Sphereshifters: Aleph (Story Arcs 1, 2) Read online

beaming smile. The rain, as if never meant to be, ceased. Rei was safe, the fight with the Archaic finished. He went to her.

  Returned to Owner, Reason: Defective

  The pandemonium from the destruction of the Archaic's laboratory and the subsequent burst of light attracted people; night guards and villagers wanting to investigate. They found Rei, Lancer, and Francine huddled together, injured but relatively no worse for wear.

  Tired, worn out, unable to respond to questions and finding it difficult to keep himself aware, Lancer drifted towards lethargy as soon as someone offered to bring him home. He stumbled, ankle bothering him, but sure he could make it. When a gruff man tossed him over his shoulder he just let it happen, though. Eyes closing, his body relaxed, and he slept.

  He woke the next morning in bed. Someone had wrapped bandages around his ankle and a mild pain throbbed against his bindings. Putting his foot on the ground, testing his weight, he felt discomfort but not enough to stop him from walking, albeit very slowly. His stomach groaned and gurgled. Food; he needed it.

  Hobbling to the kitchen, he stopped suddenly. There, searching through cupboards, was a giant doll. Facing away from him, he only saw her light brown hair and clothes; Rei's clothes. Memories, his thoughts, collided, forming a horrid collage of last night's dire events.

  He ran--though his ankle slowed him--to his sister. She tilted her head towards him, the smile on her face vanishing when she saw the serious expression on his. She blinked, wooden eyelids making a strange clacking sound.

  "Rei," Lancer said, stifling a sob. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

  He hugged her and she returned it, wooden arms wrapped around his midsection. "It's alright," she said. "I don't feel too much different."

  He stopped crying--though he hadn't really started, just on the verge of it--and looked at her. "What do you mean? Doesn't it hurt?"

  She shrugged in his embrace. "Not much. I feel peculiar."

  "Peculiar?"

  "You know when you grab something or touch the side of something with your arm?" She put her hand on the edge of the counter top and squeezed. "It presses in, right? Your skin, I mean. I can't do that now. It doesn't press. It's firm."

  "I don't get it," he said. "Is that it?"

  "My eyes are very noisy," she said, blinking a few times for show. Her eyelids clack-clack-clacked against each other. "Also it was so difficult to untie those strings on my arms and legs. I can't seem to do simple things like that. It's hard to hold a spoon. I was looking for a bigger one so I could make breakfast."

  "You're making breakfast? Do you think you should do that?"

  She stared at him, confused. "Why not?"

  "I mean, aren't you, uh--" Lancer couldn't think of the word. "Sick, maybe? You should relax until you get better."

  Rei frowned. "Layne, I don't think I'm going to get better."

  When she used his real name, he knew it was serious. "What do you mean you won't get better? Of course you will. This will wear off and you'll be my little sister again."

  "I'm still your sister," she said, her voice soft, sad.

  "I know, I know. But you'll be--" He was so bad at this, he couldn't even explain it. "You'll be regular again. Not wood and a doll."

  "It's not wearing off, alright?" she snapped. "It's just not. It's not going to. I'm sorry I'm like this, and I didn't want to be, but it is how it is. I can't change it. No one can."

  He frowned, eyes sad, not understanding.

  "I don't know everything, but it's nothing fixable. It's not something anyone can fix. I heard the Archaic talking about it when I was strapped to his worktable. He was reciting notes out loud. He made me swallow a chocolate whole, and at the time I thought it was a candy. I thought maybe he was just odd, and rambling, that I'd be fine, but then he read some part about acorns and sphereshifting for accelerated growth and I didn't understand everything because it's not in the books, but--"

  Lancer shook his head as if refusing her words would solve everything.

  "The point is he used my body to grow the acorn into a tree, and it's part of me now. If you get rid of the wood, I'll die. There won't be anything left of me. That's what he said, and though I don't know everything about sphereshifting it makes sense. I love you Layne, I really really do, and I'm still your sister but--do you understand? I'm sorry, but this is me now."

  Lancer nodded, barely listening anymore. He heard what Rei said, he understood, but he disagreed.

  Someone could fix her. Maybe not him--not him at all, no maybes about it--but someone somewhere would know how.

  And if anyone should know, if he could entrust someone else with Rei's safe being, he thought Kanin would. Their older brother doted on Rei. Sure, he treated Lancer like an idiot hardly worth offering the time of day to, but this had nothing to do with either of them getting along.

