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"Awakening Powers"

As the private airplane started to descend, Caliope could see the area clearly; large rice fields, small houses, at the distance there were bigger buildings though she couldn't see quite well yet. Ever since she heard about the strange destination, her curiosity picked its highest point.

"Are we there yet?" Vanessa giggled.

Pronab shook his head and held a laugh.

"Burma is known as one of the poorest countries in the region, which is why at first this construction caused a great commotion worldwide. But after a while people forgot about it, and they all thought their Great General was delusional spending the little money they had. Most of what you see around is still the real poor areas, very few fairly decent ones, and their workers. Naypyidaw is still under construction, adding more hotels and residences." Elaine sighed as she saw in the distance their new destination. "A lot of projects are being built... slower than when it started, but still on the works. The Meng Generals are expecting us at the airport."

The private plane started to descend and Caliope could see a big building with a turquoise roof at the middle of large landing lanes. She laid back on her seat and took a deep breath, a new city that promised to be an important destination.

Once the plane finally stop moving, one by one they headed towards the exit. After a comfortable ride on a private limousine that was expecting them at the foot of the airplane, they walked out and into the turquoise shielded building. There were only a few customs officers inside of what Caliope could describe as a huge house adapted for public purposes.

Leaning on one of the inside arches they found General Meng Yi smiling at them. Before they could even greet, he gestured some of the customs officers and they rushed towards them with folders and pen in hand.

"Welcome to Naypyidaw Ladies and Gentlemen, please enjoy your stay!" was the repertoire from a female officer as a male one with a huge smile handled Pronab and Elaine the folders and pen. General Meng Yi approached them with a grin. "You only need to sign and we can all go to the residence. How was the trip by the way?"

"It is nice to see you again, General." Caliope whispered as the officers perked ears near them.

No need to say more, it was clear neither of them knew much about them and some sense of deja'vu creeped inside her; it was normal to have people who didn't know about them in different areas, yet used as pawns for speeding things up in the human world.

After a rather quick exchange of signatures and papers, they left the building and jumped into a larger limousine where they found Meng Tian waiting for them. Caliope smiled at him and he returned the smile almost shyly.

"Princess, you bring a pleasant view. Welcome to Naypyidaw."

"Thank you General."

"Please, call me Tian, we are among familiars here." he said with another smile.

"I will remember that, thank you again."

A quiet Amra sat next to her in the car; she wanted to seat at the window but he quietly refused, putting himself in that place and with an arm tightly around her. The car started moving as soon as Pronab closed the door.

"Are you ok? You look, and feel tense."

"I will be ok once we arrive to our destination."

"Are you worried?" Elaine asked him.

"I just feel something strange; I am not sure if it is the city itself, or the people around."

"The people here are extremely kind, they don't see many visitors so they extend their kindness well."

"It is not that, is not kindness or curiosity." he sighed. "I will feel better once we are all in safe land."

Vanessa was static as they saw the ghost road leading them to the center of the City. It looked as if they were in the middle of a movie, several car lines completely empty and the view of the city getting closer and closer resembled to any ordinary first world tourist destination; this one was desolated.

Caliope looked closer to the window; everything was clean and shiny. The city was alive, but dead at the same time. The driver gave a few turns and they finally arrived to a large hotel where an entourage of their own awaited them. Pronab and the twin Generals where the first ones to get out of the car. They greeted them and exchanged a few words, followed by directions for them to take their luggage inside.

"It is safe, we can go out now." Amra said.

"They open the hotel just for us?" Caliope asked.

Amra shook his head as he opened the door and stepped out of the car, he offered his hand for her to take and come out. The air was fresh, she could feel the soft breeze and clean atmosphere. Elaine followed her and last Vanessa joined them on the stairs of the hotel's entrance.

"Baby, this is incredible. I have never been here before, and never in a million years would I have thought this place could look so amazing."

"Trust me Nessa, I wouldn't have dream about it either. It almost looks like out from the movies."

"Where do you think movies take inspiration from?" Pronab added with a smirk.

They walked into a large and elegant reception and moved directly to the elevator. Caliope stopped in front of the open doors and Amra turned around towards her.

"What is wrong?"

