"Sunny!" yelled a voice.

  Sunny turned to see her Chao running to her, his eyes red from tears and smoke. Despite her ankle still healing, she sprinted out to Chao.

  Chao nearly squeezed the life out of his baby sister, "Are you okay? The fire just kept getting bigger and bigger, and you didn't come back and I thought–"

  "Chao! Chao, I'm fine," assured Sunny. "Phoenix and his brothers saved me from the fire."

  "He did?"

  "I said you misjudged him. He even sacrificed his home to keep all of us safe."

  "He did?"

  "He even reset my ankle after I dislocated it!"

  "He did– wait, you did what!?"

  "The point is I'm alive! They're the reason why, so don't you think you should say something to them?"

  "Ngghhh..."

  "Chao..."

  "Ngggghhhhhhfrgmjagsifr."

  "Chao!"

  "Alright! Alright! I was wrong! I know how I can make it up to him though," Chao walked toward Phoenix as the remains of a bookshelf toppled over. The older boy tapped the youngest triplet on his shoulder and gave a small wave.

  "Uhhh, hi?" said Chao.

  Phoenix jumped back as Koma and Neko guarded him with synchronizing growls.

  "Wait! Wait!" yelled Chao.

  Phoenix knelt, he held the cubs back as the teenager approached.

  "Uhhhh, thanks... for saving my little sister," said Chao. "I guess you're not a bad guy after all."

  Phoenix cautiously took his hand, allowing himself to be helped up.

  "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot, but if you uh, need a place to stay until you can uh, rebuild, you're more than welcome to stay with us."

  Phoenix lit up for a second but shook his head, "I don't want to intrude."

  "It's the least I could do."

  Phoenix looked at Zappary, then back at Chao, "Alright."

  "Great! We'll go get the spare room ready for you. Starting tomorrow, we'll even help you with whatever you need to rebuild your cottage."

  Phoenix smiled weakly, "You don't have to do that."

  "Oh no we insist! In this village, we treat each other like family."

  Phoenix nodded, "Yeah...family."

  The younger triplets were taken to Sunny's home on the edge of the village, an impressive house twice the size of Phoenix's cottage. The first thing the brothers noticed was that the floors were covered in plush carpet, extending throughout the hallways and into every room. The sofa was large, and the tables looked too good to put anything on.

  "Welcome to our home." greeted Chao.

  "Thank you so much," said Phoenix as the cubs rushed past him to sit on the sofa.

  "Woah," exclaimed Zappary. "I dunno what we would have done without your help, well, to be fair, we probably would've just slept in the woods, then again I don't know how comfortable it would be what with the cracked ground and all the ash, I doubt it would've been pleasant–"

  "Zap," interrupted Phoenix. "They get it."

  "Don't mention it." said Chao. "Bathroom is down the hall to the left, go get cleaned up and I'll get started on dinner."

  As the brothers got cleaned up, Sunny left them pairs of Chao's pajamas. The sleeves had to be rolled up, but even then, they were still baggy.

  Chao cooked a big dinner that evening, but Phoenix and Zappary could only bring themselves to eat a few bites at first. Even when Sunny assured them it was okay, the brothers snuck most of their food to Neko and Koma.

  "I can do the dishes," Phoenix helped gather everyone's plates.

  "I'll help you," said Chao. "Sunny, can you fix their bed for the night?"

  "Yeah, sure!" Sunny stood.

  "Huh, what's going on?" said Zappary. "Everyone's turning away, I can't hear them right!"

  Sunny grabbed Zappary's head, "We're fixing the beds, come help me."

  "See this?" Zappary pointed to Sunny's head, "This is preferable to the lip reading."

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  Phoenix scrubbed each plate as Neko and Koma sat patiently at his feet. Chao dried every dish and put them away, glancing at the wary cubs.

  "I know what you are." said Chao.

  "What?" said Phoenix.

  "You're magic."

  "How did you–?"

  "Your brother told me."

  "We'll leave in the morning, then. We don't want to cause any trouble."

  "Did I ask you to leave?"

  "..."

  "Look... when Sunny was born, she was born way too early. She was so small... My hands were half this size, and I could still hold her in one. My parents brought a healer, but it turned out she was just some conwoman looking to make a quick buck. I wanted to do something for Sunny, but all I could do was hold her. I guess that was just what she needed because she got better after that. Ever since then, I just thought that magic... real or not... just brings trouble.

  "I know how that feels. I don't even wanna be magic."

  "Really?"

  "No, and I agree with you. It just brings trouble. Why do you think I've lived by myself all this time?"

  "By yourself?"

  "Well, until I found these two," he picked up the cubs who were still mean-mugging Chao.

  "I'd pet them, but they seem like they'd bite my fingers off."

  "Don't worry, they'll warm up to you eventually. They warmed up to Sunny right away."

  "Speaking of which... Could you do me a favor?"

  "What?"

  "Tell Sunny the truth. If you really care about her, she has a right to know."

  "...She does."

  "Not tonight, I think enough has happened for one day. I'm gonna turn in, you should too."

  "Thank you. So... we good?"

  "Yeah."

  Phoenix could barely get any sleep that night, and not just because Zappary snored louder than the cubs. He stared out the window, hoping the stars would give him some relief, however, the smoke made it more blurry than usual.

  "Hi."

  Phoenix knew the voice, "Sunny."

