Backup

Earth looked at both sides of the tag before tossing it back to Mevis. He put his hands up as Mevis glared at him with a mix of fear and hatred. He waved her off, laughing, "I'm not the type to just steal things. I have morals and rules to follow!"

"C'mon, it's all I want," Earth insisted.

Mevis backed away.

"I'll scream if you get closer!" Mevis warned.

"And you will you alert by doing that?" Earth asked. "Fire's supposed to protect you, but from what I can see, Space is currently distracting him."

Earth hovered ever so closer.

"I'm telling you, I'll scream!" Mevis warned again.

Earth folded his arms as a few thoughts ran through his head. He scratched his head before sighing. He asked her, "Do you know what will happen to you if you refuse my offer?"

"Are you threatening me?"

Earth put his hands in front of him. "What? No!"

"No, I'm not threatening you," Earth insisted. "Just... putting things in perspective. Because if that tag of yours gets destroyed, you get eliminated from this competition, which means that you'll be safe. Plus, you get a wish granted by me. Doesn't that sound amazing? Now, if you don't let me break the tag, you might end up dead. Killed by the other Elementals. And you know what the reward is for winning all of this?"

Mevis stayed quiet.

"Becoming an Elemental," Earth stated. "This whole competition is to become an Elemental. To become something that lab that you were in wanted to turn you into. Besides, do you have any idea how frustrating being immortal can be?"

Earth pointed at his face. "I don't eat. When I do, I get this guttural feeling to vomit and puke out whatever I consume. I don't know what food tastes like. I see everything that happens on this planet, so much information floods my brain day by day. So many things that sometimes..."

He had a crazy gleam in his eyes. "Sometimes I feel like ending all of humanity."

He threw his hands up in the air. "I've lived for so long, seen so many things. Don't think that being an Elemental means that you absolutely can't die either. 'Cause there are a couple of dead Elementals as well."

Earth paused for a moment. "Right... You're the one being protected by Fire, why would you care about dead Elementals?"

He chuckled before asking, "So, willing to make a wish now?"

"I won't be safe," Mevis stated. "Not while I'm being hunted."

"I can change that," He promised. "Just wish to be safe forever and I'll make sure it happens."

Mevis thought hard about it. She stared at the tag. It had her name on it and below it was something written down. It was faded and almost impossible to read. She turned back to look at the confident Earth before shaking her head. "No, I'm not giving this to you. I don't care what kind of wish you can grant."

Earth's eyes widened with shock. He floated towards Mevis for a brief moment.

Mevis inhaled sharply and with all her might, screamed as loud as she could.

Earth covered his ears. When Mevis was done, her throat was in pain. Earth looked around, seeing nothing happening. He wiped his forehead, letting out a sigh of relief. He then froze. "Oh no... you've got to be kidding me!"

Mevis picked her bag up.

The wind in the room picked up. Earth held onto his hat. The wind to his side hit him with enough force to send him crashing into the wall, cracking the wall. Mevis hugged her bag and tag as the wind started picking up. Earth scowled.

Mevis looked up when the wind stopped. The room was in a mess. The bedsheet was ripped, the shelf was toppled and the pillows were on the ground. Standing between Mevis and Earth, was a woman. She had long black hair tied into a long ponytail. On her back, sheltering Mevis, were a pair of white feathery wings. The woman turned back to face Mevis. She smiled momentarily, her eyes glittering.

However, as she turned back, Mevis noticed that expression change.

She was... sad...

"Air, what are you doing?" Earth demanded, pushing himself off the wall. "You aren't participating in this competition!"

There was no reply.

Earth was immediately slammed into the wall again. He pushed off. The ground beneath them shot out. Air held onto Mevis and floated away slightly, completely avoiding the attack. A feather was shot out, hitting Earth in the face, though not doing much visible damage.

Earth covered his face. "Ouch!"

Air looked around as the room slowly started to close in on them. She created a safe air bubble around Mevis before increasing the air pressure in the room. The room could no longer shrink. Earth yelled and the entire building collapsed. Air grabbed Mevis before vanishing.

She appeared outside with Mevis in hand, the building which the club was under collapsing right in front of them.

Air patted Mevis down before smiling widely. She hugged Mevis before holding her hand to walk. Mevis pulled her back, asking, "I heard what he called you... You're Air?"

Air nodded.

"Are you meant to protect me?" Mevis asked.

Air shook, her head.

"Um... you can't talk?"

Air nodded, then pointed at her throat. She laughed silently before pointing up at the sky where Earth was floating. Mevis instantly hid behind Air, but Air waved at him with a happy smile on her face. Earth then vanished from sight.

Air spread her wings before the wings just vanished. Air patted her own back before facing Mevis again.

"I heard what he had to say. Fire is supposed to protect me, are you friends with Fire?"

Air nodded.

"You're not going to hurt me, right?"

Air's expression changed without warning. She seemed a lot more worried as she shook her head. She grabbed Mevis' hand and interlocked their pinkies. She looked Mevis directly in the eyes and mouthed the words 'Pinky promise'.

Mevis was still hesitant but considering how in danger she was, she was willing to take that risk.

A figure burst out of Mevis' shadow. Air pulled Mevis back as the figure's black scythe was stopped in mid-air. Dark landed, withdrawing her scythe. Air frowned at Dark. Dark took a closer look at Air before coming to the realisation. She stepped away from Air.

"Wait... I didn't recognise you without your wings, but what are you doing here?" Dark demanded.

The air twisted and a hole was shot through Dark. Before she could fully reform, the air constantly ripped her apart until Dark had no choice but to blend in with the shadows. In that alleyway, the walls and ground were left with violent deep cuts.

Air held Mevis' hand as they walked.