnus says, and she swoops down to land in the parking lot.

"This place is creepy looking." Orion said.

"C'mon. Be absolutely quiet." Scorpius leads them through the doors that remarkably still automatically opened, just very slowly.

Corvus was right, the walls were olive in color and the floor was tiled. The smell was awful, like trash that had been sitting there for years, piling higher and higher.

Cygnus glances around for Landon. "This place is huge. How do we know where he is?" She wonders.

Orion walks cautiously, an arrow at the ready. "Corvus, can you get connected again?"

Corvus shakes his head. "I've tried getting connected to both, but I'm being blocked."

Pegasus suddenly stops, her purple eyes flash a brighter lavender than usual, and she frowns.

"What was that, Pegasus?" Cygnus asks.

"I...I'm not sure..." She still looks puzzled.

Scorpius pulls her aside, seemingly concerned. Cygnus looks to Orion and Corvus, who look just as confused as she.

"You three continue on this floor. Pegasus and I will search the second floor." Scorpius says, heading to the elevator with Pegasus.

"Is she okay?" Cygnus asks.

"I have no clue." Orion said. He looks to Corvus to see if he knew.

"Let's look for Lupus." Corvus dismisses Orion's questioning look and leads them further down the dimly lit hall.

"Peg, are you okay? What did you see?" Scorpius asks.

Pegasus wobbles on her feet as the elevator doors close. "I-I saw-" She slams against the side of the elevator, and slides to the floor.

Scorpius bends on his knees and grabs her head in his hand. "Peg?" He whispers. Her eyes flutter a little, then they close. "Pegasus?" He said, trying to remain calm. Pegasus seemingly fell into a sleep, but he checks for a pulse anyway. She was still breathing, everything was fine.

Scorpius sighs, then the doors open. He looks out, but sees nothing. There are no lights on, and even the moon wasn't in the sky tonight. Hadn't it been earlier? He turns back to Pegasus, then hesitantly walks out into the darkness.

Scorpius was used to such a dark environment since the Star Realm is always dark as well, but his heart still pounded with nerves. There wasn't a sound except his shoes squeaking every now and then on the tile floor.

As he walks the long hall, he looks in each room, none showing any sign of use recently.

A sinister laugh grabs his attention. He quickly turns around, but sees nothing.

"You idiot, how could you leave her alone?!" He asks himself, then he begins running back down the hall to the elevator. An ear piercing scream fills the air, making Scorpius run faster. "Pegasus!" He yells. The elevator was thirty feet away, twenty, ten. He skidded to a stop, but no one was inside, and the light had gone out.

Scorpius, breathing heavily, turns every direction until he's dizzy.

"What's the matter, Scorpius?" a dark voice booms. "You seem distressed." the voice laughs.

"I know that's you, Hydra! Where is she?!" Scorpius demands.

"Who? Her?" Pegasus suddenly appears in front of him.

"Peg!" Scorpius runs towards her, but she suddenly falls to the floor, a knife in her back. Scorpius bends down slowly, but as he touches her, she disappears through the floor.

Scorpius jumps back up, and backs into a wall. "Careful, now. Don't fall." Scorpius turns to see a hole in the wall, at least hundred feet below.

"How-" Scorpius begins.

"Scorpius!" A girl calls.

"Pegasus?" He runs down the hall, Hydra laughing hysterically. Scorpius finds the staircase, following Pegasus's voice to the third level. "Peg?" He calls.

"Scorpius!" She's running towards him. "It's happened! It's happened! They're here!" She said, fear in her eyes.

"What's happened? Who's here?" Scorpius asked. Pegasus just continues. "Hey!" He grabs her face in both his hands. "What are you talking about?"

"They're here. They're here. The renegades!" Is all she said.

"What?" Scorpius asked, but Pegasus shoves him against the wall.

"Why'd you do it?!" She screams. "You were his friend! He trusted you!" Pegasus begins chocking Scorpius. He gasps for breath, trying to push her off.

"Isn't it amazing what the mind can do?" Hydra says, his yellow eyes appearing behind Pegasus. "Fears, memories, premonitions. They can all become one."

Scorpius pushes Pegasus off him, slamming her head on the floor, and blood pools around her. He stares down in fear at what he's done.

"It's a wonderful thing, really. But your mind is like nothing I've ever seen." Hydra says, stepping out of the shadows. "It's like a maze. Some parts of it, you've been before. Other parts are yet to be discovered."

Scorpius throws a punch at Hydra, but it goes straight through him. He regains his balance, but then a loud siren rings in his head. Scorpius lets out a scream and covers his ears as the lights above begin to flicker.

Hydra leans over so they're face to face, and he smiles. "There's so much in you that you don't know about. I guess it's like that with all of us." His smiling face is replaced by Pegasus's, and she pushes him to the ground.

Scorpius looks back up to her, and she grabs his arm, pulling him towards the window. "Sleep tight." Pegasus says in a smooth voice, then throws him out the window.

Scorpius screams as the dark waves grow nearer and nearer. He's just about to hit the water when he gasps awake, Pegasus at his side.

"Scorpius?" She says, worried.

Scorpius looks at her carefully. "Is that you?"

She nods. "What happened? I followed you to the elevator to see if you were okay, but you were on the ground, just screaming."

Scorpius's breathing slows to regular speed, as does his heart. He sits up and says; "Hydra. He was in my head."

Pegasus grabs his hand. "It's okay now." She says soothingly.

Scorpius sighs, trying to wrap his mind about what all he saw. "I don't know when it started. Did you faint in the elevator?" He asks.

Pegasus shakes her head. "I followed you after you went to the elevator. You didn't say anything as you walked in. I had to wait for another elevator, and since I didn't know what floor you went to, I had to search everywhere."

Scorpius looks around realizing he was on the roof. He puts his head in his hands. "I don't remember walking to the elevator by myself. You had a vision, then you fainted..." Pegasus looks at him with concern. "None of that happened?" She shakes her head. "I can't even tell what's real."

"I'm real, this is real. You're okay. I'm here." She pulls Scorpius into a hug, and he shivers in her arms.