“Wha…?” Parker mumbled as he rubbed his head. Quite the knot had formed on his head from whatever hit him. When he opened his eyes, he realized there was nothing he could see. The room he was in was pitch black and felt like a freezer. He noticed that it smelled wet and stale which made him uncomfortable.

He held his hand out and front of him and made a small fireball. There was just enough time to see that he was in what looked like a cave that had no doors and then drops of water fell from above him putting out the fire.

Using his Earth Imperial, he felt through the ground to see what he could sense. There was no one else near and it didn’t seem like there were any other rooms attached to this one. “Where am I?” he asked himself.

Parker started to pace around the room he was in trying to think of the best way to get out. It was obvious to him to use his Earth Imperial to simply tunnel through the rock all the way up to the surface, but how far would that be? Should he just wait to see if anyone shows up?

The thought of waiting for someone to show up made him shiver. He knew that anyone that would show up at this point wouldn’t be anyone that was on his side. What did everyone else think? Did they rush to the school to let the masters know? Then he realized that he was completely alone. Whoever kidnapped him didn’t bring Monty along.

“It has to be Lara.” But why would she do this after he agreed to help her. It took a few moments after that thought to realize that he knew exactly who had done it. “Terra…” he said gruffly.

——

Parker wasn’t sure how much time had passed but he knew that his best option was simply to wait for Terra to show up so that they could talk. He didn’t know why the master didn’t just pull him aside at school but he figured that where he was now probably wasn’t too good of sign.

Trying to tunnel through the rock was just too dangerous not knowing exactly what was above him. What if he got to the top and found out that he was under the lake? Yeah, he could hold his breath but it would force him all the way back down to the room he was in.

Parker’s stomach started to rumble deeply as hunger started to really set it. He’d been hungry for quite a while but he did everything he could in order to keep his mind off of it. His dad had always told him, “Mind over body.” He’d never really taken those words to heart until now. If it weren’t for focusing on what he should do or what his friends were doing, he would’ve already lost his mind.

It felt like days had passed at this point when Parker finally heard some noises. He put his ear next to the wall and listened carefully. Using his Earth Imperial, he focused on how the ground was shifting; trying to figure out if it was Master Terra. He could sense someone coming toward him quickly but it didn’t seem like someone very big so there was no way it could be Master Terra.

After a moment, a figure appeared in the room but Parker still couldn’t see who it was. Even his Earth Imperial only told him that there was someone there about his own size. Parker lit another fireball in his hand to see who it was. He caught the quickest of glances of Colton’s face before his hand was frozen solid and the fire was extinguished.

“Don’t try anything Parker. Master Terra just wants to talk to you.”

Although he couldn’t see him, Parker could tell that Colton had a smug look etched on his face. A face of victory because he had Parker right where he wanted him, even though it took blindsiding him to get him there. “Too much of a coward to come down here himself?” Parker taunted.

“He figured if it were him you would’ve attacked. But if it were someone roughly your size, then you might guess that it was one of your friends coming for you.” Parker hadn’t thought of that. It was a really good strategy on Master Terra’s part even though that hadn’t even crossed his mind.

“Where are we?”

“Under the lake. He’ll bring us back quickly so don’t try anything.” Colton grabbed Parker’s frozen arm and twisted it behind his back. Parker let out a groan of pain. Colton then grabbed his other hand and twisted it the same way and finally freezing his hands together is some sort of ice handcuff.

The ground beneath their feet moved quickly upwards the way that Colton had come from. Parker wanted nothing more than to take him out. He knew that he could, but he also wanted to see what Master Terra was planning. Why had he kidnapped him? What was to gain from it?

After several minutes of traveling through an elaborate maze of tunnels they appeared in a room with actual lighting. Parker could see the cocky look on Colton’s face as he presented Parker to Master Terra.

Master Terra looked into Parker’s eyes and waited several minutes before saying anything. Parker didn’t know what to think. So many different questions were running through his mind at that point. Why did Master Terra kidnap him? Why was he trying to steal Hailee? Why was he working with Colton?

“What’s your plan?” Parker asked, finally deciding on a question.

The master continued to stare at Parker without saying anything. After several minutes, he finally chimed in and said, “Nothing you should concern yourself with.”

