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After checking Hurricane’s vitals, Jade confirmed that her cousin indeed was running a fever. It seems that getting her memories back did her no good—hence giving her cousins a foreboding feeling. Using her abilities, Jade casted a quick moderate healing spell-one of the basics she learned to heal her ill cousin—with her hand placed on Hurricane’s forehead she uttered the enchantment, resulting her hand to glow an earthly green.
Little by little, color returned on Hurricane’s face. Emman and Lucy watched Jade in amazement. It was the very first time any of the Prophecy kids exhibited a use of their well-known abilities after their memories came back—well, for the siblings, it was the first time they were able to behold such display of magic in their whole lives.

While everybody seems to be busy worrying about their sick cousin, Aquamarine volunteered to fetch water in the nearby river. With a wooden pail in hand, Aqua made her way down the tree towards the nearby river. Upon arriving at the river side, she dropped the pail on the ground beside her with a crash just to annoy the nearby pixies and water sprites who reside within proximity. Aqua contemplated on using her element. For days now, she’s been trying so hard to connect with her ability again. But for some reason, her efforts seemed to be null. Maybe it was the fact that she’s in the Earth continent and not in the Water continent where she’s from—but the fact that a water’s water no matter how you try to change it, remains like a harsh reminder of her recent failures.
Pursing her lips in concentration, she focused her eyes on the water—trying her best to connect with it. Everything stilled for a moment as she freed her mind of other thoughts—concentrate,
concentrate-she chanted silently on repeat.
The moon seemed to be watching her, its light illuminating her surroundings, she could even see her reflection imprinted on the glimmering water. Then she felt it—slowly but eventually increasing in pace. Every ripple, every movement of the water drums the blood in her veins, pumping her adrenaline. Now it feels like she’s one with the water. Slowly but surely, she willed the water to rise…and it did. In a spiral motion, a portion of the water ascended hanging a few feet above the ground, and with the grace of a dancing gypsy, it moved by Aqua’s will.

One by one, Pixies and the Water Sprites went out of their homes to watch Aquamarine. Not long after, the number of her spectators grew into amazing numbers. Aqua wanted to mock the creatures for making fun of her whenever she fails to use her ability in the past days. Instead of doing just that, Aqua maneuvered the water and will it to spray everyone like a strong downpour.
But it surprised her that instead of spiteful angry little miscreants like she expected—a round of giggles was heard around the place. The pixies and sprites seemed to be rejoicing with her accomplishment. She smiled drily and decided to share the moment with the happy creatures.
Her temporarily forgotten pail now filled to the brim with water.
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Cyclone let out a heavy sigh while watching his peacefully sleeping sister. He was really dreading what may happen the moment Hurricane opened her eyes. After winning the argument with Jade about it being his job to take care of his sick sister—and as the temporary acting nurse, Cyclone decided it would be best if he sleep on the bunk next to his sister’s which coincidentally was Jade’s. And as part of the agreement, they exchanged sleeping bunks.
All of his cousins were now asleep on their bunks. Even Grub who arrived without notice was also now retired on his new preferred space on the floor. It was past midnight and the only sound that could be heard was a bunch of crickets singing into the night.
Cyclone couldn’t sleep. With the commotion that happened earlier, his mind is now full of thoughts—some good but mostly bad. He knew he was overthinking things, but he just couldn’t help it. Along with their returned memories, his monsters resurfaced. He was an orphan, a lost boy, a boy with no identity. Insecurities flooded his well-being. What if they—
“I am no mind reader, but I know what you think. And you’re wrong. ” A weak voice interrupted his thoughts. He jerked to see his sister looking at him with an empathetic expression.
“You’re awake.” He immediately sat up and fetched her a cup of water in the nearby stool that they used as a temporary nightstand. The dimmed glow of the orbs that was placed in one corner of the room illuminated his surroundings, enough for him to see whatever he is doing. Then he gave her the cup which she languidly drank as if to savor it.
“Yes, I’ve been. For a while now—just enough to see you and perceive what you are doing.” Hurricane answered after finishing the cup of water.
“I just can’t help it you know?”
“Cyclone, I made an oath a long time ago—and that oath? It will be honored even if I’m dead. This prophecy will not change anything. You are my brother—and they, are our family. Do you understand me?” Hurricane demanded with determination.
“Y-yes.” He answered softly.
“Good, now sleep. Let’s clarify everything tomorrow.” She said before she turned her back on him. And he did just that—with a contented smile on his face this time.
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“Hurricane’s awake!!!” Emman shouted repeatedly as he made beelined inside the house running at full speed—getting a rise out of anyone he unfortunately bumped.
“We know you, bloody doofus. We’ve been awake longer than you did.” Lucy replied in her signature dull demeanor.
“Oh, really? Well, I’m just happy.” He announced.
“And why is that?” Hurricane asked in amusement.
“Because this house has never been the same without you. I mean you’re here but at the same time, you’re not… you know?” He replied softly—almost teary-eyed. Everyone seemed to hear the statement and realized their mistake. In the midst of recovering their lost memories and wallowing in despair, they forgot about their two younger cousins who don’t have any idea what is going on. They must have been too sad and felt neglected—the older ones all had the same thought.
