Vai

Other Vai took off his okulus from his head and reshaped it to fit around his wrist. He swung his legs off the bed.

"Sir, are you hungry?" Warpaint asked. "I can get you anything from the food dispenser."

"I'm not hungry. I hope Lieutenant Tanpo is there to train today." Other Vai walked into the living quarters. Warpaint followed. I went with both of them though neither of them knew it. "When it's just my friends, the number comes out uneven to pair off when we spar."

"She is not listed to be on duty at the moment," Warpaint said hopefully. "There is a good possibility she will be there today."

We stepped into the corridor and made our way to the elevator. When we stepped off at level 7, Hani and Nathan approached the elevators.

"Hello, Vai," Hani said.

"Hi," Other Vai said.

"We're just going up to the Starrise to see Spencer and to get something to eat. Do you want to come with us?" There was a lilt to Hani's voice at this last part.

"No," Other Vai said, "I'm meeting Owen and the others. Maybe next time."

He said the words because he knew that was what he - or rather I - would have said in the past. He knew he was supposed to feel something, but he didn't. He knew there was something wrong with him, but he wouldn't voice it to anyone. He didn't want anyone to know.

"Next time then," Nathan said when Hani didn't immediately answer. Nathan put his hand on Hani's back and urged her passed us to the elevators.

Warpaint and Other Vai continued forward. I came out of Warpaint to hover behind.

Sorry Other Vai is a jerk, Hani. Well, I probably would have said the same thing, but at least I would have felt something.

They got on the elevator and it lifted away. I let myself be snapped back into Warpaint.

Other Vai knocked on Shel's door. Esther opened it almost immediately. She poked her head around Other Vai and Warpaint before she stepped aside to let them in. "Where's Owen?" she asked.

"Don't know," Other Vai said. He completely forgot to feign interest. Shel and Minmin stood in the living quarters. The furniture had already been pushed out of the way. They exchanged a knowing glance with Esther at Other Vai's hollow words. All three of them looked at Warpaint's head and I knew my friends were looking for me.

I'm here. I knew they couldn't hear me - not unless they used their light to come out of their bodies, but I said the words anyway.

"Should we wait for him?" Minmin asked.

"No," Other Vai said. His fists clenched and unclenched by his side. "Let's spar."

"Maybe we should practice meditating on our light again," Shel said. "Maybe you'll have more luck this time rediscovering your light." He looked at Warpaint's head again.

Yes. I need to speak with you. He - I pointed at Other Vai - killed another innocent today. We have to stop him.

"No," Other Vai said. "My light is gone."

It's not yours. It's mine and it's not gone.

"I'd rather spar so I can defend myself if I get attacked again. I know I can't defend against the Corruption, but I have Warpaint and his Aether shield."

"Yes, sir. My Aether shield is very powerful. I won't be surprised again. I'll keep you safe no matter what."

I'm the one who needs to be kept safe. You should help me kill Other Vai.

Except Warpaint would never be able to hear me in this form. If my friends tried to kill Other Vai, he would try to stop them. Did that mean we needed to find someway to kill Warpaint?

The thought was repulsive. I resented his presence when my father first brought him home to guard me, but he had been by my side 24/7 for so long now, I didn't want him gone. There had to be another way. Maybe something to stun him like what Alessandra had tried to use on him. Once I was back and alive in my body - Was it my body? I had never actually been in this one. Other Vai was incomplete and this body had always been meant for me. Other Vai only existed because the Laumalie preserver had failed for whatever reason. So it was my body.

Once I was back and alive in my body, I would explain everything to Warpaint. I was the first Vai he was supposed to protect.

Other Vai paired off with Shel. Minmin and Esther paired off.

"Don't go easy on me because you know I don't have the light," Other Vai said.

"Don't worry," Shel said easily, "I won't." He was suddenly low to the ground and swiped Other Vai's legs out from underneath him.

I settled over Other Vai. I didn't try to fight for control of the body. He never knew I was there. I just wanted to see Shel as if I was the one sparring with him. I mimicked Other Vai's moves with my spirit self. Sometimes I came up with my own moves enhanced by my light to combat Shel's moves.

Shel didn't hold back. Other Vai had all my memories as a boxer and my training before I died. He did okay against Shel. Against someone other than my friends who trained daily to fight the Corruption - Other Vai might have won easily. But he wasn't up against anyone else. He fell multiple times before Shel and instead of taking it as a learning experience as I was, he began to resent my friend.

The door opened. El and Lieutenant Tanpo entered with Owen sandwiched between them. Esther immediately stopped fighting and rushed towards them.

"Owen, you are here finally. Where have you been?"

Owen gave her a pained smile. He was unusually pale. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. His blond hair was messy.

Shel and Minmin stopped to watch. Other Vai didn't. He tried to punch Shel, but Shel easily dodged enhancing his speed with his purple light.

