Chapter 10: True Power

Sunday night come too soon.

The Queen Minusion was coming, I just knew it. I wasn't second guessing myself. The Blue Star seemed to literally emit an alarm in my chest, one that I couldn't deny. This was it. This was going to happen.

Jared had something else to do the night of the assembly, so I rode there with Mutt instead. We didn't talk the whole way there. He understood, so he simply drove his go-cart in silence. It wasn't until he parked in a far corner of the student parking lot when he asked, "You ready?"

"Yeah…" I forced myself to mutter. "I'm ready."

We hopped out and casually made our way into the stadium. Most of the students were already there, chatting amongst themselves, unaware of what was coming. Come to think of it, I barely knew what was coming. Despite my weeks of experience with Minusion Soldiers and Warriors, I didn't know what to expect out of a Queen. I started to reconsider my orders for Mutt to help the other students and not me, though I kept this to myself.

As we had agreed, Mutt and I sat down with the Eds, who openly welcomed us. "How are you two?" Edd asked us.

"Not bad, Double D," Mutt answered. "You?"

"Oh, I'm great! I can't wait to hear what our new mayor has to offer to Peach Creek's students."

Eddy gave us a smirk. "So, have you two hit it off yet?"

"As a matter of fact, we have," Mutt played along.

"Good. I was wondering when you'd finally work up the nerve. Plus, maybe Nazz will stop shooting you sideways glances."

"Nazz?" Mutt turned around, looking up at where Nazz, Kevin and Rolf were sitting. For a brief moment, Nazz was looking down at him, then she quickly turned away, pretending to take interest in something else. Mutt scoffed. "Why should I care about what she thinks? Girls used to stare at me all the time."

I would've normally said something in retaliation to Mutt's comment, but my mind just wasn't there at the moment.

Ed, who had been giddily bouncing in his seat the whole time, suddenly stopped and looked at me. "Are you okay?"

At first I barely heard him, but when Mutt elbowed me, I snapped out of my trance and stammered, "Y-Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Edd asked. "You seem a bit off tonight."

"My mind is just other places right now. No big deal." Internally, I winced, considering it was a big deal.

"I hope this doesn't take long," Eddy groaned. "I've got better ways to spend my Sunday night."

"Don't worry, Eddy," Edd sighed. "If Mayor Dengen is this willing to communicate with the youth of Peach Creek, I'm sure he'll be able to keep our attention."

Ed simply resumed his bouncing, not sure what to expect out of the new mayor but excited for it all the same.

Mutt, of course, wasn't there for the speech. He was the only other person who knew what was about to happen. He leaned in towards my ear and whispered, "Let me know when you see it coming, then just go, okay?"

"Okay," I whispered back. That much sounded simple enough.

Simply out of curiosity, I closed my eyes and tapped into the Blue Star. Through it, I filtered out the white noise around me in search of Gold Star energy. Sooner than I had expected, I found it, and it was closer than I thought, quickly approaching us. If I hadn't known any better, I would've thought it was right on top of us. I tried to focus in on it, but that did little more than providing me with a splitting headache.

Mutt apparently noticed this. "Nat, calm down," he whispered sharply. "You okay?"

"I… don't know," I admitted. I had a feeling I knew what was coming, so I just barely slit my eyes open and looked at Mutt.

His cringe and startled expression confirmed it. My eyes were displaying the same freak-out from the debate. I closed them again as he continued, "Just push it away. Take control of it."

I did my best to push the Blue Star back, unhooking my senses from it and returning to my carnal mind. Every part of me seemed to relax when I did. My eyes shot back open and Mutt let out a sigh of relief. When I looked at him - I already knew my eyes were looking normal again- he asked, "Did you see it?"

"No, but it's closing in on us." My vision swerved around him to the Eds. They didn't seem to notice my struggle, as Ed was still squirming with joy and Edd was giving Eddy a lecture about respect. When I looked around, I was relieved to find that no one else was staring at me either.

"There he is!" Ed cheered, leaping up in one last, gleeful bound.

I looked back down at the podium that had been set up on the football field's track, where Tybalt Dengen was making his way up to greet the students seated before him. He was accepted with a warm round of applause; among my group, Ed was as rapid as always with his claps, Edd was calm and firm, Eddy didn't clap at all, Mutt just gave three golf claps for the sake of consistency, and I remained still.

