"What about Ghastly? He loves you, Tanith. Are you going to just throw that away?"
"Oh, come on Val. We both know this isn't about Ghastly."
The younger girl averted her eyes downwards.
Tanith laughed, cruelly. "Even now, you can't admit it!" She jeered. "Even now, you can't tell me how you feel! I knew, Val – I was laughing at you behind your back."
Valkyrie looked her straight in the eye. "Fine, Tanith. I did… like you. Maybe it was love. And I thought… I could survive, just being your friend, just having you near. But now… you aren't you. You're a Remnant. And that's not you. I want you back, properly. I want to hug you, and I want to hear you tease Fletcher, and I want…"
"I want, I want, I want. You're very needy, you know? Kind of a turnoff, to be honest."
Valkyrie just nodded. "Okay. I get it. She's gone now."
"No, Val," it said, in a sickly-sweet voice. "I'm right here, Val."
"Tanith, if you can really hear me, I love you."
The remnant opened its mouth to reply, but Valkyrie cut it off, shooting tongues of black flames from her fingers. It dodged, barely.
One hand after the other, Val pushed death and fire through her hands in the remnant's direction.
It dodged skillfully, but was eventually no match for the onslaught of power.
A burst of fire to its leg, and it collapsed.
The Remnant looked up, staring deep into her eyes.
"Please, Val, you won't-"
"I'm sorry. So sorry, Tanith."
An earsplitting screech, and it was over.
Valkyrie fell to the ground and cried.