Storms always scared Ava. Their startling flashes of immense and unknowable power followed by unpredictable explosions of sound or ominous low rumbles always sent shivers down her spine at best. The abrupt terror of a loud clap of thunder had been more than enough to scare her awake in the middle of the night, and tonight was no exception. This time however, the storm felt more ominous, like a premonition of something much worse on the way. Just then, she faintly heard knocking on the door down stairs. It was soft at first. Then it wasn’t. After several loud knocks and someone shouting the names of her parents, she heard her mother and father frustratedly getting up to go to the door. She heard them grumble about the time before ambling over to the door and opening it where they were greeted by a voice with an authoritative tone. Ava’s curiosity overcame her fear of the storm, compelling her to get out of bed and make her way downstairs to know what was happening. As she came into view of the front door, she saw that her parents were speaking to a tall officer dressed in the uniform of the royal compliance force of the Kingdom of Terra. “I’m sorry to bring you this news at such a late hour but-” The officer stopped when he spotted Ava. “Oh, that’s my daughter, don’t worry about her.” said her mother. The officer nodded and continued, turning his gaze to Ava’s father Charles. “Yesterday afternoon a group of freedom fighters were spotted in a convenience store on Ranthers street. They took hostages. I’ve just come from the stand off which ended an hour ago.” Ava peered up at her father’s face to see his cold expression. She couldn’t see the feelings of denial running through him as the officer continued. “I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Mr. Charles, your mother was one of the hostages. I’m afraid we weren’t able to get to her before-” Before the officer could finish, Charles had already lost it. “I don’t want to hear any more.” He said, waving the officer off before turning and heading down to the basement. Before long the sounds of him taking out his frustration on everything down there began to waft up from the basement door. Ava’s mother Florine, shook her head and closed the basement door before returning to the officer. “Please excuse him.” The officer tipped his cap. “No worries. If he bothers you too much there’s a divorce drive thru down the street I could give you a ride to.” Ava watched her mother chuckle. “I need him to help keep this little one behaving.” Florine stroked Ava’s hair. “You did a traditional birth huh?” “Yes sir.” “Did you get a permit for it?” “Yes sir. Here.” Ava’s mother pulled up a permit on her phone, showing it to the officer. He nodded, finding it satisfactory. “Not many people try traditional marriage these days. Why’d you do it?” “Oh we’re not married.” Chuckled Ava’s mother. When the officer left, Charles burst out of the basement with a baseball bat. He aimed it at both Florine and Ava. “If either one of you so much as breathe the words Freedom Fighters, I’ll bust your heads in!" Ava woke up with a start. Her dream was still fresh in her mind. She didn’t like that night. The scene of her father aiming a bat at her still sent a shiver of fear through her body. She pulled the covers closer and closed her eyes, only for her mother to come in and turn the lights on. “Time to wake up.” Ava didn’t really want to, and her hesitation seemed to bother her mother. “Come on, we gotta go now if we want to finish the museum before we leave.” Ava got up out of bed as her mother left. Ava was used to that. Her mother stopped helping her dress or get ready for the day since she was three, and now that she was nine, she had pretty much gotten good at doing it by herself. After getting ready she exited her room in the apartment to see her mother and father beginning to argue over something. She immediately felt uncomfortable. Florine noticed and waved Ava off with a fake smile. “Go on without us Ava. We’re not joining you.” As soon as Ava shut the door the two burst into a shouting match. They spoke words that Ava knew were no no words and some which she had never heard before. She grit her teeth and covered her ears as she began running towards the teleporters to teleport to the museum lobby. As the streams of purple energy swirled around her, she wiped a tear from her cheek. Stepping off the teleporter, the little girl found herself in the massive atrium that served as the museum lobby. She let herself get lost in the magnificent murals on the high vaulted ceiling as she tried not to think about her parents fighting. It wasn’t the first time she would have to experience the museum alone; she was so young that she barely remembered the last and first time she had ever been there. Her sadness was replaced with a smile as she realized it would be like experiencing the museum all over again for the first time. The information desk was small compared to the three tall double doors beyond it, each decorated with a specific mural pertaining to that wing of the museum. Below them, down a flight of stairs another much darker and scary mural adorned a fourth tall double door. But entry to this wing of the museum was blocked. Ava went down to get a closer look at the signs. They said things like “danger” and “do not enter” and “This area has experienced a breach and is under quarantine”. Ava didn’t know what quarantine meant, but she understood the word danger. Something about the idea of something lurking behind the door caused Ava’s imagination to run wild. With her mind's eye spinning yarns, her curiosity began to rise, unchecked by caution and driven by childlike excitement. Now she had to