Dengen smiled at us, raised a hand and slowly lowered it again. The applause died down as he did, as if he had lowered a switched that turned down the volume of the crowd. After a moment of silence, he spoke into a microphone, his voice warm and friendly. "Greetings, students of Peach Creek High School. I'm honored to stand before you as your new mayor."

"Oh, brother," Eddy grumbled, slumping back and leaning his head against the seat behind him. Based on the look on Mutt's face, he was thinking the same thing.

For the time being, I just sat there with my head in my hands, barely paying attention as Dengen rambled on about how we were the future of Peach Creek and he wanted to help us set our lives in motion or something like that. Like I said before, politics aren't my cup of tea, and I had more important things to worry about.

My eyes slowly scanned all around, taking in the students who were watching Dengen with varying emotions. The images charred into my mind seemed to mingle with what I saw, and I knew that eventually everyone would be reflecting the unadulterated fear that was to come. I myself was feeling a wide range of emotions, from the dread of having to face the oncoming Queen, to concern for the wellbeing of the others, especially Mutt, to the anxiety of just wanting to get the whole thing over with.

At some point in my search, I caught sight of Shane sitting by himself in the band section. My heart drooped when I saw his downcast frown, and I started to feel a pang of regret. If I had known he was there, I would've invited him to sit with us or… scratch that. I had him to worry about too; I didn't want him hurt any more that he already was. If I had known, I would've told him to get the heck out of there while he had the chance.

That regret only escalated when he met my gaze, managing a smile and a wave, which I did my best to return. Mutt saw my action out of the corner of his eye. He looked up at Shane, then at me. "Don't worry about him," he whispered.

There were too many emotions in that one sentence for me to list, but whatever the case, I found no choice but to listen to him. As I nodded to Mutt, I noticed Shane shooting a glare at the back of Mutt's head before turning his attention back to Dengen.

I blinked a few times and decided to let things happen when they happened. I'd know when the Queen was coming, so I thought I might as well relax for a bit. For a quick moment, I let my attention slide back to Dengen. Even if I was letting his words go in one ear and out the other, I had to admit he had a very captivating way of speaking. Everyone around me was soaking in every word he said. Even Eddy's apathy had ebbed a little bit.

But the weird thing was that even though Dengen was looking all around at his audience, I felt as though his stare was boring into me no matter where he looked. His intense amber eyes danced my way every chance they got, and that smile on his face seemed a little too coy… I narrowed my eyes at him, asking myself what it was about him that seemed so suspicious.

In another act of curiosity, I tapped into the Blue Star.

And the moment I did, I found myself looking through another's eyes, eyeing, from a distance, the football stadium, the mayor, all the students watching him, and in particular, myself.

It was here.

"Mutt." I elbowed him, watching myself do it before I snapped back to my own perspective.

Mutt looked my way, not breathing a word, and I simply gave him a nod. He immediately understood, giving me a confident nod in return. "Go ahead."

I stood up and walked down the bleacher stairs, trying to look as nonchalant as possible and avoiding eye contact with anyone. I kept my eyes firmly on the metal staircase beneath me, only looking up when I got to the bottom, and even then I only looked at Dengen. Once again I swore he was looking directly at me, but I quickly shook it off (actually it was more like an erratic shiver… pretty embarrassing, too) and made a final descend onto the sidewalk. As soon as I was out of sight, I quickly dashed behind the concession stand and sat down in the grass.

This was it. Every battle I had fought so far boiled down to this moment. Somewhere in my mind I knew this was only the beginning, but nonetheless, it was going to take every bit of strength I had to fight this Queen. Was I scared? Yes. Very. But in sense, that was probably a good thing. I recognized the danger I was about to jump into, but knew I had to do it, whatever the consequences.

I inched myself to the right a bit and peaked around the corner. Everyone was depending on me. All the students that had no idea who I was… As I took one last moment to look at their tranquil faces, I started to feel the weight of my responsibilities.

I think it was that very moment when I finally came to terms with the fact that the girl I used to be really was gone. This was who I really was… a hero.

My strength and determination were building up as I felt the Queen approach. In a final act of preparation, I sat back down and pulled Mutt's necklace out of my shirt. He was perhaps the one I worried about most. Mutt… who had been there for me since day one, who accepted me for who I was and was destined to be, who provided me with courage and passion I never knew I had… He needed me, as did everyone else, but I couldn't help but think that I needed him more.