  Rei rolled her eyes and went back to looking for larger utensils while Lancer daydreamed about thoughts of fixing Rei.

  "I'm sorry, Lancer. I know it might be difficult having a doll as a sister, but think of how I feel?"

  Enter the Foray

  Lancer stayed home from school for three days. Not for any legitimate reason--unless fretting over his sister's well-being counted as a valid sickness--but because he needed time to think.

  Thinking, unfortunately, wasn't his greatest ability. At least not with the kind of thoughts he needed. No matter what he came up with, no matter the random ideas floating through his head, it amounted to the same thing.

  To fix Rei, to have any chance at reverting her to flesh and bones instead of a wooden toy, he needed to consult their older brother. Kanin wasn't the most knowledgeable person ever(Lancer loved to point this out during their spats), but he knew people and might know someone who understood the sphereshifting involved in Rei's transformation.

  This, of course, meant they needed to travel to Garde. Kanin lived there now, visiting them only once or twice a year for a week at a time. He had no time for his hometown anymore, preferring the transcendent lifestyle of the big city, whatever that meant.

  Everyone learned sphereshifting, but not everyone was good at it(Lancer, frowning to himself, knew he was a prime example of that). People like Kanin, skilled and masterful, had an abundance of work they could perform, and Garde was the place to go if you wanted to take advantage of that. Jobs varied as widely as small time work in shops to guarding trade caravans, and everything in between.

  Lancer broached the subject to Rei when she came home that afternoon. "Hey," he said. "Let's visit Kanin in Garde."

  Rei ignored him and awkwardly held a pencil between her wooden fingers, attempting to write answers for her homework. "When are you going back to school?" she asked.

  "That's not important. We haven't seen Kanin in forever."

  "I saw Kanin a few months ago when he visited, but you hid the whole time and refused to see him. I don't see why you'd want to see him now. I don't understand why you two can't get along."

  "It's more that--"

  Rei refused to let him finish. "You want to see if he can change me back."

  "It wouldn't be so bad to visit, either." Except it would, Lancer thought. He hated it when Kanin came home, and while they'd never visited their older brother in Garde he imagined it would be ten times worse.

  "I've written him a letter," Rei said.

  "What?"

  "I wrote telling him what happened. He'll write back."

  This hadn't occurred to Lancer. A letter? What a great idea! That meant he wouldn't need to see Kanin after all, and he could still do something about Rei's predicament.

  "I wouldn't mind going to see him, though," Rei remarked offhandedly.

  "What?" Lancer asked, startled out of his jubilation after realizing they didn't need to travel to Garde.

  "You said it wouldn't be so bad to visit, and I wouldn't mind going, so if you'd like we can go."

  "Well, there's school--"

  "You haven't gone to school in three days."

 
; "I don't think Mom and Dad would--"

  "I've written them, too. They wrote back actually. They said they'll come home as soon as possible but work's got them stuck and as long as I'm alright it should be fine. If we need anything, they said to take money and visit Kanin."

  Although this was Lancer's original intention, having learned of alternative options, and rejoicing in not needing to see Kanin, he just didn't like the idea anymore. Rei stared at him, her glassy eyes wide and pleading. Despite his preferences, Lancer gave in.

  "Alright," he said.

  "Alright what?" she asked.

  "I guess we can go."

  "When? In the morning?"

  "Isn't that too soon? Don't you have to--I don't know--shouldn't you tell your teacher?"

  "I've already told her. I heard you mumbling in your room the other day about visiting Kanin, so I asked Ms. Allen today if it'd be alright, and she gave me a folder with classwork for the next few weeks." She rifled through her schoolbag and pulled out a folder filled with far too many worksheets. "Here, I spoke with your teachers and got your lessons, too." This time she took out four folders, each close to double the size of hers. "I thought since you're having trouble maybe extra would help, so I asked your teachers and they added extra credit so you can catch up."

  "Thanks," he said. He was not thankful.

  "Let's pack!" Rei hopped up, forgetting her homework. "Oh, this will be so fun. Do you know they have a giant observation wheel in the center of Garde? You can pay for a seat and it spins around with magnetics and at the top you can see for miles. We should do that. Can we do that?"

  "Maybe," he said. "Do we have to pack now? It'll be nicer to sleep in and leave in the afternoon, right?"

  "We can't. Jaylee and Jared's father offered to bring us in his carriage for free, but he's leaving at six sharp, so we need to arrive by half past five."

