Chapter 04: The Traitor

Deep inside the Skeksis palace, in the chamber infamously known as "The chamber of life", SkekTek the scientist was sorting through houoh slaves in an overcrowded wicker bag. The garthims and their riders got a good crop today. The houohs screamed and squirmed as SkekTek was going through prisoners.

"You bastard!" a older houoh man shouted as he felt SkekTek grab him. "Get your crusty claws off me!"

"STOP STRUGGLING SLAVE!" SkekTek screeched as he puts the man in a death grip. Though the houoh man was strong, SkekTek was even stronger. "It will be over before you know it."
SkekTek slams the houoh man down in a chair and straps him in, so he won't think of escaping. He then commands a slave to to pull a lever. "Open the walls...NOW SLAVE!"

As the lever was pulled, a wall opened up. It was revealed to be the shaft of air and fire that kept the Dark Crystal in its place. Then, a rod with a prismatic violet crystal appeared. The rod moved the crystal into a beam of light, refracting a violet ray across the laboratory and into the houoh's eyes.
Immediately, the man stopped struggling and became rigid and stiff. From the tips of his fingertips, to the end of his extended arms, a crackling force field jumped in to meet the crystal in front of the chair. There, it condensed into a thick, oily fuchsia colored liquid, which flowed down the tube and dripped into a crystal flask that was set right below the tube. The houoh's eyes started to become pure white orbs as the rod drained his life essence.

"Ah, essence!" SkekTek cackled to himself as he commanded the slave to stop the machine and close the walls. "Close the walls slave."

The slave did as he was told and pulled the lever again, this time, to close the walls. As SkekTek picked up the crystal flask, he was greeted with a familiar, rough sounding voice. "Well well... looks like you created a new slave SkekTek."

SkekTek turned around and was none too pleased with who greeted him. "What do you want with me SkekLach?"

"I've come here to ask you a question." SkekLach grinned oh so wickedly. "Why is it that only the emperor is allowed to drink houoh phoenix essence and not everyone else?"

"What are you trying to say SkekLach?" Already, SkekTek felt rather suspicious of SkekLach.

"I wonder what the essence of houoh tastes like. I heard it's very powerful."

Then, the unthinkable happened. SkekLach rips the flask right out of SkekTek's hands and he started to guzzle down the essence right in front of the scientist. He slams the flask down to the ground, making it shatter into many pieces. "Ah yes, that's why only the emperor is allowed houoh essence...because it tastes so wonderful."

Rage built up in SkekTek and it was evident that there was flames of anger in his eyes. "What the hell 
did you do that for SkekLach?"

"Let's face it, the emperor is dead. He's never coming back."

"That's not true. I don't believe you one bit!"

"If SkekSo is still alive, then why didn't he come back already?"

"I don't know. I don't know everything in Dragnar."

Then, a wicked idea sprung into SkekLach's head. "SkekTek, I want you to supply me with houoh phoenix essence?"

"Why should I?" SkekTek asked oh so bitterly.

Then, SkekLach uses his mechanical arm to grab SkekTek by the throat. "If you don't supply me with the life essence, I will throw you down that shaft of air and fire, and you will be reduced to ashes, got that?"

"Y...yes. I...got it! I GOT IT!"

"And don't you dare tell anyone. If you do, I will slice your tongue out, so you'll be silenced forever."

"Okay okay!" SkekTek cried out in terror. "More phoenix essence coming up."

As the banter went on between SkekTek and SkekLach, one houoh prisoner managed to escape, turn into phoenix form and fly off. "Oh my...I have to tell Layla the bad news."

Back in the Phoenix realm, in the town of Remy, a young, light brown colored phoenix flew back home, only to find her hometown in ruins. "NOOOOOO! MY HOME! MY HOMEEEEE!"
The young female looked very distressed as she started to call out the names of her family and friends. 
"Sol? Tessie? Phillip? Mysty? Where are you guys?"

As the girl phoenix searched around the ruins, a bright cyan blue colored phoenix greeted her. "Layla, is that you?"

"Ah! Gerard! I'm glad you're okay!"

"Ummm...Layla?"

"What is it Gerard?"

"I have some bad news. It's about your mother and father."

"Did the Skeksis...?"

"I'm sorry Layla." Gerard sighed as he wrapped his wings around her. "They had their essence drained."
"No...NOOOOOOOOOO!" Layla cried out as she hugged Gerard, sobbing very loudly. "Why my 
parents? Why couldn't it have been me instead?"

"No Layla! Your parents wouldn't want that." Gerard sobbed as he held Layla. "We have to be strong in times like this."

Layla's sadness started to turn to anger as she now thought of revenge. "I want the emperor dead!"

"But Layla, if we kill the emperor...we'll kill..."

"No buts! The emperor must suffer for taking my parent's life essence."

"Hmmm...very well. But please, if anything has happened to you..."

"I'll be okay. I'm a nightblade after all."

"Oh yeah, that's right." Gerard said back. "I'm just a mere chemist."

"Well..."

"Um, I don't know if this is such a good idea Layla. I almost became a slave."

"If we don't fight back, the Skeksis will capture more phoenixes like you and me, and make them slaves."

"Well, I guess you have a good point there." Gerard sighed. "Okay, I'll help you. Just, let's not be so rash and foolhardy in situations like this.

"Thank you Gerard." Layla said as she hugged Gerard. "You've always been a good friend."

"Same here with you Layla." Gerard replied. "Hey, let's head to the mountains. The terra houohs can hopefully take us in and hide us from the Skeksis."

"What are we waiting for?" Layla asked as she spreads her wings. "Let's go before the garthim and dragonites will find us."

But little did Layla know that it wasn't SkekSo, the emperor that took her parents' life essence, but SkekLach, the collector. In the meantime, SkekSo was being nursed back to health by the royal family in Gimlie. Even SkekSo didn't know of SkekLach's anterior motives. But how long will it take when SkekSo does find out about SkekLach's treachery.