I kissed the wolf charm, tucked it back in and whispered a silent prayer. Once I finished, I felt ready… ready to take on the world if I had to. I stood up in what would've been a triumphant pose had I not been behind a dirty old concession stand.

That brief moment of bravery was instantly shattered by a rumbling beneath my feet. I froze up, then jumped when a second rumble came, followed by a third… a fourth…

I forced myself to look around the corner again. Dengen had gone silent, and worried murmurs were rippling through the crowd. Out on the horizon… I could see it. Its silhouette against the night sky was a strangely majestic yet deadly sight. I didn't even flinch when, from within the crowd, Jimmy let out a terrified scream. The murmurs increased, coupled with gasps and the occasional outburst (courtesy of Eddy). They could see it.

Pretty soon it was willing to make itself seen, crouching down and breaking into a sprint. The ground shook profusely as it approached, and in a matter of seconds, it burst through the fence on the opposite side and skidded to a halt, letting out a fierce, ear-piercing roar at the crowd.

My vision came to life, and for a long time, my courage collapsed and I had no idea what to do.

The Queen Minusion took up at least a third of the football field and towered at a height that just barely surpassed the announcer's booth at the top of the bleachers. Its fur, like all other Minusions, was a rich hazel color, but with more of a sparkling shimmer to it, and the fans on its ears and tail and spikes on its legs were a royal purple color. Its long, white, razor-sharp teeth and a dangerous glint in its intense golden eyes spelled doom for everyone trapped in its glare.

My feet refused to move. Some recess of my mind tried to remind the rest of my body that I had to get out there, but panic nailed me to the ground. I found myself watching helplessly as the Queen Minusion crouched down, eyeing a horrified Dengen, then lifted up a massive paw and swatted at him, pulverizing the wooden podium in one blow. Dengen hardly had time to react, diving out of the way and curling into a tornado drill position as the splintering chunks of wood fell all around him.

I tried to get back into focus one step at a time, first by focusing in on the sonar patterns emanating from the Minusion's fans. It seemed to be communicating with someone I couldn't see, yet I clearly heard the second sonar responding to the Queen.

"How was that?" the Queen asked; the voice within her sonar matched the majesty of her appearance and namesake.

"Good… Very good," a devilish voice replied. "Now find her."

While the Queen was distracted, Mutt jumped into action. He pulled the panic-stricken Eds to their feet, shouting, "We have to move! We're not safe here!"

A fair amount of students overheard Mutt and took his word for it, making a series of mad dashes down the bleachers. Mutt jumped out and ordered the others around him to follow; I watched as he courageously led the others down the stairs, closely followed by the Eds- the oaf of the trio eating up the action around him with both terror and excitement- Kevin, Rolf, Nazz, Jonny, Sarah and Jimmy, the last of which was desperately looking all around for someone.

I knew darn well who he was looking for. I finally found the will in me to throw my jacket off, pull a kernel out of my pocket, pop it and stick it in my mouth.

The Minusion turned her attention back on the kids, and I noticed that her golden eyes seemed to lock on Mutt. They narrowed, as though she had gone into deep thought. Mutt didn't notice at first, stopping at the bottom of the bleachers so he could signal for the others to keep going. My nerves tightened as the Queen moved closer to him, her hot breath blowing the back of his hair and shirt. Mutt tensed at first, then quickly turned around to meet the monster's glare.

"He's the one!" the Queen's sonar rang. "He's the one the Blue Star successor is always seen with!"

She once again raised her paw, bringing it down to intentionally drive the spike through Mutt. He and the other students screamed and jumped away as the instrument of destruction carved a gaping hole in the metal bleachers.

And that's when I finally snapped.

"NO!"

The very second my wings appeared, I shot up at a speed I had never before reached, leaving a massive impact where I once stood. All eyes turned to me as I appeared in the sky above them, and a wave of cheers spread through the crowd of panicking students.

The hero had arrived.

I pulled my arms back and swept them in a wide arc, launching a bolt of Blue Star-charged popcorn at the Queen Minusion. It hit her dead on, knocking her off her feet and sending her tumbling into the goal post on the south end of the field. She barely even missed a beat before standing back up and snarling at me. She had what she wanted now.

