The Emerging Part I: Dream

Teqqc glares at her former classmates, anger oozing from her aura in a halo around her person. The Daijoks gaze at her in awe. Their mouths parted slightly, their eyes wide.

“Teqqc,” Vaiqon begins, “you should be aiding, Uxxok, not here to lecture us.”

Teqqc slaps Vaiqon in the face with an air current, “Quiet, Vaiqon. Do not try to dissuade me from being here. For too long I have allowed you Daijoks to make decisions for me and I unwittingly agreed. No more. I can make my own decisions.”

Vaiqon rubs his cheek, anger brewing in his eyes.

“When have we ever made decisions for you, Teqqc?” Vulcan asks.

“Every time you all made a decision and acted without my knowledge or approval. So many things I have seen happen because of your misguidance,” Teqqc spits.

Vulcan looks down, memories playing through his mind.

“We never intentionally manipulated you,” Rhino says softly.

Teqqc slaps Rhino with a stone hand made from the collapsed stone model. Rhino recoils instantly, grabbing his face. “That is a lie. Sure, it may not have began as intentional misleading, but over time you learned I was far too trustworthy and naive. Well, no longer. I have solidified my own mind.”

“Teqqc,” Shark starts, “you are right,” he finishes, lowering his head in shame. “We did observe how easily you trusted us, and we soon pushed that trust to the edge. We did not realize how far we drifted as friends over the years. But, you made it too easy, Teqqc.”

Teqqc summons water from a mug in the corner of the Chamber and slaps Shark in the face. Shark does not even flinch. He feels his cheek reddening but does not touch it. He continues to stare at Teqqc with solemn eyes.

“Thank you for your honesty, Shark,” Teqqc says.

“But, it was for your own good,” Vulcan says.

Teqqc turns towards Vulcan, viciousness in her eyes.

Vulcan quickly tries to explain, “You were training in all the zoltind forces, various martial arts and weaponry, we did not want to disturb you. Yes, we realize that was a mistake now, and we are sorry.”

Teqqc feels the deceit in Vulcan’s aura. She slaps Vulcan across the face with a fire hand. Vulcan feels his skin reddening, beginning to blister, holding his cheek gently. He glares at Teqqc.

“But, regardless of what we have done, it does not give you the right to barge into our Chamber and scold us as little children,” Vaiqon storms, grabbing Teqqc’s arms, almost spiting in her face.

Teqqc smiles, connects to her ire, and blows air from her mouth, forcing Vaiqon to release her as he is slammed against the wall behind him. Vaiqon swears a grunt. He looks to his fellow Daijoks, pleading for their aid.

Vulcan conjures fire and blasts it at Teqqc, Shark charges at Teqqc with his fists clenched, and Rhino sends seismic waves through the floor. Teqqc senses Vulcan’s fire, catches it with her hand, throws it at the charging Shark. Teqqc feels the floor vibrating, stomps, and sends stronger seismic waves at Shark, all while maintaining her hold on Vaiqon.

She relinquishes her air current, condenses a sphere of air in her hands, and forces it to erupt in a vicious pulse, forcing each Daijok to the wall, blowing out the windows on either side of the Chamber.

Teqqc’s eyes glow red with anger, “It is humorous you thought you could defeat me so easily. Also, very frustrating you thought I was so weak. Clearly, I have made it too easy for you to manipulate me. Clearly, I need to assert my dominance over even the Daijoks, the four men I thought I could trust above all else. The men I trained with when we were children here at the Injhihato. The men I vouched for when the former Daijoks asked whom I thought should replace them. Each and every time a Daijok stepped down, I vouched for one of you!”

At the conclusion of her brief tirade, Teqqc forces even more air to pulse through the room, forcing the Daijoks further into the stone, causing some of the stones to crack from the intense pressure building in the Chamber.

“And now that I have finally confronted you about your deceitful nature, you offer a pathetic apology? No. That was your biggest mistake. Still believing I am weak enough to forgive you so easily,” Teqqc explodes her anger in a massive pulse of air.

The pressure in the Chamber soon dissipates. The Daijoks collapse to the floor, amazed none of their bones are broken. They gasp for breath in deep, ragged inhales and exhales.

Teqqc conjures an air chair and sits, crossing her arms and legs. She summons four stone chairs for the Daijoks to sit in opposite her. When the Daijoks finally find the strength to crawl to the chairs, Teqqc smirks at their obvious tortured faces.

“Well, now that that is settled,” Teqqc starts, “what shall we do to make amends?”

The Daijoks stare at Teqqc in wonder.