To The Sun And Beyond

27. WAKING UP

CELESTE

I HEARD WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN
The gym the same time Mr. Thomas had, considering I was out for most of it. Luke had found the entire stone broken out of Kanani's necklace when she was nowhere to be found, and I found a crack in mine. Mr. Thomas was very proud of Mason for discovering his powers, as was I.

However, Mason didn't know how to show them to us.

"I can't... remember how..." Mason said once we had asked him to show them. "It was all so strange. I began to feel this excruciating pain in my head before it happened. But it was only when I got close to Phoebe and Dominic."

Mr. Thomas tapped chin. "Can you say those names again, Mason?"

"Phoebe and Dominic?"

Mr. Thomas' face lit up as he got up from his desk and ran to his computer, turning on the projector. Pictures of two moons appeared on the screen, both rockey and desolate. "Phobos, a Greek word meaning 'fear' is the name of one of Mars' two moons. The other being Diemos, meaning 'running away after being defeated'. These moons were named after the two horses that pulled Aries' chariot; counterpart of the war god, Mars."

"So, you think..." Emma started.

"That Phoebe and Dominic may be the human forms of Mars' two moons, explaining why Mason got powers, and why he can't preform them now." Mr. Thomas answered.

"But, how did Kanani know to look for them?" Kayla asked.

"Kanani's mother taught her many things about the Supernova, more than she should have. She could've known about the moons existence but never shared it, knowing that if we knew the other moons were around, we would know how to give Mason powers, giving her another threat."

"Could there be other moons out there?" Mason asked.

"Maybe. There are known to be one-hundred and eighty-one moons in our solar system. There could be others out there."

"So, will I never get powers again until I meet more of them?" Mason asked.

Mr. Thomas nodded, and Mason leaned back in his chair.

"Mr. Thomas, Kanani said my father killed the entire Supernova tem. Is that true?" I asked.

Mr. Thomas nodded. "He wanted the power all to himself. So he consumed all of the other planets' powers, causing the whole team, including himself, to be killed."

"That's why they died." I mumbled.

"Will we have to find a new Mars?" Genevive asked.

"Eventually. But since we have her stone, we can use it until we find them."

"How will we know who is Mars?" Kayla asked.

Mr. Thomas shrugged.

"Mr. Thomas, what does this mean?" Luke asked, bringing up the stone from Kanani's necklace.

"It means you can all get back the power that she drained from you." He answered, getting up and entering the planetarium, motioning us to follow. We got up from our desks, and filed into the dark room. Mr. Thomas had already closed the sunroof, and pressed the big button on the center of the podium. The planets appeared once again, Exept now, two moons floated around Mars.

We moved to our respective planets, our necklaces glowing in response. Mine, however, was glowing only around the crack at the bottom of my amulet. I frowned at it, but turned my attention to Mr. Thomas anyway. He moved the stone to Mars, and it lit up immediately, causing streaks of light to escape it, and they flowed back to their respective amulets.

The power came into my stone, sealing the crack.

Well, there's one less thing to worry about.

"There," Mr. Thomas said, turning off the planets and opening the sunroof. "You guys better get going, I don't think you're allowed to still be at school."

And with that, we were pushed out into the courtyard.

I noticed Mason sitting on the bench next to the fountain. I trudged my way down, because the grass was wet and slippery.

"Hey Mason," I said, sitting next to him. "Sooo, are you really leaving?"

"Yep," he answered. "I might not be back at this school after today, depending how long they decide to cancel."

I frowned, and we sat in silence.

"I just wanted to tell you, Mason, that I'll miss you. A lot." I said after a few minutes. "I just wish we had more time."

I felt Mason curl his hand around mine, and squeeze it tightly. "Me too. I'm really going to miss you, Sunspot."

I looked at him, and saw he was looking at me, too, and one of his deep turquoise eyes let out a tear.

That did it for me.

My eyes began to flood, and my mouth made small whimpering sounds.

"No, Celeste, don't cry," Mason said as he pulled me into a hug. "Please don't cry."

"Don't leave me behind." I choked out, causing Mason to hug me tighter.

"I won't. I promise, I won't."

We sat there together for what seemed like hours, not talking, and not letting go. The others had wandered to different areas of the courtyard, and I'm glad they did.

Mason planted kisses around my head, and I just continued to cry. I couldn't let go, I just couldn't.

"My sister is here," he whispered into my hair. "I promise I'll see you before I leave." He kissed my forehead one more time before prying me off gently. I still held his hand, and followed him as he walked down the courtyard. When he made it to the car, I hugged him tightly, and he returned the gesture. "I will never, ever leave you, Celeste Ray. Never." He whispered, and let me go, getting into the car. The car started, and drove off, dissapearing behind a cornor.

I fell to my knees there on the sidewalk, my heart slowing down. Kayla ran to me and pulled me into her arms. I kept staring at the road, not blinking, not moving, just breathing.

VIVIAN DIDN'T BOTHER ASKING ME
Why my eyes were puffy, or why I had bruises all over my body from the fight. She just watched. I made it up the staircase to my bed, not saying a word to anyone. I flung myself into the bed, and slowly drifted off into a dreamland far away, where I could cry as much as I wanted.