  "In the morning?" Lancer frowned; she had to be kidding.

  Rei gave him a strange look as if she had no idea what other time he thought she could mean. A second later she shrugged and smiled, jumping up and skipping to her room to pack her belongings, her wooden feet tapping her retreat through the house.

  Needless to say, Lancer disliked this, but after grumbling for a couple minutes he went to pack.

  Moonstruck Reservoir

  Lancer and Rei arrived at the Ellis's home by quarter past five.

  In the morning.

  Lancer wasn't pleased, in fact he felt he would have loved those few extra minutes of sleep, but Rei took advantage of his semi-consciousness in his half awake state and herded him out of the house early.

  He couldn't very well complain now. Finding out they'd arrived fifteen minutes before their necessary thirty minute early arrival was just fine and dandy. Oh, yes, nothing wrong at all. People shouldn't expect you to arrive at six when they wanted to leave at six, no, never.

  His lack of complaint attracted attention, probably because instead of speaking he kicked the ground and grumbled.

  “That boy's always so ornery,” Mr. Ellis said, packing luggage atop the carriage.

  "Would you like a muffin, Lancer?” Mrs. Ellis asked, holding out a tray of various muffins.

  Lancer took a muffin. “Thank you, Mrs. Ellis,” he said in between stuffing his mouth.

  “Any time, dear,” she said. “Cheer up, alright? It's going to be a beautiful day and you can sleep on the ride if you're tired.”

  Saying that, Mrs. Ellis added that whenever she traveled she found it dreadfully difficult to sleep because of bumps in the road--they needed to fix that, someone should pave it like in the big cities--but since he was young he shouldn't have problems catching a wink.

  Lancer stopped grumbling because he had a muffin, but he started again a moment later.

  “Do we need anything else, daddy?” Jaylee asked from the front porch.

  “Should be set. Thanks, darling,” Mr. Ellis said.

  “We don't need this catalytic charge displacer, dad?” Jared asked from inside the house.

  “Next time, Jared. This isn't a business trip.”

  Lancer paused mid-muffin chew. He stared at Jaylee, who smiled and waved then looked down shyly when he didn't stop staring. Jared told Lancer he'd help him with the schoolwork he'd missed. Rei stepped to the side, whistling, until Lancer jerked his head towards her and glared.

  “Oh,” Rei said. “Did I forget to tell you Jaylee and Jared are coming?”

  “Mmmffmmrrhhh,” Lancer said, then swallowed his mouthful of muffin. “Yes, you did! Why didn't you say something? Seriously, Rei?”

  Before Rei could answer, Jaylee waltzed up and stood next to him, hands in her pockets. “I've missed you at school, Lancer.”

  “Yeah,” Lancer said. “Sorry.”

  “Is that a muffin?” she asked. “Can I have a bite?”

  Mrs. Ellis happened by with the muffins again. “Jaylee, hurry, take a muffin before your father and brother eat them all. I swear they act like I never feed them.”

  Jaylee frowned and took a muffin from the pan. “Thanks,” she said in the most disingenuous way possible.

  “Of course, dear.”

  Before the awkward moments could commence, Mr. Ellis said, “Time to hit the road! Last one in's the spoiled cheese.”

  Jaylee looked at Lancer and rolled her eyes, gesturing towards her father. “It's rotten egg, dad!”

  “Spoiled cheese is worse, trust me.”

  Lancer cared little for rotten eggs or spoiled cheese. He also no longer cared much for this carriage ride into Garde. Having to deal with Kanin was difficult enough, but Jaylee was another story.

  Now, he didn't hate her, far from it. He thought she was fun sometimes in larger crowds and an overall interesting person, but that didn't mean he wanted her attention, which she gave him fully. It also didn't mean he wanted to sit next to her in the crowded carriage, but the seats were so small that one of the boys needed to sit next to one of the girls for everyone to fit. Rei, his evil demon sister, jumped in before him and sat next to Jared.

  Jaylee blushed when Lancer sat. “I can help with your schoolwork if you want? Since it'll be hard for Jared to do if he's not next to you?”

  Lancer grudgingly accepted, Jaylee not noticing his ire and Rei feigning ignorance by refusing to look at him, humming.

  Homework help was alright. Besides the fact that Jaylee kept touching him, playfully slapping his hand when he messed up, squeezing close and smiling whenever he did something right, and putting her arm around his to guide him if he took too long to write an answer. Those things bothered him, but it was better than the alternatives.

