A cold wind blew through Onett; the chill of winter was fresh upon the town, wreaking havoc on everything it touched. The leaves were long gone from the trees; their remnants had decomposed, joining the cold earth. Drifts of snow from the most recent storm had been plowed up against the side of the roads, turned a gritty brown by mud and car exhaust. Winter was affecting everyone, including inhabitants of the white house on the far right side of the hill.
Mrs. Lee paced through her bedroom nervously, wringing her hands behind her back. Her eyes flickered back to the suitcase on her bed; it was full to the brim with various articles of clothing, ranging from the smallest shorts to the thickest sweaters. However, one integral item was missing. The woman licked her lips nervously, pausing only to let out a deafening screech.
"Tracy! Where’s my eyelash curler?"
Down in the living room, Tracy’s hand twitched slightly on the arm of the chair as she heard her mothers infamous shrieking. After closing her eyes to gain some semblance of composure, Tracy yelled back to her mother.
"On the kitchen table, right where you left it!" She hollered, not bothering to turn away from the TV in front of her. The bright pictured danced in front of her eyes as her mother’s thundering footsteps were heard above her head, moving quickly toward the stairs. A harsh grinding sound followed as the suitcase trailed Mrs. Lee; even without wheels, she still managed to drag it behind her as efficiently as one walks a dog.
Tracy turned around just as her mother appeared on the landing of the stairs, her sole bag in tow.
"Mom, couldn’t you have used two bags instead of just the one?" Tracy asked, an innocent tone easily masking the comment’s condescending nature. Her mother, too fretful to comprehend the real meaning of her daughter’s words, looked down at her suitcase with a critical eye. Clothing stuck out at every angle, and the pattern on the aging bag was severely distorted by the lumps underneath. When a verdict had been reached in her mind, Mrs. Lee turned back to her daughter.
"I’m sure my bag will be fine; it doesn’t matter how full it is, just so long as it can fit in the trunk," She said airily, dragging the bag down the remaining flight of steps. The suitcase wavered in every direction as it thundered down each stair, knocking any items abandoned on the steps into immediate disarray. Tracy cringed as the bag collided with King’s bowl of dog food at the bottom, sending kibble flying through the air.
Mrs. Lee paid no attention to the mess she caused, instead blowing through the room with the force of a hurricane. In what seemed like less than a second, she and the suitcase were at Tracy’s side. Tracy looked up at her mother, her brain daring her to ignore the edgy woman and to return to the TV. Unfortunately, her brain was unable to make a choice before Mrs. Lee began her speech.
"Now Tracy, I’m going away for the entire week! Do you think you can handle that responsibility yourself?"
Tracy sighed irritably; she had heard this rant several times prior to this meeting, but it would be safer to just answer as concisely as possible in order to avoid any arguments.
"Mom, I’m sure I can handle it. I’m 15 years old; I’m a big girl now!" She exclaimed, the condescension returning to her voice before she could stop it. This time Mrs. Lee noticed it, and she cast a sharp eye on her daughter.
"I don’t need any of your guff, young lady! I’m worried enough as it is about visiting your brother at college–"
"You’ve visited him dozens of times before this," Tracy said, doing best to keep her cool. Mrs. Lee waved her hand impatiently.
"That’s not the point! It’s imperative for us to be supportive of Ness; He’s 20 now, and he’s a man! We need to nurture him to become someone we’re proud of! Not that we aren’t proud of him already, of course," She added hastily. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she thought back to Ness’ previous accomplishments. She began mumbling to herself, repeating them in awe.
"Saving the entire world from the Giygans and destroying the nightmare demon! My my!" Tracy’s mom cried, the joy of her sons’ accomplishments fueling her with energy. Tracy, who was watching this spectacle with a gaze that carried more than slight irritation, scoffed faintly.
"Mom, Ness destroyed the nightmare demon five years ago. Can’t we just…move on with our lives?" She said, the end of the sentence stopping just short of a plea. Mrs. Lee’s mouth formed a large O, encompassing the greater part of her face.
"How can you say that? Ness has worked so hard to make sure that our world is safe to live in, and it’s about time that he got some recognition!" She sputtered indignantly; her eyes alight with a fanatic fire. Tracy bit back a few strong words, realizing the hopelessness of the situation. It was useless to fight her mother when she got like this; her love for Ness had risen to a new level of zeal in the past five years. Unfortunately, so had the rest of the worlds’; in stark contrast to Ness’s previous quiet accomplishments, the whole world had gone crazy for the heroes the instant they defeated the nightmare demon, and after five long years the hype still hadn’t let up.
"Anyway, I’m going now; I don’t want to be late," Mrs. Lee said, bringing Tracy back to the present as she grabbed her gigantic suitcase. "I’ll tell your brother you said Hi."
"You do that," Tracy responded lamely, eyeing her mother as she left the house. Her hand jolted slightly again as the door slammed shut, the sheer force knocking over a plant on a nearby table.
The instant her mother was out of the house, Tracy’s face transformed into a patronizing scowl.
"We need to nurture him to become someone we’re proud of!" Tracy repeated mockingly, her lip curling with malice. "When are they ever going to nurture me?"
For a brief moment, the sneer slipped from her face to be replaced with the look of a lost, forlorn child, but the arrogant mask returned just as quickly as it came when she looked back to the TV. Her scowl intensified as she eyed the glowing box.
"This show is stupid. Maybe Mysterious Mysteries is on," She thought aloud. Glancing behind her, she spotted the remote on the kitchen table, perched next to a half-empty soda and a bag of popcorn. Instantly, her scowl warped into a merciless grin, curling sharply at the edges.
"I don’t have to get up," She said viciously, "I’m better than that!" So saying, she shifted in her chair to face the table. Extending her right arm, she flexed her palm slowly. A look of fierce concentration overcame her gaze as she closed her eyes, focusing intently.
