“We, Phoenixes, have been alive since the beginning of time,” the leader began. “But none of us remembers how it started.”

Lydia scrunched her eyebrows in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“When Phoenixes die, they are reborn within their ashes-” I know that “-but it takes a few minutes for us to be reincarnated. We must go through a place called the Astral Plane.”

“The Astral Plane?” she repeated, dubious. “The place where spirits are?”

“Yes. We pass through it and return to our original selves, carrying our past life's memories with us.”

“But not the ones that you had in the Astral Plane.”

“No.”

Lydia hesitated, struggling to believe them. “Okay.”

“As we go through the Astral Plane, if our ashes are stolen or scattered throughout the world, we are trapped within the Astral Plane.”

“So there are more of you. In the Astral Plane.”

“Yes.”

“Who would scatter ashes? People? Wind?”

“No natural weather nor humans can touch our ashes. Only phoenixes, Ignis Volucres, and shamans.”

“Shamans. As in witch doctors?”

“Yes. We have learned that many work for the Charcoal Volucres; the Phoenixes that want to force us into extinction.”

Lydia snuggled beside her body. Tired from standing but not willing to risk having her mind be raped, she remained as a soul.

“Why would they want to do that to you?”

“They fear our power,” a Phoenix, half gold half red, answered proudly. “As they should.”  

“But Charcoal Volucres are Phoenixes...aren’t they?”

“They are human Phoenixes,” the leader corrected vehemently. 

“Someone had to have told them that by spreading your ashes your existence ends,” Lydia said, earning silence.

“Indeed there are traitors among us,” the leader told her.

“And you haven’t tried to find them?” Lydia gaped at all the birds, some could very well be the enemy trying to destroy them all. “That isn’t right.”

“We are a family and do not exclude each other. The choices we make are our own. We believe if one of us makes a harmful action, divine retribution will repay them,” a bright yellow bird on the right second end of the rail answered coolly.

“So, what’s your purpose of existing?”

“Helping the reincarnation of living things come to an end and beginning while searching for Phoenix humans.”

“How do humans become Phoenixes?” Lydiana asked.

“We do not know that, which is where you come in,” a female Phoenix that came to her rescue at the beginning answered. “When we read your mind, it revealed to us that Numbers 164 and 166 told you that when they died they are reborn in a landscape of ash. This is not true.”

“What do you mean? Who is 164 and 166?”

“Otherwise known as Kasey and Destery."

“This landscape does not exist,” the leader intervened curtly. “It is a myth created specifically for the human Phoenixes.”

“Why?” Lydia asked. “Why would you lie to your family?”

“As we said, for their safety. They do die by ash and are indeed reborn, but as a normal human.”

Lydia was terrified.

“They do not remember their past nor possess the abilities of a Phoenix. We have Phoenixes called Dusters, who track the Illuminos. When the owner of their Illuminos dies, the Dusters retrieve them and rescue the ash from being disturbed. If the ash is scattered, the human Phoenix cannot be reincarnated. If their ashes are saved, once they are reborn, their Illuminos gives off a signal and the Illuminos Locus's return the Illuminos to their owner.

The human is given a choice whether to take the Illuminos or not. Sometimes they reject the Illuminos and continue their lives as a human. That choice guarantees once they die in that cycle, they die as an ordinary human and not promised a life of rebirth.

A majority choose correctly, and as soon as they touch their Illuminos, memories of their past lives return and they regain their powers as a Phoenix. The cost, however, is they forget their previous human life and the people involved forget the human Phoenix's existence.”

“That’s terrible,” Lydia said sadly.

“It’s necessary to prevent harm to innocent humans.”

“Why can’t the Charcoals just take the Illuminos instead of smearing the ashes? Then when the Ignis Volucres are born again, they will just live like a normal human with no threat to them at all.”

Yet another silence invaded the room, much to Lydia’s irritation.

“We don’t know, yet. We thought perhaps you would have an idea.”

“Why would I have an idea?”

“You are not an old Phoenix. You are an extremely young human Phoenix with no memory of your one single past life.”

Lydia scowled. “So?”

“You lack the basic abilities of a human Phoenix. When you died, you indeed turned into a pile of ash. But when the Dusters came to take the ash of Number 164 and Number 166, yours was gone, which led us to assume yours had been spread someplace else. But the Charcoal's preserved the ashes so you could be reborn again. So they can use you, for whatever unknown purpose. Yet instead of being reincarnated immediately, it took you just over a century to be reborn. You do not have your Illuminos, so you do not have a way for your memories to return or Phoenix powers. Yet you carry the unnatural ability to leave your body. How is that?”

“I was hit by a car and I just...lost my body,” Lydia answered awkwardly. “Stranger things have happened, right?

“Which is why we were so harsh on your mind. Since we have none of your past memories or an Illuminos, if you even have one, we are extremely dependent on your present memories,” the leader explained, wanting to intrude in her mind once more.

“I don’t,” she said with a shake of her head. “I promise if I knew something, I would have let you know. But even if you saw something important that I hadn’t noticed, it wouldn’t help you. There’s no way my unc-the Charcoal-would have dropped his guard around me.”

Except for that phone call.

Lydiana shared a staring contest with the birds, wondering who would speak first, when finally she broke the silence.

“So what happens next?”

“What do you mean?”

“My uncle is evil to you, right? Technically he's not even my uncle.”

“He attempted to kidnap you in your past life, and has succeeded in this one,” a female bird confirmed.

Lydia counted to ten before responding. “So what should I do now? Hide here?”

“You should become a full-fledged Ignis Ales,” the leader said. “Technically, you already are one, just without the duties.”

“Duties?”

“Most human Phoenixes orders are to hunt Charcoal Phoenixes, Shamans, and their memories. Only a few with particular knowledge search for reborn Ignis Volucres.”

“Am I one of those few?” she asked hopefully.

“No. It is too dangerous for you. We still do not know you. You appear harmless, but if that were true, why would the Charcoal Volucres have such an interest in you?”

Lydia bit her lip, a sudden question arising. There must be a leader behind the Charcoal Volucres. Someone had to start wanting to go against these Phoenixes, and there had to be a reason.

Although these Phoenixes claimed to tell her everything she wanted to know, they did say they are withholding information for the sake of her and the other's benefit.

She just wondered if this was only for their benefit.

“Number One,” the leader cawed. “Not many know this information. Most of the ones that do have been around almost as long as we have. You are to keep all that you have learned to yourself. Should you tell, we will know, and the consequences will not be light.”

Without a goodbye or signal of release, all bird’s burst into ash and the room suddenly brightened, blinding Lydiana.

She blinked and took in her surroundings. Lydiana stood inside a very large and eerie birdcage with thousands of rails for the phoenixes to rest on and only one chair for a human to be victimized in.

Lydia sunk back into her body and hopped onto the smooth floor.

Human Phoenixes came into existence for an unknown reason; but was that true? And the Ash Order didn’t know who was scattering their ashes or why; was that true, also? And Lydia’s important existence was also a mystery.

But how could it be a mystery to the Phoenixes and not Uncle Perry?

Lydia thought she was just a girl that could abandon her body when she pleased and fly down streets like the Flash. But now…now she was different. She was even stranger than the Phoenixes. And for the first time she was truly scared of herself.

Lydia headed to the doors, concerned on how to open them, when they automatically pulled themselves outwards, revealing not the doctor, but an entirely different person instead.