Tales Of Connections

Chapter 14: the end of a story, the start of another.

After a while, onyx awoke. She lunged forward and gasped for air. She took a second to look around. The core bearers, Gwen and Gwen's parents were around her, Gwen holding her hand. "What happened?" She asked, holding her head in slight pain. The doctor then walked in. "You took quite the tumble there. When your friend brought you where in you were pretty banged up, both of you were, but she went to her second mother." The doctor explained. "Yeah, confusing family dynamic I know.." onyx laughed, grabbing her ribs in pain. "I'll let you talk with your family here." the doctor left and then looked over to Gwen, who still had faded tear marks on her cheeks. "I was so worried about you."

"You worry too much sis, I'm fine."

"Beth told us what you two did, having all of that ripped out of you..."

"I did what I needed to, to make up for my mistake of killing cosmos."

"You didn't make a mistake." Aqua started. "Trust us on that. You did the right thing." she continued, hugging her tight, Onyx winced slightly, but just she just took it, she got out of the bed and stood on her feet. "I'm guessing Ava didn't just get instantly healed up," she asked, with the group then piling out and into the next room over, where Ava was found in bed. Onyx looked around, Cat, Charlie, Black Cat, and Blush, John were gone. As soon as she walked in, Beth hugged her, and tightly. "I'm so glad you're all right." Beth then stepped back. "No idea how I would've explained any of what happened, unless you were here I mean." onyx just laughed it off. "Come on, you know I'm a platonic hugger. You wanna hug, I'm right here." Beth then went in for the full hug. "I honestly thought I was going to lose you there."

Onyx looked over at Ava, stuck in a hospital bed with casts on both legs, she had an IV drip in her arm, feeding her some heavy-duty painkillers. "Being made in a test tube, apparently messes with how medicine reacts to you. I need some of the heavy painkillers. I'll be fine, but they have the side effect of..." She paused for a moment to yawn. "Making me very tired."

"What now?"

"John has headed back to the guardians' HQ, he's trying to see who's still alive, and what to do for those who aren't."

"Oh."

"Do you know how long you were out?" Ava then asked back.

"Like a few hours, right? That's about the norm for me nowadays."

"It's been about a week." onyx immediately stopped moving.

"Yeah I can see why everybody was so sceared now." she continued, looking down now. Beth read her emotions and grabbed her by the arm. "I'm gonna go out there and get her some fresh air, back in a few minutes," she explained, opening up a portal and pushing Onyx through it. "Isn't that usually my job?"

"Sorry Gwen, but I think it has to be me this time. For her sake. It's kinda a shared trauma thing." Beth explained walking through the portal. The pair were on the roof of the Crystalopolis hospital, the bustling city below moving on as if nothing had happened a few days ago. Onyx sat with one leg dangling over the edge of the building, and her head resting on her propped knee. Beth crouched down next to her. "Something's up, what is it?" she then sat down her legs dangling over, and her arms stretched back, prospering her up as she leaned back slightly. Her guardian uniform merged back into her gauntlet, which then collapsed into a skin-tight ring-like bracelet. "It's just... so much has happened. I can't help but be a little envious of you."

"Of me? No way, I'm kinda envious of you. I mean, come on, look at the dimension you live in, the powers you have..."

"I just watched my brother die, for the second time. And for the second time, I had all the power, and couldn't stop it." Beth didn't respond for a moment.

"Right, I'm so sorry."

"So what? Do I just keep living with this? Keep living with the idea I could probably hurt somebody close to me if..." Beth cut her off, standing back up.

"Don't go doing this on me zirconia."

"I don't... what?"

"Do you remember what I was like before I first got roped into this mess?"

"You were boring?" onyx asked with a confused tone.

"Not just that, but I was just coasting through life, and then when my parents went missing I just started getting more angry and frustrated."

"As you had every right to be."

"Yeah, and you pulled me out of that. You helped Charlie get out of being a bully and into someone who bullies those who actually deserve it, you helped to get rid of that shadow demon that was on Olivia that we haven't really talked much about since sending it back to the shadow realm, you got the core bearers back together and reunited a few broken families, and you got yourself a sister who spent days at the side of your hospital bed, not ready to leave until something happened."

"Wait, Gwen never left my bedside?"

"She was too worried about losing you too. You've got people who care for you, and who can actually fight for your love if they need to. I dunno what you're thinking, or what you're planning, but I'm not letting my partner face this world alone. We're in this together now." Beth stated, pacing back and forth slightly, ending it by outstretching her hand to give Onyx a fist bump. Onyx got back up and finished the fist bump. "Yeah, you're right. Gotta push through it all, and I'm not doing it alone."

"None of us are, we're stronger together."

"Hey, that's the thing I said a few days ago." the pair began laughing. "So what happens now?"

"Guardian numbers are low, and who's left are being paired up for each dimension, given a few exceptions we can get into later. However, for both this and the neutral dimension, you're my partner."

"Two whole dimensions huh?"

"Well with you're speed and smarts, and my ability to actually direct you in the right direction, I'm sure we got this. Once Ava gets better, she's gonna take over for you in the natural dimension, and we'll probably get somebody else to cover for me here." the pair began walking back into the hospital, still talking as the sun began to set in the horizon. "So, you told them you were a demi-god for a few minutes there?"

"I've been trying to explain it, but I think Ava needs to hear it from you."

The end... of Arc 1.