  Imagine if he'd slept? He knew he would've woken with a tousle-haired Jaylee yawning, curled up on his chest. “Did you have a nice nap?” he pictured her saying. “I dreamt of you, Lancer.”

  Ugh!

  Bump! Creak! Crack! The carriage stopped.

  “We're here?” Lancer had never visited Garde so he had no clue how long it took to get there, but this seemed like a really short ride. Only a couple hours?

  “Sorry, kids. Wheel's busted. Going to take a few to fix. Stretch your legs for now,” Mr. Ellis said from the rider's stoop outside the carriage.

  They got out. Lancer relished his freedom from Jaylee.

  “Help me out, Jared?” Mr. Ellis asked. Father and son went to work replacing the wheel.

  “Isn't that a nice lake?” Rei said to Jaylee, pointing out a small lake at the end of a willowy grass field.

  Lancer suspected something.

  “Daddy, can Lancer and I go to the lake while you fix the carriage?” Jaylee asked.

  Ah, that's what he suspected.

  “Don't be gone too long, darling.”

  Lancer didn't expect that.

  Nor did he think Jaylee would take his arm in hers and rush off to the lake. Why was he going to a lake? Better yet why were they going to a lake?

  Rei giggled and Lancer would have yelled at her but he was too busy being made to
run towards some lake that he didn't have time to do much else.

  Love: A Sudden Whim

  “Lancer? Why aren't you sitting?”

  Why wasn't he sitting? What a question. First, he had no idea why they'd ran to the lake, and second he felt uncomfortable being alone with Jaylee. He wasn't good at this, didn't know how to approach it. He knew some guys dated girls at school but he never really understood it. The whole idea seemed awkward.

  “I thought I'd stretch a little,” he said.

  “Oh.” Jaylee sounded disappointed. “Alright.”

  The water was nice, though. Nothing like the lake near their village. It seemed uniform, more accurate somehow, like someone had decided a lake should exist, cut out a piece of the ground, and then filled it up. The water left a large, wet circle in the middle of the grasslands and imprinted the image of an oasis sanctuary, minus the whole desert deal. At the opposing end of the lake someone had erected a way station of sorts between the junction of the lake and the stream that fed it.

  “There's a story to this place, you know?” Jaylee said, still sitting, watching him over her shoulder.

  Fine, fine. He would sit. Taking his place next to her like she obviously wanted, he said, “Oh yeah?”

  She beamed, pleased like no other. “Yes! It's an old story, so probably not true, but it's a nice.”

  Lancer nodded, listening. When Jaylee reached for his arm and scooted closer, laying her head on his shoulder, he let her. Something inside of him felt befuddled, like he should protest, but the words eluded him.

  “Ancient people used to believe sphereshifting was a gift from the gods, and that each god controlled a sphere element. They thought this place was home to the water sphere god, because of how perfect it looks. They called it the reservoir,” she said. “Supposedly during a full moon, the god plucked a piece of the moon out of the sky and drop it into the middle of the lake. That's why the moon becomes smaller at night afterwards. Whomever took the piece would have good luck, especially in love and romance. That's where the term moonstruck comes from. Isn't that neat?”

  Lancer listened, to be sure, but he had a sudden undeniable urge to lean over, tilt Jaylee's head just so, and kiss the corner of her lips to see what would happen. If she consented, kissed back? He'd kiss the center of her lips and progress from there.

  She looked at him. He leaned forwards. Her eyes narrowed. He began his plan.

  The plan stopped before it started, Jaylee jumping up, frowning. Lancer felt odd, muddled. Why was she angry? Don't worry, he thought, I'll kiss it better. Come to me.

  “Serious?” Jaylee huffed. “This is ridiculous. The first chance I get alone with you and maybe for my first kiss and you're spherebound.”

  Lancer only half heard her, his intent focused on her delightfully pink and plush lips. Her brow furrowed, frustrated and concerned. He would clear that look right away, bring her happiness and delight.

  Jaylee shoved him away when he tried to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her into a kiss. “Just stay still a second, Lancer. Let me fix this.”

  He sat. He would do this another way. Poetry? All girls loved poetry, right?