"Later, friend," Shel said. He stepped away from Other Vai so that Other Vai couldn't continue sparring unless he decided to hit Shel in the back. He contemplated it.

No.

He remained still.

"Friend?" Minmin said. "Picking up some things from Owen?"

"I guess so," Shel said as he stood by her side.

"Is something wrong?" Esther asked.

I looked with my green light. Owen was bleeding. A cloak had been draped over his arm and he used it in such a way as to hide his wound and the blood. There was a wide gash in his side. Blood still leaked out. He was weak from blood loss, but his head also had a huge bump on the back of it that he hadn't realized yet. Lieutenant Tanpo and El tried to hide the gash from the others as they rushed him towards the bathroom.

"He's fine," El said in that way that meant no one should argue with her or ask questions.

He clearly wasn't fine and everyone in that room knew it.

I drifted out of Warpaint. I drew near Owen. Much like what happened with Other Vai - I could see Owen's internal workings when I called on my light. I sent my green light over his gash. I mended the blood vessels, the muscle and tissue, the skin. The blood stopped flowing, the gash closed over, the bump on his head retreated.

"Vai?" Owen gasped.

"What?" Other Vai said. But I knew Owen spoke to me. His blue eyes drifted to Warpaint's head.

I'm here.

"Vai," Owen said again, but this time it wasn't a question. He knew his best friend was by his side.

"What is it?" Other Vai said.

"You were late for class this morning," Owen said as he finally turned to Other Vai.

"And you were late for sparring," Other Vai said easily.

Owen dropped the cloak to the floor. Esther gasped when she saw the blood on his shirt.

"I'm okay," Owen said. "It looks worse than it is."

Because I healed it. I like my light now. Why did the Awakened One say the other Awakened Ones would have killed me? Wouldn't they have wanted to be healed? I can't really attack so maybe they thought it was a weakness. And I said all of this and none of you can hear me.

"What happened to you?" Esther reached out her long fingers to touch the blood, but stopped herself right before her fingers touched his shirt.

"I had him kill one with the Corruption," El said. "And he did it marvelously."

"You killed him?" Esther asked. There was an emotion to her voice I couldn't quite identify, maybe a mix of sorrow and disappointment. I didn't understand. She was the one who brought all of us into this. She was the one who told us they couldn't be spared.

"I didn't want to," Owen said quietly. "But I had to." His blue eyes looked sharply into Esther's honey colored eyes. "We have to don't we? There isn't any other choice?" I could hear it in his tone. He wanted there to be another way. Out of all of us, his heart was the most conflicted.

Esther put a hand on top of his disheveled his hair. "There is no other choice. You did well."

"Let's take a look at your wound and then you can come out and talk some more," El said. She and Lieutenant Tanpo guided Owen into the bathroom. They shut the door behind them. I drifted through the bathroom door.

El lifted Owen's shirt. Her eyes opened in surprise. "I thought you were stabbed. Where did all this blood come from?"

"I was stabbed. It is my blood." Owen looked down at his side. There wasn't even a scar. A small smile touched his pink lips. "Vai healed me. The real Vai. The spirit Vai that still has his light."

Lieutenant Tanpo smiled. "Vai finally discovered his power."

"We must thank him," El said.

"Is he okay?" Esther said from the other side of the door.

"He's okay," El called back to her. She put Owen's shirt back down over his stomach. "Let's go out."

Owen nodded.

"We're not done training," she said to everyone once they stepped outside. "It's time to work on training our light. Let's meditate and use our light to lift outside of our bodies."

Other Vai rolled his eyes. "It's been fun, but it's time for me to leave. I'll talk to you later."

He hardly waited for their goodbyes before he left. Warpaint with him. I stayed in the room as the others lifted outside of their bodies and saw me.

Owen's spirit self rushed me and hugged me. It was a strange sensation as it wasn't warm, it wasn't flesh, it wasn't substantial, but it was real.

"How long have you known what you can do?"

Not long.

"What can he do?" Esther asked.

"He healed me," Owen said. "I had a big gash in my side. I was bleeding, but he healed me."

I interrupted them as the others began to comment and congratulate me on finding my power.

Other Vai killed another innocent K'thaktra. The pull to Warpaint began to grow stronger as they got further away. I wouldn't be able to stay long.

"That's why he was late to school?" Owen asked incredulously.

I nodded. I began to drift backwards to follow Warpaint, but still speak with the others while I could. They followed me out into the corridor

I think you need to kill Other Vai.

"But," Owen started, but I didn't let him finish.

You need to kill Other Vai. I can inhabit that body once he is gone, but not while his essence is still there. Please, I know it's hard, I know it's weird, but you need to figure out how to hold Warpaint long enough to kill Other Vai.