Rising Shards

We backed up quickly and got into position. Oka grabbed my hand and gave me a look, a powerful, determined, magical look that enticed me to want to do everything she told me. I understood in that small moment why that look affected me so much.  It was the look of what I felt when I read Raina Starlight’s books. That look was magic, it was faith, it was hope, it was joy that anything was possible. That good could still win against evil. That I could find someone to really love me. That we could overcome anything that hit us, even the monsters inside our hearts and minds. Oka cast a vine out, grabbing the Kathron sword. She brought my hand to the legendary sword and we held it together. 

Oka and I dashed together and jumped at Kalei’s hands as she flung us up. We gave a mighty slash at the Starlight Despair. The Kathron sword lit up with our combined energy as we directly hit the mask. A small, hairline fracture appeared where we struck it. Then the cracks spread in an instant like thin ice breaking. The energy built within it had fully charged, a second more and we would be dead. I couldn’t look away, even if this was the end for me. The fractures cracked one more time, even deeper. Then the Starlight Despair shattered.  

The force blew us all back, and as I fell backwards, I could see Jeans tumble away even faster into the murky depths she’d collected. 

The dark ocean of despair began to turn clear, as waves of water washed over us. It rained above us again, the purifying water that fell from the sky, returning us from the reign of sorrows into our home again. We screamed with joy as we were washed ashore onto grass and could see real sky again. We rode the water as it lost its shape, and we landed roughly as a final splash spread the rest of the liquid, smashing us onto the ground. None of us even felt it. We laughed it off as we tumbled. We froze for a second when we saw we washed at the edge of the field at school. We realized we were safe. We made it. 

I hugged Oka and Kalei as soon as that realization hit me. I held them as tight as I possibly could, and they hugged me back, and I never felt safer. It was raining hard outside, but I felt more like dancing in it than rushing for an umbrella.

“Kalei! You showed up, and you grabbed her and then that slam…! You were amazing!” I said, shaking her shoulders. “That was amazing, you’re amazing!”

“Not as amazing as you and Oka with the jump!” Kalei said. “That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life! That bloodsaber rules! Do you still have it?”

Oka and I looked around. Even though we were holding it when we destroyed the Starlight Despair, it wasn’t in our hands when we left.

“Maybe it couldn’t come with us,” Oka said. “Since it’s from the void?”

“That doesn’t mean Minty’s still stuck there, does it?” I asked. I couldn’t begin to imagine how long it would take to search through the wreckage to find our bloodsabers.

“Crap, that’s right,” Kalei said. “Jeans chucked all of ours pretty far, that bitch.”

“Are these yours, then?” Lillia asked.

Led by Lillia, the rest of the class was close by. They all looked exhausted as well, but I was glad they had Lillia to get them out of those pods.

Lillia, Amara, and Roux approached, each with an extra bloodsaber. I recognized mine in Lillia’s hands instantly.

“Minty!” I said, getting my precious bloodsaber back. “I’m sorry I let her chuck you. We gotta get you fixed up, girl!”

“Zeta talks to her bloodsaber,” Roux said. “That’s weird.”

“Roux, you talk to your weird socks with that cartoon girl’s face on them, shut up,” Kalei said, taking her bloodsaber back from Roux. “But…thank you.”

“How did you find these?” Oka asked. “While you were rescuing everyone else, too?”

“It’s not hard to find three bloodsabers that seemingly fall from the sky.” Amara said.

"Amara, are you...?" I asked. I didn't know how she was taking the loss of Rain to Wildfire Hearts.

"It'll just be like a vacation." Amara said, turning away from me. I didn't question her further.

I would have guessed Amara would be too devastated to do much after Rain left, but the fiery determination in her eyes when she turned back seemed stronger.

“And Lillia’s pretty good at that sort of thing,” Ko said. “When she was leading us all, directing traffic to make sure everyone got out safe, I was just like, damn girl.”

“Uh.” Lillia said. “Th-thanks.”

“It gave me an idea for a new way to play lawn darts.” Latte said. “An even deadlier way. I’m working on getting a pitch together already.”

All of the class’s wristbands all binged at once. Mine binged a second later, then crashed.

“Students, located,” theirs said. “Sending signal to ADVISORS.”

Dr. Diast was on us in minutes, with the other pod leaders there as well.

“Oh, god, guys,” She said as she ran to us. Diast had the appearance of someone who had an emotional tornado devastate their soul. “You’re all OK. I thought. I didn’t think they’d dare pull a raid on…and it felt different than just a normal raid by Wildfire Hearts…you’re all OK…wait.”

After scanning the class, Diast saw that there were only four of us from her pod.

“Did…Aira and Laenie…?” Diast asked.

“They went over the line.” I said quietly.

Caya Kilander heard that, and quickly approached us.

“How many did they get?” Caya asked.

“Seven,” Oka said. She rubbed her forehead. “They…chose to go to. Yeah.”

I nodded. It wasn’t a time to be afraid or sad, we had to celebrate our victory, so all of us gave Dr. Diast hugs as well. Caya stepped back from us, apparently not one for hugs.

"We have to get them back," Kalei said. Like Amara, I was impressed at how well Kalei and Amara were taking the lost student situation right away. Their strong wills made me feel determined we could get them all back.

"We will," Dr. Diast said. “We’ll fix this."

“I know what we have to do next.” Caya said.

Diast gave Caya a serious look. “Recreant Protocol?”

Caya nodded. “I’ll get started right away.”

“Well, there’s still paperwork, the students we have to console…and you have your blueprints up.” Diast said as Caya began scanning through screens on her wristband. She walked away as Diast sighed. “We'll figure it out. The important thing is that you’re safe.”

Cheering started again among the rest of the class, and we forgot about how tired and sore we all were. Instead, we stood in the center of the field. Our group cheered in the rain, not leaving until it began to slow. I think we earned that moment of peace. The storm clouds over us began to pass. Daylight began to break through.