My strength was quickly returning at the sight of the cheering crowd, reminding me just how much they needed me. With a smirk and not an ounce of hesitation, I flew down towards the Queen, charging up another attack.

This time, however, she was ready for me. At the exact moment I shot another blast at her, she swung her head, sending dozens of boomerang-shaped Gold Star projectiles from the fans on her ears. Several of them blocked and destroyed my Blue Star attack while the rest smacked into me, throwing of my balance and slamming me into the field.

The crowd was going nuts. While some of the students were still trying to run to safety, most of them had their attention locked on the battle. Mutt was still on top of things, herding the cul-de-sac kids onto the ground and to a spot where they could at least watch from a safe distance.

I forced myself up, cracking my neck out of the uncomfortable position it was in. I soon found myself covered in a shadow, prompting me to roll to my left just in time to avoid being crushed and/or impaled by the Queen's paw and spike. She then swept her leg, dragging the spike my way in the process and spewing golden flames in its wake. I jumped away from the attack and took to the sky again, shooting another popcorn blast as I did and hitting her right between the eyes.

After recuperating from that blow, the Queen stood up on her hind legs and swatted at me multiple times, her spikes slicing through the air like twin rapiers and sending bolts of Gold Star energy at the same time. I blocked each attack as best I could either by using Blue Star energy as a shield or by directly hitting the blades in an attempt to throw her off balance, though in reality, I seemed to be the one losing focus. Her attacks were undoubtedly strong, and each blow to my shields felt like an explosion going off in my chest. My arms were getting tired and splinters of pain were going off in my head. Soon I couldn't find enough strength to produce an adequate shield, and the Queen's left spike pierced through my Blue Star wall and slammed sideways into me. I spun around in the air a few times, then I found myself being swatted out of the air and into the north goal post. My head slammed into the bar, then I toppled to the ground.

The pain in my head was unbearable, but surprisingly, there was no sign of injury. I hopelessly tried to pick myself up again, but before I even saw it coming, a giant wave of Gold Star energy slammed into me, knocking me back onto the goal post. The lower part was fortunately cushioned, but that did little to subdue the agony.

I forced myself to stay awake. I couldn't pass out now, not while there was still a throng of innocent students in danger. But the slightest movement sent those splinters of pain through every part of me, preventing me from retaliating.

"No…" I whispered. "I… I can do this… I have to."

Mutt was getting antsy; I didn't have to look at him to know how much he wanted to help. The sight of me lying face-down on the field was tearing him apart. He knew what I had ordered him to do, but he also knew that in the long run, simply escorting the students out wouldn't solve the problem. That Minusion needed taken down, and from the look of it, I couldn't do it alone.

And that's when an all-too-familiar mop of black hair zipped past his peripheral vision.

"Shane!"

Shane turned around and saw Mutt dashing up to him, then he simply scowled and turned back around.

"Hold on a second, Masterson!" Mutt shouted. He caught up to Shane and grabbed him by the sleeve. "I need you to do something for me!"

"Please!" Shane yelled over the roar of the other students' screams. "Why should I help you? You're more than capable of saving yours and Natalie's butts!"

"You don't get it, do you, Weasel-Butt?" Mutt snarled, pointing a finger my way. "She can't take that thing down on her own! We both have the power to help her, but considering I'm more willing to get down on all fours to do it, I have to be the one to go out there while you take over my job!"

"And why do we have to help her? What makes you think you can be of any use?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND!"

Shane was quickly taken aback. Mutt cringed at his outburst and looked around, making sure no one had overheard him. After a long enough pause, Shane whispered, "You mean that's… that's N-Nat-"

"Yes, it's her," Mutt growled. "Now man up and help me help her, will ya?"

Shane suddenly took on a more serious expression, giving Mutt a firm nod in response.

"Good. Try to get everyone out of here in an orderly manner. The less panic these people exert, the better. Help anyone who's stuck or trapped, find someone to unlock the back gate, and if you can find a decent ounce of courage in that spineless gut of yours, get on the track and get the mayor out of there."

The insult Mutt gave him seemed to simply roll off Shane's back, as he simply nodded again and said, "I'm on it." Then he took off again, merging with a large group of students at the bottom of the bleacher stairs.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Mutt groaned as he engaged in his own sprint, gracefully jumping through the hole in the bleachers left by the Queen Minusion's attack. Alone in the little pit, Mutt quickly yanked off his clothes, watching through the gaps in the twisted metal as the Queen slowly approached me.