  “Oh Jaylee,” he said. “Your lips are fluffy and pink. In love with you, I am, I think. No, not think, I know! Your skin is white like fresh--”

  Jaylee spent the time during his poetics adding water from the reservoir to a blue-green cordial in a vial she pulled from her pants pocket. Placing her finger against the crystal of the vial, a lavender whorl slipped from her fingertip and swirled through the liquid. Before he could finish his poem, she splashed the mix in his face.

  “--Snow,” he said, the word falling flat.

  Lancer frowned. He wasn't so upset at her splashing a potion in his face, oh no. But was he really just reciting a poem? To Jaylee of all people? What the heck, had he seriously sat on the bank of the reservoir and let her rest her head on his shoulder?

  And he'd contemplated kissing her. Not just contemplated, but had wanted to with the utmost urgency. Weird.

  “I really liked your poem?” Jaylee said, hopeful. “Do you want to sit together again?”

  “What just happened?” he asked.

  “Bravo!” a voice boomed from behind. “I do say, that's a wonderful trick. The girl countered it so simply, though. You'll fix that, won't you?”

  Lancer spun around, looking for the voice's source. A lithe man in a fancy suit, handkerchief in his coat pocket, white gloves on his hands, clapped. Next to him stood a younger lady in an antiquated patterned dress with a shawl draped across her shoulders that flowed to her knees.

  “An unforeseen circumstance,” the lady said. “Pheromone permutation isn't common knowledge, though she seems adept. I assure you the final result's effects won't be abolished as easily. It worked on you, didn't it?”

  “Jaylee?” Lancer said.

  She joined him, standing by his side. Her hand sought his, but not out of any romantic ideality. “Lancer, we need to get out of here.”

  The Origin of a Legend

  Jaylee and Lancer ran, or tried to.

  “Oh, no you don't!” the well-dressed man said. He snapped his fingers, the sound echoing through the air like the piercing howl of a wolf pining for the moon.

  Silt and sand split beneath Jaylee and Lancer's feet, making way for rocks and boulders. The boulders leapt skyward, divided, and formed into earthen bars while the rocks acted as connectors holding the bars into a cage shape. The whole thing crashed to the ground, trapping them inside.

  “Take care of their friends,” the man said.

  The lady frowned. “Don't patronize me, Albedo. It's already done.”

  Jaylee screamed for help. Lancer did a little less than that, looking towards the carriage Mr. Ellis and Jared were fixing. They continued their task, oblivious, Rei sitting in the passenger section doing schoolwork.

  Wonderful, he thought.

  Albedo and the woman approached their prisoners, him smug and her curious.

  “What do you want?” Jaylee asked. “Why are you doing this?”

  Albedo chuckled. “We wanted test subjects, but you've rather ruined that, haven't you?”

  “You should've let him love you, dear,” the lady said.

  “No--” Jaylee's lip quivered. She shook, scared, but stood her ground. “I don't want it like that.”

  “Oh? An idealist?” The lady sighed. “Tell me, what's the difference? Love is nonsense in the first place. Why not add more? If he loves you or if scents in the air nibble at synapses in his brain that tell him he does, it's the same in the end. A feeling is a feeling. It isn't as if he's unwilling if that's what he feels.”

  “You're wrong,” Jaylee said, squaring her shoulders.

  “Isabelle, really, you're arguing with a child. What is she, fifteen, sixteen? Can we hurry this up?”

  “Go, then. Fetch the moonstone pearl and we'll tweak their sensations and send them to Garde with a sample of the moonstruck elixir.” Isabelle waved her hand dismissively.

  “Moonstone pearl?” Jaylee asked, confused. “That's a myth.”

  “You think so? Shall I show you it? Use it to make you fall madly in love with me? Have you writhing on the ground, begging for my affection?” Albedo grinned, falling to one knee in a mock declaration of love. “Oh, how sweet. I should enjoy that, having a little pet follow me around. Perhaps I'd throw you a bone if I felt my blood stirring, too. God knows Isabelle's a prude, so it could provide necessary entertainment.”

  Lancer gritted his teeth. He'd remained silent, but this was too much. Perhaps he didn't find Jaylee attractive in the way she wanted, but he wouldn't allow some arrogant jerk to bewitch her into loving him. After feeling identical emotions, though minimized, he knew the aftereffects were distressing. If this man did that to Jaylee, heightened, when she freed herself from it who knew what she'd do.

  Jaylee was too nice, too soft. It would break her.

  “Jaylee, I'll get us out of this,” Lancer sa
id, having no idea how to do that.

  “Oh, will you?”