"Bad memories." She paused. "I am not sure, didn't we had a major incident at a hotel before?"

Pronab chuckled and Elaine sighed. "Darling, we had something happen but it was in a different place and with a different scenario."

Caliope nodded and walked in. Pronab introduced a card-key and then punched a number. "Your room is 368. Elaine's at room 578. Maxwell will be arriving in the next couple of hours and has room 408."

The elevator moved silently yet fast, by the time it open they were at the top floor. "By the way, the number on the room has nothing to do with the floor. The top 2 floors were specially designed for us. A middle living room with all the personal rooms and bathrooms around them." Pronab walked in and put his bag on the floor. Caliope walked out of the elevator and felt as if she had been there already. "This places looks familiar."

"My dear, I am glad you think so. The architect of this building is none other than the same one who made our house in the skies, back home."

Amra leaned close to Caliope behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder and with a smile he planted a kiss right below her earlobe. She closed her eyes and sighed; her memory returning more and more every day. Amra's arms wrapped around her as both stood to watch everyone else finding their rooms. He brushed his lips against her and felt her shiver.

"How do you feel?"

"I am feeling excited, anxious, and happy. But right this moment I feel blessed." She tilted her head to give him a kiss.

Elaine winked at them and put their door key in their hands, then moved to pick up her bags and walk into her own room. In the movement of people, Amra pulled Caliope's hand gently and led her towards the door with their key's number. The key was a simple card, the magnetic sensor beeped and the door opened for them both. He walked in first, his eyes scanning the area. There was no danger, of course, but he wanted her to feel safe and this always made the trick. He invited her in and she followed, her eyes feasting on the beautiful yet simple elegant suite.

"All of this is ours?"

"It has always been. But when this is over, back home, we will have something new, I already talked with Elaine about this."

She tilted her head and looked at him unsure of what he meant. "Something new? Don't you own enough already?"

He chuckled and left the bags on the side of the couch, walking to her to gently caress her cheek. She sighed and blushed, the exact reaction he was looking for. "A new home just for us; I thought you would want something you were involved with decorating and such, so the land is all I have, the design and decoration will be under your supervision. Did I do it wrong?"

She bit her lower lip and smiled wide, he didn't do anything wrong, he did everything right.

"You are too good to be true... I think that is why this is taking so long, for me to recover my memories... everything seems like a dream... and you are my perfect prince."

Amra laughed joyously, her blush deepened. "I am what you make me be. I could become a monster if that would make you happy."

"At some point, you might need to become that monster." She became silent, a soft deja'vu sensation again taking over her. "A beast of justice?"

He nodded, this time more serious. She closed her eyes as flashes of memories from a time not long ago came forward in her mind. She stumbled and he put an arm around her waist immediately. "What is wrong?"

"I think I am tired, I thought my sleep in the air was enough."

"Let's get you to bed, get some rest, this place will become crowded soon and you will need your energy." He pulled her up in his arms and led her to the bedroom, a luxurious place just as the previous room. He gently tugged her in the bed and she yawned. "Will I ever be like you and Elaine?"

"What do you mean?"

"You never seem to need sleep, and I feel tired too often for my liking."

He frowned and shook his head. "It is only until you are completely recovered, then you will no longer need this much sleep. I promise." He leaned closer to her and kissed her forehead, he wanted to do so much more than kiss her, but now he was worried about her.

When he was sure she was finally asleep, he got up and walked towards the living room. There, Vanessa and Pronab were cuddling watching the television, only Pronab acknowledged his presence with a nod as he walked towards Elaine's bedroom. Once he found her room, he knocked once.

"Come in darling." Elaine's voice invited.

He opened the door and found her sitting on the couch with a book on her hand.

"I know something is troubling you, what happened?"

He frowned, more out of frustration than out of anger. "She is still feeling tired and needs to rest. She should be almost healed by now."

Elaine nodded and put the book on the table, she took a deep breath and looked at Amra. "I think we will soon find out more about her, there are more arriving tomorrow, and we will have to start testing her to see her real powers. Once we find out what exactly she is, we will know how to heal her better."

"Shouldn't we know by now what she is?"

