9: Down Time

With two new allies joining her, Ace flies to Italy, but not before laying down more exposition.

The three made it to the coast where the jet was parked.  Ace was underwhelmed by it- what she wanted was some massive, elaborate plane made specifically for her, what she got was a small black jet that could barely seat ten.  The pilot was asleep on the steps into the jet, presumably waiting there for a week.  Ace kicked his foot to wake him up.

“Who sent you?” He said, half asleep still.

“Abigail.” Ace replied.

“I know a lot of Abigails.”

“The notgirl one.” Ace enunciated.  The pilot nodded and let her on, but stopped Alex and Otto.

“Whoa, who’re they?  I was told one person was going.”

“Friends of mine, they’re cool.”

The pilot was a little hesitant but eventually waved them on.  Ace went inside but Alex stopped at the stairs.  She was strangely nervous about it.  Otto just held her arm to comfort her.

“What’s the hold up?  We need to get going.” Ace called back when she noticed no one followed her.

“I um…I just need a minute.”  Alex said, sounding a little afraid.

“What, you’re afraid of planes?”

“Maybe….just…just give me a moment, ok?”

“Oh come on, I told you before we were going on a private jet and you seemed cool with it.”

“I know what I said before but that doesn’t change how I feel now, so give me a minute!” Alex snapped back, more frightened than annoyed.  Otto walked up and pulled Ace away to talk to her.

“Look, Alex doesn’t do well with planes or boats.  It’s part of her power.”  He said.

“That makes no sense.  Explain.” Ace encouraged, crossing her arms.

“Well, Alex has control over the earth, right?  Well to better control it she needs to have a sense of balance between herself and the sheer weight of the earth she’s picking up and using most of the time, which leads to her…well, that’s why she’s so big.  It’s so she can use her powers better.” Otto explained, dreading the next part.  Ace shrugged.

“And?”

“Well, the farther away from the earth she is the less power she can get from it.  And because of her size she’s gotten to a point where….well…she’s just….um…where she can’t….move…without her powers.” Otto tried to say as delicately as possible.  Ace stared at him for a minute before she got it.  Then she burst out laughing.

“Oh my god, are you telling me she’s too fat to move without her powers?” She yelled out, laughing the entire time. “That’s got to be the saddest weakness I can think of!  What, does she just avoid all boats and all planes?  Is she afraid of water too?  If I splash her will she panic? I’ve never heard of anything so stupid- she’s crippled without the earth beneath her.  If I had known that I would’ve challenged her to a boat race and laughed my a*s off as she struggled to roll over!  I’m betting she can’t swim either?  The one manatee I meet and she sinks like a rock!”

Otto smacked his forehead.  Alex overheard them.  It broke her heart but she tried to remain strong.  It’s a secret she hates having to admit, mainly because people always react the same way Ace did.  Thankfully Ace realized how thoughtless she had just been apologized to Alex before turning back to Otto.

“Why didn’t she say anything before when I mentioned it?  I mean, I had no clue.”

“She likes you that much, I guess.  Through thick or thin she wanted to be there for you.  I have no idea why though.  Personally, I had hoped the jet crashed and took you with it, but now that we’re here let’s hope we have a safe trip.”  Otto patted Ace’s back and walked over to Alex to comfort her again.  Ace looked at them and down at the ground before she got an idea.

“Hey, so you just need some earth to keep your powers right?” She called back.

“It’s dependant on how much earth she has.  The less there is the weaker she gets.” Otto called back.  Alex gave him a mean look.

“But like, if she had some earth she could at least move?”

Otto looked to Alex, who nodded.  The two turned back to the jet while Ace picked up a large rock and looked at it.  In terms of rocks, it was the most uninteresting, blandest boulder anyone could think of.  It was a goddam rock.

“Hey Alex.” She called. When Alex turned around Ace tossed the rock to her.  Alex caught it without a second thought.

“In case you get home sick.” Ace said, winking.  She worked her way onto the jet while Alex looked at the stone and smiled.  She crushed the rock and turned the sand into two bracelets made from stone to put around her wrists, then thinking it all the way through pulled up some earth to put around her ankles.  To top it off she created a jewel necklace from gems pulled straight out of the ground. To anyone else it would just look like beautiful Native American jewelry.  With that, Alex took a deep breath and worked her way onto the jet.

When they got inside they saw how quaint the jet was.  There was much legroom for all of them, and seats wide enough for even Alex’s size.  Each chair had a tv screen and a dvd player in the back of it along with trays that folded out of the arm rests.  Ace chucked her backpack into an empty seat and flopped down near a window.  Alex and Otto did the same, but not as casually.  The pilot called back to them.