  Sunny walked over to him. "How are you feeling?"

  Phoenix looked at her and shrugged.

  Sunny briefly put her hand on his shoulder and took a seat across from him on the windowsill. "I know it looks tough," she says. "But we're going to help you fix everything."

  "I appreciate it, but it's all my fault."

  Sunny shook her head. "It's not your fault."

  Phoenix managed a small smile, but it quickly faded. "I think I might have been too harsh on Shadow, I should go look for him tomorrow."

  Sunny looked down, "Phoenix... what caused the fire?"

  Phoenix hesitated, "A stray ember."

  Sunny's face fell. "Shadow mentioned there's more about you than you let off, what did he mean by that?"

  Phoenix looked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching them as he considered how to answer. "Sunny, what do you think of me?"

  Sunny placed a pondering finger on her chin before answering, "I think you're quiet because you get nervous around new people. I think you're kind because you want people to be kind back. I think you get mad at your brothers because you love them so much. And... I think you're special."

  Phoenix raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

  Sunny began playing with her hair, "I don't know."

  Finally, he sighed. "Well, I am different, but not for the reason you think." Despite his better judgment, he allowed a spark to ignite in his palm. The flames grew, twisting and dancing in the air. "Sunny, I'm an Elemental."

  Sunny's eyes widened as she stared at the flames. "An Elemental? You mean like in the stories?"

  Phoenix nodded slowly. "Yes, and normally we're supposed to have one power, but..." On the other hand, he created a floating snowflake.

  Sunny stared at Phoenix, trying to wrap her head around the revelation. "But how... how is any of this even possible?"

  "Magic," he joked as he let the ice melt, and the flame die. Zappary's the Lightning Elemental, and Shadow's the Moon Elemental... Four years ago, our parents were killed. Since then, it's just been one incident after another. It's why I freaked out when Chao touched my shoulder, why my eyes are terrible..." He pointed to his braced ankle with his braced hand. "It's why I have these stupid things on me because I can't even take them off. I've never known normal, I've only known how to hide myself. I guess that's why I wanted to be your friend, because you're normal. I've spent the last few weeks worrying about what would happen if you knew, but I want you to know. I want to keep being friends with you, friends don't lie to each other, and I don't ever plan on lying to you."

  She looked at Phoenix's eyes again, the one thing that replayed in her mind constantly. At last she knew why they were so captivating. She placed her hands in Phoenix's, one was warm, the other was cold.

  "You'll really be honest with me?"

  "Yes."

  "Then I will always be your friend."

  "You're not scared?"

  Sunny shook her head, "No. Magic or not, it's still you,"

  They kept talking as stars finally started to show through the night sky. That same night sky did not feel the same to Shadow. He was walking through the forest, returning to what was left of Phoenix's cottage one last time. The only thing still barely intact was Phoenix's desk. Shadow attempted to open the drawers, but they turned to dust with the tiniest touch. The bottom one, however, stayed intact enough to pull out. The only thing that dropped out was a pocket-sized leather book with burnt edges. Shadow picked it up and flipped through it. It was a sketchbook, Phoenix's sketchbook. It looked fairly new as there was only one drawing on the first page, and it was of three boys.

  "What have I done?" he said as he pinched his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying.

  Shadow took the sketchbook and glanced at his anklet with a shuddering breath. He inhaled, then exhaled again, his breaths quickened until he could let out a scream. He collapsed to the ground, coughing, his throat burning as if it were bleeding. Shadow stood up as the wind surged stronger than before.

  "Ugh, just what I need," thought Shadow as he gagged from inhaling ash. He tried breathing in again, but the winds were throwing more debris in his face. He could barely take two steps forward as the ashes swirled around him, surrounding him in a black gale.

  It got dark.

  It became cold, but Shadow could breathe again. He opened his eyes to nothing, his ears heard nothing, and his feet floated in the space.

  A deep seductive voice filled the void, "When there was nothing, we gave you everything. When we gave you everything, you wanted more. When you didn't receive more, you destroyed what we already gave. That is all you humans know. You as an Elemental are human. Your desire to be correct pushed away all who cared for you, and where did that leave you? Alone. You want safety, I can give you that and more." The voice dripped with honeyed words. "Swear loyalty to me, and you will worry no more about suffering. No more struggling to survive in a world that is indifferent to your existence." The voice rose to a crescendo, and Shadow could feel his will weakening under the weight of the words. "Be one with me, and together we can reshape this world."

  Shadow became doused in a cold sweat, "No." He could not move. As the Moon Elemental stood resolute in his decision, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if an icy hand had gripped his heart.

  "Unfortunately, you had no choice," the voice echoed in his mind.

  It was as if his entire being was being ripped apart at the seams. Shadow could feel himself being overwhelmed by a sense of malevolence. The darkness coalesced around the poor boy, twisting and contorting his body. He felt his limbs becoming numb, as if they no longer belonged to him. The pain in his chest intensified, as if a fiery brand was being seared into his heart. His mind was invaded by a foreign force, and he could feel his thoughts and emotions being drowned out by ungodly voices. Then he felt nothing.

  It stumbled for a while, trying to get used to a new host. It arrived at the river, blackened by the ash but still reflecting like a mirror.

  It stared at itself, reveling in newfound control. Gazing upon the young body like a child receiving a new toy. "You are mine now."