She was panting slightly, but other than that she showed no signs of exhaustion. Compared to her, I probably looked- and definitely felt- like I was half dead. I only had enough energy in me to flip myself over and inch myself away from the viciously grinning Queen.

I… I need more power, I thought to myself. But how?

The Queen jumped and looked behind it, startled by the sound of the metal fence around the field being torn away by a large, tan wolf. Confused and quite possibly offended by its sudden appearance, the Queen turned around and returned the growl it was giving her.

Mutt? What are you DOING? I found myself screaming in my mind.

Mutt scraped his paw on the track like a bull ready to charge at the matador. The Queen crouched down to his level, and my stomach recoiled in horror as impulses of Gold Star energy coursed down her fans.

"NO! NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Without even thinking twice, I yanked a second kernel out, popped it and swallowed it in one bite.

And just like that, my request for more power was granted.

A strange new sensation coursed through my being, one that instantly took away every molecule of pain the fight had brought upon me. The Blue Star's radiance grew, surrounding me in swirls of light that lifted me off the ground, and the true power within me exploded, which I could only compare to the feeling of a universe being created in my very soul. Every part of me was set ablaze, and I didn't know whether to scream or laugh at the supernova of agonizing intensity. Soon the power changed me from the inside out: The wisps of light circling me wrapped around my arms and legs, strengthening the muscles within them while also replacing my jeans with silky white pants and wrapping my arms in a white shrug jacket. As the light cycled through my head, my glasses seemed to fade out of existence as my vision improved itself a hundredfold, hot blue stripes lined my face, and the blonde highlights in my hair turned sky blue. Finally, with one last detonation, the Blue Star sent fireworks through my spine, shattering my wings and transforming them into brilliant streaks of blue fire.

That final explosion sent an aftershock that blew back everything in sight. Once the wind ceased, all fell silent.

I landed softly on my feet, keeping my eyes closed so I could relish this short moment. I had never felt so… alive before. It was amazing. Scary, even. Even with my eyes closed, I could see through my mind's eyes, feel the energy in the atmosphere around me… from the Gold Star impulses generated from the Queen Minusion, to the warm radiance of the two Star Wolves in the stadium, to the very life force of all the students staring at what new form I had taken.

I opened my eyes. The world looked… sharper, to say the least. My eyes were reading more details in everything they saw, seeing the world with vision beyond human capacity. I expected the overdose of information to hurt my head, but to my surprise, it did quite the opposite.

And then I looked down at myself, taking in my outfit overhaul. The flowing white clothes the Blue Star had provided gave me an unearthly, angelic appearance, and that coupled with the fiery wings blazing from behind me only added fuel to the fire burning in my chest. The Blue Star's true power coursed through my veins, a feeling I could sum up in only one word:

"Whoa…"

A growl from the Queen Minusion pulled me back into reality. I looked up to find her facing me again, still in a crouching position like a lioness about to attack its prey.

A new edge took over me, and the power that had been so longing to come out made me feel like the Queen's true equal. I gave her a sly smirk before rocketing back into the air.

Time to finish this.

I circled the Queen at such a high speed that I must've looked like a blur to the others. Blue fire trailed behind me, creating a tornado of flames around her. The act left her dizzy, confused and irritated, prompting her to pace inside the circular wall and snap at any random spot where she might find me. At the same time, the rapidly spinning fire launched thousands of popcorn pieces at the students; some of them caught handfuls and snacked on them as they watched the battle resume, cheering like the spectators at a monster truck show.

After a few seconds, I broke free of my dizzying path, wrapping my arm in blue fire and slamming my fist into the Queen's forehead. She roared and tumbled back, her pain doubling over as she fell through the tornado of Blue Star energy. The flames started to ease away as she recovered, taking longer than last time, and I noticed black and gold sparks drifting off her pelt as she shook herself off.

Good. She's already starting to weaken, I thought.

But nonetheless, she still had plenty of fight left in her. She shot back up and whipped her head, sending more bolts of Gold Star energy from her ear fans. I zipped around each blast with ease, receiving only one scrape on my arm that provided me with very little pain. The Queen then swung a front leg, launching another large wave at me. I had no time to dodge it, taking the full blast and finding that even this full-on attack didn't hurt nearly as much as it did the last time. Even still, I was launched back quite a distance, but I quickly retaliated by flipping myself into a horizontal position, pushing my feet merely off the wind current behind me, and launching myself her way again.