“Alright, I’ve been told to go to the Vatican.  It’s not in a normal airport, so if you have people waiting for you they’re not going to see you.  Belt up, don’t get out of the chair, and don't do whatever until I say so, otherwise the bathroom’s up here.  Got it?” He said bluntly.

“Now I see why we normally have attendants to tell us these things.” Ace mumbled.

“I’m a pilot, not an entertainer.  Anyway, are we good to go?”

Everyone nodded, so the pilot did the same and went back into the cockpit to start the plane up.  Alex was breathing heavily while Otto tried to calm her by holding her arm and whispering in her ear.  Ace rolled her eyes and leaned back.

“And no reclining until we’re in the air!” The pilot called back.  He had a mirror so he could see behind him.  Ace promptly sat back up and crossed her arms in frustration.  As the jet took off Alex clutched the seat with enough force to crush the armrests, but as they got higher into the air she felt herself losing strength.  Finally the jet leveled off and Alex let loose a sigh of relief. 

“Ok, now you can relax.  DVD players and TV if you want, but no food.  Sorry.” The pilot called back.  Ace finally laid back and stretched out.

“Damn, and I was getting hungry too.” She said as nonchalant as possible.

“No worries, I figured this would happen.” Otto said as he rummaged through his backpack.  He threw Ace a bag of chips and a still-cold soda.  Ace tore the bag open and chomped down on the contents.  As she was drinking her root beer she nearly spat it back up when she saw Alex with a plate of pasta and wine.

“What the hell, I get a bag of Doritos and she gets a whole meal?” Ace shouted.

“I know it’s a shock, but I kinda prefer my girlfriend to you.  Crazy, right?” Otto said sarcastically.

“If you want some, I’m happy to share.  I’m not feeling too good anyway.” Alex mentioned. 

“No, no, enjoy your full dinner plate.  You’re a growing girl, after all.” Ace grumbled.

“She is.  Gotta keep her strength up.” Otto chimed in, taking a few bites of the meal. “You know, considering how nuts you are I’d expect you’d have one hell of a metabolism too.” He mentioned with food still in his mouth.

Ace shrugged. “I don’t get hungry all that often.  It’s a shame, I always wanted to stuff down a massive meal just to mess with people, but growing up I could barely hold down anything more than a fistful of food.  I’m sure Alex doesn’t have that problem though.”

The insult was missed on Alex as she giggled and nodded.  Otto ignored it. “Yeah, I know how you feel.  I know I’m not some freak like you two, but I feel like a p***y because I can't put away this massive amount of food.  You see some guys who can whorf down like five hotdogs or more and still demand more, I can’t do that.”

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who does that anyway.  It’s gross.”

“He doesn’t.  People say we’re perfect because I eat all his meals.” Alex said. “Although he never ate that much, even when I first met him.”

“About that…how did you two meet anyway?” Ace asked, sincerely curious. “You two don’t seem like people who’d get along.”

“Well, I could say the same for you and me.  I mean you did say some pretty harsh stuff about us, to our face no less.”

“I’m still pissed at that short comment by the way.” Otto chimed in. “And that stuff right outside the plane no more than a half hour ago?  Yeah, class act.”  Alex patted him and continued.

“We met in college.  I was spending my lunch time alone at a table, like always, when one day he came and sat by me.  At first I thought he was cocky.  He kept talking about how great he is.”

“I’m glad to see he’s changed so much since then.” Ace snarked before taking a sip of soda.  Alex just giggled.

“I’ll admit I didn’t like him too much at first, but he was the first person to talk to me other than trying to get help on homework or working with me on a project.  He was naturally interested.  I never had that before.  Anyway, after a while he admitted to finding me attractive, which was a huge surprise to me because no one had ever hinted at it.  Hell, I didn’t think about it all that much.”

“I know it’s out of character, but I have to say you do have a nice face.” Ace said quietly.  She kept staring at her soda.

“Thank you.  Eventually he asked me out and from there we were inseparable.  He’d come to me with help on his homework- poor guy was so terrible at pretty much every subject you can imagine.”

“Hey don’t tell her that!” Otto said punching Alex’s arm.

“So after you graduated you moved up to Maine with him?  Romantic.” Ace finished.  She closed her eyes to go to sleep when Alex caught her attention:

“Ok, you’re turn.”

Ace opened one eye and looked at her. “My turn for what?”

“We told our backstory, now you tell yours.”

“What’s there to tell?  I’m an orphan, grew up in Ohio, going to school currently, government wants me either dead or to be made into a weapon, Jesus himself wants to find me, Satan and the armies of Hell want me dead.  I’m about as normal as you get.”