  A rock sprouted from the ground and slammed into Lancer's back. The earthen bars split, enough to allow him passage, and the force threw him onto the ground at Albedo's feet. As quick as that, the cage reformed to contain Jaylee.

  “I think,” Albedo said, “I'd rather not dampen my suit, nor does the prospect of stripping and taking a dip in ice-cold water entice me. You--” He patted Lancer's head. “--shall do it for me.”

  Isabelle watched, her interest piqued. “Albedo, you're ruining their lover's catalyst. It's amusing watching them act valiant. A few more steps and they'd jump into each other's arms without need of my assistance.”

  “Why would I want that? It'll make the girl more difficult to spherebind.”

  Lancer raised his head, stared Albedo in the eyes. “What makes you think I'll help?”

  Albedo burst into laughter. His cackle caused the earth to ripple beneath Lancer's feet. “Because, my boy, if you don't, your friend is in for a world of trouble. You see the bars she's in?”

  Lancer glanced towards the cage, confused.

  “For every minute you dally, I'll shrink the cage by half. I'd say she has three minutes until there's no room to move. Four minutes until bones break. I'd hop to it if I were you.”

  Isabelle smirked, though the look in her eyes looked less than pleased at Albedo's crass torture. “He really will,” she said.

  The rock bars of the cage shivered, tightening a miniscule amount, as if to show Albedo meant business.

  “Right. Step to.”

  The ground beneath Lancer erupted, tilting into the shape of a ramp and sliding him into the reservoir.

  “I wouldn't think about escaping,” Isabelle said when Lancer burst from the water, gasping for air. “I'll know if you leave the water. Be a good boy and fetch us the moonstone pearl. Maybe I'll make you my pet so you can remain with your little girlfriend. How about that?”

  Lancer paid them no heed, didn't care. He needed to find that pearl, the stone from Jaylee's fable, or they were in a lot of trouble. Escape plans could come later.

  He sucked in air, swallowing hard, then sucked in more. Holding his breath, Lancer dove into the reservoir's depths.

  How was he supposed to find this thing? Jaylee mentioned the middle of the lake and he hoped her myth held some truth, because with only three minutes he didn't have time to spare.

  Of or Pertaining to Brainstorming

  Lancer dove into the water, aimless. He wasn't pleased with this since aimlessness never worked well for him.

  The middle, he should go there, except where was that? Lucky for him the water was crystal clear, but he still had no specifics on where to find this moonstone pearl. A pearl came from shellfish, and most lived in oceans. The ones that didn't were small and easily shrouded in the depths of most waters.

  He swam deeper, relying on the gulps of air he'd sucked in before immerging. If he could find the bottom of the reservoir, he'd at least have a better chance for success.

  As it turned out, the water wasn't too deep; on a hunch he'd say fifty yards. Deep enough, though, that the pressure from the air in his lungs hurt his chest. He pushed the pain aside, focusing on his search.

  The farther he swam, the darker the water became. Looking up he saw a contorted view of the sun overhead, twisted sparkles convoluted by the water. If only he could sphereshift, this would be so much easier, but he dared not risk it. Last time he'd tried, electric sparks magnetized his body and he found himself sprawled on the floor of a classroom with desks toppling onto him, their metal frames drawn to him.

  Jaylee had saved him, or at least she'd tried to help as best she could. What kind of person would he be if he didn't return the favor?

  He was thinking about this, becoming somewhat depressed despite his best efforts to turbocharge his adrenaline and be awesome, when a massive lid blocked out the sunlight and clamped down on him.

  The world darkened. Trapped underwater with no way to breathe, Lancer panicked.

  It came as a shock when he sputtered, forgetting he shouldn't scream, and then the sound came out like any other scream. He breathed water, finding it as simple as air. Odd? Perhaps he was a prodigy water breathing sphereshifter without realizing it.

  A glassy sphere illuminated his surroundings, shining light upon his predicament. The lid above remained clamped tight, trapping him against a ruddy, squishy floor. He pressed his feet against the floor as a test; it felt--or this was his assumption--like a tongue. The sphere lay in the middle of the tongue, black in color and emitting swirling incandescence.

  Moonstone pearl? It seemed a likely candidate. He swam over and grabbed it thinking he could figure a way out afterwards.

  The pearl had different views. It spoke.

  "Woe unto thee! Who intrudes upon the water sphere god's domain!"

  Lancer froze. He stared at the pearl, confounded by