“Awwe… Emman! That’s too cheesy.” Jullian belted at the same moment Jethro shouted, “GROUP HUG!!!” at the top of his lungs and proceeded to usher everyone in a huddle and enveloped them in a big hearty hug. Even Grub joined in on the fun.
Laughter poured out freely from the bunch. It seems like all their problems were flushed away with that one simple action. It also surprised the others when Hurricane joined in on the fun—she appeared to be back in health and already healed from the recent fever she got the previous night. Whatever it is that Jade did, was indeed effective.
The scene before her caused Jullian to smile. She really thought everything would be awkward as hell now that their memories are back—after all, their relationship before was not as tight as how it is right now. Back then, most of them have either come to an understanding or just acted civil towards others. The princess (Hurricane/Moira) was especially hostile towards others except for Jago and the other kids—but that was not until later when something caused their relationship to change and the oath was made to seal it.
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“Now that our memories are back, I guess this is the time we let the cat out of the bag yeah?” Hurricane started after they seemed to have settled down from their laughing fit.
“Indeed. Family meeting?” Jullian inquired just loud enough for others to hear. That seemed to have caught the other’s attention because each of them decided to settle down on the chairs—or in Cyclone and Jethro’s case, the floor. Upon noticing the graveness of the situation, Grub decided to escape. But Jade got to him first. She dragged him back by the vine that was snaking on his neck and had him sitting beside Jethro and Cyclone on the floor in no time.
“Come on Grub! You are part of the family now, you are included.” Jade began in a mocking tone.
“Yay!” Emman and Yellow cheered at that.
“Okay… so where do we start?” Jullian asked.
“Um… how about the very beginning? We don’t really have any idea what’s going on with all of you guys.” Emman answered meekly.
“I guess you’re right,” Jade replied in agreement. She knew Hurricane would never volunteer in these kinds of sharing events, so she did it instead.
Just like what Emman had asked, Jade told them the whole story patiently—only stopping to answer queries from Emman, Grub, and Lucy who listened to the story with rapt attention. The others, however, kept their silence. After all, they had lived the story themselves—and hearing it being told is like reliving the pain once again.
“Well… how shall I say it? We are all a part of a Prophecy that was foretold way before all of us were even born. It says that we will be the ones to end this ongoing war between the growing army of the enemies and the Element Tribes.”
“So, what’s our part in this prophecy?” Lucy asked in curiosity.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out now. Grandma Isadora—I meant the priestess—that’s it!!” Hurricane shrieked as an idea hit her.
“Why?” they all asked in unison.
“Grandma Isadora is the Priestess! Maybe her disappearance has something to do with that orc we found back in Earth.” She hypothesized.
“What? You mean that priestess Jade told in the story is Grandma Isadora?” Lucy asked in confusion. They all nodded in affirmation.
“So, if you guys are not really siblings in real life, and that there were only eight children of the prophecy, AND Grandma Isadora is the priestess you were talking about, then…who are we supposed to be?” Emman asked softly. Everyone stiffened in surprise. It seemed that their situation was getting increasingly complicated as time goes by.
“That—is beyond our knowledge. But what I do know, is that no matter what happens, we are family. We shouldn’t let no prophecy or blood determine that for us. You understand that, right?” Hurricane asked with determination. All of them stared at each other—a ghost of a smile breaking out from their faces. Except for their younger cousins and the golem, it seems like they all had the same idea in mind.
“The oath.” All eight children of the prophecy were uttered at the same time.
“What? What oath?” Emman asked in confusion. This time it was Jethro who answered,
“Long ago, we made an oath to be a family to one another. You see, all of us here are orphans. It’s either we grew up with no parents or…they died. Safe to say this is what binds us—a common ground. And now, we consider all three of you a part of it too.”
“—But that is if Grub will tell us what’s his deal this past few days. You will tell us, right? Grub? For the family?” Jade asked, pertaining to the Golem. As if on cue, Grub was invisibly sweating bullets. He threw glances at all of them in panic, “No. No. No.” Grub uttered while shaking his head in denial.
“Why? Family should trust each other. And we really don’t know if we could trust you yet.” Jade replied.
The golem kept on repeating ‘No’ over and over again as if he truly abhors the idea of telling them the truth. Jade could feel the golem’s sincerity from the very moment their paths crossed, but they still couldn’t just trust the young golem without knowing what he is hiding first. After all, it may be as deadly as their destinies ahead of them…
Sensing that Jade won’t stop hounding him with the truth, Grub tried to escape but Hurricane and Cyclone got to him first. They both grabbed each rocky shoulder and tried to stop him from leaving but they were no match for the determined golem. The calamity siblings almost got dragged to the floor had they not let him go, but the moment that they did—he immediately made a dash towards the door—causing the hut to shook violently as each ball of rock thudded at the floorboards. A few seconds after the golem left the vicinity, all of them stared at each other with mouths agape.