At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly but surely, the three items on the table shook slightly in place, wobbling on their edges. Time stood still as the objects ascended from the tabletop and into the air, shaking less as they moved. Once they had risen about a foot off of the table, they turned slightly, just enough to face Tracy. The three objects hovered toward her outstretched arm, landing delicately on her lap once they reached their goal.
Tracy looked down into her lap and smirked with satisfaction. She lowered her arm, allowing it to rest as her mind lifted the bag of popcorn and tossed several pieces into her mouth. Munching happily, she directed the remote to float in front of her and switch channels. Between bites, Tracy congratulated herself for the latest in her long line of psychokinetic conquests.
"Ness has been using PSI his whole life, and he can only lift one object at a time! I’ve barely been doing for half a year, and I can lift anything I want!" So saying, Tracy smirked again and turned to watch Mysterious Mysteries.
-----
Far below the expansive green of Onett, a sharp wind blew through the underworld, stirring its countless occupants. Many could not understand it, but for those who could, it was a prophecy. Destiny was at hand.
One of the tenants of the underworld who noted the changing winds was a tall, tan woman with flowing green hair by the name of Dio. The strength of the prophecy struck her immediately, but for her it was more than just a prophecy; it was a signal for her plans to begin.
"Rasheed!" Dio snapped suddenly, banging her hand on the arm of her chair. "Rasheed, where are you?"
Her voice echoed along the dark, cavernous halls of their ‘residence.’ It was a small, decrepit cave with nothing more than a few pieces of ancient furniture, some personal items, and a gothic fireplace with a bright green flame that was forever burning. The cave branched off into several rooms, but each was as uninviting as the next. Cobwebs lined the walls, and all manners of insects and lizards could be seen crawling across the floor at any time. There were no windows, as there was no view worth seeing in the underworld. The only light came from the fire, but an eerie blue aura that pulsed in the walls gave the cavern the necessary visibility.
Dio listened with an eager ear, but when nothing was to be heard she tried again. Her words bounced around the halls, but again there was nothing. She leaned back in her chair with sudden exasperation, displacing several spiders that had made their homes on the back of her chair. Her hair cascaded down her back, flowing around her bronzed arms like a waterfall. The strands were a murky green, hinted with blue, the color of seaweed that had been washed ashore by a violent storm. She was about to reach for a piece when she felt a cold, shadowy hand on her shoulder. Dio nearly jumped out of her skin, her hand instantly feeling for the dagger that she kept on her person at all times.
"Dio, you called?" A silky voice asked as the hand on her shoulder tightened slightly. Dio turned around in her chair to see a tall, bronze man standing behind her. She stared into his eyes for a moment, the all-seeing coals never failing to unnerve her. Shuddering slightly, she gripped the handle of her dagger for security.
"Rasheed, don’t sneak up on me like that me like that. You know how it bothers me," She muttered as she quickly averted her eyes, her hand still tightened about the smooth handle. Rasheed released his hand indifferently, settling into the chair facing her. He draped one leg languidly over the chair’s arm, letting the other hang off of the seat.
"I was merely responding to your summons," He responded coolly. Dio nodded, her fears assuaged; Rasheed posed no real threat to her.
"I wanted to talk to you about our plans," She said with a lighter tone, drawing her dagger from its holder. "Have you felt the change in the winds?"
"I have not," He replied, raising his tone at the end of the sentence with curiosity. Rasheed was about to say more, but his eyes drifted to the dagger in Dio’s hand. The blade was made of pure elemental silver, which had been sharpened to perfection over time. In contrast, the handle was made from smooth, polished bones, stolen from the corpses of humans over the ages. Dio was currently carving the blade into each of her knuckles with a controlled rhythm, dragging across each bone with utmost precision. When the blade reached the end of the finger, there were no marks; in the underworld, pain could be felt but no physical markings could be made.
Rasheed gulped as his eyes combed the dagger, which was slicing into the bones as if they were made from nothing more than butter. The dark man considered himself a fearless person, but when faced with any dagger, especially the bone dagger of his partner Dio, he was reduced to a state of raw terror.
"The time has come for us to liberate ourselves from the harsh injustice of the underworld, and to return to the Earth’s surface and regain our living human form," Dio continued, dragging his mind to the present. "The inhabitants of the lower world must be freed, to join once more with the people of the over world! The winds have prophesized our success; we cannot fail. All we need to do is find a way to regain our human forms; the rest is simple!"
Rasheed thought for a moment, resting his hand on his chin. His eyes drifted briefly toward Dio’s flashing blade, but he dragged them away as quickly as he could.
"Perhaps…" He started, tapering off at the end of the world.
"Perhaps what?" Dio inquired, eyeing him sharply.
"Perhaps there is a person alive who has the powers of the legendary Path of Light, who can revive our living bodies once we reach the surface. I know of no such person, but nothing is impossible."
Dio’s eyes lit up instantly, the wheels turning in her mind. She grinned wickedly, laying aside her dagger on the arm of the chair. Folding her hands primly in her lab, she beamed at Rasheed in triumph.
"There is a girl in the town of Onett whose powers I have been monitoring for some time. Her brother, Ness, was responsible for vanquishing the nightmare demon, and is said to have traces of the path of light in himself. From what I have seen, the younger girl’s powers are infinitely stronger; if the light does what you say it can, it can only be she who will lead us to our supreme glory!"
Rasheed leaned forward, intensely interested. His dark eyes flickered oddly in the green firelight as a grin formed on his own features, matching Dio’s perfectly.
"And what is this mystery girl’s name?" He asked, his smooth voice burning with anticipation. The firelight blazed with a new intensity as Dio gave her response.
"Her name is Tracy."