Hydra Heart

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter 38: Swan Song

Banner continued walking for some time, until he was barely visible to the onlookers below. For a moment, they entertained the hope that what he meant was that he would simply walk off and leave this conflict to someone else, perhaps whoever would succeed him as President of Hirudinea.

This was not the case. Soon, they saw it appear in the sky. It was growing, it looked like a star, but it had a backdrop of clouds, grey gloom spreading out behind the now illuminated Banner. Silhouettes of snow were cast from the light. It was burning brightly, Molly could feel just a tinge of warmth hit her skin. She, Vesta, Violet, and Shay fell silent in anticipation.

Then, the star began to come closer. It was moving slowly, but Violet knew there was no time to waste.

"Vesta, do you have enough SOLE to send that thing back?"

"No."

Molly chimed in, "I also can use Backlash right now."

Violet exhaled in relief, "You can do it, then?"

Molly simply shook her head in defeat. She thought for a moment. "Wait, Violet, if we all start spilling secrets, can we get enough SOLE from your Kit to fight it?"

"Yeah, maybe!" Violet responded. "Well, we have to try. Go, I think that thing is picking up speed!"

Surprisingly, Vesta knew how to start. "Shay, when you told me you loved me at Tenra's funeral, I didn't say anything back." The truth spilled out of her. "I am sorry. I just did not know how to react. I love you too. When we were on the boat together and they shot that cannon at us, I didn't know if I would be able to stop it. I thought I was going to die for you. I was so thankful when we made it out."

Vesta felt some power return to her. It still wasn't enough, though. The star was getting closer. It seemed to be burning itself to gain speed, decreasing in size, but accelerating.

Molly clenched her teeth in anticipation. She inhaled. "Vesta, I wish I had gone to you last night. And, well, every night before that. I wish you had stayed with me, held me in your arms every time we saw each other these past few months. I've been wishing for that ever since you rescued me."

Vesta's breath caught. "... I want those things, too."

More power came to both of them. In ten seconds, they would find out if it was enough. The star was coming.

10.

Violet knew they might die. She knew their only chance of survival was for her to admit what she had done.

9.

She could feel the heat of Banner's attack. The words needed to come out.

8.

7.

6.

"Vesta, I exempted myself from the twice a year rule, even though I wasn't fit to protect you."

5.

Vesta stuttered, "You-?"

4.

"I abused my power to see you more, that's how they found us."

3.

"It's my fault your father died."

2.

"It's my fault you grew up alone."

1.

SOLE flooded into Vesta and Molly the moment the star made contact with Backlash. It pressed against them. All four felt the heat and weight of it colliding with their defense. Molly took Vesta's hand, and Backlash fused into one whole piece again. They struggled against the awful, overpowering weight of the star. For three agonizing seconds, they were pressed for every drop of blood, sweat, and SOLE. Then, it shot back.

Tearing through the sky at unfathomable speeds, the star returned to its sender. It flew up, and to the relief of all below, it made contact with Banner.

Shay commented, "Shouldn't there be a-"

BOOM. An orange flash streaked the sky, temporarily blinding those that looked directly into it. It burned up the air as it exploded, seemingly obliterating Banner. The shockwave came in and knocked over Molly and Vesta, who lacked the energy to get back up.

So, instead, they laid next to each other, hand in hand.