Parker couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Nothing to concern myself with?” he shouted. “You kidnapped me!”

“I only need to speak with you.” Master Terra spoke in a very even, calm voice that made Parker uneasy.

Parker stared at him dumbfounded. “Why not just talk to me at school?”

Master Terra took a seat at a nearby table, clearing his throat as he did. Colton shoved Parker toward the table making him bang his knees into the chair. “Sit!” Colton commanded. Parker wanted to knock him out but knew that wouldn’t go well with Master Terra.

“My plan is about to go under way.”

Parker interrupted him causing Master Terra to grow a frustrated look on his face. “Still not seeing why you couldn’t talk to me at the school,” he said bluntly.

“I am taking my daughter from this place.” Parker could tell that the master was looking to see if he was surprised. After he noticed that Parker’s face didn’t budge, he scowled. “Lara got to you, didn’t she?”

Parker didn’t show any emotion. He didn’t want to let him know everything he’d been told.

“It doesn’t matter. Nothing she could’ve told you can change anything.” Parker could tell that it did matter, and he was just trying to play it off.

“Wait a second…” Parker thought out loud, once again interrupting the master. “If you’re just taking her, what do you need me for?”

Master Terra laughed. “I need to test something.” Parker gave him a look that told him he’d peaked his interested and scared him at the same time. “What do you know about your core?”

Parker’s eyes opened wide, and his heart started to race. Master Terra smiled an evil smile that made Parker’s heart race even faster.

“So, you do know something?” Master Terra knew that he had him. “We’ve done testing…”

“You’re behind those kids losing their Imperials?” Parker yelled. He’d known Colton was involved but didn’t know the master was involved.

Master Terra stood up, making his presence more intimidating. “They were detrimental to my plans. Yours is the last one I need before I proceed with Hailee.”

“What do you need with mine?” Parker asked, heart racing.

The master eyed him for a moment then said, “I believe the core of you Omnis is different. I need to be sure I can remove hers without harming her.”

Parker’s eyes bulged. “Without harming her” he shouted. “You’d be stealing who she is!”

“Omnis are a plague!” Master Terra exploded. Parker took a step back, shocked by his outburst. “Becoming an Omni is a curse!” The master turned his back and Parker could hear him muttering to himself.

Parker opened his mouth to say something but stopped and lowered his head. He couldn’t see the master’s face but he could tell that his outburst was coming from a place of hurt.

It took a moment for Master Terra to look at Parker again. Parker saw on his face and in his eyes that something was off. It didn’t seem like Master Terra was doing this just to do it; just to take Hailee from Lara. “What do you mean a curse?” He tried to sound as empathetic as possible. The last thing he wanted was to make the master explode again.

“Omnis can’t be content. Regular Imperials are fine. We’ve got the one ability and we’re good. We know that we have that limit and we’re fine with it! But you Omnis, you’re never content!” Parker felt like Master Terra had met one hundred Omnis and they were all the same. He knew that couldn’t be the case because he was nothing like Lara, nor were his friends.

“You’re describing one person!” Parker snapped, defending his friends.

Master Terra scoffed at his defense. “That person is trying to steal my daughter and kill half of the world in the process.”

Parker had to admit that it did make Lara sound pretty crazy. Why had he agreed to help her? Then he also remembered that the master was going to take who Hailee was away from her. His head started to spin trying to figure out what he should be doing, who should he help? Should he help either of them?

“Isn’t there a way you can stop Lara instead of taking Hailee’s Imperial?” Parker asked. He heard the words come out his mouth and they immediately confused him. Before Master Terra could respond, Parker kept going. “Wait a minute, how is taking Hailee’s Imperial going to keep Lara from taking her?”

“Lara can’t…” the master began. Parker could hear the hesitation in his voice, he just hoped that he would keep talking. “She needs Hailee to do it. There’s something about you Omnis that’s different.” His voice grew hoarse and gravelly. Parker was afraid the master would stop talking.

“What could be different?” Parker asked not sure if he actually wanted an answer to his question.

“I guess we’ll find out,” Master Terra said with an evil smirk. Parker raised his eyebrow.

“What do you—” Parker said as something hit his head and he blacked out.