Chapter Text
Elizabeth was running. She was always running. She wasn't sure she could do anything but run at this point. Who was she running from? She wasn't exactly sure. Some men had tried to kidnap her younger brother, Nick, so she took it upon herself to free him. Elizabeth always saved her siblings. She promised her father that, as the oldest, she would give her life for her brother and sister. And she nearly did on multiple occasions. But it was hard to kill the Elemental Master of the Underworld.
The men chasing her and Nick seemed pretty cocky. Good. Elizabeth smiled inwardly, although keeping her face blank. The more arrogant the opponent, the easier to defeat. They always believed their own glory could not be matched, and that was always their downfall. There was just one problem. The men were on hover chariots. Elizabeth and Nick were on foot. The men severely outnumbered them too. Elizabeth glanced back, briefly scanning the pursuing group and scoffed as she ran. Incredibly uncoordinated. Easy to win against, if a true fight broke out.
The man leading the group was a greedy looking fellow, with colorful streaks in her grey hair and sharp golden teeth protruding from his lower jaw. The man laughed cruelly, "Give up now you pesky trespasser, for I, Rapton of the Freebooters, will bring you to your knees. You have something I want, and Rapton always gets what he wants!"
"Kiss my ass!" Elizabeth yelled back, trying to get back where she had landed her dragon, Skyslicer, before her and her brother got caught.
Nick groaned. "Do you have to provoke them? They're already pissed enough."
"Yes I do Nick," Elizabeth snarked. "Because I'm not letting some old man with a multicolored receding hairline get the better of our family. He thinks he so clever, doesn't he?"
Elizabeth and Nick skidded around a boulder, where the ground fell away leaving a chasm in the ground just big enough for Skyslicer to fly in and out quickly. Nick didn't expect the sudden drop off, yelping as his momentum nearly pushed him off the edge. Elizabeth grabbed the collar of his denim jacket. "If you're gonna leap into a pit then do it responsibly," Elizabeth chided, hopping from the edge of the chasm to Skyslicer's back. She offered her hand to Nick, who moved a bit more slowly. Although Elizabeth did think that he should at least try to move faster, she didn't say anything. The obvious lack of food and untreated wounds were obvious the second she cut her brother away from the ropes restraining him. Nick couldn't move too fast, or he'd get even more injured. Which was why these 'Freebooters' were going to pay. Nobody touched her siblings. And those who dared lived to regret it.
"Up!" Elizabeth commanded Skyslicer, securing Nick in from of her. He whined in pain as the great dragon took to the skies. Elizabeth could hear the sounds of Rapton and his Freebooters getting close behind them. "Don't worry, we'll get back to the camp soon," Elizabeth reassured Nick, praying to every deity she could think of that they would manage to get away. Elizabeth liked to think that her skills accounted for most of her success, but a little divine luck never hurt anyone.
There was no way that they wouldn't escape. The Land of Madness had been Elizabeth's home ever since the Merge. The camp where she and her siblings lived was well concealed amidst the deep forest, and without proper guidance, outsiders could easily get lost. Elizabeth knew with full confidence that the Freebooters wouldn't get close. And if they did, the Administration would deal with them. The agents there didn't tolerate anything without a license passing by their territory. And Rapton most definitely did not have said license. Elizabeth did, fortunately, so she could enter and exit without struggle. The perfect last resort.
The sound of firing weapons snapped Elizabeth out of her thoughts, as she turned to see their pursuers blasting their weapons at Skyslicer. Elizabeth drew the small gun she kept in her belt, losing it with deadly intention. If she used her Elemental Powers, this would all be over in a matter of seconds, but that wouldn't do. No, Elizabeth had to make a spectacle it. With one hand on Nick, the other fingering the trigger to her gun, Elizabeth stood on the back of her dragon, trusting his flying would be steady and calculated. "Keep Skyslicer on course," she ordered Nick. He nodded, his breath shallow. Although she wouldn't dare admit it, Elizabeth was afraid. Her brother had already been injured before he was caught, and clearly her had some fresh wounds as well. She knew Nick was strong, but his skin was a terrifyingly abnormal pale. Elizabeth squeezed the trigger of her gun, a bang echoing off of the trees. The bullet landed precisely where she had intended: directly in the engine of Rapton's hover chariot. The man yelled in frustration and in shock as his vehicle reared and slowed. "Don't wait for me!" he screamed at his Freebooters. "Capture them now!"
