The Chronicles of Earth and Time

Chapter 12

"You see, Terra, you're not the only one who can use their element to find out what's going on around them. I can use fire to see what is going on around me." Ustrina explained with an evil grin as she stared at Terra who gasped in shock.

"What do you mean?" Ustrina and Terra heard Aura's small voice ask from behind them. Ustrina turned to face her clueless sister then conjured fire in the palm of her hand.

"How about I give you an example?" Ustrina questioned as she threw the fire blast toward Aura. Aura jumped the turned to find a fire burning brightly behind her. "Now I want you to pick a number and hold it behind your back." Ustrina commanded in an annoyed voice. Aura stood there stared at Ustrina as if she was insane. Well, more insane than she already was. "Do it!" Ustrina snapped at Aura as the flames around Terra grew brighter. Aura's eyes grew wide with fear for a moment. Suddenly, she smirked and held her hand behind her back.

"Alright, Ustrina, I'm ready." Aura insisted as Terra noticed the mischievous glint in her eyes. Ustrina's eyes flashed a fiery ember for a moment then flashed back to normal. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at Aura who broke out in laughter.

"How dare you!" Ustrina screamed causing Terra's fire cage to be absorbed back to Ustrina. Her skin seemed to turn red with rage as her hair completely caught fire. Even her eyes began to glow an angry ember as she exploded with anger. Aura ran over to Terra and quickly helped her up as Ustrina began to hover in the air.

"Aura, what did you do?" Terra asked franticly as Aura helped her take cover behind a nearby boulder.

"I simply picked a number and held it behind my back. She didn't say which finger I had to use." Aura explained with a smirk and at that moment Ustrina's anger exploded around them.

Even though Aura and Terra took cover, the force of the explosion threw the two of them into the air. Ustrina watched as her two sisters flew through the air clinging to each other until they landed. She cringed slightly as she heard the impact of their landing. After waiting a few minutes to see if they would get up, Ustrina walked slowly to the spot where the two landed. It looked as if they both landed on top of a pile of boulders and rocks. There were even several rocks on top of them along with the desert dust. Ustrina examined them closer and noticed the puddle of blood forming under them. She grinned knowing that she had won the battle, but the grin faltered.

"I'm sorry my sisters. I really didn't want to kill any of you." Ustrina apologized then she turned away from her sisters and began to walk away. "But you left me no choice." Ustrina concluded darkly as she vanished in a swirl of flames.

As soon as Ustrina left, Terra's eyes fluttered open. She struggled to sit up, but was unable to get to her feet. As she looked around, Terra suddenly remembered everything that happened. She felt something wet and sticky all over her. When her eyes finally were able to focus, she realized with a shock what it was. She was covered in Aura's blood. Her gaze drifted toward Aura who was staring straight at the sky. Her eyes were unfocused, but she was breathing very slowly. "Aura." Terra croaked as she crawled over toward her sister. She lifted Aura into her arms and found that she was bleeding heavily from her back. Terra looked at the ground where Aura was laying and found a sharp pointed rock sticking straight up drenched in blood. Terra gasped as she realized what happened to Aura. She was stabbed in the back by the earth. "Aura, come on. Please look at me!" Terra cried as she tried to meet Aura's eyes. Aura blinked slowly as she tried to focus her eyes on her older sister.

"Terra?" Aura groaned as she met Terra's eyes. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes as she gazed at her older sister. "Are you okay?" Terra was flabbergasted at what Aura had just asked. Terra expected Aura to ask her to take her home or to help her in any other way. Aura cared more about the people she loved than her own well-being.

"I think I will be alright, Aura. It's you I'm worried about right now." Terra whispered sadly as she brushed Aura's hair out of her eyes. Terra knew at that moment she had to be brave for her younger sister.

"Is it really my fault that Aqua is dead?" Aura whimpered as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Of course not, sweetie. Everything that's happened is because of Ustrina." Terra answered as she continued to try to comfort her younger sister.

"I feel like it's my fault. Everything I do seems to get people hurt. If I hadn't flipped Ustrina off you probably wouldn't have gotten hurt." Aura admitted guiltily as she lowered her gaze a bit.

"Wait, you flipped off Ustrina?" Terra laughed sadly as she tried to meet her sister's eyes again.

"Yes, the finger I chose was the middle finger. I thought it was pretty clever at the time." Aura laughed a bit until she started coughing. Once she finished coughing, she looked up at Terra again. "I'm scared, Terra."

"It will be okay. You will be with Aqua again." Terra assured as she wiped the stray tears from Aura's face.

"What if Aqua doesn't forgive me?" Aura asked as her eyelids grew heavier.

"You know what Aqua's last words were to me?" Terra asked her sister with a brave smile as tears began to stream down her face. Aura shook her head and waited for Terra to tell her. "Aqua's last words were 'tell Aura I love her' and you know what? I love you too with all my heart."

"I love you too, Terra." Aura whispered as her eyelids finally closed and her body went limp. Suddenly, Aura's body seemed weightless as it began to slowly turn into a white like foggy mist. It then began to float toward the sky as it became part of the clouds above. Terra closed her eyes and let the tears she was holding back fall down landing in the desert sand. She opened her eyes for a moment and noticed there was no trace of her sister left. The blood that had been on the ground, the rocks, and even her was gone. As Terra fell to the ground in broken sobs, she realized just how exhausted she really was. She then noticed something shining in the sunlight by the rock that had stabbed Aura. Terra slowly reached over and grabbed the object out of the sand. Once it was out of the sand, Terra looked at it closely and realized it was Aura's elemental stone. She held it close to her chest as she felt the tears continue to fall down her face. She had tried to be brave for Aura, but she still lost her. She had promised Aqua she would defeat Ustrina, but failed. Terra was powerless against her.