Shimmer |✓|

//Intervention// Part 1

The Otherworld was burning. 

I sat on the hilltop, watching, as the valley below was razed to the roots by malicious flames red-pink as the broiling skies. A hot breeze blew past, carrying ash that choked and embers that swirled like fireflies-beauty and destruction. Tidus' golden castle was rendered black as night, charred like all the green things beneath it-and the magic wasn't through.

Beside me, my Wolf was stretched on her lean belly, in a bed of faded purple-verbena made brittle as sticks from the searing heat. She didn't fare much better-her snout was too dry, resting on listless paws. Her golden eyes were flat, as dim as the valley's life force. The magic had left her fur white as winter snow-so bright she beamed like a star as everything else died around us. I ran my fingers through her thick, unbelievably soft coat. It was drenched. Sweat coursed down my own forehead in rivers of salt and sadness.

"Why this place? Why here?" Tidus sat down beside me, untroubled, leaning casually on his palms as he watched his world burn. Others would have found his sense of calm unsettling or morbid, but as always, Tidus inspired me where no one else could.

"This is the only part of me that's left." The only part of me the magic hadn't yet taken. Or burned. I managed a one-armed shrug, tucking damp curls behind my ear. "I feel safe here."

"Kindred spirits." He smiled-more glorious than the redemption I longed for.

A mournful cry rent the vermilion sky asunder, sending our attention upwards. The mighty dragon wheeled as if reaching for the clouds, coiling like a beautiful ebony ribbon... then dropped from the sky, plummeting to the flames below. His fall shook the Otherworld, which reverberated with the unbearable echo of defeat. My Wolf, rose and sat on her haunches, watching the cremation in solemn dignity as I uttered a dry sob and buried my face in my hands. It was getting harder and harder to fight the good fight, to stop the magic from taking over completely...

Tidus pressed himself against my side, slipping his arm around my shoulders. "You can't give up. The second you do, that's it--it's over. The magic wins."

"I thought having my powers would save me-save everyone, but this is hell. This isn't what I thought it would be like at all." I drew my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them with a mournful, selfish sigh.

"Because your magic is dark, Naomi, and it's too much--for any person."

"What?" I straightened, rocked once more by another of his vicious secrets. "My magic is dark? But--I don't understand. Does that make me-does that mean I'm--"

"Evil is a speculative word, Naomi, as hell is not merely a place but a feeling. What would truly be evil, what would truly be hell, would be to lose yourself entirely--to give your soul to the power. I told you, magic can be poison--light or dark--and some is more toxic than others. This is why your parents wished for your magic to stay hidden, Naomi. They thought your life would be easier."

And they were as wrong as I had been. "You know what's really pathetic? If you had told me this before I unlocked my powers... it wouldn't have made a difference. I'm not sure I would've been able to turn down my magic." I turned my face aside. "I'm an idiot."

"But mostly stubborn."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? That my magic was dark?"

"Because your mother had white magic. I wasn't sure yours was dark... until you tried to kill Ethan."

"Tried? So he's alive--thank god." I turned my face to the raging heavens, closing my eyes as I held back tears of relief. "Ti, I haven't been myself one minute since I came back to life. You have to understand--this isn't me. I don't hurt my friends or put their lives in danger--or use people to self-medicate." Ugh. Chandler... There was nothing but complete understanding in those cool, blue eyes of Tidus', but I was so ashamed of my actions I could barely look at him. "It's a nightmare in here--watching as I destroy my own life. I feel like a puppet--the magic pulls my strings, and all I can do is what it tells me."