One thing I noticed as I resumed launching blast after blast at her was that because my attacks were twice as powerful now, logically, they used up twice as much energy to execute. I was starting to sweat like mad and a small pulse of fatigue was building in my head, but I did my best to ignore it and keep fighting. I would not stop until she was defeated.

The cul-de-sac kids were taking in the action with the same awe I had come to expect out of them, the most of which was coming out of Ed and Jimmy, the latter being the very first person I had ever saved from a Minusion.

"Yeah! Go Popcorn Fairy!"

"Take that beast down!"

"Yeah, alright!"

"Whoo-hoo-hoo!"

"The blue fire fairy girl is flying faster than Wilfred on sauerkraut night!"

"Nice to know, Rolf. Thanks."

In the meantime, Shane was on top of things. By now he had picked the lock to the back gate leading to the main school campus and was herding many of the students to safety. No one could tell by looking at his dead-serious face, but inside he was baffled. How could that angelic being fighting the monster behind him really be me?

He'd just have to talk to me about that later. The more he thought about it now, the more distracted he got.

Once he was sure everyone could take care of themselves, he ran back to the field, hopping the fence with ease and stopping next to Mutt, who was frozen where he stood as he watched the fight unfold.

"You wanna be useful?" Shane whispered. "Go for the ears and the spikes on its legs."

Mutt's ears perked at the sound of what he hated to admit was a good idea. He looked down at Shane and nodded, which Shane returned before swerving around him and dashing up to the destroyed remains of the podium. Mutt sprinted onto the field, leaving Shane to do his job.

With several grunts, Shane effortlessly moved the boards aside, calling, "Mayor Dengen, sir, are you alright?"

He didn't receive an answer, fearing the worst.

"Don't worry, sir! We're gonna get you out of-"

But once he cleared every bit of rubble from the pile, Dengen was nowhere to be found.

Mutt, on the other hand, was quickly coming into view. I didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed by the sight of him, considering that as much as he wanted to help, I couldn't risk him getting in the way.

As I watched him charge in, I briefly let my guard down, taking a series of fan blasts from the Queen. Each hit I took felt worse than the last. By now I was pretty tired, but my drive never left. I took a moment to regain my balance, creating a large ball of Blue Star popcorn in the process and launching it into the Queen's chest once I straightened out.

She stumbled back a few steps, meeting Mutt halfway. He took a leap of faith and clung to her flank. Startled, the Queen frantically swung him around in an attempt to throw him off, but he held on by sinking his claws and teeth into her flesh. I swept another blast into her, which caused her to jump one more time before calming down enough to regain her composure.

Okay, she's definitely losing energy by now, I thought. Now what's Mutt trying to do?

My answer came sooner than I thought when Mutt climbed onto the Queen's shoulder and jumped off. While airborne, he wrapped his front legs around the spike on her right leg, taking it with him and ripping it clean off with a sickly tearing noise.

The Queen's loud shriek of pain pierced everything around her, but despite the torture on my eardrums, I easily caught onto the charade.

Of course! The spikes and the fans are the focal points for her attacks!

Mutt toppled to the ground with the spike still in his grasp. Then it started to dissolve, crumbling until there was nothing but black and gold ash. Like always, it retreated into the ground on its own accord.

"Good thinking, buddy!" I called to him from above. I received an encouraging bark in return.

While the Queen was still recovering, I shot down and grabbed onto her left spike. Mutt provided a distraction by circling around to her other side, jumping up so he could bite and scratch her already-wounded flank. She swatted at him with her right paw to no avail while I set her remaining spike on fire. She noticed this and let out an angry yelp, charging up the Gold Star energy within it as if to counterattack. This proved to have a negative effect, as it reacted with the Blue Star energy and caused multiple explosions that instantly shattered the spike first to pieces, then to ashes.

As the glittering remains of the spike retreated, I called upon what little energy I had left and flew up to her head. By now the Queen was tired too, but she furiously snapped at me and shot more fan blasts. As weak as these attacks were, I barely had it in me to dodge them. I finally reached the top, grabbing an ear in each hand and setting my hands on fire. The Queen viciously swung her head, but I wouldn't let go. I had gotten so far, and now that I had the upper hand, I wasn't going to stop until I was done with her.