“He’s escaping!” Mint shrieked in delayed panic.
“Obviously.” Aquamarine piped in sarcastically. Mint glared at her sister, but the latter remained uncaring.
“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.” Jethro, the one closest to Grub, said. Hurricane nodded and immediately Jethro ran to follow the troubled creature.
“Well, that escalated quickly.” Cyclone commented drily. Since Jade was the cause why the golem is now upset, she suddenly felt quite guilty, but moreover, she’s still quite curious about the matter. If he truly were innocent like what they hope for, he wouldn’t be acting like how he is now.
“Hmmm… It’s quite suspicious indeed. So why did you do it?” Hurricane asked. She was pertaining to Jade.
“Did what?”
“Why did you scare him like that? What did you find out?”
“Nothing,” Jade answered in a neutral tone.
“Nothing?” Hurricane repeated. Her face was marred with confusion and suspicion.
Jade nodded. “Yeah, because Ellia told me nothing—besides the fact that Grub was in the infinite forest for a reason. Quote unquote, “A very legit reason.” she says. Maybe it was because we don’t have our memories yet at that time—that I forgot what infinite forest was for Terriona. And by the moment we knew that the infinite forest was indeed a dungeon, we were too preoccupied to put the pieces together.”
“About what?” Jullian asked in confusion.
“About the fact that our Grub is a prisoner in Terriona. He’s officially a fugitive.” Cyclone replied in a matter-of-fact tone. A collective gasp was heard around the group. Lucy stared at his brother worriedly.
“I knew it,” Yellow uttered in disgust. Mint, Aqua, Jullian, Lucy, and Emman all whipped their heads to stare at her in question.
“But Grub is a good golem! How could he be put to prison?” Emman asked in disbelief.
“I honestly have no idea too. But I knew the council—they will not put a petty criminal to suffer inside the infinite forest. He must’ve committed a grave crime then.” Jade answered grimly.
“But he’s good!” Lucy seconded her brother’s sentiments in frustration.
“Always remember, appearances could be deceiving. Not all monsters are villains and not all the heroes are good.” Hurricane murmured with hardened eyes.
“So now that we know there is a potential threat running around, what shall we do? “Cyclone asked.
“Yeah. And to think that we were the ones who got him out of that prison. We need to take action before the situation gets out of hand.” Jullian piped in.
“I don’t really think that’s the case—I feel like something doesn’t add up. I suggest we observe him first. Find out what makes him tick.” Hurricane offered. Except Lucy and Emman, Cyclone and the elemental siblings all stared at her as if she lost her mind.
“What? Have you lost your mind!?” Mint bellowed in disbelief.
“Last time I checked it’s still at the top of my head where it should always be,” Hurricane replied in a bored tone.
“Then how could you suggest such a thing?” Jade asked this time.
“Because like I said, something doesn’t add up. I mean—he was genuinely happy when we accepted him into our group. Not the kind of emotion you’d expect from a typical heartless fugitive.”
“But what if he’s faking it?” Cyclone inquired.
“Then I kill him. Traitors don’t have a place in our world.” Hurricane’s answer caused the others to wince as the seriousness of her word hit them. It seems like her brutality level just went up a notch when she recovered her memories.
“So… what do we do now?” Aqua interjected to ease the tension.
“We train. We need to be prepared in case something happens. And I’ve got just the right man for the job—or creature.” Hurricane replied. This cause caused a collective groan from her cousins, but she paid them no mind, instead, she continued. “Meanwhile, I’ll try to find answers from either Jago or the council. Maybe they could at least answer some of the questions that we need to be clarified.” Hurricane replied.
“Speaking of Jago, when do we call for our elemental guardians? Now that my memories are back I kind of miss Alastair.” Jade inquired with sudden interest. This seemed to perk the others up. Suddenly, the thought about training doesn’t seem to be so bad anymore.
“We could try tomorrow if you like,” Hurricane answered. “Is that everything?” she added.
“Not quite. I just have something I’d really like to ask before we finish.” Emman replied.
“Ask away.”
“Um. This would seem really awkward but—what about all our parents?” Emman asked innocently.
“Your parents. We’re orphans remember?” Hurricane answered curtly. Memories about her real father, King Hanson drifted to her mind again. It seems that their lives on Earth were fabricated as well—those people who acted like their parents in the whole duration they were on Earth, were not even remotely familiar to them now. They were strangers.
“Oh. You’re right. Sorry, I forgot about that.” Emman answered sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck. “No matter. I’ll try to ask that to Jago too.” Hurricane answered nonchalantly.
“You’re going now?” Cyclone asked his sister. Hurricane nodded in affirmation. “I’ll go with you.”
“Now that it’s all settled, does this mean meeting adjourned? If we are to train like you said, then I really need to return to practicing my element then.” Aqua inquired. Mint nodded in agreement and replied, “Me too.”
“Cool. Can we watch?” Lucy asked excitedly.
“You want to watch Aquamarine fail epically?” Mint commented while making faces at her sister.