"It isn't easy, Amra. The moment you awakened her, she opened the door to that hidden power inside of her. The power coming from non-other than her father, who was one of the strongest and deadliest enemies we ever had. We don't know what her true nature power is due to the hidden powers her father left inside of her. She is not a healer, so far she hasn't presented any healing abilities. She does seem to predict the future at some level; the only time was when Vanessa was involved. So perhaps we just have to run some tests. She has the gift of having us all puzzled that is for sure."

He nodded at each of her statements. He looked outside the window and sighed. "She is nervous about been surrounded of them all, she hasn't said it but I can feel it in her."

"We both know there isn't a place safer than with us now. But I will consider an alternative. Perhaps is for the best. For now, take care of her, be with her, you both complement each other so well. You would be lost if it wasn't for her. And she already was until she found you."

"Let's hope The Fates come too so I can thank them."

Elaine chuckled. "Oh, knowing them, they are probably soon going to arrive. They love adventures of epic proportions."

Amra thanked Elaine for her words, and went back to his room. When he entered he stopped, he took a deep breath and sensed something was different. He could smell something was inside the room that wasn't before. He rushed to the room and stood shocked at the sight; Caliope was resting naked on the bed laying sideways, her lower arm stretched above her head with her fingertips reaching the head of the bed and there, her thorn ivies were growing around. This didn't surprise him as much as her body did; she was covered of something resembling liquid latex, it moved slowly around her and covered her from the ankles to her shoulders. He started approaching her slowly; he wasn't scared, he knew whatever was covering was from her own creation as well as the thorn ivies were, she mentioned this similar fabric from her mind. But he was still worried.

When he reached her side, he knelt and approached her shoulder. As his hand came closer, the liquid fabric retracted to let him touch her. He took a deep breath, it recognized him and allowed him to be close, which was good. He started to shake her gently. "Love... please wake up."

She was in deep sleep, his words not reaching her yet. He shook her again a little more firmly, and noticed the ivies slowly drying and falling. She made some noises, slowly waking up. "My love, I need you to be awake... please... listen to my words... come to me." He begged to her. She yawned and opened her eyes half way, smiling.

"I was having some lovely dreams... why did you had to wake me up?" She asked as her eyes closed again. He looked at her body and saw the liquid blackness retract and crawl on her skin, heading to her back, where they sunk in her skin and became part of her. He shook her again in silence, and she opened her eyes a bit worried on his reaction. She followed his gaze and gasped, giving a jump. Just as she did, the last of the fabric was absorbed inside of her. "What was that?! It's inside of me!"

"Calm down, love." He asked her as his arms wrapped on her trembling body. "I think it is part of you, and not a bad part either. The darkness remember? You mentioned that darkness inside you that reacted to you."

"It... it came out of me? How?" She asked still shaken. He lifted her in his arms and took her to the bathroom; a large bathtub was warm and bubbly waiting for them. He shook his shoes off and walked inside with her in his arms, she yelped and giggled "What are you doing?! You still have your clothes on!" But he chuckled and kissed her as both became surrounded with the comfort of the bath.

"I am not letting this worry me. Soon more of our kind will be here and together we will figure out your mysteries, love. I was worried and scared for you when I saw you... but it moved away from you allowing my hand to touch you, which is how I knew it was safe. If it lets me reach to you and comes from you, it must be good."

She blushed and held him tighter to her. "How can you make a scary situation like that go away so easily?" She chuckled.

"I almost go out of my mind at first. But it was part of you, and whatever comes from you should be embraced."

She sighed and leaned to his lips, kissing him lovingly. He tensed his arms around her and she deepened her kiss. It had been too long since they were both together intimately; perhaps only a couple of days, but for her, that was more than she would have wanted. Her lips locked around his, and she felt some hesitation from him. She didn't let go, she wanted him then and there. Her hands moved slowly, undoing his shirt with one, as the other caressed his stomach as it reached lower. He pressed her tighter to him, his fingers tense but clawing at her back pulling her more. He moaned when she started kissing his neck and felt his pants being pulled down. A low growl escaped his lips and he tore the rest of his clothes out of frustration, pulling her head up to kiss her hungrily. She giggled trapped in his arms and kissed him back with passion. She had won.