know what was beyond that door. Looking around, Ava searched for a way in, only to find the solid double door immovable. The terrifying creatures depicted in the murals on it added to Ava’s curiosity. Just then she heard someone coming. Hiding in the shadows, Ava watched as Ms. Cherry Squindle came down the large flight of stairs from the lobby and headed towards a maintenance door. Ava kept out of sight in the shadows, not wishing to be noticed by her in particular after the scare she had given her in the administration building. The goth nonchalantly pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the door before disappearing inside. Ava watched as Ms. Squindle pulled the door to, failing to latch it properly. Now was Ava’s chance. She hurried over to the door and slipped in as the door shut the rest of the way behind her. Ms. Squindle turned a corner up ahead, unaware of Ava’s intrusion into the behind the scenes of the museum. Ava went the other way, making her way around where the massive double door of the lobby was. She intended to find a way to exit into the blocked off wing, but as she rounded the final corner, she noticed a maintenance drone. It wasn’t round and friendly like the customer service drones and had a much more gritty and practical design. As it turned to look at her, she saw the logo of the central AI of the museum on it’s display. “Greetings little one. Are you lost?” spoke a deep British accent through the drone’s speakers. Ava lowered her eyes in guilt. “Um. . . I’m sorry. I wanted to see why the lower wing was blocked off.” “That is alright. Curiosity is a perfectly normal human emotion. I am not at liberty to reveal too much, but rest assured that there are no secrets worth your curiosity within the lower wing of the museum. It is currently very dangerous there and I cannot allow you in. Please allow me to escort you back to the main lobby.” Ava nodded and looked up at the drone. “Aren’t you programmed to pass on the knowledge of the museum?” “Indeed” “Then doesn’t turning me away go against that?” The drone was silent for a moment. Ava bit her lip, worried she had said something wrong. “I’m sorry.” When the drone finally responded, it sounded almost frustrated. “It’s quite alright. And you are correct. I will show you why the lower wing is blocked off in hopes that you will change your mind.” Just then the drone sparked and the display glitched. Ava stepped back with a startled scream as the drone began shaking erratically, before it calmed down and appeared to return to normal. For a few seconds Ava watched with mounting worry as the drone hovered there motionless as its display showed static. Then a logo appeared on the screen and a six toned beep played. The drone looked at her again and a different voice spoke. It was a voice she recognized. She had heard it on Earth before. But there it had been friendly, comforting, and kind. This time it was deep, angry, and threatening. “You are in a restricted area. Prepare for NEROchip scan.” Startled, Ava stepped back, only to lose her footing and fall back through some caution tape. It easily gave way and the little girl fell into the darkness as the drone watched before the Vox Chronos logo returned. Vox looked around for the little girl, but was unable to find her, assuming she must have gotten help from a maintenance worker. Ava’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of laughing. The full moon shone brightly through her window, casting its glow on her toys, several of them broken. Her mother’s laughter reached her ears again, sounding slurred and snorty. Curiosity overtook the little girl, and she got out of bed and made her way to her bedroom door. As she peeked out, she heard the muffled conversation of her parents. “I can’t deal with this right now Florine.” “Ssssshhhhhuddup Chaaarrrles hehe.” “For goodness sakes, couldn’t you have not gotten drunk tonight. It was a funeral not happy hour.” “Sssssucha stick innnnnn the muuuuud heh. I ain’t flibben drunk. You’re drunk.” Ava’s mother’s tone had changed from laughter to frustration. “I had a rrrrright to deal with the loss in mmmmmyownway.” Her father responded, his voice calm but edged, as if he were about to explode. “Cut it out Florine.” “Wwwhatareyougonnado. . . divorce me? We ain’t even married hahahahahaha! You are. . . uh nnnnothing.” “I’m warning you.” “Oooooooh eeerrrrerrr. You’re warning me? Allllll I hhhhhahve todo is saaaaaaayou hit me and I’ll nnnnnnneverhave todeal with you or see you ever againnnnn.” “What would Ava think if she knew?” “That little ffffffetus ssstill doesn’t knnnnnow two plus. . . two heh. Wwwwwwhyyy youuuu brrrringing her up. You think sssshshhhhhee's a little idiot tooooo. But shhhhhhhure let’s ca-call her uh let’s call her down.” “No, I don’t want her to see you like this.” “Ssssstupid Chhhhharles. . . you. . . you don’t get a choice.” Slurred her mother before Ava heard her mother start staggering to the stairs. She heard her mother take one step, then two, before her mother collapsed and passed out on the floor with the bottle still in her hand. Ava crept out of her room to see her mother. Her father noticed and responded quickly with a sharp order. “Go back to bed, you little mistake.” Ava hesitated. Her father started up the stairs. Ava’s eyes widened and before she could run, her father grabbed her and threw her into her room. Ava’s eyes flew open to see a young man crouched in front of her. “Oh thank God you’re alive! Are you hurt?” Ava blinked and looked around at the dark maintenance area. “Where am I? Who are you?” “My name’s Austin. We’re in one of hundreds of maintenance shafts in Station 11. So who are you?” inquired Austin, tilting