The Freebooters sped up, surrounding the dragon completely. Elizabeth allowed a small smirk, just a twitch in the corner of her lips. "Well gentlemen, it's been a pleasure, but I'm afraid it's time to bid you adieu. So long!" Elizabeth called mockingly. She raised her arms, letting power gather in her fingertips, the energy lighting up her eyes with an eerie glow. "Tell all you know that the girl who destroyed you was Elizabeth Heartfelt, and tell them that Elizabeth Hartfelt offers no mercy!" She called. And with that, the shadows rose and all hell broke loose.
The darkness heeded her call, emerging from the depths of the forest, curling around every Freebooter vehicle. The energy of the underworld when harnessed by Elizabeth was a force to be reckoned with. The hover chariots imploded, sending Freebooters scattering everywhere in an explosion of purple light that reflected eerily off of Elizabeth's blue eyes. Her veins glowed that same purple, as they always did when she tapped into her Elemental Power. Her hands still hummed from where they held the essence of the underworld. Another successful escape. The victory was short lived unfortunately, as a pang of exhaustion hit her, weighing like boulders on the backs of her eyes. She was always tired after using her power. With something small like the skirmish with the Freebooters, a small nap would bring her back to strength, but something more dramatic could leave her unconscious for day, and needing to let her power recharge for many days after. With big displays, nosebleeds were often an annoying side effect, which really meant she needed to rest. Elizabeth hated that. Nine of the other Elemental Masters she knew had to deal with stuff like that. She felt like a machine. Just another stupid piece of modern tech that needed fixing. Elizabeth tried to play it off like her symptoms didn't bother her, but somewhere deep inside of her, she was screaming. If there was a way to fix her powers, then she better find it damn soon.
Almost the second that Skyslicer landed in the encampment, Nick was rushed off to the infirmary. Elizabeth would have followed him, but she needed to speak with her sister, Hannah. Her younger sister was the sweetest, bubbliest, and brightest person Elizabeth knew. Her warm energy always brought a smile to everyone's faces. But she was also incredibly smart, and a talented fighter. Hannah knew a great deal about the world, and always had her nose in a book, wanting to know more about the Merged lands. Elizabeth wanted to see if she knew anything about the Freebooters, and why they wanted her brother.
Elizabeth tapped her fingers on the canvas that made up her and her siblings tent. "Hannah?" she called, ducking inside. Hannah peeked up from her book, papers spread around her. Her curly brown hair was tied back, and her soft gold eyes were frustrated and tired. "Did you get Nick?" Hannah asked, jumping to her feet. Elizabeth nodded. Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank the Source Dragons," she breathed. Elizabeth pointed her foot at the mess of papers scattered across the ground. "What's all this?" she asked her sister. Hannah's eyes brightened. "I'm doing a study of all the Merged Lands, how they came together, and how that has changed the way the world works," Hannah explained excitedly.
"Excellent," Elizabeth said, "but I need to ask you something. Do you know anything of a group called the Freebooters, led by an obnoxious guy named Rapton?" Hannah drummed her fingers in her knees. "They were once called 'The Claws of Imperium'. They hunted dragons. Rapton was their leader. Then, their empress was defeated by a group of Elemental Masters, and the realm of Imperium had no need for the Claws anymore. So Rapton left with them. Now they're just a bunch of pirates. They only care about money," Hannah recalled.
"Then why did they want Nick? We're piss poor," Elizabeth pointed out. Hannah shrugged. "Who knows why anyone does anything?"
"Fair enough," Elizabeth commented, her mind spiraling back to Hannah's explanation. One little detail, to be specific. Imperiums dragon hunting being destroyed by a group of peace-seeking Elemental Masters. Interesting. Elizabeth didn't really see eye to eye with anyone but her brother and sister, but dragon heroes? She supposed she could get behind that. Wonder who they are, she thought absently.
Elizabeth thanked Hannah for her helped, and ducked out of the tent. Now, she was going to have to do some research of her own. She was going to learn why her powers left her weak. She would find her missing link, and fix her machine of a person into something she could be at peace with.