Ashton stood in a field of brilliant green. Tall, lush trees lined the edges of the area, and flowers of all colors peaked through the grass at random intervals. The wind rustled through her hair as the sounds of nature surrounded her. The place was perfect, too perfect in fact. Had she not been in the center of the image, it would have been painfully obvious that she was dreaming. But to her subconscious mind, the soft foliage and brilliant colors were as undoubtedly real as the Creator himself. She could feel the breeze on her skin, hear the gentle music that seemed to be carried with it. She stretched her hands up toward the heavens, inhaling as deeply as she could. She had no explanations, but somehow felt that if she only tried hard enough she could pull the entire scene inside of her and finally have some peace in her life.

As she lowered her arms, a figure materialized before her. First it looked like her father, then her old teacher, then her younger brother. The figure continue to change shape, but dream logic left Ashton entirely unphased by this. It was the figure’s words that struck fear and anger into her heart. It spoke of passion and fire. Of sheer destructive power.

[color=ed1c24][i]What are you doing here? This is not your place. Use your passion, wield it as a weapon, and the world will be yours to command. Just let go.[/i][/color]

[color=f7941d]“No…”[/color] she muttered. But flames had already sprung from her fingertips. The scene shifted even more rapidly than real flames would spread. The grass became dry, cracked earth. The trees around her burned until they were charred logs, and even those continued to blaze until the crimson sky was filled with smoke. She could feel it filling her lungs, but she did not gasp for air. It was as though she no longer needed to breath. A massive blade of flame had materialized in her hand, and now stood in a full suit of black plate armor. The peaceful scene that had surrounded her had vanished entirely, replaced by a landscape of terror. The figure too had changed, ceasing entirely to shift. Now it was Trevor, the fire instructor at Aegis. He looked at her with stern, cold eyes, disappointment lining his face.

Ashton laughed. It was a horrible sound, maniacal and cold. The very sound of it made her sick. Yet it was undoubtedly her voice. Here she stood, reckless and invulnerable in the ashes of a beautiful world she had destroyed. And she was laughing. She stared back at the figure, grinning wildly. [color=f7941d]“Happy now?”[/color]

[color=ed1c24][color=ed1c24][i]“Wake up, Ashton.”[/i][/color][/color] Trevor replied.

[color=f7941d]“What?”[/color]

[color=#ff0000]“[/color][color=#ff0505]A[/color][color=#ff0b0b]s[/color][color=#ff1010]h[/color][color=#fe1515],[/color] [color=#fe2020]w[/color][color=#fe2625]a[/color][color=#fe2b2a]k[/color][color=#fe3030]e[/color] [color=#fe3b3a]u[/color][color=#fd4040]p[/color][color=#fd4645]![/color] [color=#fd5150]C[/color][color=#fd5655]’[/color][color=#fd5b5a]m[/color][color=#fd615f]o[/color][color=#fd6665]n[/color] [color=#fc716f]g[/color][color=#fc7675]e[/color][color=#fc7c7a]t[/color] [color=#fc8685]u[/color][color=#fc8c8a]p[/color] [color=#fb9695]a[/color][color=#fb9c9a]l[/color][color=#fba19f]r[/color][color=#fba6a4]e[/color][color=#fbacaa]a[/color][color=#fbb1af]d[/color][color=#fbb7b4]y[/color][color=#fabcba]![/color] [color=#fac7c4]A[/color][color=#faccca]s[/color][color=#fad1cf]h[/color][color=#fad7d4]t[/color][color=#fadcd9]o[/color][color=#fae2df]n[/color][color=#f9e7e4]![/color][color=#f9ece9]![/color][color=#f9f2ef]![/color][color=#f9f7f4]”[/color]


Her eyes flew open as she gasped for air. This time she [i]could[/i] feel the smoke fill her lungs. She hacked and coughed, rolling over on her side to face the kid who had woken her up. But he had already moved on to the next set of beds. In the second it took her to get her bearings she realized two things. First, that the building was on fire, and second, someone (make that several someones) was banging at the door. The only thing holding them back were a couple of fifteen year old boys, pinning the door closed and occasionally turning to hurl fireballs out the front window. It was clear they could not hold out for much longer though.

Sure enough, Ashton barely had enough time to draw her rapier before the soldiers burst through. Piro, the first boy at the door, gave them a faceful of flames, sending the first wave stumbling and screaming. He looked back at Ash and grinned as if seeking approval. Then he was impaled. A second wave of soldiers marched in, met by another wave of fire from the other boy. This time they were prepared, shielding themselves from the powerful blast until he ran out of energy, then slaying him easily. Behind them there appeared to be hundreds of others.

Her first instinct was to roast them all. After all, they were dumb enough to torch the building, giving her plenty of ammunition. But there was so much risk in that… ad there were so many innocent people in this building… Switching gears, she ran to the back of the room where the youngest of the fire Aedis slept. Most were already huddled behind their beds, frightened beyond any capacity for strategy. She torn off a piece of a nearby bed frame and used it to smash a hole in the already charred wall. By this point, most of the older Aedis were fighting at the front door. Except Nathan apparently. Where the hell was he?

[i]Probably dead[/i], she thought sadly, then pushed it from her mind. The struggle at the front wouldn’t give her much more time. The younglings all stared expectantly at her now. She put her finger over her lips as if to say “Don’t make a sound,” and motioned toward the hole in the wall. A few made a run for it, but by then a few of the soldiers had made it through the door. Ashton drew her sword, flames from the wall shifting to encircle the blade. She had to hold them off, to give the kids time to escape. That’s what an Aedis does.