With one powerful yank, I ripped both fans off her ears, forcing another cry out of her. She stumbled about, her distortion amplifying and her equilibrium beyond repair.

This was the only chance I would get.

"MUTT, MOVE!"

Upon my order, he ran for cover, safely watching the end from the track.

I lifted my arms up and threw them back down, shooting a hot blue laser out of my hands and driving it into the Queen Minusion's back. Blue sparks, gold ash and popcorn flew in all directions as the force of the blast tore through her body. As she howled her agony, a bright golden light pulsated from her mouth and wounds.

It took everything in me to keep my focus on her. My mind was overloading and threatening to shut down on me, but I held my position as the Blue Star's power was drained out of me through my arms, slicing through the Queen Minusion's weakened body. I could feel myself growing weaker, but this meant nothing to me. I knew what I was capable of.

I… am… not… weak!

At last, I hooked my hands into the laser and yanked it in two, tearing the Queen Minusion into a flurry of ashes in the process. Silence struck the crowd as the chaos came to an end.

The Blue Star was drained, retreating its power by changing me into my normal form. In my exhausted state, I barely even noticed that I was falling, quickly landing on my back and passing out in the cold, grassy football field, the dusty remains of the Minusion swirling around me as it seeped into the ground.

The other students silently made their way onto the field, surrounding my motionless body with a cornucopia of emotions. The truth was out. They could see who I really was.

"She's… just a kid? Like us?"

"How did she do all that?"

"Is she okay? She's not dead, is she?"

"No, stupid! She's still breathing, see?"

"Who is that? She looks familiar…"

"Isn't that the girl that used to sit by herself at lunch?"

"Her name is Natalie," a voice called out louder than all the others. The crowd parted as Mutt, human again and wearing only his pants, walked up to me, Shane quickly following behind.

"And if you haven't noticed…" Mutt continued, "she just saved us all."

"So she's the one who's been fighting those horrible things all this time?" Jimmy questioned.

Mutt only nodded as he picked my body up. "She's okay. Just a little drained."

"Boy, I'll say," Eddy agreed. "I would be too after taking down that monster."

"She's gonna be okay, right?" Ed whimpered.

"She'll be fine…" Mutt whispered before planting a gentle kiss on my lips. Once he released it, his voice died down to a barely audible whisper…

"If you can hear me… tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking that you're just about the greatest guy ever."

Excited murmurs broke out as I started to come to. The weird thing was that once I woke up, I felt one hundred percent renewed. The pain was gone and my fatigue was already disappearing, as though the Blue Star only needed one minute to recharge.

The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was that beautiful, sideways smile of Mutt's, coupled with those deep pools of forest green. It was a welcoming sight after all the madness I had endured, made all the more pleasing by the fact that my eyesight had returned to normal and my glasses had reappeared upon changing back to my human form.

But that relief quickly vanished when I noticed that everyone was surrounding us. I scrambled out of Mutt's arms, my eyes darting around in panic at the realization that my identity had been revealed.

"It's okay, Natalie." Shane smiled and knelt down next to me. "There's no reason to be ashamed. You saved us, and that's all that matters to any of us."

Nods and agreements backed up Shane's comment, and for some reason, it made me smile. All this time I had been hiding my powers from my fellow students, I couldn't tell if it was for their personal safety or out of my own humiliation. But this felt different. As Mutt and Shane helped me stand up, I found myself accepting the warm expressions of gratitude everyone was giving me.

Approval was something I wasn't used to, especially in this magnitude.

And it felt… nice.

The Eds stepped forward, each of them offering their own gesture of kindness. Eddy gave me a light slap on the arm and a thumbs-up. Edd handed me my jacket, which he had neatly folded up. And Ed simply smiled and said, "We won't tell nobody."

That was enough to satisfy me, so when the students erupted with applause, I started to feel embarrassed. Above the roar, I said to Mutt, "I think they deserve an explanation."

"I do too."

Without even the slightest order, Mutt started parting the crowd and ushering me through. Shane acting as a bodyguard from behind me. We walked up to the remains of the podium, at which time I remembered something else. "Where's Dengen?"

"Gone," Shane answered. "He disappeared during the battle."

"Coward," Mutt grumbled.

