My body lands in arms. Soft, fleshy arms that have veins that connect to a heart that beats. I open my eyes, the sky is still the same and my body is in one piece.
"Celestia, you're alright," a familiar voice tells me. I clutch the body to discover it's Rune. I wrap my arms around his neck and sob into his back. His skin and his body is warm and familiar, I trust it. Through my tears I see the rest of my teammates: Fawn, Maia, Thorne, and Echo. Rune gently sets me down, I crawl toward Echo. He crouches down to my level and I extend my wrists toward him. He sees my torn bands and absence of magical power. He doesn't say a word, like usual (his method of sympathy is unsociable and cold, but warm and inviting all at once), but pulls from the back of my head and touches his forehead on top of mine. I cry and he consoles me. Gentle stokes to my hair and he smiles:
"Tell us," he says. I nod and break our foreheads away. My glassy eyes reflect in his pupils. I look at the one eye that matches the color of Raven, the grey eye is his own.
"Lily cut my bands! I'm out! I'm done for, I have no magic left," I screech and then my voice fades to a whisper, "My own sister, I can't believe it." I hold my wrists up and they look at my bands. Or it's the bands I used to possess, I'm literally worthless now. I have no magic, I have no right to be the Master, I don't even deserve the right to be on the team. Everything is lost.
"Celestia," Fawn whispers and puts her hands to her lip, "Maia! Tell me! Tell us there is a way for Celestia to regain her magic!"
Maia looks around uncomfortably, the sky is as hazy and uncertain as she is. "Yes, another wizard must cut their own bands and they shall drink their magic infused blood and regain their own power."
"No! Something else, right?" Fawn tries again, she searches for an answer she knows she'll never receive.
Maia shakes her head. I clutch the dirt between my fingers. The world is taking, it doesn't give. The air is silent and awkward, everyone hates to see me suffer. I feel so pathetic and unusual, like I'm being watched like a circus animal. I want to scream and eat something snd cry in my bedsheets. I'm tired of fighting! I want to go home! I don't want this, this hurts, my chest hurts, my brain hurts, my feelings are hurt. It's all too silent as we ponder what to do with me. Thorne's hand reaches toward a fragment of broken glass. She grips it tight in her fist and I hear the sound of ripping flesh.
"Thorne!" I cry out, but her bands are already cut. They ooze and drip blood. She trembles, her hands caked over with sticky redness. She smiles at me, her pink locks blow over in one direction from the breeze. The rose on her necklace begins to wilt.
"Take it," Thorne says.
"No! I can't! It's yours!" I yell back.
"I cut it because I want you to have it. I don't care, Celestia, I love you more than anything my magic can bring! Drink it, so it doesn't go to waste," Thorne tells me.
"I-I," I stutter and the words choke in my throat, "Thank you! I love you, too!"
"No! I should thank you! You've given me so much, you made me love again and speak and want to grow pretty flowers for you! I don't care if I'm not your sister my blood, but this is as close as I can get!" she yells and shoves the side of her wrist in my mouth. The blood is warm and tastes like metal. She pulls away and Maia wraps her arms around her. I look at my own wrist, it begins to repair and patch up. The skin becomes whole and only leaves a small hairline fracture of Lily's knife to remind me of this fateful day. The bands reappear, all four of them. Then, a fifth band appears. Through these hardships, I have become a Super Bender.
"I love you! I love you all so much!" I cry and embrace them all into my arms. I feel all their warmth and bodies and their hearts with souls. I've only been taken care of, now there is something to care for.
"Celestia, you know what you have to do?" Rune interrupts.
"I don't think I can," I hesitate and look back to the house, "Dominique and Kenneth are in there, they're our comrades, at least."
"Raven could have a plethora of of minions, spies, wizards, and weapons. You have to destroy it!" Rune reminds me.
"Someone else should," I tell him.
"This isn't about me or anyone else. You're the one, Celestia, you have to do it!" Rune tells me and grabs my shoulders. I break from his gaze and glance backward to Calamity Serpent. I turn to sky, my repaired arms face upward. My skin and palms
welcome the storm. I feel everything in my bones, my veins, my soul.
"Lightning! Lock! Target!" I scream from all the air in my lungs. A flash of lightning shoots from the clouds, the sky splits to make way for the enormous amount of power that surges through. The tip of the lightning strikes the roof of their team house. It sparks, then erupts into flames.
"Run! Run, let's all get out of here!" Rune commands, everyone runs out. My feet refuse to budge as I watch the house burst with flames. It sends a black column of smoke into the sky. Fawn grabs my arm, I glance at her, and then back at the house.
"It's okay, Celestia, we got you," she consoles. I nod and we push out, feeling the earth slap against our feet as the scent of fire becomes a fading memory.
•••
"You fixed it!" I gleam and Ace smiles smugly. The house is back into a hustle and bustle, majority of my teammates have gone off on jobs. My rescue team has splintered into different directions, Maude stands with Ace, and everyone else is doing their duty as a mage.
"We all did, really, I used construction and Maude used some time reverse stuff," Ace explains, "We didn't change too much. We brought the dorms all back to how they were and nothing was too badly damaged expect your bedroom and office."
"Thank you, this is the perfect thing to come home to," I tell him and stand in the kitchen. Everything feels right, like this is another chance. It feels like the fire didn't even happen, but I know it did. Ace tells me the details he repaired, but the only thing my focus is on is Thorne crouched outside in her garden.
"The only change we made was expansions into the kitchen and dining area, so we can all fit," Ace adds.
"Oh and I repaired something you might want," Maude says, "It was only half burnt so it was easy to fix." She slips in my hands the Vandenberg file. I set it on the counter. "Are you okay?" Maude adds.
"No, sorry, this is all fantastic. Thank you," I say, "Um, I just need to talk to Thorne for a second, excuse me." I finish and worm out of the conversation. I slide
open the door to the garden. Thorne is crouched over in the soil, pulling weeds, preparing soil
for the spring that will spring upon us in a few months, and picks the last bit of earthy fall flowers and herbs in the ground. I crouch down next to her. The air is brisk, it tickles my neck. My cheeks are a flushed pink and particles of pollen and dead leaves brush all around me. I sigh deeply:
"Hi," I say, awkwardly.
"Hey," she responds.
"I'm sorry you had to give up your magic for me," I apologize.
"I didn't give it up," Thorne corrects, "I gave it to you. It's okay, I can still garden without my magic."
"I know, but you'll never get it back," I wince.
"No," Thorne interjects, "Maude made me a time arc. The day you fall in love, I get my magic back!"
"Me?" I ponder.
"Yes, it's a fateful day and that's all I remember," Thorne tells me.
