Freedom

In Only A Moment

   The rain fell lightly through the cracked ceiling as Raven opened her eyes. She breathed in the fresh, untainted air. Glancing around she saw Cat, Mitch, Sky, and Quentin coming to. She glanced over to where Cole had been, seeing him knocked out and Spark standing over him. Footsteps reached her ears as several people rushed down a set of stairs. An old door rattled as someone barreled through it, heading straight for Mitch. Mitch screeched in surprise as he was tackled to the ground. The screech of surprise soon turned into a sound of joy as Mitch began to realize who had tackle-hugged him. 
   “Jerome!” he yells, grabbing the Baca back in a tight embrace. 
   Sky was the next to be embraced. It was solemn as he and Tyler held each other, the realization of all that had happened washing over them. 
   Raven turned to see Fox pushing Michael out of the way. She flings herself onto Cat, who instinctively slings her off. Fox laughs as she stands. Cat gasps then grabs her sister. “Don’t ever do that again, d*mn it!” Michael soon joins the hug. Raven feels her feet leave the ground, letting out a small shout in surprise. She laughs as she sees Bazz below her, spinning with her in his arms. He sets her down and holds her tightly. 
   “I love you,” he whispers. 
   “I missed you too, Bazz.” The two hold each other for a long time, the embracings and interactions of those around them a blur. 
   Raven feels a tap on her shoulder, bringing her attention back to the rest of the world. She smiles as she sees Sub standing in front of her. Sub beams back as words appear in front of him.
   “Thanks for everything.”
   Raven chuckled, embracing Sub in a tight hug. “I bet you missed being able to do that.” 
   “Definitely,” the text reads as the two released each other. 
   “Oh!” Raven said. She fumbled in her pocket, grabbing Sub’s bandana. “This is yours.” Raven hands the cloth to Sub, who ties it around his neck like a small scarf. 
   “Thanks.”
   “Anytime,” Raven responds. She turns back to Bazz, pulling the goggles off from around her neck. She placed them on Bazz’s head. “That’s better.”
   Bazz glances at her over his shoulder. “I’m going to want my jacket back, too.” 
   “Ha! You’re not getting that back,” Raven states. Bazz shrugs. 
   “I figured.” 
   The couple watch as interactions continue. They’re hands interlocked, they decide to approach Basher. 
   The two walk up to the melon man while he’s talking to Mitch and Jerome. They’re all crying. It was easy to assume why. 
   Basher turns as the Raven and Bazz near. “Raven,” he calls, his voice a slightly less painful pitch. His eyes dart over to Bazz. “I…”
   “Bash, I wanted to apologize,” Bazz interjects. Basher stares at Bazz, amazed. 
   “What...Why?” 
   “Well, that whole thing. With you, and Raven, and me. I just.” Bazz sighed. 
   “I get it,” Basher assures him. He turns to Raven. “I’m...I’m so sorry. About all of it. To both of you.” 
   Raven squeezes Bazz’s hand reassuringly. They share a smile. “Hug it out?” Raven suggests. Tears prick Basher’s eyes as he nods, the three embracing. 
   “You still owe me a round of parkour, Seto!” they hear Bodil shout from nearby. 
   “Only if there are respawns and saves,” Seto replies with a laugh. 
   This causes everyone to laugh. The tension was gone. Things weren’t normal like they had been, but things were finally okay. The hellish ride was over and everyone was alive. 
    Someone knocks Raven on the head. She turns, finding her brother behind her. “Never do that again,” he states protectively. 
   Raven laughs. “You know me, can’t help but find danger.”
   “J would have had a heart attack if he knew.” 
   “He doesn’t know?” Raven exclaims. “We’ve been gone for, what, a week?” 
   “A week? It’s been, like, forty-eight hours tops,” Spark mutters. “I heard your first message last night.”
   Raven glances at Bazz, surprise etched on all the faces who had heard Spark’s comment. 
   “Time is an illusion,” Bazz mutters with a chuckle. This causes the others to laugh again. 
   “So,” Spark starts as conversations resume and everyone heads to exit the old castle-prison, “what can I do with Mr. I’m - So - Smart - I’m - Gonna - Trap - A - Bunch - Of - People - In - A - Killing - Game?” 
   Sky approaches them at this question. “I can deal with him personally, if you don’t mind Spark.”
   “Of course not, your highness,” Spark answers. 
   Sky rolls his eyes. “He threatened many lives, including the king’s, so I’m sure there are plenty of legal reasons I can have him locked up.” He glances over his shoulder. “Ty. Mind helping me?” 
   Tyler joins the group. “With pleasure,” he answers. The two then drag the unconscious Cole away. 
   “Oh, and Spark?” Sky says, stopping for a moment. “Thanks for saving us, but I’ve told you before, don’t your highness me. We’ve been through wars and hells together, it’s far too formal.” 
   Spark chuckles. “Sure thing, your majesty.” Sky groans. 
   “Kids.” He and Tyler then head up the stairs. 
   “I’m, what, fifteen years younger than him?” Spark chuckles. 
   “Something like that,” Raven answers. 
   “We heading home?” Bazz asks as the three leave the arena. Everyone else has already left. 
   “Finally,” Raven agrees. The group, after collecting their things that had been in the “bedrooms” and making sure everyone was out safely, made the journey home. 
   “Took ya long enough,” J said the moment they walked in the door. “You said you’d be back tomorrow. Well, tomorrow was yesterday. I missed two tournaments. Technically three!”
   “Aww, did you not enjoy keeping Mystic?” Raven teases. 
   “Oh, nah. Mystic was a charm. Isn’t that right, Myst?” J turns to the child in his arms. She blows a raspberry. J chuckles. “Oh yeah, I forgot I taught you that.” 
   “J,” Bazz starts. 
   “I know, I’m a bad influence, yadda yadda.” 
   “I was gonna say thank you, but yeah, that too.”
  J laughs. “I’m just glad I don’t have to eat microwave pasta again. Man, I missed your cooking, Bazz.” 

   And so life went on. Things settled into a new normal. While the memories still haunted the group, it soon faded to the back of their minds and all was well in the end.