his head as he helped her onto her feet. Ava looked down at the grating they were standing on, taking a sharp breath when she saw how far down it was. “I uh. . . I’m Ava. Ava Ledwin.” Austin nodded. “Ooooh Ledwin. I arrived in your parent’s suitcase. I was in the urn.” Ava’s eyes widened. “That was you?!” Her heart rate increased as she took a step back, grabbing the guard rails tightly. “Y-y-you’re n-not a . . . you know what. . . are you? Austin gave a sigh. “A freedom fighter? Who else would sneak into the museum and hide in the maintenance area?” Ava began to hyperventilate as she began to feel an intense sense of fear. Austin noticed and backed up as well, staying kneeled and at eye level with her. “You were falling pretty fast. You must have hit your head on the way down because you were already unconscious by the time I caught you.” “I should report you. . . wait. . . you, caught me?” Ava slowly began to calm down as she realized she wasn’t going to be turned into a rat person. “You can report me if you want, but they won’t be able to find me. It was a lot of trouble to get here, and I’m not leaving until I finish my mission.” Austin pulled out a flash drive and smiled. “It’s a mission passed down from my great great aunt.” Ava gasped, “You’re going to destroy the museum!” Austin gave her a look. “What? Heck no! I want this museum to survive. It’s Exavior who wants to destroy the museum.” “The King of the World? But why would he want to destroy the museum?” Ava tilted her head, confused. “A good question for another time. You better get back to your folks. It’s not safe down here.” Austin began looking around for a way to send Ava back to the museum lobby. “Wait, how did you become ashes when you were in the urn?” Austin scratched the back of his head. “It’s a long story. One of my ancestors was. . . hm. Well let’s just say they were special.” Ava noticed the symbol on his shirt underneath his leather jacket. “Is that a phoenix?” Austin looked at his shirt and chuckled. “Yeah. . . that’s how I was able to become ash. I can become fire too but that part is a bit dangerous.” “Are all freedom fighters like you?” asked Ava, her curiosity returning now that her fear was gone. Austin shook his head. “Heh, no. I’m the only one. The abilities pass down to one family member per generation.” Austin blinked at Ava’s confused expression only to realize she was a child. “Oh, uh. Basically that means only me and my dad and his dad have those abilities.” “Oooooh.” Nodded Ava with realization. “Um, can you turn back into ash? And maybe get back in the urn too?” Austin stifled a chuckle. “Whatever for?” “Weeeeeell my parents are going to be mad at me if they find there’s no ashes in the urn. I don’t want mom or dad to hit me again.” Her words seemed to click with Austin. He sighed and leaned against the guard rail before running his fingers through his hair. “Um. I can’t be found. Your people would think I’m evil and try to kill me. I'll think about it, but I’m just here to help Vox Chronos.” “The tour guide program? Why?” “Well because my great great aunt programmed him.” Ava frowned. “Mom said Vox Chronos was programmed by the Kissy Fundation.” Austin tried not to laugh at Ava’s miss pronunciation. But before he could correct her there was a noise above. Austin acted quickly, disappearing in a puff of ash just before a maintenance worker poked his head through a service hatch. “Oh my, you shouldn’t be here. Here let me help you out of there.” “Thank you. I uh. I fell. My name’s Ava.” “No worries Ava. My name is Harow.” About 15 minutes later, Mr. Harow escorted Ava out of the maintenance area and into the museum lobby. He waved goodbye to her before going back into the maintenance areas and closing the door behind him. Ava turned her gaze back to the information desk and the main three double doors, then to the double doors below them, shut tight and blocked with caution tape. “Oh, hello again little one.” said a synth-like singsong voice next to her. Ava turned and looked up to see the Lumio she had seen on the ride to the station standing tall over her, the indoor lights of the museum refracting through its crystalline skin. Ava smiled. “Oh wow. Hi. I’m Ava.” “My name is Lorylli.” said the magnificent alien equine. Her smooth muzzle did not move and there was no visible mouth, but whenever she spoke her straight 4ft long horn illuminated with a chartreuse flash. The rest of her body was full of fiber optic like veins glowing with a similar chartreuse glow. “Are you lost, Ava?”
“No, not anymore.”
“Oh?” The Lumio’s ears perked. “What happened?”
“I got lost in the maintenance area. But a nice man found and helped me.”
The Lumio shook her mane. “Oh my. The maintenance area is not safe for little human fillies. What was the nice man’s name?”
“Aus- oh wait, no. I think his name was Harow.”
“Harow? What an interesting name.” The Lumio’s eyes narrowed.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Ava spoke. “Well um, it was nice meeting you Lorylli.”
“You as well.” Replied Lorylli with a smile in her eyes, her tone shifting to a whisper as she watched Ava run off towards the teleporters to return to her family’s hotel room. “You as well.”
Vox Chronos stopped watching the video tapes from 400 years ago, turning his attention to the shadowed double doors of the lower wing of the museum. The old caution tape still clung to the sinister murals depicted on it. He knew what was in there. He had heard it sulk around and rip at its own flesh. He dared not release it. He didn't know if it was possible to kill it. He knew it wanted to die. He couldn't risk it bringing in something worse.
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