Shane looked like he was about to say something else, but he held it in.

I navigated through the boards and picked up the microphone. When I tapped it, I heard the feedback from the nearby speakers, then I tried speaking into it. "Check one, check two. Can you guys hear me?"

The students called out in the affirmative, prompting me to mutter, "Sweetcakes." Then I began…

"Fellow students of Peach Creek High… I just wanna thank you for being so supportive. I apologize to my close friends for not telling you the truth, but you have to believe me when I say that I had my reasons. This is something I never wanted to happen to me. It just… did."

I paced a bit as I continued, "The creature you just watched me fight tonight is called a Minusion, specifically a Queen Minusion. Some of you have witnessed my fights with smaller Minusions, and if it provides you with any relief, the smaller ones are more common. But anyway, their goal is to bring a downfall to human civilization so that their leader, the King Minusion, can usher in a new world order. The Minusions are gifted with the power of a supernatural force called the Gold Star. The equal opposite of that force is the Blue Star, which as you can probably guess, is what I have been gifted with. It's my duty to stop these creatures from taking over, and they started here in Peach Creek so that they could get to me.

"Now here me out. As incredible as this may sound, I want to emphasize the fact that this was something I only learned about weeks ago. I never asked to be a hero. If you see me as one, then thank you so much; I'm happy to help you all. But what I'm saying is… I've never tried to be anything other than who I am, and the Minusions and the Blue Star aren't the only things that have changed me over these last couple of weeks." At that last remark, Mutt wrapped an arm around me, shooting me a look that told me I was on a roll.

"Until King Minusion is defeated, I have a lot of work to do. But while I'm not fighting Minusions, like during school or on the streets, I don't want to be treated any differently than the rest of you. I'm still just a teenager, and for now, that's all I could really ask for… to be me."

During the pause that followed, another round of applause went off in the crowd. Then when I thought of something else, I added, "Oh, and I'd also like it if we don't go spreading this around. The last thing I need is to be the center of some big headline." Once I was done, I clicked the microphone off and set it next to my feet.

As the crowd started to disperse, Mutt smiled at me and said, "Let's go home."

I nodded my agreement and started a casual stride towards the parking lot, Mutt and Shane on either side of me.

"Shane…" I spoke up. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you-"

"Don't be," he interrupted. "I didn't tell you what I was. You guys figured it out, remember?"

"Yeah, abruptly, might I add," Mutt groaned.

"Oh, come on, Mutt," I sighed. "You guys have both been a big help. I owe you a lot."

"Well, feel free to pay me back any way you like," Mutt teased, wrapping an arm around me.

Shane smiled and shook his head. "Just be ready," he said. "You're in for a rough time at school now."

"Don't I know it," I muttered.

"Promise me you'll get a good night sleep," Shane continued as he broke off and headed towards his home. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Shane!" I called as he turned and sped off into the night.

"So…" Mutt spoke up. "We taking the long way home?"

"You know what?" An idea came to my mind. "Do you mind driving home by yourself."

He caught on, shooting me a smirk. "Not at all." He sat down at the driver's seat of his cart, where we leaned in towards each other and exchanged another kiss. "You have fun."

"I will," I said, tossing him my jacket and taking off. Then I stopped and turned back around. "Oh, and Mutt?"

"Yeah?"

I smiled. "I owe this whole thing to you. You know that, right?"

"Well, like I said," Mutt joked, "you can pay me back however you like, Miss Popcorn Fairy."

A chuckle escaped my throat. "I love you."

"You too."

I let that last image of Mutt's face stick in my mind as I took off running down the parking lot. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a kernel, popped it (fortunately), and stuck it in my mouth. The moment my wings reappeared, I leaped forward and soared into the night sky.

And as I watched the world disappear beneath me, flying high between my beautiful Peach Creek home and the twinkling heavens above, something deep in my chest told me that this was where I belonged: the eighth successor of the Blue Star, floating freely on the updrafts with the bright stars shining down upon me. This sense of rightness carried me across the fields, over the buildings and through a state of pure joy unlike anything I could describe. It didn't matter what was to come in the future. All that mattered at that moment was the freedom, the happiness from everything I had experienced up until that one shining moment. I closed my eyes as the wind blew through my hair and wings, letting my imagination soar to new heights.

Because that's what I do best, isn't it?

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.

-Isaiah 50:7 NLT