“You’re not getting off that easy.  How did your parents first meet you?  Did you have siblings?  Boyfriend?  Details, girl!” Alex began to jokingly pelt Ace with pieces of her bracelet before pulling them back.  Ace caved.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh, “My dad adopted me when I was five.  He’s gay, so I don’t have a mom, but he always wanted to have a daughter.  He thought he could relate to them, but I guess I turned out to be different.  He’s a great guy and I love him, but I feel like I’m just not what he wanted.”

“Was it because you’re the opposite of feminine or because you’re a psychotic munchkin with a major Christian deity stuffed inside you?” Otto snarked.  Alex hit him in the back of the head.

“I don’t know.  I figured he just wanted a normal girl, and he got me.  I guess when I was five I was normal, but after that…after I found out who I was….I don’t know…” Ace trailed off.  She was feeling a little homesick and wishing she had spent more time with her father.  If she ever got the chance when she was on the ground, she’d try and call him, just to check up.

“So, only child?  Got a special someone?” Alex continued.

“No.  No one.  All alone, really.  I didn’t bother making friends, and I doubt there’s anyone at my college I could connect with romantically.  Hell, I barely go to school as it is.  I might as well drop out.”

Alex choked on her food.

“The hell you will!” She yelled between coughs. “I’ve got an idea.  You come live with us and go to school in Maine.  We’ll get you transferred.  Otto works at the local college, he can put in a good word, won’t you dear?” She poked Otto’s side.

“No!  I mean maybe.  Yeah sure, I’ll see what I can do.” He said, strangely not intimidated by the incredibly strong woman sitting next to him.

“Wait, why do you work at all?  Doesn’t Alex get massive funding?” Ace pointed out.

“It’s not that massive.  Plus, unlike some people,” Otto said giving Alex a look, who just stuck her tongue out lovingly again, “I prefer to earn my money the old fashion way.  I took a week off from work for this, so we damn well better see Jesus, or I wasted my vacation time for nothing.”

The flight continued on for hours.  Ace figured she’d spend the time watching television or sleeping but ended up even moving to the other side to talk more with Alex and Otto.  It turns out the three had a lot in common.  Alex was always a gamer girl like Ace and even loved the same types of games and movies.  Otto preferred Japanese cartoons to video games but still played them, with the trade off being Alex watched his shows with him.  Their taste in music differed, but not greatly.

Around the last third of the flight, the three had shared countless stories and gotten to know each other fairly well.  There was a bit of turbulence that interrupted their stories, however.

“Sorry, guys,” the pilot called back, “Looks like we’re hitting some rough air.  Just hang tight and we’ll-” He couldn’t finish.  To finish would require he still had a voice box to articulate the sounds into words.  Unfortunately for the pilot a large shard of glass had been wedged into his throat from the explosion that took out most of the cockpit, killing him in the process.

All three of them screamed as the plane began to lose altitude.  Alex began to hyperventilate.

“Ace, do something! She’s going to freak!” Otto yelled out.  Moments later he followed up with a less than enthusiastic “Oh, and the plane’s crashing.”

“No worries, I’ll ace this!” Ace called as she donned her goggles and jumped through the hole the explosion made. 

“No matter how many times you say that it’s not a catch phrase!” Otto yelled out to her as she vanished through the smoke.  Pressure in the jet was all but gone so the fire had been smothered.  When Ace flew outside the jet raced past her at near mach 1.  Ace dashed through the sky and caught up to the jet, grabbing it from underneath.  Once she had a good grip she forced it to slow down before pulling it to the ground.  At first this seemed easy enough, but from seemingly nowhere black swirls exploded all around Ace and tore at the jet’s body.  One spiral impaled the wings, another slashed at the body.  Inside Otto and Alex were panicking.  Otto attempted to do everything he could to protect his girlfriend, who because of her condition could only move slowly.  Ace didn’t know what to do- if she dropped the jet to fight off the mysterious black swirls the jet would crash, but if she continued to drop the jet down slowly the swirls would surely tear the plane apart!  She didn’t have to choose however- the swirls did.

A massive whip-shaped shadow sliced at Ace and grappled her.  It pulled her down with shocking force.  She tried to get free but it was futile.  She looked up and noticed more tentacles grabbed the plane and pulled it down along with her.  She was falling so quickly she couldn’t focus.  Then suddenly everything went black.

Author's Note

This whole chapter's a giant bag of awkwardly written. I can't figure out how to make it sound less....stupid without canning the whole thing, and I can't do that because I need a transition chapter between Ace getting mauled by an incredibly overweight woman and becoming her friend, to dying and going to Hell.


Oh, did I just write that? Spoilers.

Reviews

[Tai Ryens]

Stupid? No, this was by far a great chapter. You go in-depth with the characters, and it's more of a filler chapter than an action one. In my opinion, you should have cut off the chapter where he got cut by glass and proceeded to add the others to the next one. Anyways, wonderful job, keep it up!